When former editor in chief of WSJ MagazineKristina O’Neill departed her position in April 2023, the luxury fashion and style world knew she was going somewhere important.
Kristina O’Neill has been named editor in chief of the new Sotheby’s Magazine, starting Jan. 8. She will report directly to Gareth Jones, Sotheby’s chief marketing officer.
In perhaps the best story of all, Sotheby’s recent American whisky auction set new records with two big blockbusters. LeNell’s Red Hook Rye 23 Year and Rathskeller Rye, each sold far beyond their highest initial estimate ranges. The LRHR 23 year scoring $56,250 (est range $20,000 – $30,000) and RR grabbing $37,500 ($18,000 – $24,000).
Spanish premium clothing retailer Massimo Dutti tags model Luly Tenney for a December 2023 trip to the Cotswolds. Brits can be notoriously practical about their weather, and Massimo Dutti delivers a new winter into spring lesson in how to face abrasive weather elements in style.
The history of the Cotswolds dates back thousands of years, with evidence of Neolithic settlements and ancient burial mounds dotting the landscape.
Cotswold History Currently Dates from 4000 BC
The Neolithic period of human history, typically dated 7000-1700 BC — is so important, because it signals the beginning of a settled human lifestyle. People learned to cultivate plants and domesticate animals for food, rather than relying solely on hunting and gathering practices.
Models Liv Walters, Maty Fall and Yang Ling deliver recognizable Missoni spirit to fall/winter 2023/24 imagery at a time when the Italian heritage house has retained Rothschild to explore a full sale of the company.
In 2018 Italian investment fund FSI injected 70 million euros into the house, for 41% of the business, with the remaining shares held by the Missoni family.
From AOC’s angle of vision, the Italian heritage brands have never been so desirable — and from a cultural-creatives, values-based proposition, not modern values which say “s[he] who wears the most wealth on her back wins.”
Zara has removed this controversial advertising campaign from the front page of its website after pro-Palestine activists called for an international boycott of the retailer.
Inditex, the company that owns Zara, said on Monday that the photos were taken in September 2023, before the current war erupted between Hamas and Israel. The creative brief was approved in July — which makes sense to AOC.
However alert to perceptions gone wrong, I myself was in the process of writing about my night at the Louvre in Paris 20 years ago, marveling over the jazz-evening setup with the statuary in seeming disarray, strewn like these images but with blue strobe lights for extra effect.
Only when I went to Zara’s IG did I realize that something was very wrong with the campaign.
Tom Ford’s codes, “of glamour, sexiness, elegance, and beauty,” are embraced by promoted Tom Ford Creative Director Peter Hawkings as well, the designer told Vogue in advance of his September 2023 Milan Tom Ford runway debut.
In the just-released Spring 2024 Tom Ford ad campaign, the visual impact is Zegna with edge. Stars of the Tom Ford Spring 2024 campaign are Alaato Jazyper, Dara Gueye, Eva Komuves, Ilias Loopmans, and Jeanne Cadieu, lensed by Robin Galiegue [IG].
Tom Ford does not need fixing in the minds of Estee Lauder, the business tean at Zegna or Hawkings himself. In that case, who is better than Peter Hawkings to inherit the Tom Ford design mantle and not be obsessed with turning a design vision inside out to make it “his own.”
As Louis Vuitton artistic director Nicolas Ghesquière [IG] celebrates his 10-year anniversary with the brand, as well as the renewal of his contract for another five years, HTSI Magazine [IG] launches a huge celebration around the designer, the label and the muses.
Bibi Cornejo Borthwick with WeFolk [IG] agency photographs the 10 models, talents and ambassadors for these remaining images, styled by Isabelle Kountoure.
Models and talents expand on HTSI’s IG comments quoted on AOC in a separate online article. They appear in chronological order of their first project with Nicolas Ghesquire for Louis Vuitton.
AOC’s first reaction to these Prada holiday, model-focused images has nothing to do with buying gifts for friends and family this holiday season.
Prada and the Future of Humanity
Anne’s response was focused on a deeply-felt anxiety that she would feel so much better if Prada Group owned Starlink, X and SpaceX — rather than Elon Musk. The ‘l’enfant terrible’ with a massive daddy complex can keep Tesla.
“The constantly forward-thinking ethos of Prada for humanity has broadened to his desire of adventure and to brave new horizons: space,” Lorenzo Bertelli, Prada Group marketing director, stated with the announcement that Prada is partnering with Texas-based Axiom Space to design the lunar space suits for the hopefully-glorious 2025 Artemis III mission. [Anne’s non-quoted words.]
Charaf Tajer‘spre-Spring 2024 Casablanca Campaign makes a sophisticated play for a monied, athletic elegance and varsity chic-inspired cafe-society crowd.
The romantic mood of the movie ‘Casablanca’ itself ebbs quietly through the campaign, signposts for a WWII cafe society crowd that embraced classic notions of honor, loyalty, friendship and duty in a 2024 global political climate that’s testing all those values — and turning them inside out.
Count Maggie Maurer in as a member of the Resistance, joined by Valentin Caron. Corentin Leroux [IG] photographs the campaign, with art direction by Rashid Barbiker and styling by Francesca Parise./Hair by Ryan Mitchell; makeup by David Koppelaar
Photographer Elizaveta Porodina [IG] ignites the Giorgio Armani Holiday 2023/4 campaign with a 21st century, restrained, jazz-age glamour.
Porodina’s high-level skills in clinical psychology and humanism enhance her understanding of branding in a way other photographers do not intuit.
With one broad stroke of her Jungian-inspired, creative vision, Porodina now makes Armani model Beauise Ferwerda a multi-dimensional Armani woman with a shadow-self.
After spreading its British wings to international cities with its ‘Burberry Streets’ sightings, Burberry’s Daniel Lee again heads home, assembling a motley British-related and credentialed crew for the brand’s Spring 2024 campaign.
Tyrone Lebon again is the photographer for Burberry, rowing in total synchronocity with Daniel Lee.
One sports figure in the campaign is professional boxer Somali-British Ramla Ali, who is also a Dior ambassador. She’s rather dear to AOC’s heart.
The founder of Sisters Club, Ali scored a vindicating win over Julissa Guzman, in early November. The luxury brands boxer suffered a ‘shocking’ defeat to Guzman in June 2023, which is why we use the word ‘vindicating’.
Louis Vuitton delivers smile-worthy holiday cheer in its first episode of a multi-segmented campaign lensed by Oliver Hadlee Pearch [IG] with video by Lope Serrano.
The Maison’s Mascot Vivienne and her friend Teddy arrive to explore all the Maison’s creations. As regulars, they might become treasured ornaments as the years go by — and we are eager to keep track of them.
These darling little creatures pop up everywhere in a distinct statement that whimsy is part of the holiday season and we are quietly encouraged to get “out of ourselves” and into the world of humanity.
Karlie Kloss is the proud owner of i-D Magazine, a decade after being featured on i-D’s Spring 2013 cover.
Fast forward to November 2023, where Karlie’s new media company Bedford Media is flying solo in acquiring i-D Magazine.
Karlie will lead the British magazine as CEO, with i-D top editor Alastair McKimm [IG] expanding his role to the title of chief creative officer and global editor-in-chief.
Moschino’s new creative director Davide Renne arrived at the Italian house on November 1, 2023. Renne’s candle had no time to burn brightly in his new assignment, as the designer passed into a another dimension today, November 10, 2023.
We do not know the cause of death, which has been described as a “sudden illness” that claimed his body and earthly existence just 10 days after his arrival at Moschino.
Renne’s resume was defined largely by two decades at Gucci, eventually as Head Designer of Womenswear, working with Alessandro Michele.
Supermodel, businesswoman, mom Candice Swanepoel leads us into 2024 with a new Tropic of CSustainable Lace collection of black and white, made-to-be seen innerwear that renders lace lovers as sensual creatures who are also kind to Mother Earth.
All of Candice’s fabrics are sustainable, with this lace fabric coming out of Portugal and making its way into existing C collection styles. Note the ‘movie poster’ image with the photoshoot credentials and specific information about the fabric. Tropic of C has never veered off course in leading with sustainability.
In its Fall 2023 presentation in Rome, fine jeweler Van Cleef & Arpels chose the ‘Grand Tour’ experience as the cultural inspiration for the designs of the luxury jeweler’s newest masterpieces.
Global Impact of The Grand Tour
Traditionally, the European aristocrats were at the forefront of experiencing the Grand Tour and reveled in the opportunity to delve into the cultural riches of science, art, architecture, and history.
Yet, as the colonial expansion in South America and India gathered momentum, individuals of wealth from these regions also sought to emulate the grandeur and sophistication of the Grand Tour.
Oyadeas! I simply adore Creative Director Daniel Lee’sBurberry Holiday [IG] 2023 campaign. ADORE IT!! It’s charming, genuine, not camp but quiet luxury gone a tiny bit wild.
Roe Ethridge [IG] shoots this precious masterpiece, with creative direction by Carina Frey and Stefanie Barth.
The logo fully communicates Burberry without ruining the larger-image, buy-me item. He’s leaving before you can be annoyed with him — sort of like an apparition. He’s like “Chill, Anne, I’m leaving.”
Actually the Burberry knight reminds me of the Tribute of Light show outside my high-floor, lower Manhattan window after Sept. 11 in New York. Tribute always came to visit us and even stayed the night. But then he was gone when I woke up, off to bring a bit of hope and serenity elsewhere in our complicated world.
For a couple years we tried to trap him for at least a cup of morning French Roast, but Tribute always outsmarted us, slipping out the window at dawn.
Billie Eilish is back at Gucci and let’s applaud that move. Without question Billie is a bridge between the respective visions of the two creative directors — Alessandro Michele and now Sabato De Sarno.
For Gucci, Billie Eilish has teamed up on a greenish version of their iconic Horsebit 1955 bag. The new version is crafted from Demetra, a 75% plant-based, animal-free material that has been produced in Italy since 2021.
Gucci launched sneakers made of Demetra two years ago. The bags also use recycled ECONYL nylon made from regenerated ghost nets, carpets, and pre-consumer waste. Prada and Burberry were leaders in the development of ECONYL with products coming to market in 2019. Demetra is tanned in accordance with Gucci’s century-old standard practices.
One of the key tenets of the slow living movement is mindfulness. It encourages individuals to fully engage with each experience and prioritize being present and connected to those around us.
In the past, Americans and Europeans just do not see a high-quality life in the same way. Slow living is just another word for laziness in the minds of many Americans.
However, in our post-COVID world, accompanied by growing climate violence, there are signals that American attitudes may be changing.
Even financial markets and consulting companies like McKinsey are watching Italian brands in particular, drilling down to two brands very important at Anne of Carversville: Brunello Cucinella and Loro Piana.
When Mr. Cucinelli, also known as the King of Cashmere, makes a speech about humanism and the ‘heart’ of a humanistic enterprise, by definition he is speaking in harmony with the slow living movement.
Clearly the archival map print has achieved major status at Dior, as it rolls forward into fall with a major campaign.
Dior’s Maria Grazia Chiuri is simply the best of the luxury brand story tellers. On Monday, the creative director was profiled in WWD with that rare breakdown of financial information for a LVMH brand. I knew Dior has done very well, but not that Chiuri has tripled the Dior business in less than seven years. That’s extraordinary.
Tonight, October 24, WWD will present Chiuri with its John B. Fairchild Honor at an awards ceremony in New York City.
Can you imagine how much impact the ‘Plan de Paris’ print will have with the Paris 2024 Olympics? It’s so exciting to see a female creative director have such huge financial impact on one of the world’s premier luxury brands. Bravo Maria Grazia Chiuri!! You are an inspiration for us all. Thank you! ~ Anne
Jennifer Lopez has appeared before with Intimissimi lingerie. Now the brand’s global ambassador serves as a co-designer of the new collection, inviting us all to experience ‘la dolce vita’.
Anne of Carversville has always stood for the nurturing benefits of beautiful lingerie and we’re thrilled with the new Jennifer Lopez “This is Me…Now” collection.
Both Italy and France have long celebrated the sex appeal of older women, unlike America where we’ve been washed up at age 35. There’s a good reason why Anne so loves Italy and France and why she’s worked so hard professionally to change America’s perception of aging and sensual women.
