Supermodel supermom, environmental activist Gisele Bundchen returns to Louis Vuitton in its new luggage campaign Horizons Never End.
Spinning the video narrative to David Bowie’s “Heroes”, the 42-year-old faces her future in backseat luxury, wearing a blazer, monogramed one-piece and signature aviators, lensed by Glen Luchford.
Hearing the sound of the ocean waves, Gisele hops out of the car and strips down to her cheeky Louis Vuitton bathing suit. Deeply in tune with the ocean her entire life, Gisele makes secondary use of her LV luggage, sitting down on it to face the waves.
The message of the new Louis Vuitton luggage campaign resonates deeply: Horizons Never End.
Dior’s annual Dioriviera Collection 2023 is in high gear with a global concept so sophisticated that it’s close to becoming its own subbrand and not a summer capsule. The attention to detail boggles the mind, especially in locations like the Beverly Hills Hotel, where Dior is in residence until September 4.
This year, the collection spanning ready-to-wear, accessories but also outdoor furniture, games and even a surfboard will be available in global locales that include Bali; Cyprus; Kyoto, Japan; Lake Como, Italy; Phuket, Thailand; Seoul and these images from Beverly Hills.
Photographer Ellen Won Unwerth shot all the fashion images and the Beverly Hills Hotel provides images of Dior’s takeover of the pool and cabana areas.
Life-sized versions of the lush vegetation and wild animals populating the French house’s signature Toile de Jouy motif look sculpted out of sand in the windows and on the facades of this summer’s destinations.
Sopisticated jaws have dropped over the sand castles-like facades and animal sculptures — the same animals as in the famous fabric.
When AOC sees photographer Dario Catellani [IG] in the same sentence as WSJ Magazine June-July 2023, I know we’re going somewhere fabulous in nature’s kingdom.
“Lulu,” I called my IA assistant. “Please get to work on Zermatt Switzerland. . . tell me about the ice caves . . . are there any Neolithic cave paintings or preserved symbols . . . what about mammoths?” Poor Lulu. She never gets an ordinary fashion assignment.
It-girl actor and model Iris Law discovers the famous Matterhorn Glacier Paradise and its luxury shopping destination Zermatt.
We meet up with good friends Joan Smalls and Lily Aldridge for another summer season for the Lauren Ralph Lauren brand. The top models are in seaside, getaway mode wearing Ralph’s summer garden florals and classic beach stripes.
The colors are rich and topical fuscias and turquoise, anchored against a black ground. Lauren Ralph Lauren rarely seeks to grab our attention with style gimmicks. Instead beauty reigns supreme, and it’s the lovely vibe between Joan and Lily that represents the women we want to be.
Miu Miu new fragrance Fleur de Lait Eau de Parfum, a floral-fruity scent, is inspired by the iconic Asian dessert Mango Pomelo Sago — a memory I have of Hong Kong’s Peninsula Hotel.
The campaign uses the notes of the fragrance itself to create a visual recipe for Mango Pomelo Sago and the joy of making it in the kitchen with dear friends. It’s the nose of the human wearing it, as well as the fragrance itself that recreates the joyful memories, emotions and — in this case — pleasurable associations.
Honoring the spirit of poets of the Tang Dynasty and the numerous references to Proust generated by the Miu Miu campaign, AOC shares a 2020 Harvard panel discussion “What the Nose Knows: the science of smell and how scent, emotion, and memory are intertwined — and exploited.”
Top model Grace Elizabeth dances softly into the pages of Vogue China’s Beauty Paper June 2023 issue.
Elizaveta Porodina [IG] spins out new artistry as a posse of imposters are in hot pursuit of her reconizable image style. Actually, one photographer “got me” a few weeks ago, leaving me swearing that a mistake happened on his IG.
No worries. Today Porodina spins out fairy-tale, ballet-inspired beauty images, working with stylist Stella Greenspan [IG], who styled Porodina’s fashion story with Cate Blanchett for Vanity Fair
Numéro Magazine 239 Summer 2023 is devoted to H2O, water as the sacred element of life. The theme of water ebbs throughout the entire issue beginning with this cover story ‘LE GRAND BLEU’ featuring rising South Sudanese model Naomi Apajok.
Bernat Buscato styles Apajok in images by Txema Yeste [IG].
Supermodel Gigi Hadid fronts a new campaign breaking Thursday for Miu Miu’s matelassé in two styles — the already-iconic Wander, and the newly-debuted Arcadie — lensed by Steven Meisel. [The photographer now has a very quiet Official IG page posting older images.]
For the first time — after taking a huge leap on Lyst’s hottest brands list in 2022, over their mini skirt — Miu Miu has the second place position. Mothership Prada has the top slot in first quarter 2023, after replacing Gucci in fourth quarter 2022.
The Wander [pouch] and the newly debuted Arcadie [rectangle] style in the signature matelassé series offer great promise to become new “pillars” of the Miu Miu bag category, following the iconic history of Miu Miu’s Pocket.
Models Berit Heitmann and Sifis Farantakis are styled by George Karapetis in ‘Beach Waves’, a charming getaway fashion story with Bottega Veneta, Chanel, Dior, Eres, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Missoni, Stella McCartney and Ugg.
Photographer Panos Davios [IG] captures the couple’s bubble-blowing trip to the beach for Vogue Greece June 2023.
Beloved powerhouse designer with the jet set Donatella Versace chose a sprawling villa overlooking the French Riviera to showcase her ‘La Vacanza’ summer getaways and pre-fall 2023 collection. Château de la Croix des Gardes famously hosted the masquerade ball in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1955 thriller To Catch a Thief.
The debut was intense, given the influence of pop star Dua Lipa, who co-designed the collection laden with so many butterflies that the see-now-buy-now collaboration could have taken flight at a moment’s notice.
Butterflies Galore
All those polka dots are symbols of one of humans most beloved motifs. Butterflies have been a symbol of transformation, hope and faith for thousands of years. Add the models walking along an infinity pool and all say it was one of the most breathtaking fashion shows in many years.
Dua Lipa addressed the butterflies, specifically, saying they are a great symbol of freedom for her.
Frequent Versace photographer Carlijn Jacobs[IG] was on hand to capture the endless magic of a perfect May evening in Cannes, France, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Jacobs also shot the advertising photography with Dua Lipa featured here, with styling by Jacob K.
Australian actor Margot Robbie doesn’t remember having a Barbie doll, as a young girl growing up in Australia. Her cousin had Barbies and perhaps they all joined Robbie in admiring a dandelion-decorated mudpie or two made for an afternoon tea in the Australian Gold Coast sandbox.
Fast-foward to now, and Barbie’s scheduled touchdown in American movie theaters remains July 21, 2023.
The Summer issue of American Vogue weighs into the frenzy, putting Margot Robbie as Barbie on the cover. Robbie is lensed by Middle America to East Coast photographer, Caledonia, Michigan’s own Ethan James Green [IG].
When pitching her company LuckyChap, the production outfit she runs with her friend Josey McNamara and her husband, Tom Ackerley, to Mattel’s new CEO of Mattel, Ynon Kreiz, at the Polo Lounge in 2018, Robbie was clear about the road ahead.
“We of course would want to honor the 60-year legacy that this brand has,” Robbie says. “But we have to acknowledge that there are a lot of people who aren’t fans of Barbie. And in fact, aren’t just indifferent to Barbie. They actively hate Barbie. And have a real issue with Barbie. We need to find a way to acknowledge that.”
Fresh off Marni Creative Director Francesco Risso’s collaboration with Erykah Badu and Vogue’s March 2023 deep dive into the twosome, AOC turns our focus to another Marni Jam series Marni x No Vacancy Inn.
Both collabs are on Marni’s Instagram now, but we will also pull them in their entirety onto AOC for archiving. Forgive me, but Virgil Abloh is on full blast today, and is probably just driving my brain and I’m along for the ride.
AOC may not be hip, but I am chill, so it all works out.
In the same spirit of low-tech, color-saturated Ghana-inspired images, Marni x No Vacancy Inn rolls in with campaign images shot in Accra, Ghana by Derrick Ofosu Boateng [IG], who calls himself “a Ghanaian photographic hueism artist and designer.’
Like Prince Gyasi, Boateng is shooting with an iPhone and then whipping up his techno-colored image souffle.
Model Alex Consari is styled by Clare Byrne in a fashion story with Quiet Luxury bonafides. If you think the fashion choices look like the Old Money Aesthetic, you’re right. The trends are difficult to distinguish, except that Quiet Luxury is often more modern. / Hair by Lucas Wilson; makeup by Jen Myles
Photographer Arnaud Lajeunie [IG] captures Alex with her signature pearls for The Travel Almanac [IG] TTA22 - “Performance".
In Spring 2021, AOC made a mistake, not posting this summarized archive Naomi Campbell by Prince Gyasi post that controls all the tags into our complex system of Models and Photographers Archives into their summary pages.
Bad Anne!!!!
Mistakes happen, but this was was a big miss, given AOC’s commitment to all matters related to Africa and Africa-connected creatives, history and also political issues.
Naomi’s Madame Figaro narrative references the ALÁRA Lagos Africa luxury concept store [IG], designed by the pre-eminent architectDavid Adjaye, who describes his vision for West Africa’s first signature and lifestyle store.
There is no debate that in 2023 Adjaye and associates is one of the most influential architectural firms across the world.
Naomi’s Madame Figaro photographer Prince Gyasi doesn’t have a strong presence in fashion photography but the artist’s Instagram is a big wow!
Gyasi shoots on his iPhone and is very color-driven — as is AOC.
In one her first photoshoot since becoming a Cartier ambassador, Deepika Padukone shares images of her wearing extraordinary pieces from the French Maison’s new high jewelry “Le Voyage Recommencé Collection”, lensed by Johan Sandberg [IG].
An elaborate soirée in Florence in the gorgeous garden of the Palazzo Corsini, was the scene of the new collection’s unveiling. The palace is known for its artistic heritage and is home to works by Rubens, Fra Angelico, and Caravaggio.
As Jacqueline Karachi, Director of High Jewelry Creation at Cartier describes it, the new Le Voyage Recommencé is "a journey back to the heart of Cartier creation, an uninterrupted story being told over time."
Louis Cartier discovered the "Islamic arts" exhibition at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris in 1903, which led to a long-standing presence of Islamic inspired geometric motifs, arabesques, and peacock motifs in the brand’s pieces.
In a media landscape where talk and promises are so cheap that we are in a state of mental rebellion before reading the first word, the Tom Ford interview is stellar, capturing our minds like a really good TED Talk.
No BS promises and definitely not clickbait. It’s personal and humanizing, filled with haunting quotes from Ford.
Supermodel Karolína Kurkova becomes the protagonist of the June 2023 cover of Mujer Hoy. In the world of modeling, the quality of your works counts a lot, says Kurkova. But what sets you apart is your reputation.
Photographer Agata Serge [IG] shoots Kurkova in Miami, the city where she lives with her husband and their three children since 2012. Sarah Gore Reeves styles Kurkova in ‘La Ultima Supermodelo’ in patriotic colors this Memorial Day weekend in America.
When we first wrote in 2020 about the LVMH plans for a Cheval Blanc Hotel in Beverly Hills, it seemed to be on cruise control, a fait accompli. Now the fight is all but over and LVMH conceded probable defeat on Friday.
Labor union Unite Here Local 11 and a local residents group garnered enough signatures to put two referenda on the ballot in Beverly Hills that would ask voters to overturn the City Council’s approval of the Cheval Blanc hotel and the development agreement for the project in September 2022. They got signatures from 10% of Beverly Hills voters which triggered a vote to override the City Council’s approval.
"Although some votes remain to be counted, it now appears that Measures B and C have fallen short by a narrow margin, overturning the results of a comprehensive, years-long review and approval process," said Jessica Miller, a LVMH spokesperson. "We are proud to have worked with so many residents, civic leaders and business owners who supported this once-in-a-generation investment that would have delivered hundreds of millions of dollars in city funding and a beautiful gateway project for the Golden Triangle. If the final vote count confirms the voters' rejection of our project, we will respect the outcome, and will not bring the hotel project back in any form."
Rising model Milica Rajkovic is styled by Lara Bosch in a nature-running-wild fashion story “Perdida en el Bosque” [Lost in the Forest] lensed by Ana Abril [IG] for Mujer Hoy’s June 2023 issue./ Makeup by Yurena Cazorla
