Flaunt Magazine [IG] Issue 199, ‘Fleeting Twilight’ shares key looks from the Louis Vuitton Men’s Pre-Fall 2025 Collection. Creative Director Pharrell Williams previewed the collection in Miami December 2024, with the upcoming Met Gala dandy aesthetic on his mind.
I just reviewed again Jonathan Anderson’s swoon-worthy debut men’s collection for Christian Dior, and like Pharrell, he also tapped the ‘young aristocrats’ trend. Anderson added skirts for men and nipping his waists with overtly-femme swagger and white bow ties.
Louis Vuitton Men Compared to The Absolutely-Brilliant Jonathan Anderson Dior Mens Debut
Pharrell played his ties straight and long, Anderson likes bows. Both designers did white ties and the Louis Vuitton man does go to the office to afford his wardrobe preferences. He’s a working man. Anderson’s Dior man is a trust fund kid — or maybe the growing number of men — at least in America — living at home with parents.
Dandyism is a design key to writing about both collections — Dior Spring 2026 and Louis Vuitton Pre-Fall 2025. Yes, Pharrell was off to India with lean and long fluidity for his Spring 2026 collection, which AOC loved.
Harper’s Bazaar UK [IG] releases its September 2025 cover story ‘Curiouser and Curiouser’ starring model Aylah Peterson.
The Fall 2025 luxury fashion overview features Alberta Ferretti, Burberry, Celine, Chanel, Chloé, Dior, Dolce & Gabbana, Etro, Fendi, Giorgio Armani, Givenchy, Gucci, Hermès, Louis Vuitton, Max Mara, McQueen, Michael Kors Collection, Miu Miu, Prada, Ralph Lauren, Valentino, Versace, and Vivienne Westwood.
Leith Clark styles the major fashion shoot defined by bold shapes, saturated colors and tactile textures lensed by Emma Summerton [IG]. Designers are listed on individual images./ Hair by Serge Normant; makeup by Kabuki
How to make Chanel [IG] tweed suits once again a must-have for ‘it girls’ is surely a high priority on Matthieu Blazy’s October debut ‘To Do’ List.
Until then, in the Fall Winter 2025 campaign, we see Mona Tougaard out and about on the streets of Paris. As for rewriting codes, that’s Blazy’s job and this was a caretaker collection now on view in campaign images by Mikael Jansson [IG].
Actor Lindsay Lohan covers the Summer 2025 issue of ELLE US [IG], styled by Alex White in fake fur coats and jackets from Balenciaga, Balmain, David Koma, Dolce & Gabbana, Elisabetta Franchi, Fleur du Mal, Isabel Marant, Khaite, Ludovic de Saint Sernin, Roberto Cavalli, Zadig & Voltaire and more. / Hair by Ward stegerhoek; makeup by Kristofer Buckle
Chris Colls [IG] photographs Lohan, who is busy promoting her ‘Freaky Friday’ sequel and her leading role in Hulu’s adaptation of ‘Count My Lies’ by Sophia Stava.
Lohan’s upcoming sequel ‘Freakier Friday’, also starring Jamie Lee Curtis, opens on Aug 8th nationally, more than two decades after ‘Freaky Friday’ became a 2003 box office and cultural sensation, inspired by Lohan’s role as Anna Coleman.
Actor Dakota Johnson is photographed by Tom Schirmacher [IG] for ELLE UK’s [IG] June 2025 cover story. Heathermary Jackson styles actor in 16Arlington, Ferragamo, Gucci, Ralph Lauren Collection, Simone Rocha and more./ Hair by Mark Townsend; makeup by Georgie Eisdell
The A24 Made film ‘Materialists’ never set out to be a blockbuster. With a production budget of $20 million, the film has earned about $30.4 million in North America and $9.7 million internationally, as of July 31th. Translated, by managing its production budget and producing a charming film that has gotten excellent reviews, the ‘Materialists has met all of its goals.
ELLE UK’s [IG] ‘Good Jeans’ September 2025 fashion story needs a heads up that the ‘Woke’ Police are accusing American Eagle of promoting eugenics with their new campaign ‘Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.’
In the ELLE UK fashion story Dutch model Anne Spoel is styled by Holly Gorst in images by Magnus Lechner [IG]. / Hair by Hiroshi Matsushita; makeup by Faye Bluff
Saint Laurent [IG] releases what it calls its AW25 women’s campaign, a steamy slice of life shot by Mert Alas [IG] in LA. Saint Laurent’s Anthony Vaccarello brings Kate Moss and Chloë Sevigny together for the first time in a sensual encounter called ‘Velvet Heat’.
90s top model Frankie Rayder also joins the campaign, adding a note of professional sobriety to the proceedings.
Model Bibi Abdulkadir takes a cover for the July 2025 issue of Vogue Czechoslovakia [IG], lensed by Luka Booth [IG] in a gorgeous fashion story ‘I Hope This Issue Finds You Well’.
Kawa H. Pour styles the Somali-British model raised in north London in Chanel, Dior, Dolce & Gabbana, Elisabetta Franchi, Maison Alaia and more at the Bab Al Shams Desert Resort in Dubai./ Makeup by Ruby Mazuel; hair by Ildana Khalitova
Humanism 101: Polo Ralph Lauren x Oak Bluffs: A Portrait of the American Dream
Writing about the Ralph Lauren Pre-Fall 2025 Campaign in early July, I noted that the Ralph Lauren name — and especially Polo Ralph Lauren — carries great symbolism and respect in the Black community.
Two Humanists: Cucinelli and Lauren
My retraction comes from this early July 2025 statement in this post:
No one articulates humanist values like Brunello Cucinelli, but Ralph is way up there delivering major marketing changes but without a visual bullhorn.
With the release of Polo Ralph Lauren’s new Oak BluffCollection, its second collaboration with Morehouse College and Spelman College and their research and archival teams, I’m ending the competition in my mind between the two designers, great brand builders and global good guys. They are equal in my mind as global humanists after today.
Models Clara Benador and Sarah Emerson are styled by Laurent Dombrowicz in “Muse’, a high jewelry and luxury fashion story lensed by Noémi Ottilia Szabo [IG] for Citizen K International [IG]./ Hair by Mijo Majhen; makeup by Carole Lasnier
Models Diane Chiu, Hejia Li, Yilan Hua and Ying Ouyang are styled by Liu Xiao in ‘Too Busy’, a first look at Fall 2025 daytime, at-work luxury fashion. Photographers Kulesza & Pik [IG] are behind the lens for Vogue China [IG] August 2025./ Hair by Yoann Fernandez; makeup by Aurelia Liansberg
Shot-in-the head while sitting on her school-bus in 2012, Taliban gunman survivor Malala Yousafzai was among the British GQ Heroes 2025 honored in early July. AOC notes that Brunello Cucinelli was also among the artists, activists and radical thinkers at the two-day event and on the cover of British GQ’s special issue. We must track him down.
GQ’s interview by Adam Baidawi launches on a private practice golf range an hour southeast of London. And she is giving him instructions.
The Uncomfortable Truths for Activists
Much of the interview is devoted to all the back-sliding happening around the world on women’s rights — and especially in Afghanistan, where Malala is deeply involved in girl’s education. And how activism has gone lukewarm in many countries around the world.
Badawai asks a critical question:
What’s an uncomfortable truth about the work that you do?
AOC loves Paris and the south of France. But we’ve been saying for many months now that it’s an Italian moment, and nothing — not even the king of cashmere’s current Italian sweatshop scandal — will dampen AOC’s love affair with la dolce vita.
Fendi’s fall-winter 2025 campaign film begins with a visual dose of sophisticated retro nostalgia, peppered with modern reinvention. In speaking with WWD about the fall-winter 2025 collection, Silvia Venturini Fendi stressed the reality that the fall 2025 collection presents “a contemporary and comprehensive vision of the brand”.
Fendi is also aiming to convey this modern message with ancient roots with the inauguration of a new sprawling flagship on Milan’s Via Montenapoleone.
Anne Is Swept Away
Depending on your age, the soundtrack will completely sweep you away. OMG! Barry White.
If you have lived a privileged life resulting from family heritage — or are a working girl who made good and led a privileged life based on your smarts — and you regularly kissed the ground landing in Italia, you will be swooning.
Personally, Anne is destroyed with this campaign video.
The August 2025 issue of Bazaar France [IG] drops into Miami Beach with a fashion story starring model Libby Taverner. Photographer Max Farago [IG] captures the off-season fashion, on-the-prowl looks from Chanel, Khaite, Maison Alaia, Maison Valentino, Norma Kamali and more styled by James Valeri./ Hair by Tamas Tuzes; makeup by Susie Sobol
Actor Nicole Kidman made news last week with her skincare routine under scrutiny, now that the ‘Moulin Rouge’ actor became a new global ambassador for Clé de Peau Beauté [IG].
Clé de Peau Beauté has never pursued a superficial, external approach to physical beauty and the appointment emphasizes the shared values between the beauty brand and Nicole Kidman’s actions as a humanist.
Intelligent, Intentional, Illuminating Beauty
As a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador, the actor dedicates herself to advancing gender equality, supporting education, and combating violence against women. Her humanitarian work echoes Clé de Peau Beauté’s core mission: to empower individuals and transform beauty into a vehicle for confidence, purpose, and positive impact.
The July-August 2025 issue of Vogue Philippines [IG] feeds our wanderlust desire, a trait not experienced by all humans in the same way.
As always, AOC is on the hunt for new discovery and we found a lollapalooza-size surprise. There is a probable link between wanderlust and the DRD4-7R gene variant. Who knew?
In the fashion story ‘Brighter Days’, models Sandra Drifter, Brett Prendergast and Bronson Garel explore the fields of California, styled by Soaree Choen in vintage, Gucci, Kaiane Designs, Marni, Ronny Kobo, The Row and more.
Clearly, the terrain at Elizabeth Lake in the Sierra Pelona Mountains — pictured here — helped to create images awash in wildflowers, draped in sun-washed silks, retro tailoring, and a warm haze of memory captured eloquently in images by Charles Lu [IG]. / Makeup by Monique Mazer; hair by Terri Walker
We meet models Jessie Aina, Mia Armstrong and Paula Soares ‘Sur La Route’ to somewhere important. It seems like a good moment to say that Vogue France [IG] has improved infinitely in 2025 under the direction of Claire Thomson-Jonville [IG].
It’s one of the most visually-obvious media transformations in years, and she deserves praise for her efforts, her instincts, and her outreach. I’m sure she didn’t accomplish this change flying solo — but Thomson-Jonville is the hub of the wheel.
Dan Sablon styles the shoot, with images by Los Angeles based Noua Unu [IG] for Vogue France August 2025./ Hair by Tsuki; makeup by Kuma
Supermodel Isabeli Fontana suits up in clean, easy pieces for her Vogue Mexico & Latin America [IG] August 2025 cover story ‘La Victoria de Las Mujeres’. Fontana is styled by Moses Moreno and lensed by Zee Nunes [IG] in a celebration of female strength and elegance “that transcends fashion”.
Carmen Kass shares two covers for the July-August 2025 issue of Harper’s Bazaar Spain [IG]. Chanel dresses Kass on the cover above; below, the Estonian model wears Maison Valentino.
Other brands include Dior, Etro, Gucci, Loewe, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Miu Miu, Rabanne, YSL and more. Claudia Laukamp styles the sophsticated-lady fashion story in images by Rocio Ramos [IG]. / Makeup by Raquel Alvarez; hair by Jesús De Paula
Model Hedvig Palm is styled by Cristina Garcia Vivanco in a fashion story ‘En perfecto equilibrio’, a casual luxury editorial, anchored by Cartier’s high jewelry. Tomás de la Fuente [IG] is behind the lens for Telva [IG] Magazine August 2025./ Makeup by Ricardo Calero
