Rooster images by Arib Neko on Unsplash or Photo by Mika on Unsplash

‘Good Morning Vogue’

1) ‘Good Morning Vogue’ is a pilot project fashion news, a 12-part series every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of the Spring 2021 collections. GMV promises to “explore the challenges facing today’s creators and business leaders — from the nonstop pace of collections and the sense of disposability it’s precipitated, to a persistent lack of diversity and structural racism. It will introduce you to the changemakers helping to chart a new course for the industry. And, of course, it will showcase the excitement and joy that great fashion is still so capable of producing. “ Read more about the show at Vogue.com: The first episode aired on Monday, Sept. 14.

Arnaut to Tiffany: You Wanna Play Hardball? Game On!

Phone Image by Arno Senoner on Unsplash; Collage AOC

2. LVMH head Bernard Arnault is not amused — in fact, he is very angry that Tiffany & Co. decided to pay its shareholders a $70 million quarterly dividend in the middle of a global pandemic. Forbes writes that the deal has fallen apart not primarily by the intervention of the French government, in the form of a letter related to U.S. threats against French products.

Sources tell Forbes that the Tiffany & Co decision to pay out the $70 million dividends in May and August — and with no signal that they will hold on the payout scheduled for November — means they are “literally burning cash”, even though revenues have fallen precipitously and COVID-19 is not in control in the US or worldwide.

Arnault believes that without the $16 billion merger in process, there is no way Tiffany & Co would have made the generous payouts under current business conditions.

35 Plastic Bottles and A Watch

Image Courtesy Tom Ford. Design of Tom Ford Ocean Plastics Timepiece not yet revealed.

3. American designer Tom Ford will soon launch the first high-end wristwatch crafted entirely from recycled ocean plastic. The Swiss-made watch, called the Tom Ford Ocean Plastic Timepiece, tackles the world’s plastic waste problem of 8 million tons of plastic garbage pouring into the world’s oceans each year. The actual watch design is under wraps, but you can track the big reveal on tomford.com.

The timepiece is made from 100 percent plastic waste that is hauled from the ocean using carbon-neutral transportation and then compounded in Switzerland using solar energy. Estimates are that each watch will recycle 35 discarded plastic bottles.

Ford has partnered with American firm Bedrock Manufacturing Company, the parent company of Shinola and Fisson.

“In my opinion, ethical luxury is the greatest luxury of all”, Ford said in a statement. “It is incredibly appealing to know that you are not only wearing a high-quality product, but by simply owning the product you are also taking direct action to improve the planet.”

The Tom Ford Ocean Plastic timepiece will retail for $995 and will be available at Tom Ford boutiques worldwide, as well as online starting in November 2020.