Couture. Here’s what happened…
Balmain reopened the couture oyster. Valentino made Celine Dion cry. Viktor & Rolf had some choice words. Gaultier was over-the-top and angular. Margiela was a hallucination and Iris Van Herpen was a dream. Vauthier was black, and white and glittered all over. Editors wondered where was Karl at Chanel and Dior was a circus. We could go into more detail but we’ll let the images in our database, speak for themelves.
Conde Nast is Rolling Out a Paywall
After the success of paywalls at The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, and Wired outgoing CEO, Bob Sauerberg, unveiled plans to roll out paywalls for its remaining U.S. titles by the end of 2019, including its most valuable title, Vogue. Explaining the à la carte system in a memo to staff, Sauerberg stated: “Just as we did for each of the brands currently behind paywalls, we will let consumer demand and engagement dictate how each brand develops their paid content strategy.” [WWD]
Vogue Runway Is Charging Some Brands to Post Their Collection Images
What is probably bad news for independent, up-and-coming designers, this week it was leaked that Vogue Runway has for at least three seasons charged $20,000 for designers to have their collections appear next to industry bigwigs like Gucci or Louis Vuitton. The fee does not include reviews or additional written content, just the clout of being labeled next to other brands, and it’s not currently indicated who has paid the fee. Whether it’s a desperate cash grab or a beneficial strategy to those hoping to be seriously considered in the industry remains to be seen. [BOF]
Bruno Sialelli is Lanvin’s new creative director
After a long hiatus, Lanvin has named the relatively unknown Bruno Sialelli, 31, as its creative director. Sialelli, formerly from Loewe, is tasked with navigating the long-standing French house back into the women’s market with a fresh perspective. Lanvin was recently bought by the Chinese conglomerate Fosun International, who are hoping to compete with multinational luxury conglomerates like Kering and LVMH. The brand’s newly appointed chief executive Jean-Philippe Hecque released a statement saying they were convinced by Sialelli’s, “singular and very personal vision, his audacity, his culture, his energy and ability to build a strong creative team.” The New York Times reports that we could see the new Lanvin as soon as the upcoming Paris Fashion Week. [The New York Times]
LVMH announces 16 new experts to its Prize panel
The LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers has added 16 new experts to its panel, now totaling 62, that both choose candidates and select the competition’s eight finalists. LVMH lists each on their site: Rami Atallah, founder of the fashion platform Ssense; Naomi Campbell, top model and philanthropist; Marie Chaix, fashion director at Double Magazine; Edward Enninful OBE, editor-in-chief of British Vogue; Chiara Ferragni, digital entrepreneur and CEO of Tbs Crew; Angelo Flaccavento, fashion journalist; Ashley Heath, editorial director at Pop and Arena Homme+; Joerg Koch, editor-in-chief of 032c; Suzanne Koller, fashion director of M Le Monde magazine; Kevin Ma, founder and CEO of the Hypebeast; Ezra Petronio, editor-in-chief of Self Service; Loïc Prigent, filmmaker; Aimee Song, founder of Song of Style; Aizel Trudel, founder of the fashion platform Aizel; Elizabeth von Guttman and Alexia Niedzielski, founders of the magazine System and of Fashion Tech. You can see the full list of 62 specialists, that includes the likes of Pat McGrath, Natalia Vodianova, Emmanuelle Alt and others on LVMH’s website. The semi-finals will be held on March 1st and 2nd of 2019. [LVMH]
Zuo Ye, the model in Dolce & Gabbana’s offensive commercial says it nearly ruined her career
Zuo Ye, who partially starred in Dolce & Gabbana’s now infamous blunder––the racially tone-deaf commercials that sparked online backlash and boycotts of the brand––addressed the experience, saying it nearly ruined her career and apologized for her participation on her Weibo account Monday. In the lengthy post, Zuo Ye wrote, “Personally I would never show any disrespect to my motherland. I love my country and feel proud to be able to represent China on the catwalk,” continuing on to say, “I will draw a lesson from this and show the Chinese in a better light. Again, I apologise to my fellow countrymen.” The model claims she was unaware of the concept beyond eating Italian delicacies with chopsticks and felt awkward during the filming for the ad that preluded a Shanghai fashion show for the brand (that was canceled). [South China Morning Post]
