MOTY is Here, Jean-Luc Brunel Arrested, and more of the news you missed

Notorious Model Agent Brunel Finally Arrested
Jean-Luc Brunel, the founder of Karin Models and MC2 Model Management, has been arrested after trying to board a flight from Paris to Dakar, Senegal. The former agent and investor has been under investigation by French authorities for rape and sexual assault allegations ranging from the 1980s until the 2010s. Brunel was a close ally of Jeffrey Epstein, and also faces charges of human trafficking and criminal conspiracy. Rumors regarding Brunel’s predatory behavior have circled within the industry since the 1970s. [Daily Beast]

Condé Nast Promotes and Fires
You would have thought they ran out of possible promotions in a year that sucked revenues dry, but Condé Nast unveiled this week that long-reigning editrix Anna Wintour has been named chief content officer for the global company, and will also serve as editorial director for Vogue worldwide. Edward Enninful was also promoted to European editorial director of Vogue U.K., France, Italy, Germany, and Spain. Condé also spread the consolidation wealth outside of Vogue with Amy Astley promoted to global editorial director of AD, Divia Thani to global editorial director of Condé Nast Traveler, and Will Welch to global editorial director of GQ. Yet what Condé gives, so does it take, and the promotion news came before WWD reports of layoffs of the podcast team at Vogue that had produced its podcast “In Vogue: The 1990s,” hosted by international editor at large Hamish Bowles.

Men’s Fashion Week Saunters On
When we all get back from holiday break, we’ll be smack dab in the middle of another fashion show season that will continue in its hybridized, “phygital” approach and will have many changes to the normally scheduled rhythm. January’s Fall 2021 menswear collections will start off with Milan this year, as London Men’s Fashion Week combines with the newly gender-neutral shows during London Fashion Week in February. The normally preceding Florentine trade show, Pitti Uomo, a fixture in the menswear calendar for years, has shifted its dates to a digital fair, Pitti Connect, between January 12- 14 then February 21-23 for a physical event. In Milan, heritage brands like Fendi, Etro, and Dolce & Gabbana will continue to flex their bank accounts with live audience shows while Raf-Simons’ debut for Prada menswear will be shown digitally. [VOGUE]

MatchesFashion Names Global Fashion Officer
Luxury retailer MatchesFashion has promoted buying director Natalie Kingham to global fashion officer. This comes after the company announced that Elizabeth von der Goltz would be leaving Net-a-Porter to take up the role of chief commercial officer. In a statement, Kingham said of her new role: “I’m looking forward to evolving MatchesFashion’s proposition and continuing to showcase an innovative curation of designer talent.” [Fashionista]

Mother Management’s Tribute to 2020
Mother Management (St. Louis), the world renowned mother agency who discovered Ashton Kutcher, Karlie Kloss, Grace Hartzel, Alanna Arrington, Jay Wright and Myla Dalbesio, comes out with a “Virtual Tribute of Reflection, Kindness and Hope”. During “normal” times, they hold an annual event, called Tribute, celebrating their models but 2020 was anything but a normal year. From founders Mary and Jeff Clarke: “Like everyone, we spent a lot of time early in the pandemic having serious discussions with our models about what this new reality meant for them,” said Mary Clarke. “What was interesting however is instead of being filled with concern, our conversations were incredibly meaningful. While we had discovered them, and this was what should’ve been their breakout year, they had discovered something much more important – themselves. We knew we had to capture the beauty of their resilience, kindness and hope.” “During times like this, creativity sparks and everyone involved in the project felt the energy and positivity of what we were making,” added Jeff Clarke. “We hope the words spoken by our models are inspiring to everyone in the world of fashion and beyond.” [Mother Management’s Virtual Tribute 2020]

Vote for Model Of The Year 2020
As 2020 comes to a close you no doubt have plenty of opinions on the year that was. Vote for the names you thought rang out this year in our annual Model of the Year Awards and let the world know who you thought had the most impact. [Model of the Year 2020: Reader’s Choice]

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