Designer Manfred Thierry Mugler Passes
This week, another tragic passing for the fashion community was announced with Sunday’s news of the passing of legendary French designer Thierry Mugler at age 73. Mugler’s strong silhouettes, unconventional materials, and theatrical runway presentations transformed supermodels (and a few celebrities) into angels, mystical creatures, and robots in his over-the-top designs. Mugler was undeniably a celebrity favorite part of pop culture moments while dressing Beyonce, Kim Kardashian, Diana Ross, George Michael, David Bowie, Cardi B, and many more over the course of his decades-long career. [NYT]
Thom Browne plans to show F/W 22 collection in April
Thom Browne is the latest designer to announce his plans to skip NYFW in February. Alternatively, Browne will showcase the dual-gender Fall/Winter 2022 collection on Friday, April 29th. Browne like many other designers has faced manufacturing delays and staffing shrinkage due to the spread of the Omicron variant. The designer will still showcase a digital project during NYFW that “will explore themes showcased in the fall collection” and said in regards to Covid-19, “We’re getting ahead of it as opposed to scrambling towards the end.” [BoF]
Two Collections are in store for Gucci
Luxury Italian brand Gucci is set to present two co-ed shows during Q1-Q2. The first co-ed collection will be displayed during Milan Fashion Week, while the other debuts on May 16th during cruise season (but don’t you dare call it that). No word out on what the May collection will be called but the dates align with Michele’s strategy to renounce “the worn-out ritual of seasonalities and shows to regain a new cadence, closer to my expressive call.” [WWD]
LVMH’s Bernard Arnault Stance on the Metaverse
The chairman and CEO of LVMH Bernard Arnault made it clear that the conglomerate is not making any plans to venture into the metaverse, as of yet. Arnault said, “Let me start by saying that it’s a purely virtual world and until now, we are in the real world and we sell real products. To be sure, it’s compelling, it’s interesting, it can even be quite fun. We have to see what are the applications of this metaverse and these NFTs.” This is unlike Kering, whose brands Gucci and Balenciaga have been exploring the virtual world. Last year, Gucci sold a digital version of their Dionysus Bag created for the Roblox marketplace and just recently partnered with Superplastic with NFT’s coming out in February, while Balenciaga created a dedicated team to continue its presence in the virtual world. [WWD]
