Zendaya Is Prada Beauty’s Newest Global Ambassador
Between The Odyssey press tour, a Spider-Man rollout, and the upcoming Dune: Part Three movie, Zendaya has spent the better part of this year in front of cameras and on red carpets, but people have been paying attention to more than just the outfits. So what is her favorite scent? Prada Paradoxe Intense Sweet Chemistry. A fragrance she has long worn, which makes her recent appointment as Prada Beauty’s global ambassador feel less like a deal and more like a natural progression. “I love how Paradoxe celebrates complexity, capturing both strength and vulnerability without trying to frame or define someone,” she said. “For me, the fragrances we choose are a reflection of how we move through the world. Joining the brand feels like a completely natural extension of that mindset, especially since Paradoxe was already a personal favorite.” [Harper’s Bazaar]
The Pirelli Calendar 2027 Is a Love Letter to India
The 2027 Pirelli Calendar is the first in the publication’s history to put India at its center, and the story behind it is as powerful as the images. Raghu Rai, the Indian photojournalism pioneer who documented his country for more than five decades, died in April at 83, partway through his contribution to the calendar. His daughter Avani Rai, who is also a photographer, stepped in to complete what he had started. Rather than replicate his vision, she took his unfinished work into the streets of Old Delhi, where he spent a lifetime shooting, positioning his original prints within their original locations and photographing the past alongside the present. Norwegian photographer Sølve Sundsbø, returning for a second consecutive year, shot his images in Rajasthan. The cast is entirely Indian and spans cinema, music, poetry, food, fashion, and photography. Lakshmi Menon, a Models.com Industry Icon, and Bhavitha Mandava, currently on the Models.com Hot List, alongside actors Freida Pinto, Aditi Rao Hydari, actor Avantika Vandanapu, the latter who recently joined the cast of American Horror Story Season 13, musician Anoushka Shankar, poet Rupi Kaur, Padma Lakshmi, who appeared in the 2024 Pirelli Calendar shot by Ethan James Green, and photographer Avani Rai herself, photographed by Sundsbø. The calendar releases in October. [Vogue India]
LVMH Posts First Quarterly Fashion Growth in Two Years
Luxury’s most closely watched results landed this week. LVMH’s fashion and leather goods division returned to growth in Q2, up 1 percent to €8.90 billion after seven consecutive quarters of decline, against group half-year revenue of €38.6 billion. The credit, worth paying attention to, goes to Jonathan Anderson, whose Dior collections have already registered commercially, alongside Louis Vuitton’s new flagships in Beijing and Seoul and an 11 percent surge in watches and jewelry, driven by Tiffany’s and Bulgari. The market sent shares down 1.3 percent, however analysts had expected 1.7 percent. [WWD]
Iris van Herpen Invited Visitors to Help Make a Dress at Brooklyn Museum Exhibit
On July 24, Iris van Herpen sat down inside her own retrospective at the Brooklyn Museum and handed visitors a needle. The performance, called Sculpting the (Un)Spoken, invited museum-goers to help construct a new look in real time through conversation and meditative handwork. Each person’s hand anatomy and individual movement shaped variations in texture across the dress, and the most memorable moments from those conversations will be embroidered into the finished piece’s interior. The garment will carry the voices of strangers within its seams, a reminder that couture has never truly been made by one pair of hands alone. It is a fitting extension of Sculpting the Senses, the exhibition on view since May 16 and running through December 6, which brings together more than 140 haute couture creations alongside scientific artifacts, fossils, and works by artists including Nick Knight and Tim Walker. The show traces Van Herpen’s 19-year practice at the intersection of couture, technology, and the natural world. [Brooklyn Museum]
Raúl Martinez on Shaping the Global Image of Vogue
Three decades. Three chapters at Condé Nast. When Raúl Martinez returned to Vogue as Global Creative Director, he took on the challenge of shaping the visual identity across 12 global editions, including the U.S., U.K., India, Japan, China, and beyond. Working alongside Anna Wintour since 1988, co-founding AR New York, and later redefining Victoria’s Secret’s visual language through greater authenticity and diversity, Martinez has spent his career changing how we see beauty, celebrity, and pop culture. Now, back where it all began, he’s helping define what comes next for Vogue and for the next generation of image-makers. Filmed at Condé Nast HQ and directed by Will Pippin for Models.com, watch the full conversation with Editorial Director Irene Ojo-Felix here.
Nicola Scarlino on Creating Architectural Sets with a Cinematic Edge
Set designer Nicola Scarlino took an unconventional path into design, first training as a mechanical engineer with a focus on Mandarin before working across Asia and eventually relocating to New York. In 2019, he shifted to a more creative perspective, but the engineer in him never disappeared. Today, he builds every project in 3D long before it’s constructed, reflecting the meticulous, methodical approach that defines his work. In the latest Behind the Image, Scarlino discusses creating the set for Charli xcx’s SS26 music video, what inspires his work, and designing his first fashion show set for Willy Chavarria F/W 26. Read the full interview here by Anire Ikomi.
In Brooklyn’s Indie Hip-Hop Scene, Fashion and Music Converge Effortlessly
“Each of these independent scenes proves that Black multi-hyphenates are further cementing Brooklyn as an integral component within the larger landscape of New York City’s fashion industry.” In the latest Pro News feature, Robyn Mowatt speaks to the music scene of Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, centered on Mecca, an ongoing party series created by Marion B. Kelly II and Milton D. Dixon III. The two stylists, DJs, and multi-hyphenates, originally from the Lowcountry of South Carolina and Pompano Beach, Florida, have built a party that demands a level of eclecticism from attendees. Mowatt discusses the collaborations behind Mecca and its collectivist ecosystem. Get a sneak peek of the interview here, and access all of Pro News by upgrading here.
MDC Selects: Meet the New Faces Taking Unexpected Paths
Meet this week’s MDC Selects. Find out who accidentally launched a modeling career by DMing a stranger, who was scouted on the way home after taking a last-minute detour, and who opened a hair salon at 19. Find the full interviews here.
