79 posts tagged "Gucci"
Style At Your Fingertips
Aside from maybe a tiara, nothing heightens the glamour of a full-on evening look quite like a pair of gloves. Eye-catching gauntlets turned up on the Lanvin, Gucci, and Oscar de la Renta Fall runways. And at last week’s high-wattage Met Gala, divas from Madonna to Beyoncé to Paloma Faith covered up their digits with statement-making pairs of varying lengths. Kim Kardashian’s custom Givenchy number was the talk of the town, but what really piqued our interest was the gown’s built-in gloves, which prompted speculation that Kim was concealing an engagement ring (you know Kanye would go all out with a rock for his baby mama).
We predict we’ll be seeing more gloves at Cannes. Here, a show of hands.
Is India The Next Big Player in Luxury Retail?
Prada is reported to be in talks for an India entry. Alexander McQueen, Dolce & Gabbana, and Stella McCartney are exploring real estate for stand-alone stores. After opening his first boutique in New Delhi last year, Christian Louboutin is readying himself for a Mumbai launch. This year marks the tenth anniversary of Louis Vuitton’s presence in India—it was the first luxury brand to set foot in the country. Is India finally reawakening to luxury? Historically, it’s a country familiar with all things luxe. After all, in 1925, India’s Sir Bhupinder Singh, the Maharaja of Patiala, granted Cartier its single largest commission: the remodeling of his crown jewels, a collection that included an exquisite 234.69-carat De Beers diamond. Vuitton’s gilded links with India go back well over a century, when the Maharajas of Jammu and Kashmir, Bikaner and Baroda, ordered customized trunks from the company.
Then came freedom. For almost forty-four years after Independence, socialist India snapped all ties with luxury. It’s only in the last decade that the romance has rekindled. And it has to do with math. With a population surpassing 1.22 billion, and 81 million households falling into the upper middle class and high-income bracket, India is a serious market for luxury players. In fact, statistics show that India is one of the fastest-growing and largest luxury markets, with sales expected to touch $15 billion by 2015—nearly double what they are today. In November last year, Gucci opened its fifth and largest India store, spanning 4,220 square feet across two floors in Gurgaon, Delhi’s satellite city. Patrizio di Marco, president and CEO, noted, “The flagship store underscores Gucci’s commitment to India. This is our fifth store in this unique country, where we have been operating directly since the end of 2009, and it is a testament to the importance that we are placing on this fast-growing and competitive market.”
But Kalyani Chawla, vice president of marketing and communications at Christian Dior, insists India is taking baby steps. And she is right. The Western notion of luxury hit Indian shores only ten years ago. It’s still a country of salwar kameezes and saris. But the Indian buyer has grown interested in fashion, investing small but precious sums in brands. “Dior has seen a steady and encouraging growth. As is the case globally with most brands, accessories are doing very well [and] clothing is picking up,” she says, noting that this is partly due to the fact that Western wear has finally slipped into a bride’s wedding trousseau. And for Indians, marriage is the occasion for which discerning buyers splurge. Dior launched in 2006, and has three stores across the country. Continue Reading “Is India The Next Big Player in Luxury Retail?” »
A Girl For Gucci
On Saturday, just eleven days after taking her bow at Gucci’s Fall 2013 show in Milan, creative director Frida Giannini and her husband, Gucci CEO Patrizio di Marco, welcomed their first child, a baby girl named Greta, into the world. We see lots of Gucci Baby in little Greta’s future.
Modelizing Milan
Milan is notoriously regarded as a difficult city for new models. But it’s not hard to see why big-name labels like Versace and Gucci prefer to cast established catwalkers like Joan Smalls, Karlie Kloss, and Karmen Pedaru: Veterans simply know how to carry sexy clothes. That said, many of the rookies we’ve had our eyes on since the beginning of the season have proven that they can strut toe-to-toe with the big girls. Chiharu Okunugi, Sam Rollinson, Sasha Luss, and Katya Riabinkina, in particular, seem to be at the top of most casting directors’ lists this season. We’re also going to add Manuela Frey, a Spring ’13 Saint Laurent exclusive who opened Calvin Klein in New York and did turns at Dolce & Gabbana, Bottega Veneta, and Emilio Pucci in Italy. She’s kept up the momentum so far in Paris, with appearances at Dries Van Noten, Rochas, and Damir Doma.
Perhaps the best way to evaluate Milan’s crop of newcomers is to compare two of the week’s most hyped shows: Prada, which is cast by Ashley Brokaw, and Jil Sander, which is cast by Maida & Rami. Both are characteristically chock-full of unknowns, but there was more of an overlap than usual this season. Girls who walked both include past Balenciaga exclusives Juliane Gruner and Kirstin Kragh Liljegren (who actually opened Balenciaga last season). At Prada, they were sandwiched in between well-known faces such as Mariacarla Boscono, Liisa Winkler, Adriana Lima, Kirsten Owen, Jessica Stam, Iselin Steiro, and Esther de Jong (easily one of our favorite casts thus far), as well as a few more novices like Maartje Verhoef (above, left), Elise Smidt, and Jessa Brown, who also did Sander. As we move into the Paris shows, we’ll have our eyes peeled for these girls and a few others, including Amanda Murphy (above, right), who bookended Prada after opening Proenza Schouler, and then followed that up with appearances at Dries Van Noten and H&M today.
Speaking of, H&M turned out a cast of heavy hitters (you can chalk that up to a mega-budget and George Cortina’s styling), including Arizona Muse, Cara Delevingne, Daphne Groeneveld, Delfine Bafort, Edita Vilkeviciute, Isabeli Fontana, Joan Smalls, and closer Malgosia Bela.
Milan Puts Young Talent In The Corner
Milan may be known for fashion powerhouses like Prada, Gucci, and Versace, but it seems the city has room for the little guy, too. Since 2011, YOOX Group’s luxury e-boutique, Thecorner.com, and Vogue Italia have been supporting emerging talents through their initiative The Vogue Talents Corner—a project that both highlights up-and-coming designers with an exhibition during Milan fashion week, and helps them build a retail presence by offering their wares on the shopping site. This year, the initiative champions eleven young ready-to-wear and accessories brands from across the globe, like Palmer//Harding (a shirt-centric range by Levi Palmer and Matthew Harding), Kristy Ward (necklace pictured left), Kzeniya (an accessories line by Kzeniya Oudenot, clutch pictured left) Vs2R (a footwear label by Vincenzo Somarrelli, pictured left) and J JS Lee (a ready-to-wear line by Jackie Lee, top pictured left). Each brand will showcase its Fall ’13 collection in an installation at the Palazzo Morando, which opens tonight. “For the most part, it’s instinct. And sometimes it’s simply what we like!” said Yoox.com founder and CEO Federico Marchetti when asked about the selection process. Marchetti explained that he looks for designers who exemplify creativity and innovation, and that this year he was particularly impressed by the group’s focus on craftsmanship and “excellent” materials. Looks from the eleven selected designers’ Spring ’13 collections will be available from today, on www.thecorner.com.