148 posts tagged "Louis Vuitton"
Designers Flock to Daytime Feathers
“There are boys and girls, there is night and day, but above all there is love,” Dries Van Noten told Style.com’s Tim Blanks backstage before a Fall show that balanced the masculinity of Fred Astaire with the overt femininity of Ginger Rogers in Top Hat. The Belgian designer (who might want to consider a second career as a poet) mixed menswear fabrics in tailored silhouettes with frothy feathers for a result that was surprisingly realistic for daytime. Although plumage is typically reserved for special occasions, we couldn’t help but notice that many of this season’s collections were filled with afternoon-appropriate quills. The Proenza Schouler boys paired a tiered ostrich skirt with a degradé novelty sweatshirt, while Christopher Kane trimmed biker jackets and kicky kilt skirts with the downy stuff. Used sparingly—as seen at Erdem, Pringle of Scotland, and Louis Vuitton—feathers offered an unexpected alternative to fur accents. We have a feeling the peacocking street-style set, in particular, will take to this trend.
CLICK FOR A SLIDESHOW of noteworthy Fall plumage.
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?” »
In Paris, Superstars and Fresh Faces Made Model Magic
Fashion saves the best for last, and Paris is usually where the magic happens—both in terms of creative collections and memorable modeling moments. This season, the city definitely delivered. Case in point: Kate Moss closing Louis Vuitton on the final day of shows. She’s done it before, and she’ll probably do it again, but a Moss runway appearance is always major. The rest of the Vuitton cast didn’t disappoint, either. Edita Vilkeviciute, Eliza Cummings, Georgia May Jagger, Isabeli Fontana, Jessica Hart, and Maryna Linchuk were a few of the other familiar faces on Jacobs’ catwalk. Earlier in the week, Riccardo Tisci brought in some of his favorite ladies, including Natalia Vodianova, Mariacarla Boscono, and Erin Wasson, to parade his electrifying lineup for Givenchy. Fall ’13′s freshman class of models also ended the month with a bang. Forget New York, London, and Milan. For newcomers looking to make an impression (read: land ad campaigns), Paris is the one city that really counts. Many of the girls we’ve had our eye on since the beginning kept the momentum going in France. Sam Rollinson finished out with sixty-two shows; Sasha Luss (lower left) ended with fifty-seven; Chiharu Okunugi totaled fifty-four; and Katya Riabinkina (upper left) did forty-seven. Amanda Murphy, who bookended Prada, turned it up a notch this week, too, walking nine top-tier shows, including Dries Van Noten, Lanvin, Dior, Stella McCartney, and Chanel. Meanwhile, we’ve also got our eye on Elise Smidt (upper right), who opened Chloé and Sacai and turned up at Valentino, Vuitton, and Miu Miu; and Elisabeth Erm (lower right), who started out relatively slow in New York but made all the right moves toward the end (Balenciaga, Chanel, Dior, Givenchy, Giambattista Valli, and Valentino). Keep an eye out for these faces in the coming months’ editorials. We have a feeling they’ll appear on more than a few pages.
A New Fleece On Life For Shearling
When temperatures dropped and snow started to fall during the recent menswear and couture collections in Paris, showgoers and the city itself were caught off guard. Try putting down salt next time, s’il vous plaît. But we’re not all complaints. The unexpected weather gave rise to a flurry of toasty shearling coats in the streets (see: Mirte Maas and Caroline de Maigret) that echoed the action on the runways (Louis Vuitton, Kenzo, Bouchra Jarrar). Designers were feeling sheepish for pre-fall, too. Technicolor furs turned up at Fendi and Cédric Charlier, while Acne Studios and Céline went supersize. All in all, this is the most jazzed we’ve been about shearling since Kate Hudson stole our hearts as Penny Lane in Almost Famous.
CLICK FOR A SLIDESHOW of surefire shearlings.
—Brittany Adams
Here Comme-s Peter Cottontail
The bunny ear trend has come full circle. Comme des Garçons’ Rei Kawakubo first led us down the proverbial rabbit hole back in 2007, when she showed black eared caps with her pink and purple fall collection. Next came the long wiry taffeta versions that Marc Jacobs sent down Louis Vuitton’s Fall runway in 2009. (Madonna wore them to the MET Ball—in sea foam—shortly thereafter.) The same year, Maison Michel released their lacy take on the trend, which was (and still is) worn by everyone from Lady Gaga to the Olsen twins to Lily Allen to Poppy Delevingne. Eugenia Kim was next, releasing her felt-eared cap—favored by Charlotte Dellal (technically, we think those were cat ears, but let’s not split hares.). And today, Comme des Garçons sent us back down the bunny trail with its Fall ’13 menswear collection, showing Stephen Jones-designed black leather baseball caps crowned with giant rabbit (and, it would appear, Mickey Mouse) ears. We’re all about (tasteful) novelty headgear, so when it comes to a bunny-topped Fall ’13, we say hop to it.