2023-03-31

MARY KATRANTZOU X BVLGARI Presents The Serpenti Limited Edition Handbags Inspired by The Wonders of Nature

Mary Katrantzou x BVLGARI presents a new collaboration under the sign of the ever-evolving Serpenti emblem. The mini-capsule collection includes 3 Serpenti Limited Edition bags offering an exclusive glimpse into the reign of the mythical serpent. An enchanting world made of lush gardens, blooming flowers and fascinating creatures, where BVLGARI’s most iconic signs and jewellery motifs are rebirthed with originality and dare.

The iconic top handle style chosen for this special collaboration and famed for its irresistible versatility, is here topped by the unmistakable snakehead closure, already reinterpreted by Mary Katrantzou for her first collaboration with BVLGARI, while the structured body of the bag becomes the white canvas to host the designer’s creative vision. Dubbed “The Queen of Prints” for her exuberant, poetic and maximalist creations, for the capsule collection Mary Katrantzou realizes real Haute Couture works, with three-dimensional trompe-l'œil embroideries interpreting wondrous scenes from the natural world, all flawlessly executed by the master artisans of the Atelier Montex in Paris.

An emblem of personal development, uniqueness and individual beauty, for the Serpenti Tree of Life bag the symbolic tree becomes a stunning metaphor of BVLGARI’s unrivalled aesthetics and sources of inspiration. In a whimsical, almost surrealist composition, BVLGARI’s High Jewellery elements cascade from the Tree of Life as if they were precious fruits, while the tree’s dazzling trunk and branches conjure the body of a Serpenti jewellery creation studded with diamonds. With more than 1,400 glass beads, 300 crystal beads and 410 glass tubes among other decorative elements, the bag represents a marriage of jewellery inspiration, leather goods artistry and Haute Couture savoir faire, which required about 100 hours of to be completed.


Drawing from the lush and enchanting landscapes found in the artful dials of BVLGARI’s Il Giardino Tropicale, Il Giardino Paradiso and Il Giardino Notturno watch series, the Serpenti Tropical Garden bag is an invitation to dive into the magic, mystery and spellbinding beauty of a garden of wonders. Colourful birds fly from palm to palm, while sparkling flowers reminiscent of BVLGARI’s jewellery floral motifs bloom among the luxuriant and verdant garden. In the background, the sky fades from light blue to blue, capturing that magical moment when the day turns into night. A masterpiece of craft achieved in 105 hours of work and featuring more than 1,800 decorative elements meticulously hand-sewn and set on the bag’s body.


Playing on the beautiful contrast between the black background and the vibrant embroidery, the
 Serpenti Midnight Garden bag delivers a nocturnal interpretation of BVLGARI’s enchanting garden of wonders. As a timeless symbol of beauty and refinement, a stunning peacock takes centre stage in the midst of a jubilation of colourful flowers, evoking the Divas’ Dream creations glorifying the mythical bird. Completed in 60 hours of skilful craftsmanship, the bag boasts almost 1,500 glass beads and tubes, crystal stones and paillettes, all masterfully sewn and set by hand.


2023-03-27

MONCLER Introduces A New Season of MONCLER Trailgrip

Debuted in AW2022, the Trailgrip sneaker channels Moncler’s authentic mountain DNA, making light of challenging outdoor terrain with highest-specification technology. Epitomizing utilitarian luxury, the Trailgrip’s distinctive rugged design and assemblage of world-leading technical fabrications ensures ultimate traction, comfort, and protection for the trail ahead. For SS2023, this signature style is remixed with new colorways and premium lighter-weight fabrics, designed for blazing trails on the mountain, or the city.

A new variation of the signature Trailgrip uses lighter-weight fabrics and breathable mesh in the upper, launching in new colorways such as neon pink (women’s) and purple (men’s). The indomitable Trailgrip GTX made with Gore-Tex returns in classic mono black and white styles as part of the brands core offer.

The Trailgrip Lite offers high-specification technical power in a slimmed-down silhouette, weighing in at 23% less than its winter counterpart. The Trailgrip’s supreme comfort and protection has been retained through best-in-industry technical partnerships: Vibram Megagrip compound soles offer incomparable grip, great traction and excellent durability; an EVA midsole brings cushioning and lightness; OrthoLite insole technology ensures all-day comfort and breathability, and a carbon fiber footplate adds supreme rebound and support. Moncler teams up with two authentic voices in the luxury sneaker space and each will carry an exclusive colorway of the Trailgrip Lite. END will launch a desert-toned design with bold red accents on March 6th and SSENSE will launch a style in sleek black and white a few weeks later.

2023-03-24

Maison Valentino Presents UNBOXING Valentino Advertising Campaign

 Maison Valentino reveals the new UNBOXING Valentino advertising campaign shot by Steven Meisel at the Highline Stages Studio in New York. Unboxing as an idea, the idea of community through individuality. An action leading to the essential, the intentional removal of what exceeds. It is subtraction, not absence. Fashion has always to be related to the body. The body of all human beings. Pierpaolo Piccioli opens to all individuals by embracing their diverse personalities, desires, and imperfections as fashion needs to be molded by humanity and invaded by reality. The language of couture in the ready to wear alphabet. Tailoring contaminated by couture codes. A solved complexity in shape and volumes. Genderless items revised through an inclusive process creating a wardrobe that embraces identities and shapes; that enhance the personality and liberate the form, allowing a freedom of choice in the celebration of individuality. The Unboxing Valentino collection campaign is the portrait of a moment. The portrait of a new generation. A portrait of fashion, freedom of expression and the power of beauty. Pierpaolo Piccioli chose a cast of characters with a strong identity, to convey his idea of beauty. He looks for humans, real people make things easier. They put the extraordinary in a familiar frame. A collective exploration of diverse personalities to dwell the Maison community, like a Warhol factory, through Steven Meisel’s lens. Meisel is one of fashion industry’s most iconic photographers, best known for his work for Vogue US and Vogue Italia. The Valentino campaign is inspired by the renowned editorial ‘The Group’ shot by Meisel himself for Vogue Italia in 1999. Photography is the most powerful tool that fashion has to express itself as it evocates a collective unconscious that is able to detect. Steven Meisel also directs the video of the campaign, creating a connection between fixed and in loop images that repeat themselves until the group, which includes Pierpaolo Piccioli, reunites all together. In the aura, the notes of the soundtrack by the Cocteau Twins. It is the urgency to narrate a choral and powerful story through each individual of the campaign: an unboxing of roles, desires, imperfections and identity. Each image reveals portraits of singles and group characters that narrate a generation free to dare.

#UnboxingValentino

2023-03-20

Alexander McQueen: Mind, Mythos, Muse 心靈、神話、繆斯特展 - 墨爾本現場直擊 Part II

Alexander McQueen: Mind, Mythos, Muse
心靈,神話,繆斯特展 
墨爾本現場直擊
11 Dec 2022 – 16 APR 2023
(下)

 

是次位于南半球的Alexander McQueen时尚特展跨越分别名为Mythos、Fashioned Narratives、Technique & Innovation和Evolution & Existence四大主题。Mythos 探索了三个系列,其灵感来自神话和宗教信仰体系,结合对不同文化和艺术历史的视觉参考运作。2010/11的Untitled (Angels and Demons) 秋冬系列借鉴了黑暗时代 “to find light and beauty”(寻找光明与美)的艺术,借用来自意大利和北部文艺复兴时期的艺术为创作蓝本,而2006的Neptune春夏系列却看到设计师借鉴了古典艺术的意象时期而激发创作灵感以及2000的Eye春夏系列充斥著中东考古的神秘情怀。这些宜古宜今的系列展示了 McQueen 令人印象深刻的艺术素材,同时也突出了在他的职业生涯中以时装设计为特色及向外寻求灵感的做法。

 

Fashioned Narratives的主题展区反映了Lee对世界建设的好奇和嗜好,强调了四个讲述原创故事或重新想象过去事件的系列。 这些作品植根于 McQueen 的个人历史,浪漫化的叙事集去探索权力、迫害、暴力和生存的主题。在2007/08 秋冬系列In Memory of Elizabeth How, Salem, 1692中,McQueen 的家谱可追溯到殖民时期的Massachusetts州来纪念和缅怀一位远亲,她更是在Salem城镇曾经惊动一时的女巫审判时件中首批被处决的女性之一。此区域的展览一一展示了Lee对黑暗和浪漫暴力美学的一系列出众的设计作品。而在2006/07 The Widows of Culloden的秋冬系列,反映了Lee成长时期的文化传统和 1746 年苏格兰战役期间,英国在苏格兰的Battle of Culloden的种种暴力行为。2008年The Girl Who Lived in the Tree 的秋冬系列,结合了印度历史文化和英国的Punk元素,以他的挚友兼缪斯女神Annabelle Neilson 所写的童话故事为中心,同时引发到来自于Lee 在 Sussex 家花园的一棵古榆树为创作灵感。

 

Technique and Innovation 的主题展区展出了 McQueen在服装构造和处理方式的精湛工艺,通过一系列展品专注于剪裁、制衣、解构主义和对女性独有的玲珑身躯为首创新前卫概念创作。通过早期和后期并置的职业生涯作品,此主题区域重点介绍McQueen 的技术工艺敏捷性,当中不乏他在Savile Row当裁缝学徒时的成长岁月和无数个寒窗苦练而成的超凡剪裁工艺所创作出系列作品。Lee 对西装服饰历史学和设计的兴趣,在选择布料方面的流畅运用,以致在布料表面上的独特处理手法,都有著自我一套的见解和美学,将设计的细节和亮点表露无遗。

 

Evolution and Existence展区考察了McQueen对生命周期和人类状况的迷恋。Lee对自然、进化和死亡的思考导致了探索生命内在脆弱性,并发现及希望它再生的系列展品。在2009/10 The Horn of Plenty 的秋冬系列中就狠批大众的消费主义,Lee透过回收过往时尚史上的著名剪影轮廓、造型、影像和自己故有的设计档案作出反击。在2002 年春夏的The Dance of the Twisted Bull系列中,将斗牛描绘成残忍和美丽的隐喻。2004春夏的Deliverance系列灵感来自电影《They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? 》而去呈现寓言式的“death of the dance”死亡之舞。而Lee最后完成的2010年Plato’s Atlantis的春夏系列作品,想象著一个被海洋消费的世界和生命起源的地方,而正如Lee所说:将存在延续。难道这又是Lee遗下的另一种隐喻?!

 

《完》

 

 

2023-03-17

Berluti Presents The Andy Messenger


Berluti presents the Andy messenger with an enduring focus on leather know-how, craftsmanship and excellence, Berluti strives to create, season after season, a few exceptional leather bags, the result of a thorough artisanal process and unique design. A new model is thus added to the SS2023 collection: the Andy Messenger, inspired by
the Andy loafer. A revisited version of the Luti 38 tote and a Venezia leather version of the Viaggio travel bag complete the offering. An ode to the iconic Andy loafer originally created in 1962 by Olga Berluti, Andy Messenger translates one of Berluti’s foremost shoemaking signatures into leatherworking technique, offering a uniquely designed cross-body briefcase that can fit a laptop. Long hand stitching and a thick embedded piping detail on the front are borrowed from Andy’s construction, while the loafer’s trademark strap becomes a band on the flap. An invisible closure and calf leather lining are also featured. The Andy Messenger can be worn by hand or cross-body thanks to a Venezia handle and an adjustable, removable strap. The bag is available in Berluti’s signature Cacao Intenso patina.


Timeless and elegant, Luti 38 is a spacious tote bag and the utmost embodiment of Berluti’s flair for craftsmanship, luxurious details and bootmaker know-how. A graphic shape in Venezia leather - available this season in Light Aluminio and Cacao Intenso patinas - meets Norwegian stitching details and a thick edge, both nodding to outsole construction. A calf leather lining and a distinctive metallic lock-and-padlock closure complete the finishings. Berluti’s high-end bag capsule is complemented by a new iteration of the Viaggio weekender, a roomy, multi-carry bag featuring at its base a separate shoe compartment to fit one pair of shoes. Made of soft Venezia gloria leather with a rich Cacao Intenso patina this season, it features details inspired by the Jour line, including a front zipped pocket, a cotton linen lining and a curved edge that gives it its distinctive shape when worn on the shoulder.



2023-03-13

Giorgio Armani SS2023 Men Advertising Campaign

Giorgio Armani SS2023 men advertising campaign shot by Paolo Roversi, shines a silver light on its models.

Soft shadows and long exposure give the images an undefined and painterly quality that removes time from the equation: the shots are almost weightless, like a daydream.

Models Aleksandar Rusic, Taemin Park, and Ibrahim Idoow look into the camera with intense and spontaneous gazes; a wooden chair is the only prop in the otherwise bright and empty space. What emerges is the fluid and minimal lines of clothes, accessories and eyewear worn with ease.

2023-03-10

Lauren Santo Domingo @ The New Artistic Director of the Tiffany & Co. Home Collection

Tiffany & Co. announced Lauren Santo Domingo, Co-Founder and Chief Brand Officer of the online fashion retailer, Moda Operandi as the new Artistic Director of the Tiffany Home collection. With a history steeped in creative partnerships, Tiffany continues the tradition by ushering in a new era with the onboarding of Ms. Santo Domingo. “We are excited to see Lauren Santo Domingo infuse our Home collection with her signature style. Lauren is no stranger to luxury and we believe she will bring her impeccable eye and elegance to this important category at Tiffany.” Says Alexandre Arnault, Executive Vice President, Product and Communications. The decision to partner with the fashion powerhouse comes in conjunction with the reopening of the House’s flagship store this spring. The doors of the iconic 57th Street and Fifth Avenue building are said to open in April, serving as a release date for Santo Domingo’s inaugural Home presentation. “Tiffany & Co. has played an important part in milestones throughout my life and I am honored to work with such an iconic brand. I look forward to collaborating with the creative teams in bringing a new vision to the home collections while honoring Tiffany’s rich history.” – Lauren Santo Domingo The first release to be led by the new Artistic Director, will feature new tabletop collections, including Tiffany Berries, Tiffany T True, Tiffany Wisteria, Tiffany Toile, Tiffany Audubon and Valse Bleue. Under Ms. Santo Domingo’s discerning vision, the Tiffany Home collection will continue to blend form and function in an artistic and modern way.

2023-03-06

A|X Armani Exchange SS2023 Advertising Campaign

A|X Armani Exchange advertising campaign develops around the new claim WE BEAT AS ONE, which clearly and effectively embodiesthe values and uniqueness of the brand, an expression of vibrant energy, movement and style that come together in a single beat. Rhythm as an emotional impulse and a choral experience that arises from shared diversity and a sense of connectedness, the kind you feel at clubs or concerts underlining the spirit of the brand is the latest.

Shot in the studio by Drew Vickers, the advertising images star light, white and refracted in the background, alongside a diverse and inclusive cast. The subjects, either alone or in pairs, are photographed in dynamic poses such as dance moves and the fluidity of the gestures is underlined by clothes freely chosen and combined with no distinction of gender. The positive and energetic message also permeates the video of the campaign and is highlighted by the music track choice, easily recognizable within the first notes: My Heart Goes Boom by French Affair, perfectly in line with the rhythm and spirit of the collection.

As of this season, the beat becomes an identifying sound to accompany the launch of the campaign. As part of a project developed in collaboration with IED – Istituto Europeo di Design and involving a multidisciplinary group of young talents, the new sound logo – created by sound designers Simona Argurio and Riccardo Paparella, and animated by graphic designers Chiara Gucciardi and Enrico Clementi – translates the A|X aesthetics into the language of music: immediate, minimal and evocative.


2023-03-03

GUCCI Presents Dakota Johnson In The New Jackie 1961 Campaign

Dakota Johnson stars in a new film and imagery that revisit the emblematic handbag’s storied origins. A longstanding mainstay within the House’s collections, ‘The Jackie’ experienced a well chronicled rise to icon status ever since its debut in 1961, the handbag’s perpetual presence on the arms of celebrated figures around the world crystallized its everlasting association with their signature sophistication.


Dakota Johnson finds herself at the latest inflection point of the line’s celebrated chronology in which a certain attitude encounters a certain era, marking the beginning of a new chapter through the House’s latest campaign. Johnson makes her way through everyday moments in Los Angeles with different versions of the Jackie 1961, each with its own personality, each perfectly paired to the occasion. The film and imagery, captured by Glen Luchford, pay homage to the style’s storied origins as spontaneous snapshots highlight the silhouette’s intrinsic versatility and enduring elegance, reflecting a state of co-existence that spans decades and personas.


Following a distinguished line of reiterations, each emblematic of its time, today’s Jackie 1961 emerges to transcend the traditional with its sleek silhouette and universal attitude. The selection is presented in three different sizes - mini, small, and medium in a wide range of colors that highlights the design’s inherent versatility. Clean lines bring the focus to the unique piston closure, as well as the quality of the material itself, whether natural grain, patent, or precious leather, or the emblematic GG Supreme canvas. A longer, removable shoulder strap, either in leather or as a chain, enhances the Jackie 1961’s adaptable personality and practicality. Within each collection, the House introduces creative interpretations, including in woven raffia and straw as well as with velvet tapestry patterns for Cruise 2023.


The original model introduced in 1961 became expressive of the 1960s and 1970s jetsetter 
lifestyle for which Gucci was known and new sensibilities were brought to the signature style in 1999 and 2009, drawing from a contemporary intuition and attitude and ever assuming new characters that defy definition.