Fashion News

Camille Miceli, a seasoned creative who has worked in the design departments of Dior and Louis Vuitton, is headed to Italy to take on Emilio Pucci, WWD has learned.
Market sources said Miceli is to start at the Florentine house sometime later this year. She could not immediately be reached for comment.
As reported, Pucci recently revealed plans to return to its roots as a resort-focused brand after years of behaving like a designer house with runways shows in Milan and boutiques on Avenue Montaigne in Paris and Madison Avenue in New York.
The glamorous Miceli, fond of the seaside and the mountains, is seen as a natural incarnation of the brand and its lifestyle.
Considered one of Italy’s fashion pioneers in outfitting the jet set, Emilio Pucci began designing skiwear out of jersey fabrics in 1947 and opened his house in 1949. His colorful, graphic motifs quickly became a signature of the house.

Most recently, Miceli worked under Nicolas Ghesquière at Vuitton as accessories creative director, according to her LinkedIn profile. Before that, she advised on certain leather goods at Christian Dior and designed costume jewelry, which become an important and vibrant category fueled by her designs.
A vivacious fixture on the Paris fashion scene, Miceli joined Vuitton’s public relations department in 1997 just as Marc Jacobs arrived as its artistic director. Encouraged by the American designer, Miceli segued into creative pursuits and began designing costume jewelry collections at Vuitton.
Miceli started her fashion career at age 15 when she interned at Chanel and Azzedine Alaïa. She spent seven years as a publicist at Chanel before joining Vuitton.
Controlled by LVMH since 2000, Pucci has experimented with a variety of permanent designers over the years, including Julio Espada, Christian Lacroix, Matthew Williamson, Peter Dundas and MSGM’s Massimo Giorgetti, and also studio configurations. The brand had recently experimented with guest designers, including Christelle Kocher of France and Japan’s Tomo Koizumi.
SEE ALSO:
EXCLUSIVE: Emilio Pucci to Reboot as Resort-focused Brand
LVMH Takes Full Control of Emilio Pucci
All the Items from the Supreme/Emilio Pucci Capsule Collection

Influencer, multi-hyphenate and Los Angeles girl-about-town Devon Lee Carlson is now adding another slash to her résumé: She’s collaborated with Marc Jacobs to design a seven-piece collection of clothing and accessories for the label.
The capsule’s ruffled slipdress, sweat suit, T-shirt and handbag designs hark back to Marc Jacobs designs from the early Aughts, which is exactly the aesthetic that Carlson peddles to her followers on Instagram — as well as through her Wildflower Cases cell phone accessories business and various creative projects. In May, she styled Olivia Rodrigo’s “Good 4 U” music video, a song that still stands near the top of global hit rankings.
Carlson, who has around 1.3 million Instagram followers and another half million-plus on TikTok, could have her pick of which fashion brands to partner with.

“The Marc Jacobs brand has such a special place in my heart,” the 36-year-old said. “My first designer purchase was a Marc Jacobs wallet. Marc Jacobs himself is an icon and major inspiration to me. To get this opportunity and have my name next to his on a tag was just beyond my wildest dreams,” she told WWD.

Devon Lee Carlson for Marc Jacobs. 
Courtesy/Marc Jacobs

This project, she said, has been in the works since February 2020. When pandemic lockdowns kicked in her designs shifted to accommodate a new at-home lifestyle. “It was important to me to design a collection that was wearable for any circumstance,” she said. So she envisioned a range of nostalgic, comfortable separates and special pieces like a graphic sweat suit and a matching short-shorts and T-shirt set. “I took a lot of color references from Marc’s spring and summer 2002 collection. I had so much fun deep diving for inspo,” Carlson said.

There’s also an oversize logo shirt and a ruffled slipdress embellished with little charms. Some of the designs feature a silhouette of Carlson’s dog, Martin. “It’s my first time designing clothes. I want shoppers to feel happy, fun and flirty while wearing the collab. I’m so excited to see how everyone styles the pieces. It’s what I’m most looking forward to,” Carlson said of the designs, which are priced from $80 to $225.
Most important to her, though, is the collection’s handbag — a remake of a vintage Marc Jacobs bag that she already had in her closet. The pochette style comes with a chain handle laden with little charms that spell out “Marc Jacobs” ($225). “I had this vintage Marc Jacobs bag that I felt we needed to remake. It’s easily one of my most worn bags. I wanted to add a new fun element to it, so we made the charm strap detachable so it could be worn as a necklace as well,” Carlson said.
The collection is available starting today on Marc Jacobs’ website as well as the brand’s New York and Los Angeles flagship boutiques.

NEW YORK — Much is in flux as the Delta variant takes hold in different regions of the world, but that hasn’t deterred the Council of Fashion Designers of America from revealing plans to hold its annual awards gala in-person in early November.
The extravaganza is slated for Nov. 10 at The Pool and The Grill in the Seagram Building on Park Avenue. The gathering will be a return to an IRL bash following last year’s CFDA Fashion Awards, which were held digitally via the CFDA’s Runway360 platform.
Steven Kolb, the CFDA’s chief executive officer, said: “This is an important moment in American fashion. There is much excitement about the return of New York City and New York Fashion Week, as well as the top caliber of diverse talent making their mark on the city and the global fashion landscape. The awards are CFDA’s biggest fundraiser of the year supporting our scholarship program, and we look forward to our industry coming together, in person again, to celebrate the very best of American creativity.”

The 2021 CFDA Fashion Awards will take place in accordance with the Centers for Disease Control and New York state health guidelines.
Barring any new health and safety mandates by federal, state or local authorities, this fall is shaping up to being a busy one for the fashion industry. The CFDA in partnership with IMG recently released the official New York Fashion Week schedule as part of the American Collections Calendar. After two seasons of predominantly digital shows, in-person ones are expected to be held from Sept. 8 to 12. In total, 91 shows and presentations from American and international designers are planned.

Like the CFDA’s Fashion Awards, The Met Gala is going to be a scaled-down version. Scheduled for Sept. 13, it will run on the heels of NYFW. Five days later on Sept. 18, The Met’s Costume Institute will unveil “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion,” which will be the first of a two-part exploration of fashion in the U.S.
The Fashion Group International has also marked another date on the fall calendar. The organization plans to stage its annual “Night of Stars” awards event in-person for the first time in two years. It is scheduled for Oct. 13 at Cipriani South Street, a historic Beaux Arts building with ample outdoor space for social distancing.
The CFDA’s venue of choice is a historic one. Built in 1959 and restored in 2016, the Seagram Building is one of 117 interior landmarks in New York City. Esteemed architect Philip Johnson first did the honors and more recently Annabelle Selldorf freshened up Johnson’s designs with a spruced-up lighting system by Hervé Descottes of L’Observatoire International.
Without question, the CFDA Awards will be more intimate than in years past. In June 2019, the awards were held at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. The group has also used more spacious venues like Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center. The Pool Room can accommodate 200 seated, 180 with dancing and The Grill can accommodate 120 seated, and 250 reception style, according to the venue’s site. The Pool is familiar territory to CFDA chairman Tom Ford, who staged a celebrity-studded fashion show there for his namesake label in 2016. Ford also designed the uniforms that are worn by The Pool’s wait staff.

LONDON — Dior is back for its summer stay at Harrods with a pop-up boutique housing the fall 2021 women’s ready-to-wear collection. The pop-up, which runs from Aug. 4 to 29, will feature a custom-made set by the Italian visual artist Marco Lodola, a key figure in Neo-futurism.
The Pop Art-inspired set radiates light and color and includes Dior’s silhouettes and symbols of the English capital, such as double-decker buses, black cabs and electric guitars. “Above all, we wanted to pay respect to our host city, and celebrate it by creating a strong cultural and social link,” Lodola said.
The shop’s display windows and interior will be adorned with the Mizza leopard print inspired by Mitzah Bricard, who was a muse to Christian Dior. The animal print comes in gray and beige and covers jackets, skirts and shirts, with key items including the Mizza print Bar Jackets, Lady D-Lite bags and Book Totes.

A Lady Dior bag in the Mizza print that will feature in the Harrods pop-up in August. 

In a dedicated alcove, signature Dior handbags such as the Lady Dior and 30 Montaigne will be on display in new micro formats. The pop-up will be located on the ground floor, near fine jewelry, with windows facing Brompton Road.
Maria Grazia Chiuri, creative director of women’s haute couture, rtw and accessories collections, said in the fall collection, “I chose to make the leopard print explode, in a poppy way, presenting it in different shapes, colors and fabrics.”
She said her work nodded to “Monsieur Dior’s perfect 1955 spotted coat inspired by a fur coat worn by Madame Mitzah Bricard, one of his friends, muses and collaborators. The leopard print holds an incredible repository of memories and intentions, which I pulled together with a contemporary flair.”
Lydia King, fashion and buying director at Harrods, said “each year, Dior’s takeover of the space is increasingly eye-catching, and this year’s leopard-print paradise is no different. Harrods customers are drawn to the brand’s playful takes on classic styles, so I am confident they will love the injection of leopard on timeless, structured styles such as the Lady D-Lite and the classic Book Tote.”

Louis Vuitton, who spawned a global luxury giant synonymous with travel, actually started his entrepreneurial journey on foot, setting off from the tiny town of Anchay in eastern France at age 13.
Two hundred years after his birth, the Vuitton company is marking the milestone in ways its founder never could have imagined, including a video game with embedded NFTs, a documentary on Apple TV, window installations, artworks, and social media activations galore.
“Media is evolving so quickly that every time there’s a new way of communicating, you have to tell your story all over again,” said Michael Burke, chairman and chief executive officer of Vuitton. “Generations are now defined by technology, not by age.”

And yet the life story of Vuitton, who eventually reached Paris after two years and apprenticed at renowned trunk maker and packer Romain Maréchal, contains many universal business truths, including the necessity of taking risks, of staying close to the customer, and of passing the baton to the next generation at the right time.

Louis Vuitton was a packing specialist when he opened his house in 1854. 
Courtesy

“It’s important to learn from these journeys, to know that somebody before you went through the same trials and tribulations, that somebody before you made big bets, took big risks,” Burke said in an exclusive interview, marveling at Vuitton’s courage to spend nights sleeping in the woods as he made his way to the French capital. “It’s about going through experiences in life.”

Vuitton will begin unfurling bicentennial birthday celebrations under the banner of “Louis 200” on Aug. 4, exactly 200 years after the founder’s birth. Beginning that day, “Louis: The Game” can be downloaded through the App Store and Google Play for Android systems.
Burke trumpeted the game’s importance for Vuitton’s employees: “The best way to engage people is the through the medium they like.”
Also on Aug. 4, windows will be unveiled across Vuitton’s global network of boutiques that will showcase trunks reimagined by 200 notable people from a variety of backgrounds and disciplines, including illustrator Jean-Philippe Delhomme, interior designer Pierre Yovanovitch, Paralympic swimmer Théo Curin, art director Willo Perron, and architect Peter Marino, whose hardcore harness trunk takes cues from his leather-daddy wardrobe.

Architect Peter Marino conceived this trunk for Louis Vuitton’s windows. 
Courtesy

Other activations will happen later in the year including:
• a fictional novel, based on historical facts, by French writer Caroline Brognard. Titled “Louis Vuitton, L’Audacieux,” it will be published in French by Gallimard in regular and deluxe editions from October, with an English translation coming in November
• a documentary titled “Looking for Louis” that retraces the adventures of the young entrepreneur, to be broadcast on Apple TV’s Explore channel from December
• a large-scale triptych by acclaimed American artist Alex Katz that will be unveiled some time in the fall
• a “cuvée spéciale” from the LVMH-owned Champagne brand Veuve Clicquot, also some time in the second half

Alex Katz painted this portrait of Louis Vuitton. 
Courtesy

Founded in 1854, Louis Vuitton is today one of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton’s most successful and profitable heritage brands, prized for its legacy, craftsmanship and savoir-faire.

Burke stressed the importance of innovation and risk-taking, something the founder embodied.
“I believe the great majority of success stories, they didn’t start with the past, they start with the future. They start with creativity, innovation, disruption,” he said. “Mythical companies like Louis Vuitton need to always maintain that balance between tomorrow and yesterday.”
To be sure, the founder had sharp instincts and all the right connections when he finally set up his own maison at 4 rue Neuve-des-Capucines amid all the major fashion houses in the Place Vendôme neighborhood of Paris. He became close to haute couture pioneer Charles Frederick Worth and was appointed the official trunk maker and packer for Empress Eugénie.
From this vantage point, Vuitton saw how bulging, panniered dresses yielded to sleeker styles, meaning trunks did not need to be so voluminous. “He went to people’s homes and he saw how the clothes changed and he adapted to the clothes,” Burke explained.

An advertisement circa 1910 for Louis Vuitton’s wardrobe trunk. 
Courtesy

The young Frenchman also divined that new ways of traveling, including overseas crossings, would require new kinds and shapes of luggage.
Among his inventions was Gris Trianon, a coated canvas that made cases waterproof, and a flat lid for trunks that made them stackable on ships, trains and other newfangled modes of transportation. Previously, trunks had convex lids for strength and weather resistance while riding on the backs of stagecoaches.
Burke said hundreds of trunk makers followed Vuitton’s flat-lid design, “but everyone remembers he did it first.”
In 1888 came the checkered and branded canvas dubbed Damier, Vuitton’s way of coping with many counterfeiters who had copied the striped canvas he had introduced in 1872.
Burke stressed that Vuitton’s manufacturing capabilities helped drive product innovation, and he registered patents for many technological and typological innovations in his Asnières atelier, which turned out the first soft bags toward the end of the 1800s — precursors to the modern handbag.

Louis Vuitton trunks with a variety of canvas designs. 
Patrick Gries

“He was able to innovate because he was a manufacturer. So he knew how to handle wood and metal. He invented the un-pickable lock because he was making them,” he said.

The founder also innovated via distribution, encouraging his son Georges to learn English and set up Vuitton’s first outpost beyond France in London in 1885, the first steps of its internationalization.
According to Burke, Louis Vuitton surely saw his son tinkering with the LV initials, geometric designs and floral patterns of what would become the iconic Monogram canvas, which was introduced in 1896, four years after the founder’s death.
Georges continued the company’s international expansion in 1898 when he started retailing his trunks in the United States through merchant John Wanamaker, who operated department stores in Philadelphia and New York.
“These are unusual, audacious decisions — no different than bringing in Marc Jacobs, an American, or Nicolas Ghesquière, or Virgil Abloh, another American,” Burke said.
The Vuitton of today continues to surprise and take risks, with Burke casually mentioning that the brand just launched a portable connected speaker that resembles one of the spinning top-shaped handbags Ghesquière designed. “We sold 3,000 the first day,” the executive noted proudly.
Products — whether it’s a down-filled women’s boot or a transparent Keepall bag — are what grabs the consumer’s attention the most, but in Burke’s estimation, it’s the intangible aspects of Louis Vuitton’s legacy — including putting the company ahead of himself — that explain its longevity, and its magic.
“Louis was a visionary, much more than just when it came to product, but also on distribution, on client service, on globalization and transmitting his company to the next generation. That’s the reason Vuitton is still around.
“We’re now in our third century,” Burke said. “We’re involved in something much bigger than our generation. Within the company, there’s a strong sense of duty to continue the story.”
See also:
LVMH Sees No Shift Away From Luxury Goods as Markets Reopen

Louis Vuitton Expands in Tokyo With New Tower, Café — and Chocolate Shop

Louis Vuitton Sets Expo at Paris’ Grand Palais

AZ Factory, the fashion start-up initiated by Alber Elbaz, is set to close Paris Fashion Week this fall with a fashion show in homage to the beloved designer, who died on April 24 from COVID-19.
Titled “Love Brings Love,” the show has been scheduled for Oct. 5 at 8 p.m. CET and “will pay tribute to Alber’s creative vision and his extraordinary love for the fashion family,” the brand said in a brief statement.
The next women’s fashion week in the French capital is scheduled for Sept. 27 to Oct. 5.
Based in Paris, AZ Factory is a joint venture with Compagnie Financière Richemont hinged on projects rather than collections, and with storytelling, problem-solving and entertainment embedded in design, distribution and communications.

Laurent Malecaze, chief executive officer of AZ Factory, previously described the memorial in Paris as coming together “to honor Alber with a celebration of his life and his visionary work, aiming to bring the same level of passion and love that he brought to us each day.”
Elbaz was laid to rest at the Holon cemetery in Israel, next to his parents, only a few days after his passing.
The fashion world reeled with shock and grief over the sudden loss of Elbaz, best known for his rejuvenation of Lanvin from 2001 to 2015.
An ebullient character prized for his couture-like craft, Elbaz took a five-year hiatus after being ousted from Lanvin before introducing AZ Factory, a venture steeped in his personality, humor and his inimitable flair for soigné fashions.

Alber Elbaz 
Francois Goize

Born in Morocco and raised and educated in Israel, the designer moved to New York in the mid-1980s. After a stint at a bridal firm, he landed at Geoffrey Beene, working as his senior assistant for seven years.
Elbaz came onto the international radar when he was recruited by Ralph Toledano to helm Guy Laroche in Paris in 1996, where he won raves, media attention and the job offer of a lifetime: to succeed couture legend Yves Saint Laurent at the helm of Rive Gauche ready-to-wear in 1998.
After three seasons, Elbaz was fired in the wake of Gucci Group’s takeover of YSL. Elbaz subsequently did one season with Krizia in Milan before sitting on the sidelines of the business for one year. He then landed at Lanvin.
See also:
Alber Elbaz Dies at 59

Alber Elbaz Pivots to Tech, Fashion Entertainment

A Look Back at Alber Elbaz’s Most Memorable Quotes

Lucas Ossendrijver, the affable Dutch fashion designer synonymous with Lanvin men’s wear for 14 years, has a new partnership with Theory, WWD has learned.
Ossendrijver is to design men’s and women’s capsule collections “inspired by the urban lifestyle codes of tomorrow” and drawing on his expertise with “activewear-infused hybrid tailoring aesthetic” and his innovative approach to materials, Theory said.
His first collections are to be unveiled next year.
“I am thrilled to be collaborating with Theory, an iconic American brand whose mission presents a fresh creative opportunity at a time of incredible change,” Ossendrijver said.
“This is the start of a new and exciting chapter in the evolution of Theory. We are just beginning a friendship with Lucas, one that I trust will strengthen our commitment to deliver exceptional design and value to our customers,” added Kazumi Yanai, chairman of Theory and Fast Retailing USA.

Known for reinventing men’s wear at Lanvin through the lens of the codes established by the late Alber Elbaz, Ossendrijver forged an identity of his own at the French house, hooked on a youthful approach to tailoring mixed with technical and activewear influences.
Prior to Lanvin, Ossendrijver had stints at brands including Kenzo and Dior Homme, where he worked under Hedi Slimane for three-and-a-half years.
According to Theory, he brings “an expertly trained eye, and shares with the company a collective dedication to exceptional quality and design.”
New York-based Theory has a track record of working with European designers, having collaborated over the years with the likes of Oliver Theyskens and Francesco Fucci.

Have the CFDA and IMG forged a truce?
In an about-face, the Council of Fashion Designers of America in partnership with IMG released the Official New York Fashion Week Schedule as part of the American Collections Calendar.
The shows, which will run Sept. 8 to 12, celebrate the reopening of New York City with in-person shows after two seasons of predominantly digital presentations. In total, there are plans to hold 91 shows and presentations from American and international designers.
The CFDA owns and manages the Fashion Calendar, including the Official NYFW Calendar under the American Collections Calendar. IMG is the official organizer and operator of NYFW’s event and official central hub, NYFW: The Shows, which will take place mainly at Spring Studios, along with other locations.

Historically, CFDA and IMG, which have different functions, have released separate show calendars for NYFW, although several designers would appear on both. IMG has previously added extra days to what CFDA has considered the “official” show dates — all contributing to a confusing show week. While both organizations would frequently reiterate they were working together, there always appeared to be a divide and observers wondered, which organization is really in charge of New York Fashion Week?
But this season, the CFDA and IMG said they are working “hand in hand” to organize it.

“CFDA and IMG always worked in tandem on the official schedule to make sure that shows and presentations were aligned,” said Steven Kolb, chief executive officer of the CFDA. “With this season’s return of in-person shows and the anticipation and excitement around New York Fashion Week, it was imperative, more than ever, to have a clear and cohesive schedule, which is why we strengthened our collaboration and are releasing a unified, official NYFW schedule.”
NYFW kicks off with Ulla Johnson on Sept. 8 at 9 a.m. and closes with Tom Ford on Sept. 12 at 8 p.m. Other highlights include the return to New York City of Thom Browne and Altuzarra, as well as anniversary collections from Carolina Herrera and Rachel Comey. The schedule also features Michael Kors, Gabriela Hearst, Tory Burch, Anna Sui, Oscar de la Renta, 3.1 Phillip Lim, Sergio Hudson, Adam Lippes, Tanya Taylor, Maryam Nassir Zadeh, Monse, Coach, Proenza Schouler, Rodarte, Brandon Maxwell, Zero Maria Cornejo, Markarian, Telfar, Khaite, Staud, Jason Wu, Jonathan Simkhai, Dennis Basso, Kevan Hall, Cinq a Sept, Cynthia Rowley, Veronica Beard, Victor Glemaud and Rebecca Minkoff.
CFDA said it is welcoming  international  designers such as Moschino by Jeremy Scott, Peter Dundas of Dundas and Peter Do to the NYFW schedule. Additional highlights include 2021 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalists Hanifa, Willy Chavarria, LaQuan Smith, Eckhaus Latta, KHIRY, Batsheva, Theophilio, Studio 189, House of Aama, and Kenneth Nicholson, and New York Men’s Day.
As reported, NYFW will feature the launch of the IMG Fashion Alliance, which is supporting 11 American designers showing during NYFW for the next three seasons at Spring Studios. Those are Telfar, Rodarte, Proenza Schouler, Altuzarra, Brandon Maxwell, Prabal Gurung, Sergio Hudson, Monse, Jason Wu, LaQuan Smith and Markarian.

By working together, the organizations look to strengthen and reaffirm New York as a global fashion capital with a shared vision in promoting creativity and commerce, they said. Their increased tie-up comes as the industry aims to celebrate American fashion in September with the return of IRL shows as well as the new exhibit at the Costume Institute, “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion,” which will bow with the Met Gala on Sept. 13, the day after Ford’s show. He will be an honorary chair along with Anna Wintour and Adam Mosseri, while Billie Eilish, Amanda Gorman, Timothée Chalamet and Naomi Osaka will be the co-chairs.
“New York Fashion Week is back with a diverse lineup representative of the future of American fashion,” said Kolb. “Our fashion industry has come together as we continue to emerge from the pandemic, and a collaborative spirit is paramount to the success of our creative talents. Working in tandem with IMG has enabled us to present a singular official New York Fashion Week schedule of shows and presentations within the American Collections Calendar.”

Steven Kolb 

Leslie Russo, president of IMG’s Fashion Events and Properties, said, “As we look forward to this September season, we are proud to come together with the CFDA to support the revitalization of New York Fashion Week. It’s time to rebuild, and only together can we ensure New York remains the flourishing fashion capital that it is.”

Leslie Russo 
courtesy shot.

The American Collections Calendar was created as CFDA’s response to support designers who show collections outside traditional market week dates. That includes the Christian Siriano and Harlem’s Fashion Row runway shows that will be held Sept. 7.
The shows and presentations will continue to be presented via Runway360, CFDA’s centralized digital hub and business tool to support American fashion brands year-round, especially during New York’s women’s, men’s, pre-collections and bridal markets with their domestic and international businesses and global exposure. Runway360 is in partnership with American Express.
The in-person shows will take place in accordance with New York State Health Guidelines and the CFDA will advise designers and show producers on best practices through an expanded health, wellness and diversity memo.

Asked about the synergies they expect to accomplish by working together, Kolb told WWD: “Both CFDA and IMG work closely with fashion creatives across the American fashion industry, and through our collaboration, we can firmly put the focus on the talent and creativity of our designers who are showing  during the week.” He said the CFDA and IMG are working more closely and collaboratively than ever on the organization of NYFW “to give a spotlight to designers in the American fashion market on the global stage.”
As to whether the seminars and events surrounding New York Fashion Week will be jointly sponsored, Russo said NYFW: The Shows’ expanded calendar will be released later this summer that will include additional designers, digital releases, programming and special events beyond the shows and is organized by IMG.
Kolb noted that the relationship is ongoing and they look forward to evolving it in seasons to come.
Discussing whether they sat down together to figure out the calendar and whether there were people from both organizations assigned to the task, Kolb said: “CFDA and IMG have always operated that way, but have never really discussed this publicly. We align on the scheduling of shows to make sure there are no major conflicts in timing and location and that the week runs as seamlessly as possible.”
Asked what they anticipate some of the challenges will be, Kolb said: “There is always the challenge of managing over 100 designers, locations, hair/makeup teams, model conflicts and more — this requires all stakeholders to collaborate, and this season we have the American fashion industry come together even more than ever for the greater success of NYFW.”
Kolb noted that with their joint efforts, CFDA won’t be getting involved with production, and Kolb and Russo confirmed there will be no revenue-sharing. “IMG Focus is our in-house production company for NYFW: The Shows and produces the central hub, programming, special events and fashion shows,” said Russo. “There has been an incredible interest in live events this season, our stronger partnership with the CFDA is just one of the IMG initiatives that is rebuilding a stronger NYFW.” Russo noted that NYFW: The Shows new presenting partner is Afterpay, and they will have several new partners they will reveal closer to the event.

Industry consultant Fern Mallis reacted favorably to the news of the two organizations working more closely together.
“If the CFDA wants to play a leading role there should be one calendar,” said Mallis, who was the executive director of the CFDA and created 7th on Sixth, which produced the fashion shows and was sold to IMG in 2001. “All the entities should work together for a common goal. There’s no reason they shouldn’t be supporting one another.”
Kolb said that he’s excited that NYFW: The Shows will host at Spring Studios, and noted that there are designers who will choose to present their collections in other venues as well.
As reported, the Fifth Avenue Association plans to host runway shows and events at 608 Fifth Avenue in September. The three-story venue will be transformed into a runway, presentation and activation space for designers and brands.

A view of 608 Fifth Avenue. 
Daniel Rey Lozano

In other news, the CFDA said it has renewed Tom Ford’s contract as chairman of the CFDA for another one-year term. When Ford assumed the role in 2019, he said he would commit to a two-year term. He wasn’t available for comment on his yearlong extension.

Tom Ford 
Courtesy of Tom Ford

Ford’s tenure has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. With a key focus being diversity, Ford’s first move was to secure the election to the CFDA board of four people of color: Virgil Abloh, Maria Cornejo, Carly Cushnie and Kerby Jean-Raymond. The CFDA responded to the COVID-19 crisis by launching A Common Thread campaign, a fundraising and storytelling initiative spearheaded by Vogue and in collaboration with the CFDA. Ford also promoted the CFDA’s former chief financial officer CaSandra Diggs to the post of president, hired Bonnie Morrison as director of equity, growth and  engagement and established the Black Advisory Board, chaired by Tracy Reese, the CFDA’s vice chair.
Ford also renamed New York Fashion Week Calendar the American Collections Calendar. With a growing number of American designers showing their collections later in the season and sometimes outside of New York, either that be in Europe, Asia or other key markets, Ford decided that the CFDA should include all American designers within the calendar and on Runway360, its digital platform.

Ironically, when Ford got the job he was asked in September 2019 about IMG’s move to jump-start the show calendar by two days, when CFDA was trying to condense the schedule. “This was new to me,” Ford said of the extent of those shows deemed by the CFDA as “off-calendar.” “I’m like, ‘IMG — who? What? Well, I’m glad to know this because I will have to take them on next season.…But yes, the point of trying to do five days is trying to do five days.”

To view the official New York Fashion Week Schedule:
American-Collections-Calendar_SS-2022_07.23.2021

FOR MORE STORIES: 
IMG Creates Fashion Alliance With 11 American Designers for NYFW
New York Fashion Week Fall 2021 Chaos: How Do We Get People Excited About Clothes Again? 
CFDA’s Impact Platform to Support and Nurture Black Talent

While many fashion designers jump right into creating full collections, Eduard Both graduated from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp in 2017 and started with socks.
“I always like to see a covered ankle,” he related over Zoom. “It was all about texture.”
He segued into knitwear with his upstart brand, Creative Anonymous Projects, or CAP, scoring orders from such prestigious retailers as 10 Corso Como, Browns, The Room at Hudson’s Bay and Renaissance — only to put his brand on hold to go work for Miu Miu and Ports 1961 for a few years.
Now CAP Studio is back and it’s all about shirts, based on a men’s style from the 1950s with buttons lined up on the right, though he considers them gender-neutral.

Shirts in the CAP Studio line are based on a men’s style from the 1950s. 
Courtesy

“I embrace the freedom to do whatever product inspires me at a certain time,” he said. “The focus on product categories is very important. In a collection, it’s very difficult to have every category have the same quality and standards.”
While working in Milan, Both became obsessed with a Miu Miu colleague who looked amazing in her workaday uniform of a borrowed men’s shirt and a pencil skirt. He also stumbled across a mom-and-pop shirt shop in Milan whose quality astonished him, inspiring him to engage its factory, and scope out a range of specialty ateliers that could do screen printing, inkjet printing, embroideries, pleating and quilting.

“I decided to keep shapes simple. It’s more about treatments on top of the shirt,” he explained. “We’re trying to push the conceptual boundaries of what a shirt could be.”

The shirts are considered genderless. 
Courtesy

Both plans to launch with about 10 styles, with short or long sleeves and two hem variations: curved or straight. They are to be sold beginning today on his new e-shop, along with some boxer shorts and also socks. Shirts are priced from 356 euros to 765 euros.
He kept the sizing basic — 1, 2 and 3 — to make his proposition more inclusive and inviting. Although conceived as a summer product, he considers shirts suitable for year-round wear, and is experimenting with quilted styles for colder climates.
Both said he plans to unveil a fuller spring 2022 range during Paris Fashion Week via a showroom presentation, and do two collections a year.
His yen for shirts stems partly from fatigue with jersey, which dominated fashion because of the streetwear and athleisure trends, and which took hold during the coronavirus pandemic.
“I’m craving a moment when people are dressing up again, and putting more effort into their appearance,” he mused.

Fecal matter on the sole of your shoe? Eww! Not cool.
Fecal Matter in a campaign for Converse x Rick Owens sneakers? Super cool!
Owens has conscripted the alien-looking Canadian couple of Hannah Rose Dalton and Steven Raj Bhaskaran — who founded Fecal Matter in 2016 and who boast 751,000 followers on Instagram — to front the campaign for the square-toed Converse x Drkshdw TurboDrk Chuck 70.
“I love proposing a tolerant and inclusive world by committing to a nonstandard personal aesthetic,” Owens told WWD. “My friends Fecal Matter do that so beautifully and agreed to present this collab for me.”
Pale and bald, with darkened eyeballs and zombie makeup around their mouths, Dalton and Bhaskaran donned skintight leather bodysuits and huddled close together for the campaign shoot, putting the focus on their chunky sneakers with their outsized tongues climbing up the shin.

The Fecal Matter campaign is to launch on social media.
Owens unveiled the Converse collaboration, under the umbrella of his Drkshdw brand, at his fall 2021 men’s show in Venice, Italy, last January.
The designer gave Brutalist airs to Chuck Taylors, adding three toe caps and two layers of rubber outsole, giving the shoe heft and the look of bumper cars.
Exaggerated, bombastic and “a little grotesque” are some of the adjectives he has used to describe his approach to sneaker design. In an interview with WWD earlier this year, he noted his “aesthetic gesture has always been about promoting the idea that perfect or traditional beauty can be very strict and cruel” and that pushing the boundaries “signifies tolerance for other ideas.”
The Converse sneakers are to go on sale on July 27 at converse.com, rickowens.com, Rick Owens boutiques and other select retailers around the world. The collaboration between Converse and Owens is to continue throughout 2021.
Besides its popular Instagram feed, Fecal Matter also markets a range of clothing and accessories on Depop.
See also:
Rick Owens Tells All About His New Converse Collaboration
Rick Owens Men’s Fall 2021
Converse and Kim Jones Launch First Collab