Another week, another round of fashion and lifestyle news. As we try to enjoy the last few sunny days here in Copenhagen, the fashion world keeps buzzing. Kith surprised us with an unexpected luxury collaboration – which we did not expect at all, Loewe stole the spotlight at the Venice Film Festival, and instead of new collections, we’re seeing major shakeups behind the scenes in the industry. Let’s dive in!
Forét x Kleman
We love the softly softly approach of Danish design brand Forét, with their emphasis on downtime, rural living and slow fashion, so we always take notice of any collaboration they do with special interest, knowing it will be the result of a lot of thought and attention. So our ears pricked up this week when we found out about some really rather lovely shoes made with French heritage footwear company Kleman. Based on a classic style first introduced 75 years ago, Forét have added their own touches such as an army green back tape, a mix of eyelets and hooks and the words SLOW DOWN on the leather lace tabs: the latter a thoughtful reminder that we should really appreciate the world around us.
Gant 75th anniversary
Fashion is a ruthless industry and there are VERY few brands that survive more than a couple of decades at most, usually falling prey to over-expansion, poor financial decisions or, most often, the vagaries of the market and wider economic problems. So Gant – a now-Swedish version of an originally American company that delivers preppy English style – deserves a big congratulations for reaching a truly impressive 75 years in business. To celebrate, they are launching a special, limited edition collection of reworked archive pieces from their impressive back catalogue that highlights both their enduring style and exacting craftsmanship. Some pieces are a little logo-heavy for us (but hey, that’s classic preppy!) but the oxford shorts, varsity jackets and suede pieces show why Gant has lasted so long.
Kith x Armani
If there’s one thing you can say about lifestyle brand Kith, they don’t do things by halves. Obviously working under the motto ‘if you’re going to do it, go BIG’ they have announced a new four-part collaboration with none other than Giorgio Armani (normally a guy who would rather do things on his own). Built around the legendary designer’s love of tailoring, Kith are releasing a collection of suits for men under a concept of four different characters – The Artist, The Traveller, The Entertainer and The Entrepreneur – featuring everything from a black wool DB suit to a navy blue velvet evening version. And, just to really raise the stakes, Kith has brought in the likes of Martin Scorsese, Pierce Brosnan and Lakeith Stanfield to model for a bit of A-list celebrity endorsement. Let’s hope the product stands up to the inevitable hype (we are pretty sure it will…)
Loewe at the Venice Film Festival
Luxury brand Loewe continues its impressive run at cornering the artistic/intellectual/sexy segment of the fashion market with a huge showcase at the very prestigious Venice Film Festival two weeks ago. After working together on last year’s Challengers, Loewe’s creative director Jonathan Anderson teamed up again with director Luca Guadagnino to create the costumes for the latter’s new film Queer, a moody adaptation of a William S Burroughs’ novel set in 1940s Mexico City. Doubling up on this project, the brand then dressed the entire cast for the premier and photo op in Venice creating the kind of exposure that poorer brands can only dream of and also highlighting their ability to be appropriate not only rake-thin starlets but also different generations and personalities. Daniel Craig looked dapper in a custom-made cream suit and Omar Apollo smouldered in a watch link vest but it was veteran actor Lesley Manville who proved that Loewe’s avant-garde style has a broad appeal.
Fashion Shakeups
The revolving doors at many major brands seem to be creating more column inches in the press than the actual collections these days. The past months have seen multiple firings and retirements (Pier Paolo at Valentino, Dries, Matthew Williams at Givenchy) and subsequent re-hirings (Alessandro Michele at Valentino, Seàn McGirr at McQueen) but things have hotted up even more as the fashion week cycle starts in earnest. First up was Haider Ackermann taking over the reins at Tom Ford (which could be interesting…), then the announcement that Sarah Burton was going to head up Givenchy (we think she will be amazing here). Meanwhile, ex-Givenchy creative director Clare Waight Keller takes the top spot at Japanese high-street super-brand Uniqlo (are you keeping up here?). At the same time, Glenn Marten’s 11-year tenure at Y/Project is ending and rumours are swirling about poor sales performances at everyone from Burberry to Balenciaga. But of course, the one we are all waiting for is the answer to who takes over at Chanel. Will it be announced before the show later this month? Fingers crossed.
