Things have quietened down on the work front in the past couple of weeks but that hasn’t stopped a few interesting launches, one or two cool, cartoony collabs and the last round of musical chairs at some of the biggest design studios. So, in our last round-up of the year, while we are sipping the Christmapolitans and getting ready for NYE, here are a few of the things that piqued our interest.
High fashion shake-ups
This year has seen major changes in the staffing of some of the biggest labels in the world, starting with Dries’ resignation and the deposing of Pier Paolo Piccioli at Valentino and ending with the long-awaited announcement of who is taking over the (gold chain?) reins at Chanel. But before that came a flurry of changes – Galliano leaving Margiela after a stellar tenure there and Louise Trotter moving from Carven to Bottega Veneta. But the news we were all waiting for was the Chanel appointment and that recently came when Matthieu Blazy left BV to take up the role. We think he’s the perfect choice and are super excited to see where he takes this most venerable of houses (and no doubt he is super excited to have the most prestigious fashion job in the world AND earn a reputed $4 million a year…)
Kith x Sesame Street
We are actually bored of typing ‘another collab with Kith…’ but even our icy hearts melted at their new partnership with Sesame Street. We mean, who doesn’t love a bit of Bert and Ernie? The collection itself features some obvious branded t-shirts that could come from a gift shop but alongside these are some inspired bits of knitwear (the Elmo one being a highlight), cute ‘street view’ and character embroidered jackets and even a cookie jar. Shame they missed out on a Big Bird style yellow coat though. As you can imagine, it’s almost sold-out, but there are still some pieces left.
JW Anderson ‘Queer’ Capsule Collection
We are huge fans of JW Anderson’s work – especially at Loewe – and were excited that he got involved in the wardrobe design of the new Luca Guadagnino film Queer, based on the seminal book by William S Burroughs. The costumes are great and all the stars of the movie looked fantastic on the red carpet but we are a little underwhelmed by the companion capsule collection just released under the designer’s own label. Rather unimaginatively, the hoodies and sweatshirts feature stills, scrawled quotes or the film title rather than something a little more left field that we might have hoped for and the caps and tote bag just look like giveaways from the premiere. You can check the whole collection here.
Loro Piana’s Textile-Inspired Candle Collection
Keen to expand into a wider lifestyle brand, Italian kings of understated luxury, Loro Piana have just released three scented candles that apparently ‘encapsulate the spirit of iconic textiles’. Luckily these are cashmere and vicuna rather than polyester or damp flannel and in any event, translate into something elegant and attractive despite all the conceptual talk about ‘raindrops on fertile soil’. As we can’t afford any Loro Piana clothes with their eye-watering price tags, we will have to make do with just the aromas (and the wooden holders themselves are things of beauty too).
Year of the Snake
2025 is the year of the snake according to the Chinese calendar and this seems to have already had a bit of an influence on the design world. First up came jeweller Tom Wood who released a set of ‘snakeskin’ rings – actually made from semi-precious jasper which closely resembles the reptile’s markings. Then Birkenstock announced new, very covetable versions of their classic Arizona and Florida sandals in (mock) python alongside a clog with fake snake straps. Clearly, the snake fits into the luxury world much easier than the more lowly rat or rabbit…
