Like many of us, our summer vacations are over, and we are back to work to face inboxes full of press releases. Luckily, though, unlike in the real world, a lot of the news is positive at the moment. Big luxury brands are helping out smaller ones and keeping creativity and craft centre stage whilst others are doing their bit to support minorities and boost the art of reading. Alongside that, there is a bright new collab and an exhibition to see in London: all things to raise a glass of champagne to (and luckily there are three new vintages to try)! Here are our favourites from the past couple of weeks.
Chanel has acquired the iconic French heritage house, Charvet
Chanel has never been a brand that does much by way of collaborations, so well-shaped eyebrows were raised when Matthieu Blazy teamed up with super posh shirtmaker Charvet for his first ready-to-wear collection. But the results went viral and have been seen on everyone from Nicole Kidman to Jacob Elordi. Now Chanel has taken the relationship one step further and actually bought Charvet, with the intention of supporting it as a purveyor of true Parisian craftsmanship. It’s actually not the first time the super-brand has stepped in as a very elegant fairy godmother: past acquisitions include embroiderers Lesage, feather-workers Lemarié, shoemakers Massaro and over forty other couture workshops. Good to know someone is putting their money into helping small, specialist artisans survive in a world that revolves around mass production.
Aesop brought its Queer library back to the UK
Aesop is another brand putting its money where its mouth is: recently, for a weekend, it turned two of its London stores into libraries for queer literature. All the shelves of the Soho shop were cleared of stock and filled instead with books that tell LGBTQIA+ stories, whilst the store in nearby Spitalfields became a similarly themed reading room. Customers could not only browse but also take home a book of their choice. Whilst buying into the growing trend for print rather than digital reading matter (more of that in our new print issue of The Editors!), Aesop also continue its support of marginalised communities by donating money to both gay and trans-related charities.
Hermés transformed their website using a series of hand-drawn illustrations
Back in Paris, another super-brand is doing their bit to support smaller creatives and also push back against AI and digital processes: for the second time, Hermès gave a young artist the job of redesigning their website using entirely hand-painted illustrations and animations. French painter Sarah Martinon painstakingly created landing pages for all product groups on the site, featuring whimsical images of the famous Hermès horse boating in tote bags, parachuting with silk scarves, and relaxing on the beach on a signature towel. The whole process took months – a far cry from the seconds it takes to produce AI-generated content – but underlines the luxury house’s commitment to craftsmanship (and flexes their deep pockets by being able to afford the process).
Jacquemus and Timberland unveiled the new “Lagoon Blue” shoe
After a bit of a summer break, news of designer partnerships is starting to appear again in our mail. First up is from collab-crazy Timberland who, fresh from working with BEAMS and Louis Vuitton, called on Jacquemus to reinterpret their classic 3-eye Lug Boat Shoe. This he did by making the whole thing in a rather lurid shade of turquoise – or should we say ‘Lagoon Blue’ – with matching laces. Made initially to go with the French designer’s SS27 collection, the shoes have been fast-tracked to the sales floors this summer for those who can’t wait. For us, though, these Lug Boats don’t really float our love boat.
Burberry and the V&A Museum announced ‘The Burberry Trench: Crafting an Icon’ exhibition
Fashion-related exhibitions are usually big hits with museums that need good footfall to help finance their more serious conservation work. Hot on the heels of the announcement that the next Met blockbuster will centre around John Galliano, London’s V&A opens a much less controversial retrospective of the classic Burberry trenchcoat. Despite having a rather staid, grown-up image, this stalwart of English style has a long and interesting history and has inspired legions of designers since its invention in 1879. Divided into three sections – Invention, Craft and Creativity – the exhibition is a showcase of what Burberry is really known for and a strong attempt to get the ailing brand back onto the fashion world’s radar. Hopefully, for them, their raincoat can provide the first ray of much-needed sunshine.
Dom Pérignon launched three vintages
Nothing pops our cork as much as the arrival of a new champagne vintage, and so news that Dom Pérignon has launched three in one go was music to our ears. For their first triple delivery ever, they introduced a classic vintage 2017, a rosé 2010, and a 2008 Plénitude 2 (aged for double the length of time), all revealed at two large parties, one in New York and one in Los Angeles. Never people to do things by halves (Graham still remembers the dinner on the top of a volcano in Tenerife to celebrate Plénitude 2 in 2019), this shindig involved multiple celebrities sipping to a soundscape created by Jonathan Weiss and watching a Japanese mochitsuki ritual (no – we don’t know what that is either). With warmer summers in the Champagne region generally producing more vintage-worthy harvests, hopefully there will be even more of these fabulous events in the future (and our inbox is always ready for the invites…)
Zalando and Samsøe Samsøe brought an exclusive capsule to the Way Out West Festival
Fashion’s love of music festivals seems to be showing no signs of stopping, and, no longer content with simply using Glastonbury photos as inspiration, brands are starting to actually host them. Following a couple of mini-festivals in cities such as Copenhagen, Odense, and Aarhus as part of their ‘The Corner’ series, Zalando continued with a similar version in Gothenburg with performances by the likes of Jada and Killen. Gone are the days when brands sponsored concerts just by adding their logo – this was a full immersive experience organised by the retail giant, who even collaborated with Danish designers Samsoe Samsoe to produce exclusive merch. It also highlighted the ever-increasing desire of brands to create community and be active across multiple creative platforms.
What else happened?
