Couture comeback
MANILA, Philippines - Lacroix for Schiaparelli isn’t the only comeback we’re seeing at the Paris haute couture shows. Following a 13-year sabbatical, design duo Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren unveiled 20 ensembles last Wednesday — one to celebrate each year that they’ve designed together, WWD reports. Anticipation and excitement for the collection has built up in the days leading up to it, especially when word got out that an unnamed art collector had already purchased half of the collection even before it made it out on the runway. “The essence is creativity for the sake of creativity. We do love a certain mystery which couture provides and which we feel ready-to-wear has lost,†Snoeren said of the collection. Hopefully it won’t be another 13 years before we see their work again.
Long live schiaparelli
As a tribute to one of his long-time fashion heroes, retired couturier Christian Lacroix has designed a one-off couture collection for the house of Schiaparelli, which is now owned by Diego Della Valle, Tod’s group chairman and CEO. “Art, theater and cinema — my wish is to reposition Elsa at the centre of her maison and on the stage from which she once seduced the world,†Lacroix told Vogue.com.uk about the upcoming collection. Featuring feathers, pom-poms and ornate lace, the 15-piece collection, Lacroix’s interpretations of Schiaparelli’s most iconic pieces, was unveiled at 21 Place Vendôme, the location of Schiaparelli’s original workshop. Lacroix’s own couture line shuttered in 2009 after the designer filed for bankruptcy. None of the piceces from this one-time collection will be sold; instead it will be on display at Maison Schiaparelli until the house hires a permanent artistic director. Rochas creative director Marco Zanini is reported to be in the running, but in the meantime, Lacroix’s collection will be followed in the coming seasons by a series of other designers and artists who will all offer their own interpretations of Schiaparelli’s work.
Game over
LVMH has just been ordered to pay upwards of $10 million in fines for what LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault considers to be an act of “friendly†support “of one of France’s finest companies.†After it was revealed that LVMH has quietly been investing in family-owned luxury company Hermès since 2001 in an attempt to launch a takeover bid of the company, the Hermès family fought back, stating that Arnault had been acquiring shares through questionable means. LVMH currently holds a 22.3 percent share of Hermès International holdings. Now, it appears as though the Hermès family may be getting the justice they’ve been looking for: AMF, France’s stock market regulator, has imposed the highest fine it has ever given to Arnault’s company for “failing to inform the market that it was preparing to raise its stake in Hermès and of having breached its disclosure requirements when publishing its consolidated financial statements for 2008 and 2009.†Arnault and his team have already decided to make an appeal. “The very principle of the sanction and, even more so, the amount of the fine are completely unjustified in this case,†an LVMH spokesperson told WWD.
YSL shake-up
Another day, another CEO steps down from one of the most formidable fashion houses. Today, it’s former Yves Saint Laurent CEO Paul Deneve who announced his resignation this week in order to join the “high-tech industry.†(There are rumors that Deneve left YSL for Apple, where he worked in sales and marketing back in the ‘90s.) He will be replaced by Francesca Bellettini, the former executive director of fellow Kering-owned Bottega Veneta on Sept. 1. “I would like to thank Hedi Slimane and my colleagues,†said Paul Deneve in a statement. “Thanks to their skills and dedication, we have gone a long way and I am particularly proud of that.†It was actually Deneve who appointed Slimane for YSL — a pretty wise move considering sales at the house are at an all-time high. In addition to Deneve’s departure, Kering CEO François-Henri Pinault announced that Slimane would be tasked with supervising “all strategic projects for the brand†alongside Bellettini in order to “realize its considerable long-term potential for growth.â€
Tokidoki x Karl Lagerfeld
Hardly a week goes by that Karl Lagerfeld doesn’t make news for something he said or another collaboration he’s working on. This time, he’s been immortalized as a Tokodoki figurine, together with his beloved Siamese cat, Choupette (whom he once admitted on CNN to loving so much, he would marry her if he could). This is the second time Italian artist and Tokidoki creator Simone Legno has turned the Kaiser into a mini-statue; the first one was created to celebrate Karl’s first standalone store last year. The special collection also includes printed jeans, a casual vest, T-shirts, a scard and a Karl-emblazoned clutch. “I am very flattered that I have become a Tokidoki. I always loved them and I am very happy to be one of them,†Largerfeld told Vogue.co.uk. The collection launched this week on Net-A-Porter and Karl Lagerfeld concept stores in Paris, Berlin and Amsterdam.