YStyle Picks
In Memoriam: L’Wren Scott
MANILA, Philippines - On the morning of March 17, 2014, fashion designer, former model and celebrity stylist L’Wren Scott was found dead in her New York Apartment in an apparent suicide. She was 49.
Our deepest sympathy goes out to L’Wren’s family and friends at this difficult time. May she rest in peace.
The LVMH Young Fashion Designer Prize 2014
The biggest dream for any young designer is to stock his graduate collection at Lane Crawford, basically the AZN edition of Proenza Schouler’s storied origin with Barney’s New York. Okay, to be a little less SEA region specific — to be a stockist at online retail powerhouse Net-A-Porter. Thanks to LVMH, there is a bigger dream to be had. Imagine a 300,000-Euro incubation investment and a fashion mentorship from the likes of Karl Lagerfeld, Nicolas Ghesquière, Riccardo Tisci and Phoebe Philo — business and development advice from the #HAUS that invigorates Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Givenchy and Céline. A dream accessible to any point of nationality or residence. The American-restricted CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund incubator program this is not.
The LVMH group of companies announced in 2013 the creation of a new annual Young Fashion Designer Prize led by Delphine Arnault, vice president of Louis Vuitton. The LVMH Prize selection process has since come to fruition, and in 2014, 12 finalists were selected. The eligibility of applicants was open to any designer under 40 who has produced two commercially available collections of women’s and/or men’s ready-to-wear. The finalists chosen out of a staggering 1,221 applicants are the following: Atto by Julien Dossena, CG by Chris Gelinas, Gabriele Colangelo, Shayne Oliver’s Hood by Air, Jacquemus by Simon Prte Jacquemus, Miuniku by Nikita and Tina Sutradhar, Thomas Tait, Tillman Lauterbach, Tim Coppens, Simone Rocha, Suno by Max Osterweis and Erin Beatty, and Vika Gazinskaya.
The 12 finalists battling for the 300,000-Euro grant will present their collections to a panel of 40 judges, composed of a diverse cast of fashion stalwarts ranging from Carine Roitfeld, Bergdorf Goodman's Linda Fargo, Patrick Demarchelier, makeup artist Pat McGrath Angelica Cheung (editor in chief of Vogue China) and model Mariacarla Boscono, just to name a few.
If we had to choose a winner, our money would be on Fashion Week favorites SUNO (NY) and Thomas Tait (London). In addition to this, LVMH will recognize three young graduates of fashion design who will each receive a 10,000-Euro injection and the opportunity to work under an LVMH brand for one year. The LVMH prizes will be announced in May, stay tuned.
Wren Studio’s First Kiss
By now, you may have seen the three and a half minute video showing 10 pairs of beautiful strangers making out by way of an introductory handshake. The “First Kiss†short film managed to pull at the heartstrings of millions worldwide and is certifiably a viral sensation. 62 million YouTube views and a dozen parodies later, the video is revealed (or realized?) to be a video campaign for Wren, a Los Angeles based womenswear label. Angry Internet shenanigans ensue.
The “ad†was shot as an answer to Style.com’s Video Fashion Week, a showcase for brands without enough resources to stage a physical Fall presentation. Wren Studio commissioned the auteur Tatia Pilieva for the task with no ulterior viral intention in mind. After all, the video opens with the billboard “Wren presents†and the branding is fully prominent in the credits. After setting the Internet on fire for a good week, the video’s negative reaction set in when viewers realized they were, once again, “duped†by Corporate America.
With millions of views and unlimited media mileage, Melissa Coker, founder and creative director of clothing company Wren, admits to a significant bump in online sales via WrenStudio.com with no signs of slowing down. All’s well that ends well, we say, and haters can direct themselves to the far left. With fashion film and video campaigns a hot commodity in fashion right now, “First Kiss†just set an unprecedented level of exposure. For pioneers and consistent producers of fashion film such as label Prada and Nick Knight for SHOWstudio, the bar has been set and possibilities for expansion are endless.
