Men's fashion: 23 top trends for Fall/Winter 2019-2020

As in seasons passed, designers played their failsafe cards, with oversized shoulders ever-present on the runways, as well as extreme padding, lashings of leather and faux-fur. Streetwear and sportswear joined forces, with officewear reincarnated in the form of suit/parka ensembles for a firmly preppy air. Not to mention the array of prints, from the wild to the subtly poetic. Here is our edit of the 23 key menswear trends of Fall/Winter 2019-2020.

1. The skin-baring suit (Dries Van Noten, Prada, Valentino)

Gone is the shirt and the roll-neck sweater of last winter. Bare skin is the only accessory needed (preferably worn with an unbuttoned jacket).

2. Acid trip (Dries Van Noten, Dsquared2, GmbH)

Designers set the tone during Haute Couture season, with tie dye at Dsquared2 and Dries Van Noten, and paintbox explosions at GmbH.

3. Alpine allure (Cottweiler, Kenzo, Prada)

We are yet to see the end of nylon. At Prada, mountainwear was the undoubted victor, with neon motifs and Kenzo and alpinist twists at Cottweiler.

4. Men in black (Celine, No. 21, Saint Laurent)

Meticulously tailored suits, with white shirts and ultra-skinny ties...The officewear look - slimfit at Saint Laurent and baggy at Celine - has hijacked the menswear runways.

5. Think pink (Berluti, Boss, Kenzo)

The signature shade of the season? Neon pink, whether on a double buttoned suit at Boss or with sportswear accents at Kenzo.

6. Illustrated knitwear (Casablanca, Dior Homme, Loewe)

Last season logo-printed T-shirts exploded on the runways, but this Fall/Winter sees knitwear tattooed with illustrations take center stage. At Casablanca, woolen pieces were infused with a quasi-poetic spirit, rivaled only by Loewe and Dior Homme.

7. Monochrome (Ami, Fendi, Louis Vuitton)

Whether its beige as seen at Fendi, off white at Ami or gray at Louis Vuitton, the monochrome look is the epitome of quiet confidence.

8. Leather (Alyx, Berluti, Dior Homme)

One of the fashion commandments this winter? Those who dare to wear full leather will have their style credentials confirmed in a blink.

9. Leopard print (Marni, Celine, Versace)

The kitsch motif par excellence, leopard print has endured the turn of the season, this winter shining on coats at Celine, Versace and Marni. How better to free your wild side?

10. Oversized puffers (Balenciaga, Off-White, Fendi)

For many seasons, the puffer has remained a staple trend of the streetwear wardrobe. This winter, even bolder than before, Off-White crowned the key piece with a built-in cross-body bag.

11. Extra-long scarves (Acne Studios, Ami, Dries Van Noten)

A winter must-have, the scarf is worn cocoon like, in bright colors and dramatically long.

12. The suit/parka ensemble (Berluti, Givenchy, Dunhill)

The parka has unhinged its style potential on the men's Fashion Week runways. Berluti, Dunhill and Givenchy followed suit, pairing it with tailoring to match.

13. Mix and match (Balmain, Fendi, Off-White)

A leather or a denim jacket? A chequered blazer or a navy-blue suit jacket? A cardigan in black or camel? You no longer need to chose.

14. Vintage (Loewe, Gucci, Vetements)

With a resurgence of flower prints and the "granny look" led by A$AP Rocky wrapping scarves around head à la grandma, vintage womenswear seeped onto the runways, as seen at Vetements, Loewe and Gucci.

15. Dramatic shoulders (Balenciaga, Raf Simons, Bottega Veneta)

Knowingly crafted sets of shoulders were seen at Balenciaga, Raf Simons and Bottega Veneta, built into coats and oversized jackets like armour. How else to battle below-zero temperatures?

16. Clarity (Cottweiler, Ann Demeulemeester, Fendi)

"Bare all while staying covered" was the tenet sworn to at Cottweiler, Ann Demeulemeester and Fendi.

17. Sleepwear couture (Ann Demeulemeester, Casablanca, Balenciaga)

Following the womenswear trend, daytime pajamas were spotted on the men's runways, taking inspiration from 1960s Hollywood. Think silk and velvet, as seen at Casablanca and Ann Demeulemeester.

18. Dressing gown coats (Ann Demeulemeester, Vetements, Celine)

With streetwear notions at Vetements, chic meets shock-factor at Celine and bohemian at Ann Demeulemeester, the faux-fur coat was king of the runways.

19. Preppy (Balmain, Gucci, Lacoste)

The V-neck has returned alive and kicking, at Balmain, Gucci and Lacoste seen oversized and 1950s preppy.

20. Extreme quilting (Kiko Kostadinov, Bottega Veneta, Off-White)

Worn all-over, new life was breathed into padded designs, elevating them to the realm of veritable feather-stuffed sculptures at Bottega Veneta, Off-White and Kiko Kostadinov.

21. New romantic (Ann Demeulemeester, Gucci, Paloma Spain)

A poetic aura shone from the runways at Gucci and Palomo Spain, with an unveiling of silk shirts, at once flowing and light.

22. Tattered wool (Ann Demeulemeester, Balmain, Vetements)

Sweaters were peppered with holes, torn-up and shredded, a response to the taste of grunge blowing on the breeze. Demna Gvasalia at Vetements continued to make underground style his signature.

23. The neck bag (Dior Homme, Prada, Valentino)

Jacquemus sparked the idea this summer: shed the superfluous, carrying only the bare-necessities in a teeny-tiny bag worn around the neck.

Millennial Loyalty Isn’t Enough: These Brands Want Their Love

Gone are the days when the only goal of a company was to persuade you to buy its product. Now, making you feel kinship with a brand — even love — takes precedence.

At least, that’s what a group of influential start-ups believe. Eyewear maker Warby Parker, makeup seller Glossier, mattress retailer Casper — all of these companies are “direct-to-consumer” brands largely born on the internet. Sure, advertising has been about identity since before there was a Marlboro man. But these “digital native” retailers, known for indulgent niche products at accessible prices, have given an entirely new meaning to the phrase “brand affinity.”

From luggage-seller Away inviting customers to walk through a pretend airport security line to Seamless using its own data for a cute subway ad campaign (a Bronx neighbourhood was deemed least ideal for “making out” because residents order the most garlic bread,) digital native brands have created a new algorithm. The traditional buy-sell model doesn’t fly anymore, said Americus Reed, a marketing professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. Younger generations weaned on the web demand a new kind of interaction — and much more attention.

This is forcing legacy companies to play catch up on yet another front. “Retailers in the physical space are going to have to provide something that is more experiential, that is going to draw people in to hang out and do stuff,” Reed said.

But they’ll have to move fast. Close to 7,000 physical stores were shut down by the end of 2017, according to research and advisory firm FGRT. In the same period, e-commerce builder Shopify powered over 600,000 online businesses, with 73 percent of purchasing traffic coming from mobile devices. The ability to instantly feed customer data back into a business model is perhaps the most critical change. “While these disrupter companies are obviously much smaller, they are advantaged in their ability to obtain and to use that first party data much, much more rapidly,” said Randall Rothenberg, chief executive of the Interactive Advertising Bureau.

The growth of direct-to-consumer retailers is most apparent when it comes personal products for men.

IAB notes that Gillette’s share of the US men’s razors business, for example, dropped to 54 percent in 2016, from 70 percent in 2010, while the combined US share of shaving upstarts Harry’s and Dollar Shave Club rose to 12.2 percent, from 7.2 percent, in 2015 alone. (Perhaps this explains Gillette’s audacious new ad campaign.)

For men’s start-up, Hims, founder Andrew Dudum said making a sale (at least in the short run) ranks lower than building a long-term customer relationship. Like many of his peers, the 30-year-old said he’s trying to do more than just sell products, which in the case of Hims means generic versions of Viagra and skin-care items for men. The San Francisco-based company hopes to create an “emotional trust” that will encourage men to talk openly about health issues without feeling embarrassed.

“It’s so easy to build a brand — get it live and throw up Instagram ads — that I think building a serious depth of trust with your consumers involves so much more than that,” said Dudum. “When they need something, we’re here to help them.”

It may sound a bit precious, but responsiveness with a veneer of loyalty can make a start-up stand out in a world where anyone with a phone can call themselves an entrepreneur. A company’s brand — the feeling, image or story consumers immediately recognise when they see it — is now everything.

With this shifting landscape comes a new generation of branding firms​.​​​​​​ Hims brought in Gin Lane, the creative brains behind Sweetgreen, SmileDirectClub and Harry’s. The Manhattan-based firm had to build a strategy that would overcome the male tendency to remain utilitarian when it comes to hygiene. The trick was to make men feel empowered when buying health products.

San Francisco-based Hims first approached Gin Lane in June 2017 and launched the following November. The central question for the brand was, how do you stop men from buying plastic razors in a 20 pack or skulking down the haircare aisle for a package of Rogaine? The answer, it turns out, was humour.

“We wanted to be that uncle that men could feel comfortable asking the uncomfortable questions,” said Dan Kenger, digital creative director at Gin Lane. Over the course of four months, the firm drafted every little detail of the brand’s persona. This even included how the “voice” of Hims would change, depending on whether its message was on Instagram or in a text.

Hims’s play on innuendo, from cheeky cactus visuals to eggplant emojis, became a way for the company to inject humor into the men’s health space. Emojis, what Gin Lane co-founder Emmett Shine calls the “universal language of millennials” and a useful tool to break the masculine ice, also became a big part of the marketing strategy.

The secret, he said, is to take the form of a friend, with ads that converse on an emotional level. “People are expecting their brands to be more intelligent, to know who they are, to speak to them as you would expect another human to speak to you,” Shine said.

Hims now has about 60 employees and, with a line of prescription-based products and medical services in some states, a network of more than 124 licensed physicians. The company has raised $97 million from such investors as Institutional Venture Partners, Forerunner Ventures and Josh Kushner’s Thrive Capital. The latest round valued the company at $500 million, according to data firm PitchBook. And since the brand’s launch 15 months ago, the numbers show they might be on to something: Hims said it booked $1 million in sales during its first week, and that sales have climbed ever since.

“This is the playbook for the future,” Shine declared.

“Brand has become a little bit of a commodity,” said Neil Parikh, co-founder and chief strategy officer of bed-in-a-box retailer Casper, in a 2018 interview. And though Casper’s quirky-yet-lovable persona seems intuitive now, it was arguably that brand identity that helped it rise to the top in just five years. It now leads an industry that’s projected to be worth $43 billion by 2024.

“The industry had trained people that, in order to choose a mattress, you had to lie on it,” said Emily Heyward, co-founder of Red Antler, a Brooklyn, New York-based agency that was brought in to help create Casper’s brand. They decided that the only way to get people to buy mattresses online was to build a brand they connected with — and ultimately fell in love with. It’s this extra step that arguably differentiates the new age of branding, marketing and advertising from the old one.

Today, armed with $239.7 million in funding and backing from Target, Casper’s strategy extends into everything from mass-transit ads to packaging. And in true millennial fashion, the campaign includes a chatbot for insomniacs and a nap store.

Los Angeles-based Figs, which exceeded $100 million in revenue last year, said it’s the first company to try branding the previously indistinct, $60 billion medical apparel industry. And it’s gone all in, incorporating customers into every part of its image, an effort to create a “truly 360 brand experience” for its target audience, said Heather Hasson, co-chief executive and co-founder. She’s enlisted medical professionals and students as models, and its Instagram page boasts photos taken by people posing in their form-fitting scrubs.

Figs “talks to their customers on a regular basis, checks in with them on social media and gets quick, direct feedback, knowing exactly what health-care professionals are looking for,” said Nabeela Khan Patail, a physician based in Manhattan. In November, the retailer even partnered with yoga-apparel retailer Lululemon to host 40 “awesome humans” — what it calls its core customers of doctors, nurses, dentists — at a week-long yoga retreat in Malibu, California. Patail, 29, was one of the attendees.

“Experiencing the retreat made me realise the company truly cared about our well-being, and their support isn’t just tied to sales of their scrubs,” she said.

Would you trust a company enough to straighten your teeth through the mail? Apparently, many do. SmileDirectClub is maybe on the cutting edge of this new branding strategy. Down to the purple packaging that says “Let’s get this party started,” Gin Lane’s Shine said he wanted to change how adults feel about wearing braces (the company first had to overcome skeptical orthodontists.)

“When you get the box in the mail, you shouldn’t feel like you have to hide it,” he said. “Let’s open it like it’s a really nice pair of Jordan sneakers and show it online and show everyone how excited you are about what you are doing.”

Instagram and Twitter have been flooded with adults sharing their crooked-to-perfect transitions, spurring hundreds of real-time comments the company pumps back into its advertising. “Branding is a two-way-street,” said SmileDirectClub chief global brand officer Josh Chapman. “It’s something that we hear, and then adjust.” The company was recently valued at $3.2 billion.

The speed of consumer decision-making demands a robust digital presence, especially if you’re going to command the attention of millennials and Generation Z, who already expect friction-free shopping in the palm of their hands. For those executives out there in 20th century retail land struggling to adapt, Wharton professor Americus Reed said they have only one person to blame.

“The brilliance of Jeff Bezos is, he taught you now to basically expect free shipping and to expect a very easy process online,” he said. “Press a button, and it shows up a day later.”

5 Must-Visit Fashion Museums In Paris

Le Palais Galliera

A legendary Parisian fashion museum, the Palais Galliera is housed in the palace of the Duchess of Galliera, who in 1978 decided to build a museum that could host the collections of art she envisaged coming to the Paris scene. Architect Léon Ginain helmed the project and in 1894, the building officially opened its doors in the 16th arrondissement. However, it was only in 1977 that the Palais Galliera became the fashion museum in Paris and worldwide, thanks to exhibitions such as Alaïa, Dalida, Les Années 50 and Margiela-Galliera 1988-2018. Currently closed for renovation, the museum will reopen its doors at the end of 2019, with new permanent exhibition spaces baptized The Gabrielle Chanel Rooms, made possible by an exclusive partnership between Chanel and the museum. The institution will shed light on collections, tracing the history of fashion since the 18th century, in the underground tunnel spaces sponsored by the Parisian fashion house. Spanning 7,200 square feet and designed by architect Dominique Brard, Palais Galliera, currently under the command of Miren Arzalluz will become the only permanent fashion museum in France.

The Museum of Decorative Arts

Initially opening in 1905, in a wing of the Marsan du Palais of the Louvre, the Museum of Decorative Arts was designed by Gaston Redon, and houses a monumental collection of decorative arts and design pieces. Its archive of over 150,000 fashion pieces has been donated by the likes of Paul Poiret, Madeleine Vionnet, Elsa Schiaparelli, Cristóbal Balenciaga and Christian Lacroix dating from the 8th century to the modern day. Christian Dior’s iconic tailor bar and the way it sculpted the New Look in 1947 is paid particular attention to. With exceptional exhibitions, such as Dries van Noten and Tenue correcte exigée! and the prominent Christian Dior, Designer of Dreams exhibition in 2017 for the 70th birthday of the French fashion house, which drew over 700,000 guests from around the world, a record for the museum.

The Yves Saint Laurent Museum

On October 3, 2017, the Yves Saint Laurent Museum in Paris opened its doors on 5 Avenue Marceau, inside a hôtel particulier, housing the Fondation Pierre Bergé – Yves Saint Laurent. The space spans almost 5,000 square feet, with a retrospective collection of 50 designs, sketches, photographs and videos, as well as hosting thematic exhibitions. The highlight of the visit is surely the ancient couture rooms and Yves Saint Laurent’s studio, a vivid flashback to the origins of the Parisian fashion house, founded in July 1961. Nathalie Crinière is responsible for the set design, with Jacques Grange behind the décor, both faithful collaborators of the foundation. The Jean-Michel Rousseau architect agency designed the space capable of immersing visitors in the original atmosphere of the fashion house, the resident exhibition L'Asie rêvée d'Yves Saint Laurent travelling to Nice in April. The exhibition to see in 2019? Yves Saint Laurent’s collections on display, including the Mondrian dresses.

The Cité de la Mode et du Design

A glassy green snake by Jakob + Macfarlane hangs suspended above the Seine. The Cité de la Mode et du Design draws the gaze of all those wondering along the Paris's riverbanks. Housed in a former industrial warehouse in Port de Paris, built in 1907, the building sees fashion fanatics from the capital's 13th arrondissement pouring through its doors, especially on fine days - the rooftop view has a magnetic effect. But the ephemeral exhibitions are the main draw, devoted to artists and designers alike, often playing them off against the designs of students from the IFM, voted the best fashion school in France in 2015, an important reference point for almost 30 years for young people wanting to break into managment, communications and fashion design.

The Fan Museum

The first of its kind, the Atelier Anne Hoguet - Musée de l’Éventail is dedicated to the sleek accessory. Since 1993, 2500 pieces dating from between the 16th and 20th centuries are found in the museum’s halls. The interior is simply sublime, with a giant chimney, walls draped in blue tapestries, embroidered gold threaded lilies. The fans, some of which hark from the Hoguet collection, are set beside fan-makers’ tools, responsible for adorning them in silks, organza, lace and feathers. A visit to this museum is almost poetic, revealing the rarest of fabrics and finest materials.

A Saint Laurent Cafe Is Opening In Paris

As Paris Fashion Week approaches, the house of Saint Laurent has taken the opportunity to open its first cafe. Located on rue du 29 Juillet, attached to the YSL boutique - a mere stone’s throw from the Tuileries gardens, this stylish new cafe will immerse its visitors into the world of the famous fashion house.

With its all black and neon light decor, the place offers all types of coffee à la carte, which are made using the top of the range Faema E61, a barista’s favorite, as well as a selection of pastries and cakes. What’s more is that each week, for each coffee purchased, a QR code containing a playlist compiled by the house of Saint Laurent by will be shared.

The Moulin Rouge Is Celebrating Its 130th Birthday

The legendary Parisian cabaret will celebrate its 130th birthday on October 6 with a light and sound show open to all. For 130 years, the Moulin Rouge has been at the top of the list of the most legendary cabarets in the world. This very special birthday promises to be spectacular.

October 6, 1889 saw the inauguration of the Moulin Rouge, right at the bottom of Montmartre. The place quickly became famous, and all of Paris rushed there to watch its wonderful French can can shows. The place has been captured in the artworks of Toulouse-Lautrec, as well as being a source of inspiration for writers in search of realism. The stage has seen artists such as the whimsical Mistinguett and Colette, and the theatre has seen much scandal in its time (in 1907, Colette kissed her mistress Missy, the Marquise de Morny, at the end of her show Rêve d'Égypte, creating a real uproar). The cabaret is the most emblematic and vivid testimony of an entire era in which one seeks above all to fascinate and shock in the face of rigid classism, from the middle-class folk to the street boy.

On October 6, 2019, the Moulin Rouge will celebrate its 130th birthday with a 10 minute light and sound show on its façade which will retrace its rich history, the beginnings of it success and its famous Féerie show. 60 artists from the company will come up with a performance based on the famous French can can dance. Paris is one big party, and it will prove itself again through this exceptional evening, open to all.

Nicki Minaj Has Designed A Capsule Collection For Fendi

If you’re looking to emulate Nicki Minaj’s bold style, then you’re in luck as the Grammy nominated artist is launching a capsule collection for Fendi next month.

WWD announced that Minaj’s collection is called “Fendi Prints On” (in reference to her hit song Chun-Li) and will launch on October 14. The collection will include logo-printed reversible puffers, graphic tees, sequin dresses and more than a few figure-hugging silhouettes in bold colours. There’s an accessories offering also that includes handbags (Peekaboo, Baguette, Kan U and a new belt bag), sneakers, wrap-around sunglasses and hoop earrings.

Speaking of the collaboration, Serge Brunschwig, Fendi’s chairman and chief executive officer, said, “She is a great artist and one of the best rappers. Fendi shares great affinity with her. She represents one of Fendi’s dimensions, the fun aspect of the brand and she will present it extremely well.” He noted her friendship with the late Karl Lagerfeld, as well as with Silvia Venturini Fendi, adding, “Yes she is extreme but are not afraid of that and found it very interesting working with her. [The collection is] very colourful and strong; it makes a statement. We are super happy.”

The news follows Minaj’s apparent retirement this week. Taking to Twitter, Nicki wrote that she is retiring to “have my family” with boyfriend Kenneth Perry. However, after confusion and sadness from fans, she apologised for the “abrupt and insensitive” announcement though didn’t backtrack on the retirement message.

The Fendi Prints On collection will launch online on October 14 and in-stores globally from October 16. And it may not be the last collaboration between the pair with Brunschwig saying, “You never know about the future. Fendi is always thinking about the next project, but the focus is now on this.”

6 Young Designers Dress Barbie For Her 60th Anniversary

To honour Barbie’s 60th anniversary, and celebrate its diverse range of dolls, we invited six leading young designers to dress the icon in their signature style.

Matty Bovan

If any designer exemplifies the boundless creative energy of this country, it is Matty Bovan. After learning to knit at the age of 11, he became fascinated by the idea of “making fabric your own, making it feel personal” – and since founding his namesake brand, he has scoured the country in search of craftspeople who could do precisely that. Whether sourcing waxed cotton from Lancashire or Scottish wool to be knitted in Leicester, he is dedicated to championing artisanal skills often forgotten in the digital age, and trawls the internet in search of new collaborators. “It’s gone from being a cottage industry to finding these people I can work with all around the UK – and the world,” he beams. A wealth of such techniques have been incorporated into the costume for his intricately constructed Barbie: hand-padded and sewn into her dress with golden Japanese yarn, she is the miniature embodiment of his magpie eclecticism. “It’s kind of like Barbie couture,” Bovan reflects. “I wanted her to have the same energy that my runway clothes have... She’s epic.”

Mowalola

Lagos-born, London-based Mowalola Ogunlesi has rooted her aesthetic in liberated self-expression: stiff, glossy leathers sprayed in bold prints; hems cut high and necklines low. “Mine is a world where everyone is free in terms of what they wear, in terms of how they think,” she explains. “And my women aren’t threatened by anyone – they are taking back their power.” That spirit – of radical enjoyment presented as modern rebellion – has a magnetic energy, and it is the same that imbues her Barbie. Dressed in a miniature evolution of her spring/summer 2020 collection, with backcombed hair by Virginie P Moreira and make-up created by Daniel Sallstrom (using a miniature paintbrush), “she is a Mowalola superhero,” Ogunlesi grins. “She’s strong and captivating and ready to have a really good time. I want to be wherever she’s going.

Richard Malone

If sustainability was once considered a byword for hemp-hewn bohemia, then Richard Malone has helped revolutionise its identity. Embracing eco-dyed lurid colours and unexpected textures formed from recycled ocean waste, offcut materials and repurposed dog beds (that red, white and blue stole draped over Barbie’s arm), he is besotted by the fine line between good and bad taste – as are the wealth of private clients he’s amassed over the course of his career. Those women – who comprise a sizeable proportion of his business – equally provide some of his most formative inspirations, informing the resolute practicality stitched into his designs (even the most sculptural showpieces come with pockets and are machine- washable) as well as, now, his Barbie. “Barbie is a businesswoman – and a lot of the women I work with are too, but they don’t dress like men in suits; fashion is a part of their identity. I wanted to show that Barbie could wear a runway look but still live her everyday life and remain the boss that she truly is.

Art School

“Art School really began with the idea of provoking a cultural shift through the process of design,” explain its founders, Eden Loweth & Tom Barratt. “We want to create a movement.” Dedicated to promoting and supporting the queer community the two designers are embedded within, theirs is a brand that proudly celebrates non-binary bodies: tailoring on the bias to accommodate transitioning shapes (their “non-binary Barbie” offers a perfect example of their take on figure-skimming glamour), or allowing for variable button placements depending on your gender. But “we have realised there is a correlation between our designs and any person’s body – because everyone’s size and shape fluctuates over the course of their life,’’ they continue. “Art School is about making clothes that are really tolerant, that will stand with someone throughout their life, and as they evolve as in their own identity.”

Charles Jeffrey Loverboy

When Charles Jeffrey first started his club night, Loverboy, in a dingy Dalston basement in 2014, little could he have imagined that its electric atmosphere and eclectic characters would become the inspiration behind his fashion brand. “People would turn up in all these amazing looks, wanting to express themselves,” he reflects. “It was a beautiful time with a beautiful energy that now I try to replicate in my shows.” Five years later, Jeffrey is a staple of the capital’s fashion scene, beloved for his inclusive nature alongside an avant-garde aesthetic rooted in extensive primary research. His Barbie (“Let’s call her ‘Wee Hen’,” he decrees in a Glaswegian drawl) exemplifies that spirit: dressed in a replica of the closing look from his spring/summer 2018 collection, which drew upon the history of cross-dressing through the ages, she is, in his words, “wearing the most fabulous piece ever.” “It took a whole week – but just looks like the actual dress!” he exclaims. “I’m really proud of her.”

Supriya Lele

Raised in the West Midlands, Supriya Lele’s take on her Indian heritage is refracted through the lens of ’90s Britain: traditional drapery rendered in transparent mesh, storied prints blown up into abstraction – or, here, the cut of a sari blouse transformed into a luminous satin dress. “I try to explore the tension between my two cultures,” she says. “I was never someone who dressed up in traditional clothing – so what I like to do is take elements of that and approach it from my own, minimal perspective.” Growing up besotted by Barbie (“I was an only child, so I had about 40”), Lele’s first venture into design was creating custom wardrobes for her – now things have come full circle, as she precisely scaled the measurements of one of her autumn/winter 2019 looks to suit Barbie’s size. In fact, so perfectly is her neon outfit reconfigured that even the pockets are fully operational. “I felt like a child again,” she grins. “But now I have an incredible pattern-cutter to help.”

Photography Credits: Photographer: Stas Komarovski. Stylist: Poppy Kain. Art Direction: Dom Kelly. Hair: Yumi Nakada-Dingle. Make-Up: Thomasin Waite. Nails: Lauren Michelle Pires. Set Design: Andrew Clarkson. Production: Verity Cousins.

Richard Quinn Ends LFW On A Romantic Note With His First Bridal Collection

Leave it to Richard Quinn to conclude London Fashion Week with the biggest surprise of the month so far. Taking over Bethnal Green’s leisure centre, York Hall, for his spring/summer 2020 show, the designer presented the sort of sartorial fantasy the world has come to expect from the first-ever winner of the Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design – with one irresistible twist. After what appeared to be the finale, model Tang He reappeared on the catwalk, followed by eight schoolgirls in marabou-feathered headdresses; floral-print gowns; and delicate ballet slippers.

Cue a curtain dropping to reveal a scene reminiscent of Rococo paintings: a stage covered in vast, empty gilt frames; bowers of roses; and a host of models in bridalwear that paid homage to the most spectacular Parisian couture. While many of the dresses nodded to the creations of Christian Dior’s ateliers – his legendary petal gown, in particular – others took the form of lavishly beaded Gatsby-esque looks and crystal-studded two-piece suits. Traditional wedding veils, meanwhile, were juxtaposed with dramatic Swarovski-lined headpieces.

Notably, however, the sense of escapism was tempered with one of responsibility. The ethos, as his production notes said, was one of “maximal extravagance and minimised waste”. Even as his international reputation (and, of course, demand for his pieces) continues to grow, all of Quinn’s prints continue to be made in-house at his studio under a railway arch in Peckham – with sustainability a central tenet of his practice. It’s hard to imagine a more fitting – and spectacular – end to LFW.

The Fashion World Turns Out To Celebrate The Launch Of Craig McDean's 'Manual'

"I didn't want to just do a book signing, I wanted it to be more of a 'happening'," photographer Craig McDean tells Vogue ahead of the launch of his latest monograph, Manual, a celebration of his twin passions: fashion and fast cars. Sure enough, rather than its creator sitting at a table behind stacks of books, McDean marked the launch of Manual with a cocktail party at Byredo's chic Lexington Street store in London – hosted by the photographer together with British Vogue editor-in-chief Edward Enninful and Byredo's creative director Ben Gorham – and the unveiling of a covetable collection of associated merch.

McDean teamed up with Gorham, his friend and long-time collaborator, to come up with a collection of products and special editions of the book to celebrate its publication. On Monday night in London, guests including Naomi Campbell – fresh from the success of her Fashion For Relief extravaganza on Saturday night – and Karen Elson browsed scarves, caps, lighters and beer coolers emblazoned with flames.

The book, published by Rizzoli, places the photographer's high-glamour shots of some of fashion's best known faces against sleek American muscle cars and steel engine parts. "I'm not putting them [the models] next to horses because I can't ride horses! I grew up around cars," says McDean, a petrol-head who worked as a mechanic in his native Middlewich, Cheshire, before he swapped the garage for shooting Gucci campaigns.

"The cars feel like they're moving [in the images], they're alive. They're moving more than the fashion pictures, in a way," says McDean, who delighted in juxtaposing hyper-feminine fashion imagery with photographs of high-performance cars. "The car racing scene is quite macho, especially in America," he says. "Somehow, it gels."

Canada-born Gorham, who shares McDean's love of race cars, said the nostalgia-infused collection of memorabilia was a celebration of his friend's work. "I've alway been a fan of Craig's work," he tells Vogue on the day of the event. "There was something really human in a lot of his early work that I fell in love with. That became the foundation for what we were going to do together going forward."

Of the iconic images featured in Manual, Gorham singles out a picture of an 18-year-old Karen Elson – a guest at last night's party – as his favourite. "Baby Karen, as I call it," he says. "It's a really beautiful picture of Karen from when she was 18... it's actually shocking to see how little she's aged seeing her here tonight!"

Monday night's event was the starting point of a global tour to introduce Manual and its merch between now and the end of the year, taking in Paris, Montreal, New York and Seoul.
Saffron Vadher attends the Craig McDean x BYREDO cocktail party during London Fashion Week.

Rihanna Wants Us All To Wear One Thing This Autumn: The Corset Boot

Yesterday Rihanna wanted us to wear head-to-toe turquoise; today she wants us to complete our autumn wardrobe with one thing: the corset boot. Taking to Instagram, the business mogul shared a series of snaps of her wearing the Fenty accessory in multiple ways.

Wearing a dark grey blazer belted at the waist, RiRi paired the piece with a tonal baseball cap, chunky chain jewellery and grey trousers slashed at the ankles – all finished with a bold red lip. She captioning her post: “Y’all sick of me…”

Bella Hadid responded for us all by writing: “Never”. And RiRi didn’t stop there, as she continued to fill her grid with several looks. Opting for a navy and white colour palette, she put a structured striped navy blazer over a black hoodie and cycling shorts, juxtaposed against a pair of white rubber leather fusion corset boots.

Rihanna first showed off her boots on Instagram before her Savage x Fenty show during New York Fashion Week. Held in the Barclays Center, the show was as inclusive and diverse as we had expected. From Cara Delevingne to Joan Smalls and Laverne Cox, models, actors and dancers filled the stage. The designer may have showcased her latest collection stateside, but this month she’s bringing it to the City of Light. Launching her first Fenty pop-up during Paris Fashion Week, RiRi will be setting up shop from 23 September to 12 October in Galeries Lafayette on Avenue des Champs-Elysées. Marking the brand’s third pop-up worldwide, surely the singer will make an appearance to cement another milestone?

Tim Walker’s Landmark V&A Exhibition Is A Whimsical Celebration Of Truly Wonderful Things

It all started with a cup of tea. Specifically, Earl Grey, and the impossible task of sourcing honey in the V&A’s refreshment rooms. “We have beehives on the roof, and yet there’s still no honey!” exclaims Susanna Brown, curator of photographs at the V&A, when pressed to recount her 2015 ideas meeting with Tim Walker. Despite the lack of sweetener, the myriad and magical cogs of the immersive exhibition, Tim Walker: Wonderful Things – the largest collection of the British photographer’s work to date – fell into place.

The V&A’s rooftops would become just one aspect of the museum that Walker would grow to know well, as the lensman spent months scaling the 12-acre South Kensington site, exploring miles of galleries, hidden stores, and the warren of underground Victorian passages. Along the way, he met dozens of curators and conservators, and observed thousands of inanimate objects, which, too, seemed to have personalities. Each helped inspire the 10 new photographic projects central to Wonderful Things.

“Every shoot is a total love letter to an object from the V&A, sometimes several objects,” comments Walker, whose heart swells when connecting with an object, like it would with a new best friend. From an exquisite embroidered casket created by an anonymous young woman in the 17th century to Aubrey Beardsley’s erotic illustrations, a 65-metre-long photograph of the Bayeux Tapestry and an illuminated manuscript made in the 1470s for the Duchess of Brittany, the works Walker chose span the breadth of the V&A’s 145 public galleries and beyond. “My imagination [went] off in all sorts of directions and then I [was] really in love,” Walker continues. “It [was] a total firework display. It [was] a supernova of creative explosions that you want to get down.”

Helping Walker harness his creative energy into a body of work was long-time collaborator Shona Heath, whose spectacular sets, in turn, influenced the exhibition design. The first room is dedicated to the disparate references that have informed portraits of Walker’s previous subjects, including Sir David Attenborough, David Hockney, Cate Blanchett, Grayson Perry, Kate Moss, and friends Karen Elson and Tilda Swinton, who also appear in the new pictures later on. Heath was keen for the opening gallery not to feel like a retrospective, but simply, a “fast forward of Tim’s timeline”, she tells Vogue during a preview. The gleaming white, almost clinical space, was chosen so as not to overpower the imagery, but droplets oozing down the walls indicate a playfulness to come. “I thought it would be fun if the room appeared to to be melting,” smiles Heath. “It was just a little visual joke that I fancied making.” A fetishistic pink rubber curtain invites visitors into a small adjoining space, called “The Chapel”, featuring Walker’s nudes in one space for the first time. A punchy start that readies V&A guests for what’s to come.

Wonderful Things then explodes into a fantastical exploration of Walker’s “spiritual” relationship with the contents of the museum, or what Heath and himself call the “palace” and “sacred space”. The second room, “Illuminations”, evokes a burned-out cathedral comprising Renaissance treasures and Walker’s large-scale printed interpretations of them, along with his thought process. “We knew right from the beginning that Tim would write all the text,” reveals Brown. “It’s actually quite rare to give such a big voice to the artist, but it felt really important because of his intimate experience of the museum. Tim has very particular, very thoughtful turns of phrase, so it’s an extremely personal guide.”

Another room, “Lil’ Dragon”, transforms a 1745 snuffbox illustrated with a dragon into a story of two empresses walking their mystical creature-cum-pet at night, and picking a flower that only blooms at full moon. It is the first time Walker and Heath used UV lighting to realise their whimsical storytelling. “On the first day, the mood on set was tense, because it was such a new challenge – you’re almost blind when shooting,” explains Heath. “We started off safe, and by the end everyone was covered in UV powder” – including Brown, who delighted at watching from the sidelines and learnt the intricacies of the duo’s language. “Chocolate,” Brown discovered, was code for Walker and Heath deciding that a concept had taken on Willy Wonka-like proportions.

Onwards to “Cloud Nine”, which expands Walker’s British Vogue “Jamaican Rhapsody” shoot, inspired by the V&A’s 16th-century Indian paintings and ivory carvings of animals, and celebrates Britain’s multiculturalism. When the models, including Radhika Nair, Chawntell Kulkarni and Kiran Kandola, saw the V&A images printed on aluminium to accent the shine and texture of the fashion and beauty, they cried. Like Walker, they had found the experience to be emotional.

“Tim chose to represent individuals, not superstars,” says Brown of the some 100 collaborators who are each name-checked in Walker’s text. “There’s an amazing cross-section of society”, from the first transgender icon April Ashley to Gwen Franklin, who made Vivien Leigh’s wig to play Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire. When the V&A acquired the hair piece two years ago, the conservators invited Franklin, who is now in her eighties, to revitalise the ‘do. “Tim was absolutely fascinated by the lengths that the museum goes to for objects that need care,” notes Brown. The gesture inspired the “Handle With Care” section, honouring the painstaking work that goes on behind the scenes at the storied institution. “Some V&A conservators might lavish more than 300 hours of attention onto a single garment that doesn’t belong to them, but to everybody. In our commercially driven, consumer culture, the idea of doing something for the love of wonderful things really touched him.”

The exhibition closes on a blown-up picture of a paper doll from the V&A’s Museum of Childhood, which reminded Walker of Hans Christian Andersen’s story, The Steadfast Tin Soldier. Walker rewrote the tale of a soldier falling for a ballerina into a ballet featuring a knight as the protagonist’s love interest. Video footage of the dance, performed by Harry Alexander and Jordan Robson, and narrated by Gwendoline Christie, is screened outside galleries 38 and 38a, and in the V&A’s Photography Centre to continue the journey of Wonderful Things. “The museum started life in the 1850s as a school for artists with a collection of objects that informed their learning,” contextualises Brown. “It’s why our collections – now including Tim’s landmark solo exhibition – still exist: to inspire the next generation.” How truly wonderful.

Tim Walker: Wonderful Things runs from 21 September 2019 to 8 March 2020. Tickets cost £15 and are available to purchase at Vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/tim-walker

Agyness Deyn Makes Her Runway Return At Burberry SS20: "I feel Honoured"

It’s been four years since Agyness Deyn last graced the runway. Walking alongside Gigi and Bella Hadid and Kendall Jenner at the Troubadour White City Theatre, the model-cum-actor joined fashion's twenty-something legion at Burberry’s spring/summer 2020 show at London Fashion Week.

While Jenner debuted her new sleek blonde locks (courtesy of hairstylist Guido Palau), Deyn returned to the hue and short crop that she's been famed for since she first emerged in 2007. Showcasing an embellished trench, tailored pinstriped shirt and pale pink trousers, it's easy to see why the Devon-born Brit has had such a long-standing career and fruitful relationship with the storied house. Once the face of "The Beat" by Burberry fragrance and several fashion campaigns, Deyn (whose real name is Laura Hollins) had a close friendship with former creative director Christopher Bailey, and now, it seems with his successor Riccardo Tisci, too. "It just made sense to me," Deyn tells Vogue of her return. "I had a very good relationship with the house when it was under Christopher and I feel honoured to walk for Riccardo. I love what he has done with it."

The collection itself comprised of multiple tailoring juxtapositions that seem to continue to resonate in Tisci's work: streetwear vs. formalwear, sportswear vs. tailoring and more. Yet, delicate lace dresses and separates were also at the forefront. What does Deyn make of the fashion industry and its vision over a decade on from her first fashion footing? "My experience back then was one of creative chaos and excitement," Deyn explains. "Being naughty and running around like a fairy. Today, it feels instant and more organised – but that could just be me."

Deyn, who married Joel McAndrew in Brooklyn, NYC in 2016, has turned her hand to acting in recent years. From Terence Davies’s Sunset Song in 2015 to Her Smell starring alongside Elisabeth Moss and Cara Delevingne in 2018, Deyn has carved out a career for herself off the catwalk and onto on the big screen. But at LFW, Deyn returned to the runway, reminiscing about her big break with the brand. "The first time I got booked to work for Burberry I had to pinch myself," she says. "I got the same feeling [again]."

From Styling American Gigolo To His Disco Obsession, Giorgio Armani Reflects On 45 Wild Years In Fashion

As it's revealed that Giorgio Armani will be honoured with an outstanding achievement award at this year's Fashion Awards, Vogue talks to the now 85-year-old designer about his era-defining suiting, the mark he's left on Hollywood, and why you won't find him on Instagram any time soon.

There aren’t many designers who are recognised in every single part of the world. Giorgio Armani, however, is exactly that. Ask anyone, chances are that they’ll not only know of Armani himself, but be able to picture one his perfectly tailored suits, his love of good-taste ‘greige’, or his countless Hollywood moments. That kind of global star power is rare in fashion, especially for a house that is still owned and operated by its founder. And yet Mr Armani — as he is always referred to; never just Giorgio — has built one of the world’s largest independently-owned fashion empires, which, at the age of 85, he still personally oversees.

It couldn’t be more well deserved, then, that this December, Armani will be honoured at The Fashion Awards with an Outstanding Achievement Award. Right from the start, Armani shifted the conversation around tailoring and shaped the look of the late 20th century. He ushered in a new era of softer, more unstructured and most significantly, lighter suiting. In doing so, he became the architect of modern masculinity, a go-to for a new kind of man. He did just as much for women, too, using menswear fabrics to create a powerful uniform — the relaxed, minimalist trouser suit. Armani is the designer who blazed the trail for those such as Calvin Klein, Donna Karan and Jil Sander.

He was a pioneer when it came to establishing a relationship with Hollywood, too, placing dedicated publicists and celebrity liaisons in his Rodeo Drive boutique early on. In 1980, he dressed Richard Gere for the film American Gigolo, with every scene choreographed to work for Armani’s clothes, prompting Gere to ask, “Who’s acting in this scene, me or the jacket?”. Since then, his designs have appeared in more than 200 films, and have been worn by a constellation of megawatt stars, long before red-carpet dressing became industrialised. Back then, it was Diane Keaton, Jodie Foster and Michelle Pfeiffer in Armani. Today, it’s the likes of Cate Blanchett, Celine Dion, Alicia Keys and Elizabeth Debicki.

Armani’s central tenets of classicism, style over fashion, Italian craftsmanship and ease have endured. In 1975, he sold his Volkswagen Beetle to set up the brand. The first year of business saw sales total $14,000 (£11,000) and within a decade, they were topping $100 million (£80 million). Today, Armani has an annual turnover of around $2 billion (£1.6 billion); and the empire spans every layer of the product pyramid, from the crescendo of Armani Privé haute couture to Giorgio Armani ready-to-wear tailoring, Armani Exchange jeans, Armani/Casa furnishings, Armani hotels, Armani cosmetics... The list goes on, but each product is distinctive in its signature Armani simplicity.

Congratulations on receiving the Outstanding Achievement Award. When you look back over your career, what are you most proud of and why?

Having created a style that everybody immediately identifies as mine is certainly an accomplishment, and something that makes me extremely proud. I have worked hard all my life in order to build something true, substantial and enduring. I liberated men and women from many constrictions, turning into the sartorial companion of an epochal change. The fact that my creations have survived the test of time is another thing that makes me proud. Ultimately, my work speaks for itself, and that is the best thing for me.

The fashion industry has changed dramatically since you started as a young designer. What has most inspired the way you work? And what changes – if any – do you feel less enthused about?

The fashion system has changed so much, I sometimes feel I inhabit a completely different environment, compared to when I started. The pace has become faster and faster, and we, as designers, are forced to dish out products at an alarming rate, something I do not like that much. I sure like the competition, as there are more and more designers, just as I like the fragmentation: today there are almost as many styles as there are designers. What I really dislike is the fact that today fashion is mostly about entertainment and communication, sometimes to the detriment of the product. Let’s not forget that we are here to dress people with something authentic, useful, beautiful.

When you launched Armani, you redefined the way men and women dressed. Do you think it’s possible for a designer to create such seismic shifts in fashion today? Is there still such a thing as an original idea?

Back when I started my revolution, I saw men wearing stiff jackets that concealed the body and looked more like cages than anything else. I was looking for the exact opposite: clothes that created ease of movement and comfort. That’s how I came to create the first unstructured jacket in the mid-1970s, getting rid of lining and padding. Bit by bit, I also changed the arrangement of the buttons and modified the proportions: a process that radically transformed this garment, at the same time as men were exploring softer ways to be masculine. It was a moment of deep change, and I was part of that wave. Today, we have the impression that everything has been done and there is no such thing as an original idea or an original silhouette. I believe the contrary: there is still room to create something relevant and new, but doing so requires focus, and the awareness that fashion is first and foremost about hard work, not fame. Authenticity is key, but it is becoming increasingly rare.

Who do you have in mind when you design, and has that person changed over time?

I have always had in mind not a body, but an attitude, when designing. I am catering for the modern man and the modern woman: people who fully live their time and value elegance, thus appreciate my aesthetic. I want to provide my clients with a sense of quiet confidence. The person I design for hasn’t changed over time, but it sure has evolved, in sync with the times.

Your design repertoire goes far beyond fashion. What drives you to create and how do you maintain such unwavering momentum?

As a creative person, what I like best about my job has always been seeing the results of my creativity. The urge to create is innate, I believe. I follow it because creation, for me, means producing something that touches the lives of real people. It can be a jacket, or the impeccable service and elegant furnishing in a hotel. It can even be a piece of chocolate. What keeps it all together is my taste, my constant quest for soulful, sophisticated simplicity. The more I work, the more I feel inspired. Work is also a wonderful anti-aging serum.

Over the years, you have created some brilliant advertising campaigns. Are you relieved to have built your brand pre-social media, or do you wish, like today’s rising designers, that you were able to connect directly with your audience?

I built my empire bit by bit, not in a rush, and that makes it solid. I have built it on the observation of reality, too, right from the very start. I wanted to dress real men and women. I wanted to see them all on the street, not just on the pages of magazines or in the illusive world of television; I wanted my clothing to bring them a new awareness of their worth; I wanted it to suit the changing roles of a society in a constant rush. The imagery I created back then is still relevant, because it feels authentic. Social media is quite fickle, and sometimes too mercantile: I am fine with the way I connected with my audience. I don’t blame the new ways to connect with the public, but I still prefer mine.

Do you look at, or use, social media yourself?

I do look at social media, but don’t use it, as I have better and more urgent things to do. Being a public figure, of course, I created a company profile on Instagram, which is the platform I am most interested in – it’s where we tell the story of the Armani universe. I have no plans to open a personal profile, however; I am a very reserved person and I've always protected my private life. Besides that, I don't want to be influenced by influencers!

What is most important to you today?

Hard work is important, but it’s not everything. Spending time with those that matter to me is important. I do this job out of passion — an absolute, burning, visceral passion. I do it with enthusiasm, commitment and dedication. I never thought that I would achieve such world fame by being a designer. Of course, fame is not what pushed me towards this path. It wasn’t money either — it can’t buy elegance. Making things: that’s what has always motivated me.

What, if anything, do you regret?

I don’t really suffer regret, as it is a fairly pointless feeling. However, if I were to relive my life, I’d spend more time with my loved ones.

The Armani suit is era-defining. What was on your mind at that time: what music were you listening to, who were you surrounding yourself with? What fuelled that aesthetic?

I am an extremely pragmatic creator: first and foremost I look at what’s around me. I did so when I created those famous suits, looking at men of my age – I was 40 at the time – and what they wanted to wear, which were not the suits of their fathers. My sister and her friends caught up on the same jackets, and the rest is history. It might sound funny, but the sound of modernity was disco, and I was listening a lot to that.

What music do you listen to today, and is there anyone you would still like to dress?

I listen to any kind of music, from pop to classic, from old to new. I like rhythm. As for the musicians I’d like to dress, there are many – but to tell you the truth, I find the idea of a man buying his first important suit, or a woman choosing her attire for a meaningful career advancement, finding what they need at an Armani store, far more rewarding than the idea of dressing another celebrity. I’ve been there and am still there with pleasure, but dressing real people in real life is my ultimate goal.

What makes you smile when you wake up in the morning?

I like to do things, to work: that puts me in a good mood. It’s no coincidence that my happy place, where I feel the best, is my office: it’s where I achieve my visions, where what’s in my head becomes real and tangible. It’s the most incredible feeling; it fills me with energy and adrenaline every single time.

How do you quieten your mind at the end of the day?

At the end of the day I take time for myself, just to think. I usually have a simple dinner at home, after which I like to relax in front of the television watching a good film or a TV series. I try not to stay up too late, because I have another busy day ahead of me the next day

What is the biggest misconception about you as a designer?

I think most of the people have an almost ascetic idea of me. Sure, I love sobriety and can do less is more, but I am also a bon vivant and an eccentric. As I told you, I was listening to disco when I created my famous suits. Today, from time to time, I go to Giorgio’s, the exclusive members-only evening at the Armani/Privé Club in Milan.

What advice would you give young designers wishing to follow in your footsteps?

The scenario today is much more complex. Standing out requires utmost dedication because the competition is fierce. For a new designer, I would suggest, first of all, to thoroughly study people’s demands and then to respond to these needs with something that is new, fresh, meaningful. It is the only way to tackle today’s fashion world without ever getting discouraged.

Other than fashion, what makes you happy?

I am simply happy to live, to have people who I trust at my side, to be healthy. I am a simple person, with simple, yet deep, feelings.

Kate Moss & Cara Delevingne Have Reimagined Karl Lagerfeld's Signature White Shirts In His Honour

To celebrate Karl Lagerfeld’s legacy, a collective of the designer’s friends and fellow creatives has come together to reimagine his signature shirting. Inspired by his admission that he would most like to have invented the white shirt – “For me, the white shirt is the basis of everything. Everything else comes after” – Kate Moss, Cara Delevingne, Carine Roitfeld, Tommy Hilfiger, Sébastien Jondeau, Diane Kruger and Takashi Murakami have interpreted Lagerfeld’s uniform, which he purchased from Hilditch & Key, owing to the Jermyn Street shirt-maker’s crisp high collars and pristine finish.

Each of the seven designs will be replicated 77 times and sold for €777 (£700) on Karl.com and Farfetch.com from 26 September, in accordance with Lagerfeld’s favourite number, seven. All proceeds will go to Sauver la Vie’s medical research at Paris Descartes University, which the designer supported for a number of years and drew its logo by hand.

The shirts will be displayed in Karl Lagerfeld’s headquarters on the Rue Saint-Guillaume on 25 September, during Paris Fashion Week, alongside additional custom pieces from Kaia Gerber, Gigi Hadid, Helen Mirren, Olivia Palermo, Amber Valletta and Alessandro Michele, to name a few. The work will then move to select Karl Lagerfeld stores worldwide, where customers will be able to experience the tribute.

“It’s such an honour to be involved in something so close to Karl and to honour his memory,” Delevingne told Vogue. “Karl let me explore myself and opened me up to something I had not seen in a while, and for that I will be forever grateful. I miss him so much.” The model’s shirt features sketches of her tattoos – from the lion’s head to the word “happy” and her mother, Pandora’s name. “Karl was always fascinated by the story of my tattoos,” she explained. “It was a way of linking our artistic expression while honouring his memory.”

Moss, meanwhile, found inspiration in Sonny Hall, a poet and model represented by the Kate Moss Agency. “I believe Karl would have loved him,” she said. The words written on the left hand side of her shirt are from a verse in Hall’s Clutching Pens. “It’s about laughter and happiness,” Moss continued. “As Karl was always holding a pen and laughing, I think it is the perfect tribute to him. Karl was always looking to the future.”

The sharing of memories and anecdotes, entitled “A Tribute to Karl: The White Shirt Project”, follows “Karl For Ever”, a memorial for Lagerfeld staged by Chanel and Fendi, both of which he helmed creatively for decades. Staged at the Grand Palais – the iconic Paris venue that was transformed for the fantastical settings of his Chanel shows since 2005 – during Paris Men’s Fashion Week, it was an evening of lively, nuanced and varied interviews and performances. “Karl is his own greatest legacy,” Delevingne added of playing a part in commemorating her friend. “Everything he did will be remembered and seen as an inspiration for future generations.”

Victoria Beckham Celebrates LFW Show With David & Friends

From Durbar Court to Harry’s Bar! Victoria Beckham invited a coterie of fashion friends and collaborators to celebrate her spring/summer 2020 collection at a private dinner in Mayfair. Vogue’s Edward Enninful and Sarah Harris joined Karen Elson, Sinéad Burke, Alexa Chung, Rosemary Ferguson, Jake Chapman, Maya Jama, Derek Blasberg and Alastair McKimm for an evening “supporting the UK’s fashion industry and the creative talent behind it” – the underlining message of Beckham’s show presented earlier in the day inside the British Foreign Office.
Victoria Beckham Dinner at Harry's Bar.

Indeed, there was much to celebrate aside from the Seventies-inspired collection, which featured some of the best colour combinations Vogue has seen all season. Beckham released her much anticipated line of direct-to-consumer beauty products this weekend, and premiered the 11 inclusive, environmentally friendly formulas on models, including Adut Akech and Giselle Norman, on the runway (with a little help from Pat McGrath). Skincare will follow the make-up line, as Beckham expands her “clean beauty movement for a life in motion”, and turns her fashion business into an empire.

Last night, however, it was all about cocktails and Italian cuisine with her husband David, to whom she celebrated 20 years of marriage this summer, and her sons by her side (Harper was on the FROW, but the party was past her bedtime). A jewel in the London Fashion Week crown since she returned to home soil from New York some seasons ago, here’s hoping Beckham’s next chapter doesn’t take her back Stateside.