6 Key Takeaways From The 2023 Global Fashion Summit To Inspire Action

While the conversation around sustainability in fashion has grown exponentially in the past five years, action is still far too slow. That’s why “Ambition to Action” was the theme of this year’s Global Fashion Summit in Copenhagen, an annual meeting of major brands that aims to push the industry towards a greener future.

“Now is not the time to say we’re going to do [this] in five or 10 [years], or whatever the goal is that they want to create,” Federica Marchionni, CEO of the Global Fashion Agenda – the non-profit organisation that organises the summit – tells Vogue. “It’s about what they’re going to do, and what they are already doing; sharing their practices and the challenges.”

To kick off proceedings, Jonathan Anderson, creative director of Loewe and JW Anderson, and Antoine Arnault, LVMH’s head of image and environment, discussed their approach to sustainability. Other brands that featured on the main stage included the likes of Nike, Gucci-owner Kering, and Inditex, the parent company of Zara.

In keeping with the theme, this year also saw the addition of three smaller stages, including one featuring case studies from the likes of Allbirds, which unveiled the prototype for its first carbon-zero shoe, and Chloé and Vestiaire Collective, which partnered together to launch instant resale earlier this year. On the innovation stage, Ganni spotlighted Rubi Laboratories, a California-based start-up that captures CO2 from manufacturing waste and turns it into textiles.

Textiles waste remains a major issue

One of the most powerful discussions of the summit came via The Or Foundation, a non-profit in Ghana that works to tackle the enormous textiles waste problem at Kantamanto Market in Accra. There, 15 million garments arrive every single week, with young girls and women risking their lives transporting enormous bales of clothing on their heads. “People are dying; the local textiles industry is almost dead,” Sammy Oteng, the non-profit’s senior community engagement manager, says of the desperate reality of the situation on the ground. “It’s not the time to debate this any more; we need action.”

At last year’s summit, The Or Foundation revealed it was receiving $15 million (£12 million) in funding from ultra fast fashion brand Shein in order to help tackle the issue. As we wait for the European Union to announce its proposal to implement extended producer responsibility (EPR) regulation – which would make brands financially responsible for the collection, sorting and recycling of goods at the end of their life – Oteng called for brands to introduce voluntary EPR initiatives to speed up action.

Regulation is nearing

For many years, campaigners have called for more regulation in order to accelerate change across the industry. After the European Parliament voted to support proposals to “end fast fashion”, a raft of regulation is set to be introduced, tackling everything from the durability of clothes to the amount of recycled content that’s included. “We cannot continue with the current linear model, where so much is wasted,” Virginijus Sinkevičius, European commissioner for the environment, oceans and fisheries, tells Vogue. “[Textiles] waste has tripled in the past 20 years… so we need to address it.”

The EU’s proposal to introduce mandatory digital product passports – which would provide more information for customers and also help the item to be resold or recycled afterwards – already appears to have had an impact, with a whole host of brands including Chloé, Coach and H&M already introducing digital IDs.

Brands need to stop promoting overconsumption

During the summit, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) launched its Sustainable Fashion Communication Playbook to highlight the role that communication has to play to help the industry keep to its climate commitments. The playbook is broken down into three key pillars: countering misinformation, changing behaviour and reimagining values. “We must eradicate all messages of overconsumption and we need to point people towards positive solutions instead, and demonstrate what they look like,” Rachel Arthur, UNEP’s advocacy lead for sustainable fashion, explained.

Fashion is committing to address biodiversity

While fashion has clear commitments to cut greenhouse gas emissions, the way in which the industry should address its impact on biodiversity has been less clear. That’s why The Fashion Pact has collaborated with the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) and Conservation International to set Science-Based Targets on reducing fashion’s impact on land, freshwater and oceans.

Suppliers need support from brands

The need for brands to support suppliers and manufacturers in transitioning to a more sustainable future – from switching to renewable energy to ensuring safe working conditions – was another focus. “The majority of our strategic suppliers are now going to commit to their own Science-Based Targets,” Noel Kinder, Nike’s chief sustainability officer, said. “This a tough journey for them… but their willingness to commit to [these targets] and work with us to develop lower-carbon alternatives to the ways they make our products has been a huge benefit.”

Sustainability is a must for young designers

Speaking about what’s changed in the past ten years, Jonathan Anderson described how all designers he now interviews for his teams at Loewe and JW Anderson ask questions about sustainability. “In the beginning when I joined LVMH, there was never that question from a designer coming to the company – now every single designer that comes to be interviewed is asking these questions,” he said. “That is huge progress.”

Naomi Campbell Welcomes Her Second Child, A Baby Boy, At 53

Congratulations are in order for Naomi Campbell. On Thursday, the supermodel announced on Instagram that she has welcomed her second child, a son, by sharing a picture of her and her two-year-old daughter holding hands with the newborn. “My little darling, know that you are cherished beyond measure and surrounded by love from the moment you graced us with your presence. A true gift from God,” she wrote. “It’s never too late to become a mother.”

Campbell is indeed defying expectations around age and motherhood. She first became a parent in 2021 at age 50. While Campbell hasn’t revealed whether she carried the child or used a surrogate, she did confirm to British Vogue that “she’s my child”. Now, at 53, she’s done it again.

In the same March 2022 interview, where she posed with her daughter on the magazine’s cover, the CFDA Fashion Icon also said she was encouraging all her older friends not to rule out having children – even if they are above society’s expected age. “I’m telling them all, do it! Don’t hesitate!” she said.

Campbell also shared the feelings of fulfilment she has found in parenthood. “I always knew that one day I would be a mother, but it’s the biggest joy I could ever imagine. I’m lucky to have her and I know that,” she said. “It’s the best thing I’ve ever done.”

There are, however, many details about her family life that she has chosen to keep private: Campbell has not shared either her son or daughter’s name, or their birthdays, and does not posts photographs that show their faces.

Meet One Of The Designers Behind Beyoncé’s Ivy Paradise Collection

Through Ivy Park, Beyoncé Knowles has more than proven herself as an astute and savvy fashion designer. The athleisure line, named after the Houston park where Knowles exercised as a kid, has found its stride through a buzzy and lucrative years-long partnership with Adidas that was first announced in 2019. The pairing’s first collection – streetwear in burgundy and tangerine – was released in early 2020 to much fanfare, and quickly sold out. Over time, gender- and size-inclusive collections built around imaginative concepts have arrived: “Ivy Rodeo” (denim chaps, cow-print sports bras); “Ivy Ice” (a faux-fur mink, reflective trousers); “Ivy Heart” (latex dresses and gloves). Earlier this year it was announced that the partnership will come to a close. Still, in a short period of time, Adidas X Ivy Park has raised the bar for celebrity-led fashion ventures.

But it takes a considerable team of trained hands and creative minds to make each collection happen. Ivy Park X Adidas is the result of a careful and considered collaboration between Parkwood Entertainment, Beyoncé’s media and management company, and the multi-billion, multi-national behemoth that is Adidas. Ruben Gonzalez, a senior designer at Adidas, is responsible for bridging both worlds. The Los Angeles-based, Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising-trained designer played a key role in the creation and production of Ivy Park’s latest collection, Ivy Paradise.

Released online and in-store last week, the clothes read as a fabulous ode to Studio 54 through fringe jackets, crystal mesh, and short shorts. And everything was made in a poppy shade of fuchsia. (“That colour was a challenge,” the designer shared.) Gonzalez says of his shape-shifting, multi-pronged role in the collection: “It is basically taking the partner’s vision – everything comes from the partner, of course – and sort of taking that and references and creating sort of a visual moodboard to present.” The work does not end there. “Then we’ll create so many looks based on that for the partner and her team to decide what they want the actual collection to look like.”

The collection has certainly made an impact. Ever the canny promoter, Beyoncé, along with her back-up dancers, wore looks from the Ivy Paradise drop for the Renaissance gig in Amsterdam on Juneteenth, the holiday commemorating the emancipation of US slaves. The singer wore a double-slit dress and sparkly opera gloves that would have been perfect for a performance of “Freakum Dress” (missed opportunity). The specific look did not go to all stores – it is available only in Brazil – but represented a real moment for Ivy Park.

Gonzalez describes the “driving storyline” behind Ivy Paradise as “the 1970s and the freedom of gender expression and identity”. The collection’s moodboard included Donna Summer, Studio 54, Houston, and “anything having to do with ’70s disco”. There were also more airy, esoteric ideas propelling the collection, which first began taking shape in February of last year. “Sort of that moment of rebirth and coming out of your shell,” Gonzalez says, a theme that also aligns with Beyoncé’s most recent album Renaissance. (The singer revealed on Instagram that she worked on the album and Ivy Paradise simultaneously.)

For this collaboration, Gonzalez says they tested out new materials and experimented with production capabilities. “We really did push the needle up in terms of what we can do,” he says. “Some of the sequins and crystal-mesh that we used… that took years to develop. I know that sounds crazy, because you can find crystal mesh out there, but it had to pass our testing at Adidas.” Heat transfer was a big sticking point: “We had to make sure the crystals were not going to fall off if you went into the water or played sports in the pieces. All of that testing took a really long time for it to be considered a viable fabric that we could send to market.”

A process of experimentation and diplomatic collaboration – with a global name, no less – is nothing new for Gonzalez. “I’ve been in this weird collaboration world for the last seven years,” says Gonzalez, who previously worked at H&M, where he produced collaborations with Dua Lipa. Ivy Rodeo – full of sliced-and-diced cowboy-inflected items – was the first collection Gonzalez contributed to. He says, from there, he became the senior designer on the partnership within a year and a half. “When I got the call to work at Ivy Park I thought it was going to be a really exciting challenge to work with all of these developers and product marketers who have this really deep knowledge of sportswear, and really bring in a lens of a more fashion-forward product.”

The upcoming end of the partnership between Adidas and Ivy Park was announced in March. The overarching code to all of the ideas and the partnership as a whole, according to Gonzalez? “It’s always paying attention to Beyoncé’s Houston background,” he says. “It’s the blend of street and glam. That’s what I think makes Ivy Park so special, and a different collaboration to the ones already out there.”

Margot Robbie Borrows From The “Real-Life Barbie” In Pink Valentino Polka Dots

Last year, #Barbiecore emerged as an indefatigable trend. Although this year has brought forth a more refined and minimalist approach to fashion – influenced by Succession-esque “quiet luxury” – the fascination with all things pink may yet resurface, thanks to the imminent release of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie movie. As promo gets underway, the cast has been stepping out in delectable, confectionary-hued outfits – particularly Margot Robbie, who stars as Barbie.

At the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills over the weekend, the actor showcased an ensemble reminiscent of Malibu Barbie. Margot wore a custom-made hot pink and white halter-neck minidress by Valentino, which included a midriff cut-out. Fashion enthusiasts may clock that this dress closely resembles a look from Valentino’s spring/summer 1993 collection, previously worn by supermodel Karen Mulder, who was dubbed the “real-life Barbie” in her heyday. However, the original version was Bordeaux in colour, and midi length. To complete her flirtier update of the outfit, Margot opted for white leather Manolo Blahnik BB pumps and carried a yellow Valentino Garavani Rockstud shoulder bag.

 

Following her discovery in the early ’90s, Mulder swiftly ascended to international stardom, earning her title as a supermodel. She graced the catwalks of Chanel, Versace, Yves Saint Laurent, Valentino and more. In addition to her captivating runway presence, the Dutch model became renowned for her Barbie-esque features: she was 5ft10 with luscious blonde locks and striking blue eyes. It makes sense, then, that Margot should nod to Mulder while promoting the film.

At another event just a day prior, the actor wore another picture-perfect Barbie look – and posed by a pink convertible, naturally – which consisted of a baby-pink crop top and a matching pleated miniskirt (which was posted on the film’s official Instagram account). To top it all off, Margot accessorised with white cat-eye shades, a pink Bottega Veneta mini Cabat bag, pink Manolo Blahnik open toe mules, and a gold Chanel rhinestone ankle bracelet. Expect plenty more pink to come.

Hèrmes’s Steamy S/S´24 Men’s Show

Unveiled in a steamy Palais d’Iéna in Paris, Véronique Nichanian’s spring/summer 2024 Hèrmes menswear collection was infused with undeniable sex appeal, says Vogue’s fashion critic Anders Christian Madsen. Read on for his takeaways from the show.

It was hot

“I hope it wasn’t too hot?” Véronique Nichanian smiled before we sat down to dinner post-show. She was referring to her steamy Palais d’Iena venue, which had reached greenhouse levels in the scorching Paris summer heat, but she might as well have been talking about a collection that turned up the sex appeal on Hèrmes’s otherwise oh so subtle sophistication. “I had in mind a soft summer breeze,” the designer said of the lightweight, translucent garments, which felt more than appropriate in this current city climate.

It was innate sex appeal

Apart from the transparency and the short shorts, none of Nichanian’s proposals ticked the traditional, obvious boxes of sexy dressing. Yet every line she cut and every garment she layered – in a collection, which, on paper, was all about summer elegance – felt infused with an instinctive, inherent charm and seduction that’s not always easy to convey in a luxe, somewhat formal wardrobe founded in savoir-faire. This was a sex appeal that came from within the maison: the innate sex appeal of Hèrmes.

It continued the season’s focus on elegance

In a men’s season that has continued to amplify a focus on elegance that’s replacing the casual-core to which we’ve grown accustomed, sex appeal perhaps hasn’t taken centre stage in designer proposals. But if we want to pique the interest of a new generation raised on sex and body positivity in classic sartorial codes, the seduction value plays a key role. It was an astute observation on Nichanian’s part, and one she conveyed with the utmost sophistication. You weren’t just seduced by the aesthetic, but by the garments themselves.

It was effortlessly fluid

Backstage, Nichanian was asked if her seductive sensibility had borrowed from the women’s wardrobe. “Women have always borrowed from the men’s wardrobe. I think it’s cool that men also borrow from the women’s wardrobe. I find it very playful and interesting on a creative level. It broadens the playground!” she observed. If her collection drew on a certain fluidity, it was more of a natural expression of the way even the professional and formal men’s wardrobes now naturally integrate an elegant, more feminine sensuality.

It was all about the HACs

If the Hèrmes collection proposed a new sex appeal, its essence took physical form in the voluminous Haut à Courroies bags and rigid, robust net bags that never looked more casual or more effortless than in this collection. With the arrival of Pharrell Williams – who famously carried a pink crocodile Haut à Courroies in his formative fashion days and put amplified luxury bags at the forefront of his Louis Vuitton show on Tuesday – on the Paris men’s scene, the bag is fast becoming the ultimately erogenous accessory in the men’s wardrobe – as demonstrated so flawlessly by Nichanian, too.

Kenzo’s Bridge-Building S/S´24 Show

For spring/summer 2024, Nigo further refined his distinctive Kenzo aesthetic – and celebrated his creative soulmate Pharrell. Anders Christian Madsen reviews the highlights from the collection, presented on the Passerelle Debilly footbridge.

The show took place on a bridge

The June 2023 men’s shows will forever be remembered as the season of the bridge: when designers transformed the ponts of Paris into runways. It’s thanks to two dear friends whose indelible marks on fashion have contributed hugely to the way we’ve been dressing over the last two decades. On Friday evening, Nigo presented his fourth Kenzo collection on the Passerelle Debilly footbridge, echoing his creative soulmate Pharrell Williams, who staged his debut show for Louis Vuitton on the Pont Neuf three days before. Both friends attended each other’s shows, and when Nigo took his bow, Williams got a hug and a nod on the way.

It cemented the Nigo-Pharrell constellation

Nigo and Williams’s choices of locations obviously weren’t a coincidence. Both designers were born out of the hip-hop community and cut their teeth in places far from the fashion establishment of Paris. Through the years, they served as each other’s mentors and apprentices on many levels. Their practices are testament to how much they learned from one another. Where Williams’s bridge analogised a connection between Paris and his home state of Virginia, Nigo’s bridge linked Japan to Paris, quite literally: the Passerelle Debilly connects Palais de Tokyo with the Eiffel Tower across the Seine.

The show refined Nigo’s codes at Kenzo

Four seasons into his tenure at Kenzo, Nigo is consolidating and refining the codes he’s brought to the house. Highly reverent of its founder, many of them are based on the work of Kenzo Takada but injected with a functionality and workwear-ship that’s inimitably Nigo. This season, he finessed his aesthetic – a fusion of Japanese construction and sportswear, Parisian spirit, British tailoring and the American utility wardrobe – in a more clarified, precise and above all elegant expression, which served as a reminder of the influence Nigo has had on the likes of Williams and the generations he inspired through his music and the visual impact that came with it.

It was injected with City Pop

The collection was layered with overtones of City Pop, the easy-listening music genre that reigned supreme on the radio stations of Japan from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s. Those were Nigo’s formative teenage years. Now, he said before the show, he is seeing a resurgence of interest in the genre around the world. It’s brought back memories of the preppy and graphic look that was loosely associated with the scene, and the realisation of how connected the designs of Kenzo Takado were to these expressions. Set to a soundtrack by Cornelius – a contemporary and friend of Nigo’s – the collection tied together all these elements in a new City Pop wardrobe.

It featured a collaboration with Verdy

The show debuted a new logo designed by Verdy, the Japanese graphic designer (and creative director of Blackpink) whose trademark swashed typeface has appeared in a wealth of cool collaborations as well as his own brands, Wasted Youth and Girls Don’t Cry. Created in the same font, the logo was emblazoned all over garments and accessories, cementing Nigo’s knack for branding. But it was the womenswear that made the biggest impression in the show: hyper-elegant but with a focus on ease, it was defined by a longline, fluid silhouette that brought a new sophistication to Nigo’s women’s proposition at Takada’s old house.

Kim Jones’s Fifth Anniversary Show For Dior Men’s S/S24

To mark his fifth anniversary at Dior, Kim Jones presented a collection imbued with a sense of romantic futurism; Anders Christian Madsen reports from the front row.

The show was a through-the-floor experience

It was the futuristic dream version of Cher Horowitz’s computerised wardrobe: at the push of a button, 51 complete looks for day and leisure elevated through Dior’s silver floor on square platforms. Presented in a structure within the grounds of the École Militaire, the show had all the hi-tech romance that has defined Kim Jones’s last five years of showmanship at the house. The invitation – a silver material with the number five embossed into it – celebrated the half decennial. Christian Dior saw his house through the first 10 years of its existence and laid a foundation that would inspire eight designers in his wake. This season, Jones’s collection drew inspiration from at least six of them.

The collection paid tribute to the designers of Dior

“I suppose this collection is a collage of influences that comes from the continuum of Dior designers – and says something about myself, too. We looked at Mr Dior, Mr Saint Laurent, Mr Bohan and Mr Ferre, combining influences,” Jones explained. There was easily an archival metaphor to be found in the theatrics of the show. Pushed up through the floor, it was as if each look had been pulled out of an underground library or laboratory like a historical or scientific specimen ready for inspection. One by one, they walked to the glasslike beat of Primal Scream’s “Higher Than the Sun” before returning to their platform and disappearing into the floor again.

It was romantic futurism

Clad in Jones’s reimagined collages of pan-Diorian references, the exercise had a beam-me-up-Scotty quality about it, as if each look had travelled through time and been adapted to the present day, or indeed the future. Every evocative silhouette or traditional garment was amplified through texture or ornamentation, such as tailoring that looked like bouclé constructed in the house’s emblematic cannage motif, or tennis twinsets encrusted with jewels, or vests re-contextualised in leopard print. “This is something I have never really done before in my collections for the house,” Jones said, referring to his remix of the work of former Dior custodians. “As it’s my fifth anniversary at Dior, it felt like the right time.”

It was inspired by New Wave and Blitz Kids

In a time when designers are experimenting with new silhouettes to rule the menswear game – following fashion’s longtime love affair with oversized everything – Jones proposed a boxy, layered line with a couture-like domed shoulder and cropped columnar trousers. It felt at once like an exaggerated version of 1950s form language – where it all began – but also a bit like something a club kid could have repurposed in the ’80s. “There is an underlying sense of the New Wave in the collection,” Jones said, explaining how his relationship with milliner and Dior historian extraordinaire Stephen Jones continues to inspire his work for the house. “Stephen was one of those Blitz Kids that were seen as so much part of that. It was also an exciting time for Paris nightlife, where different social groups were hanging out together.”

It featured Chinese “ronghua” hats by Stephen Jones

Jones created beanie hats for the collection with the haute couture knitter Cecile Feilchenfeldt inspired by the liberty caps of the New Wave look. They featured “ronghua” adornments created in the tradition of ancient Chinese velvet floral embellishments crafted by master artisans in pastels that cemented the romantic tone of the collection. “There are a lot of things I like about Dior running through this collection – including Stephen Jones. He’s become a bit of a muse for me this season,” Jones said. “In my five years at Dior, I have grown to love being in the archives, and Stephen Jones has been my navigator a lot of the time. He’s been here a long time and he is a walking history of Dior.”

Rick Owens Smoke Bomb-Filled S/S´24 Men’s Show

Was this Rick Owens’s take on quiet luxury, Anders Christian Madsen pondered at the designer’s spring/summer 2024 menswear show in Paris? “This is my take on ostentation!” Owens countered. Below, five things to know about the collection.

Rick Owens filled Palais de Tokyo with coloured smoke

As showtime approached in the courtyard of Palais de Tokyo, and a frenzied techno soundtrack by Lil Texas (not the Scottish feel-good band) set in, four giant mechanical columns placed inside the monumental fountain started to elevate. They were fitted with rings that looked like the heads of machine guns. When the rings reached the top, they fired off smoke bombs in saturated colours, one by one – red, blue, yellow, green – until the whole courtyard was veiled in a thick, plush fog. “With our world conditions under increasing threat, jubilance seems like the wrong note, but maybe it’s the only correct moral response?” Rick Owens wrote in his self-penned show notes. “Beyond being nice to each other, isn’t personal joy what we are put on Earth to do?”

The silhouette was cinched-in, flared and strong-shouldered

If the show production was a display of jubilance, it was strictly confrontational. The collection that emerged from Owens’s theatre of technicolour smoke was all-black, hyper-elegant, and exquisitely gloomy, like some kind of ravishing funeral march, or the last ball on Earth. The silhouette was cut like a Corinthian column, framed by super-wide flares at the bottom and strong shoulders at the top, centred by the tiniest of waists. It continued to infuse Owens’s aesthetic with the jabs of Victoriana that have seeped through his collections of late. In the context of what he wrote, you couldn’t help but compare that era’s fusion of mourning and melancholy with its bigger-and-better compulsion for pomp and circumstance.

It was a reflection on the current state of fashion

Backstage, Owens elaborated: “I’m looking at all of these destination shows, thinking, what does that mean?” He was referring to spring’s increase of big-brand runway shows staged around the world. “Right after Covid, it seems kind of oblivious. But these big houses, they’re not dictating. They’re responding to consumers. For the consumers, maybe that’s what they need? It’s conspicuous consumption. Coming out after Covid, and with the war and everything, conspicuous consumption does not seem like it would hit the right note, but everything now is super that.” In its enrapturing elegance and richness – every inch sheathed in silks, gazar and organza – Owens’s collection was a reflection of that desire for glamour, only devoid of the escapism that often comes with it.

It was Doomsday glamour

“Now, when anybody does something, it’s automatically right. You can’t argue with the human condition. That’s the way the world is,” Owens shrugged. “People are motivated by competition and by greed under the worst of circumstances, and under the best of circumstances, a certain kind of camaraderie and brotherhood. Maybe it’s not pure greed and selfishness,” he said, referring to fashion’s hankering for extravagance and escape. “Maybe it’s some kind of primal defiance of fear. Maybe people are sensing that things are coming to an end and you have to celebrate while you can. I don’t know. I’m just making all this shit up. But maybe there’s a sense of that.”

Was it Owens’s take on quiet luxury?

Like any Owens collection, this was a layered and figurative experience. (Practically, too: he literally revealed the internal construction of his tailoring through the transparent overlays of jackets and coats.) But within his symbolic elegance and reflections on excess, there was also evidence of another, perhaps somewhat contrasting, current fashion mentality: “Quiet luxury?!” he erupted. “It’s not! This is my take on ostentation. I’m using the most expensive, beautiful fabrics that I find in Como.” As his show notes pointed out, though, fashion’s reactions to the state of the world come in many different guises. “Considering joy a moral obligation,” he wrote, “I propose a grim, determined elegance, all in a formal restrained, albeit admittedly drama queen black. How one handles adversity is what defines one’s character.”

Givenchy’s Schoolboy-Inspired S/S´24 Men’s Show

Matthew M Williams gave the classic schoolboy aesthetic an elevated, tailored twist for Givenchy’s spring/summer 2024 show. British Vogue fashion critic Anders Christian Madsen reports from Paris Men’s Fashion Week.

It was all about elegance

The wave of quiet luxury and general thirst for elegance washing over our wardrobes at the moment has Givenchy’s name written all over it. As fashion history’s house of sophistication, it never feels more at home than in a smart silhouette and an aura of formality. As a member of the streetwear generation, Matthew M Williams approaches the classic men’s wardrobe in a theoretical way: how can we tailor a genre of clothing so tied to the values of the past to our own generational mentality, and make it work for us? On Thursday afternoon in the arcade of Les Invalides, he presented his research – and findings – in a collection focused on the idea of a new formal.

It was new generations claiming the sartorial wardrobe

Our current appetite for sophistication is pocket psychology. In uncertain times, dressing and feeling elegant provide a sense of calm, but in the midst of the chaos, it almost has a non-conformist edge to it, too. From tailoring to savoir-faire and the idea of heritage, younger generations are approaching elegant dressing in ways liberated of the conservative values of the past. Williams illustrated that through the relationship we form with tailoring growing up, before our associations with it are invaded by ideas of conservatism. The collection reflected a free-spirited approach to the traditional elements of the gentleman's wardrobe; one that didn’t feel preoccupied with the loaded dress codes of another era.

The schoolboy took centre stage

To illustrate the point, Williams put teenage sartorialism on a pedestal. “It’s the schoolboy who’s growing out of his uniform, who wears it in a wonky way, or customises it to suit his self-expression. To students and teenagers, the suit and the neat knitted jumper are just garments waiting to be tailored to their own personality,” he said. He expressed it in tailoring, knitwear and sweatshirts that played with proportions waiting to be grown in and out of, and undertones of schoolboy customisation. In the process, he created a sophisticated, elegant look that felt bespoke to the young men who were wearing it. They looked comfortable, confident, and cool.

Williams riffed on school uniform styling

Williams is no stranger to school uniforms. His children go to school in London, and he observes the way kids instinctively and functionally style their suits to suit their everyday lives. It was clear in the way he layered tech jacket (some made entirely in lightweight leather but posing as nylon) over schoolboy tailoring, and in nylon and cotton outerwear and hoodies – all double-face, by the way – that underlined his plays on proportions, sometimes nipped-in with micro backpacks. He emphasises that sense of functionality and adaptability with bags belts, utilitarian takes on Givenchy’s current trademark Voyou bag, and shoes imbued with hiking codes.

It made a case for the regular cut

“On every level, it’s about re-appropriating the notions and functions and associations of the things we’ve always worn and reclaiming them for a new mentality,” Williams reflected. You could feel a sense of a blank canvas in the tuxedos, hand-made suits and tailored jumpsuits that intercepted the schoolboy looks: clean and uncomplicated – in appearance, but definitely not in construction – they had a back-to-basics sensibility in their cut, which was also reflected in the collection’s military denim pieces. Not too formidable in silhouette, and not too cinched-in either, they embodied a rare regular-cut, something that almost feels rebellious on today’s sculpt-tastic tailoring scene. And somehow, that transition felt quite sophisticated.

Pharrell Williams’s Epic Debut Men’s Show For Louis Vuitton

Pharrell Williams closed off the famous Pont Neuf in Paris for his debut men’s show for Louis Vuitton, which was attended by everyone from Beyoncé and Jay-Z (who gave a special performance with Williams post show) to Rihanna and A$AP Rocky and Zendaya. Below, see British Vogue fashion critic Anders Christian Madsen’s five key takeaways from Louis Vuitton’s spring/summer 2024 men’s show.

It took place on one of Paris’s busiest bridges

Can you imagine how difficult it is to close off the Pont Neuf? The location choice for Pharrell Williams’s debut show for Louis Vuitton said it all: this was history in the making. “In moments like this, when you’ve been chosen to do something, the sun is shining on you. The quintessential question that I ask myself all the time, and ask people I care about, is, ‘Hey, if the sun is shining on you, what would you do with the light?’” the designer reflected before the show. As an artist who’s provided the life soundtrack for at least one generation, Williams’s meeting with the biggest luxury brand in the world was loaded with significance. He demonstrated the moment in an epic production – on said bridge, in the centre of Paris – framed around a collection that represented the personal style and understanding of clothes, which earned him his star in the fashion galaxy in the first place. Everyone was there, from Beyoncé and Jay-Z (who performed with Williams after the show) to Rihanna and A$AP Rocky, Kim Kardashian, Naomi Campbell, Zendaya, Lenny Kravitz and Lewis Hamilton.

It was all about the sun

Guests boarded bateaux mouches on the quay of the Musée d’Orsay – draped in Rihanna’s Speedy bag campaign unveiled by the house days before the show – and sailed down the Seine to Pont Neuf covered in golden, sun-drenched Damier chequers. Key to the life philosophy of Williams, he sees the sun as a unifying force of light, energy and healing power. Its rays penetrated every element of his show, from the motif of the glass invitation to that runway and the glistening surface decoration that adorned his dandy-esque tailoring and retro-chic sportswear. For the digital audience live-streaming the show, it opened with the prelude Pupil King directed by Todd Tourso, featuring a conversation between the comedian Jerrod Carmichael and the artist Henry Taylor on the bank of the Seine. It dealt with ambition, opportunity and pro-action, themes central to the philosophical premise of the collection.

It was loaded with cultural significance

“I can tell you that Virgil and me being here has to say to kids who look like us, ‘Oh, I can do anything. I can be anything,’” Williams said, referring to his Louis Vuitton predecessor, the late Virgil Abloh. “When you come from a culture that has been purposefully blocked and set in disadvantaged situations, you can’t imagine what’s even possible. But there’s this narrative that’s changing. So many of us are being swept up from one place and landing in fertile soil in other places, and being treated and watered and sunned like all souls should be. I can say there is an impact in that way, which is changing. It’s not enough but it’s happening. I’m very honoured to be a part of that. When I say the sun is shining on me – and it’s shining on all of us – it’s listen, this is a French house but they went right back to America and found another Black man, and gave me the keys.”

It reimagined the iconography of Louis Vuitton

Abloh often said his tenure at Louis Vuitton was about changing an industry where there wasn’t anyone he could mirror himself in. He often cited Williams as a role model: someone who had paved the way in music and fashion culture. Following in Abloh’s LV-shaped footsteps, Williams’s debut felt at ease. There was a calm resolve about the show – uplifted by the soundtrack he had produced with Voices of Fire, Clipse and Lang Lang, performed with a live choir and orchestra – which was also felt in the collection. Reflecting his own inimitable sense of style, from dandy tailoring to camouflage, bouclé jackets and comfy-centric constructions, Williams adapted the iconography of Louis Vuitton in new Damier chessboard patterns, a “Damoflage” splicing of Damier and camo, a pixelated Damier by ET Artist, and Canal Street-inspired takes on the LV monogram across a wardrobe that felt distinctly wearable (in a very extra way). “Down to Earth,” as Williams’s old mentor at Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld, once said of himself: “Just not this Earth.”

It was packed with brilliant pieces

Taking in the show atop the Pont Neuf, with Louis Vuitton’s adjacent headquarters towering in the background, you’d be forgiven for slipping into shopping mode. Amongst Williams’s debut proposals were tracksuits outlined with pearls, Damier motifs adapted into the patterns of coats and jackets, and delectable denim pieces embroidered with micro motifs of faces created by the American artist Henry Taylor, who also starred in the show’s prelude. In the accessories department, Williams delivered magnified furry Mickey Mouse gloves, different dimensions of trunks covered in shiny copper (presented on buggies driven by models), sunglasses crafted like camera lenses, and his first bag proposal for the house, as seen in the Rihanna campaign: a new interpretation of the classic Speedy bag reimagined in leather as opposed to canvas and rendered in the primary colours Williams said served as his natural starting point for the collection. The experience was emotive, emotional and an epic beginning to a new chapter at Louis Vuitton.

Beyoncé Wears Her Most Ethereal Renaissance Tour Look Yet

Ever since Beyoncé kicked off her Renaissance tour back in May, the singer has been bringing silver, Club Renaissance-ready ensembles to the stage. Wearing custom looks from labels such as Mugler, Alexander McQueen and Balmain, the star’s fashion MO has been heavy on the glamour and sequins. But over the weekend, for her latest stop in Amsterdam, Beyoncé switched things up – and debuted her most ethereal look yet. Her new vibe? It was less disco wear, more angelic and otherworldly.

Opening the show with “Dangerously in Love”, Beyoncé took the spotlight in a custom creation from Iris van Herpen – the futuristic Dutch designer known for her sculptural, avant-garde silhouettes. (She also created one of the looks for Beyoncé’s “Mine” music video.) Given that van Herpen’s studio is based in Amsterdam, it also continues the pop star’s habit of wearing local labels at different stops on the tour – fashion diplomacy at its finest.

The nude-illusion dress featured a silver, scale-like design with an oversized collar detail. At the arms, an attached pearlescent cape flowed in the breeze behind her, like wings. The ensemble felt perfectly in line with all of the other metallic looks that she’s debuted on her tour thus far, while also serving as a refreshingly delicate addition to the mix. As a fashion moment, it was almost as good as her immaculate riffs. Almost.

Christy Turlington’s Daughter Grace Burns Makes Her Runway Debut

From Lila Moss to Kaia Gerber and Iris Law, we’ve seen a whole host of famous fashion offspring gracing our runways in recent years. Now there’s a new name to add to that list: Christy Turlington’s daughter Grace Burns, who made her runway debut at British Vogue X LuisViaRoma’s fashion extravaganza in Florence on Wednesday night.

Grace, whose father is actor and filmmaker Edward Burns, hit the runway in a custom white dress by Victoria Beckham, featuring ruching at the waist (and based on the Kermit-green dress worn by Bella Hadid on the runway during the designer’s spring/summer 2023 show in Paris). The vampy look was finished off with a pair of black lace gloves, matching tights, peep-toe heels and the designer’s chain-embellished clutch bag.

When it came to her beauty look (masterminded by make-up artist Pat McGrath and hair stylist Sam McKnight), the 19-year-old wore her hair scraped back off her face, in a throwback to the “power chic” look of the ’90s (a time when, of course, Burns’s mother Christy was dominating the catwalks). As for the finishing touches? A bold red lipstick and crimson-pink blush that highlighted the model’s natural glow.

Grace’s runway debut comes after she starred with her mother in a campaign for Carolina Herrera earlier this year. Posting an image from the shoot on Instagram, she wrote: “Indescribably grateful to have had the privilege and opportunity to be a part of this experience! All the love in the world to every single divine human who made this possible!!!!!!!!”

With Milla Jovovich’s daughter Ever Anderson recently starring in a Marc Jacobs campaign and Helena Christensen’s son, Mingus Reedus, walking the Versace runway last summer, it’s clear the new generation of supers has officially arrived.

Saint Laurent’s Androgynous S/S´24 Men’s Show In Berlin

Held in Berlin’s Neue Nationalgalerie, Saint Laurent’s spring/summer 2024 men’s show was inspired by German filmmaker Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Below, see five key takeaways from British Vogue critic Anders Christian Madsen.

The show took place in the Neue Nationalgalerie

On Monday evening in Berlin, Saint Laurent kicked off the men’s show season with an intimate show staged in the Neue Nationalgalerie. “I always wanted to show something here,” Anthony Vaccarello said before the show, gesturing at the interiors of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s architectural masterpiece. “The taste of people in Berlin is very high, I think. Coming here, I wanted to show something I was really proud of. I see this as my third men’s collection. It started from Marrakech,” he noted, referring to last summer’s men’s show, which wasn’t his first but the one that set Saint Laurent on the menswear path that made January’s show the most talked-about in Paris. “Now that I feel very confident with what I’m doing for men’s, and I put it at the same level as the women’s, I was ready to come here and present it to this audience.”

It continued to build on Vaccarello’s new menswear vision

Following in the hyper-elegant, dandy-esque footsteps of January’s menswear spectacular, Vaccarello intensified his formal proposal for the Saint Laurent man in dark, romantic, broad-shouldered razor-sharp tailoring underpinned by delicate elements from the women’s wardrobe like halter and wrap tops and his emblematic pussy-bows. “I started with the last women’s collection. She was very Parisian but she was two steps from being Berlin. When you see her, she could be in a film by Fassbinder. From that, I started to build the collection from the women’s shapes, putting them on men. I wanted it to be really classic: the poplin with the grain de poudre and the satin lapel,” Vaccarello explained. “It’s playing with the codes of femininity and masculinity so you don’t know the limit between them.”

The collection was infused with the characters of Berlin

A Rainer Werner Fassbinder fan, Vaccarello infused the collection with the spirit of the characters of the director’s films, from Querelle to Le Droit du Plus Fort. But in the stark context of van der Rohe’s monolithic setting, the androgynous ghosts of Marlene Dietrich and David Bowie couldn’t help but invigorate the proposal with a decided feeling of Berlin, too. “I don’t think about gender things,” Vaccarello said. “I don’t do it because it’s cool to be gender fluid now. I do it because I like it like that. There’s no political message behind it. Monsieur Saint Laurent never did. Everything he did was very political but there was never a predisposition on something. And I think that’s cool. Everyone can interpret it in the way they want.”

The show was super intimate

The show continued to reinforce the powerful structure Vaccarello is creating at Saint Laurent: a concise, ravishing message presented in stunning but intimate frames; a premise that packs a punch. “I like, now, that it’s more edited. There’s one message. I don’t like to give a bit of everything. When you leave the show, you have a clear silhouette in your mind,” he said. Only 300 people were invited to the show: a mix of friends of the house who worked with Yves Saint Laurent himself, new house ambassadors, and the press. “I do it for people who work in fashion and really love fashion and love the brand for real. Not someone who goes to every show to wear what we told them to wear,” Vaccarello smiled.

It continued to bring Saint Laurent back to its heritage

In a time when the grandes maisons of fashion are increasingly focused on heritage-building, Vaccarello is slowly but surely restoring Saint Laurent to its foundation. Last summer, he quietly swapped the re-imagined sans-serif logo of the house for Yves’s original branding, albeit still sans the founder’s first name. “It’s the original one. I’ve been here for seven years, and I need to be excited and see things differently. That logo makes more and more sense to me. It was like that before and that’s how it should be,” Vaccarello said. “Elegant.”

What To Expect From The V&A’s Blockbuster Chanel Exhibition

Gabrielle Coco Chanel’s contribution to fashion will be recognised in a landmark Chanel exhibition at the V&A in 2023. Based on Gabrielle Chanel: Fashion Manifesto, a retrospective of the designer’s six-decade career curated by Paris’s Palais Galliera, the London institution will put its own twist on the display catalogue, with rarely seen pieces from the V&A’s own archive.

This is the first UK exhibition dedicated to the work of Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel and will explore how she created the house of Chanel and will show the impact her design signatures have had on the fashion industry and how women dress today.

To state the obvious, this is going to be major for Chanelophiles and anyone who has even the faintest interest in fashion history. This is the woman who reshaped what it was like to get dressed in the early 20th century through her ground-breaking silhouettes that prioritised freedom over tradition. Her Chanel 2.55 – the most famous bag by the house even to this day – was the first mainstream shoulder bag, and loaded with practical details, from a middle compartment intended for storing lipsticks to a discreet zip-lined inner made to conceal love letters. Even the chain strap was inspired by the tiny weights Chanel used to give her bouclé jackets an immaculate finish.

When will the the V&A Chanel exhibition open?

Gabrielle Chanel. Fashion Manifesto will run from 16 September 2023 to 25 February 2024 at the V&A based in South Kensington.

How can I buy tickets for the exhibition?

You can already book your tickets for the exhibition, which are available for £24 on the V&A website. Members of the museum, however, don’t need to book tickets.

What to expect from Gabrielle Chanel. Fashion Manifesto at the V&A

This will be a 10-section showcase spanning the opening of Coco’s first Parisian boutique in 1910 to the presentation of her final Chanel collection in 1971. More than 200 looks will go on display in South Kensington alongside jewellery, accessories, cosmetics and perfumes, from one of the earliest surviving Chanel designs from 1916 to costumes for the Ballet Russes’ 1924 production of Le Train Bleu and pieces worn by Hollywood legends Lauren Bacall and Marlene Dietrich.

Individual sections of the exhibition, meanwhile, will be dedicated to Chanel No 5 and its impact; the house’s closure during the Second World War; the timeless Chanel suit, with more than 50 examples on show; and a study of the brand’s pioneering costume jewellery. Coco Chanel’s love of British culture – as evidenced by her adoption of tweed – will also be explored in depth.

Angelina Jolie And Chloé Team Up On A Capsule Collection

Angelina Jolie’s new fashion brand, Atelier Jolie, is teaming up with Chloé to launch a womenswear capsule collection.

The collection was co-designed by the American actor and Chloé’s creative director Gabriela Hearst — who is soon to depart the brand, according to reports. It leans on Chloé’s “network of international makers” to incorporate “a higher percentage of lower-impact materials than any previous collection from the maison”, according to a statement released today.

The collection of mostly eveningwear will feature fluid silhouettes inspired by Jolie’s wardrobe. Some pieces highlight the work of artisans from a Fair Trade enterprise and spotlight female-led social enterprises; others are made from deadstock and lower-impact materials.

Chloé’s B Corp status, which it achieved in October 2021, was a draw for Jolie. The process of certification involves a comprehensive evaluation of a company’s impacts on workers, customers, community and environment throughout its full operations. “Very few luxury brands are a certified B Corp. It was important to me to work with Chloé, one of the first luxury brands to be a B Corp,” she said in the statement. “My earnings from this collaboration will be invested in establishing apprenticeships for tailors and artisans at Atelier Jolie.”

Jolie launched Atelier Jolie as a collaborative brand in May, which she said would facilitate working with tailors, pattern-makers and artisans globally; only use leftover vintage material and deadstock; and spotlight everyone involved in the process. Details around the business model were scarce at the time of the announcement, and the Chloé collaboration is telling about how Atelier Jolie will operate moving forward. Jolie joins a growing list of celebrities who have launched their own beauty and fashion brand in recent years — however, Jolie’s model is switching up the playbook as she looks to collaborate with other artisans as well as existing brands.

“From the moment I heard about Angelina’s vision for Atelier Jolie, I believed in it,” Hearst said in a statement. “It is a way to elevate others through the beauty of garment-making and her deep respect for the environment. It’s an honour for me that Chloé will be the first collaborator for Atelier Jolie, as both have high ideals for the betterment of our species.”

Report: Gabriela Hearst To Exit Chloé

Designer Gabriela Hearst’s next collection for Chloé will be her last, according to a report from WWD on Monday.

Hearst joined Chloé in 2020, bringing her sustainability ethos to the Richemont-owned brand while splitting focus with her eponymous label, which has continued to show collections at New York Fashion Week. The departure from Chloé will see Hearst turning her full attention back to her label, with her final Chloé collection to be shown at Paris Fashion Week during the Spring/Summer 2024 season, according to sources cited by WWD. Chloé did not respond to a request for comment.

Hearst is credited with ushering in a focus on sustainability at Chloé alongside CEO Riccardo Bellini, who could not be reached for comment. During Hearst’s tenure, Chloé became the first luxury brand to receive a B Corp certification and introduced a Social Performance & Leverage tool, an open-source platform where brands could evaluate suppliers’ performance across indicators including gender equality and living wage. The brand also launched Chloé Vertical, a resale programme paired with digital IDs meant to move Chloé closer to a circular business model, and Hearst introduced collections featuring recycled denim.

On Monday, Chloé announced a partnership with Angelina Jolie’s new line, Atelier Jolie, with a debut womenswear capsule designed by Hearst. Atelier Jolie was announced in May as a fashion collective using deadstock materials and an emphasis on artisan craft.

Hearst’s collections for Chloé have been well received. Most recently, Richemont — which does not break out sales for Chloé — said that the division including the brand rose 13 per cent in revenue for the fourth quarter over the year prior.

An Ultra-Rare Version Of Carrie Bradshaw’s Newspaper-Print Dress Will Go On Sale For The First Time In 23 Years

While many of us are familiar with the Dior newspaper-print dress famously worn by Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and The City (and most recently seen on Emily Ratajkowski), you may not have come across the longer version of the dress from John Galliano’s autumn/winter 2000 collection.

“The Carrie dress has popped up a few times, but I’ve never seen the gown version sell online,” Christelle McCracken, founder of My Runway Archive, tells Vogue. “It’s not been seen on anyone; the only photos you see are the dress on the runway. It’s very, very rare in that respect.”

Now, My Runway Archive, in collaboration with Netherland-based vintage store Herpium, is set to bring the Galliano newspaper-print gown to sale – with the experts believing this is the first time it’s been available to purchase since it was first released 23 years ago. McCracken came across the piece after a collector got in touch with her, having seen the Dior monogram trench coat that Cardi B wore – which was sourced from My Runway Archive – back in 2022.

“He was trying to identify the monogram coat, and found my page,” McCraken explains. “He got in touch with me and sent me 30 different [Dior] pieces via email – he’s held onto them for 15 years. I was lucky that he came to me because I previously sold something that he had to sell. He wanted to make sure that the Dior pieces went to the right person with the right knowledge.”

Other stand-out picks set to go on sale include several Dior pieces worn by Samantha in Sex And The City (who will now be returning to the small screen in the latest series of And Just Like That), from her Dior champion belt and gold dress in season five (worn during the infamous “Dirty martini? Dirty bastard!” scene) to her Swarovski-encrusted J’Adore Dior bandana in season six. The newspaper-print jeans from autumn/winter 2000, as well as two looks from autumn/winter 1998 – including the all-pink ensemble worn by Kate Moss in the ad campaign – will also be part of the 30-piece drop.

With the vintage community already abuzz about My Runway Archive and Herpium’s one-of-a-kind sale, mark your calendars for the first week of July for your chance to get hold of an ultra-rare piece of fashion history. You’ll need the bank balance to match, though. Asked how much she expects the newspaper-print gown to sell for, McCraken replies: “The only thing we have to go against is the newspaper dress on sale on 1stDibs – it’s £200,000.”