Saint Laurent Invests In Future Talent

There  can never be too many brands supporting burgeoning talent - especially when it comes to couture, the bespoke category which has seen a resurgence of interest in recent years. The latest to give it a boost is Saint Laurent, which has created a six-month programme in partnership with the Institut Français de la Mode and the École de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne to focus on innovation and sustainability.

“Preserving our heritage while evolving and being very relevant in our epoch is a pillar of our strategy, and investing in talents is an imperative condition to build on our success even further,” said Francesca Bellettini, president and CEO of Saint Laurent, reports WWD. “I am very proud of this partnership with such renowned and prestigious institutions as the IFM and ECSCP, which will greatly contribute to the implementation of our strategy.”

The courses, which are currently open for applications for a September start date, will see students work in the Saint Laurent head offices and being mentored by staff of the fashion house that is currently headed up by creative director Anthony Vaccarello. At the end of the period in March, they will present their work to a jury from their prospective schools, as well as Saint Laurent staff in the hope that they will leave an impression.

Incorporating sustainability into the requirements of the scheme matches the framework of several mentorship programmes around the world, who are keen to instil the importance of sustainability into the mindset of students from day one. It's also a buzzword in the Kering group, which unveiled its 10-year Sustainability Plan in January this year, naming renewable sources and ethical supply chains as integral to future-proofing fashion.

Ralph & Russo On Ruling Couture From London

Following their latest couture collection, Vogue revisits this interview with Michael Russo and Tamara Ralph from the April 2017 issue, where the Australian-born couple discuss couture, dressing Angelina Jolie and creating a luxury brand that is also relatable.

Our dress is on the front page of the Mail Online!” exclaims Michael Russo, tapping at his iPhone. He clicks on the story, and the headline flashes up: “Billionaire Russian oligarch spends £3.5 million on 19-year-old granddaughter’s wedding at swish London hotel.” “Mariah sang after Elton,” he confides. “And Antonio Banderas did some MCing.” Then he pulls up a photograph of a young girl who, at first glance, looks as if she is surfing on satin. “We made the bride her dress – multiple dresses, actually.

Russo has been to a lot of weddings, but the nuptials he is telling me about were among the most lavish. That’s what happens when you are CEO of Ralph & Russo, the British couture house with a client list running into the “thousands”, at least half of whom are princesses or sheikhas or their Hollywood equivalent. “Bridal is a large part of the business,” admits Tamara Ralph, creative director to Russo’s business brains (they are also engaged to be married). The other part is knockout couture: Angelina Jolie wore a Ralph & Russo suit to collect her honorary damehood; Gwyneth Paltrow wore their pink one-shouldered gown to the Oscars. 

Their youngest client is three months old; their oldest is 80. All are received for fittings in a seven-storey maison in Mayfair; their nearby 200-strong atelier, a Sixties office block where more than 20 languages are spoken, can whip up a made-to-measure dress in six weeks. Can’t wait? Five boutiques worldwide (10 more are inked to open this year) hold custom-made gowns that can be tweaked. Ralph & Russo, it’s safe to say, are ruling the couture world – and they’re doing it from London.

 Paris is traditionally thought of as the centre of haute couture. But when the Australian-born couple set up shop in 2007, with one seamstress and an ironing board, they staked their claim on Knightsbridge. It proved a masterstroke. “Our clients actually like the fact that we’re in London – it’s very convenient,” says Russo. Besides, they ticked the Paris box in 2014, when Ralph & Russo was deemed of sufficient standing to grace the official Paris Couture Week show schedule, the first British couture label in a century to gain admittance.

Today they are one week away from presenting their spring 2017 couture collection, and the atmosphere is one of intense efficiency. A masseuse is making the rounds, cracking hunched 14-hour-day backs. Ralph selects a purple dress to be photographed: “Each silk-organza petal has been cut, curled with tongs and hair-sprayed, and applied by hand to eight sections that make up the gown.” Nine people have spent 1,000 hours labouring on this gown. “Half the spring dresses have pre-sold already,” says Ralph, who offers a preview to a handful of clients, and guarantees exclusivity by only selling one dress to each region. “But my phone will start buzzing during the show as clients claim their looks.”

No wonder that next on the agenda is ready-to-wear, perfume and beauty, eyewear and, eventually, menswear – in addition to growing the leather goods lines launched in 2016. “We want to play in every product arena,” says Russo. What’s the secret to their success? “The brand is luxury but it’s also relatable. It’s important that our clients see us as approachable.” Approachable is a relative term – but it’s obviously working.

Bouchra Jarrar Departs Lanvin

Lanvin´s creative director, Bouchra Jarrar, has stepped down from her position at the French fashion house after showing only two collections. The designer and the house "have mutually decided to put an end to their collaboration. This decision is effective as of today," read an official statement from the brand this evening.

The news adds to Lanvin's tumultuous last three years, which saw long-term creative director Alber Elbaz - who was credited with steering the house from a traditional, heritage brand to a relevant and contemporary counterpart to its fellow French maisons - depart acrimoniously in October 2015.

Enninful Calls On Kate, Naomi, Steve And Grace

Incoming British Vogue editor-in-chief Edward Enninful has enlisted Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss, and Steve McQueen as contributing editors of the publication, in addition to his former American Vogue colleague Grace Coddington, who will come on board as a contributor

"I am thrilled that Kate, Naomi, Steve and Grace are going to work with us in these new roles," said Enninful this morning. "As two of the biggest international style influencers and supermodels, the impact Naomi and Kate have in today’s culture is enormous. Being an acclaimed filmmaker and Turner Prize-winning artist, Steve will bring an increased depth to the arts within the magazine."

While Moss has been contributing fashion editor at British Vogue since 2013, the addition of Campbell and McQueen to the masthead makes their continuing involvement with the publication official. Coddington, of course, renews her links with the title, having worked at British Vogue for 19 years, before moving to New York to work at American Vogue.

"Grace’s relationship with Vogue started at a very young age; she has become synonymous with the title and is as much loved in Britain as is she is globally," continued Enninful.

The news comes as Enninful prepares to officially start his role on August 1. He has already announced the appointment of Venetia Scott as fashion director, who starts on July 10.

"I am very much looking forward to working with these friends and colleagues on their ideas for upcoming issues," he said today.

Celine Dion Takes Couture

If there’s one person having a whale of a time at Couture Fashion Week, it’s Celine Dion. Yes, you heard us right. The Heart Will Go On singer has gone full throttle into the land of high fashion, and has sparked her own hashtag #celinetakescouture because of it.

While the street style stars pour over the perfect pictures for their Instagram feeds, Dion has been twirling about, draping herself over cars and pulling power stances for the cameras. Her fashion week frolics have not caused gasps of “quelle horreur”, but earnt her a front row seat next to Anna Wintour and Hamish Bowles.

For Celine Dion is actually a couture geek. She knows the weight of Versace’s beaded dresses and how Giambattista Valli’s chiffon straps actually sit on the shoulders because she has worn haute couture looks almost exclusively during her shows for the last five years.

Dion doesn’t just pluck her stage outfits straight from the runway, she instructs the ateliers to adapt them for the stage, US Vogue reports. Velcro panels are added to bodices to allow the singer’s ribcage to expand, and to facilitate quick outfit changes. Elastic is added chiffon to avoid the delicate fabric ripping, and her shoes are all refitted with metal shanks for support. Every minute detail is considered.

Of her couture obsession, she says: "The clothes follow me; I do not follow the clothes." May the Canadian singer continue to bring her zest for the craft to front rows to come.

Couture Catch-Up

From  Maria Grazia Chiuri’s Dior safari to Karl Lagerfeld's Chanel greenhouse in the Grand Palais, see the highlights from Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week autumn/winter 2017.

The Flower Crown 2.0 at Rodarte

Once the domain of festival fields, the humble flower crown received a couture makeover at Rodarte. Hair stylist Oldie Gilbert called upon LA-based florist Joseph Free to aid his woodland nymph beauty look. The pair fixed garlands of Gypsophila into the models’ hair with gold bows and silk ribbons.

Dior Does Noah’s Ark

Guests at Dior took their front row seats next to giraffes, monkeys, tigers and elephants, as Maria Grazia Chiuri co-ordinated her very own wilderness. As well as the wooden animal sculptures, Italian artist Pietro Ruffo built a star-shaped amphitheater for models to walk around. Globetrotting genius.

Miu Miu Goes Hands-Free

Expect two-tone bum-bags to be sitting on editors' waists come Septembers shows, as well as the other standout pieces from the brand's Resort 2018 collection.

Peter Dundas Debuts Eponymous Line

“18th Century meets the Seventies” was the mood of Peter Dundas’s Resort 2018 collection, Dundas. Natasha Poly, Lily Donaldson and Georgia May Jagger completed a stellar line-up of models wearing his debut line, which will be available from Moda Operandi from July 7th.

Atelier Versace’s Armour

Gone are the days when the Atelier Versace show was staged with a hub of celebrities on and off the runway. The highlights of the private presentation were a gilded jumpsuit that looked as if armour had been poured on to the body, and a dress complete with a 3D-printed necklace of snakes.

Americans In Paris: Proenza Schouler's Hyper-French Collection

Proenza Schouler debuted in the French capital – and nothing was lost in translation. Paris craft informed Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, as the design duo solicited the skills of French specialist ateliers to embolden the spring/summer 2018 collection.

Giambattista Valli Does Fairytale Dressing

He's known for his frothy, tumbling tulle gowns and Giambattista Valli's Couture autumn/winter 2017 collection didn't disappoint. A diverse offering of balletic confections and draped chiffon dresses.

Are Feathers The New "It" Embellishment?

Ralph & Russo's Couture offering chimed with the current red carpet trend for feather-embellishment. Prepare for a plucky awards season come winter.

The Beret Makes A Comeback

Winnie Harlow, Clémence Poésy and Lou Lesage have been taking style cues from Maria Grazia Chiuri, who hailed the comeback of the beret in Dior's autumn/winter 2017 collection.

Dior's Party of Dreams

Dior feted the brand's Designer Of Dreams exhibition launch, which charts 70 years of Christian Dior's fashion legacy, with a star-studded party at Les Arts Décoratifs. 

Inside Karl's Greenhouse

In place of last season's gigantic rocket sat a statue of the Eiffel Tower, as Karl Lagerfeld paid homage to Paris' parks. Models strode through the vast Grand Palais greenhouse in bold, experimental silhouettes, as well as the tweed, pearl-flecked pieces that are the brand's signatures.

What You Need To Know About Chanel's Couture Set

July 4 is normally a day reserved for American celebrations of independence (or aggrandizement, depending on how you view it. Over in Washington, President Trump is firing Twitter missiles at North Korea). But in Paris, it’s Couture Week, as much a part of France’s national identity as the official public holiday across the pond. With that in mind, Brigitte Macron, the new president’s wife has been out and about attending shows and showing support. Meanwhile at Chanel, the French behemoth seized the opportunity to do some myth-making, transforming the Grand Palais into the archetypal Parisian park scene – complete with the skyline’s most famous tower. Here’s seven things to note from Chanel's Autumn/Winter 2017 Couture show.

The Eiffel Tower Has a New Home

Karl transplanted the Eiffel Tower, a monolith of the Parisian landscape, to the Grand Palais in typically bombastic fashion and rebranded it #ChanelTower. Guests were seated on a gravel runway, perched on chic iterations of the folding dark green metal chairs that litter the Jardin du Luxembourg.

The Show Invitation Had Cubist Leanings

Karl Lagerfeld chose the 1926 oil painting of La Tour Eiffel by Robert Delaunay for the show invitation, deeming it “a symbol of avant-garde modernity”. Chanel’s website drew attention to Roland Barthes’ observation in “The Eiffel Tower And Other Mythologies”, that Maupassant often lunched in the Eiffel Tower restaurant, even though he didn’t think much of the food, because it was the only place in Paris where he didn’t have to see it. "Whatever the season, through mist and cloud, on overcast days or in sunshine, in rain – wherever you are, whatever the landscape of roofs, domes, or branches separating you from it, the Tower is there," Barthes wrote.

French Model Camille Hurel Was First Out

The strong-browed Parisienne teenager slunk out in the number one slot on the catwalk. Having debuted on the Givenchy runway a couple of seasons ago, Hurel is now a firm favourite with French fashion houses and has already walked for Dior this Couture week. She closed the show in the bow-bedecked Bridal gown.

Every model wore a flat hat and large pearl earrings

Classic black gave way to chain-trimmed tweed, patent leather and jazzy sequin-embroidered styles, all worn with golf-ball-size pearl earrings.

The Return of The Twist

Classic twists ruled the runways, teased into delicate patisserie-style swirls by Sam McKnight and held in place with gallons of hairspray.

Patent Boots Offset Traditional Tweeds

Shelve the suede: models wore knee-high and ankle-length patent boots in black, cream and beige, adding an edge to the fripperies of razor-sliced tulle, feathers and tweed. Patent always looks slicker.

Kristen Stewart, Katy Perry and Julianne Moore sat front row

Kristen Stewart killed off the competition in a sequined catsuit – a big couture trend at the Spring 2018 shows this week. Always one step ahead of the game.