Rihanna Revisits A Favourite For Fenty Beauty Launch

Is there anyone who could look quite as fabulous in a banana-yellow twinset as superstar beauty guru Rihanna?

The Oscar de la Renta two-piece, with its knotted crew-neck crop top and high-waisted full skirt with tumbling hem and side slit, put her centre stage at the much-anticipated launch of her Fenty Beauty line during New York Fashion Week.

Addressing fans, press and make-up enthusiasts who were keen to get their hands on the line with bodyguards and security in excess of the woman herself, Rihanna said she felt more excited than a birthday or an album launch and that the celebration was the culmination of a two-year passion project which will continue to grow.

Her head-turning Oscar de la Renta, complemented with fierce, thigh-high diamond spiral strap Y/Project sandals, was the perfect loud, proud and positively glowing culmination of her beauty project, and reminiscent of her most-hyped product: the gold-pressed highlighter powder called the Trophy Wife. If it will give us that RiRi glow, then, bitch, she's gonna have our money.

Of course, the Wild Thoughts songstress is no stranger to a canary palette. Remember the fur and brocade embellished Guo Pei dress that generated a handful of memes and headlines at the 2015 Met Gala? Or the silk mustard Alexandre Vauthier gown she wore to the 2014 pre-Grammys gala? The Stabilo-Giambattista Valli frou-frou at the 2008 BET Awards? No? Just us.

The Horror Film Heroines Behind Calvin Klein S/S18

There are few contemporary designers as versed in both image making and mixing as Raf Simons: a man who, at his eponymous label, has previously created entire collections collaged from the work of one iconic photographer (Robert Mapplethorpe, spring/summer 2017) or the world of one film director (David Lynch autumn/winter 2016). His ability to take the visual tropes of pop culture and rework them into a new narrative is perhaps unparalleled within fashion – and never has such a skill been more apparent than in his newest collection for Calvin Klein.

Not only do the pieces incorporate screen-printed Andy Warhol imagery, but broader inspiration riffed off “the dream factory of Hollywood and its depictions of both an American nightmare and the all-powerful American dream,” said the brand, creating an heart-racing ode to “thriller heroines, heroes, and antiheroes.” Simons has spliced together some of the silver screen’s most iconic figures to form covetable cultural commentary at its best: a remixed medley of horror’s greatest hits during a time when modern America appears more sinister than ever.

Here, in celebration, we present a (by no means exhaustive) list of some of cinema’s most iconic horror heroines, those whose influence on Calvin Klein spring/summer 2018 is immutable.

Sissy Spacek in Carrie

One of American horror’s most renowned protagonists is, of course, Carrie: the poor prom queen drenched in blood during what ought be her proudest moment. The accompanying visual has earned cultish renown – but, when seen through Simons’ lens, is transformed into something particularly beautiful. Not only were her delicate nightdresses reworked into ethereal eveningwear, but a raining shower of pig blood and its subsequently dripping streams become layers of red, shimmering fringing stitched upon fishnet. Carrie, you did not suffer in vain.

Mia Farrow in Rosemary’s Baby

The baby blue babydoll that Mia Farrow wears as she attempts to murder her hideous progeny is cinematic wardrobe at its finest: simultaneously paying homage to all of the visual cues of Puritanical innocence and Balenciaga’s Trapeze silhouette. Here, it is reprised as an almost sickeningly sweet anorak with functional fastenings – because who said fashion can’t be practical?

Shelley Duvall in The Shining

The enduring influence of The Shining appears in multiple incarnations at Calvin Klein: through the Eighties plaid suiting of Jack Nicholson’s character, which appeared in the menswear looks, but also in Simons’ version of Shelley Duvall’s primary-coloured pinafore. As if to prove a point, he even gave his new version of Wendy Torrance sunshine yellow shoes in accordance with the original costume. A remarkable remix indeed.

Grace Kelly in Rear Window

When Simons was creative director of Christian Dior, he proved particular prowess in updating the codes of the French couture house: by his hand, Dior’s New Look became new once more. Such an affinity for Mid-century design was directly echoed in looks at Calvin Klein that paid tribute to Grace Kelly’s wardrobe in Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window but now rendered in new, synthetic fabrications (waterproof nylon, to be precise). Expansive, blooming skirts with cinched waists and a wipe-clean finish: what more could a woman want?

Celebrities With A Cause Fill Raf's Reflective Front Row At Calvin Klein

Kate Bosworth said  it best. “The anticipation here is something you can only really relate to a real superstar.” On Thursday evening in New York, Raf Simons used his superpowers to assemble fashion’s most diverse front row for his second Calvin Klein entitled, Sophomore.

The collection paid homage to American horror and Simons had invited actors from his favourite shows within the genre. Bosworth rubbed shoulders with the cast of Moonlight, with Jake Gyllenhaal and Lupita Nyong'o only a few seats away. Kyle McLachlan represented Twin Peaks (Simons is a devotee) while Millie Bobby Brown flew the flag for the designer’s newer obsession, Stranger Things.

“It’s amazing, it’s different, it’s unique. It’s very exciting to be here,” Brown said of fashion’s new CK moment and the young generation of fans Simons has spawned. “Youth, empowerment and uniqueness,” was how she summed it up. “I think it’s cool to be different and cool to be unique in your own way, and that’s what Raf brings to the table and I love it."

She sat next to Calvin Klein’s current poster girl Paris Jackson, who was busy guest-editing the brand’s Instagram as its original poster girl stepped in. “I think there’s an edginess to Raf that is not at all expected,” Brooke Shields said as she walked to her seat. “He’s kept those clean lines of the Calvin that I was associated with, and yet he’s managed to update it without being derivative, without being obvious about putting his mark on it. It’s very organic.”

Unlike most celebrity events in fashion, Simons has put together a group of brand ambassadors and famous supporters for Calvin Klein who truly seem to believe in the message he’s conveying. “It’s like when you to see a famous band and you get this phonetic energy outside,” Bosworth said, nodding at the flashbulb-filled entrance. “It’s an energy only cult artists attain, and I think that’s something Raf has.”

Seven Fabulous Moments From Tom Ford's NYFW Show

Kicking off New York Fashion Week spring/summer 2018 with all the glamour we've missed over the summer months, Tom Ford presented a showthat riffed off the name of his new virally-named fragrance: Fucking Fabulous. Accordingly, here are the most fabulous moments noted…

 

The Carpets, Walls (And Looks) Came In Millennial Pink

Just like every socially-savvy millennial, the American designer is particularly taken by the shade – and, as is to be expected with a Ford show, nothing is taken lightly: pink was everywhere from the plush catwalk carpet to the walls. This season, Tom Ford has staked his claim for millennial pink.

Forget Double Denim: Quadruple Was In

While double denim has been in vogue ever since Demna, Ford has gone one better and created full and pristine outfits from the fabric. It's sharp and it's fierce, and it's definitely not for down days. It's the denim you wore in the Noughties, and the denim you'll wear into the dark come summer 2018.

Flashing Your Pants Became A Style Statement

Rhinestone underwear is not meant for hiding. While anything Tom Ford puts his name to comes with sex appeal as a given, these pants - beside their megawatt material - are based on a basic bikini style that plays on a simple silhouette. If these don't make the ad campaign we'll be deeply disappointed.

The Shoes Weren’t Made For Walking

The definition of luxury is a question much touted, but surely the answer lies in shoes in a shade so perfectly, brilliantly white that you could never wear them without a door-to-door driver. Presented in scotch-bonnet red, fiery fuchsia pink, denim and crystalised, each with white tips and heels, Ford's footwear selection is aspirational luxury at its fabulous finest – but their pristine palette won’t stop us from test-driving them on the London pavements when they hit shops.

Tom Ford’s Nineties Sex Appeal Came Back

Last season, mini skirts on the catwalk took on either a geekish or rock'n'roll appeal (at Gucci and Wang respectively), but Ford's white-hot mini, equipped with hardware and metallic details is bringing us back to his own, hyper-sexy Gucci tenure for spring/summer 2018. Wear it as part of a full white look. It's go hard or go home.

Chaka Kan Was There (With Fan)

Just having the American diva in attendance is downright fucking fabulous in itself. However, what we're talking about this morning is her personalised fan which doubles up as a seductive camera-friendly posing tool. As if anyone needed to be reminded of her name.

The Boys Served Their Own Version Of Sex Appeal

While the women on the catwalk were grown-up glamazons – all shoulder-pads and power-crop hair – the waiters on the ground at the after party championed an equally alluring aesthetic. Wearing little other than running shorts, varsity socks, trainers and washboard abdominals, these guys were serving far more than champagne.

Hunter's Alasdhair Willis On The Brand's Latest Collaboration

It´s a busy week for Hunter. A new design director - Christopher Raeburn alumni Daniel Shaw - was appointed yesterday; it is opening a pop-up space at Dover Street Market New York (to coincide with NYFW) followed by Dover Street Market London and the Tokyo branch of Adrian Joffe's brand thereafter; and a new collaboration with Isamaya Ffrench, available for pre-order today.

The latter is worth shouting about. The make-up artist has worked with the brand to give its bestselling rubberised rucksacks a fine-art update, featuring "tourist paraphernalia of the Nineties, with lists of capital cities covering the front of the backpack, alien invasion and musical notes" hand-painted onto leather in four different designs. With only a limited number made (50 of each), they are arguably contemporary pieces of art. Once they're gone, that's it (a tactic being adopted more frequently by brands in order to re-establish the unwritten rules of luxury and ensure desirability is kept alive).

It's the first collaboration of many that will give the brand's Original Backpack a modern spin and it's a clever continuation of its evolution from reliable heritage stalwart into a bestselling player in the ready-to-wear, accessories and footwear categories. We caught up with creative director Alasdhair Willis, the man credited for the brand's recent reinvention, to find out how and why collaborations like that with Ffrench are important, how he keeps Hunter moving forward, and what we can expect over the next 12 months.

Why is it important to Hunter to collaborate with artists like Isamaya?

"What is important to us is that there is a natural fit with the Hunter brand. It’s about finding the right combination of the artist’s vision and how it brings something new to the Hunter world. Over the last couple of years we have collaborated with visual artists such as Mat Maitland and Hattie Stewart for example; artists that brought a unique perspective to our brand. That is not to say though that this is limited to artists, we continue to explore opportunities to collaborate with people from other disciplines and different worlds. Whether that be for Hunter Original of Hunter Field, from kids' product to future collaborations on our backpacks - as a brand we appeal to a very broad customer base providing very exciting opportunities to therefore explore collaborations.

When we decided to collaborate with Isamaya, we wanted to show our Hunter Original rubberised leather backpacks in a different context. This collection is a celebration of a new true Hunter icon, which continues to be an incredibly strong seller but also offered the perfect platform for Isamaya’s designs to come to life, very different to what we are used to seeing from her as a make-up artist.

The price point is very reasonable for what are essentially limited-edition pieces of art (£255 for a mini and £325 for a large) – is being accessible a conscious strategy?

"It was key to us to deliver something new to our existing customers but also stay within a price range that is fair and right for us as a brand. Equally, we feel that we are able to engage with a new audience for the Hunter brand. This provides an opportunity for new customers to discover the world of Hunter beyond the Original boot."

You’ve grown the brand from wellington boots to a respected fashion brand – what’s your mantra for keeping things moving forward?

"We are always evolving; pioneering and innovation is at the heart of the brand. We however also don’t want to detour too far away from our original starting point which is the Original Wellington Boot and the design lead for every collection. We reference back, always enabling that there is no disconnect between where we come from and where we are heading, but making sure it’s always relevant now. It’s a process of constant evolution rather than starting fully afresh. It’s therefore really exciting to see how people have bought into new product categories so quickly and for us so successfully like for example the pool slides, rubberised backpacks, hunting coat and vinyl smock."

What can we expect from the brand in the next year?

"Q4 which is our strongest trading moment of the year, will see a large scale activation to launch our new Core #RainStartsPlay campaign. This will include an out-of-home campaign in NYC and also in London. The US is now our biggest market so it’s been a key priority to drive awareness of the full Hunter product offering there. Furthermore, we are set to open our third global standalone store in Toronto in October of this year. The city’s diversity and vibrancy makes it one of North America's most exciting places, which is why we decided to open Hunter’s first North America store there. For Autumn/Winter 2017 we have also further extended our Refined product offering introducing outerwear and accessories, building upon the success of the Refined boot which was first introduced in Autumn/Winter 2015 and is a best seller. We then look to next year and start looking at opportunities to be present at festivals across the globe."

The Hunter x Isamaya Ffrench collaboration will be available at Dover Street Market London from September 15th.

The Leading Ladies On Tom Ford's FROW

There ain't nobody who could kick off New York Fashion Week quite like Tom Ford, who invited Chaka Khan, Cindy Crawford, Julianne Moore, Helena Christensen, Kim Kardashian West and Karlie Kloss to take a front row seat at his spring/summer 2018 collection premiere.

Those starring roles were supported by Julia Garner, Bart Freundlich, Rande Gerber, Ansel Elgort, Liberty Ross, Liev Schreiber, Ciara and Suki Waterhouse in the powdery-pink venue of the Park Avenue Armory.

With David Bowie's Fame as the soundtrack, the pre-show furore that saw Crawford and Christensen posing for pictures in sequined dresses, Khan fluttering her personalised fan and Kardashian West looking statuesque in her PVC dress and wet-look hair almost emulated one of Ford’s film sets. That dusty, flattering pink light a nod to Moore’s Sixties home as Charley in A Single Man and the flawless black dresses of Kardashian West and co reminiscent of Amy Adams’s ultra-slick wardrobe as gallery owner Susan Morrow in Nocturnal Animals.

The collection, as Vogue fashion critic Anders Christian Madsen wrote, might have been a tribute to the Nineties, but the front row was a celebration of Ford’s ability to bring fashion, film and his fabulous muses together in harmony.

Juergen Teller On Creative Freedom and Collaborating With Vivienne Westwood

“I’m just so excited, putting all my work together,” says photographer Juergen Teller, speaking from New York, where last night he celebrated the opening of an exhibition charting an epic period of collaboration between the prolific image-maker and Dame Vivienne Westwood. “The first picture I took in 1993, and the last picture in spring 2017. While doing the catalogue of the exhibition and installing the show, I realised how excited I am that you actually can’t tell the pictures taken in 1995 apart from 2005 or, in fact, 2017.”

Of course, he is right. There are few creative endeavours that have such enduring appeal as that between Teller, Westwood and Andreas Kronthaler – and it seems as though this timelessness is rooted in the shared vision of the trio. Whether he’s capturing a disheveled Pamela Anderson in a Los Angeles launderette, or an axe-wielding Westwood, Teller has consistently captured the subversive spirit of the brand with every picture he has taken for them.

“I’m also excited seeing the casting, the excellent clothes, the different locations,” he continues. “Whether it’s a studio or far away places - it melts into one thing which is Vivienne, Andreas and me working together in a vision we all three absolutely share. I cherish the sense of freedom they give me and I truly want to celebrate this and show it to the world.”

Teller's gleeful enthusiasm sets this archive apart from the saturated streams and glossy feeds of the digital age. That, and the fact that Teller's campaign imagery is worlds away from the painstakingly airbrushed sort that we are far more familiar with in 2017; if anything, he revels in the liberation that imperfection affords. For those who aren’t in New York in the next few weeks (the exhibition, held at Vivienne Westwood’s flagship store in the city is open until the end of October), or are seeking a more permanently tangible celebration of the work, invest in the book (which, as of today, is stocked at all Vivienne Westwood stores). We wholeheartedly endorse it.