A Blind Model Just Made History At Copenhagen Fashion Week

It took a matter of seconds for Lucy Edwards to make history on Sinéad O’Dwyer’s spring/summer 2025 catwalk, and the hairstylist Anna Cofone four months to make it happen. The broadcaster – who has been an informative and spirit-raising presence on the For You Page since she started uploading TikToks at the beginning of lockdown – this afternoon became the first blind person to model at Copenhagen Fashion Week, and the first blind person to have walked for a London brand. She strode, accompanied by her guide dog, in mini-skirted tailoring as guests were left questioning why this sort of thing isn’t more commonplace. “Just because a person is blind, doesn’t mean they don’t care about their appearance,” Cofone, who runs Hair and Care, a non-profit tasked with broadening fashion and beauty spaces to those with low vision, says. “It’s the absolute opposite.”

Cofone understands this more than most. “My father had retinitis pigmentosa, and I think he used fashion and grooming as a way to maintain independence when he was losing sight,” she says. “He was so passionate about self-care, and was so proud when someone took the time to describe clothes to him, guiding his hand over the shape of a lapel, encouraging him to feel the fabric beneath his fingers. He died 15 years ago and I started Hair and Care in 2019 to help keep his memory alive.” Cofone, who attributes her own success to her father’s resilience, began working with Lana del Rey two years after he passed. Then along came gigs with Dua Lipa, and almost every single international edition of this magazine, alongside countless fashion weeks and campaigns. “Hairdressing isn’t accessible for blind and low-vision people: going into salons is a real challenge and there’s a lack of education on how to communicate with them. Hair and Care runs monthly styling workshops from my studio in Hackney, and we’ve helped to support over 300 women with varying degrees of visual impairments since 2021.”

It was in one of these sessions that Cofone first met the 28-year-old Edwards, who has been blind since the age of 17 as a result of a rare genetic mutation known as incontinentia pigmenti. She has since signed ambassadorships with Pantene and Barbie, and earlier this year published a motivational memoir – Blind, Not Broken – based on her own path to self-acceptance. “She was one of our guests at Sinéad’s London Fashion Week presentation last season,” Cofone says. “The plan was that she’d walk, too, but we couldn’t get it across the line.” There were, of course, a series of other “firsts” to execute: inviting showgoers with visual impairments to experience a tactile tour of the collection, and recording audio descriptions for each look. O’Dwyer and Cofone went even further for spring – partnering with the Danish Association of the Blind on a guest list and creating booklets of fabric swatches and evermore detailed aural guides, which attendees listened to on headsets donated by Sony.

The seasonal grind is hard enough for independent designers, but here is someone who makes things actively more challenging for themselves in order to accommodate an audience of fashion fans so egregiously overlooked. “The most important thing was to make sure the experience would be safe and accessible for Lucy,” Cofone says. “From travelling with an airline that she trusts, to ensuring she could sleep in the same hotel as Hair and Care, to securing shuttle buses, time alone with a movement director and perfecting the tactile markings on the catwalk.” (That O’Dwyer absolutely should be taking home the 2024 Zalando Visionary Award is obvious.) “The dream is to work with the British Fashion Council and be the voice that helps brands to be accessible for blind and low-vision people,” Cofone adds of this life-altering if not culture-shifting project. “The women and young girls who come to our workshops leave feeling changed. Less isolated, empowered to take on a more visible role in public life. It’s about giving people a purpose, confidence and a chance to harness their identities.”

Maison Margiela To Skip Paris Fashion Week

The official Paris Fashion Week schedule is out and looks set to draw the crowds back to the French capital post-Olympics. All eyes will be on Alessandro Michele’s debut runway show for Valentino on 29 September, after he released a surprise lookbook of his first collection.

Among the notable absentees from the show schedule is Maison Margiela, amid press reports that creative director John Galliano is leaving (the brand declined to comment). Maison Margiela is planning to host an event on 30 September, with “further details to follow in due course”, the brand said. Galliano’s most recent show was for spring/summer 2024 haute couture week in January, and the brand showed women’s ready-to-wear in February 2020, October 2020, 2021 and 2023. In January 2023, the brand also held a co-ed show at the end of men’s week in its new headquarters on the Place des États-Unis.

Off-White will also be absent as it makes its New York debut. Altogether, the spring/summer 2025 women’s ready-to-wear calendar, which will run from 23 September to 1 October, features a total of 70 shows and 38 presentations – compared to 67 and 40 for spring/summer 2024.

This season’s calendar marks the return of Gabriela Hearst, who hasn’t shown in Paris since spring/summer 2021 in October 2020. “Paris’s international reach and remarkable platform for creative expression will enable us to pursue our development based on a long-term view, combining luxury and sustainability,” Hearst said in a statement. It also marks the return of Ludovic de Saint Sernin after a one-off in New York last season, and of Y/Project, which skipped autumn/winter 2024, citing “a commitment to prioritising investments”. Christopher Esber, who scooped the 2024 Andam Prize, returns to the presentation calendar, alongside Heliot Emil and Aigle. Newcomers to the show calendar are Alainpaul and Niccolò Pasqualetti, an LVMH Prize finalist. (The LVMH Prize winners will be announced on 10 September.)

Chanel on 1 October will hold its first ready-to-wear show since Virginie Viard bowed out, designed by the studio. Dries Van Noten’s collection will also be by the studio, after the eponymous designer bid farewell in June. Other highlights will include Dior, Saint Laurent, Balenciaga, Loewe, Chloé, Balmain, Alexander McQueen, Hermès, The Row and Victoria Beckham. After Louis Vuitton closes the curtain of the official calendar on 1 October, fashion week-goers will spend the evening at Disneyland where Coperni is staging its show. With some dismantling of the Olympic installations still going on, the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode (FHCM) has advised its members to avoid show venues in the Place de la Concorde area.

Peter Hawkings Exits Tom Ford

Peter Hawkings is exiting Tom Ford less than a year after taking over the creative director role from its eponymous founder, Estée Lauder Companies (ELC) has confirmed. A successor has not yet been announced.

“I would like to express my gratitude to Peter for his exceptional contributions to Tom Ford from the very beginning,” said Guillaume Jesel, president and CEO of Tom Ford and luxury business development at ELC, in a statement. The spring/summer 2025 collection will be presented in the Milan showroom in September 2024.

"I want to thank Peter for his collaboration since Tom Ford Fashion became part of the Ermenegildo Zegna Group. Along with his team, Peter has contributed to this important initial phase of development. I wish him all the best in his next chapter,” added Lelio Gavazza, CEO of Tom Ford Fashion.

Tom Ford himself stepped down from the brand in 2023 following its $2.8 billion (£2.2 million) sale to ELC the year before. Hawkings made his debut as the brand’s creative lead in September 2023, following nearly 25 years working alongside its founder, first at Gucci and then at Tom Ford, which was established in 2005.

Until Ford’s exit in early 2023, Hawkings ran the brand’s menswear operation, which was based out of London and launched in 2007. Since taking on the creative director role, he has integrated the formerly US-based womenswear design studio into the London menswear operation.

Shortly before showing that first collection, Hawkings told Vogue about the moment when, in November 2022, Ford privately revealed his plans to sell the brand and step down. He said: “I honestly never, ever thought that Tom would ever sell. I thought he would be one of the Ralph Laurens of the world and continue and continue. So he dropped that bombshell — and then the second bombshell was that he was putting me forward for creative director.”

Hawkings’s sudden exit will lead to instant speculation as to who might be be anointed as Tom Ford’s second successor. The founder’s codes of precisely honed high-octane sensuality are extremely distinct, but cannot merely be parroted in order for the brand to continue to develop.

In April 2023, it was revealed that Ford had sold his eponymous brand in a deal that saw his existing partners in beauty, eyewear and ready-to-wear assume control. Tom Ford International, the company responsible for the Tom Ford fashion business, was fully acquired by the Milan-based Zegna Group. The acquisition was part of a joint operation led by Estée Lauder Companies (ELC), Tom Ford’s existing beauty partner, and Marcolin, its eyewear partner.

Under the terms of the deal, Zegna Group has a 20-year license agreement to produce Tom Ford Fashion, with a 10-year renewal option. Gildo Zegna, CEO of the Zegna Group, told Vogue Business that a key factor in his company’s successful acquisition was its existing relationship with Ford: it first worked with the designer to produce his tailored menswear when he was at Gucci and later inked an agreement to produce Tom Ford’s menswear (designed by Hawkings), when it launched in 2006. Said Zegna: “Then, in 2016, we bought 15 per cent of Tom Ford International, on the fashion side, and I entered the board, and we became more close.”

When Ford decided to cash out, says Zegna, there was interest “from a good number of players more important than us. But with Estée Lauder, we won because they gave credit to our [existing] partnership and the job that we had already done.”

It is understood that Zegna’s prime ambition for Tom Ford ready-to-wear is to expand its womenswear sales, which, in 2023, accounted for 30 per cent of Tom Ford International’s revenues. Today’s news suggests that the next creative director will focus the brand in that direction; Hawkings, for his part, is a seasoned menswear designer.

The NYFW S/S´25 Schedule Is Out

Summer is at its peak right now, which means it’s time to start thinking about the September shows. The spring/summer 2025 New York Fashion Week schedule may be small, but it’s chock full of surprises.

The week will officially kick off on Friday 6 September at 1pm with Area, which is currently celebrating its 10th anniversary. It’ll be a big day for the city, with Collina Strada and Willy Chavarria also holding shows on opening day. They’ll be joined by Pieter Mulier, who opted out of Alaïa’s usual off-calendar slot adjacent to the Paris couture season in favour of an off-calendar show in the Big Apple. The Belgian designer is no stranger to the city, having spent a few years here alongside Raf Simons during the Calvin Klein 205W39NYC era. Last month, he told Vogue, “New York has a very special significance to me. It’s the city of resilience. And resilience is the feeding ground for creativity. My time in New York has not only shaped my artistic vision, but has become an integral part of who I am. It’s where Alaïa’s story intersects with the heartbeat of the world. New York isn’t just a destination; it’s a homecoming, a celebration of the past, present, and future of Alaïa.”

Alaïa is not the only European brand jumping the Atlantic this season; Ib Kamara’s second outing as the official creative director for Off-White will take place on Sunday 8 September at noon, while Ronald van der Kemp will be showing his autumn/winter 2024 couture collection on Wednesday 11 September at 11am, and after a stop in Paris, Stockholm’s Elin Kling and Karl Lindman of Toteme will be holding their show on Tuesday 10 September at 10am. Campillo, the Mexican brand helmed by Patricio Campillo, who was recently named an LVMH Prize finalist, will also be holding its first fashion show in the city on Saturday 7 September at 9am.

Who Decides War is back on the official schedule, showing on Saturday 7 September at 1pm, as is Rio Sport, Rio Uribe’s newly-christened brand, which is showing on Wednesday 11 September at 1pm. The week will feature a large contingent of this year’s CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalists – Kate Barton, Grace Ling, Jane Wade and Wiederhoeft are back on the schedule, while 5000’s Taylor Thompson, Sebastien Ami and Presley Oldham are making their debuts. Melitta Baumeister, the winner of last year’s CVFF will be closing NYFW with her first-ever fashion show taking place on the 11th at 5pm.

A few big designers are missing from the schedule this season, including Altuzarra, Helmut Lang, Gabriela Hearst, Fforme, Proenza Schouler and Ralph Lauren, but for the latter two, it is simply because they are holding shows before the official week kicks off. Proenza Schouler will stage an intimate presentation on Wednesday 4 September, while Ralph Lauren will be taking guests to the Hamptons on Thursday 5 September.

Ib Kamara On Its NYFW Debut

Off-White was created by the late Virgil Abloh, an Illinois-born visionary of Ghanaian descent. It is headquartered in Milan, and shows in Paris. All this makes it a brand that defies national categorisation, which is one part of its international appeal. However what seems almost remiss is that during nine years of operation there has never yet been an Off-White show in the United States. So this September, the brand will make its debut at New York Fashion Week.

“Bringing Off-White to New York has been on the cards for so long,” explained Ib Kamara on a call. Kamara was the long-standing stylist for Off-White, and worked alongside Abloh until the founder’s death in late 2021. Since then, he has taken up the mantle as the brand’s creative director. And he shared on the call that Abloh had originally planned to bring Off-White to New York at the beginning of 2022, a plan that was placed on hold after his passing.

“Now the time feels right to show up,” said Kamara: “It feels natural to grow and show where so much of the community around the brand is. I think it will be amazing and feel great for Off-White to show for the first time in the city.” Of New York, he added: “It’s common ground – a melting pot where everybody is equal.”

Coperni Will Close The S/S´25 Season At Disneyland Paris

A spray-on dress modelled by Bella Hadid, robotic dogs on the runway, sonic experiments inside the IRCAM in Paris: in recent years, Coperni’s Arnaud Vaillant and Sébastien Meyer have established their independent label as one of Paris Fashion Week’s must-see shows through their experiments with technology and their unusual choice of locations. But their spring/summer 2025 show promises to knock all their previous viral moments out of the water. Coperni will close the season at the iconic Disneyland Paris amusement park. This is the first time the park has hosted a fashion show in its 32-year history.

“The Disney team had approached us to work on a different project,” Vaillant recalled in their makeshift showroom in New York earlier this summer. “We met at our studio in Paris, and in the middle of the meeting, Sébastien was like, ‘Guys, we should have a show at the park,’ and they thought it was a good idea.” Of course, this wasn’t just a case of waving a magic wand around and saying “bibbidi-bobbidi-boo” and getting it done. “It’s a lot of approvals, as you can imagine. We spoke with so many different people from all their different teams, and finally, they said yes.”

Meyer and Vaillant won’t reveal all the tricks they have up their sleeves just yet, but production plans are apparently already underway. Naturally, we can expect some Disney princesses – and even villains – to influence the collection. “We’re going to play with the glamorous side and the youthful side, but we’re also bringing some tech elements; there is a big tech aspect at Disney as well,” Vaillant added, citing Disney’s legendary Imagineering research lab. “It’s so exciting.”

“It’s going to be such a beautiful moment. You know Disney touches everyone,” Vaillant added. “It’s going to be complicated, but it’s going to be worth it.” This season’s lucky guests – which will include the French duo’s bevy of cool It girls and boy fans, along with Mickey, Minnie and the rest of the gang – may even get to celebrate the end of fashion month atop a roller coaster, something that’s sure to put a smile on the face of even the most jaded fashion follower.

London’s Lightroom Exhibition Will Consider The History Of The Runway Show

Vogue: Inventing the Runway, an immersive new exhibition exploring the history of the modern runway show, will open this autumn at Lightroom in London. With the space’s astonishing four-story-tall walls as a backdrop, from 25 October visitors can experience and interact with era-defining runway presentations up close, and at an unprecedented scale. The exhibition’s production will combine animation, state-of-the-art sound design, and a score of classical and pop music to evoke the many iconic shows that have helped shape the cultural landscape.

“At Vogue, we’ve been lucky enough over the decades to see many incredible runway shows, which have often told the story of fashion as much as the clothes themselves,” says Anna Wintour, chief content officer, Condé Nast, and global editorial director, Vogue. “This Lightroom experience is a wonderful opportunity for a lot more people to experience first-hand the thrill of watching the history of fashion unfold right in front of them.”

Extending from the intimate couture salons of early 20th-century Europe to the mass-media extravaganzas of today, Inventing the Runway connects the past to the present and future of fashion, utilising Vogue’s extensive archive and contributor network to create an experience that unites the industry’s leading creative voices.

With a robust mix of participating fashion houses, including Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, Chanel, Comme des Garçons, Dior, Iris Van Herpen, Marc Jacobs, Thom Browne and Yohji Yamamoto, the exhibition will examine how fashion shows became the ultimate statement of a designer’s vision.
 newsletter you will receive invitations to exclusive reader events, the best subscription offers and much more.