Maria Grazia Chiuri On Dior's Fashion Story

Since her appointment as artistic director of Christian Dior last summer (not to mention her previous two decades of design success at Valentino), Maria Grazia Chiuri has been propelled to the very top of the fashion pile - perplexing, therefore, to think that the Italian-born designer can recall a time when she questioned her employability.

"Honestly, I am doing more than I ever imagined doing in my life!" the designer laughed post-couture show in Paris yesterday, fresh from delivering another chapter in the storied house's tale. "When I started to work and study fashion at 20-years-old, I never even thought I would have a job! To stop here would be enough."

Let's hope not, as Chiuri has more to write into Dior's history - the fruits of which form the 70th anniversary exhibition everyone is talking about, Christian Dior, Designer of Dreams, and which Paris's finest gathered in the gardens of Les Arts Decoratifs last night to celebrate in splendid style. It's a heritage that Chiuri has drawn on from day one.

"When I first arrived at Dior and did my first pret-a-porter show, I immediately decided to be a curator of its history," she explained. "But for this most recent collection, because of this special occasion when we have the exposition, I decided to concentrate my attention on Mr Dior's work - not only because he was the founder and he made the DNA of the brand, but because thanks to the exhibition I went into the archives a lot and found an unbelievable map that spoke about Dior’s work in 1953. 

Immediately it was evident that he was already building a worldwide brand and that fascinated me a lot, so I tried to make my personal map about Mr Dior's references for this show, choosing dresses from the archive that made me feel emotion to translate with my point of view."When I first arrived at Dior, I immediately decided to be a curator of its history

Relaxed and refreshing, Chiuri is a designer who is happy to acknowledge the successes of her predecessors and is keen to point out why the largest retrospective of Christian Dior - the brand - to date, has come at an apt time, as she reinvents the house's aesthetic once again.

"I think the main thing about Dior, is that it's like a puzzle of all these huge designers that worked at the house and what is beautiful in the exhibition is that you understand the time and history," she said. "I think it shows that the house has always chosen the right designer for the moment. After Mr Dior there was Yves Saint Laurent, who started to speak about women in a different way. After Saint Laurent, there was Marc Bohan, who moved the house very well between the Sixties and Seventies. Then when you see Gianfranco Ferre, who I remember very well, it is evident that he started pret-a-porter in Italy – he changed the communcation about fashion. 

Also with John Galliano, his was a point of view from English guys who look to Paris - for example his references to Versailles, they're not present in Dior’s legacy, but Mr Dior's relationship with England and English designers is a very strong vein. With Raf Simons, it was another moment in time for the fashion world, just a little bit more intellectual, and so probably with me, it’s a moment to speak about women in a different way. It’s a huge responsibility to speak about women, but I try to do my best."With Raf Simons, it was another moment in time for the fashion world, just a little bit more intellectual

Being a luxury fashion designer in 2017 is, for some, a perilous moment with schedules changing, world economies in flux and the collective consumer's need for speed biting at the heels of the slow-fashion movement. But, for a house like Dior, Chiuri believes that it comes down to adhering to its established codes.

"Luxury fashion houses need to maintain a code of quality, craftsmanship and knowledge," she explained. "Luxury is not necessarily expensive. Luxury for me is something to take care of, so of course with couture it's one of a kind, but it’s not expensive because it’s just expensive, it’s expensive because you need many hours to produce a dress with many women who work on it for hours every day – but luxury can also be a T-shirt, when it is made with expertise and the best cut. Luxury is not only clothes with price but also value and the human touch. Luxury is when you can feel the creativity."

Guests at the exhibition's opening soireé can attest to the palpability of the brand's creativity, surely the strongest compliment of all after 70 years. As Chiuri said herself: "Fashion is emotional, it's story."

Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams, sponsored by Maison Swarovski, is showing at Les Arts Décoratifs, Paris, from July 5 2017 to January 7 2018.

The Duchess of Cambridge Puts Her Own Take On Wimbledon Whites In Dolce

The Duchess of Cambridge arrived at Wimbledon to watch Andy Murray’s first match of the tournament, wearing a polka dot Dolce & Gabbana dress and debuting a new, shorter hairstyle.

As Patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, the Duchess is a regular attendee of the tournament. Today, she will take her seat in the royal box to watch Murray take on Alexander Bublik, who is only on the Wimbledon schedule owing to another player pulling out through injury.

Media attention steered away from the tennis, however, and to the Duchess’s new shorter hair. Styled in her signature bouncy waves, her new crop falls just below her collar bone.

A new ‘do calls for the perfect outfit to offset it, and a Dolce & Gabbana dress with square-cut neckline did just the job. The bold monochrome polka dots can be seen as a playful take on Wimbledon whites, and the circles a literal nod to the ball games at play. She let her bold print – and tousled hair – do the talking, and teamed her outfit with a white Victoria Beckham tote, which she also wore to the event last year, and minimal black heeled sandals from Office.

Wimbledon has always been a forum for the Duchess to showcase her playful sartorial nature. For the 2016 men’s finals she wore a short-sleeved Alexander McQueen white midi dress, peppered with the brand’s ‘Obsession’ print, which includes butterflies, lipsticks and the label’s signature skull motif. As avid followers of her style will know, skulls are not a print that her royal uniform traditionally allows.

The Duchess’s departures from her safe style codes are always done at the hands of designers she trusts. Just as she looked to McQueen for an experimental take on Wimbledon whites last year, today’s punchy dress comes from a brand she has worn numerous times to public events. The white lace Dolce & Gabbana dress she wore to Ascot last month was met with praise, and we expect today’s look to resonate well with fans of her ladylike style too. Especially, as the dress is currently in the MATCHESFASHION.COM sale for £930, reduced from £1,550.

Inside Liv Tyler’s 40th Birthday With Kate Moss And Sadie Frost

Kate Moss and Sadie Frost feted Liv Tyler’s 40th birthday with a weekend of countryside revelry alongside their partners and children.

Frost took to Instagram to post a picture of Moss and Tyler sitting outside a teepee, with the caption “'happy birthday @misslivalittle, what a lovely day!'” Moss, who was clad in an embroidered waistcoat, complete with arm bracelet, neck chains and round sunglasses, looked just the part for the bohemian country celebrations.

Frost, meanwhile, found home in a wicker pod and kept herself sheltered from the sun. “This is my idea of heaven.. weekend in the country in a pod! Sheltered from the elements,” she captioned the post.

The idyllic day played out into an evening of dressing up for the Primrose Hill set, who were famed for partying together in West London in the Nineties. Tyler posted a video of herself wandering through the grass wearing a flowing, semi-sheer maxi dress followed by Moss, on her hands and knees, with a cigarette in her mouth. Tyler affectionately called her model friend, whom she has known for 25 years, a “sexy tiger”.

Other pictures emerged of Moss’s boyfriend Nikolai Von Bismarck posing with Tyler’s fiancée Dave Gardner and friend James Brown, who joined in the festival-inspired dress code, with a red cape and matching military-inspired cap.

The birthday celebrations also called for flashback photographs, with Tyler and Frost remembering soirées from years gone by. You can take the revellers out of Primrose Hill, but the party will still find them.

Vetements And Hilfiger Collab Makes Streetwear Even More Luxe

Vetements is teaming up with yet another brand, bringing its subversive twist to a new collaboration, this time with Tommy Hilfiger.

The Zurich-based streetwear brand and the classic American label announced the collaboration via Instagram, when Hilfiger posted a picture of a red hoodie with both their logos emblazoned.

Speaking to WWD, Hilfiger said he met Vetements chief executive officer Guram Gvasalia over six months ago, and received the collaboration call from Gvasalia two months ago.

“The fact that a disruptive designer like Demna [Gvasalia] would want to do something with our brand is a tremendous compliment,” said Hilfiger.

“We agreed to it because we think it’s such a cool brand and think it will be an incredible collaboration,” he added. “I was very excited. What they’ve done is quite genius. They have their own rule book. They do what they want and do it when and how they want.”

True to Vetements style, the look book features the real people wearing the new garments, photographed on the streets of Zurich.

In terms of what to expect, the spring Vetements x Tommy Hilfiger collaboration will include a roster of unisex items synonymous with the luxe streetwear label, including oversized hoodies (with a flag and crest), short-sleeve T-shirts, beanies and socks, ranging in hues of gray heather, navy, red and fuchsia. They will be available as of February at Barneys New York, Harrods and Colette.

Louis Vuitton Pops Up With Supreme

The  old adage "the longer you wait, the sweeter the reward" is proving true in London this morning as the Louis Vuitton and Supreme collaboration drops at a pop-up in London. 180 The Strand is the chosen location - a destination proving popular with the menswear scene, as well as multiple other fashion and art events (Louis Vuitton held its Series 3 exhibition there a couple of years ago).

First shown at the French fashion house's autumn/winter 2017 menswear show in January (which was inspired by the "dynamic New York culture of the recent past - Seventies, Eighties, and early Nineties"), the arrival of the collection everyone - regardless of its menswear tag - seems to want a piece of comes nearly seven months later adding an interesting addendum to the see-now, buy-now strategic opinion that consumers are no longer willing to wait for a luxury item they desire. It also cements the fashion world's pre-occupation with ath-leisure, sports and skate wear, a trend that is set to reach fever pitch with Kim Jones's latest drop.

"It’s uptown and downtown, artists and musicians, friends and heroes - no New York City men’s conversation is complete without Supreme," said Vuitton's menswear creative director Jones of the Big Apple institution that launched 18 years ago and since proven to be the aesthetic embodiment of counter culture.

The London pop-up - which will sell leather goods, ready-to-wear, shoes and accessories, as well as exclusive items offered only in the pop-up - has counterparts in Sydney, Seoul, Tokyo, Beijing, Paris, Miami and Los Angeles and will be open until July 21.

Kendall And Kylie Jenner Pull T-Shirt Line After Legal Threats

Kendall and Kylie Jenner have cancelled a line of T-shirts featuring their faces superimposed over images of famed music artists including The Doors, Pink Floyd, Ozzy Osbourne and late great rappers Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G.

The T-shirts, which retailed for $125, were pulled from sale one day after the launch after facing criticism from relatives of the artists, and cease and desist letters over unauthorised use of the images, The Guardian reports.

"I am not sure who told @kyliejenner and @kendalljenner that they had the right to do this. The disrespect of these girls to not even reach out to me or anyone connected to the estate baffles me. I have no idea why they feel they can exploit the deaths of 2pac and my son Christopher to sell a T-shirt. This is disrespectful, disgusting, and exploitation at its worst!!!" Wallace wrote in her Instagram post.

Sharon Osbourne, the wife of Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne, shared her views on Twitter: "Girls, you haven't earned the right to put your face with musical icons. Stick to what you know … lip gloss."

The Jenners released the following statement in response to the backlash: "These designs were not well thought out and we deeply apologise to anyone that has been upset and/or offended, especially to the families of the artists.”

"We are huge fans of their music and it was not our intention to disrespect these cultural icons in anyway," they added.

This is not the first ill-advised business move the Jenners have received backlash for this year. In April, Pepsi withdrew and apologised for an ad which showed Kendall Jenner attending a protest and handing a can of the fizzy drink to one of the policemen controlling the march. The imagery came under fire for drawing on the protests of the Black Lives Matter movement.

The Duchess Of Cambridge Joins The Gucci Gang

The Duchess of Cambridge eschewed her wardrobe of tried-and-tested designers today, and turned to fashion favourite Gucci for a visit to the V&A.

Gucci has been top of editors’ wish lists since Alessandro Michele took the helm as creative director in January 2015. He is widely credited with bringing the fun back into fashion, with maximalist, gender-fluid designs and sell-out accessories, like fur-lined loafers and highly embellished handbags.

The Duchess, who is known for her classic style, was yet to step into Michele’s flamboyant fashion scene. Until today. To open the V&A museum’s new Exhibition Road quarter, she chose a monochrome tweed dress with symmetrical grosgrain ribbon detailing, pockets and buttons from the pre-fall 2017 collection. It retails for £1,790 from gucci.com.

A red version of the dress appears in Gucci’s pre-fall lookbook, but appears completely different to the Duchess’s owing to Michele’s eclectic styling. Where the Duchess chose a pair of safe navy LK Bennett heels, a red clutch and Annoushka pearl earrings to offset her dress, Michele added a pair of slim tracksuit bottoms, logo socks, bow-embellished silver heels and mismatching jewellery into the mix.

Introducing a new style direction – the Duchess has previously worn Gucci, but not Michele's designs – into her carefully curated wardrobe is the latest example of the Duchess growing in sartorial confidence. Earlier this month, she tried a new colour-pop pink hue and a cropped flared trouser style. Along with today’s Alessandro Michele design, each is a perfect example of how she and stylist Natasha Archer are building her royal profile as an ever-appropriate, ever-stylish dresser.