Kaia Is A Young Cindy’s Double In Calvin Klein’s Spring Campaign

Were it not for her tousled bob, tiny tattoos, and the absence of a beauty spot on her upper lip, the star of Calvin Klein’s new campaign could easily be mistaken for a young Cindy Crawford. In fact it’s her daughter, Kaia Gerber, who is the mirror image of her supermodel mother in the pared-back ’90s imagery. Gerber’s dark hazel eyes, bushy brows and pert lips are uncannily close to the features that made Cindy a CK muse back in her heyday. Crawford was a runway regular for the brand, and Kaia herself walked for Calvin Klein during her first ever show stint for the autumn/winter 2018 season.

Snaps shared by Kaia on Instagram show the rising star posing in soft cotton separates – adorned with Calvin’s signature elasticated band – and fresh denim for the spring shoot, photographed by Ryan McGinley. Other images show Gerber in a woven shirt, snow-white stomper boots and denim cut-offs – not dissimilar to a young Cindy’s signature Daisy Dukes.

It’s already been a busy spring for Kaia. Just a week ago, it was announced that she will make her acting debut in the 10th season of American Horror Story. Her casting was confirmed by the Netflix show’s writer, Ryan Murphy, who announced it on Instagram. “If I’m dreaming this, don’t wake me up,” Gerber commented on the post.

Prior to that, she starred alongside Helena Bonham Carter, Laila and Nadia Gohar, Paloma Elsesser, Francesca Hayward, Barry Keoghan, Rowan Blanchard, Kelsey Lu and Omari Douglas in an augmented reality pop-up book, to mark the launch of Simone Rocha’s collaboration with H&M.

The Reason Bottega Veneta Left Instagram

When Bottega Veneta vanished from Instagram, it was something of a virtual mic drop. At the start of the year, news broke that the cult brand had deleted its social media accounts, prompting much speculation around why. Maybe creative director Daniel Lee had decided to focus on organic promotion courtesy of his devoted celebrity following? After all, when BV obsessives like Kylie Jenner, Rihanna and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley are frequently sharing their favourite accessories with their millions of followers, the promo box is pretty well ticked.

But now we know what Lee was up to: curating a “digital journal” of interactive stills, film and audio, set to be released quarterly to coincide with seasonal collections hitting stores. Issue will provide the Italian brand’s online presence going forward, a move Lee told the Guardian he hopes will offer a “more progressive and more thoughtful” virtual offering. “Social media represents the homogenisation of culture,” he said.

Flying under the radar has worked for Lee thus far. He swerved the Paris Fashion Week schedule last autumn and instead held an exclusive preview of his spring/summer 2021 collection for a small, select audience (British Vogue editor-in-chief Edward Enninful was joined by the likes of Salma Hayek, Neneh Cherry, Kanye West and Skepta at the Salon 1 showcase). The rest of the world had to wait until early December to see the catwalk imagery.

 The content is a suitably chic and eclectic mix: Missy Elliott stars in a rebooted music video for her 1999 track “Hot Boyz”, lensed by Derek Blanks. There’s also a lilac icing-adorned reimagining of BV’s woven mules by Tyler Mitchell, and wobbling jelly versions of the Tyre boots and the Point bag from Alex Paganelli, otherwise known as Dead Hungry.

Remember Oumi Janta, the Berlin-based rollerskater whose joyous Instagram clips had us all yearning for four wheels on each foot? She also makes a cameo; swirling across a dancefloor wearing disco-ready Bottega dresses.

A little like Phoebe Philo-era “Old Céline”, traces of Bottega Veneta’s former Instagram life will now appear only on appreciation accounts like @newbottega, something Lee has said he is happy about, even though his many fans will no doubt feel the loss.

The LVMH Prize Announces Its 20 Semi-Finalists For 2021

There’s no question that 2020 was a difficult year for fashion. The Covid-19 pandemic hit young designers especially hard, forcing many to not only figure out how to stay in business, but how to stay creative and inspired in one of the world’s darkest times. The 20 semi-finalists for the 2021 LVMH Prize represent the award’s first pandemic class, showcasing the many ways young talents have had to adapt and expand in trying times. Their collections will be shown in a virtual showroom from 6 to 11 April, and in an LVMH Prize first, visitors will be able to vote on their favourites.

“This year, over 1,900 people applied: Young designers are showing great maturity in their work,” said Delphine Arnault, executive vice president of Louis Vuitton and founder of the LVMH Prize. “Today, designers are asked to be much more than designers, and the candidates have adapted to this new reality. They are very aware of their image, they build their businesses... and above all, they think about creation and its environmental issues. All the semi-finalists show a sincere and deep commitment, whether it be social, ethical, artisanal, environmental, or local. They are anchored in today’s world.”

The 2021 semi-finalists hail from around the world, spanning Lebanon to Nigeria, and Japan to the United States, and represent a cross-section of the industry. Some, like Christopher John Rogers, who won the 2019 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund, and Charles de Vilmorin, the newly appointed creative director of Rochas, are already starting to make names for themselves. Others like Rui and Nensi Dojaka are less well-known but nonetheless celebrity favourites, dressing the likes of Bella Hadid and Kylie Jenner. On the whole, the 2021 semi-finalists represent a more independent segment of young designers: Every brand is a solo project, with the exception of Amy Trinh and Evan Phillips of Wed.

The 2021 winner will receive a €300,000 prize and a year of mentorship from designers and executives within LVMH, the winner of the Karl Lagerfeld special prize will receive a €150,000 sum and a year of mentorship. “This has been one of the great strengths of the Prize since its launch,” said Arnault of the mentorship. “The winners are young, often working alone or in pairs, sometimes surrounded by very small teams, and they aren’t always aware of how this industry works, in terms of intellectual property or marketing, sourcing or distribution, supply chain. All the winners confirm how much this helps them in their strategy and their development.”

In addition to a new slate of designers, the LVMH Prize also has a new ambassador: Naomi Osaka. The 23-year old tennis champion will join the LVMH judges, including new additions Bella Hadid and Vogue China’s Margaret Zhang, and present the grand prize (in person, we hope!) later this year. “She is an exceptional young woman, authentic and committed, who embodies her generation. Her career and her convictions, her personal artistic involvement are a model for all the semi-finalists,” said Arnault. “I am very happy that she has accepted to be the ambassador of this edition.

Asked for a few additional words on this year’s cast of designers, Arnault listed their unifying qualities: “Their vision of the future, their optimism, their commitment, and of course, their talent!”

The 2021 LVMH Prize semi-finalists are:

AGR, a British womenswear brand based in the United Kingdom, designed by Alicia Robinson, 30

Bianca Saunders, a British menswear brand based in the United Kingdom, designed by Bianca Saunders, 28

Charles de Vilmorin, a French genderless brand based in France, designed by Charles de Vilmorin, 25

Christopher John Rogers, an American womenswear brand based in the United States, designed by Christopher John Rogers, 28

Conner Ives, an American womenswear brand based in the United Kingdom, designed by Conner Ives, 25

Federico Cina, an Italian genderless brand based in Italy, designed by Frederico Cina, 27

KidSuper, an American menswear brand based in the United States, designed by Colm Dillane, 30

Kika Vargas, a Columbian womenswear brand based in Columbia, designed by Kika Vargas, 38

Lagos Space Programme, a Nigerian genderless brand based in Nigeria, designed by Adeju Thompson, 30

Lukhanyo Mdingi, a South African womenswear and menswear brand based in South Africa, designed by Lukhanyo Mdingi, 29

Midorikawa Official, a Japanese genderless brand based in Japan, designed by Tadu Midorikawa, 39

Nensi Dojaka, an Albanian womenswear brand based in the United Kingdom, designed by Nensi Dojaka, 28

Post Archive Faction, a Korean menswear brand based in South Korea, designed by Dongjoon Lim, 29

Renaissance Renaissance, a Lebanese womenswear brand based in Lebanon and France, designed by Cynthia Mehrej, 32

Rier, an Italian genderless brand based in France, designed by Andreas Steiner, 36

Rui, a Chinese genderless brand based in China, designed by Rui Zhou, 27

Saul Nash, a British menswear brand based in the United Kingdom, designed by Saul Nash, 31

Shuting Qiu, a Chinese womenswear brand based in China, designed by Shuting Qiu, 27

Taakk, a Japanese menswear brand based in Japan, designed by Takuya Morikawa, 39

Wed, a British womenswear brand based in the United Kingdom, designed by Amy Trinh and Evan Phillips, both 30.

What Bimini Bon-Boulash Did Next

Bimini Bon-Boulash fans who are still emotionally devastated that the fierce queen didn’t take home the bedazzled crown during the Drag Race UK season two finale will be overjoyed to hear Bimini’s new title: Next model. Signed to the management company’s main bookings list, rather than its talent section for special projects, Bimini paves the way for better representation of non-binary individuals in fashion. “Inclusivity should absolutely extend to all gender identities,” asserts president of Next Models Amanda Bretherton. “Bimini exudes beauty inside and out and carries such an important message which is needed right now: positivity and acceptance. It is what we all need for a beautiful future.”

For Bimini, a self-professed Kate Moss obsessive (they even have the super’s anchor tattoo), who grew up with their head in fashion magazines – this is not something they ever imagined for their future. “I just went on a TV show and stayed authentically true to myself,” they share of their stratospheric rise to fame. “If this is opening doors for more queer people, then that’s an incredible feeling.”

While fashion has celebrated androgyny being beautiful [John Galliano and Alexander McQueen are personal heroes in the field], Bimini says signing to Next models is significant because, “For the average person walking down the road, being androgynous is not easy. There’s just not been that many people out and proud as non-binary.” The tide, however, is turning and gender constructs are becoming more fluid, thus encouraging people to feel freer. “There shouldn’t be boxes or labels that we put upon ourselves,” shares Bimini. “I go against the norms of gender but that’s just how it fits me. Masculinity and femininity has always been quite difficult because I was never overly masculine, and femininity can be seen as a weakness in society. It’s a tricky path to navigate.”

The transformative aspect of fashion is what excites Bimini. “I love being a blank canvas and coming to life through hair, make-up and outfits,” they say. “I’m open to experimenting, pushing the boundaries and trying new things. I think that might be why people have resonated with my fashion; I’m not afraid to take risks.” Before finding acceptance in a notoriously tough to break into industry, Bimini studied journalism, and initially saw writing as a career path. “I’m shorter than people in the industry, so this all feels like a new thing. I’m grabbing every opportunity,” they say of making a mark in fashion. Gucci and Burberry are both high on the list of brands Bimini would most like to model for, but every shoot comes with a pinch-me moment. “I’m just a working class kid and the other day I was wearing Mugler and [Jean Paul] Gaultier,” they recall.

For now, Bimini is still riding high on the “explosion of happiness” that came from discussing representation with Next. After running on adrenaline during the Drag Race competition, which they describe as a “pressure cooker”, Bimini has been trying to stay grounded while preparing for the “mental” year ahead. What went through their head when RuPaul announced the winner of season two? “I’m really proud of Lawrence because they worked hard and the competition is tough,” says Bimini. A consummate professional, this is only the beginning of Bimini babes’s bright career.

Why Are Fashion Designers So Drawn To Rave Culture?

Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons asked electronic music mogul Richie Hawtin, aka Plastikman, to create the soundtracks for the Prada brand’s men’s and women’s fall shows. In particular, in the digital video presenting the women’s collection, models were captured dancing in a dark, techno club-inspired scenario.

MSGM creative director Massimo Giorgetti staged a rave party under the snow for his men’s fall unveiling; Matthew Williams re-created the atmosphere of a techno concert for Givenchy’s digital presentation, and GCDS presented a club-ready lineup with a trippy mood. Meanwhile, in Paris, Coperni brought its guests to the AccorHotels Arena to assist with a parade of club gear featuring techno music as a soundtrack, while newly appointed artistic director Nicolas Di Felice celebrated club culture with his fall collection for Courrèges.

These are just a few examples of the significant, ongoing influence of rave and clubbing culture in the collections presented by a range of fashion houses a year after the breakout of the COVID-19 pandemic, which shook the world, imposed restrictions on individual freedom and asked people to rethink their personal and professional lifestyles.

Escapism had already emerged as a theme in the spring 2021 collections presented last fall as the pandemic raged on. However, if then it was expressed more as sweet nostalgia and the desire for reassurance, a season later, escapism had a harder edge, more subversive in a way and surely more proactive.

“I think the lack of freedom has gone on longer than anyone expected and the novelty of being able to work from home, wear what you like all day and be free of the constraints of ‘the office’ have worn off. People are excited about the return of freedom, meeting others, seeing and being seen. I would expect there to be a rush to engage with the world at large whether that’s through clothing or socially (eating, drinking, clubbing, etc.),” said Professor Carolyn Mair, behavioral psychologist, PhD, author of “The Psychology of Fashion” and founder of Psychology.fashion. “Fashion reflects the zeitgeist. Uninterrupted music and dancing with a lot of other people over a period of time enables us to lose ourselves in the moment. It takes us away from our thoughts outside the rave. It’s akin to listening to an audiobook or reading a book and loosing yourself entirely in the story. This escapism takes our attention away from everyday concerns and responsibilities to focus only on the moment.”

 

Doris Domoszlai, fashion historian and cofounder of Fashion Forward, a New York-based fashion think tank, also believes that fashion’s new desire for escapism is strongly connected to the lack of freedom we are all experiencing.

“With the world now living through year two of the COVID-19 pandemic, I’m not surprised that many designers have turned to escapism to express their frustrations and hope for the future,” said Domoszlai. “The outdoors and rave culture make sense as venues of escape: they’re literally outside and away, and far more exciting than the closed spaces that we’ve found ourselves in for the past year.”

In particular, Domoszlai reflected on some of the digital shows presented during the fall 2021 fashion weeks.“Givenchy presented an exciting collection in the kind of warehouse that’s an ode to both the infamous acid raves of the ’90s and also the illegal raves rule breakers have been hosting during the pandemic. The electronic music to which the show is set emphasizes the urgency to escape this dystopian reality,” said Domoszlai, who also drew a link between the GCDS digital presentation and early Aughts’ Millennium Bag and the fear of a digitalized unknown future. “Referencing the infamous scene in ‘The Matrix’ — when the main character Neo chooses to eat a red pill that exposes the cold, hard reality that he’s been blind to — a model eats a red hard candy and literally exposes viewers to a collection that represents the current pandemic-plagued reality that we are living through. Taking place in various outdoor scenes, the GCDS collection is an escape to both the future as it was seen in the past, as well as to all the potential places we can go to get away from our long-term quarantine.”

In addition, Domoszlai spotlighted the digital presentation of Ottolinger, which channeled escapism in an outdoor perspective. “In their digital presentation, they transport the viewer to an unnamed, futuristic, rocky landscape. This scene, and the activewear-inspired clothing shown within it, simultaneously demonstrate the designers’ need to escape the confines of the closed spaces to which many were relegated because of COVID-19, and the feeling of being lost in uncharted territory as a result of it all,” she said. “The last few words of the soundtrack are very telling. The narrator describes the setting as ‘formerly known as somewhere, now known as nowhere,’ summarizing the disconnect the brand’s designers feel with the world today.”

An interesting fact related to how designers are interpreting escapism is the aforementioned switch from a sugar-coated type of nostalgia seen for the spring collections to the darker, more introspective and probably more rebellious vibe seen for fall.

“Nostalgia is an interesting construct. It is defined as a bittersweet emotion, yet fashion tends to think of it only as ‘sweet.’ When we look back, we do often see the past in a positive light, wishing for the return of a past when things were perceived of as better than they are now. But perception is selective and what we ‘see’ is not all there is,” Mair explained. “The idea of nostalgia triggering positive memories has come about in part through studies in which participants were asked to remember something positive in the past, but more recent studies have led to a different definition. Researchers found that when participants were given an artifact from the past, rather than when they were asked to recall a positive event form the past, it triggered a negative emotion. In sum, nostalgia, like all other psychological constructs, is more complex than it appears on the surface.”

Giorgio Riello, professor of early modern global history at Florence’s European University Institute, explained that “this alternation between more nostalgic and more proactive social and cultural responses is recurrent in modern history.”

In particular, Riello pointed out how, after World War II, Christian Dior evoked 19th-century fashion with the launch of the New Look in 1947. But how only a few years later, in the early ’50s, Italian designers proposed a new, more practical and unfussy take on fashion. “I believe that the nostalgic vision is transitory, especially because it normally refers to a vision of the past that in most of the case is not real,” said Riello.

The professor also created a parallel between the global situation during the pandemic, when people are indulging in comfort clothing as they work from home and are restricted in going out, with what happened after World War I.

“Coco Chanel opened her first store in 1913 before the war and with her creations she contributed to developing a more informal and more practical idea of elegant dressing,” Riello said. “However, a few years after the end of World War I, the Roaring Twenties came and they brought a new wave of excess and eccentricity.”

It is a point made by many others, from designers to retailers to financial analysts. With the trillions of dollars pumping through the global financial system, and consumers having spent the last year mainly at home with little chance to spend on travel or restaurants, predictions are that the end of the COVID-19 pandemic will see another ‘Roaring Twenties’ over the next decade. Fashion already is reflecting that for fall, with many designers creating exuberant collections perfect for dressing up to go to a party.

Riello explained that something similar happened after the French Revolution, during the French Directory, when members of Paris’ aristocratic subculture responded to the austerity and terror of the recent past by indulging in luxury and decadence. Called the Incroyables e les Merveilleuses, these men and women welcomed the new regime with hundreds of balls where they used to wear see-through dresses inspired by the ancient Greeks and Romans or wide trousers and huge neckties, bold wigs and giant hats, as well as sandals with ribbons to wrap around the legs.

But why do these different creative responses happen? Because, according to Mair, creativity is a complex construct.

“People we consider, or who consider themselves to be, creative may react to crises and emergencies in many different ways. Nevertheless, crises and emergencies demand the ability to think quickly to produce novel solutions that work. To do this, people need to take new and diverse perspectives to join concepts in novel ways. Not everyone has a natural ability to do this, we need to move away from the idea that creativity resides in the fingertips,” she said. “Creativity is a brain process and so in order to be creative, particularly in times of crisis or emergency, we need to be alert to changes in the situation, to be problem identifiers rather than problem solvers, be able to make good decisions quickly, have good communication, teamwork and leadership skills as well as the ability to stay calm and alert simultaneously.

“To answer the question, creative minds tend to react to crisis and emergencies calmly and decisively, drawing on a range of people they know to be creative thinkers also. They tolerate ambiguity and understand that the best they can hope for in the short term is to find the optimal solution. This will not be the only solution or even the best one possible. Once the crisis or emergency has passed, they review the processes to learn from them so they don’t repeat mistakes in future.”

First ‘Swappable Department Store’ Coming To New York City

Swapping is being taken to new heights this April, with what’s billed as the first “swappable department store” coming to New York City.

In a partnership announced today, Global Fashion Exchange is teaming with Walker Hotel — in its newly opened TriBeCa location — for its “SwapAteria” experience running April 22 to 30 from noon to 7 p.m. daily.

The experience is open to guests as well as the public to encourage swapping as a sustainable consumption behavior — a practice commonly relegated to more informal methods.

In each room or “swap closet,” there will be curated vintage collections and secondhand items from brands such as Gypsy Sport, Maison Murasaki, The Canvas, Now for Tomorrow, Carmen Gama and Carolina Bedoya: Make Aneew, among others.

GFX is being supported by the Council of Fashion Designers of America, Brooklyn Style Foundation, New York Fair Trade Association and Fashion Revolution in the project, which includes a takeover of the second floor of the Walker Hotel TriBeCa (nearly 20 rooms in all).

“Our partnership with Walker Hotels is our first hotel partnership and furthers our mission to bring swapping to the masses, offering a unique opportunity to change how we engage with fashion,” said Patrick Duffy, founder of GFX.

The activation is powered by a real-time tracking system called the SwapChain, a blockchain-enabled data source in collaboration between tech platform Lablaco and GFX that shows the history of each garment featured in the closets. Guests are encouraged to sign up with a free account ahead of time. For goods swapped, guests will receive a token taking into account item condition, retail price and craftsmanship. The token serves as currency for the swap and can be used for another item of equal value and swapped within the duration of the SwapAteria’s session. Items originally valued up to $149 earns one token, $150 to $499 earns two tokens, while $500 to $1,000 earns three tokens.

Brand is not king, as the SwapChain goods are still graded by human eye in real-time, aiming to level artisan goods with heavily marketed brands in an effort to “dismantle value.”

But Duffy offered reassurance — “You’re not going to go into Bruce [Weldyn]’s closet and swap a T-shirt for a Balenciaga bag. There’s levels there.”

“As a retailer I thrive to drive full-price sales. Margin is priority, and to protect margin you have to present the dream and sell the dream,” said Bruce Weldyn, a seasoned store director for the likes of David Yurman and Gucci. He is setting up a swap shop with an all-black theme since the color dominates his wardrobe. “I would like to walk away from this event at the Walker with a full understanding and recommendations to retailers of how to successfully pair full-price sales with fashion sustainability.”

 

How does a boutique Art Deco hotel chain get into swapping in such a big way — handing over the keys to several rooms that can be reconfigured at each artist’s discretion? The choice is a push for sustainability and “experience-driven hospitality,” in the words of Atit Jariwala, founder and chief executive officer of Bridgeton Holdings (Walker Hotel TriBeCa, Walker Hotel Greenwich Village, Marram Montauk).

SwapAteria is one of many new Earth Month initiatives to get Walker Hotel guests excited again after the lull of the pandemic (in which the chain’s Greenwich Village location was closed for months from March to summer). The hotel chain is also doing activations like a locals-led city tour highlighting community members and essential workers, a creatives meet-and-greet and custom in-room CBD.

“We definitely are really excited about this [SwapAteria partnership] right now, and we’d like to continue it, maybe even change up the hotels in different locations,” said Jariwala, who reached out to Duffy with the suggestion after they were introduced, inviting him to stay in the Walker during SwapAteria’s build-out, which is still underway.

Already, designers and consulting firms are questioning what comes after simply selling stuff. Ultimately, the experience aims to support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in an effort to educate consumers about sustainable fashion and fair trade — anything else, as Duffy said, is extra fodder for experimentation.

“Forever, I’ve been banging on the door for swapping and sustainability.…As soon as we added the data component, the [SwapChain] — that’s when things started to take off,” said Duffy who believes SwapAteria, although experimental in nature, could become a “blueprint for retailers in the future.”

Jacquemus To Open Flower Pop-Up Store For A Week In Paris

Jacquemus is opening a pop-up flower shop in Paris for the sole purpose of selling bouquets — for a week.

“I have always dreamed of having a Jacquemus flower boutique,” said Simon Porte Jacquemus. The designer noted he was also interested in sharing something other than clothing in the current context. French officials last week announced a partial lockdown to stem surging coronavirus cases, ordering shops to shut across the country.

Priced at 30 euros a bouquet, bunches of ranunculus will be wrapped in fabrics from past collections, and sold exclusively online — available for pickup at the store, in click-and-collect fashion or delivered to locations in Paris. Situated in the city’s northern 18th arrondissement, the store’s exact address will be provided when online orders are made, to avoid too much traffic.

The store will be staffed by sales people from the brand’s shops — which are shut due to the lockdown measures.

The flowers come from Les Fleurs de Paul, run by the Abeille family in the south of France, who cultivate seasonal flowers. The digital communications agency Yoann & Marco was also involved with the project.

Pre-orders start March 26, and the store runs from March 27 to April 3.

The temporary shop comes at a time when brands are casting around for new ways to connect with consumers during the pandemic. Jacquemus, who has held fashion shows on a beach in the South of France and in a wheat field, has also been involved in the restaurant business — the designer opened a café and a restaurant, serving Mediterranean-style food, in the Galeries Lafayette Champs-Élysées store.