A Collaboration To End All Others?

coutorture — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 12:22:30 -0700

Somehow we feel like we've written that line before. So the scoop, if you were at all tuned into fashion happenings on Friday afternoon (we don't blame you if you weren't, everyone needs a weekend off now and again), is that Louis Vuitton and Commes des Garcon are going half-sies on a three-month pop-up in Tokyo. Specifically, in the Aoyama district, home to the Prada Epicenter and all things covetable in both architecture and luxury goods. The pop-up shop will of course house exclusive collaborations, namely, six one-off monogram bags designed by Comme des Garcon founder Rei Kawakubo. As Suzy Menkes rightly puts it,

"Although there have been many recent collaborations between ‘high’ and ‘low’ fashion, starting with Karl Lagerfeld’s mini collection for fast fashion store H & M, this meld is different, since it involves a beacon of individuality with a company at the heart of corporate luxury management, as part of the LVMH (Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton) group."

There are questions as to whether this joint-venture (instigated by Kawakubo--not, Marc Jacobs or LVMH) will alienate Comme fans. There are questions as to whether Comme is doing a little too much popping up and popping in (count a Speedo collab and an H&M collab, among others). There are also questions as to whether all of Louis Vuitton's bag collab antics might not undermine the brand's reputation for refined luxury (i.e. the days of the trunks and whatnot). Rei Kawakubo is titling her bag for Vuitton, 'The Party Bag' and we can't help but feel it's an overall sentiment for Vuitton's recent handbag endeavors. One big, 'however', is the recent Ebay victory LVMH had which only energized their intellectual property. That is, perhaps the answer to the last question is, despite contradicting whispers, no.

Fashion In 50 Seconds 04/10

coutorture — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 06:29:21 -0700

There has been hearsay about financial investing group Apax’s possible interest in buying out the majority of Escada’s shares. However, the Munich-based luxury fashion label confirms today that Apax is reluctant to take such action. Since last summer, Escada’s shares have dropped thirty percent. A new CEO will be assigned on April 17th in an attempt to restructure the fashion brand.

Known for his Indian-inspired work, English designer Matthew Williamson returns to Manchester to celebrate the exhibition of his 10 Years In Fashion at Urbis Centre. The collection of the designer’s contributions to the fashion industry has been featured at the Design Museum in London last October. Williamson was also the former creative director for Pucci.

British designer Anthony Cuthbertson is appointed to be the new creative director for German fashion house Rene Lezard. He has been the former creative director at Burlington and creative consultant for MaxMara. Cuthbertson will showcase both the men’s and women’s collections for Rene Lezard next fall.

A series of online journals called, 'Costumers And Plug Generation' is set to be launched by Ennio Capasa, mastermind behind Italian fashion label Costume National. This series of journals along with Capasa’s personal page will provide visitors the latest updates stemming from the fashion industry including campaign shoots and live commentary. Capasa is known for his use of subtle shapes, dark tones, and sharp tailoring, his personal page can be viewed here.

Delphine Arnault-Gancia advances to the position of Deputy Managing Director at Christian Dior Couture. Formerly Senior Vice President of Marketing, she has greatly contributed to the development of Dior Parfums. Arnault-Gancia is a billionaire business-savvy woman who also works with LVMH, the world’s largest luxury conglomerate.

Research Assistant: Zoe Su

coutorture --

A Collaboration To End All Others?

Fashion In 50 Seconds 04/10