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☆ Celebrity Bag Designer Sentenced to Jail for Smuggling Exotic Skins
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( Elizabeth Paton | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The handbag designer Nancy Gonzalez built a cult following among celebrities and the South American superrich thanks to her use of brilliantly dyed precious skins. Now Ms. Gonzalez, 71, is facing considerable time in bright orange coveralls. On Monday, she was sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty in a Miami federal court to charges of smuggling hundreds of handbags made from the skins of protected wildlife into the United States from her native Colombia. Prosecutors said that the handbags and purses, made from the hides of caiman alligators and pythons bred in captivity, were worth as much as $2 million. The designer’s lawyers said that the pieces were mostly samples and cost about $140 each, with only about 1 percent lacking the proper authorization to be brought into the United States.

Persons: Nancy Gonzalez, Bergdorf Goodman, Gonzalez, Nancy Tereza Gonzalez de Barberi Organizations: Saks, Gzuniga, New York, Prosecutors Locations: Miami, United States, Colombia, Cali , Colombia

☆ What Makes a Top Runway Model in 2024?
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( Elizabeth Paton | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

There is one model who walked in more fashion shows than any other in 2023. Yilan Hua is from China. Ms. Hua, 24, is the leading face of a new generation of popular Chinese models that includes He Cong, Chu Wong and Ying Ouyang — despite a family death this season that kept her off the runway for much of Paris Fashion Week. So why is the industry so taken with her, and what does her ascent reflect about the importance of China to luxury fashion? “Yilan doesn’t necessarily embody the traditional beauty standards revered by Chinese audiences,” Ms. Zhang wrote in an email.

Persons: Yilan Hua, outpacing, América, Victoria Fawole, Chanel, Fendi, Michael Kors, Stella McCartney, Christian Dior, Hua, Chu Wong, Ying Ouyang —, Margaret Zhang, “, ” Ms, Zhang, ” Organizations: Cannes Film, Vogue, Vogue China Locations: China, Venezuela, Nigeria, Paris

☆ Rihanna, Natalie Portman, Kylie Jenner, Zendaya and More Gallivant in Paris
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( Elizabeth Paton | More About Elizabeth Paton | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Haute couture is a celebration of artisanship — and one-upmanship — as the world’s top fashion houses gather in Paris to compete with one another and show off new designs. So, too, with the celebrities and socialites on the front row, who also have something to sell — movies, music, reality television, cosmetics. The season this week has been no exception, as a constellation of stars in some seriously flashy wares descended on the runway shows. Here is what — and who — was there. Jennifer Lopez was everywhere.

Persons: artisanship, —, Jennifer Lopez Locations: Paris

☆ The Hot New Accessory From the Paris Runways: A Robot Baby
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Elizabeth Paton | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

It wouldn’t be the Monday morning of Paris couture week unless Schiaparelli used its runway show to produce a viral internet moment. Last year, Kylie Jenner took her place in the front row wearing a giant hyper-realistic lion head attached to her chest. People went nuts because they thought it was real taxidermy and promoted trophy hunting. It was made from sculpted foam, wool and faux fur. It was a wet look bob, if you’re wondering, which she wore with Schiaparelli sunglasses that had sculpted gold eyebrows and lenses of opaque precious stone.

Persons: Schiaparelli, Kylie Jenner, Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, ” Locations: Paris

The Kaunda suit has become a choice attire for African celebrities, elders and politicians in recent years, including one particularly high-profile convert — Kenya’s president, William Ruto. A single-breasted safari jacket with short or long sleeves and patch pockets — often worn with matching pants — it was initially made popular in the 1960s by Kenneth Kaunda, the first post-colonial president of Zambia. But the Kaunda suit was banned from the Kenyan Parliament this week, along with other forms of traditional African dress and tightly-fitted clothing for women. The Kenyan speaker of Parliament decreed that such attire violates the parliamentary dress code — which largely conforms to a modern Western working wardrobe. A fashion trend like the Kaunda suit “does not accord with the seriousness of the proceedings of the house and its committees,” Moses Wetangula, the speaker of the Parliament, said in a speech on Tuesday.

Persons: Kaunda, —, William Ruto, Kenneth Kaunda, “, ” Moses Wetangula Organizations: Kenyan Locations: Zambia

☆ Grace Wales Bonner Has Set Her Sights Beyond Fashion
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Elizabeth Paton | More About Elizabeth Paton | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Grace Wales Bonner’s approach to fashion can sometimes feel more like that of an academic rather than a designer. Her collections for Wales Bonner, the brand she started in 2015, are informed by dazzlingly intensive research spanning critical theory, music, literature, history and mysticism. Her clever embrace of so many perspectives and personalities, and her proudly Afro-Atlantic approach to fashion, has made Ms. Wales Bonner, 33, an increasingly influential figure in field. This year, she began showing her collections in Paris, the creative and commercial epicenter of luxury fashion. But Ms. Wales Bonner is also a polymath with artistic ambitions outside fashion.

Persons: Grace Wales, Wales Bonner, Haile Selassie, James Baldwin, Theaster Gates, Man Ray, Alexander Calder, Moustapha Dimé, Terry Adkins Organizations: Adidas, Museum of Modern Art Locations: Harlem, Jamaica, Paris, New York, Betye Saar

Omar Victor Diop History, inheritance and possibility are re-imagined through the lens of the Senegalese photographer, one of the most successful young artists on the continent. Through his bold images, Diop examines the interplay between African and diasporic experiences by knitting together the past and present. Douglass sat for over 160 portraits, including a daguerreotype circa 1855 (bottom), to challenge negative representations of African Americans. Cultural Archive/Alamy In a 2015 self-portrait (top), from Diop’s series “Project Diaspora,” the artist emulates Frederick Douglass, who was the most photographed man of his era. Douglass sat for over 160 portraits, including a daguerreotype circa 1855 (bottom), to challenge negative representations of African Americans.

Persons: Omar Victor Diop, Frederick Douglass, Diop, Selma, ”, ” Omar Victor Diop, Douglass, “, ” Diop, Mama Casset, Malick Sidibé, Samuel Fosso, Martin Luther King Jr Organizations: paisley, West Locations: Senegalese, American, United States, Soweto, South Africa, Africa, “, African American, Dakar, Paris, Nigeria, Senegal, France, Nairobi, Lagos, Mali, America, African

☆ One of the World’s Greatest Shoppers Prepares to Share Her Treasures
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Elizabeth Paton | More About Elizabeth Paton | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Ms. Ayoub was often lonely and unhappy. Not just any clothes, but haute couture looks made to order by a handful of Parisian houses that can cost anywhere from $10,000 to $300,000. Today Ms. Ayoub, who divorced her husband in 1997, owns more than 2,700 pieces, making her collection of haute couture one of the world’s largest. On Nov. 20, 252 pieces designed by Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel will go on sale in Paris. The sale, called the Golden Years of Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel From the Mona Ayoub Haute Couture Collection, is organized by Maurice Auction in Paris and the British fashion auctioneer Kerry Taylor.

Persons: Mouna, Ayoub, Karl Lagerfeld, Chanel, Mona, Maurice, Kerry Taylor Locations: Paris, Saudi Arabia, France, British

☆ Davide Renne, Moschino Creative Director, Dead at 46
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Elizabeth Paton | More About Elizabeth Paton | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Davide Renne, the Italian fashion designer and former head of women’s wear at Gucci, died nine days after becoming the creative director of Moschino. His death in Milan on Nov. 10 was confirmed by Aeffe, the parent group of Moschino, on Friday. “Today, we are left with the responsibility of carrying on what his imagination and creativity only envisioned.”Mr. Renne, who had been at Gucci for 20 years before the announcement last month of his new role at Moschino, had been working on a debut collection that would have been shown at Milan Fashion Week in February. A well-loved figure in Italian fashion and right-hand man to the former Gucci designer Alessandro Michele, he had spoken of his excitement at being hired for a “dream role” at the top of one of the best-known names in Italian fashion. He succeeded the American designer Jeremy Scott, who left the brand last March.

Persons: Davide Renne, Aeffe, ”, Massimo Ferretti, ” Mr, Renne, Gucci, Alessandro Michele, Jeremy Scott Organizations: Gucci, “, Milan Fashion Locations: Milan, Moschino, American

In the gloom of China’s economy, one area of business is booming: cosmetics. After enduring nearly three years of mandatory masks and frequent lockdowns during the pandemic, many Chinese consumers, wary of big-ticket purchases like apartments, are now splurging on lipstick, perfume, moisturizers and other personal care products. But cosmetics companies from France, Japan, South Korea and the United States, which have invested heavily in China, are missing out on a lot of the action. As China’s cosmetics companies are booming, imports of cosmetics are wilting under regulations that the country imposed on foreign manufacturers during the pandemic. While China’s trade conflicts with the West over semiconductors pivot on national security and technological innovation, the dispute over cosmetics is largely about money.

Locations: France, Japan, South Korea, United States, China

☆ Sarah Burton Exits Alexander McQueen
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Elizabeth Paton | More About Elizabeth Paton | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Ms. Burton, then its head of women’s wear, had been working with Mr. McQueen since 1996, when she started at his label as an intern after graduating from Central Saint Martins, the design school in London. Within a year of her succeeding Mr. McQueen as the brand’s creative director, Ms. Burton created the Princess of Wales’s ivory lace wedding gown, which became more famous than any dress designed by Mr. McQueen. Ms. Burton, who rose to lead a fashion house in an industry still largely dominated by men, helped Alexander McQueen evolve from a label beloved by fashion superfans into a modern luxury powerhouse. Kering, which bought a 51 percent stake in Alexander McQueen in 2001, is also reconfiguring its organization and its assets. The conglomerate has appointed Maureen Chiquet, a former chief executive at Chanel, to its board of directors and has named Francesca Bellettini, the chief executive of Saint Laurent, as the deputy chief executive of Kering’s portfolio of brands.

Persons: Burton, McQueen, Ms, . McQueen, Prince Harry’s, Meghan Markle, Queen Elizabeth II, Alexander McQueen, “, Sarah, ” François, Henri Pinault, Burton’s, Gabriela Hearst’s, Jeremy Scott’s, Alessandro Michele’s, Maureen Chiquet, Francesca Bellettini, Saint, Pinault Organizations: Central Saint Martins, Gucci, New York, Creative Artists Agency Locations: London, Chloé, Moschino, China, Saint Laurent, Hollywood, Valentino

☆ A Landmark Year for a Rare Calendar
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Elizabeth Paton | More About Elizabeth Paton | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Though the images in the calendar have become more diverse, the 2024 edition was the first installment produced by a Black photographer. Known for making bold, colorful images, Mr. Gyasi, who is also the first African photographer to shoot the Pirelli calendar, has tried to challenge traditional narratives about Africa as well as Western beauty ideals in his work. He said the opportunity to shoot the calendar was too good to turn down, partly because he would be following in the footsteps of celebrated photographers like Annie Leibovitz, Tim Walker and Albert Watson. For his edition, which focuses on the themes of Black empowerment and mastering time, Mr. Gyasi also assembled an all-Black cast. Everyone featured in the calendar has inspired him, he said, “at times when I’ve thought cracking the ceiling and to belong in certain spaces was just not possible.”

Persons: Gyasi, Annie Leibovitz, Tim Walker, Albert Watson, Ms, Bassett, Idris Elba, Naomi Campbell, Tiwa Savage, “ Organizations: Pirelli Locations: Africa, Nigerian

☆ How More Sanctions on Russian Diamonds Could Affect the Global Market
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-28 | by ( Elizabeth Paton | More About Elizabeth Paton | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Diamonds can change hands 20 to 30 times between mine and market, according to Hans Merket, a researcher with the International Peace Information Service, an independent research agency. “It will be important to find the right balance between ambition and realism,” he added, as it could take “years rather than months to get all noses in the right direction and reorganize this complex global supply chain.”Another headache? Russia is known for producing small diamonds that are mostly sold in very large quantities. The new G7 sanctions likely would cover only finished stones of one carat or larger, Mr. Brooks-Rubin said, although smaller gems may be included later. “But our industry is also very fragmented and global, with many in the trade who still won’t fall under its remit.”

Persons: Hans Merket, ”, Brooks, Rubin, Tiffany Stevens Organizations: International Peace Information Service Locations: Russia, New York City

With each breathtaking save made by Mary Earps, the goalkeeper who helped England’s national team take second place in the Women’s World Cup, the complaints from fans got louder: Why couldn’t they buy a replica of her Nike jersey? Nike, which outfitted the team, has attempted to present itself as being ahead of the curve in terms of offering support to female athletes and emerging sports talent. Though the company, the world’s largest sportswear maker by sales, acknowledged fans’ interest in replica goalkeeper jerseys, it initially did not commit to making them. That changed on Wednesday, after thousands of people had signed a petition requesting that replicas of the jerseys worn by Ms. Earps and other women goalkeepers be released, and after a motion addressing the issue was submitted in the British Parliament. “Nike has secured limited quantities of goalkeeper jerseys for England, U.S., France and the Netherlands to be sold through the federation websites over the coming days, and we are also in conversations with our other federation partners,” a spokeswoman for Nike said in a statement emailed to The New York Times on Wednesday evening, referring to members of FIFA, soccer’s global governing body.

Persons: Mary Earps, Earps, “, ” Organizations: England’s, Nike, “ Nike, England, New York Times, FIFA Locations: U.S, France, Netherlands

Kering, the French luxury goods company that owns brands like Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen and Yves Saint Laurent, surprised the fashion industry this week when it announced a sweeping reorganization of its top ranks, including the departure of Marco Bizzarri, the longtime chief executive of Gucci, Kering’s premier brand. Activists have turned on the luxury industry in recent years. Dan Loeb’s Third Point as well as Artisan Partners called for change at Richemont, the owner of jewelry brands like Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels. But the most active recently is Bluebell, a four-year-old, $250 million firm that has also taken aim at Richemont, and the fashion brand Hugo Boss. Bluebell failed to persuade fellow Richemont shareholders to add Francesco Trapani, the former chief executive of Bulgari, as a director, but the conglomerate agreed to give public investors more influence.

Persons: Alexander McQueen, Yves Saint Laurent, Marco Bizzarri, Gucci, François, Henri Pinault, Kering, Dan Loeb’s, Van Cleef, Hugo Boss, Bluebell, Francesco Trapani Organizations: Kering’s, Bluebell Capital Partners, Partners, Cartier, BlackRock, GlaxoSmithKline Locations: London

For years, Marco Bizzarri was one of the most well-known and respected executives in the global luxury business. Bald and boldly suited, he was the architect behind the meteoric success of Gucci, the largest fashion brand in the stable owned by the French group Kering, which also includes Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta and Saint Laurent. The news was buried in the third paragraph of a memo Kering released that outlined a major organizational shake-up as François-Henri Pinault, the chairman and chief executive, tries to write a new chapter for the fortunes of Gucci and the conglomerate. In the same announcement, Kering said Francesca Bellettini, the chief executive of Yves Saint Laurent, would become the conglomerate’s deputy chief executive for brand development, a promotion that will require all Kering brand chief executives to report to her and make her one of the most powerful women in the luxury industry. Jean-Marc Duplaix, Kering’s chief financial officer, will also become a deputy chief executive, overseeing operations and finance.

Persons: Marco Bizzarri, Gucci, Saint Laurent, Alessandro Michele, Bizzarri’s, Kering, Henri Pinault, Francesca Bellettini, Yves Saint Laurent, Jean, Marc Duplaix Organizations: Saint, Gucci Locations: Bottega Veneta

☆ Gotta Save the Castle? Start a Podcast.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Elizabeth Paton | More About Elizabeth Paton | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Last month, Emma, Duchess of Rutland sat in her drawing room and weighed the pros and cons of living over the shop. Specifically, Belvoir Castle, a stately and splendid pile perched on a wooded hilltop in the English countryside with more than 356 rooms and soaring neo-Gothic towers and turrets. Downstairs, the castle tearoom hummed with tables of tourists sampling scones with jams from the Belvoir estate. Nearby, a platoon of pickup trucks bounced across a field packing up obstacles from a recent Tough Mudder endurance event. For the duchess, born Emma Watkins, it was a day like any other.

Persons: Emma, Duchess, Rutland, ”, Emma Watkins, Duke of Rutland Locations: Belvoir Castle, Belvoir, England

☆ Chloé Bids Goodbye to Gabriela Hearst
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Elizabeth Paton | More About Elizabeth Paton | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The NewsAfter months of speculation, Chloé said its creative director, Gabriela Hearst, was leaving the French fashion house after a three-year tenure. Why It Matters: Chloé was vying to become a beacon of sustainable fashionMs. Hearst, a Uruguay-born designer of women’s ready-to-wear and accessories, founded her namesake luxury label in New York in 2015 before joining Chloé in December 2020. To many observers the combination of Ms. Hearst and Chloé appeared to be a savvy match. But rumors throughout 2023 indicated that Ms. Hearst and Chloé might part ways, in part because of pressures placed on the designer by her trans-Atlantic schedule. Throughout her tenure, Ms. Hearst continued to run her New York-based business while leading the Chloé design studio in Paris.

Persons: Chloé, Gabriela Hearst, Hearst, Van Cleef, Riccardo Bellini, Hearst’s, Jeremy Scott, Tom Ford, Rhuigi, Ludovic de Saint Sernin, Ann Demeulemeester Organizations: Paris, Chloé, Cartier, B, Bally Locations: Uruguay, New York, Chloé, Paris, Moschino

☆ Why Hunter, Britain’s Best Known Wellie, Fell From Grace
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( Elizabeth Paton | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For decades, one fashion accessory was more synonymous with Britain’s most famous music festival, Glastonbury, than any other: Hunter Wellington boots. To many, Hunter — which held a royal warrant, and was established in Edinburgh as the North British Rubber Company in 1856 — became a brand as quintessentially British as afternoon tea, queuing and talking about the weather. But this week, days before this year’s (uncharacteristically sun-soaked) Glastonbury got underway, Hunter was forced to file for administration, the British equivalent of bankruptcy, owing creditors about $146 million. However the company largely blamed the dry-up in demand to unseasonably warm weather in its largest market: the United States. Namely, that Hunter’s offshoring of production to China had led to stumbles in quality control, resulting in split rubber and sodden toes.

Persons: Hunter Wellington, Kate Moss, Cara Delevingne, Alexa Chung, Hunter —, —, Hunter Organizations: North British Rubber Company, United States . Locations: Glastonbury, Edinburgh, United States, China

☆ Hotel Corazon Wants to Host Your Hot Girl Summer
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Elizabeth Paton | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Serra de Tramuntana is a mountain range that runs along the northwestern edge of the island of Majorca, off the coast of mainland Spain. Its towering peaks and valleys are lined with ancient olive groves, lemon orchards and picturesque hilltop villages. The winding pathways that dot the rugged cliffs plunge through pine trees and goat herds to meet the Mediterranean Sea. In 2020, after she fell in love with the 18th-century finca next door, she and her husband, the Mexican artist Edgar Lopez Arellano, decided to turn their hands to hospitality. Hotel Corazon opened earlier this month, after more than two years of work by the couple alongside a team from Moredesign, a local architecture practice that’s a mainstay of glossy magazines like Architectural Digest.

Persons: Kate Bellm, Edgar Lopez Arellano, Hotel Corazon Organizations: Gucci, Hotel Locations: Tramuntana, Majorca, Spain, British, Deia, Mexican, Moredesign

☆ In China, It’s Time to Splurge Again, and the Luxury Industry Is Relieved
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Elizabeth Paton | Keith Bradsher | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

This time last year, Shanghai — China’s capital of fashion and luxury — was in the throes of a ruthlessly enforced Covid lockdown. The city’s glittering high-end malls and avenues lined with flagship stores stood practically empty. Ms. Zhang, who works for a consulting firm, used to buy six handbags a year. “I change my handbag every day,” Ms Zhang added. “I felt that everything was meaningless during the Shanghai lockdown, so we should enjoy the present moment in time.”

☆ A Grim Anniversary for Survivors of the Rana Plaza Disaster
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Elizabeth Paton | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Kabir Mollah said he was inspecting garments when a friend called his cellphone, screaming that the building was on a perilous tilt. On the morning of April 24, 2013, more than 1,100 people were killed when Rana Plaza, an eight-story building that housed five garment factories on the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh, collapsed in about 90 seconds. It is considered the deadliest accident in the history of the modern garment industry, and one of the worst industrial accidents ever. Many major retailers used the factories to produce their clothes, and the disaster led to a reckoning around workplace safety for garment workers and the responsibility of brands selling low-priced clothes to Western consumers. And for current garment industry workers, where has progress been made?

☆ Can Coach Get Shoppers to Buy Bags Made From Waste Scraps?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Elizabeth Paton | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

During an interview in late March, Stuart Vevers, the creative director of Coach, stood by slivers of mustard-colored leather spread across a table at the Coach headquarters in New York City. They were byproducts from the production line for the company’s luxury handbags. “Waste scraps like this would normally end up on a factory floor before being burned or in a landfill in huge volumes,” Mr. Vevers said via video. This week, the company introduced Coachtopia, a line that offers nearly 100 products including bags, accessories, ready-to-wear fashion and footwear made primarily with waste leather sourced from India and Vietnam or partly recycled materials like cotton, resin or polyester. Prices range from $75 for a T-shirt to $495 for the most expensive handbag.

☆ Gucci Raid Part of Growing E.U. Antitrust Scrutiny of Fashion
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Elizabeth Paton | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Between staging glossy runway shows and dressing stars for the red carpet, Gucci is a company accustomed to the glare of the spotlight. This week, however, that attention might have felt less comfortable after its Italian offices were raided by European Union antitrust officials. The unannounced inspection was the latest in a series of regulatory actions, as antitrust officials ratchet up scrutiny of the fashion industry over possible anticompetitive practices. In March, the European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm, carried out investigations into several beauty and fragrance companies linked to the supply of fragrance ingredients. Last year, some fashion houses were raided in connection with sustainability targets developed by the industry, including changes in sales periods and discounting strategies that regulators later deemed as potential violations of competition law.

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