THE DRG STYLE INDEX: HERMES, SONIA RYKIEL, EBAY, BELLA FREUD
Here’s the latest weekly DRG STYLE INDEX ranking, a round-up of the brands currently buzzing on my radar…
A NEW NAME AT HERMES
This week’s big news is about Hermès’ new artistic director Nadège Vanhee-Cybulski, who joins menswear artistic director Veronique Nichanian to form an all-female design dreamteam. Vanhee-Cybulski was previously design director at The Row (and formerly of Céline and Maison Martin Margiela) and will start at Hermès after next Fashion Week. I loved what Christophe Lemaire did at Hermes so I’m not sure what to expect from Vanhee-Cybulski. But I’m glad they didn’t go for an obvious ‘name’ with this one, it keeps things interesting.
2. SONIA RYKIEL – BACK TO BASICS
I love the new, informal mood of Sonia Rykiel’s AW14 ad campaign, shot by Juergen Teller in black & white. But I wish they hadn’t used Giselle. I think she’s too commercial and classic for Rykiel, I would have preferred a fresher face like Edie Campbell or Tati Cotliar.
3. EBAY’S BFC DESIGNER SUPPORT SYSTEM
Here’s the latest initiative from eBay and The British Fashion Council. Called BFC Contemporary, it’s an effort to shine the spotlight on brands which sit in the space directly below our bold face luxury designers. The BFC will offer the chosen brands business support and mentoring with backing from eBay. And to mark the launch, eBay.co.uk will sell a limited edition item from each designer within a special BFC Contemporary section on the site this September. The five designers are Georgia Hardinge, Zoe Jordan, Alexia Barrell, Prism and Paper London (above). As I mentioned last week, eBay is really pushing for the public to recognise it as a marketplace like Amazon or Asos, and not just an auction site. With 18 million shoppers on eBay.co.uk it hopes to grab some of those eyeballs and direct them to these young contemporary brands.
4. BELLA FREUD LAUNCHES FRAGRANCE
Last week we got a first sniff of Bella Freud‘s fragrance line – a trio of three EDPs (£65) that have gone on sale at Harvey Nichols and Bellafreud.com. Although they match the names of the cult candles, the fragrances aren’t exactly the same. There are vague similarities though, so ‘Ginsberg is God’ is the light, unisex one, ‘1970’ is the sexier woody one, and ‘Je t’aime Jane’ is a romantic floral with a hint of musk. As expected, the packaging is great – handsome glass bottles that slide out of a cardboard slipcase in a book-like fashion. And of course, they’re engraved with the signature typography that has made those sweaters such cultish items.
28 July, 2014 @ 11:39 pm
So exited for the contemporary design collaboration with eBay I hope the clothes are going to be affordable!