THE DRG STYLE INDEX: H&M BEAUTY, SUPERGA, BROWNS, DIOR, RAF SIMONS

Here’s the latest weekly DRG STYLE INDEX ranking, a round-up of the brands currently buzzing on my radar…

1. H&M’S BIG BEAUTY PUSH

H&M beauty launch via The DRG Style Index

There’s something interesting kicking off in the high street beauty space. I think it’s similar to what happened with jeans and shoes a while ago, when the UK chain stores invested heavily in fashion-forward designs, outdoing the specialists at their own game. Topshop’s make-up is five years old this month and the product quality, design and branding are as good as many of the more premium brands. & Other Stories shook things up with its experiential retail approach, while Urban Outfitters is also jumping into the beauty space in a bigger way, stocking Tonymoly from Korea among others. Next: H&M is launching a 700 piece beauty line in September. Yes, H&M has dabbled in beauty before but not in any serious way. And in keeping with its new eco-conscious focus, this new endeavour will include products that are organic, Ecocert-certified, and sustainable. That’s not all. A higher-end premium beauty line is also pencilled for release, so keep your eyes peeled.


2. SUPERGA X LIBERTY ART FABRICS COLLECTION

Superga X Liberty Art Fabrics

I’m kind of over all the Liberty X Nike collabs. They were novel for a while but they don’t excite me much any more. Instead I prefer these, a new collab between Superga and Liberty Art Fabrics. There’s something a little bit 80s Euro exchange student about this collection – I’m thinking Best Company ice cream coloured ankle-crop cords, Invincta rucksack, Agnes B tee and Ray-Ban aviators. Ahhh innocent days…


3. BROWNS GOES OMNI-CHANNEL

Browns is acquired by Farfetch in a push for Omni-channel retail
It’s all change this week for Browns. One of the first multi-brand luxury boutiques in the UK, the 45-year-old business has been superseded in recent years by younger upstarts, including MatchesFashion and MyTheresa. And Farfetch of course, who made shopping from indie stores a global possibility. Farfetch has now acquired Browns, hoping to reinvent it for the millennial generation of luxury consumers. Owner Jose Neves will run Browns as a separate entity (Net-a-Porter’s Holli Rogers will be its CEO), using it as a testing hub for Farfetch’s ambitious omni-channel retail strategies.


4. FLIP FLOPS FOR DIOR

Flip flops on the Dior runway for Cruise 2016

Can Dior do for the humble flip flop what Isabel Marant did for the slide and Celine did for the Birkenstock? I loathe flip flops, but am oddly drawn to the flip-flop-and-boy-trouser combo seen on the Dior Cruise 2016 runway…


5. RAF IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Raf Simons dancing at the Dior Cruise 2016 party

Is Raf Simons angling to be the new Olivier Rousteing? The ‘camera-shy one’ of fashion was papped dancing at the Dior Cruise party last week and has been giving heaps of interviews to promote the Cruise show in Cannes. An eagle-eyed Youtuber also spotted the Apple Watch adorning his wrist during this Business of Fashion interview. Whatever next – Raf selfies on Snapchat Periscope…?

WORDS: Navaz Batliwalla/Disneyrollergirl
DIOR IMAGE by Antonio de Moraes Barros Filho/WireImage