How much is too much for a lip balm? These limited edition Pat McGrath Labs X Star Wars (Star Wars!) R2-D2 Lip Fetish balms are crazy extravagant – and of course I want one badly. They land on Friday 13th December (£35) at Selfridges* and patmcgrath.com* as part of an entire collection in collaboration with the Star Wars The Rise of Skywalker film. [UPDATE: The Selfridges launch is postponed until next week – date to be confirmed.]
WORDS: Disneyrollergirl / Navaz Batliwalla
IMAGE: Pat McGrath Star Wars R2-D2 Lip Fetish Sheer Colour balm in Flesh 3
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I just noticed that the Urban Outfitters Gourmand fragrances* that I raved about a couple of years ago (below) are back in stock. I assumed they had been discontinued. I get a lot of traffic from searches on this fragrance line, which isn’t that surprising; it’s £14 and very good. Sweet and marzipan-y if you like that ‘brunch-at-the-patisserie’ kind of smell, and the bottles are good looking too.
High street fragrances are having an unexpected moment in parallel to the increased popularity of niche fragrances. Zara has just launched a collaboration with Jo Malone (of Jo Loves and Jo Malone fame), which comprises of eight eau de parfums – below, including Amalfi Sunray (an energising-sounding citrus), Bohemian Bluebells (lavender, sandalwood and musk notes – sounds like a winner) and Fleur D’Oranger (orange flower, neroli and ylang ylang – kerching!), which are all priced from £5.99 for a 10ml rollerball to £25.99 for 90ml.
In case you missed the memo, Malone sold her namesake brand to Estee Lauder in 2011 and later set up Jo Loves, an equally innovative fragrance business. This Zara X Jo Malone collab brings her olfactory finesse to the budget consumer who still appreciates quality. (Although gotta say, the Zara website could use a UX upgrade!)
Packaging-wise, this range continues thetrend I wrote about earlier in the yearfor minimalist (read: luxury-style) branding in high street fragrances. Marks & Spencer’s £12.50 eau de toilettes (Seasalt & Freesia*, Nectar & Jasmine*, below) caught my eye for their handsome bottles and pared back labels, while Jo Malone’s Zara fragrances boast the kind of spare typography and square bottles that we might expect from Celine or The Row (side note: wait, why is there no The Row fragrance?).
It makes me wonder if we’ve reached peak minimalism on all fronts and what might come next. Here’s a clue. News broke last week that Glossier will launch a space in seven Nordstrom stores to sell its Glossier You eau de parfum* (£45 for 50ml). Previously only available online or in its own experiential stores, this will help Glossier push for greater visibility outside of its hardcore fan base bubble. And so the Nordstrom spaces (below, including its NYC flagship and Seattle and Chicago outposts) will be decked out in signature Glossier blush-pink decor to fully envelope customers in the musk skin scent, abetted by its tactile, curvaceous bottles.
It points to a direction in which accessible and high street brands craft stronger unique identities rather than emulating the style of luxury brands. Isn’t it time the Zaras of this world had a distinct point of view?
NOW CLICK BELOW TO SHOP THE POST. (I MAY EARN A COMMISSION ON THE BASKET VALUE OF ITEMS BOUGHT*)…
WORDS: Disneyrollergirl / Navaz Batliwalla
IMAGES: Glossier, Urban Outfitters x 2; Zara X Jo Malone; Marks & Spencer; Glossier x 2
NOTE: Most images are digitally enhanced. Some posts use affiliate links* and PR samples. Please read my privacy and cookies policy here
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“I’m a commercial artist. I think things are going so well because I’m not afraid to do things that are commercial.” And therein lies the success of Kim Jones. His Dior men’s fall collection shown last Tuesday was highly anticipated by me and my fashion cohorts as soon as the collab with Shawn Stussy was announced.
I’ve always liked Kim Jones’s cultural references, most likely because we’re from the same micro-generation. At Louis Vuitton and Dior, his most resonant collections for me were the ones that referenced Christopher Nemeth, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Raymond Pettibon. And as a fellow house and disco head (again, a generational influence), his choice of musical collaborators is another draw. A true creative director, his knack of threading together the sensorial and storytelling elements with creative savoir-faire has put him at the forefront of today’s luxury-meets-street convergence.
The Dior men’s fall collection was a much-needed burst of escapist joie de vivre in the week before the UK elections. It took place during Art Basel Miami, opposite Miami Beach’s brand new Rubell Museum. These seamless juxtapositions are no accident. They’re meticulously thought out, designed to reinforce the art aspect of the collab and mesh nicely with Dior lore – Monsieur Dior was, after all, a gallerist before he was a fashionisto. Positioning Shawn Stussy as an artist and not just a streetwear entrepreneur was key.
On which note, who exactly isShawn Stussy? Ah, well here we have the masterstroke of KJ genius. If you want relevance and authenticity, it’s right here. Long story short, Shawn Stussy founded Stussy back in the early 80s. By the mid-80s it was everywhere in skate-streetwear circles, although the ‘street wear’ term and movement had yet to be defined as such. For my micro-generation, it was quietly iconic. Scrappy, attitude-y, sexy and under-the-radar. In the UK it was distributed by Gimme 5, the equally scrappy company that springboarded many young skate-street brands, bringing the likes of Supreme and A Bathing Ape to mass popularity.
Jones was part of that scene in the 90s and was an early Stussy advocate, hence the Shawn Stussy connection. Shawn sold the brand in 1996 and that’s the genius part. Rather than collaborate with Stussy as it is now (why bother when he had already done something similar with competitor Supreme at Louis Vuitton?), he chose to work with Shawn, not as a ‘brand’ but as an artist. He could still tap into the heritage of old Stussy but in a much cooler, artistic way.
Shawn was enlisted to doodle the Dior logo in his playful Sharpie style, which was recreated by Dior using stencils and rare artisanal techniques. What are these techniques? Well, no one seems to be able to describe them, but here’s a fab demo, narrated by UK designer Edward Crutchley. And I love this video of Shawn and Kim together…)
To accompany Shawn Stussy’s ‘psychedelic surf’ scrawl, the venue walls were covered in Miami-bright graffiti and the soundtrack was suitably hi octane house. And to round everything out (maybe a tad unnecessarily), a special couture-ified ‘AirDior’ Air Jordan sneaker was unveiled, sending the hypebeasts into raptures.
It was all very accessible, summery and rather delightful. And as is now standard at Kim Jones’s menswear shows, there’s no gender discrimination – girls can play too. So here are my picks of what to steal from Dior fall 2020…
CAMP SHIRTS These heavily beaded camp shirts will be a major hit for guys of all ages but can also look great on women. One took 2,600 hours to embroider and the added benefit of weighty beading and embroidery is that it gives extra drape to the finished article. I also like the styling tip of layering two shirts together for contrast.
OUTERWEAR To temper the Miami colour palette, we witnessed some great caramel-coloured outerwear combined with skater-length shorts and hi-tops. The logo-lined trench is on my radar and the oversized bomber and menswear topcoat are good examples of Jones’s high-low prowess.
BERETS AND BUCKETS There was an abundance of headgear, designed of course, by Dior regular Stephen Jones. While I love a bucket hat (and there were plenty of trippy-dippy swirl-print ones), I actually preferred the classic dark berets, with their hand rendered Dior logo and subtle beadwork, teamed with minimalist summer-weight suiting and long shorts.
KNITS AND TOTES Expect to see these flamboyant hand knits all over the Fashion Week ‘It Girl’ contingent come spring. The logo totes continue the mania for the many iterations of Dior tote that have been seeded across the influencer-sphere of late. Much more practical than a handbag, they represent the everyday appeal of luxury to new-gen RTW consumers.
PYTHON PRINT Jones reimagined the women’s Dior saddlebag for men a while ago, and for fall 2020 offers a new python skin version. Watch them fly! If skins aren’t your thing (tsk, pesky vegans), then python print silk separates will be the next best alternative. Coming to a Zara rail near you soon, no doubt…
WORDS: Disneyrollergirl / Navaz Batliwalla
IMAGES: Dior; Vogue Runway; Hypebeast
NOTE: Most images are digitally enhanced. Some posts use affiliate links and PR samples. Please read my privacy and cookies policy here
CLICK HERE to get Disneyrollergirl blog posts straight to your inbox once a week CLICK HERE to buy my book The New Garconne: How to be a Modern Gentlewoman
As much as I loved loads of Stella Tennant’s ‘punk’ looks in the 90s (flashback to all the Corinne Day and Melanie Ward goodness in Donna and Vogue Italia), I’m really enjoying her grown up ‘gentlewoman style’ modelling too. (more…)
