Last Wednesday saw the unveiling of Dover Street Market’s seasonal Tachiagari, when the new collections and installations go in and the bloggers are let loose around the store with their dSLRs. Most noticable to me was the Brit invasion. It really is a BFC-fest in here – in a good way of course. (more…)
“Louis Vuitton has become too common!” LVMH’s Bernard Arnault didn’t quite say last week. But the sentiment was there. Speaking at LVMH’s annual results presentation, he revealed that Louis Vuitton is scaling back on global expansion and focusing more on its high end products and superior customer service to avoid cheapening the brand.
This is a trend, not just at Louis Vuitton, but other luxury houses, who have stripped away the obvious logos and boosted product that shows off house ‘codes’. Dior recently reignited its ‘bar’ jacket and ‘comma’ heels, Gucci, the horsebit loafer (which is 60 years old this year), Chanel flagged up its pearls and Saint Laurent, its tie-neck blouses and iconic tuxedos. At Vuitton, the overexposed monogram has been sidelined for SS13 by the Damier check.
At Louis Vuitton’s pre-fall 13 preview on Thursday, my main highlight was the collection of Noe bags, a heritage Vuitton bag refreshed in new colours and sizes. Originally a carrying case for champagne bottles (what else?), the design celebrates its 80th anniversary this year.
My other highlight was the Icons collection, a capsule collection that updates pieces from the archive. I love this sheepskin balmacaan, a collarless coat that can be worn reversed with the leather on the outside. Delicious, no?
Twitter has been all aflutter this morning at the announcement by WWD of a Dries van Noten fragrance coming this month. Digging further, the fragrance is an ‘olfactory portrait’ of Dries van Noten, as opposed to a brand fragrance and is created by Frédéric Malle’s Editions de Parfums. The notes are a concoction of citron, sandalwood, guaiac wood, saffron, Spanish jasmine, tonka beans, Cashmeran/blonde woods, vanilla and musk. Something tells me it will be a bit of a unisex scent.
This is what the bottle looks like…
I think this is going to be another addition to my ‘fragrance library’, alongside the Marni, Tom Ford Noir, Chanel Jersey and Jo Malone Pomegranate Noir currently on rotation. It will be available on February 15th.
UPDATE 27th Feb: It’s been spotted in Liberty so I’ll be heading down there for a sniff. In the meantime, here’s a video of Frederic Malle and Dries van Noten talking about the collaboration…
Pre-tail site, M’oda ‘Operandi has been going for quite a while now and even though I’m still a novice online shopper when it comes to fashion (honestly, I can count my total clothing purchases on two hands), I do think it’s a clever concept.
For me it works as a research tool. It bridges the gap between seeing things on the runway (styled to the hilt as per the designer’s vision) and seeing them on a rail in store. We get to see clothes ahead of season styled in a more wearable way, including those by some of the lesser known designers. This week’s ‘trunk shows’ (the M’O name for its limited-time pre-order sales) includes Bouchra Jarrar’s winter couture collection (a designer I love, who was shortlisted for the Balenciaga gig and M’oda ‘Operandi’s first ‘couture’ designer) and J.W. Anderson pre-fall.
But like a lot of start-ups, it seems the plan is to develop the concept beyond its original, well, moda operandi. Since December, the site has also offered conventional, in-season etail in its ‘Boutique’, giving the M’O consumer the option to buy their favorite pieces and wear them the next day. As CEO Aslaug Magnusdottir says, “We want to better serve our current customers and reach a new customer base. We’ve been able to establish a name in various pockets of the world and we want to take advantage of our positioning and build our market share quickly.”
You can pre-order Bouchra Jarrar’s winter couture collection until 5th Feb and J.W. Anderson Pre-Fall 2013 until 4th Feb. Happy shopping!
Bouchra Jarrar
J.W. Anderson
