Retail-edutainment is the latest portmanteau on my mind.
Dior is finally ready to reopen its Avenue Montaigne flagship after a two-year reno. This latest incarnation is a ‘universe of Dior’ which includes retail, restaurants and a gallery, plus a private shopping apartment that gives its guests the keys to the store – accompanied by concierges to attend to their every whim.
“I aspire to look like a ‘90s-era Gap model,” Khaite’s Catherine Holstein told Business of Fashion at her AW22 New York Fashion Week show. It’s a handy descriptor, because 90s Gap was pretty special and there’s definitely a big 90s normcore mood pervading the air at the mo.
The AW22 Khaite show had a bit of that classic Gap energy mixed with 1990s Self Service magazine – all big leather jackets, small skirts, dark tights and light shoes. (more…)
Amazing really. There’s nothing fundamentally new about Aimé Leon Dore (chinos and varsity jackets – groundbreaking!), but the branding execution, styling, casting, collabs and community-building are masterful. It’s just had investment from LVMH and it seems to be the new preppy-revivalist playbook that everyone (read: Brooks Brothers, J Crew) is following closely.
“There is a sense of growing ennui among influencers and brands. Celebrity is key to having those big moments that will live much longer than just an Instagram Story, as is working to place your brand in something that feels part of a cultural zeitgeist or nostalgia for millions. Beloved TV personalities from shows like ‘Dynasty,’ ‘Gossip Girl’ and ‘Sex and The City’ inspire nostalgia in generations while capturing new ones, so this intergenerational and international reach is incredibly attractive.”
Communications consultant, Alexandra Carello, WWD
This is an interesting feature in WWD describing the apparent fatigue with polished Instagram content and highlighting the shift to ‘cultural pioneers’, professional experts and social activists. It also flags the success of product placement in recent style-setting shows like Emily In Paris, The Undoing (featuring the Métier bag*, above and below) and Gossip Girl. (more…)
