Dior

Random Recs: HommeGirls store, COS fragrance



HommeGirls New York Chinatown store

A few snippets of digital ephemera and recommendations I’ve enjoyed lately…

1/ THAKOON PANICHGUL opens the first HommeGirls store in New York’s Chinatown next week (above). Those dry cleaning racks and infinity mirrors are sure to see plenty of footfall. (And yes, you can buy magazines there.) Read more in Vogue.

2/ COS has launched its first ever fragrance line. Consisting of four ‘unisex’ eau de parfums (£75 for 100ml, £35 for 15ml, or £19 for a discovery set*) ranging from woody, to spicy, to floral, and four candles (£45), the woody Mythe fragrance (green cardamom, ginger and vetiver notes) sounds most appealing. Buy it here*. (more…)



The culture of fashion: how the catwalk soundtrack got its groove



Michael Clark Bodymap fashion show - photograph by Robert Rosen courtesy BodyMap

Models! Clothes! Music! Fashion show soundtracks are increasingly part of shaping a brand’s identity. And in the digital era they’re about to become even more important…

The year was 2017. Kim Jones was menswear artistic director at Louis Vuitton. At the appointed hour, his first models sloped onto the Paris runway in iterations of slouchy 80s overcoats, baggy flannel trousers and Basquiat-style suits with untucked shirts. Then the kicker – internet-breaking Speedy holdalls emblazoned with red-and-white Supreme logos. And to add the crucial fourth musical dimension: Honey Dijon’s mix of Sound Factory bangers including Chez Damier’s Can You Feel It (MK Dub), completing the downtown New York nostalgia trip.

Since then, other notable catwalk soundtracks have included LaQuan Smith’s AW23 Ballroom fabulosity-fest; Benji B’s eerie David Lynch-like Chromatics mix for Jil Sander SS25 and Saint Laurent’s long-term music collaboration with DJ SebastiAn – so integral to the brand, they packaged it as a box set and sold it in Saint Laurent stores. (more…)



Oh, Dior! Kim Jones is leaving, is Maria G-C next?



Kim Jones Dior mens winter 2019-2020

It’s official. After weeks of speculation, it’s been confirmed that Kim Jones is leaving Dior menswear after seven years.

I’ve really liked most of what Kim has done at LVMH (apart from Fendi – sorry!) and have routinely posted his Dior menswear shows here as he’s been an early adopter of using traditionally ‘feminine’ tropes in his collections, like certain couture techniques, styling tricks (brooches!), not to mention repopularising the women’s 1990s saddlebag for men. (more…)



From LVMH to Inditex, cultural cachet is the key to fashion credibility



Peter Lindbergh Dior exhibition 2024

Fashion companies sponsoring major cultural events? Discuss…

It’s the summer of LVMH as the luxury conglomerate commandeers the Paris Olympics, not least the opening ceremony. Was it just me though who thought the OTT product placement was a bit much? Not to mention clenching at the sight of the dancers lugging monogrammed Louis Vuitton trunks down those slippery rain-lashed steps on the banks of the Seine. (Oh well, no doubt LVMH can afford the liability insurance.) (more…)