I loved Natalie Massenet’s talk at the Vogue Festival and the way she used Instagram as a modern alternative to a Powerpoint slideshow. Even better, people who weren’t at the festival could follow the presentation independently by viewing her specialy-populated Instagram feed, Nataporter_Mystorysofar (best viewed in the app).
This year is all about the personalised gift, whether that’s monogramming, customising or having things made for you completely from scratch. To those I’d add these Chiniti and Parker initial sweaters. Although I love having my name on things, I wouldn’t want it emblazoned across a sweater, but these supersized initials are so big they’re almost abstract.
The navy cashmere sweaters come in one size, which on me is suitably slouchy (I’m a UK 8), and are perfect for weekend afternoons out and about when you want to be warm enough but not bundled in a dozen layers. I usually stick to plain navy, black or grey knits but the contrast of navy with winter white results in a much-needed brightening effect on dull skin. At £350 these aren’t cheap, but they’re made in Italy from Italian cashmere and Chinti and Parker prides itself on its ethical practices.
I also asked about my cashmere bugbear – bobbling cashmere. Chinti and Parker’s Anna Singh’s advice is to “invest in a debobbler. Contrary to popular belief, high quality cashmere still bobbles over time. Our designer uses a blunt razor to keep hers nice and smooth, stretching her sweater out on an ironing board, but even she admits to the odd mishap, so a debobbler* is best.”
Buy your initial sweater from Net-a-Porter or Chinti and Parker.
*UPDATE: Thank you lovely Amanda from The Womens Room blog for recommending the ‘John Lewis clothes shaver‘ for debobbling duties…
** Typically, it’s currently out of stock
Magazines swore they’d never do it. “Editorial is editorial; commerce is commerce,” they chorused. But things are different now. Harper’s Bazaar has just launched Shop.Bazaar.com in preview, a shoppable edit for the Harper’s Bazaar woman. In essence it’s a bit like Net-a-Porter in reverse. It has shoppable content curated via the pages of Harper’s Bazaar by its impeccably-pedigreed editors and is powered in partnership with retailers like Saks Fifth Avenue and Hirshleifers (Harper’s doesn’t hold any inventory itself; its fashion cupboards are big, but not that big), as well as mono-brands like Salvatore Ferragamo. I’ve just signed up so I’m having a play. Will report back…
There has been much talk lately about how the luxury retail landscape is changing and one person who is well ahead of the curve is Carmen Busquets. One of the original investors in Net-a-Porter who also backs other ventures including Moda Operandi, her current baby is Couturelab. (more…)
