Latest news with #LouisVuitton
an hour ago
- Entertainment
Kenzo brings mischief back to Paris' iconic Maxim's with a riot of color and clash
PARIS -- Few Paris addresses conjure myth quite like Maxim's, the gilded Belle Époque haunt where artists and aristocrats once jostled for a seat at dinner, and a place immortalized in Cole Porter's lyrics and classic Hollywood films as the very symbol of Parisian chic. On Friday night, at Paris Fashion Week the renowned restaurant-turned-nightclub became the improbable stage for Kenzo's latest co-ed show — a riot of pop color, celebrity and cultural collision served tableside. Guests perched around white tablecloths as Nigo, the first Japanese designer to helm Kenzo since the late, great Kenzo Takada, set out to prove the house can still surprise. What unfolded was a knowingly playful mash-up of preppy classics and off-kilter eveningwear: eye-popping pink dresses loosely gathered and knotted, each one tossed with a Left Bank silk scarf; a slinky tuxedo jacket paired with a blaring urban-printed tee in wild color, topped with a cartoon bunny in intentional clash. Think cocktail hour by way of Shibuya street style. Tongue-in-cheek references ran rampant — a circus master's striped waistcoat here, sheeny tiger-motif pants there, all nodding to Kenzo's signature mix of high craft and subcultural wink. If the goal was to recapture the house's historic sense of fun, Nigo went all in. While the creativity on display was undeniable, the sheer abundance of ideas sometimes made it hard for a single vision to shine through. With so many bold references and layers echoing recent seasons' spirit of collaboration and eclecticism, the collection sometimes felt more like a lively collage than a focused statement. Still, there were moments where the craftsmanship and playful accessories truly stood out, offering glimpses of the distinct Kenzo spirit that Nigo has made his own. Since joining Kenzo, Nigo has brought a fresh spirit of collaboration and cross-cultural exchange, most visibly in his headline-grabbing work with Pharrell Williams at Louis Vuitton and his frequent partnerships with artists from across the globe. That outward-looking energy has helped pull Kenzo back into the pop-culture conversation, blending the house's playful legacy with new momentum. As part of the LVMH stable, Kenzo now enjoys the reach and resources of the world's largest luxury group, giving Nigo freedom to experiment, push boundaries and reawaken the brand's irreverent roots. It was a night that nodded to both past and future. After a string of worn years under the previous design duo, Kenzo seems determined to shake off old dust and reclaim its seat at Paris' most storied table. The show at Maxim's — equal parts fashion circus and cultural memory — was a reminder that Paris style is best served with a wink, a clash and more than a little mischief.
Black America Web
6 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Black America Web
Majorie Harvey Has The Internet Admiring Her Runway Walk
Source: Christian Vierig / Getty Marjorie Harvey made Paris Fashion Week 2025 her own runway. The who's who in fashion are on the scene to witness Spring/Summer 2026 collections of the world's top designers — and Steve and Majorie Harvey are included amongst those in attendance. While on their way to the Amiri show in Paris on Thursday, June 26, Marjorie and Steve turned heads with their coordinated high fashion looks — but it was Marjorie and her runway walk to the awaiting car that had social media singing her praises. In a video posted to her Instagram, Marjorie is seen giving her best Naomi Campbell walk as she exits her hotel with Steve and gracefully getting into the car before flashing a winning smile — and made it look relatively easy in the process. In addition to attending the Amiri show, Marjorie and Steve were also amongst the A-listers who showed up for the Louis Vuitton Spring/Summer 2026 show, highlighting the latest menswear collection from creative director Pharrell Williams. The couple joined Beyoncé and Jay-Z sitting front row at the show, on Tuesday, June 24, according to Women's Wear Daily. During a 2014 appearance on his since-cancelled daytime talk show, Marjorie shared that one of the major things that she and Steve have in common is their joint love of fashion. 'As you know, you and I, that's one of the things we have in common, we both love fashion. I've been passionate about it all my life,' she said at the time. Outside of Fashion Week, the couple regularly shares their fashion sense online and at red carpet events throughout their 18-year marriage. SEE ALSO Majorie Harvey Has The Internet Admiring Her Runway Walk was originally published on
Indian Express
12 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Louis Vuitton's runway has found India — it must now lead the show
Pharrell Williams's Louis Vuitton menswear spectacle in Paris on June 25 may be remembered less for its celebrities than for its compass. The collection — titled 'Paris to India' — scattered cricket stripes across silk suits, dangled elephant-trunk bags from models' hands and sent them striding over a snakes-and-ladders set conceived by architect Bijoy Jain. A Punjabi soundtrack co-produced by A R Rahman pulsed through the Louvre courtyard. In 30 brisk minutes, a French mega-brand declared that the world's most sumptuous fashion conversation now needs India in every sentence. For decades, India has been the textile world's quiet workroom: An exporter of labour, motifs and moral mystique, rarely an equal partner. The Louis Vuitton show signals something subtler than simple 'inspiration'. Jain's name sat proudly beside Williams's on the show notes; Rahman's beats shared billing with hip-hop icons. A similar dignity surfaced last year when Dior embroidered its pre-fall collection with the Chanakya School of Craft in Mumbai, crediting 300 artisans by name. In both cases, Indian creativity occupied the marquee, not the margins. That shift is the real headline. Why now? The luxury industry is scrambling for authenticity in a climate-anxious, post-pandemic marketplace. Carbon budgets, digital passports, circular business models and Gen Z's sceptical gaze are pushing brands to swap generic glamour for grounded storytelling. India offers a reservoir of stories written in plant dyes, zero-waste weaves and 4,000-year-old techniques that emit less carbon than the average polyester tracksuit. As the world's most diverse living craft laboratory — housing 11 million artisans across 3,000 clusters — India can supply both narrative depth and sustainability data. In short, global fashion's search for purpose runs straight through Kutch, Varanasi and the looms of Assam. The timing is auspicious at home too. The government's Rs 13,000-crore PM Vishwakarma scheme is rebuilding the artisan economy with credit, tools and market linkages; the Ministry of Textiles is fast-tracking Geographical Indication tags that protect regional identities; and the foreign office increasingly treats handloom gifts as soft-power artefacts. Louis Vuitton's Paris shout-out merely amplifies that trajectory. Yet, opportunity and outcome are not synonymous. Most Indian craftworkers still earn less than three pounds a day. More than half remain outside formal supply chains, which means no pensions, no insurance, no intellectual-property protection. If the global luxury pivot stops at aesthetic applause, the wealth gap widens; but if it matures into equitable contracting, credit sharing and co-branding, both sides profit. Dior's Chanakya partnership paid fair wages and logged 35,000 artisan hours; the house later released a documentary naming every embroiderer. That template — transparency plus traceability — shows how homage can become joint ownership. Louis Vuitton, which already embraces digital product passports for leather goods, could extend the system to heritage textiles, listing cluster names, wage rates and environmental savings. Customers would pay a premium for that honesty; artisans would secure predictable orders and global visibility. Indian designers and institutions must be ready to negotiate from strength. Design schools need incubation labs where students prototype with master karigars, proving that craft can be both couture and climate solution. State tourism boards could host 'Made With India' residencies, inviting foreign labels to spend a season in Kanchipuram or Bhuj, working shoulder-to-shoulder with local cooperatives. The private sector can sweeten the deal: Impact investors are already funding start-ups that marry blockchain provenance with natural-dye supply chains, rewarding clusters that meet biodiversity goals. A new lexicon is required as well. For years, culture writers spoke of 'inspiration' and 'appropriation'— binary terms that trap debates in outrage. The more useful phrase today is 'co-creation.' It presumes dialogue, contracts, revenue share and continuous credit. Co-creation resists both tokenism and hollow celebration. When a luxury house commissions a Banarasi brocade lining and prints the weaver's QR-coded signature inside the jacket, the customer's admiration translates into artisan equity. That is collaboration at the speed of modern commerce. Williams's show may not have reached that destination yet, but its direction is unmistakable. The fact that a monogram giant felt the need to celebrate Indian culture on global livestreams, accurately crediting Indian creative elites, marks the moment India's soft-power curve bent upward. The next bend — aligning that spotlight with the millions who keep the looms humming — is within reach if brands, policymakers and educators act in concert. India's craft legacy has always been ready for its close-up; technology, policy and consumer mood have finally switched on the klieg lights. The runway has found India. It is time for India — loom by loom, dye vat by dye vat — to lead the runway. The writer is assistant professor of design, IILM, Gurgaon
CTV News
13 hours ago
- Business
- CTV News
A luxury experience in China: Global high-end brands bet on conceptual stores to revive sales
SHANGHAI — Louis Vuitton's latest Shanghai store is not your average luxury flagship. The 30-meter-high, ship-shaped store, 'The Louis,' is billed as an experience, and houses an exhibition space and cafe in Shanghai's downtown Nanjing Road shopping strip. 'The Louis,' which had a grand opening on Thursday, will undoubtedly draw crowds eager to post pictures to social media of its gleaming facade and the photo-ready exhibits inside. But LVMH-owned Louis Vuitton will also be hoping it can stimulate sales among Chinese consumers whose spending on luxury goods has slowed. LVMH's business strategy aligns with a broader shift among luxury goods retailers from a transactional model - where a shop merely sells goods to customers - to enticing customers with 'experiences' that ultimately spur growth. The stakes are high for the luxury brands, which for years have relied on brisk sales in China to fuel their global growth, and ambitions, but are now facing a slowdown in demand in the world's second-biggest economy. The size of the Chinese market declined more than 18 per cent last year to around 350 billion yuan (US$48.80 billion) and sales are on track for a flat performance in 2025, according to estimates from consultancy Bain. Zino Helmlinger, head of China retail at real estate service provider CRBE, acknowledges that the luxury segment as a whole in China has taken 'a hit' recently, though he believes the slowdown was expected. 'If you look at the megastars - I mean LVMH, Kering, Richemont, Hermès - they almost tripled their profit within five years,' he said. 'At some point, there is some counterbalancing, there is only so much you can grow, only so much you can generate.' In the first quarter, LVMH's revenue in the region that includes China fell 11 per cent on an organic basis - the Asia-Pacific excluding Japan accounts for 30 per cent of the group's total sales. Chinese consumers, hard hit by broader economic uncertainty and a prolonged property market downturn, have tightened spending on discretionary purchases - luxury branded handbags among them. Shanghai native Natalie Chen, 31, says she already owns enough 'stuff' and has redirected a significant portion of the funds she once used for luxury goods to travel. 'Truthfully speaking, I don't feel that buying another bag will improve my life,' she said, though she has already visited a new restaurant opened by Prada in Shanghai and intends to check out Louis Vuitton's new cafe concept with girlfriends. 'It brings a different kind of feeling than just [shopping] in a mall,' Chen said, though she was unsure the ship-shaped store would lead her to make any purchases outside of coffee and cake. Still, the luxury brands are sensing a longer term opportunity to pump-prime sales. While appetite for personal luxury goods in China and around the world is declining, hurt by economic pressures and price fatigue, sales rates of 'experiential goods' are rising, according to Bain, which highlighted a surge in personalized luxury hospitality experiences and rising fine dining sales in its spring luxury report. In 2024, for example, the overall personal luxury goods market worldwide fell one to three per cent even as experiential luxury spending rose five per cent, Bain said. Luxury evolution New research released by real estate advisor Savills earlier this month points to this as a significant new trend in what it describes as China's 'evolving' luxury market, in which people seeking out experiences are lured with more experiential luxury brand touchpoints, from restaurants to Salon Privé - private, appointment-only lounges for VIP shoppers. 'All the brands are closing stores, but those that can afford to are also opening big flagships or holding some big events or exhibitions to keep their visibility extremely high,' said Patrice Nordey, CEO of Shanghai-based innovation consultancy Trajectry, essentially preparing for future success when the market picks up again. Brands from Balenciaga to Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Prada have all closed stores in China since the second-half of last year. Gucci is on track to close ten stores in the market this year, Helmlinger said. Louis Vuitton's stablemate Dior opened a cafe concept in Chengdu earlier this year, and in March Prada opened a Wong Kar Wai-designed restaurant at its Rong Zhai cultural space in Shanghai. Jeweler Tiffany and Co. recently downsized a large downtown Shanghai store, but in March it also opened a new three-story flagship in Chengdu. Nordey says that while more people refer to this trend as 'experiential' retail, it actually speaks to something much deeper. 'I think it's a way of looking at your customer, either as someone that will buy products, or as an individual who is trying to have a more fulfilling life,' he said. 'If your purpose is not only to feed your client with consumer products, but more than that, you might actually resonate more strongly with them.' While high-profile luxury store closures in mainland China have prompted speculation of brands lessening investment in a slowing market, CRBE's Helmlinger says the real story is more nuanced, indicating a strategic realignment of resources, rather than a pullback in the market. 'You need to create this concept of rarity, and rarity comes with scarcity,' he said. 'When you have 80 or 90 stores in one market, it doesn't seem so rare anymore, it seems like it's mainstream.' --- (US$1 = 7.1714 Chinese yuan renminbi) Reporting by Casey Hall in Shanghai; additional reporting by Mimosa Spencer; Editing by Shri Navaratnam
Khaleej Times
13 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Khaleej Times
Cultural appropriation or inspiration? Prada gets flak for Kolhapuris on runway
It's a straightforward comparison — even those outside the fashion world can see the parallels. On June 22, Prada unveiled its Spring/Summer 2026 menswear collection in Milan; two days later, Louis Vuitton showcased its own in Paris. Both featured summer-ready pieces inspired by age-old Indian garments and motifs. It's encouraging to see legacy fashion houses looking East for inspiration, expanding their design language for a global audience. But too often, this comes with spun narratives — or worse, no narrative at all. The key difference between the two? Louis Vuitton proudly and respectfully framed its show as an homage to India, explicitly labelling its S/S '26 offering as 'multi-faceted signatures of Indian sartorialism — threading a cross-cultural narrative through a contemporary wardrobe'. Meanwhile, Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons of Prada lifted the Kolhapuri chappal straight from the town of Kolhapur and rebranded it as 'leather one-toe sandals', offering no credit or mention of the centuries-old Indian craft it so clearly borrowed from. Pharrell Williams, Louis Vuitton's menswear creative director, made his influences clear. The runway was designed by celebrated Indian architect Bijoy Jain, announced boldly across the brand's social channels. Music was composed by AR Rahman. Front-row seats were filled by Indian stars like Ishaan Khatter. The show notes openly acknowledged the collection as a reflection of 'the multi-faceted sensibilities of present-day India'. 'This is acknowledgment. This is cultural exchange. This is appreciation of heritage — not appropriation,' says Sujata Assomull, launch editor-in-chief of Harper's Bazaar India. The issue at hand isn't just about giving credit where it's due — though that, too, is increasingly non-negotiable in today's hyper-connected digital age. The deeper problem lies in a long-standing pattern of discrediting and rebranding by luxury houses — a habit quietly perpetuated for centuries. Prada referring to Kolhapuri chappals as 'leather one-toe sandals' isn't fashion's first fumble. From the Indian dupatta being adapted into the so-called Scandinavian scarf, the traditional dhoti to harem pants, and the 'boho' paisley mango print to rebranded Kashmiri pashmina shawls as mere 'cashmere' — these are all examples of Indian cultural staples repackaged and sold by the West with little to no cultural acknowledgment. Inside the Collection Prada's Spring/Summer 2026 menswear collection marked a shift in tone — softer, more playful, and unmistakably relaxed. Gone were the sharp business suits. In their place: pastel-hued trousers, athletic-inspired tracksuits, and loose shorts cinched with elastic waistbands. Light blazers, glossy biker jackets, and whimsical accessories — raffia bucket hats, polished leather bags, and colour-blocked backpacks — added a sense of breezy irreverence. Footwear followed suit, favouring ease over formality: flip-flops, slender driving shoes, and open-toe leather sandals took centre stage, replacing traditional dress options. A fresh palette of mint, lemon, and powder blue breathed life into the classic greys, making the collection feel contemporary, cheerful, and unmistakably resort-ready. The Origins of the Design Kolhapuri chappals — awarded a Geographical Indication tag in 2019 — have been handcrafted for generations across eight districts in Maharashtra and Karnataka. Made from sun-dried buffalo hide and assembled entirely by hand, they require no synthetic materials or adhesives. Each pair is a labour of skill and tradition, often taking up to two weeks to complete. While Prada hasn't named Kolhapuris explicitly, the resemblance is hard to miss — and the omission has sparked renewed debate around cultural appropriation in luxury fashion. For some, seeing the silhouette on a global runway was a moment of overdue recognition. But in the absence of any acknowledgment — no mention of the artisans, no nod to the heritage — the gesture risks feeling hollow. Inspiration, when left uncredited, too easily slips into erasure. The chatter around the matter Still, its inclusion on the runway has sparked curiosity and intrigue. The sandals have been making the rounds online, with side-by-side posts and close-up comparisons drawing attention to their roots. For some, it's opened the door to deeper questions about visibility and sourcing, and what recognition can look like. The Kolhapuri chappal, a long-standing staple in Indian wardrobes, now finds itself in the spotlight. So, while its silhouette hasn't really changed, the audience has. We asked Assomull what she thinks of this move, or lack of move by Prada, and she reminds us: 'India has always been a source of inspiration for global fashion — and proudly so. At one point, British shopkeepers would label garments 'Made in India' as a mark of craft excellence. But history also reminds us how that shifted in the 1800s when Indian textile imports were banned under colonial rule. Today, brands from Dior and Hermès to Elie Saab and Zuhair Murad regularly turn to India's rich textile traditions — and most Indians take pride in this.' 'The problem arises when that inspiration isn't acknowledged,' she adds. The debate online has left people from all over the world, feeling the same way. Fashion influencer and local crafts enthusiast Masoom Minawala took to her social media platform to point out: 'Here's the thing, referencing is easy. Respecting the roots takes more intention. Let's remember, inspiration must come with credit.' The Lesson Luxury brands have had their fair share of messing up — and learning from their mistakes. They've seen highs like no other industry, and lows like every other one. Over the years, each of these brands has built a loyal base of clientele, and as they continue to reshape themselves, a new generation of young consumers keeps joining the fanbase. However, the legacy of an entire brand can be washed away if mistakes like these happen one too many times. Today's consumers are smart — they're listening, watching, and making choices that are politically and morally conscious. And rightfully so. After all these years of chiselling their craft and honing their creative direction, a luxury brand should be focusing on giving back to society — not just through CSR strategies, but by acknowledging the cultures they've borrowed from, and sharing traceability over the paths they've walked. Host of the podcast Fashion Your Seatbelt and a regular on the front row at fashion weeks, Jessica Michault says: 'In today's social media age, there's no excuse for brands not to credit the craft or culture they draw from — especially when the inspiration is so clearly rooted in a specific style and region. Whether through a press release, at the event, or in post-show communication, acknowledging the origin is the least that should be done.'
