Marine Serre invites you to her next fashion show, and Virgil Abloh’s final project for Nike and Louis Vuitton goes on display in Brooklyn
This week, Chanel announced that it would be opening dedicated boutiques for its top-spenders to peruse freely without distraction from the general public, starting with a slew of Asian locations in early 2023. In London, meanwhile, the maison will be throwing open the doors to its archive in a new retrospective housed at the Victoria & Albert Museum, which will mark the first ever exhibition in a major UK museum on the work of Gabrielle Chanel. Featuring 180 designs (from the opening of her first millinery in Paris in 1910 to the showing of her final collection in 1971) the show is based on a 2020 iteration that debuted first in Paris before moving to Melbourne.
“Gabrielle Chanel devoted her long life to creating, perfecting and promoting a new kind of elegance based on freedom of movement, a natural and casual pose, a subtle elegance that shuns all extravagances, a timeless style for a new kind of woman,” said Miren Arzalluz, director of the Palais Galliera. “Her success was based not only on the functionality, comfort and chic elegance of her designs, but also on her ability to grasp and interpret the needs and desires of the women of her time.”Gabrielle Chanel. Fashion Manifesto will run from 16 September 2023 to 25 February 2024.
In other fashion news this week, Balenciaga staged a fetish fashion show in the belly of the New York Stock Exchange, while Dolce & Gabbana laid on an entire wedding for Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker. Supermodel Gisele Bündchen was revealed as the new face of Burberry just as Jack Grealish scored his own ambassadorship role at Gucci. Otherwise, the internet sent itself into a whizz when fashion pundits began to accuse Jean Paul Gaultier of copying himself, while others proclaimed the new Bulgari campaign a milestone in lesbian representation, when it was, in fact, just two women standing next to each other.
For everything else that may have passed you by this week, click through the gallery below.
YOU’RE INVITED TO MARINE SERRE’S NEXT SHOW
After her last fashion show caused a near-city-wide lockdown, Marine Serre is opening up her AW23 offering to the general public. Fans of the brand will be able to sign up on a first-come, first-serve basis. Taking place on June 25 during the Paris menswear season in an undisclosed open-air venue, the designer said “it is crucial for me to experiment with the boundaries of a fashion show, the priority is to find a way to connect with the audience and our community”.
SWAROVSKI EYES UP THE SUMMER
This week, creative director Giovanna Engelbert has launched Swarovski’s latest eyewear collection, all of which comes laden with gemstones in vibration-raising pastel hues. From 70s-style ovals to Y2K face-swampers, the offering draws inspiration from the jewellery families Engelbert has introduced over her tenure: Gema, Curiosa, Constella, and Millenia. Click here to see more.
VIRGIL AND NIKE AIR FORCE
Virgil Abloh’s final project for Nike and Louis Vuitton has gone on display in Brooklyn. Open until May 31, and open to the public free of charge, the Dream Now exhibition explores 47 styles of Air Force 1 shoes, as customised by Abloh. Head down to the Greenpoint Terminal Market in Brooklyn this weekend to see the show for yourself.
FENDACE POPS UP IN HARRODS
With shoppers being ushered into Club Fendace by Kristen McMenamy and Naomi Campbell, the bombastic ‘swap’ landed at Harrods in a purpose-built pop-up store – alongside a collection of exclusive products. You can see more here or head down to Knightsbridge for the space's final weekend to get your hands on Donatella Jones’, or should that be Kim Versace’s, offering.
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SUNNEI RELEASES ITS FIRST BOOK
What is a high-end fashion brand without a coffee table tome? This week, subversive Milanese label Sunnei launched its first publication, TUTTIFIORI.RAR, which is part of an ongoing flower classification project led by one of the brand founder’s fathers. The same images formed the basis of Sunnei’s SS22 collection, and you can take a look at the book here.
YEEZY GAP LAUNCHES ITS FIRST COLLECTION
Though hoodies and jackets from Ye and Demna’s GAP collaboration have been the cause of hot-headed drops over the last six months, the trio have officially launched their first collection. Alongside a gimp mask and gimp suit, the offering comprises oversized tees, cropped hoodies, jogging pants. Head over to GAP before the hypebeasts do.