New Fashion, Design, Jewelry Stories and Campaigns @ AOC
/ Anne Enke
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Read on: Latest Fashion Stories and Ad Campaigns/Lookbooks
AOC Pre-2020 Curated Archives
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Read on: AOC Pre-2020 Archives: Refreshed and Never Posted
Jewelry News
Louis Vuitton Awakened High Jewelry | Conie Vallese in Cartier’s Nature Sauvage High Jewelry | Taylor Hill Is Messika’s Face of ‘So Move’ Collection | Bella Hadid Named Chopard Global Ambassador
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Read On: More Jewelry News
Brand News
Sporty & Rich Drops Core Collection October 2024 | Louis Vuitton Awakened Hands, Awakened Minds High Jewelery | Zara X Stefano Pilati Fall 2024 Collab Is Sizzling
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Sporty & Rich founder Emily Oberg has dropped her new Core Collection, two months after filing a trademark application for a brand called Sensual Sport.
Top model Andreea Diaconu showcases the Core Collection, lensed by Dudi Hasson [IG].
Oberg isn’t selling a sustainability message for Sporty & Rich — although her approach to fashion itself may be more sustainable. But seeing Diaconu reminded me of her 2023 C2C Certified® cashmere campaign for Ralph Lauren. That campaign is very in sync with Oberg’s Sporty & Rich mindset.
SCMP Style [South China Morning Post] [IG] September 2024 issue turns its attention to Louis Vuitton’s ‘Awakened Hands, Awakened Minds’ high jewelry collection.
The all Louis Vuitton fashions are styled by Brit Cato for models Biliny Mabil and Myriam Chenesseau. Photographer Marco Cella [IG] captures the high-minded jewelry in all its splendor. / Hair by Anne Sofia Begtrup; makeup by Anga Borodina
The first chapter — ‘Awakened Hands’ — is comprised of 100 unique pieces inspired by an important moment in world history. The French Revolution of 1789 brought down the Monarchy and the ancien régime, resulting in the beheading of King Louis XVI and his famous wife, Marie Antoinette.
With the end of royal court rule in France, artisans were free to explore their own creativity and ‘savoir faire’. This cultural explosion in artisan experimentation and free-thinking — coupled with an expanding wealthy clientele supporting their efforts — greeted 16-year-old Louis Vuitton when he arrived in Paris in 1837.
Paris Fashion Week took a moment last week to toast Zara’s [IG] high-praise-worthy collaboration with designer Stefano Pilati [IG]
Announced officially in this old-school ad campaign with supermodel Gisele Bundchen and Pilati, lensed by Steven Meisel [IG], the hotly-anticipated Zara collection drops on October 3, 2024.
The fusion of Pilati’s forward-thinking design sensibilities and Gisele’s timeless elegance results in pieces that are both sophisticated and wearable. At the heart of the collection are structured blazers, emphasizing sharp, clean lines that are both powerful and feminine.
Read On: Brand Analysis and Fashion News
Women’s News and Interviews
Lupita Nyong’o for Harper’s Bazaar UK Talks Voting for Harris and Praying for White Skin | Conie Vallese in Cartier’s Nature Sauvage Collection | Lady Gaga Is Here and Talking in Vogue October |
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Beloved actor Lupita Nyong’o has not taken up painting. But today’s Harper’s Bazaar UK[IG] November 2024 cover story reminds us that not all fashion photography sets are created equal. Nyong’o covers Bazaar UK’s ‘The Art Issue: a celebration of colour, craftsmanship, pattern and print.’
Photographer Alexi Lubomirski [IG] hits all the high notes in a fashion story styled by Miranda Almond for Chanel’s newest global ambassador.Gorgeous and right on the money in terms of a huge trend emerging.
White Skin Does NOT Reflect God’s Will
Lupita again speaks of the issue of skin color — one we’ve written about many times, along with featuring her mind-changing interview with Alek Wek.
The actor has frequently told the stories of praying to God as a young woman, beseeching the divine to make her skin lighter.
Anne has done a lot of research on this topic and puts a new spin on this set of outrageous Christian beliefs about skin color.
The allure of Conie Vallese [IG] [Buenos Aires, 1986] is both compelling and rare. AOC has never heard the artist speak live, but her clarity in both art and life evokes admiration always and a small amount of envy whenever I write about her.
Xavi Gordo [IG] is in Vienna, photographing the artist for Bazaar Spain. Vallese is adorned with key pieces from Cartier’s Nature Sauvage collection.
From serpentine forms coiling with primal elegance to verdant foliage encrusted in dazzling jewels, Nature Sauvage invites wearers to experience a deeper connection with the earth's wild and timelessly beautiful landscapes.
Vallese's life embraces this same connection.
The new ‘Joker’ debuted in Venice last week to mixed reviews. Some criticism is that the film is dull — first and foremost — because Gaga is sidelined and underused. Reviewing probably eight commentaries, no critic suggests that Gaga herself isn’t magnificent in ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’, opening in US theaters the first week in October.
With all the fan-related resources Gaga brings to her role as the psychologist turned turned villain in ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’, it seems totally plausible that Gaga’s unusually-fine mind and empathetic persona — combined with years of deep connection to those who view life through the lens of Gaga’s own — have armed her with the capacity to make the most of Harley Quinn’s crossing over to the ‘other side’.
Jonathan Van Meter interviews Gaga, sharing his initial impressions of the star in 2010:
The first time I laid eyes on her in December 2010, she was barefoot, covered in fake blood, mascara running down her face, wearing a robe made of voluminous red feathers—like a cross between Alice Cooper and Big Bird, I wrote. She was dressed like a lunatic and—you guessed it—behaving like one. On another occasion—in another astounding frock, hair in a Bride-of-Frankenstein updo—she had on shoes that made her feet look like they were screwed on backward and brought her up to nearly my height . . .
Read On: Interviews: Models, Artists, Business
Body: Wellness, Sexuality, Politics
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AOC turns our attention to ‘Ring Parade’, and we’re not talking diamonds — although model Karlina Caune is sporting some serious watches in this fashion story for the September 2024 issue of Madame Figaro Paris [IG].
Stylist Sylvie Clemente is ringside, preparing Caune to fight, fight, fight — as women did in Sparta. Photographer Thiemo Sander [IG] photographs the fashion action for Madame Figaro; and AOC takes a seriously-informed deep dive into the health benefits of boxing. / Hair by Kazuko Kitaoka; makeup by Maria Olsson
Historical records and artwork from different civilizations reveal women engaging in activities like wrestling, running, and even boxing. Ancient Minoan artifacts, for example, depict women participating alongside men in athletic competitions, while the society of Sparta in ancient Greece famously encouraged women to train in physical exercises to strengthen them as future mothers of warriors — male and female.
All AOC can say is “Thank goddess for cave paintings.” Let’s go.
The historical journey of makeup is a fascinating tale of human ingenuity and adaptability. Early humans discovered the potential of naturally occurring substances like ochre clays and charcoal to create pigments that could be applied to the skin. These rudimentary forms of makeup were likely used for both practical purposes—such as camouflage during hunting—and expressive ones.
Understanding the roots of makeup helps us appreciate its enduring presence in human society. It reveals how our ancestors viewed beauty, identity, and even power through the lens of their environmental resources and cultural contexts.
