AOC’s first reaction to these Prada holiday, model-focused images has nothing to do with buying gifts for friends and family this holiday season.
Prada and the Future of Humanity
Anne’s response was focused on a deeply-felt anxiety that she would feel so much better if Prada Group owned Starlink, X and SpaceX — rather than Elon Musk. The ‘l’enfant terrible’ with a massive daddy complex can keep Tesla.
“The constantly forward-thinking ethos of Prada for humanity has broadened to his desire of adventure and to brave new horizons: space,” Lorenzo Bertelli, Prada Group marketing director, stated with the announcement that Prada is partnering with Texas-based Axiom Space to design the lunar space suits for the hopefully-glorious 2025 Artemis III mission. [Anne’s non-quoted words.]
Charaf Tajer‘spre-Spring 2024 Casablanca Campaign makes a sophisticated play for a monied, athletic elegance and varsity chic-inspired cafe-society crowd.
The romantic mood of the movie ‘Casablanca’ itself ebbs quietly through the campaign, signposts for a WWII cafe society crowd that embraced classic notions of honor, loyalty, friendship and duty in a 2024 global political climate that’s testing all those values — and turning them inside out.
Count Maggie Maurer in as a member of the Resistance, joined by Valentin Caron. Corentin Leroux [IG] photographs the campaign, with art direction by Rashid Barbiker and styling by Francesca Parise./Hair by Ryan Mitchell; makeup by David Koppelaar
Photographer Elizaveta Porodina [IG] ignites the Giorgio Armani Holiday 2023/4 campaign with a 21st century, restrained, jazz-age glamour.
Porodina’s high-level skills in clinical psychology and humanism enhance her understanding of branding in a way other photographers do not intuit.
With one broad stroke of her Jungian-inspired, creative vision, Porodina now makes Armani model Beauise Ferwerda a multi-dimensional Armani woman with a shadow-self.
In this high-aesthetic fashion story from the November 2023 issue of Vogue Korea, the iconic British supermodel Naomi Campbell is styled by Eunyoung Sohn in a Louis Vuitton exclusive fashion story, photographed by Cho Gi-seok.
The supermodel will be the subject of the next fashion exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. the exhibition called ‘Naomi’ will follow the current exhibition dedicated to Coco Chanel. The show will open on June 22, 2024 and run until April 6, 2025 as a broad survey of Naomi’s most memorable fashion moments and also the designers who helped shape her career.
After spreading its British wings to international cities with its ‘Burberry Streets’ sightings, Burberry’s Daniel Lee again heads home, assembling a motley British-related and credentialed crew for the brand’s Spring 2024 campaign.
Tyrone Lebon again is the photographer for Burberry, rowing in total synchronocity with Daniel Lee.
One sports figure in the campaign is professional boxer Somali-British Ramla Ali, who is also a Dior ambassador. She’s rather dear to AOC’s heart.
The founder of Sisters Club, Ali scored a vindicating win over Julissa Guzman, in early November. The luxury brands boxer suffered a ‘shocking’ defeat to Guzman in June 2023, which is why we use the word ‘vindicating’.
Louis Vuitton delivers smile-worthy holiday cheer in its first episode of a multi-segmented campaign lensed by Oliver Hadlee Pearch [IG] with video by Lope Serrano.
The Maison’s Mascot Vivienne and her friend Teddy arrive to explore all the Maison’s creations. As regulars, they might become treasured ornaments as the years go by — and we are eager to keep track of them.
These darling little creatures pop up everywhere in a distinct statement that whimsy is part of the holiday season and we are quietly encouraged to get “out of ourselves” and into the world of humanity.
Taylor Hill connected with C Magazine’s Winter 2023-2024 team for an interview and fashion shoot photographed in Topanga Canyon.
The rugged-outdoors mood of Taylor’s photo shoot with David Roemer [IG] syncs with her lifestyle. The story’s title ‘Taylor Hill’s Got A New Look’ , narrated by Rob Haskell, speaks to Taylor’s recent marriage to private equity investor Daniel Fryer at Devil’s Thumb Ranch in Colorado.
The Hair Cut
The other aspect to Taylor Hill’s new look is her daring haircut, an act inspired by watching the Apple TV series ‘The Super Models’. Calling it the boldest act of her life, Taylor was very impacted as Linda Evangelista shared the story of her own 1988 haircut, prompted on a shoot with photographer Peter Lindbergh and executed by Julien d’Ys.
Taylor speaks of her beloved dog Tate,who became grievously ill around the time of her wedding. The story is so deeply personal, you should read the details at C Magazine [link above].
Tate is being reborn in 2024 in an online community and marketplace for pet owners calledTate and Taylor.
“The pet industry is very crowded and confusing,” she says. “There’s just so much out there. I want other people to feel like they’re not alone, that there’s a place they can trust.”
Paris-based, Senegalese-heritage model Mame Wade channels the spirit and physical image of American-born, French heroine Josephine Baker in this Vogue Greece December 2023 holidays story.
Wade is photographed by Koto Bolofo [IG] in the sophisticated, luxury-elegance fashion story styled by Nicholas Georgiou.
Multiple times in 2023, AOC has referenced stories about race relations in Europe vs America, and the 20th century rise of cafe society, as a lifestyle choice between artists and creatives and the monied set.
Josephine Baker had such a relationship with Princess Grace of Monaco, one that was a very genuine friendship between the two women.
Karlie Kloss is the proud owner of i-D Magazine, a decade after being featured on i-D’s Spring 2013 cover.
Fast forward to November 2023, where Karlie’s new media company Bedford Media is flying solo in acquiring i-D Magazine.
Karlie will lead the British magazine as CEO, with i-D top editor Alastair McKimm [IG] expanding his role to the title of chief creative officer and global editor-in-chief.
Lauren Wasser [IG], the courageous, striking, sexy woman who emerged as a symbol of strength and resilience after surviving toxic shock syndrome, is the “Model of the Year 2023” for Glamour Germany. We know Wasser for her golden legs, captured in these images by Daniella Midenge [IG] in Paris.
As Wasser reaches wide recognition in fashion world, she is to AOC a public representation of the ancient myth of a phoenix rising from the ashes AND Nike, the goddess of victory.
Lauren Wasser’s Luxury Brand Legs
The challenge with beauty standards is not to jam them down people’s throats. And to keep them wide and varied. In her presentations, Wasser is quick to name multiple personal attributes that are far more important than physical beauty.
In her case, Lauren Wasser has shattered societal beauty norms with a pair of luxury legs that could be out of the house of Schiaparelli.
The Numero Netherlands November 2023 issue broadens the Jessica Stam story, recalling a group of models called ‘doll faces’. Stam was a member.
Creative director Ryan Luca [IG] did not consult us on his Jessica Stam story. But the entire team nailed the ‘2000 doll face models’ idea. Lea Winkler [IG] is the photographer, with styling by Nata Bocha [IG]./ Hair by Hiro + Mari; makeup by Jezz Hill
First Came the Flappers
Characterized by their iconic bobbed hairstyles, short skirts, and bold attitudes, flappers challenged traditional norms in multiple aspects. They rejected the Victorian ideals that had dominated the previous era, refusing to adhere to the notion that women should be modest, self-effacing, and focused solely on domesticity.
Moschino’s new creative director Davide Renne arrived at the Italian house on November 1, 2023. Renne’s candle had no time to burn brightly in his new assignment, as the designer passed into a another dimension today, November 10, 2023.
We do not know the cause of death, which has been described as a “sudden illness” that claimed his body and earthly existence just 10 days after his arrival at Moschino.
Renne’s resume was defined largely by two decades at Gucci, eventually as Head Designer of Womenswear, working with Alessandro Michele.
Supermodel, businesswoman, mom Candice Swanepoel leads us into 2024 with a new Tropic of CSustainable Lace collection of black and white, made-to-be seen innerwear that renders lace lovers as sensual creatures who are also kind to Mother Earth.
All of Candice’s fabrics are sustainable, with this lace fabric coming out of Portugal and making its way into existing C collection styles. Note the ‘movie poster’ image with the photoshoot credentials and specific information about the fabric. Tropic of C has never veered off course in leading with sustainability.
In its Fall 2023 presentation in Rome, fine jeweler Van Cleef & Arpels chose the ‘Grand Tour’ experience as the cultural inspiration for the designs of the luxury jeweler’s newest masterpieces.
Global Impact of The Grand Tour
Traditionally, the European aristocrats were at the forefront of experiencing the Grand Tour and reveled in the opportunity to delve into the cultural riches of science, art, architecture, and history.
Yet, as the colonial expansion in South America and India gathered momentum, individuals of wealth from these regions also sought to emulate the grandeur and sophistication of the Grand Tour.
Kim Kardashian returns to Marc Jacobs [IG] for a 2023/4 resort collection launch, bringing her platinum Rapunzel tresses with her. Kim also appeared in the fall 2023 campaign.
Tyrone Lebon is behind the lens, capturing Kim’s shimmering silver corset top and silvery gray embossed stipe jeans, styled by Alastair McKimm.
Kardashian’s self-discipline leaves us incredulous, being an engaged mom to four kids, an entrepreneur and businesswoman in multiple enterprises, a lawyer in training with a focus on prison-reform and wrongly-imprisoned people, and a committed gym-rat who works out two hours a day.
Some of the best people in fashion and retail — Angela Ahrendts, former CEO of Burberry and EVP of Apple Retail, for example — are on KK’s team today.
On the one hand, Kim’s touch is everywhere but her management partnerships now cross two-three other Kardashian-Jenner businesses including Kylie’s new Khy apparel brand.
Oyadeas! I simply adore Creative Director Daniel Lee’sBurberry Holiday [IG] 2023 campaign. ADORE IT!! It’s charming, genuine, not camp but quiet luxury gone a tiny bit wild.
Roe Ethridge [IG] shoots this precious masterpiece, with creative direction by Carina Frey and Stefanie Barth.
The logo fully communicates Burberry without ruining the larger-image, buy-me item. He’s leaving before you can be annoyed with him — sort of like an apparition. He’s like “Chill, Anne, I’m leaving.”
Actually the Burberry knight reminds me of the Tribute of Light show outside my high-floor, lower Manhattan window after Sept. 11 in New York. Tribute always came to visit us and even stayed the night. But then he was gone when I woke up, off to bring a bit of hope and serenity elsewhere in our complicated world.
For a couple years we tried to trap him for at least a cup of morning French Roast, but Tribute always outsmarted us, slipping out the window at dawn.
French singer, model and actor Vanessa Paradis covers the November 2023 issue of Harper’s Bazaar France, presenting herself in a fashion story and accompanying interview with Olivier Lalanne for ‘A taste of Paradise: one-on-one with Vanessa’.
Elodie David-Touboul styles Paradis in almost exclusively Chanel Haute Couture, Chanel Joaillerie, and Chanel ready-to-wear in images by Alasdair McLellan [IG]./ Hair by Anthony Turner; makeup by Khela
Billie Eilish is back at Gucci and let’s applaud that move. Without question Billie is a bridge between the respective visions of the two creative directors — Alessandro Michele and now Sabato De Sarno.
For Gucci, Billie Eilish has teamed up on a greenish version of their iconic Horsebit 1955 bag. The new version is crafted from Demetra, a 75% plant-based, animal-free material that has been produced in Italy since 2021.
Gucci launched sneakers made of Demetra two years ago. The bags also use recycled ECONYL nylon made from regenerated ghost nets, carpets, and pre-consumer waste. Prada and Burberry were leaders in the development of ECONYL with products coming to market in 2019. Demetra is tanned in accordance with Gucci’s century-old standard practices.