Renewed: Can Kamala Harris Unite Karlie Kloss and Taylor Swift For America's Future
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Naomi Watts' Stripes Beauty Snags Platinum-Level Investor L Catterton
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AOC completely missed the June announcement that L Catterton is partnering with actor Naomi Watts to acquire her menopause-care brand Stripes Beauty.
The American multinational private equity firm closely partnered with LVMH and Groupe Arnault is putting some expertise power behind the venture. Debra Perelman, the former Revlon CEO, is executive chair of Stripes Beauty and Cara Kamenev, a former L'Oréal executive, is president.
This nation is very messed up over the expression of a healthy female sexuality and sensual joy as a form of wellness. France and most of Europe are way ahead of America in supporting a positive sexuality at any age.
I just had a rush of my own joy reading that Naomi Watts is now in the hands of a platinum-level, business development team in the L Catterton stable. Talk about a safe harbor for Stripes Beauty. It’s a fabulous piece of news that will age well for all parties!! ~ Anne
Read MoreKamala Harris Is Poised to Become Democratic Presidential Foe to Trump
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Honoring American Vice President Kamala Harris, Preparing to Battle with MAGA in an Epic Fight for America’s Future
This is not a time for the feint-hearted. Find your backbones and FIGHT for our Great Country.
Life is not perfect and neither is America. We can only move forwards, and not undo the dreadful parts of our past history. So organize yourselves; get everyone registered to vote; and go out there and fight for the country your ancestors died for.
MAGA’s Project 2025 seeks to destroy all progress made in the last 50 years in this country. Everything is gone from contraception to gay marriage.
We’ve got one shot to stop it, and Kamala Harris is our leader.
Read MoreHow Bella Hadid and adidas Are Making the SL72 Sneaker Summer's BFD
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Supermodel Bella Hadid’s latest street style moment sought to make the adidas SL72 sneaker summer-games supreme. Originally crafted for road runners, the SL72 was released in conjunction with the 1972 Olympic games back in the day, long before many AOC readers were born.
On Thursday, July 18, the American Jewish Committee spoke out against the campaign and called for Adidas to “address this egregious error.”
It makes far more sense to AOC that in a world of young people globally protesting in support of Palestine, and the SN 72 debut at the Munich Olympics that adidas — with or without Bella’s knowledge and cooperation — decided to turn up the global heat with this campaign.
AOC fears Adidas has bet that young people will rally around the shoe as a symbol of pro-Palestinian resistance, once Bella has been attacked by the Israeli press and numerous anti-semitism groups in America and Germany. How sad.
Read More![Balenciaga 'Le City' Bag Campaign [2024] with Kidman & Moss by Mario Sorrenti](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55f45174e4b0fb5d95b07f39/1720540917549-JIHYI5LZKP4IAPIDKQ2U/Balenciaga-le-city-bag-by-Mario-Sorrenti-July-2024-3.png)
Grace Elizabeth's Growing Family Celebrates Father's Day in Michael Kors Campaign
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American beauty model Grace Elizabeth and her husband Nicolas Krause pose with their son Noah in the 2024 Michael Kors Father’s Day campaign.
Grace Elizabeth’s family was expanding when Cass Bird [IG] shot the Michael Kors Father’s Day campaign and Mother’s Day campaign images below.
The beloved model missed the 2024 Met Gala in May, because Grace Elizabeth was busy giving birth to her second son.
Read MoreKarolina Kurkova News: Ford Models US, Fisher Island Condo Listing, Victoria's Secret Losses Mount
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Czech supermodel Karolina Kurkova is now a Ford model in New York.
AOC backtracked to pick up Kurkova’s Miami-based fashion story for Harper’s Bazaar Turkey’s December 2023 issue. AOC has now learned that the supermodel and husband since 2009 Archie Drury are selling their home on Fisher’s Island in Miami for about $7M. The about 2500 sq ft property was put on the market in May.
The former Victoria’s Secret Angel [named in 2005] Kurkova appeared in nine VS fashion shows between 2000 and 2010, and wore her Fantasy Diamond Bra in 2002.
Read MoreRosie Huntington-Whiteley Joins The Equity Studio As Partner with Anna Sweeting
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Rosie Huntington-Whiteley has closed the book on her involvement with Rosie Inc. and has now joined The Equity Studio, a new firm providing funding and strategic advice to beauty, wellness and lifestyle companies.
Led by investor Anna Sweeting, Huntington-Whiteley has partner status. The Equity Studio will invest in growth-stage consumer companies in the early to mid stages of development in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Europe.
Huntington-Whiteley launched Rose Inc. with biotech darling turned incubator Amyris, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August 2023.
Read MoreVogue Portugal May 2024 Covers Announce an Exploration of Nature & Motherhood
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Mother-Nature, Gaia, Terra Mater, the “cult of the feminine” is center stage in the May 2024 issue of Vogue Portugal, writes Sofia Lucas.
The editorial issue overview opens with a quote from Aristotle:
“In all things of nature, there is something of the marvelous” - Aristotle
As educated women, we do not bow down to Aristotle, for clear and concise reasons.
There’s no record that Aristotle, the great philosopher and foundational contributor to Western civilization, saw significant value in women. He argued quite the opposite, and AOC contends that Aristotle was a creator of the misogyny and not merely reflecting his time in history.
Read MoreSalma Hayek's 3 Covers for Vogue Arabia May 2024 with Penelope Cruz Interview
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AOC readers know about actor Penelope Cruz doing Salma Hayek’s major-event makeup in a house with no electricity. Anne knows nothing about the two Hollywood women besties almost experiencing a plane crash together.
This story and more is a new reveal for AOC in the May 2024 issue of Vogue Arabia [IG] where Hayek is the fashion star photographed by Cuneyt Akeroglu [IG].
“We never lie to each other. It allowed us to navigate the hypocrisy and fakeness of Hollywood. I always call you to work on a character because there is no one else in the world that could understand me better,” Hayek Pinault says about Penelope Cruz.
Read MoreLVMH and CFDA Launch 'Voices of Impact' Six-Part Series on Sustainability
/LVMH and the Council of Fashion Designers of America launch ‘Voices of Impact’, a co-created video series of conversations about sustainability as it intersects with fashion and luxury.
The six-part series goes live on Tuesday, airing on cfda.com and CFDA’s YouTube channel, as well as lvmh.com. The series consists of six digital episodes with specific, sustainability topics: Powering a Just Transformation; Biodiversity; The Heart of Innovation; Circularity x Regeneration by Design; Creative Capital: Designing Purposeful Growth, and Climate Action: Fusion Energy.
Read MoreNylon Magazine SS 2024 Returns to Print with Gwen Stefani Fresh Off Coachella Reunion
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NYLON Magazine [IG] has landed, publishing its first print issue since 2017. Landing with a BOOM, NYLON put pop star Gwen Stefani, now 54, on the cover of their new Spring/Summer 2024 issue.
The pop star is styled by Jan-Michael-Quammie in images by Domen & Van de Velde [IG]. / Hair by Suzette Boozer; makeup by Anthony H Nguyen
Today, Nylon is available at Barnes and Noble bookstores and online. My copy via Amazon is on the way. I see no subscription offer on the Nylon website or send option on the Barnes and Noble website. This could be good news.
This story of a return to print in a digital world is gaining major momentum, triggered perhaps by the growth of book clubs led by people like Kaia Gerber. Book club event listings grew 24% in the United States in 2023 annually, according to ticketing platform Eventbrite; and Meetup saw a 10% increase in book club listings, according to CNN.
Read MoreLouis Vuitton Flight Mode Summer 2024 Honors New Paris LV Flagship Élysée Palace Hotel
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Louis Vuitton introduces its Flight Mode summer 2024 collection for global travelers. The colorful collection is inspired by vibrant colors like yellow and also prints inspired by travel stamps connected to the famous Élysée Palace Hotel in Paris.
The newly-introduced Monogram canvas bags, like the Keepall and Side Trunk, are decorated with colorful Élysée Palace Hotel stamps. Built in 1896 in the Art Nouveau style, the Elysée Palace hotel — most recently the headquarters of HSBC Bank in Paris — is under a spectacular renovation as the first Louis Vuitton flagship hotel, scheduled to open in 2026. Read more details in our January 2024 post.
Apparently this ‘insider information’ about the reason Louis Vuitton is inspired in its Flight Mode summer 2024 collection by the Elysée Palace hotel was not in the LV press release. It’s not in their IG either.
Read MoreKim Kardashian for SKIMS by Nick Knight and Carine Roitfeld Is a Rocket Ready for Takeoff
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SKIMS [IG] has pulled out all the stops in the new swimwear campaign shot by British fashion photographer Nick Knight [IG] founder and director of SHOWstudio.com. Knight is joined by stylist Carine Roitfeld [IG] the former EIC of Vogue Paris, founder of CR Fashion Book and its consulting agency.
Nick Knight and Carine Roitfeld together are as good as it gets, and we see the very visible results in these images.
Knight was the creative force behind the shoot, tasked with capturing the collection “in a style reminiscent of his classic and avant-garde fashion campaigns from the 2000s,” according to a press release from the brand.
AOC also raved about the Steven Klein ‘swimweat manifesto’ featuring Kim in the SKIMS June 2023 campaign. But the photography is very different in the two projects.
Read on at the AOC Body link. I compare the two campaigns from Steven Klein and now Nick Knight.
Read MoreRobert Downey Jr. Directs His Own Fab Interview for Esquire April-May 2024
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Last year Robert Downey Jr. hired the host of the television show ‘My Cat from Hell’ to create Catification Zones on the Malibu property the actor shares with his wife Susan, kids Avri and Exton and cats Monty and two little kittens Willow and Winifred.
Reality is that there are hawks in Malibu and Downey knew he would be kicked to the curb if anything happened to the little felines.
Writer Ryan D’Agostino brings this Hollywood family to life with Robert Downey Jr. Doesn’t See Things the Way You Do in the April-May 2024 issue of Esquire. The actor is styled by Alison Edmond in images by Norman Jean Roy [IG].
Read MoreAlessandro Michele Official As Creative Director at Valentino Couture
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Valentino has made the announcement we’ve all been waiting for: Alessandro Michele will become the new creative director of the Rome-based couture house.
Michele will step into the creative-head shoes of his friend Pierpaolo Piccioli, who existed the Rome-based house last Friday. The designer embarks on his new journey next Tuesday, according to an internal statement.
I just visited Michele’s IG to follow any breadcrumbs he has left along the way. Of course, the ‘Alice in Wonderland’ book was a must-add to AOC’s visual about Alessandro Michele’s new journey.
A close friend of Michele’s reached out to me in regard to AOC’s commentary on the Chinese New Year 2023 Gucci post celebrating the Year of the Rabbit. AOC includes those links, as we lift off again with one of fashion’s most visionary and talented Queen Bees. AOC is so happy Alessandro Michele is back.
Read MoreStella McCartney Summer 2024 Garbage Heap Campaign by Harley Weir
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Designer and eco-activist Stella McCartney [IG] releases her summer 2024 campaign, starring fellow Gaia lover Cara Delevingne.
The summer 2024 collection is Stella McCartney’s most sustainable ever, crafted from 95% conscious materials. Below, Cara holds the Frame bag, crafted from a leather alternative, made from apple waste.
Photographer Harley Weir [IG] captures the model-actor at VeoliaUK’s [IG] South London recycling center.
Read More'Commune' [2015] from Interview Magazine Prompts a Look at Women Farmers Worldwide
/!['Commune' [2015] from Interview Magazine Prompts a Look at Women Farmers Worldwide](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55f45174e4b0fb5d95b07f39/1711484107579-AI2J0KUWYPCGBR23CC44/Mikael-Jansson-Commune-2-Interview-Magazine-2015-Mikael-Jansson.png)
In this 2015 fashion story ‘Commune’ lensed by Mikael Jansson for Interview and renewed March 25, AOC’s sassy side wrote:
In developing countries the women are often in charge of agriculture until the tractors arrive. Then men hop on board.
Models Caroline Trentini, Constance Jablonski, Daria Strokous, Julia Nobis and Lina Berg toil the soil and tend the artichokes in ‘Commune’, lensed by Mikael Jansson for Interview Magazine February 2015./ Makeup by Mark Carasquillo; hair by Tom Jidai
Fast forward nine years, and we wonder if anything has changed. AOC sets new goals for our readers.
Read MorePierpaolo Piccioli's Humanist-Focus Chapter Ends at Maison Valentino
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Responding to a request for comment from WWD, Valentino confirmed on March 22, 2024 the departure of Pierpaolo Piccioli as creative director of Maison Valentino.
Kering’s Role is Unclear in the Mayhoola Decision
We don’t know what the role of Gucci-parent Kering has in this decision. Kering acquired 30% of Valentino in July, 2023, with an option to purchase the whole of Valentino's share capital no later than 2028.
Luxury Stocks Are Holding Steady with Kering Plunge of $6.8 Billion
As fashion’s titanic luxury brands ship rocks in a week that witnessed Kering stock lose $6.8 billion of value on Wednesday, following news of a 20% revenue decrease at Gucci, Kering is the hardest hit.
LVMH is holding steady and positive, along with other key brands like Brunello Cuccinelli and Ralph Lauren.
AOC believes that very different luxury brand marketing positions at these more ‘humanist-centered luxury brands’, coupled with deep bench strength in executive talent at LVMH — but also individual luxury brands like Cucinelli and Lauren — are positioning them to weather storms in the luxury sector.
Read MoreChristy Turlington and Crew in Valentino, by Herb Ritts for Vanity Fair US F/W 1995.96
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