New Fashion, Design, Jewelry Stories and Campaigns @ AOC
/ Anne Enke
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Brand News
Khaite Is on Fire; Read Catherine Holstein’s New York Story | Who Did Sweeney Road Trips Better? Jimmy Choo or Tory Burch | Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty Comes to China | Jackie Aiche ‘Rebel Heart’ High Jewelry Campaign | LVMH Joins CFDA in Six Episode Sustainability Series
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Marseille-based model Erin Wasson poses for Aussie brand Spell’s Bohème 2024 campaign. Photographer Jamie Green [IG] writes that Wasson rolled out of a cab 90 minutes from Marseille, saying “You’ve got me for 8 hours, babe.”
If you don’t know Spell, they have one store in Byron Bay and a global internet business. Sustainability has been at the heart of Spell for over a decade, and they lead with fibers that are circular, regenerative and renewable.
In spite of the brand’s ‘California Girl’ in Australia positioning, Spell uses words atypical for PR campaigns. On the topic of sustainability, Spell says they are ‘braver, clearer and frankly – gutsier’.
Nice . . . especially the gutsy part. Fashion needs more gutsy people. Less facade; more guts . . . PLEASE. And thanks, Spell for being a Certified B Corporation.
2023 was a banner year for Khaite with the brand opening a store in Soho, New York, and a second one in Seoul. Khaite popped into Water Mill, New York — at Holstein’s summer home — to show the pre-Fall collection. [See image above.]
In an amazing sequence Holstein sold another stake in her company to growth equity firm Stripes, after being launched in 2016 by brand incubator Assembled Brands. In 2023, as part of its Stripes presentation, Khaite announced plans to open 10 additional brick and mortar stores in the next five years.
In a well-written 2006 New York Times headline, ‘To Barneys, and Step on It’, Eric Wilson detailed the life-changing events for the 22-year-old Parson’s student Catherine Holstein, who had designed six sailor dresses.
Distilled to its essence, Holstein and Khaite is a wonderful New York story, filled with true grit determination and also the power of connections. Lots of them. AOC delights in sharing the details.
Actor Sydney Sweeney is behind the wheel of Jimmy Choo’s [IG] Summer 2024 campaign, ‘Road to Joy.’
In my life, AOC has never asked “Who did it better?” But after reading ‘Dazed’ describe Sweeney preparing for her Jimmy Choo roadtrip as packing up her stuff starting with a “few pairs of cunty stillettos”, I couldn’t help laughing and then reflecting on one of the sexiest roadtrip campaigns that I remember.
Jimmy Choo creative director Sandra Choi had to see the ‘Euphoria’ star in her scorching ‘old convertible breakdown in the Palm Springs desert’ June 2022 campaign for Tory Burch Miller sandals.
Clearly Choi decided that she could do it better, being a visionary for Jimmy Choo. This is a great decision, if you’re bringing plenty of prove-it ammo to the gunfight.
It’s close, as to which Sweeney campaign wins — because they are sisters.
Former Vogue China [IG] EIC Margaret Zhang delivered Rihanna on her final April 2024 cover story for the magazine. Rihanna takes two print covers and three digital ones in her story ‘Rihanna: Beauty In Individuality’, styled by Alvin Yu in images by Hailun Ma [IG].
Fenty Beauty, the beauty brand entered the Chinese beauty market on April 1 and is now sold at Sephora stores in China.
Western media is not inclined to report on or explore exactly where western luxury brands stand in China, beyond the economics of money to spend. The Chinese government is deeply involved in monitoring the tensions between China’s desire to be part of the global luxury market, while also protecting China’s identity and values.
Victoria’s Secret alum model Behati Prinsloo Levine and husband Adam Levine, of the pop rock band Maroon 5, front the new Jacquie Aiche Rebel Heart [IG].
Photographer Adam Franzino [IG] brings to life a visible electricity and sensual connection between the couple.
"The energy that Adam and Behati give off in the jewels, both independently and together, encapsulates everything that came to mind when I was working on this collection. It's all about sharing your own light with the world. With Adam and Behati, they're both so positive and so energetic, you could just feel the electricity between them on set,” Jacquie Aiche told the press about the campaign.
This is the first campaign that the couple shot together.
Read On: Brand Analysis and Fashion News
Women’s News and Interviews
Laufey On The Up And Up for Vogue China | Vogue Portugal Explores Ancient Women and Nature | Nicola Coughlan Talks ‘Bridgerton’ 3 in Harper’s Bazaar UK | Louis Vuitton Opens a Door on Women Sailors in Ancient World | Salma Hayek and Penelope Cruz Together for Vogue Arabia May 2024
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Vogue China +[IG] May 2024 issue features a fashion story ‘Laufey On The Up and Up’, focused on the young talent Laufey, born in Reykjavik to a Chinese mother violinist and a Icelandic economist father, who was a devotee of Chet Baker.
Alvin Yu styles the singer in images by Arseny Jabiev [IG]./ Hair by Gonn Kinoshita; makeup by Mélanie Inglessis
Rolling Stone headlines their recent story ‘Laufey: Cozy, Classic Pop’. Vanity Fair’s says ‘A Celebration of Modern Girlhood, Laufey Brings Jazz to a New Generation’.
On February 4, Laufey won her first Grammy for Traditional Pop Vocal Album. Life is good for Laufey.
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.
Actor Nicola Coughlan is styled in ‘Dear Reader’, a manor-born fashion story for Harper’s Bazaar UK’s [IG] May 2024 issue. Coughlan is styled by Charlie Harrington in images by Agata Pospieszynska [IG].
The fashion shoot took place at Goodwood [IG], home of The Duke and Duchess of Richmond and Gordon. Goodwood roadway was featured in Ralph Lauren’s Polo Fall 2023 Campaign.
In this third season of ‘Bridgerton’, Nicola’s character Penelope Featherington moves from a supporting character role, stepping into the center-stage limelight. This is not an entirely comfortable space for Coughlan to occupy. The actor writes:
The Louis Vuitton Leather Goods Campaign Spring-Summer 2024 returns to the high seas with an extension of their Louis Vuitton Nautical Summer Capsule that focuses on Vuitton’s best handbags.
Lensed by Ethan James Green [IG] against the ancient backdrop of Mediterranean world waters, the campaign steps into AOC’s earlier Louis Vuitton Nautical campaign discussion of women in the world of Olympic sailing.
Today models Chu Wong, Ida Heiner and Sacha Quenby inspires a deeper question by AOC.
Did Women Sail in Ancient Waters?
Based on our best AI, Phoenician women were known to be skilled sailors who played a crucial role in the maritime trade network of the ancient world. These women were involved in various aspects of seafaring, including navigation, trading, and ship maintenance. Their expertise in sailing and trading helped establish Phoenicia as a dominant maritime power in the Mediterranean.
The scarcity of direct historical records makes it difficult to paint a complete picture, yet through the analysis of artifacts, writings by ancient historians, and mythological tales, we begin to see indications of women's participation.
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 On: Interviews: Models, Artists, Business
Jewelry News
‘Medal Ceremony’ for SCMP Style | Les Gaston Vuitton Fine Jewelry and Accessories | Emmanuelle Lacou’s Bold, Fiery Jewelry | Chaumet’s ‘Un Air de Chaumet’ Takes Flight |
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Read On: More Jewelry News