🎙️ JJ Martin
I have known JJ Martin for my entire professional career. And yet, until this podcast interview, I hadn’t realized just how much our lives were parallel. We are both California girls, we both left the United States to follow our hearts to Europe, and we both became top fashion journalists in international fashion capitals.
I have known JJ Martin for my entire professional career. And yet, until this podcast interview, I hadn’t realized just how much our lives were parallel. We are both California girls, we both left the United States to follow our hearts to Europe, and we both became top fashion journalists in international fashion capitals.
JJ Martin
Now all of this is a fun side note to this interview. But the real reason I wanted to speak with JJ is to finally learn the how and why behind her choice to launch her company, La Double J, in 2015. If ever there was an inspirational story about how to be fearless when it comes to pivoting and creating a second act for your career, it’s JJ’s story.
But I am getting a bit ahead of myself. In this podcast, you will hear all about how JJ was able to start to follow her passion for fashion through the fields of advertising and marketing. How she ended up living in Milan, not speaking a word of Italian. And how a chance meeting with the renowned fashion journalist Godfrey Deeny put her on the path to becoming one of the top fashion writers in Milan, eventually spending 15 years on staff at publications like The Wall Street Journal, Harper’s Bazaar and *Wallpaper.
Today, however, JJ’s love of fashion, and more specifically bold prints and great Italian artisans, has manifested itself into one of the industry’s most beloved independent businesses. La Double J is an e-commerce website that extols all things vibrant and vivid. Her curated selection of vintage patterned prints on easy to wear dresses, pants, and tops have made her site the go-to place for anyone who loves to be the center of attention when they walk in a room.
Better yet, JJ has smartly evolved the company to become an avenue for her to highlight the work of Italian artists and brands that she feels need to be celebrated, such as the porcelain company Ancap, the Venetian glassmaker Salviati, the luxury handbag company Valextra and Acqua di Parma, by creating collaborations that blend their work with her own uniquely colorful universe.
More recently JJ has expanded La Double J even further into the lifestyle brand space with a new focus on the world of wellness and helping women around the planet find their inner goddess. In the section on her site dedicated to living like an Italian, JJ discusses topics like the power of color on the psyche, chakras, and the movement practice of Qi Gong.
Just on a technical side note, I did want to let all you listeners know that JJ and I did our interview over Zoom video. So don’t be surprised by a couple of very minor audio issues. And if you happen to be more of a visual learner, feel free to head over to my signature YouTube channel to watch the video version of this podcast in action.
Now get ready to be inspired by JJ’s story. How she was able to manifest the career she wanted through passion, determination and hard work should motivate all of us. now more than ever, to start following our dreams.
Image by Alberto Zanetti.
🎙️ Jens Grede
The world is starting to get back to work which means many women are turning to shapewear brands to help counteract the last few months of comfort food consumption. So I thought this would be a perfect time to chat with Jens Grede. Jens is the partner and board director of Kim Kardashian West’s shapewear brand SKIMS. And this Sweden native is a savvy fashion executive whose eclectic career path has given him quite a unique and clear-eyed perspective on the industry.
The world is starting to get back to work which means many women are turning to shapewear brands to help counteract the last few months of comfort food consumption. So I thought this would be a perfect time to chat with Jens Grede. Jens is the partner and board director of Kim Kardashian West’s shapewear brand SKIMS. And this Sweden native is a savvy fashion executive whose eclectic career path has given him quite a unique and clear-eyed perspective on the industry.
Jens Grede
After a stint working at the interior design magazine Wallpaper* at the start of his career, at the tender age of 25, Jens decided to start Saturday, a London-based creative agency. He launched it in 2003 with his business partner Eric Torstensson. The organization quickly grew to include a stable of companies focused on everything from brand management, public relations, and art direction to talent brokering, e-commerce, and publishing - in the form of the highly respected Industrie magazine. Later renamed Saturday Group, with offices in the four fashion capitals, the business eventually also dove into the apparel side of fashion when, in 2012, it debuted the well regarded California lifestyle brand FRAME.
Today, along with his duties as co-executive chairmen and co-executive creative director of FRAME, Jens also has taken up the task of scaling the shapewear phenomenon that is SKIMS. The brainchild of Kim Kardashian West, the company has seen exponential growth since its launch in September of 2019. Its inclusive approach to shapewear with its broad size range and extensive skin tone color options has seen the company sell out of most of its stock within the 24 hours of a drop and has garnered an enviable loyal client base with 38% of first-time shoppers becoming returning customers.
During our Zoom video call, Jens and I talked about the difficulties of trying to break into a market that is dominated by a single player. How hands-on Kim is with the creative direction of the company, the clear advantages of e-commerce focused business built on transparency, and how Jens plans to expand the growing SKIMS empire into new categories.
Just on a technical side note, I did want to let all you listeners know that because Jens and I did our interview over Zoom video you might pick up on a couple of very minor audio issues. And if you happen to be more of a visual learner, feel free to head over to my signature YouTube channel to watch the video version of this podcast in action.
Ok, now it's time to discover just how Jens sees the future of both fashion and SKIMS.
🎙️ Olivier Theyskens
I have been following the career of Belgian fashion designer Olivier Theyskens pretty much from the beginning. I have seen him grow from a wunderkind, whose dark goth-like gowns were being worn by the likes of Madonna to the Oscars when he was just 21 years old, into the established and well-respected artist he is today. A designer who has come up with a signature style of dark romantic ensembles that are formed from rigorous attention to construction, precise tailoring, and meticulous fabric choices.
I have been following the career of Belgian fashion designer Olivier Theyskens pretty much from the beginning. I have seen him grow from a wunderkind, whose dark goth-like gowns were being worn by the likes of Madonna to the Oscars when he was just 21 years old, into the established and well-respected artist he is today. A designer who has come up with a signature style of dark romantic ensembles that are formed from rigorous attention to construction, precise tailoring, and meticulous fabric choices.
Olivier Theyskens
Olivier has never been one to bend to the ebb and flow of fashion. Instead, his work stands like beautiful sartorial rocks, which the world of fashion crashes up against but never erodes away. His singular vision could be felt in each professional chapter of his career. During his years as the artistic director at Rochas, he single-handedly came up with intriguing new silhouettes for the house. Shapes that instantly put the brand back on the fashion map and garnered him the title of Best International Designer by the CFDA in 2006. Then as the artistic director of Nina Ricci, he developed even further his feminine yet sensual aesthetic creating sculptural dresses and statement suiting.
Next up was a stint in America where the designer’s couture talents were put to great use in the world of contemporary fashion as Olivier teamed up with the brand Theory to become its artistic director. Elevating the label’s global profile and also injecting its offering with sartorial sophistication. But the call of his inner voice to relaunch his own label eventually became too strong for Olivier to ignore any longer, and in 2016 he returned to Paris to relaunch his fashion house.
Over the past four years, Olivier has methodically and systematically grown his company. Taking his time to be strategic about his choices and focusing on once again giving voice to his unique and uncompromising vision. A vision that is so singular that he is one of the youngest designers in the industry to have already had not one- but two- retrospectives of his work put on display.
With all of the groundwork laid out for his own brand’s success, this past February Olivier also took on the role of artistic director at Azzaro. A fashion house with over 50 years of archives for the designer to wade through before presenting his first collection of couture and ready-to-wear pieces during the Paris haute couture presentations in June.
I spoke with Olivier via Zoom video about his impressive career, how he will balance the workload between the two brands he now oversees, and how he plans on presenting his debut work for Azzaro now that the haute couture shows had been cancelled in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
What is clear is that this is one designer who is looking to the future with a cool head and an open heart.
Image of Olivier from Numero.
🎙️ Alison Lowe
Now more than ever start-up fashion labels are in need of a guiding hand when it comes to best practices for the new normal corona economy the world is entering. That is why it made perfect sense to speak with one of the industry’s leading experts in the field, Alison Lowe.
Now more than ever start-up fashion labels are in need of a guiding hand when it comes to best practices for the new normal corona economy the world is entering. That is why it made perfect sense to speak with one of the industry’s leading experts in the field, Alison Lowe.
Alison Lowe
For close to two decades Alison has travelled the world consulting emerging fashion labels about how to make it in an industry saturated with competition. Most of it with bigger budgets, wider reach, and international awareness. Her calm, plan talking guidance and overall positive attitude has helped countless labels carve-out practical and sensible approaches to running a business. One that is able to find that sweet spot balance between creativity and commerce.
Alison isn’t afraid to roll up her sleeves and do the heavy lifting if it means helping someone fulfil their life long goal of becoming a designer and running their own business. It's something she can relate to on a personal level as well, seeing as she currently owns and runs not one, but two fashion support agencies she started from scratch.
Her commitment to lifting up budding fashion labels earned Alison a meeting with HRH Queen Elizabeth, who awarded her an MBE for Service to the Fashion Industry in 2017.
After years of public speaking, lecturing at fashion universities, and consulting clients Alison finally decided to publish a book last year that pulls together all of her institutional knowledge in one handy tome. Aptly titled “How to Start Your Own Fashion Label”, the book is a step by step guide for those wanting to follow their fashion dreams. Already a best-seller, the book has quickly become a bible for designers wanting to wade into the volatile world of fashion while holding onto a level headed lifeline.
Just on a technical side note, I did want to let all you listeners know that Alison and I did our interview over Zoom Video. So don’t be surprised by a couple of very minor audio issues. And if you happen to be more of a visual learner, feel free to head over to my signature YouTube channel to watch the video version of this podcast in action.
Now let’s listen to Alison’s advice for young brands trying to break into the business in 2020. I think you will be encouraged by her vision.
💭 The Floral Dress for The Outnet
At first blush, the floral dress might not be thought of as a wardrobe icon in the same way as, say, a blazer, a crisp white shirt or a little black dress. But dismissing the floral dress would be a mistake. It has just as important a role as any of those other icons in our closets and has an evergreen staying power.
This article first appeared on The Outnet.
THE FLORAL DRESS
VOGUE Japan January 2019.
At first blush, the floral dress might not be thought of as a wardrobe icon in the same way as, say, a blazer, a crisp white shirt or a little black dress. But dismissing the floral dress would be a mistake. It has just as important a role as any of those other icons in our closets and has an evergreen staying power. Floral dresses have been a fashion hallmark for centuries, long before any of those other pieces came along. In fact, ever since the tastemakers of ancient Rome began accessorizing their togas with fresh blooms, fashion and the power of the flower have been interlinked. Once the silk producers of medieval Asia worked out how to weave patterns like the exotic peony into their fabrics, the floral trend blossomed everywhere it was imported.
There are some women, I was once one of them, who have a fear of wearing florals. “I’ll look too girly!” or, “prints and I just don’t get along,” are some of the phrases I have heard come out of the mouths of colleagues who forgo florals. How wrong they are. They offer a uniquely beguiling mix of nature and femininity that can emulate every mood – from prim to pretty to deeply dramatic. If you’ve got a tough message to deliver, they can soften the impact. Michelle Obama’s love of large-scale florals was a masterclass in using their power to signal her own strength. Or think of Reese Witherspoon, attending hotshot Hollywood meetings clothed not in power separates but in sweet, flowery tea dresses. In 1954’s Sabrina, Audrey Hepburn outshines a ballroom full of guests in conventional evening attire, by way of a floor-sweeping, white Givenchy gown – embellished with navy flowers. When Hepburn accepted her Best Actress Oscar for Roman Holiday the same year, the cinched, white floral Givenchy dress she wore is the style peak in combining glamour and girlishness to devastating effect.
Florals can convey any mood, depending on the pattern you pick. For historical romance, a delicate botanical inspired by the Liberty print is hard to beat. William Morris, icon of the early 20th century Arts and Crafts movement, made Indian chintz-inspired designs all the rage. Find the modern iteration in dresses from the likes of Zimmermann and Emilia Wickstead. If you want to exude a sweet, Little Women-ish innocence, there are ruffled prairie dresses scattered in small sprigs from brands like GANNI and Les Rêveries. There’s something about the irony of retro upholstery florals that designers love to subvert. In his work at Balenciaga and Vetements, Demna Gvsalia inspired a street-style mania for the kind of prints you might have found on granny’s curtains, but draped and spliced in new ways. Of course, some houses have made florals their calling card – whether it’s Mary Katrantzou’s dizzying digital designs, Dolce & Gabbana’s bold baroque blooms or Preen’s endless innovation with shirring and asymmetry that gives their floral frocks a cool twist. Then there’s the bold exuberance of 1960s and 1970s designs – think of Mary Quant’s signature monochrome daisy and the stylized poppies and tulips of Celia Birtwell, whose prints combined with husband Ossie Clark’s clothing designs are now some of the most collectible vintage pieces. Find the same graphic mood in brands like Diane von Furstenberg and Emilio Pucci. Your choice speaks volumes about who you are and how you want to be viewed by the world.
The floral dress has endless styling potential. Mix it with flat sandals, loose locks and long earrings and it’s the perfect sunny weather ensemble. Layer under a fitted blazer, add a pair of creepers and a high ponytail and poof! A modern update on the ‘90s grunge-floral aesthetic.
The day I met my future husband, I was wearing a blue, empire-waist chintz dress, covered in sweet little pink blooms. I remember (even before his green eyes alighted on me in the University cafeteria for the first time) feeling especially beautiful and self-assured. I’d finally taken the plunge and embraced my feminine side. Up until that fortuitous day, you have to understand, I was a 24/7 trouser and suit-wearing kind of woman. But putting on that dress was a sartorial awakening for me. I discovered that, as pretty as flowery frocks might be, they can also wield some serious power. They’re unapologetic in their use of some of the world’s most beautiful creations to adorn women in ways that elevate them, connect them to Mother Nature and quite simply, make them look and feel beautiful. That’s something we all need…
🎙️ Burak Cakmak
Burak Cakmak, the Dean of Fashion at Parsons School of Design in New York is a man with a mission. His entire career has been in the pursuit of making the fashion world more streamlined, socially responsible, and sustainable.
Burak Cakmak, the Dean of Fashion at Parsons School of Design in New York is a man with a mission. His entire career has been in the pursuit of making the fashion world more streamlined, socially responsible, and sustainable.
Burak Cakmak
Born in Turkey during a time when the country was a closed market and under a single-party rule, Burak saw first hand what it was like to live and survive with minimal options in front of him. As the country opened up, so did Burak’s eyes to what the outside world had to offer, and through education, he grabbed it with both hands. Studying political science and getting an MBA. His thirst for knowledge pulled him towards California and the tech world. But the impact of his formative years led him down a different path, one headed towards the field of sustainability.
During his career, he has helped to shape the social responsibility strategy for Gap, Kering, and the Swarovski Group. Each job bringing forth new challenges and opportunities to educate and enlighten some of the fashion industry’s biggest movers and shakers.
Then in 2016 Burak decided that instead of trying to change the current state of sustainability at established brands, he wanted to go to the true source of the fashion supply chain and became the Dean of Fashion at Parsons. This is his first role in the world of academia and over the last 4 years, he has reworked the school’s fashion focus, giving it a broader and more inclusive vision. And he challenged traditional customs with innovative thinking to help ignite a fire of social responsibility in his students. Students who will, of course, be the fashion leaders of the future.
I particularly wanted to talk with Burak now, as the world is facing a pandemic paradigm shift. To hear from him how he sees the future of fashion taking shape. And it was a relief to me to hear someone who is such a realist being so optimistic about where we go from here.
Just on a technical side note, I did want to let all you listeners know that - as is the new normal these days - Burak and I did our interview over Zoom Video. So don’t be surprised by a couple of very minor audio issues. And if you happen to be more of a visual learner, feel free to head over to my signature YouTube channel to watch the video version of this podcast in action.
Ok, now let’s listen to Burak let us in on what the future holds for us.
🎙️ Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele
Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele has always been a woman who follows the beat of her own drum. She speaks her mind. Follows her gut. And has an unparalleled eye when it comes to making unexpected sartorial combinations work.
Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele has always been a woman who follows the beat of her own drum. She speaks her mind. Follows her gut. And has an unparalleled eye when it comes to making unexpected sartorial combinations work.
Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele
The godmother of the high/low fashion mix, she famously and fearlessly combined the most basic pair of stonewashed denim jeans with a Christian Lacroix haute couture top that featured a beaded and bejeweled cross for Anna Wintour’s very first American Vogue cover as the magazine’s editor-in-chief, back in 1988. It was a watershed fashion moment that people point to as the harbinger of modern fashion. Where wearing off the rack garments with custom pieces is not just permitted, it is expected and encouraged as a way of expressing one’s true character through their clothing.
Carlyne made the street not only chic but cool.
Born in Saint-Tropez in the south of France, as soon as she could, Carlyne got herself to Paris, the heart of the fashion action. There she let her innate sense of style speak for itself, first at Marie Claire then at Elle, before she left for the United States to work at American Vogue.
She is an instinctive layerer - I know that isn’t a real word but Carlyne is famous for making up her own so I am sure she would approve. She loves to pile on the accessories and clothing until a look is just right. Even if that means very little layering at all. Her career is also multilayered. She is a stylist, fashion director, and creative consultant all rolled into one slender powerhouse.
She has worked with the best photographers and designers in the business. From Irving Penn and Richard Avedon to Patrick Demarchelier and Steven Meisel. Helmut Newton even captured her on film at her most dramatic. And she shaped the iconic visual identity of both Versace and Chanel during the 1990s, and today gives Jeremy Scott’s Moschino collections her unique polish.
Carlyne and I caught up over tea in the heart of Paris, just off the rue saint honoré in a busy little cafe. And while there are lots of things I admire about her, perhaps what I admire most is that even after so many years as an insider at the top of the fashion pyramid she still sees herself as an outsider.
She calls it like she sees it. And what an eye she has.
🎙️ Michelle Elie
Michelle Elie is a fashion aficionado who has elevated the concept of a collector to dizzying new heights. The American-Haitian born jewelry designer and former fashion model literally walks the walk and talks the talk when it comes to her profound love of the work created by one of fashion’s most avant-garde designers, Rei Kawakubo.
Michelle Elie is a fashion aficionado who has elevated the concept of a collector to dizzying new heights. The American-Haitian born jewelry designer and former fashion model literally walks the walk and talks the talk when it comes to her profound love of the work created by one of fashion’s most avant-garde designers, Rei Kawakubo.
Michelle Elie
For decades Michelle has not only collected, but regularly wears, some of the most envelope-pushing pieces Kawakubo has ever created for her Comme des Garçons brand. Not surprisingly she is an evergreen favorite of street style photographers outside the shows during Paris Fashion Week. While inside the show venues guests who are seated next to Michelle are often in for quite an experience as they try to co-exist with her often voluminous, three-dimensional Kawakubo designs.
Let me just say that the smart fashion PRs know to always seat Michelle at the end of a row.
However, for Michelle, wearing Comme des Garçons isn’t about attracting the attention of others, rather for her, wearing the clothing is a very personal statement. In particular, she connects on a fundamental level with the pieces that exaggerate or deform her body when she wears them. They speak to her own body image issues and have helped her to become more accepting of her own natural curves, a subject she struggled with during her years as a model.
Die-hard Comme des Garçons fans are in luck because Michelle has finally decided to fling open her closet doors. On April 3rd, the opening of the “Life doesn’t frighten me, Michelle Elie wears Comme des Garçons” exhibition will take place at the Museum Angewandte Kunst in Frankfurt, Germany. There 50 pieces from the over 70 Comme des Garçons garments Michelle has collected over the past twenty-five years will be on display for the fashion-loving world to enjoy up close.
And the always inventive Michelle is not letting the global quarantine stop her from sharing her exhibition. She will be doing a virtual tour of the exhibit so people around the globe can see it in all its digital glory. Thankfully the exhibition is open until August 30th, which should give fans of Michelle and Rei’s work plenty of time to make the trek to Germany.
I had the pleasure of speaking with Michelle during the most recent Paris Fashion Week and was enchanted by her story and also blown away by her pure dedication to fashion and her passion for Comme des Garçons.
🎙️ Dana Thomas
Dana Thomas is a dyed in the wool, true blue journalist. She lives it, breaths it and consumes it every day. She is the Woodward and Bernstein or the Ronan Farrow, if you will, of the fashion industry. Her deep dive, investigative books into the inner workings of the fashion world have earned her the respect of her peers and I am sure, when she comes knocking, a few shivers of fear down the spine of at least a couple of CEOs during her career.
Dana Thomas is a dyed in the wool, true blue journalist. She lives it, breaths it and consumes it every day. She is the Woodward and Bernstein or the Ronan Farrow, if you will, of the fashion industry. Her deep dive, investigative books into the inner workings of the fashion world have earned her the respect of her peers and I am sure, when she comes knocking, a few shivers of fear down the spine of at least a couple of CEOs during her career.
Dana Thomas
In 2007 she published the New York Times bestseller, "Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster" which explored the dark side of the multi-billion-dollar business and exposed the hidden secrets that luxury brands didn’t want to have see the light of day. Then in 2015 she published “Gods and Kings: The Rise and Fall of Alexander McQueen and John Galliano”. In that book, Thomas explored how two of the most creative and influential designers of the past 30 years cracked under the pressure of the 24/7 incessant demands of a business built on always coming up with the next big thing, must-have accessory and the designer as superstar approach to creating a global fashion powerhouse.
And now Thomas is back with another timely and on-point book called “Fashionopolis: The Price of Fast Fashion and the Future of Clothes”. This time she examines the damage wrought by the global clothing industry and the role that sustainably, accountability, fair trade and transparency must take if the world of fashion wants to stay viable in the coming decades as the needs of the consumers and the climate both change.
After a year in Paris working as a model, Thomas moved back to the United States to start her award-winning career by cutting her teeth in journalism writing for the Style section of The Washington Post. She then returned to Paris and was, for fifteen years, a cultural and fashion correspondent for Newsweek in the city of light. Her work has also appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, T: The New York Times Style Magazine, and Architectural Digest, just to name a few. And in 2016, the French Minister of Culture named her a Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters.
I met up with Thomas in her home in the 7th arrondissement in Paris. There, surrounded by her collection of rare and out of print fashion books, with her dog Daisy at her feet and her daughter Lucie studying in the next room, we talked about her new book, her life long love of fashion and her ability to spot a seminal story before anyone else.
Image of Dana Thomas credit goes to Nick Gregan.
🎙️ Casey Cadwallader
Casey Cadwallader is a man with a mission. As the artistic director of Mugler, he is building the brand for a new generation of women and showing the world how sexy, sensual and strong clothing can also be very inclusive. Already he has generated quite a buzz around his runway casting which has included models of all shapes, sizes, ages and colors.
Casey Cadwallader is a man with a mission. As the artistic director of Mugler, he is building the brand for a new generation of women and showing the world how sexy, sensual and strong clothing can also be very inclusive. Already he has generated quite a buzz around his runway casting which has included models of all shapes, sizes, ages and colors.
Casey Cadwallader
Having Cardi B sit front and center at his first show helped set the tone for this new era at the house. A house that has struggled, until now, to find a designer with a clear enough vision to take on the potent DNA of the brand and reinterpret it in a modern way for women living in the body-positive, female empowerment, post #Metoo age.
Born in New Hampshire, Casey studied architecture at Cornell University before landing an internship at Marc Jacobs that sent him on a whole different career path. From there he progressed to become Narciso Rodriguez’s right-hand man, was the Head of Womenswear at Loewe and most recently was designing at Acne Studio before taking on the top spot at Mugler.
Since he arrived at the house in 2017, Casey has presented collection after collection of body con ensembles, cut with a scalpel tailored suiting and second-skin dresses that hug the body in all the right ways. Casey says that he looks to haute couture and strippers to guide his design aesthetic.
I met up with Casey right before the latest Fall/Winter 2020 shows were about to take place in Paris. We spoke about a wide range of topics in his office at his headquarters, which is just steps away from the famed Opera Garnier. Everything from the origins of his name, the fashion dos and don’ts that his expansive career have taught him over the years and, perhaps most importantly, how he now intends to refocus the Mugler house into a brand where creativity and bold ideas lead the way.
After our discussion, what I came away with from our time together is that Casey is a rare self-aware designer who has a head for business, an innovative heart and a soul that sings with creativity.
Image of Sara Casey Cadwallader from Document Journal.
🎙️ Sara Sozzani Maino
I think few people in the fashion industry would argue with me if I said that Sara Sozzani Maino is one of the hardest working women in fashion.
I think few people in the fashion industry would argue with me if I said that Sara Sozzani Maino is one of the hardest working women in fashion.
Sara Sozzani Maino
Sara is the head of Vogue Talents and Italian Vogue’s deputy editor for special fashion projects. And pretty much no matter where I am in the world or what event I am attending, I invariably seem to spot Sara, with her lion’s mane of black hair, her monochrome - usually black - attire and her practical footwear, which is a must since she is in constant motion. I see her working the room, wherever she is, and make sure to say hello to everyone. She is always giving kind words of support and encouragement to the young designers who are endlessly seeking her out and she is forever crisscrossing the globe on the hunt to discover new talents to celebrate within the pages of Italian Vogue and Vogue Talents.
Sara grew up surrounded by strong women passionate about fashion. Both her mother, Carla Sozzani, who is the founder of the famed fashion concept store 10 Corso Como in Milan and her aunt, Franca Sozzani, the iconic editor in chief of Italian Vogue, from 1988 until her death in 2016, showed her what a strong work ethic can achieve and how powerful and transformative fashion can be on a global scale.
Initially, Sara didn’t have a particular interest in fashion. She worked a bit in the early 90s, when she was just out of school, at the newly opened 10 Corso Como before getting a job as an intern in 1994 at Italian Vogue. Over the years she worked her way up through the ranks of the magazine and found her own niche, that of spotting up and coming talents that she would bring to the attention of the rest of the editorial team. Not surprisingly, in 2009 Franca put Sara in charge of the newly created Vogue Talents project. It was her mission to unearth the future designer diamonds in the rough in the worlds of womenswear, menswear, accessories, and fashion photography.
And she has quite an eye for spotting those that have what it takes to make it to the top of the fashion pyramid. Designers like J. W. Anderson, Simone Rocha, Marco de Vincenzo and Glenn Martens, just to name a very few, were clocked by Sara very early on in their careers. It’s no wonder that every young talent fashion jury on the planet is clamoring to get Sara on their committee.
2019 marked the 10 year anniversary of the launch of Vogue Talents and I caught up with Sara right after that momentous milestone. And to give you an idea of just how busy this woman is, we ended up recording our podcast in the back of her black town car in between two fashion shows.
All you have to do is listen to this podcast to know that Sara is one of those amazing people who you know you can always count on. She wants everyone to be a success, and if she can help you get there, she will pull out all the stops to make it happen.
Image of Sara Sozzani Maino from Antidote Magazine.
🎙️ Vikki Kavanagh
Vikki Kavanagh is the Global Buying and Merchandising Director at The Outnet, the sister e-commerce website to Net-a-porter and Mr. Porter. And the reason she has held that venerale position at the company for almost three years now is because she is a true buyer’s buyer.
Vikki Kavanagh is the Global Buying and Merchandising Director at The Outnet, the sister e-commerce website to Net-a-porter and Mr. Porter. And the reason she has held that venerable position at the company for almost three years now is because she is a true buyer’s buyer.
Vikki Kavanagh
What I mean by that is that she has the art of buying coursing through her veins. Since she was a teenager she has been fascinated by this aspect of the fashion industry. And it was right out of school, at her first job working in a House of Fraser department store, that she first laid eyes on the glamourous women who were crisscrossing the world ordering up the stock that would line the shelves of the store in the season to come, that she knew that being a buyer was going to be her calling.
She liked the idea of finding just the right products for the people who frequented the store she worked for, be that online or within the walls of a storefront. To find for them both the things she knew they would need, but also those they didn’t know they needed until she found it for them and those items that they didn’t need at all, but wanted, and couldn’t live without.
Over the years she has proven herself to be very skilled at being in tune with her customers. Be that buying for Fenwicks, House of Fraser, Harvey Nichols, the fashion e-tailer Very Exclusive or finally The Outnet.
The Outnet, which just celebrated its 10 year anniversary, has become so much more than just a place were end of season stock goes on sale. In fact, today 90% of the stock is sourced directly from the brands on buying trips Vikki makes with her team to the fashion capitals of the world. She has helped build deeper relationships with brands which has lead to exclusive partnerships like a recent one the company did with Mary Katrantzou as well as unexpected collaborations.
Vikki helped put into place a collaboration between the brand’s in house line - Iris and Ink, which - by the way - consistently ranks in the company’s top 5 selling brands on its website, with the style icon, model and entrepreneur Julia Restoin Roitfeld. A first for the company.
Today, for Vikki, being a fashion buyer means being nimble, using data to help hone your choices but making sure to still leave room to follow your gut. In our conversation, Vikki talks about what it takes to be a great buyer, the evolution of the luxury consumer, and the new landscape of seasonless shopping as well as The Outnet’s role in a circular economy and why she will never understand the appeal of bicycle shorts.
Image of Vikki Kavanagh from GPS Radar.
💭 Tilda Swinton for VOGUE Japan
“Fun”. That was how the Oscar winning actress Tilda Swinton described working on her latest film, Suspiria.
This article first appeared in the VOGUE JAPAN January 2019 Issue No. 233.
TILDA SWINTON
VOGUE Japan January 2019.
“Fun”. That was how the Oscar winning actress Tilda Swinton described working on her latest film, Suspiria. Now this is not really the first word most people would think of in relation to a very dark supernatural horror film, that takes place at a world-renowned dance academy and deals with witches, the occult and the immortal soul. But Swinton has never, ever, been someone to see the world, her work or the roles she takes on in a traditional way.
She said that “comradeship and fun” helped her to deal with the day to day filming in an unheated and abandoned hotel on the top of an Italian mountain in the dead of winter. That these two things were “the best talisman combo possible” to protect the actress from the dark subject matter of the script.
She went on to say that she was initially drawn to the role of Madame Blanc because of how the character’s commitment to her art came above all else. [She is] “the artist amongst the witches, deeply compromised by the deal she had made with the supernatural for the sake of the survival of her art, is a compelling one for me,” explained Swinton. “I thought a lot about Mary Wigman, the pioneer of New Expressionist Dance, who kept her company afloat throughout the occupation of Germany by the Third Reich and was psychologically delicate and troubled. And I also thought about the character of Lermontov - played by the great Anton Walbrook in Powell and Pressburger’s The Red Shoes - who exerts himself to persuade the red-haired dancer, Vicky Page, to choose art above life. I also borrowed certain aspects of her look from the extraordinary Pina Bausch, whose ever-present cigarette seemed appropriate in this fable about breath.” added the actress about how she prepared for the demanding role.
Swinton is a woman that holds a very particular place in most people’s consciousness. She has acted in almost 80 films so far in her career and her characters, in movies as diverse as The Grand Budapest Hotel, Doctor Strange, Orlando, We Need to Talk About Kevin and Okja, make her an actress that is hard to pin down. In fact, that seems to be the one common thread in the roles she takes on. She disappears into each part, often via transformative costumes and make up (and in a few cases some impressive dental prosthetics) becoming a true storytelling vessel.
Peter Lindbergh Cover Story for VOGUE Japan, Tilda Swinton Paris 2018.
“Sometimes, a person’s mouth is the principal focus of a portrait: their words, their attachment to the truth or their version of it, needs a little heightening... so it was with Minister Mason and the dreadful Mirando twins in the films I have made with Bong Joon Ho - Snowpiercer and Okja,” explained Swinton. “But, in general, it is always fun to put together a unique disguise for a performance, with an enjoyment in detail and a spirit of playfulness. For me, filmmaking, as life, is always part rock and roll, part kindergarten playtime, with a big dash of family vacation adventure holding it all together,” she added.
If this has been her goal, then she has more than succeeded. For some of the most common adjectives to describe Swinton include; eccentric, chameleon, unique, muse, statuesque, iconic and gifted. One attribute however, that is perhaps less well known is what a stalwart friend she can be. And it is a friendship that brought her to Suspiria in the first place.
For this film she once again teamed up with director Luca Guadagnino, who has been one of her closest friends for nearly 25 years. And apparently over those years, while they worked on such memorable movies like I Am Love and A Bigger Splash, they often discussed doing a remake (or as Swinton likes to call it “a cover”) of Suspiria together. “Working with my friends is one of the greatest blessings in my life: it means a deep trust, a playful atmosphere and a sense of freedom to explore territories and subjects that take real comradeship to approach,” said Swinton.
She felt that Guadagnino could bring unique and new perspective to the story. “Luca is an extremely cinematic filmmaker,” she said. “His passion for a kind of ‘sensational’ cinema - meaning a cinema of the senses, one that sets up a particular and unique atmosphere into which we might be absorbed and by which we might find ourselves affected and transformed - is developing all the time. I love our lifelong work very dearly.”
Besides getting to once again team up with Guadagnino, Swinton was drawn to the subject matter for other reasons as well. Both the focus on the world of dance, and the opportunity to work with a cast of over 40 women on this film had its appeal. Each of these aspects are rarities in the film world today and the actress relished the beautiful atmosphere on the set and how the dedication, focus, stamina and skill of the dancers assembled by Damien Jalet for the film played the vital role of giving the narrative a rigor and texture.
Many of the women who started alongside Swinton, including Dakota Johnson, Mia Goth, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jessica Harper and Alek Wek, joined her at the film’s world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September, where it got an eight-minute standing ovation after the screening. For the big event Swinton sported a high necked scarlet red column dress from one of her favorite designers, Haider Ackerman.
Just like with the directors she works with, Swinton is also a faithful fashion friend. Returning over and over again to designers she has built long lasting relationships with, like Ackerman, Alber Elbaz, John Galliano for Martin Margiela, Bertrand Guyon for Schiaparelli and Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel. “I am, naturally, someone who is pretty shy about being the center of attention and if I can stand up in a creation by someone I love, with whom I have developed the look, I feel less alone in that brightly-lit moment and I have the company of my accomplice by my side and their hand in mine,” she explained.
Peter Lindbergh Cover Story for VOGUE Japan, Tilda Swinton Paris 2018.
Coincidentally it was another film screening that Swinton also attended at the Venice Film Festival, the remastered version of the iconic film Last Year at Marienbad (which was supported financially by Chanel) that inspired the photo shoot that accompanies this article. Recounted Swinton, “Peter Greenway deployed his legendary response to shadow and magic in movement to create a story closer to a set of film stills than a traditional fashion study. There are unspoken depths to each image, as if each represents a scene, an individual drama. It was a dream to shoot and we were aiming for a dreamy essence: a very sweet memory.”
Mission accomplished.
💎 Under The Radar Elegance
If you are looking for exquisitely made, under the radar elegance in your accessories, might I suggest taking the time to discover Moynat. I recently became the proud owner of one of the brand’s Quattro totes.
If you are looking for exquisitely made, under the radar elegance in your accessories, might I suggest taking the time to discover @moynat. I recently became the proud owner of one of the brand’s Quattro totes. What I love about it, besides the unmistakable quality of the leather used and the solid construction - is its unique shape and atypical color combos. I mean it takes a certain sort of sophistication and daring to combine the colors of blush pink and khaki in one bag. The bag does come in different shapes and sizes. But I love the “Vertical” version. Maybe it’s because I feel so at ease with the vertical shape (thanks Instagram stories) or the way it so perfectly holds my MacBook Air. Somehow it looks both cute and professional.
Speaking of professional, the fact that this bag is reversible also makes it ideal for my globe trotting life. A life endlessly spent trying to fit everything into a carry-on bag. It is so easy to turn the bag inside out, back and forth, until I figure out which hue works best with my outfit.
I also have to give a big shout out to designer @rameshnair_ for his clever choice to create two sets of handles. One short, so the tote acts like a handbag, and a longer one for some over the shoulder action. And for those of you that are always concerned about bags that have no closers, well Ramesh thought of that too. All you have to do is weave the bigger handles through the smaller ones and - voilà - the bag closes up beautifully.
Here, instead of me posing with both versions of my Quattro bag I thought I would let my two kittens Sven (in the khaki) and Maxscu (in the blush pink) make the bag look even more adorable! And you can see - in action - the transformation of this wonderful tote bag just below!
P.S. if you want to learn more about Moynat and Ramesh Nair just click here to listen to my #fashionyourseatbelt podcast with him.
Enjoy!
💜 Fashion Leads the Way for Change in Saudi Arabia
Earlier this month, something unprecedented happened in Saudia Arabia. The country held its first ever fashion conference: Fashion Futures. Over the course of the two days a veritable who's who of international leaders and decision-makers in the field of fashion visited the Kingdom with the unique goal of educating and inspiring the fashion-loving citizens about the global billion-dollar industry.
Earlier this month something unprecedented happened in Saudia Arabia. The country held its first ever fashion conference: Fashion Futures. Over the course of the two days a veritable who's who of international leaders and decision-makers in the field of fashion visited the Kingdom with the unique goal of educating and inspiring the fashion-loving citizens about the global billion-dollar industry.
His Excellency Mr. Hamed M. Fayez - Vice Minister of Culture, (Fashion Futures Twitter).
The conference acted as a launching pad for Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Culture’s robust commitment and investment into the local, regional and global fashion industry – with education, sustainability and the digital world as the cornerstones of this major initiative. Keynote addresses were made by heavy hitters like Ravi Thakran, group president of LVMH South Asia and South-East Asia, Australia and Middle East, who pledged – on behalf of LVMH – a $500 million dollar fund to help support and invest in designers and creatives in the GCC. And Supermodel Halima Aden, who is known for proudly wearing her hijab while she walks the top fashion runways around the world, who gave a moving speech entitled "Don’t be afraid to be the first".
Halima Aden, (Fashion Futures Twitter).
There were also one-on-one onstage interviews with designers like Iris Van Herpen, Giles Deacon and the iconic stylist Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele, and round table discussions on the topics of communication in the digital age, sustainable fashion and the evolution of the beauty sector that featured respected speakers such as Olivier Bourgis, Maria Cornejo and Frederic Fekkai.
“Today with Fashion Futures we open a new chapter for the fashion industry in our country,” said Hamed M Fayez, Vice Minister at the Ministry of Culture. He also revealed that the Kingdom was in the final stages of launching a dedicated Fashion Commission, to foster the nation's design talent. “It will help unleash the creative potential of our fashion community by addressing the needs of our designers and discovering hidden talents. All of which will help Saudia Arabia’s fashion sector to grow, develop and compete on a global level,” he added as he announced that the country had decided to partner with the renowned Parsons School of Design in New York to send four emerging Saudi designers to study at the institution.
Local talents were also celebrated with Saudi designers Honayda Serafi, Arwa Al Banawi, and Hatem Alakeel, as well as Saudi photographer Hayat Osamah taking part in panels. At the same time, in an adjacent space to the main conference hall, packed workshops were running on different topics related to how to build a fashion business. Their focus, to educate and support Saudi Arabia’s fashion youthquake. Currently, more than 50% of the Saudi population of 34 million is under the age of 25. The meritocracy of the fashion industry has shown itself to be a very appealing avenue of self-sufficiency and self-expression to the country’s Gen Z and Millennial generations.
“By the very nature of attending, every single person here today is ambitious,” said her Highness Princess Noura bint Faisal Al Saud, an ambassador to the Minister of Culture, at the conference. “They all have dreams and they are gathered here to explore and craft ways to make them a reality.”
Another dream that came true during the 2-day conference took place at the Tuwaiq Palace cultural center. There, a private sit down gala dinner by three-star Michelin chef Yannick Alleno was held. It was followed by the first-ever western fashion show to take place in the country. In front of 300 guests, the expansive fashion show was filled with both cutting edge offerings from international labels like Givenchy, Off-White, Simone Rocha, Sacai and Stella McCartney, and leading local fashion designs.
For many of the women in the audience, the event was significant as an indicator of how far the country had come in such a short time. Many of them saying how one day they would tell their daughters and granddaughters that they were “there” on the night when fashion helped to bring about change in the Kingdom.
The entire event was seamlessly overseen by Richard Attias & Associates and it deftly illustrated that the company is skilled at bringing the right talents together to nurture key and original partnerships in the region. As the rules and codes of conduct are radically evolving in the country, it was encouraging to see such a momentous occasion go off without a hitch. “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is an unexpected country. Saudi citizens are leading the march to create multiple new industries and to lead them with passion and professionalism. Fashion is one of them!”, pronounced Richard Attias, the Executive Chairman of Richard Attias & Associates.
In her rousing keynote address to the conference Her Royal Highness Princess Reema bint Bandar al Saud, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the United State, gave her countrymen a galvanizing call to action when she spoke directly to the designers and creatives in the Fashion Futures audience. “Tell us who you are, come and join our journey. Learn from our guests. And be the future. Be the future not just of fashion. But be the future and the face of this country.”
Her Highness Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud, (Fashion Futures Twitter).
💭 Iris Van Herpen for VOGUE Arabia
The Dutch designer has an insatiable appetite for knowledge, leading her to pave the way for never-before-seen haute couture.
Originally printed in the October 2019 issue of Vogue Arabia.
How Iris Van Herpen is Paving the Way for Never-Before-Seen Haute Couture
The Dutch designer has an insatiable appetite for knowledge, leading her to pave the way for never-before-seen haute couture.
Iris Van Herpen FW19 Couture Collection. Photographed by The Bardos for Vogue Arabia; Collage by Shay Colley
If haute couture is a factory of dreams, Iris van Herpen is one of its master weavers. This soft-spoken, slender, and unassuming woman with long strawberry blonde hair has, for more than a decade, consistently transformed jaded fashion front row regulars into wide-eyed children staring with wonder at her otherworldly creations. “It is like wearing a piece of art. What she creates is so special. Each piece is an exceptional surprise,” says veteran Hollywood stylist Leslie Fremar, who recently dressed actor Eva Green for a red-carpet premiere in Los Angeles in one of Van Herpen’s designs. “Eva fell in love with Iris’s dress as soon as she saw it. She appreciated the art and craftsmanship that went into it. I’ve never received such positive feedback for a dress that I’ve styled.” It takes a certain kind of woman to wear one of Van Herpen’s designs. Women like Björk, Solange Knowles, Tilda Swinton, Gwendoline Christie, Cara Delevingne, Cate Blanchett, and Lady Gaga. They have the character it takes to not lose themselves in the artistry and the technical prowess to pull off such imaginative and unusual garments.
Since Van Herpen started her company in 2007, the Dutch designer has found that exploring the juxtaposition between the beauty of Mother Nature and the beauty born from man-made innovations to be her happy place. 3D printing has become one of her signature avenues of sartorial expression, as has the incorporation of unconventional materials. She also bends state-of-the-art techniques and technological advancements to her creative will to bring into being sculptural garments that always seem to have a sense of movement at their heart.
“In my world, I don’t see a distinction between nature and technology. They influence each other and they are obviously intertwined in our lives, even in our bodies nowadays. I think they are pure expressions of the dichotomy of our lives,” says Van Herpen from her Amsterdam studio that overlooks one of the city’s many canals. “The pieces I make live in-between the worlds of art and fashion; I am very flexible about how people perceive them, as both are the truth.”
Designer Iris van Herpen with models showcasing her FW19 couture collection. Photographed by The Bardos for Vogue Arabia
Iris Van Herpen FW19 Couture Collection. Photographed by The Bardos for Vogue Arabia; Collage by Shay Colley
Van Herpen was raised by her ballet teacher mother and a father who worked as an advisor to a governmental water agency in a quiet village outside of Amsterdam. With no television or computer screens to stifle her imagination, her formative years were filled with painting, playing the violin, and a serious love of ballet, which she studied until she was 16. She would go on to study fashion design at the renowned art academy ArtEZ and intern for Alexander McQueen and Claudy Jongstra, before deciding to head out on her own.
Ask the designer, who likes to sky-dive to give her mind a creative clean slate, what superpower she wishes she had and the answer reveals much about her. “Time travel,” she states matter-of-factly. “There are so many people from the past I would love to meet. If I could go back and visit with only one, it would be Leonardo da Vinci. What I love about him is his unlimited curiosity about every layer of life and how he wasn’t scared to move from one discipline into another. He never limited himself by defining himself.”
The same can be said about Van Herpen. She is passionate about exploring different artistic and scientific disciplines. She often works with masters in other fields, such as Bart Hess, Daniel Widrig, Tara Dougans, and Joost Vandebrug to create her designs. Sometimes this collaboration is more directly, like when she worked with the American kinetic sculptor Anthony Howe on her most recent haute couture collection, Hypnosis – the ideal title for a show filled with undulating geometrically designed ensembles.
The pieces felt structured while portraying a sense of fluidity, with sharp black piping denoting the fabric edges and rivulets of dégradé colors cascading down dresses. For the 10-year anniversary of her brand, Van Herpen collaborated with the performance musicians Between Music for her Aeriform couture show, with the artists performing live underwater during her presentation.
Iris Van Herpen FW19 Couture Collection. Photographed by The Bardos for Vogue Arabia
Iris Van Herpen FW19 Couture Collection. Photographed by The Bardos for Vogue Arabia; Collage by Shay Colley
These creative partnerships can also be felt more subtly in her work. Trips to the scientific research center CERN in Geneva will spark an interest in using magnets and their effect on fabrics. Currently, she is fascinated by the work being done at TU Delft University, where researchers have found a way to transform wastewater into a pearlescent shell material. “I almost can’t believe what they are able to do,” Van Herpen says with audible excitement in her voice. “It’s like 21st-century alchemy.” She also recently worked with Neutelings Riedijk Architects to create the new Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden, which opened in August. For this collaboration, she was inspired by fossils in the center’s archives to create more than a kilometer of three-dimensional designs, hand-sanded into concrete, to mimic the idea of beauty through erosion over time. Her contribution was woven, like sedimentary layers of rock, into the overall structure of the building. According to architect Michiel Riedijk, they reached out to Van Herpen because they were drawn by the research she has undertaken into natural organic references. “We are fascinated by the ways she turns this inspiration into research and innovation as a novel expression in contemporary collections. This matches the ambitions we had in mind for the design of the new Naturalis.”
Iris Van Herpen FW19 Couture Collection. Photographed by The Bardos for Vogue Arabia
This collaboration has only sparked in Van Herpen an even more fervent desire to explore the world around her. And one place that is at the top of her bucket list is to revisit the UAE. Her curiosity about the Middle East was first piqued via the work of her fellow countryman MC Escher. The mathematical beauty found in his tessellation patterns lead Van Herpen to discover the geometric beauty in Islamic artwork and architecture. “It is mind-blowing, the mathematical perfection of it. The architecture is stunning and so fundamentally different from anything else on this planet. I really want to go there and do a deep dive into that,” she says. The mind begins to spin at the thought of what a talent like Van Herpen could conjure up in her atelier if she ever turned her full attention to the mathematical precision of Middle Eastern artwork. It could end up being some of her most engrossing and original designs yet. Fusing fashion’s future with the world’s past in a way that would be, without a doubt, both breathtaking and bold.
Originally published in the October 2019 issue of Vogue Arabia
Manuel Arnaut: Editor in Chief
Caterina Minthe: Features Director
💭 Wafaa Abbar and Noura Binzagr for VOGUE Arabia
Much has been written in Western press about the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s male-dominated society and the status of women’s rights. Meanwhile, one mother-daughter team has been working diligently to bring about real change from within.
Originally printed in the September 2018 issue of Vogue Arabia.
This Mother-Daughter Duo is Proof That Women in Saudi Don’t Just Work – They Lead
Much has been written in Western press about the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s male-dominated society and the status of women’s rights. Meanwhile, one mother-daughter team has been working diligently to bring about real change from within.
Wafaa Abbar and Noura Binzagr. Photographed by Rawan Althomali
Wafaa Abbar is the president of the country’s leading luxury retailer, Rubaiyat Group. Her daughter, Noura Binzagr, is its ladies division manager. Together, they contribute to impressive advancements for women in Saudi. They have done this on a number of fronts: through the curated choice of luxury designer products (from the likes of Gucci and Prada) sold in their stores, to the local fashion initiatives that they support. Now, they are heralding the opening of a new ladies store spanning over 2000 square meters in Olaya, Riyadh. Industry pioneers, the two women are regional and international examples of what women with vision and drive can accomplish.
“I think it’s only fair that the likes of Noura and I speak out so that all women sitting at home – or who are working but hiding it and don’t want to be seen – reveal themselves to the public. There is no shame in that. It’s a power,” says Abbar about her choice to do interviews with the press. Abbar, a woman who always has a smile on her lips and a joyful twinkle in her eyes, has had the drive to make her mark on the world since she was a child. The youngest of six children, she remembers looking up to her older brothers and wanting to be like them. “I have the spirit of competition inside me; to be number one,” she admits. That drive translated into a work ethic that saw her become one of the first Saudi women to start a retail business in the Kingdom. She is also the main shareholder of the company, which she helped to co-found in Jeddah in 1980. In 2014, under her guidance, Rubaiyat opened the city’s first luxury fashion department store.
Meanwhile, Binzagr is a diminutive beauty with a head for business, a love of fashion, and a clear-eyed understanding of the challenges women face in her home country. “I think it’s because we feel we have to work so hard to prove ourselves that Saudi women in the work force end up being very accomplished. I see it at work: most of the Saudis in our company that excel are women,” she says.
Both Abbar and Binzagr relish the challenge of finding luxury goods that will sell in their unique market. Often they work hand-in-hand with designers to help them create products that are in keeping with the label’s esthetic but that also incorporate the particular needs of Saudi customers. “Saudi is a tricky market. It’s very sheltered in the sense that it is one of the only markets in terms of retail that caters only to locals. In Europe the offering is different than what we have because we buy a very tailored edit. I’ve heard customers say things like, ‘We’ve been to Europe and we didn’t see these products.’ This is why we’re here. We buy for you because we know what the market needs,” explains Binzagr.
Portrait of Wafaa Abbar. Photographed by Rawan Althomali
Portrait of Noura Binzagr. Photographed by Rawan Althomali
Now, the launch of the three-floor ladies store, promises even more selection for its dedicated customers along with a café and mini spa. “This is a dream that we’ve been wanting to realize for many years,” comments Abbar. The mezzanine will offer footwear from brands including Aquazzura, Malone Souliers, Sergio Rossi, but also Golden Goose and Nike while the store’s ground floor will propose handbags and accessories by brands like Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, and Saint Laurent alongside labels Phillip Lim, MSGM, Helmut Lang, and Alexander Wang. Upstairs, eveningwear from Jenny Packham and Naeem Khan will satisfy special occasion indulgences. Décor on the walls will feature a curation of large-scale works from the Kingdom’s art foundation l’Art Pur, established in 1999 by Her Highness Princess Adwa Yazid bin Abdallah Al Saud.
What the market also craves is the promotion of its own homegrown talents. To that end, Abbar has been instrumental in highlighting regional designers on both a macro and micro level. In 2016, Rubaiyat Group backed the first ever Jeddah Vogue Fashion Experience. This saw a number of leading fashion designers, tastemakers, and journalists fly to the Kingdom to judge a group of up-and-coming local designers. The winners of that competition were then flown to Europe to present their creations during Milan Fashion Week. Furthermore, since the Rubaiyat luxury department store opened four years ago, during Ramadan, Abbar creates a dedicated area for emerging designer products. Over the 30-day period, a different designer is given the entire space to display their creations for two days. Often, a selection of abayas or kaftans is presented exclusively for the store.
The Dolce & Gabbana department at Rubaiyat Department Store, Jeddah
With the launch of the new store, Abbar aims to satisfy a growing need, “Our customers in Riyadh have been wanting a bigger Rubaiyat store in their city for a while now. We’ve always wanted to satisfy our cosmopolitan customer and now it’s finally the time.” She adds that along with providing a bigger space, they will “take everything to the next level,” from the interior to the merchandise and customer service. “We hope it will be as exciting for them as it is for us and that it was well worth the wait.”
Photography: Rawan Althomali
🎙️ Alexandre Mattiussi
There are some fashion insiders who call designer Alexandre Mattiussi “a one in a generation” fashion designer. And I would have to agree with that assessment. He is a bit of a fashion unicorn in that, not only is he a down to earth, friendly and gregarious guy who happens to be a very talented fashion designer, he also has a real head for - and a love of - both the business of fashion and the theatricality of it.
There are some fashion insiders who call designer Alexandre Mattiussi “a one in a generation” fashion designer. And I would have to agree with that assessment. He is a bit of a fashion unicorn in that, not only is he a down to earth, friendly and gregarious guy who happens to be a very talented fashion designer, he also has a real head for - and a love of - both the business of fashion and the theatricality of it.
Alexandre Mattiussi
Born in 1980 in the Normandy countryside, Alexandre studied at the Duperré fashion design school in Paris and decided to specialize in menswear design as he astutely saw that the market was much less saturated than the womenswear market at that time.
Early on, back in 2002, he tried his hand at starting his own business, selling t-shirts he had designed. But decided to press pause on that adventure to really learn his trade inside the walls of established menswear brands before stepping out on his own. To this end, he worked at Dior’s “30 Montaigne” menswear line and then joined Givenchy where for five years he built up real-world experience as he led the menswear design team before the arrival of Riccardo Tisci at the house, and then he had a stint designing for Marc Jacobs Men.
It was while at Marc Jacobs, as he was working on some ultra-luxury menswear items, that he had his sartorial epiphany. The beautiful things he was creating, well he would never be able to afford to buy them and he wanted to create clothing that he would see being worn on the street. Clothing that would make people happy as they went about living their lives.
And so, in 2011 his brand - AMI was born. The name, which means friend in French but is also the composition of his initials and the last letter of his last name perfectly encapsulates both the designer and his designs. He seems to be friends with everyone and everyone wants to be friends with him. And his clothing does act like friends for those who wear them. This is a brand filled with staple wardrobe pieces, the perfectly cut pair of trousers, the great chunky sweater, the evergreen outerwear. Menswear that was so well done that women wound up flocking to his work, and wearing his designs, as well.
Today Ami has over 300 stocklists across the globe and online and has freestanding stores in Paris, Tokyo, London, and China. And last year he finally launched a “menswear for women” line in response to the high demand for his designs by women around the world.
I caught up with Alexandre in his Paris headquarters after he and I had both just returned from a whirlwind tour of Asia. I was attending Shanghai Fashion Week and Tokyo Fashion Week and he also happened to be there as well. Showing his first collection outside of Paris in Shanghai at the same time as its fashion week and then held an event in Japan during its fashion week. All of it was a way to thank his Asian customers and friends who have become a very big part of his business.
What did I tell you, Alexandre, both a savvy businessman, but an even better friend.
Image of Alexandre Mattiussi from DrapersOnline.
💭 Elle Fanning for VOGUE Japan
“Come on over and take a look Pamela,” said photographers Mert and Marcus as they shot Ella Fanning for the cover of this issue. The moniker wasn’t a slip of the tongue, it made sense, because the woman in the photos was not the girl that we have all come to find delightful in films like Maleficent, Super 8 or We Bought a Zoo.
This article first appeared in the VOGUE JAPAN November 2018 Issue No. 231.
ELLE FANNING
VOGUE Japan November 2018.
“Come on over and take a look Pamela,” said photographers Mert and Marcus as they shot Ella Fanning for the cover of this issue. The moniker wasn’t a slip of the tongue, it made sense, because the woman in the photos was not the girl that we have all come to find delightful in films like Maleficent, Super 8 or We Bought a Zoo. Instead the blond bombshell looking back at us, dressed in the latest resort collection from Miu Miu, had the same sexy playfulness of a young Pamela Anderson, Brigitte Bardot or even Claudia Schiffer. The images showed Fanning to be in that fleeting sweet spot in a woman’s life; where innocence swirls with fully formed femininity for a powerfully potent cocktail.
Fanning, who is 20 and has been acting for 17 years, has already started to explore this new power. Recently taking on roles in films with very adult subject matter such as The Neon Demon, The Begulied, Galveston and Mary Shelly - a film about the life of the author of Frankenstein, which included Fanning’s first on screen love scene. But even that celluloid milestone didn’t seem to faze Fanning, “It’s like a rite of passage I guess. As you get older, it’s like it’s going to eventually happen. I never really thought that much about it because it was so technical getting that scene right,” she said.
The actress’s comfort level with such a scene probably has to do a lot with the way she approaches acting. She has always been surrounded by her close knit family on set. While her older sister Dakota Fanning (an accomplished actress in her own right) has been there to help point her little sister in the right direction, even if their acting styles are completely different. “People say that we work differently,” explained Fanning who said she would love to act with her sister one day and that the two of them are actively looking for a project to share. “I don’t really know her process. But for me, I am someone who really lives in my head. I am always reading and thinking a ton. Also I don’t really learn my lines until like the night before a scene. I kind of like to keep them feeling fresh in my mind,” she added.
Maybe it’s this freshness, or the aforementioned sweet spot that Fanning currently finds herself in that makes her the perfect ambassador for Miu Miu. She has already shot advertising campaigns for the brand and she opened the Fall/Winter 2018 runway show in Paris. “Oh, that definitely made me nervous,” Fanning admitted. “I’ve had dreams before, vivid dreams of walking a runway. It’s also something I used to do when I was a kid, and I would make everyone sit in the house and watch me just walk in different outfits and stuff. So I was very excited about that show and Mrs. Prada made me feel really comfortable, like a proper model backstage.”
Fanning is a fan of Miu Miu in real life too. She has been spotted wearing the brand’s distinctive mix of happy go lucky prints, brightly colored separates and rhinestone embellished outfits numerous times over the years. She has always loved fashion that helps her stand out and likes to pick out outfits for her friends. “I remember we would have Free Dress Fridays at school. We had to wear uniforms, and on Fridays you could wear whatever you wanted. I would wear very strange things sometimes,” she said adding that she would top off her eye catching school outfits by wearing platform shoes so that her 5’8 frame looked even taller.
VOGUE Japan November 2018.
Standing tall on screen is something Fanning is also learning to do thanks to the interesting career choices she is making. In a field where there are very few female directors, Fanning’s filmography is filled with some of the best in the business, like Sophia Coppola, Mélanie Laurent and Haifaa Al-Mansour. “I’ve been lucky. You know, I didn’t just choose to work with them, they also chose to work with me too. And one of the first movies where people started recognizing me for me was Somewhere directed by Sofia. She gave me such a big opportunity and I remember being on her film set, run by her, the respect that she has… Her sets are very unique and special and if I ever direct something one day, I would want to emulate the environment that she creates,” said Fanning.
VOGUE Japan November 2018.
While directing might still be a distant dream for the actress, there is one other skill set she seems even more eager to explore. Fanning just became the face of Tiffany jewelry. Her first commercial campaign for the brand, which is a modern day take on the famed opening scene from the film Breakfast at Tiffany, shows the actress in a Tiffany blue hoody and diamond tiara and features her voice softly singing the iconic song Moon River, that is the bedrock of the film’s soundtrack.
“When we were shooting the video I was singing the song, humming it off camera and then Francis Lawrence, the director, came up and was like ‘Hey I have an idea, why don’t you just sing the song?’ because he has had experience with Jennifer Lawrence on Hunger Games where she sang the song and it became a crazy hit,” recounted Fanning. “I think that if I wasn’t an actress, I’d be a pop star, like I love singing, I sing all around the house!”.
Fans of Fanning will get to enjoy more of her melodic voice in the upcoming film Teen Spirit, which she just completed with rumored boyfriend, actor Max Minghella. He also wrote and directed the movie, which is about a shy teenager who dreams of being a pop star to escape her broken family. “I sing five songs on that. I guess this is the year of me singing. It’s going to be a surprise to some people but my family, and my close friends are happy that I finally get to share my singing with people,” said Fanning.
Looking at Fanning as she sat on a bridge overlooking pond feeding ducks in a bucolic country home, getting the last shots of the day for this issue’s cover spread its easy to imagine her breaking into a love song. Instead, the only musicality to be had is the sound of her laughter as she warmly says good-bye to everyone on the crew before pulling on a cream colored slip dress and flats. Pamela is gone and Fanning is simply a young girl, once again.
🎙️ Joey Zwillinger
When I began to do some research on Joey Zwillinger, the co-founder of the sustainable footwear brand Allbirds, it was hard not to notice the pull quote from Time magazine on the company’s website that referred to its Merino wool sneakers as “the world’s most comfortable shoe”, or when Refinery 29 said “we won’t blame you if never wear any other shoe ever again”.
When I began to do some research on Joey Zwillinger, the co-founder of the sustainable footwear brand Allbirds, it was hard not to notice the pull quote from Time magazine on the company’s website that referred to its Merino wool sneakers as “the world’s most comfortable shoe”, or when Refinery 29 said “we won’t blame you if never wear any other shoe ever again”.
Joey Zwillinger
Clearly, the brand that Zwillinger, a biotech engineer, created with Tim Brown, a former football player from New Zealand, has fans, including the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio who invested early in the company – raising 2.7 million dollars in seed funding before it officially launched in 2016.
Since then, Allbirds has become a shining example of sustainable style at its finest .
The breathable temperature-regulating wool used to make the company’s signature sneakers uses 60% less energy than a typical sneaker. But, the brands sustainable initiatives do not stop there –It turned to recycled plastic bottles to craft the shoe’s laces. Allbirds came up with a brand new material that they call SweetFoam, which is an eco-friendly alternative to the traditional petroleum-based shoe soles, made from sugarcane off shoots. The company’s revolutionary material is an open-source technology so that other brands can also take advantage of the carbon negative material. Oh, and even the shoe boxes the Allbirds footwear comes in are made from 90% recycled cardboard.
Currently, the company, which reportedly is now a $1.4 billion dollar business, is moving quickly to expand out from its original direct-to-consumer selling strategy. It already has 12 stores across the globe and intends to open another 20 in the next year. It has also expanded its inventory range, launching a weather-resistant collection called Mizzle that is also crafted from all-natural materials and the cleverly named Sole Mates socks that are made from TrinoTM –a new proprietary yarn that blends together the natural fibers of the brand’s Tree and Merino materials.
Without a doubt, the company is riding the crest of the current sustainable fashion wave. But after speaking with Zwillinger, there is no question that building a globally successful business isn’t his primary goal but instead, helping to build a better world for the future is.