The Luxe Chronicles

L'Officiel's Diamond Give-Away: Devilishly Clever or Merely Desperate?

   

As everyone knows, the current economic downturn has hit print media particularly hard. Circulation and advertising pages have declined sharply resulting in industry-wide lay offs and severe budget cuts at even top publications as editors dig in their heels and try to weather the storm. This state of affairs is not likely to get better any time soon given that even top fashion and luxury brands have slashed their advertising budgets among other austerity measures.  What is a fashion publication to do under these trying circumstances? At least one fashion magazine is pulling out all the stops this holiday season. Venerable French fashion publication and my own personal fashion bible, l'Officiel has embedded three diamonds each worth 26,000 Euros ($34,000 USD) in three of the magazine's December issue. The three magazines have been placed in news stands somewhere in France. According to Passion Luxe, this may be a first in the history of print media. While I have no doubt this treasure hunt will sell some magazines in the short term, given the current economic climate, one can't help but sense a certain whiff of desperation. It also makes you wonder what they have in store for the January 09 issue.

Sincerely,

The Luxe Chronicles

Fashion & Beauty: Words from the Wise and Influential

In an industry obsessed with youth and beauty where the norm is for women to literally torture themselves in an attempt to reach an unattainable ideal, taking an explicit stand against Botox, plastic surgery and other radical anti-aging "treatments" is surprising to say the least. When such a stand is taken by a powerful tenor of the industry, I think we should all pay close attention. In this vein, I would like to share with you a few quotes by three of the fashion industry's most respected and influential members on the subject of aging.

Fashion: Congratulations to the 2008 British Fashion Council Laureates

Left to right: Stephen Jones confections from Marc Jacobs Spring/Summer 2009, Christian Dior Haute Couture Spring 2008 and John Galliano, Fall/Winter 2007 respectively. All photos courtesy of Style.com.

The 2008 British Fashion Council awards were handed out last night in London with top honors going to Luella Bartley named Designer of the Year. An Outstanding Achievement Award was given to milliner Stephen Jones for his contribution to British fashion. The list of other laureates are as follows:

Albertus Swanepoel: An Interview With the CFDA/Vogue Runner-Up

Albertus Swanepoel with model. Photo by Norman Jean Roy, courtesy of Style.com.

Last July, I posted an interview  with then-CFDA/Vogue Fund finalist Albertus Swanepoel. He had just been informed of his nomination and was quite simply flabbergasted. It wasn't that he lacked confidence in his millinery skills but rather hats, as he put it, were the 'orphan accessory' of fashion. Indeed, while his confections had graced the runways of top-level designers such as Marc Jacobs, Carolina Herrera and Proenza Schouler (to name but a few), his work was still a closely-held secret amongst designers looking for a finishing touch for their runway presentations. This is what makes his runner-up status so exquisitely sweet. He graciously accepted to submit to a follow-up interview for The Luxe Chronicles.

Luxury: The Party Is So Over.

The cold, hard light of day?

The announcement last week that certain blue-chip luxury brands were implementing modest price reductions in an effort to get the wealthy spending this holiday season couldn't help but remind me of the five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Let me explain. Not too long ago, industry leaders sought to reassure us that luxury would do just fine thanks to that elusive creature, the ultra-high net worth individual. These individuals were 'recession-proof' we were told and therefore they would continue to spend lavishly regardless of the state of the economy. We didn't realize it then but we may very well have been witnessing the first of the five stages of grief, denial.

Luxury: Karl Lagerfeld Designed Tribute Coin

I've long suspected that Karl Lagerfeld possessed a license to print money. Now I have proof .

Sincerely,

The Luxe Chronicles

'Tis The Season To Do Something For Others

   

Dear Readers:

Christmas is coming and all this doom and gloom over the state of the economy is probably having a pretty serious dampening effect on your holiday cheer. You know things are bad when even the very wealthy are reluctant to part with their money at Christmas. What if I were to tell you that I can suggest a fantastic way to do something good for others this holiday season and all that is required of you is to click on this little link? Would that cheer you up?

London's Fashion Expo: Helping Bridge the Divide Between Fashion Talent and Business Savvy

When you mention the word 'fashion', what usually comes to mind are images of preternaturally tall and beautiful women strutting across a catwalk wearing glamorous creations. It's a powerful image but a mere snippet of what the fashion industry actually entails. What your mind's eye doesn't see are the months, years even of endless toil accomplished under often very precarious economic conditions. As John Galliano pointed out during his keynote address at the CFDA/Vogue Fund Awards in New York earlier this week, fashion is first and foremost about hard work. When you consider that it takes a minimum of 3 to 5 years to establish a fashion label and build a brand, it's easy to understand why more than one talented designer has crashed and burned over the years for reasons unrelated to talent. That's precisely why I'm so excited to tell you about Fashion Expo .

Fashion: Congratulations to the CFDA/Vogue 2008 Laureates!

   

Left to right: Alexander Wang; Alexander Wang, Sophie Buhai, Lisa Mayock and Albertus Swanepoel; Coco Rochas and Albertus Swanepoel. All photos by Sherly Rabbani and Josephine Solimene, courtesy of Style.com.

Winners of the 2008 CFDA/Vogue Awards were announced Monday evening in New York City. Top prize went to designer Alexander Wang who walked away with $200,000 USD in prize money and a one year business mentorship. Two $50,000 USD prizes were awarded to Sophie Buhai and Lisa Mayock, the designers behind the Vena Cava label (who incidentally were finalists last year as well), and milliner Albertus Swanepoel  who designs under the label Albertus Quartus. I for one find Mr. Swanepoel's win particularly sweet since his exquisite designs have long been a well-guarded secret among New York designers (he has collaborated with Marc Jacobs, Proenza Schoeler, Carolina Herrara, Peter Som and Thakoon to name but a few) but have rarely been given the credit they are due. I jauntily 'tip my hat' to the winners and say 'well done' to you all!

Sincerely,

The Luxe Chronicles

Luxury: No Stealth Wealth For Chanel

The new line of Chanel accessories emblazoned with the 'Coco Chanel, rue Cambon, Paris' motif repeated into a pattern that covers the entire bag, bangle and swimsuit strikes me as odd given the current state of the economy. Conventional wisdom dictates that in tough economic times, logos and brash attention-grabbing details disappear and luxury becomes more discreet. For instance, in a recent interview with Imran Amed of   Business of Fashion blog , Net-A-Porter  founder Nathalie Massenet discussed the introduction of the discreet packaging option (as opposed to the online retailer's distinctive black and white packaging which has since become a status symbol in its own right). While the option was introduced for reasons unrelated to the current economic climate, she acknowledge's that the timing could not have been better.

In fairness to Chanel, perhaps this motif was approved and sent to production before the harsh reality of what is likely to be a deep and far-reaching recession set in. Still, while I'm hardly one to critique someone's soft spot for the finer things in life, I still think that when surrounded by fear, uncertainty and general misery, displaying one's wealth may not be the best way to go about things. What do you think?

Sincerely,

The Luxe Chronicles