My best friend and I drove over an hour yesterday to hold baby goats yesterday for 45 minutes, and it was the best thing we’ve ever done, I think. That’s actually all I can think of currently. Oh! That and the fact that I’m going to sere Challengers later, and I already know this newsletter is going to be late this week— my apologies, I had a lot happening this week.
Anyway, let’s get into it.
The 2024 LVMH Prize Finalists were announced, and they are kind of disappointing. There’s an ongoing joke in the fashion industry that the appointment of creative directors is white man musical chairs, but that same thinking can be applied to many other aspects of the industry. It’s great to see that not all the finalists are men, but they are all white.
Earlier this year when the semi-finalists were announced, Delphine Arnault said, “The semi-final of the 11th LVMH Prize highlighted the diversity and richness of the candidates' creative approaches. The semi-finalists showed great expertise in terms of craftsmanship and a strong commitment to sustainability. The finalists' designs range from entirely hand-made collections to eveningwear, and include upcycled designs.”
Well, it looks like any kind of diversity was removed from the finalists!
Don’t get me wrong, I love a lot of the designers that made it to the finals, and I’m happy for them, but it becomes increasingly disappointing to continue seeing this pattern in the fashion industry. Especially when the LVMH prize includes a €200,000 endowment and year-long mentorship at LVMH, that has helped many become a big name. But, alas.
As usual, a disclaimer that this obviously isn’t the most accurate data, but still fun to look through!
Top 10 Brands:
Miu Miu (the fact that there has been an 89% increase in sales is insane)
Prada
Loewe
Bottega Veneta
Saint Laurent
Moncler
Verace
Balenciaga (she’s climbing back up)
Valentino
Jacquemus
Hottest Products:
Miu Miu x New Balance 530 SL Sneaker (I want these so bad)
Khaite Small Julius Panel Earrings (the new Bottega hoops?)
Miu Miu Swim Briefs
Alaïa Jewelled Ballet Flats
Carhartt Detroit Jacket
Balenciaga Rodeo bag
Miu Miu polo shirt
Rick Owens Prong Down Dress (the chokehold this dress has on everyone, lmao)
Area Embellished Cut-out Jeans (why do I feel like this is Taylor Swift’s doing?)
Saint Laurent Panthos sunglasses
- Celine Dione for Vogue France; The queen is bag. I know this is a simple editorial, but I just love Celine so much, and I’m happy to see her well. Regardless of its simplicity, she’s always gonna sell you on a look, and it was so special to see Law giving her some posing tips in a video he posted on Instagram. Styled by Law Roach.
- Anne Hathaway for VMAGAZINE; She’s wearing a look from Margiela’s Spring 2024 collection here, and I just continue to be so overwhelmed anytime someone wears a look from that collection. The only person that’s been able to embody the shows full fantasy is Björk for her Vogue Scandinavia cover. Anne is wearing one of my favorite looks from the collection, and yes, it’s still beautiful, but there’s almost something that becomes so sterile about it here. Whereas when you look at her wearing Schiaparelli Couture, giving Charlotte in that one episode of Sex and the City, it’s so much more compelling, even in its simplicity. Playing into this androgyny feels more intentional and doesn’t feel like she’s wearing something just for the sake of wearing it. Styled by Gro Curtis.
- Challengers for Variety; Zendaya finally wearing Louis Vuitton. That’s all. But also, Josh wearing the one good look from that menswear collection the Gucci design team did before Sabato became creative director is most pleasing to me.
- Josh O’Connor for The Wall Street Journal; Josh going full Americana yeehaw for this? Absolutely. Thank you! Styled by Edward Bowleg III.
- Kering profit plunge! Oop. Gucci is a large part of their sales, and although this technically isn’t from Sabato’s collections yet, they’re not expecting anything better in the second quarter. Honestly, y’all did this to yourselves. Alessandro to Sabato??? Please.
- The FTC does not want to let Tapestry acquire Capri Holdings, because it’ll eliminate competition or whatever.
- Taylor Swift wore Elena Velez in her Fortnight music video. Presented without comment.
- Nicola Couglan in Richard Quinn— a dream!! Richard just knows how to construct a gown. This skirt, the waist, the off the shoulder, the embroidery, it’s all stunning!
- Challenger’s press looks are probably coming to an end, which makes me sad, because this was one of my favorite Zendaya press tours in terms of fashion, even though I saw a lot of people saying it was underwhelming. It feels to me like that has to do with the fact that it was a lot less conspicuous. Which reminds of the discussions of quiet luxury, and people not actually understanding quiet luxury, because those are not the circles they move in and those are not the circles they were raised in. Law Roach did so much incredible research and created so many beautiful moments with this press tour, even more so than usual, but it’s not a look that HF Twitter has identified for you to gag over, so it’s “mid” I guess. Anyway! Here she’s wearing custom Erdem, based on Fall 2024. For Zendaya it forgoes a drop waist and also makes the hem shorter, to reveal more tulle, as if the dress has been slashed. This makes a lot of sense to me in terms of Erdem’s play with deconstruction and period references.
She also wore a vintage, tennis ball green Mugler suit, and it’s snatched, because duh. I’m assuming Law purchased this since he posted the vintage seller it was from, and so since they own it, I wish they’d fitted the bust a little better, but other than that, really lovely.
She gave us a casual little street style moment, wearing the ‘I Told Ya’ t-shirt by Loewe that we see Tashi and Patrick wear in the movie. It’s based on a shirt worn by JFK jr. and is available for purchase at only $330, haha. I will not be purchasing, but if Loewe would like to send me one, I would never take it off. Here Zendaya kept it casual, with a pair of black trousers, a trench, and a little unexpected netted flat. This feels very true to Zendaya’s personal street style, and I like it!
Oh, how good is this Alaïa. Not only is she wearing her tennis whites, but the top of the dress also feels like a polo. Then Pieter Mulier beautifully tied the movie into signature Alaïa-isms, like the hood and body clinging dress.
I know I don’t usually have nice things to say about Christian Siriano’s work, but all things considered, this isn’t too bad. The pants are tailored well and I like the look of a larger cuff. I do think the pelvic area looks a touch strange, but I think that might just be because her pants are in her pockets pushing them forward. The top is also nice. I think the asymmetrical draping works, and the tennis ball green straps in the back are a nice touch.
I know this was a polarizing look for a lot of people, but I’m into it. It’s very meta and fun. I honestly thought this was Loewe at first, because it’s for sure some shit Jonathan Anderson would do.
She also wore a look from Séan McGirr’s debut collection at Alexander McQueen, which we all know I didn’t love. Now, listen, these knits are nice, don’t get me wrong. It’s more so in the context of the brand and the way Séan approached it that makes it feel so sterile and lifeless.
Finally, she wore this vintage 1930s dress, which, as a fashion history nerd who especially loves 1930s dresses, this is a very good time for me. I don’t know who dyed it this tennis ball green color, but they did an INCREDIBLE job.
- I don’t know anything about Alex Cooper and I don’t listen to Call Her Daddy, but what I do know is far more information about Alexander McQueen than anyone ever needs to know. To her reception, Alex wore Alexander McQueen SS2003, and like, okay, go off?? This is obviously not the exact dress from the runway, however it is one of the “shipwrecked” gowns. The show was divided into three sections, one of which was shipwrecked pirates, and has become known by many as the shipwrecked collection, which is quite fitting since her wedding took place by the beach. The actual collection was entitled ‘Irere’ which translates to ‘transformation’ from an unspecified Indigenous Amazonian language— also quite fitting for a wedding.
- Regina King wore Louis Vuitton, fresh off the runway, and I really wish it had been belted the same way it had been on the runway.
- As far as custom Chanel looks go, this could have been a lot worse. I don’t know if this was the intention, but it’s kind of giving Jane Brikin. This lace is really lovely and the dress fits well. I don’t love the bow in the center, but the keyhole cutout on the bellybutton is a sexy little touch.
- I loved these Alaïa dresses, with their random little tulle tufts. I get why she wore a full bodysuit underneath instead of going tits out, and it still works for me this way. The yellow bag is also a fun little pop of color against the light blue.
- You know how obsessed I was with this collection, so unfortunately I must bring it to your attention anytime someone wears it. I just love the whisper of buttons, a collar, and lapels.
So that was this week! I started this before watching Challenger’s and I finished it after watching Challenger’s. I am very much Luca Guadagnino pilled, but I feel reborn. Costume review coming later this week.
TTYL!!!
xx