All Long Night.
All Long Night.
Who would have thought that Hedi Slimane’s grand showing at the new couture atelier of Saint Laurent Paris would be his last? On that fateful day in March, industry bigwigs gathered at Paris’ Rue de l’Université for a fall/winter extravaganza by Slimane that relived the glorious excesses of the ’80s.
Slimane held his show in complete silence, save for a voiceover that announced the look number of each model as she made her way around the 18 -century mansion; and piled on the sequins, embroidery, bows and ruffles on off-shoulder mini dresses, second-skin jumpsuits and leather biker jackets made for hedonistic disco nights. A heart-shaped cape in red fox fur was Slimane’s last and most fitting tribute to Yves Saint Laurent (the late designer favoured the motif and used it as a talisman throughout his career), and capped off a four-year run now left in the hands of Anthony Vaccarello to continue.
Starting Point
Bottega Veneta is finally ready to welcome shoppers to its revamped flagship Ion Orchard. Ahead of its official opening, BAZAAR lists everything that makes the boutique’s facelift one to look out for:
1 Size does matter—the new ION flagship stands at 356sqm and is touted to be 30 percent bigger than the old store.
2 An increase in the ready-to-wear offerings means it’s easier for you to get in the thick of all the runway action. There’ll be a dedicated space for menswear, too.
3 The brand’s Customisation Atelier will finally make its way to Singapore. The service allows customers to personalise selected classics such as the Knot clutch and Cabat bag.
4 Ready for an olfactory odyssey? The store will house the brand’s complete fragrance collection, some of which include the deluxe Parco Palladiano scent and the new-to-market Eau Senuelle.
5 Pieces from the Bottega Veneta Home collection, such as the ultraluxurious Meta Chair, will dot the space for an immersive craftsmanship experience.
Strap Tease
From Fendi to Prada, the deluge of interchangeable handbag straps on the market is good news if you love to change your appearance in a snap— literally.
An ingenious move by astute designers that takes self-expression to another level, the straps add an element of fun to your daily dressing-up routine. Better yet, it increases the mileage of your favourite bag by allowing many reiterations.
Forever Now
The business of fashion is rapidly changing and brands are coming up with various strategies to woo the consumer’s dollar. One of them is Michael Kors, who has just introduced The Kors Edit, a creative retail concept at New York’s Bleecker Street.
“I specifically wanted to create this kind of innovative shopping space downtown, on Bleecker, which has always been a culturally rich hot spot in the city,” he says.
The new shopping approach mixes on-trend products in a curated space, with monthly themes chosen by Kors himself to keep shoppers engaged in the Kors world.
Smooth Sailing
Together with a set constructed to resemble a cruise liner, Tommy Hilfiger’s nautical-themed fall/winter 2016 collection was one of the biggest talking points at New York Fashion Week.
Building on the hype generated from that showing, the American designer has carried the seafaring attitude over to the rest of his universe. The maritime influence is most evident in the Sportswear line, where girly blouses, dresses and rope-belted culottes also riffed on living life on the high seas.
5 Questions With Malone Souliers
One is a former Junior Olympic equestrian who pursued her passion for shoe design, while the other is a well-travelled brand strategist. Mary Alice Malone and Roy Luwolt, the co-founders of up-and-coming shoe label Malone Souliers, share the brand’s story with BAZAAR.
Describe Malone Souliers’ identity.
Roy Luwolt (RL): The shoes have a very womanly aesthetic. They’re for someone who is very confident of herself. She does things for her own pleasure rather than for anyone else’s amusement. There’s also a reluctance to show too much—it’s more about concealing and revealing. You could be fully dressed in a long gown, but still have a very potent sexuality and sensuality. So it’s about saying few words to tell a whole story.
What is the Backstage at Tommy Hilfiger fall/winter 2016 significance of shoes, from both a designer’s and wearer’s point-of-view?
Mary Alice Malone (MAM): Honestly, I think we should look at it from one perspective. The whole point in me creating shoes is so that a woman can put it on and feel more beautiful and live her life the way she wants to or how she sees it. A successful design is when the shoes become almost invisible on her. So she wears the shoes, not the other way around.
Can you remember the first pair of shoes you fell in love with?
MAM: They were a pair of green and brown cowboy boots. My older male cousins had worn them and they were totally beat up but they were just fantastic. I was probably about five, and I think I wore those everywhere. I’d ride around on my pony as half superhero, half cowboy. I was just really drawn to the fact that I could put them on and feel like a different person, or feel a different way.
What has been the biggest highlight since launching Malone Souliers?
RL: It would be the moment when we launched the business at Bergdorf Goodman and Saks Fifth Avenue. We had a meeting with Saks a while back and after they left, we thought, “Okay, maybe we’ll try again next year.” A month later, they called after we presented in London Fashion Week saying, “Can you be in Paris tomorrow?” Of course we went! We had a meeting with them and they did pickings for our shoes.
Any advice for aspiring shoe designers?
MAM: Spend as much time as you possibly can making shoes. Understand how to make a heel and to make it last—that is the foundation of all of your production knowledge. My other suggestion would be to do internships, and learn how the market needs certain products. You have to understand production cycles to know how the business works.
