There were hundreds of parties Friday as the Bay Area gears up for Super Bowl LX. But the biggest stars of the moment—including Teyana Taylor and her children—convened at the GQ Bowl, where they got a first look at designer Thom Browne’s fall 2026 collection.
Eve Batey
Source link
NEW YORK (AP) — The beloved novella “The Little Prince” tells us that we see clearly only with our hearts — that what is essential is invisible to the eye. Fair enough. But Thom Browne, in a fashion show channeling the famed 1943 tale, couldn’t help but dazzle the eye, too.
Those lucky enough to get a seat at a Browne runway show know what they’re getting into by now — which is, basically, anything but a typical runway show. Rather, Browne’s shows are elaborate, lengthy, fully realized theatrical productions, with backstories and narration and music, along with fashions featuring endlessly inventive craftsmanship.
On Tuesday night at New York Fashion Week, Browne, who has just taken on the high-profile role of chairman of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, welcomed guests to a large theater space on the far west side of Manhattan with a scene both fantastical and familiar.
A small airplane, stuck in the sand (real sand). Planets and stars, twinkling from above. What was it this time … oh, of course! Browne had brought his guests to the Sahara to recreate the plane crash from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s story.
“We find ourselves in the desert,” the taped narration began. “A plane has crashed.” A model playing the pilot, dressed in a space-suit like ensemble with pouffy sleeves, wandered about, disoriented, soon to encounter another model with hair in blonde curls reminiscent of the prince — and dressed in one of Browne’s signature gray blazers with a four-stripe band on the arm.
“Two lost travelers meet,” said the narrator, describing one, the pilot, who has traveled far and wide across Earth, and another, the prince, who has traveled farther, from his own planet. Then came a series of models representing distant planets. These characters had high white buns with elaborate headpieces, and endlessly long curled fingernails and toenails.
Next came a procession of adults — who, in the words of the prince, need to be told what to do and only see what’s in front of them. These models displayed a series of coats in sumptuous tweeds, all with exaggerated huge shoulders, with suits and ties underneath. They carried briefcases bearing clock faces — indeed, the heels of their chunky shoes, too, formed round clock faces, as did the stage itself. They walked to the methodical ticking of a clock’s second hand (you think models walk fast in fashion shows? Not in a Thom Browne show.)
A subsequent group wore fanciful combinations of prints and plaids, with bustles at the back and tight patterned waistbands. And there was yet another group — seemingly representing children — in deconstructed suits, garments comprised of jackets and shirts taken apart and patched together, with shoulders hanging off waists or sleeves jutting out every which way. Elaborate gold concoctions that would befit a pope adorned their heads.
An eclectic group of celebrities, from music figures Erykah Badu, Queen Latifah and Lil Nas X to TV host Whoopi Goldberg to actors Christine Baranski, Rebecca Hall and Jesse Williams, watched as the show took an emotional turn at the end, with the models coming back out in couples, hand in hand in a message of togetherness, accompanied by the song “You’ll Never Walk Alone” from the Broadway musical “Carousel.”
Browne backed up his appeal to the emotions — on Valentine’s Day — by turning his traditional post-show bow into a gesture of romance, bringing his partner, curator Andrew Bolton, a red heart-shaped box of chocolates at his seat between Anna Wintour and Goldberg.
In Browne’s ever-stylish hands, to the strains of David Bowie’s “Starman,” the gesture did not seem corny at all.
Leave it to Thom Browne to go full-on romantic at his show, which took place on Valentine’s Day. The fanfare around the acclaimed designer, beloved for his theatrical and heady presentations, felt especially charged with love this season, as he headed stateside to New York Fashion Week for the first time in over two years.
With each collection, Browne delves deeper into a fantasy. Upon entering The Shed, I immediately knew we were in for a treat when I spotted a massive white propellor plane crashed into a mound of Thom Browne-gray sand, with papier-mâché stars and moons above. It set the scene for a runway version of The Little Prince that clocked in at just over a half an hour, taking on the air of a play and delivering a dose of much-needed drama to the fashion week schedule.
Browne’s takeaway of the well-known story was the feeling that children know better than adults, as they see the world with unbiased, untainted eyes; his childlike sense of wonder was evident in the dramatic retelling of the story. Madame Debra Shaw played the pilot, with new face Alex Consani starring as the Prince, doe-eyed and unaware of his future fate. The so-called “planets” that the Prince visits entered, with six male models in richly embroidered sheath dresses depicting each planet. After, the “adults” appeared, clad in Browne’s signature suiting, complete with ginormous shoulders, rigorous tailoring, and bouclé tweeds and satin, all in the strict color palette he’s best known for: grey, red, blue, and navy.
Then came the children, led by Jessica Stam, who is experiencing somewhat of a renaissance with her return to the runways, dressed in off-kilter, deconstructed suiting, corsetry, boning, and skirts—all slightly undone. Paisley clashed with plaids, which clashed with tartans, showing the innocent way children tend to get dressed, blissfully unaware of societal norms and fashion faux pas. Models teetered on massive platforms with clocks as heels; Browne’s dachshund-shaped bags and briefcases were also stamped with clocks. Anna Cleveland slithered in wearing an almost overwhelmingly beaded snake-like dress, attacking the Prince and prompting his demise. Precious Lee swooped in as the angel, to save the Prince and save the day, bringing him back to life and sending him back to his home planet.
Thom Browne hands a heart-shaped box of chocolates to his husband, Andrew Bolton.
The sweetest end to the show came when Browne trotted out for his bow and brought a heart-shaped box of chocolates to his husband Andrew Bolton, who sat front row to cheer on his partner. The genuine ear-to-ear smile on Browne’s face as he shyly delivered the sweet gift drove home the genuine simplicity, beauty, and grace in creating from the heart and leading with love. To quote The Little Prince, “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”
Kevin LeBlanc is the Fashion Associate at ELLE Magazine. He covers fashion news, trends, and anything to do with Robyn Rihanna Fenty.
Thom Browne swears he doesn’t plan on going viral when putting together his fashion shows; he doesn’t even think about how they might play on the internet.
Instead, he crafts his shows—which, really, are much more like pieces of theater—to tell a story to those attending in real life. “For me, it’s more interesting that you get this more intimate experience in regard to what the collection is saying, or what I want to say through the collection,” Browne says.
Still, when you cast Golden Globe-winning actress Michaela Jaé Rodriguez as a modern-day Cinderella and send her down the runway in a pink tulle Cadillac to close the show, as Browne did for his spring 2023 collection, you’re bound to attract more than a few eyeballs online. And on TikTok, there are a lot of eyeballs to be had: The hashtag #fashionmonth alone had a staggering 228 million views in September 2022.
Fashion has always found its way onto social media, whether through archive-obsessed Tumblr accounts or the in-depth analyses found on high-fashion Twitter—and, of course, Instagram, with its reputation for glossy images, has been the reigning platform of choice for many years. But, armed with a video-forward ethos, TikTok is poised to take over.
“Instagram almost feels like it’s very controlled, like a traditional media outlet,” says Alyssa Mosley, a stylist and content creator who has found an audience as a TikTok creator (@alyssamosley_). “[TikTok] is like the people’s platform.”
Intentional or otherwise, the spring 2023 season was packed with eye-catching moments perfect for the kind of bite-size videos that find success on TikTok. Courrèges created a giant sandpit for its runway, while Balenciaga’s catwalk took the form of a dystopian mudslide. Gucci’s twin parade, with a cast of 68 pairs of identical twins revealed in a surprise finale twist, was a huge hit on the app, too. “I definitely think the larger brands with the budgets have been trying a little bit harder to achieve those viral moments,” Mosley says. “A lot of brands are really having fun with their production and set design to draw attention.”
Gucci’s spring 2023 show featured 68 pairs of identical twins.
But perhaps no show illustrates the power of going viral quite like Coperni’s. In August 2022, the #coperni hashtag was doing admirably, clocking some 1.9 million views. Then, at the end of September, the brand closed its spring 2023 fashion show with a bang. Bella Hadid stepped onto a platform and was promptly sprayed down with a white material. With a few minor tweaks—a tug at the shoulders, a cut up the front to reveal some leg—Hadid took her finale walk in a dress literally created on her body less than a minute before.
The moment went viral just about everywhere, but on social media, the proof is in the numbers: On TikTok, #coperni jumped to 7.3 million views in September, and then an astonishing 123 million views in October. (Hadid saw her name gain power, too, with #bellahadid going from 272 million views in August to 524 million views in October.)
Another quick route to viral success? Tapping into celebrity, of course. Famous people have been a mainstay in fashion for decades, but brands looking to make extra headlines know an A-list name goes a long way. Dolce & Gabbana partnered with Kim Kardashian for its spring 2023 collection, while Balmain and Versace featured famous faces on their runways (Cher and Paris Hilton, respectively). For his production, Browne tapped actress Gwendoline Christie to play “Charming” alongside Rodriguez’s “Cindy.”
And, because TikTok has minted so many celebrities, designers are now inviting popular creators to sit front row at their shows, whether it’s Addison Rae at Givenchy or Wisdom Kaye at Ralph Lauren. “A lot of brands are really utilizing that celebrity, especially youth—so TikTok stars who wouldn’t traditionally be in the fashion space are being invited to a lot of different shows because they do draw attention,” Mosley says.
True fashion fanatics need not fret, though: The focus is still on the clothes. Loewe’s punchy, trompe l’oeil pixelated pieces cut through the noise, as did Maximilian Davis’s red-tinged debut at Ferragamo. Going viral on TikTok is just another way that designers can spread their message to an entirely new—and, apparently, eager—audience.
“I love putting provocative ideas in front of people. I think it is important to open people’s minds, open them up to really thinking differently about clothing or, culturally, what’s going on,” Browne says of his own viral moment. “I like that there’s a reaction. I do. I’m not doing my job if there’s just a mediocre reaction.”
This article appears in the February 2023 issue of ELLE.
Freelance Writer
Tyler McCall is a writer whose work has appeared in The Cut, GQ, Porter and more. She is the former editor-in-chief of Fashionista.com.
These are the stories making headlines in fashion on Thursday.
Taylor Russell covers Harper’s Bazaar
The actor wears Bottega Veneta on the magazine’s Dreamers Issue. Interviewed by Muna Mire at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, Russell discussed her childhood in Canada, how she learned to play the harp during the pandemic, her friendship with Alexa Demie and her acting approach when connecting with her characters. “Acting is the opposite of running away. It illuminates something,” Russell said. The actor also spoke about how she was drawn to “Bones And All” due to the sincerity of the film. {Harper’s Bazaar}
Thirteen Lune announces latest funding round
Beauty e-commerce retailer Thirteen Lune has raised $8 million in a seed plus round with plans to expand its omnichannel presence. Co-founded by Nyakio Grieco and Patrick Herning in 2020, the retailer serves as a platform to sell products from brands founded by Black and Brown people; it saw 2,000% growth year over year in 2022. Thirteen Lune currently has an ongoing partnership with JCPenney Beauty and offers more than 160 beauty brands on its platform (with 90% of those brands being BIPOC-founded). “Our partners share Thirteen Lune’s mission to support diverse founders who have historically had fewer resources and opportunities to build a business and create generational wealth,” Grieco said. {Fashionista inbox}
Scroll to Continue
What American retailers can learn from European department stores
American retailers are taking notes from their European counterparts as the market size of department stores continues to decline. As reported by Cathaleen Chen of Business of Fashion, consumers are looking for more when it comes to the physical retail experience. “A fundamental difference between American department stores and those in Europe is store design, from the layout of the space to the materials used for floors and displays to finishing touches like light fixtures and the pictures on the walls,” Chen wrote. In recent years, American retailers such as Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue have invested millions of dollars into providing a more immersive shopping experience, with updates such as implementing the concessions model, more special events and renovated store layouts. {Business of Fashion}
The significance of Thom Browne’s win against Adidas
Fresh off a win from the Thom Browne vs. Adidas trial, Browne is celebrating his victory publicly as he recently posted on Instagram with the caption, “back to business.” Gaston Kroub of Above The Law speculates that Browne will likely use this victory as a marketing opportunity for as long the trademark trial continues to receive press. “For a fashion company, marketing is of the utmost importance — and milking every bit of marketing benefit from a trial win against one of the most powerful IP owners in the world is both wise and essential for Thom Browne going forward,” Kroub wrote. {Above The Law}
The Folklore Connect and RAISEfashion announce NYFW showroom
With the goal of providing more equitable opportunities for BIPOC-owned brands, “The Folklore Connect x RAISEfashion NYFW Showroom” will allow 15 Black-owned brands to showcase their designs from Feb. 9-12. In terms of the partnership, The Folklore Connect has provided a six-month free membership for 17 brands from the RAISEfashion network, while RAISEfashion will provide international mentorship opportunities across a wide range of expertise for 10 brands from The Folklore Connect. {Fashionista inbox}
Homepage Photo: Amy Troost/Courtesy of Harper’s Bazaar
Want the latest fashion industry news first? Sign up for our daily newsletter.
Janelle Sessoms
Source link
Red carpet season rolls on, with the 2023 Critics Choice Awards bringing out the best and brightest of Hollywood for a night of awards — and fashion, of course.
The night’s big winners also won on the best-dressed front: Best Actress Cate Blanchett in a matching button-down and maxi skirt set from Max Mara, accessorized with Louis Vuitton High Jewelry; Best Supporting Actor Ke Huy Quan in a rich burgundy velvet jacket and black trousers; Best Supporting Actress Angela Bassett in tiered velvet ruffle Christian Siriano gown; Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Sheryl Lee Ralph in a gilded Jovana Louis ensemble; Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series Niecy Nash in a fit-to-perfection Jason Wu look.
Louis Vuitton won on the most custom looks front, with Aubrey Plaza’s dégradé neckline dress and Thuso Mbedu’s embellished tulle gown as stand-outs, while Carolina Herrera’s ruffle-caped column gown really made a statement on Michelle Yeoh.
See all of the best dressed celebrities from the 2023 Critics Choice Awards red carpet below.
Scroll to Continue
Want the latest fashion industry news first? Sign up for our daily newsletter.
Ana Colón
Source link
![Everything You Need to Know About the Adidas vs. Thom Browne Trademark Case [UPDATED]](https://reportwire.org/wp-content/uploads/https://fashionista.com/.image/t_share/MTk1MDY2NDg0MTYxMzI0MjMx/thom-browne-adidas-case.jpg)
The battle between Thom Browne and Adidas over a striped design signature dates back to 2007. But it’s reached new heights in 2023, with both companies appearing in Manhattan court over the trademark dispute.
Read on for the latest on the Adidas vs. Thom Browne trademark case.
Adidas has been using its three-stripe logo since the 1950s, and has a litigious streak when it comes to striped brand signifiers, previously winning similar disputes against brands like Sketchers, Juicy Couture and Marc Jacobs.However, Adidas is claiming (per ) it wasn’t made aware of the alleged infringement until a decade later, in 2018, when Thom Browne applied for a trademark of its Grosgrain Signature — a red, white and blue-stripe logo — in Europe and expanded into sportswear. (The latter, in the company’s eyes, made it a more direct competitor.) Adidas then approached the brand for a settlement.
Thom Browne’s varsity-stripe motif goes back 15 years. The brand’s initial version had three stripes; Robert T. Maldonado, Browne’s attorney in the case, alleges (per Vogue Business) that the brand pivoted to the current Four-Bar Signature after Adidas’ then-CEO reached out about the similarities between them in 2007.
However, according to CNN, Adidas is claiming it wasn’t made aware of alleged infringement until a decade later, in 2018, when Thom Browne applied for a trademark of its Grosgrain Signature — the a red, white and blue-stripe logo — in Europe and expanded into sportswear. (The latter, in the company’s eyes, made it a more direct competitor.) Adidas then approached the brand for a settlement.
After unsuccessful attempts to settle the matter on their own, Adidas went the legal route, filing a trademark infringement and dilution complaint against Thom Browne in the summer 2021. It claimed in a New York federal court that the brand is “selling athletic-style apparel and footwear featuring two, three or four parallel stripes in a manner that is confusingly similar to Adidas’s three-stripe mark,” and is seeking $867,225 in damages, as well as the $7,011,961 in profits.
Thom Browne CEO Rodrigo Bazan issued a statement to to WWD in response to the lawsuit at the time. “We believe we are right and we are confident in the outcome of the case, as we have acted honorably for all this time,” he said. “[Adidas] consented for 12 years and now they are changing their mind. The court won’t allow that. And consumers won’t as well. It is an attempt to use the law illegally.”
Photo: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
On Monday, Jan. 9, Browne testified in front of an eight-person jury at Manhattan’s Southern District Court about his active upbringing in Pennsylvania, and how that resulted in a love of sports that ultimately inspired his use of varsity stripes. He said he wanted to create an “external signifier” that would render his label immediately recognizable, per reporting from WWD. This led him to the three stripes featured on varsity sweaters and collegiate pieces, speaking to the brand ethos of blending tailored clothing with sportswear.
Scroll to Continue
“Every collection and garment I design has a sporting reference,” he said, according to WWD.
To support the claim that the brand pivoted following a conversation with Adidas’ then-CEO about the stripes, Browne’s legal team juxtaposed design sketches from Fall 2008 (before the executive allegedly reach out, featuring three bars) with some from Spring 2009, which had the four bars.
Thom Browne is arguing that Adidas intentionally stayed silent on the issue for the following decade, during which time Thom Browne experienced significant growth. Adidas argues that it had no obligation to monitor Thom Browne’s output during that time.
Browne also reasons that, while the grosgrain red, white and blue ribbon has become a trademark of Thom Browne, the four parallel bars seen running down a suit leg or jacket arm are a design choice.
Charles Henn, who is representing Adidas, tried to differentiate tailored clothing from sportswear in court by asking Thom Browne to describe specific products via imagery — which the designer repeatedly characterized simply as “tailored sportswear.”
We’ll continue to update this story as new developments emerge.
UPDATE, Jan. 12, 5:00 p.m.:
Thom Browne has won the trademark case against Adidas. The eight-person jury found the American designer not guilty of infringing upon the sport giant’s three-stripe emblem.
On Thursday, attorneys for both Adidas and Thom Browne presented their final and closing arguments against the lawsuit. Browne’s supporters filled the right side of the courtroom, and were decked out in head-to-toe looks from the brand.
According to WWD, Maldonado (Browne’s attorney) began his closing argument with a simple statement: “Adidas does not own stripes.”
Want the latest fashion industry news first? Sign up for our daily newsletter.
Angela Wei
Source link
These are the stories making headlines in fashion on Wednesday.
Billie Eilish lands Vogue video cover, talks climate
Vogue’s first-ever video cover star Billie Eilish spoke with eight climate activists, including Quannah Chasinghorse and Wawa Gatheru, on the future of the planet. The innovative video cover is a carousel of conversation, children signing and other aesthetic shots. Directed by Mike Mills, Eilish and the activists spoke about topics like climate anxiety, navigating academia and politics, leading grassroots campaigns and environmental racism. In the cover story, Eilish also reflected on her personal journey with her body, romance and current boyfriend Jesse Rutherford. {Vogue}
Independent designers brace for recession
As a recession looms ever nearer in 2023, independent designers are bracing for lean times and doubling down on what sells in order to keep their businesses going. But it’s already been a challenging past few years for independent designers who may have been affected by supply chain issues or loss of sales to an e-commerce boom. On top of everything, investors are turning away from what’s considered a risky fashion investment. “It’s almost like a rule. When recession hits, stop investing in fashion because it’s [seen as] too unpredictable,” Gary Wassner, chief executive of luxury and fashion advisory Hilldun Corporation, told the Business of Fashion. {Business of Fashion}
Adidas and Thom Browne battle over stripes in court
Adidas and Thom Browne are in the midst of a legal battle over each company’s trademarked stripes. Adidas, which trademarked its trio of parallel stripes that have been a brand signature since the 1940’s, claims that Thom Browne’s use of four parallel stripes is too similar. The German sportswear company is seeking $867,225 in damages in addition to $7 million in profits that Adidas alleges Thom Browne made while selling its own striped apparel and footwear. Thom Browne argues the delay in this complaint is too long since Adidas did not object when Thom Browne debuted four stripes in its 2008 fashion show. Plus, Thom Browne says customers aren’t actually confused that the brands are the same. {WWD}
Scroll to Continue
Christian Louboutin’s lawsuit against Amazon could hold the retailer accountable for counterfeits
French shoe and accessory designer Christian Louboutin (of the iconic red-soled shoes) is taking Amazon to court. The suit alleges that the shopping giant should be liable for the sponsored posts featuring counterfeit Louboutin shoes that include the brand’s trademarked red soles. Brought forth in 2019 in Belgium and Luxembourg, the case is still being decided by E.U. courts. However, judges appeared sympathetic to Louboutin in preliminary ruling. Amazon historically hasn’t done much to stop counterfeits from being sold on its platform, which is one reason why most luxury and high-end designers have avoided it. Glossy.co found that searching “Gucci,” for example, populates results replete with counterfeits. Louboutin isn’t seeking money, but rather a change in Amazon’s ad policies that currently allow for ad hijacking. {Glossy}
Homepage Photo: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images
Want the latest fashion industry news first? Sign up for our daily newsletter.
Andrea Bossi
Source link
It was another busy year for fashion: Every other week brought another major headline, between creative director switch-ups, supermodel comebacks and viral runway moments. The industry proved it’s back in business — and louder than ever. That much was clear on the runways, on and off-schedule.
The 2022 shows began on a high note with a dazzling haute couture collection by Glenn Martens for Jean Paul Gaultier that still has people talking and Mathieu Blazy’s buzzy debut for Bottega Veneta. That momentum continued well into the fall: The Spring 2023 debuts had everything from a dress spray-painted live onto Bella Hadid to 68 sets of identical twins sent down the Gucci runway, for what would be Alessandro Michele‘s final show for the house. Then, there were the off-calendar presentations that still made a big impact, like Ralph Lauren‘s L.A. blowout and Christopher John Rogers‘ colorful resort display.
All those shocking runway moments have definitely set a precedent for 2023. Before the clock strikes 12 on 2022, relive the most memorable fashion shows of the year, superlative-style. Until next season!
Want more Fashionista? Sign up for our daily newsletter and get us directly in your inbox.
Scroll to Continue
Angela Wei
Source link
These are the stories making headlines in fashion on Wednesday.
Prabal Gurung and Aurora James are the new vice chairs of the CFDA
The Council of Fashion Designers of America has elected designers Prabal Gurung and Aurora James as vice chairs of the council. They will begin their new roles on Jan. 1, the same day that Thom Browne will assume his role of chairman. The board will consist of 18 people, who will serve six-year terms. {WWD}
Daniel Lee plans for a new Burberry
Daniel Lee, former creative director of Bottega Venetta, is set to debut his first collection as chief creative officer of Burberry on Feb. 20. Lee’s appointment to lead the British heritage brand is fitting in many ways, given his British background as well as his outstanding track record at Bottega; in 2019, he was awarded four statuettes at London’s Fashion Awards — an unprecedented achievement. In terms of the future, Lee is looking to the outdoors. “It’s not necessarily about an overcoat, but also about warmth, tactility, and coziness. And about being on the move…” he says. A first glimpse of Lee’s new Burberry can be seen in its upcoming campaign, launching in early February. {Vogue}
Scroll to Continue
Bernard Arnault dethrones Elon Musk as world’s richest man
On Tuesday, Elon Musk ended his run as the richest man in the world (for now, at least), his fortune falling just a few billion dollars below that of Bernard Arnault, CEO of luxury fashion conglomerate LVMH. (The company owns recognizable labels including Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Givenchy, Fendi and Moët.) Musk’s dethronement as richest man comes after his recent $44 billion Twitter acquisition, as well as the depreciation of Tesla stocks. {Bloomberg}
How Kendra Scott is expanding its customer base
For Elle, Kendra Scott discusses the fanbase she has built in the past 20 years with her ubiquitous jewelry line: a cult-like following among sorority girls, Midwesterners and Southerners. Now, Kendra Scott is looking to diversify its demographic, by collaborating with influencers and brands like Summersalt and Barbie, and launching a men’s collection: Scott Bros. “I’m more excited and invigorated than I feel like I’ve been in so long, because I see where we’re headed. And it’s so exciting…” says Scott. While she has personally stepped down as CEO, Scott still drives many of the brand’s big decisions and maintains the brand’s philanthropic efforts. {Elle}
Want the latest fashion industry news first? Sign up for our daily newsletter.
Angela Wei
Source link