EXCLUSIVE: Karl Lagerfeld Taps Carine Roitfeld for His Brand

EXCLUSIVE: Karl Lagerfeld Taps Carine Roitfeld for His Brand

When Karl Lagerfeld ignited designer collaborations and the “masstige” phenomenon in 2004 with his one-off collection for H&M, he had a secret collaborator with a silhouette as well-known and emphatic as his own: Carine Roitfeld.
Now he has invited the fashion editor and stylist — known for her pencil skirts, taut sweaters and killer heels — to become an ongoing collaborator at his signature fashion house, WWD has learned.
Their new partnership is to kick off in September with The Edit by Carine Roitfeld, her selection of “essential pieces” from the designer’s fall 2019 collection.
“The collaboration will further evolve with additional projects to be announced later this year,” the Lagerfeld house said, divulging the development exclusively to WWD and calling Roitfeld an “integral contributor to the Karl Lagerfeld brand.”
Since repositioning his signature fashion house in the masstige zone in 2010, the brand has expanded rapidly to more than 100 freestanding stores worldwide, plus online sales in 96 countries.
A pioneer in freewheeling collaborations throughout his long fashion career, Lagerfeld only recently began inviting outside contributors to his brand. Most recently, Cindy Crawford’s 16-year-old daughter and doppelgänger Kaia Gerber signed a capsule collection for fall 2018 retailing. Last year, Lagerfeld also did a capsule collection with Sébastien

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31.01.2019No comments
EXCLUSIVE: Cara Delevingne Goes Nude for Balmain Campaign

BARING IT ALL: Olivier Rousteing has chosen Cara Delevingne to be the face — and body — of the Balmain spring 2019 campaign, the brand announced on Wednesday.
The British model and actress, who opened the Balmain spring 2019 show in Paris last October, strikes a pose for two daring images shot in black-and-white by Berlin-based photographer Dan Beleiu.
In one of them, Delevingne and Rousteing pose topless. The designer is depicted standing behind Delevingne, his hands covering her breasts. “It references all the iconic album covers of the Nineties, which were big pop culture moments of our childhood,” Rousteing, who was born in 1985, told WWD (Delevingne was born in 1992.)
“The campaign shows the reunion of two skin tones, one black — or mixed race — and one white,” explained the designer. “Choosing to pose naked was all about authenticity. We’re going back to basics: I wanted something pure and transparent.”

Cara Delevingne fronts the Balmain spring 2019 campaign. 
Dan Beleiu

In the other image, the actress is seen entirely naked, reclining in front of a huge B, the logo initially created by Pierre Balmain and relaunched at the end of 2018 as part of the brand’s new identity.
The designer admits it was quite a

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International Talent Support to Unveil New HQ

ITS, A NEW HOUSE: Italy’s International Talent Support design contest — also known as ITS — has found a new home.
Named ITS Arcademy, the new space will house the organization’s headquarters and offices, as well as the remarkable ITS Creative Archive, which features outfits, accessories and talents’ portfolios, gathered from the talent scouting contest’s past 16 editions.
The archive, which features items from Balenciaga’s Demna Gvasalia, Mark Fast, Peter Pilotto and Richard Quinn, among other designers, currently occupies a small attic inside an 18th-century palazzo in the center of Trieste, Italy, where ITS is based.
In addition, ITS Arcademy — a name merging archive and academy — will host workshops, educational and training activities involving former finalists, winners and jurors.
“The talents we bring to Trieste will be coming back as accomplished professionals to share the depths of their soul in a land that has always been, historically, a place for exchanging and sharing. New talents, new professionals will be allowed to blossom, nurturing the sensibility and receptiveness of this territory,” explained ITS founder and director Barbara Franchin, who had already hinted at the project last June during the 2018 edition of the contest.
Housed inside the building occupied by Fondazione CRTrieste — a local institution

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Kate Spade’s Niece, Actress Rachel Brosnahan, to Appear in Frances Valentine Spring Campaign

Rachel Brosnahan, the award-winning star of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” will appear in the Frances Valentine spring campaign.
Brosnahan is the niece of the late Kate Spade, who died last June at the age of 55.
Brosnahan revealed the news on the “Today” show this morning, telling Hoda Kotb, “I think when you lose someone you love very, very much, you spend a lot of time trying to think about how to keep their spirit alive. I think in Katy’s case, there is so much of her left behind, and this was an opportunity for us to celebrate her life and her legacy.”
Designer Kate Spade launched Frances Valentine in 2016 with her husband, Andy, naming it after their 13-year-old daughter, Frances Beatrix. It is currently designed by the label’s chief executive officer Elyce Arons. The collection features vintage-inspired and colorful handbags.
In one of the campaign images, Brosnahan is photographed holding a square yellow satchel called the “Midge,” named after her character on “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” It was released in 2017 before Spade’s death.
The 28-year-old actress has won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 2018 and two consecutive Golden Globe Awards for Best Actress-Television Series

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Salvatore Ferragamo, Versace, Etro to Change Show Venues

MARK YOUR CALENDARS: Come Milan Fashion Week, fashion editors had better double check their invitations to avoid logistical snafus.
After 12 years showing at Palazzo Mezzanotte, home to the Milan Stock Exchange, Salvatore Ferragamo is changing location, confirming a WWD scoop on Tuesday. The Florence-based brand will hold its fall 2019 coed runway show at the Rotonda della Besana on Feb. 23.
The late Baroque Rotonda comprises the 18th-century church of San Michele ai Nuovi Sepolcri, surrounded by a circular portico and surmounted by a central octagonal cupola. A storied symbol of the city, it has been a popular venue over the years, with brands including Alberta Ferretti, Les Hommes and Corneliani showing there. It was the site of Marni Flower Market.
On Feb. 22, the Bourse doors will open for Versace for the first time — after all, its owner Capri Holdings is publicly listed in New York.
Paul Andrew, Ferragamo’s women’s creative director, said he was drawn to the Rotonda because of the sense of “profound intimacy it infuses. We were looking for a location that would have a more classic and historical connotation, but that at the same time would be a dynamic point of reference for the city. In addition, its circularity

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Francesca Bellettini Receives France’s Legion of Honor

NOUVELLE PARISIENNE: “You have become a symbol of the Parisienne,” Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo declared on Tuesday before making Francesca Bellettini, chief executive officer of Yves Saint Laurent, a Knight of the Legion of Honor, France’s highest civilian distinction.
The Italian executive, who took over the Kering-owned brand in 2013 and has since overseen a tripling of its sales, was joined by family, colleagues and members of the Saint Laurent galaxy at the ceremony held in a gilded reception room at Paris City Hall.
Among them were billionaire François Pinault and his son François-Henri Pinault, chairman and ceo of Kering; Saint Laurent creative director Anthony Vaccarello; Betty Catroux, the late couturier’s longtime muse; Madison Cox, president of the Fondation Pierre Bergé-Yves Saint Laurent, and Jean-Paul Agon, ceo of L’Oréal, which holds the beauty license for Saint Laurent.
Also present were Marco Bizzarri, president and ceo of Gucci, with whom Bellettini worked at Bottega Veneta; Cédric Charbit, ceo of Balenciaga, and Emmanuel Gintzburger, ceo of Alexander McQueen — both of whom previously worked under Bellettini at Saint Laurent.
Surprising the audience, Hidalgo revealed that Paris would soon have a Promenade Yves Saint Laurent adjacent to Avenue de Breteuil, where the designer had an apartment.
She retraced

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