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Raimond Berthold collaborated with the British artist Ed Fornieles to create a fantasy world and crafted a collection reminiscent of cosplay filled with archetypes of characters in their futuristic dreamland.
“Art plays a very definitive role for me,” said Berthold. “It isn’t something I grab at the start of the season for inspiration – and with the fashion calendar the way that it is right now, it felt like the right time to create work alongside an artist. To pose some real questions about what’s going on in the world. I wanted to pass the collection over to Ed [Fornieles] and allow him to reinterpret and direct how our clothes could be seen. It has been so exciting to watch him build a new context for them.”
Berthold looked at the structures of contemporary churches, which framed his focus for his collection of easy separates that were luxe, cozy and tactile done in hues of copper, marsh and black.
Highlights were soft oversize coats that were exaggerated and cocooned the wearer. There was a black snug-looking sheepskin coat while a heavyweight army green coat was constructed with a detachable hood. References of beams and the pointy window frames were seen in the geometric

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Armarium, the online destination for luxury fashion rentals and styling, returns to Los Angeles for an awards-season pop-up shop, this time linking with fine jewelry rental service Flont.
The Armarium x Flont Red Carpet Salon, located at 158 North Roberston Boulevard and open through March 9, offers one-stop shopping for dresses, gowns and evening bags by Naeem Kahn, Jason Wu, and Jimmy Choo, as well as new additions Paco Rabanne, Mary Katrantzou and Alexandre Vaulthier. L.A. pop-up exclusives include Haney and Kris Goyri.
“This is our third L.A. pop-up and our 18th to date. We have a strong client base here and we understand their event schedules,” said Armarium co-founder Trisha Gregory. “The pop-ups are great storefront visibility for onboarding new clients who may not be familiar with rentals or want to see the pieces in person. More than half our business is online, but the pop-up allows people to experience it with free alterations; it’s like a celebrity experience.”

The Armarium x Flont Red Carpet Salon in L.A. 
Natalie Obradovich

Flont, which offers monthly memberships and three-day rentals of fine jewelry from artisan designers such as Colette, Spinelli Kilcollin, Mimi So and Nina Runsdorf, plus a growing collection of vintage and signed pieces from

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With the opioid crisis in America, drugs seem to be an overriding topic of conversation among lawmakers and the public these days. And the fashion industry is no exception.
Raf Simons based his entire fall men’s collection on “Christiane F.,” a 1981 film that “depicts the realities of drug use and addiction,” according to his show notes. His line used a series of color-coded patches with letters that spoke to the “abbreviated names of narcotic substances: LSD, XTC, GHB and 2C-B.” In case the message was too obscure, a couple of deconstructed hoodies with “DRUGS” across the front in big, block letters drove home the point.
As the show notes for his Youth in Motion collection detailed: “Ultimately, ‘Youth In Motion’ seeks to neither glorify nor condone the culture(s) of drugs; rather Simons seeks instead to consider the persistent, almost ubiquitous presence of narcotics (prescribed or otherwise) within our society and acknowledge our often conflicted relationships with them.”
OK then.
But a couple of other brands had unplanned marijuana moments during their shows at New York Fashion Week: Men’s.
At the Death to Tennis show on Wednesday afternoon at Pier 59, a rapper named Smokepupp seated in the front row lit up a joint while

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DELLA VALLE NEWS: Changes continue to take place at the Tod’s Group. According to market sources, Claudio Castiglioni, global general manager, is expected to exit the company in the spring. Castiglioni previously also served as president of Tod’s USA.
In November, Tod’s revealed that chief executive officer Stefano Sincini was leaving after 33 years with the company, to be succeeded by Umberto Macchi di Cellere, previously managing director of worldwide sales for all product categories for the Bulgari brand. As reported, Bruno Frisoni is exiting the Roger Vivier label, also under the Tod’s SpA umbrella, after 16 years at the creative helm. The house also recently named Violante Avogadro di Vigliano global marketing and communications director, to a new post. Cristina Malgara, Roger Vivier’s longtime global communications director, recently left her position.
In a separate development, the group’s chairman and chief executive officer Diego Della Valle, made news in Italy for yet another of his personal investments — in the high-speed train service NTV-Italo, which became operative in 2012. On Thursday, Italo’s shareholders accepted the offer made by the American fund Global Infrastructure Partners to buy the service, which runs through some of the main Italian cities. Della Valle is the second-largest shareholder with a

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For all of its innovation and lust for “new,” fashion isn’t immune from clinging to an institution that exists for little more than the sake of it, be it air kissing, stilettos or the very idea of fashion week.
A big shakeup to the status quo came in 1998, when Helmut Lang — then one of the industry’s coolest and, naturally, most imitated young stars — decided to not only show his spring collection in New York after years showing in Paris, but to show it first — before Europe, before anyone.
He pushed his presentation up six weeks in order to do so and didn’t ask anyone to approve or come along with him, but they did. First was Calvin Klein, who had also disliked the New York shows trailing Paris, London and Milan, and jumped at the chance to move, and then Donna Karan followed.
Although Lang’s move to New York Fashion Week wasn’t permanent — and he left the industry altogether in 2005 — his gutsy or, by some accounts, egotistical move effectively created the fashion week schedule as it is today, with New York shows first.
The idea of designers going rogue with their show timing was, although talked about

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WEST COAST STORY: Converse’s love for Los Angeles continues as it revealed new collaborations with four area streetwear brands.
The Boston-based footwear firm, part of Nike Inc. and known for its Chuck Taylors and roots in sports, has been on a collaboration tear recently with links between itself and Dr. Woo, the tattoo artist famous for his single-needle work; Long Beach rapper Vince Staples; and Los Angeles brand Born x Raised. The company also more recently set out to boost its apparel offering with moves in the premium space starting in December.
The collaborations unveiled Wednesday evening continue that momentum and a desire to tap the L.A. market for new inspiration as the wave of artists, fashion brands and corporations continue to flock to the city, and downtown more specifically.
“It’s like a cultural explosion,” Matt Sleep, Converse global design director for footwear special projects, said of what’s happening within Los Angeles. “I see a certain sense of pride in different groups. They’ve grown up with sports culture, which is obviously burgeoning, and you see a lot more sport influence in fashion today. It’s a mix and proliferation of those things together and the time is really now for Los Angeles.”
The company took

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