A LAUGHING STOCK: Band of Outsiders’ spring collection was hilarious — literally.
In keeping with the brand’s tongue-in-cheek character, design duo Daniel Hettmann and Angelo Van Mol staged their presentation at London’s Top Secret Comedy Club on Sunday night. “We asked ourselves what we could do instead of a classic show, and since comedy is very close to the brand’s DNA, we thought this is it,” said Hettmann, explaining how he spent two months club hopping through the city, scouting fresh talent for the label’s own “comedy show.”
On stage, Joe Sutherland, Elliot Steel, Alistair Williams and Mo Gilligan aka Mo The Comedian each sported an outfit from the collection, while taking delicious stabs at the world of fashion and its droll inhabitants. “I’m not a stranger to fashion myself,” punned Sutherland, “I’m a former model-turned-aspiring model. And now look at me. Oh, please, please look at me,” he begged, clinging closer to the mic, before conceding there was no point. “I stopped — because they asked me to,” but also because apparently he was too old for the job. “I’ll be 35 — in seven years,” he informed the crowd to roaring laughter.
Meanwhile, the value chains took a hit from Williams.

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A professed fashion lover, Kristi Henderson, director of special projects and partnerships at Planned  Parenthood Federation of America, is also a cofounder of the Women in Entertainment Empowerment Network.
Henderson relocated to Los Angeles in April and telecommutes to Planned Parenthood’s national headquarters in Washington, D.C., and media headquarters in New York. Earlier she worked out of both those offices. “With every project and campaign I worked on, I kind of lived in the cloud,” said the 40-year-old Henderson. “I spent so much time in L.A. with the entertainment and influencer work, it didn’t make sense to incur the expense of living in New York.”
Henderson has been with Planned Parenthood for five years in a full-time capacity. She is responsible for celebrity and influencer engagement, specifically as it relates to communities of color and young people. She also works with brand partnerships, such as those with BET, American Black Film Festival and Essence Festival.
WWD: How do you dress now for work versus 10-15 years ago?
Kristi Henderson:  I started with Weber Shandwick, a huge PR firm in New York, and clients were Microsoft, American Airlines and Ocean Spray. Not to date myself, that was the time of full suit and stockings and

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MILAN — To be or not to be? That is the question surrounding the Donatella Versace-Riccardo Tisci match. Sources say the deal has hit a snag and it may not materialize after all.
One source said Tisci has signed the contract that would see him join the Italian company and that a floor at Versace’s Milan headquarters has been cleared for him. The source said that at least one designer from his staff is already in place at the location.
But now other sources said the talks have hit a glitch and may have broken down altogether. It is understood that The Blackstone Group, which bought a 20 percent stake in the Versace company in 2014, pushed to finalize the deal. It is unclear whether Tisci has a non-compete agreement following his departure from Givenchy in January.
As it has over the past few months, the Versace company continued not to comment on rumors or speculation.
WWD broke the news on Jan. 19 that Versace was eyeing Tisci, who has long expressed his admiration for the work of the late Gianni Versace and cultivated a close friendship with his sister, Donatella, whom he invited to pose in a Givenchy ad campaign in 2015. Tisci’s exit from Givenchy

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LONDON — As if the stress of putting together a fashion show wasn’t enough, this season designers also had to cast their votes in a snap — and divisive — general election the day before London Fashion Week Men’s began.
Despite the surprise result — a weakened Conservative Party, a hung parliament and a humiliated prime minister who was left scrambling to make a deal with Northern Ireland’s right-wing Democratic Unionist Party — many designers chose to focus on the positive.
“The youth turnout was awesome. We have hope, we are engaging in politics, and voting for a 68-year-old man, a great guy,” said Phoebe English, referring to Jeremy Corbyn, the  leader of the Labour Party, which gained 32 seats in the election.
Speaking on the sidelines of her presentation on Friday, where models dressed in workwear-inspired clothing played with lumps of clay, English said her generation doesn’t want “robots, spin doctors, or politicians. We want human beings. I must have cried four times this morning, because people are using their voices to say they want change.”

Phoebe English’s men’s spring 2018 presentation. 
Courtesy Photo

Although the official numbers won’t be published until later this week, an ITV poll reported that 72 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds voted, compared

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The experts at John Lobb decode what to expect when ordering your first pair of bespoke shoes.

Tom Cruise was no match for Wonder Woman.

Warner Bros.’ “Wonder Woman” wrapped up Cruise’s “The Mummy” at the weekend box office, pulling in an estimated $57.2 million in North American theaters, according to studio estimates Sunday. Universal’s “The Mummy” looked its age, selling a relatively feeble $32.2 million in tickets in its debut weekend.

That couldn’t compete with “Wonder Woman” in its second weekend. The Gal Gadot superhero film, directed by Patty Jenkins, has quickly earned $205 million domestically in two weeks.

The poor North American opening for “The Mummy,” which cost an estimated $125 million to produce, meant a weak start for Universal’s ballyhooed “Dark Universe.”

“The Mummy” is intended to launch a new Marvel-style connected franchise that resurrects many of the famous monster characters — including Frankenstein, Dracula and The Invisible Man — from the studio’s vaults.

Universal could still point to strong ticket sales internationally, where “The Mummy” grossed $141.8 million in 63 territories, including $52.2 million in China. According to Universal, it’s the biggest worldwide opening for Cruise. His star power now shines brightest overseas, where audiences have been more forgiving of the actor’s baggage.

But critics slammed the film, directed by Alex Kurtzman; it has a dismal 17 percent “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences agreed, giving “The Mummy” a B-minus CinemaScore.

Universal distribution executives trumpeted the film’s international performance while acknowledging the North American gross left something to be desired. But should there be any doubt, it’s still full-steam ahead for the Dark Universe. Johnny Depp is already signed up to play the Invisible Man, as is Javier Bardem to play Frankenstein’s Monster. “Beauty and the Beast” director Bill Condon is set to helm “Bride of Frankenstein.”

Duncan Clark, president of international distribution for Universal, played down the connective tissue between “The Mummy” and future Dark Universe releases.

“The array of titles available for us and the talent we have coming on board for the ones coming up, they all have to operate as an individual title,” said Clark. “We’re looking forward to Bill Condon’s movie. We’re looking forward to any number of the ones in the group. I don’t think one can look at any one film that has an influence on the 10 that we could possibly do.”

Universal has grown enormous franchises from humble beginnings before, most notably with the now dominant and never-ending “Fast and the Furious” movies. The success of “Wonder Woman” — now with $435 million globally — also points to a studio (Warner Bros.) pivoting after a poor response to previous DC Comics releases (“Suicide Squad,” ”Batman v. Superman”).

Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for comScore, said “The Mummy” opening showed the challenge of launching a franchise with North American audiences, who are more deterred by bad reviews.

“The Dark Universe has to start somewhere,” said Dergarabedian. “It’s worth pursuing because the creative possibilities are endless. Lessons are learned from every movie. I don’t think this debut in North America should deter them from moving forward.”

Writer-director Trey Edward Shults’ “It Comes at Night” aimed for more discerning horror fans. His thriller, one of the widest openings yet for “Moonlight” distributor A24, sold a modest $6 million in tickets. That was less than most analysts expected for the well-reviewed film, starring Joel Edgerton. But “It Comes at Night” also only cost $5 million to make.

The box-office reign of “Wonder Woman” is all but certain to end next weekend when Pixar’s “Cars 3” opens.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to comScore. Where available, the latest international numbers also are included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

1. “Wonder Woman,” $57.2 million ($58.1 million international).

2. “The Mummy,” $32.2 million ($141.8 million international).

3. “Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie,” $12.3 million ($1.7 million international).

4. “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” $10.7 million ($34.8 million international).

5. “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” $6.2 million ($2.2 million international).

6. “It Comes at Night,” $6 million.

7. “Baywatch,” $4.6 million ($10.7 million international).

8. “Megan Leavey,” $3.8 million.

9. “Alien: Covenant,” $1.8 million ($1.6 million international).

10. “Everything, Everything,” $1.6 million.

Homebuying in Tustin in 2017’s first three months could not keep pace with the countywide sales pace.

How did the local residential real estate market start the year? Using CoreLogic data, we compared homebuying patterns from January to March from this year and 2016.

Sales in Tustin rose as 238 residences sold in the past 12 months vs. 215 a year ago.

That’s a gain of 11 percent vs. a 3.5 percent gain countywide.

Neighborhood trends in Tustin from the report:

Tustin ZIP code 92780 — 113 homes sold in the latest period vs. 100 one year ago. That’s a sales gain of 13 percent. Median selling price of $537,500 vs. $ 482,500 last year, a gain of 11.4 percent.

Tustin ZIP 92782 — 125 homes sold in the latest period vs. 115 one year ago. That’s a sales gain of 8.7 percent. Median of $755,000 vs. $ 740,000 last year, a gain of 2 percent.

And here are four countywide trends to ponder in the period vs. 2016:

1. By neighborhood, prices rose in 66 of 83 Orange County ZIP codes; sales rose in 50 ZIPs.

2. In the 27 least expensive ZIPs — where the highest median home price was $588,000 — 2,423 homes sold, up 5 percent. Sales rose in 70 percent of these ZIPs.

3. In the 27 priciest ZIPs — where the medians start at $742,000 — 2,630 homes sold, up 7.2 percent. Sales rose in 59 percent of these ZIPs.

4. Million-dollar ZIPs: 9 with 551 sales, up 13 percent vs. 10 million-dollar ZIPs a year ago.

The supergroup Hudson, with guitarist John Scofield, offered tantalizing glimpses Saturday of transcendent jazz – that combination of mastery, interaction and inspiration that marks the music’s milestones and provides a measure of its ongoing vitality.

The late afternoon segment of the 39th Playboy Jazz Festival at the Hollywood Bowl included plenty of fun, skillful performers spanning a range of the jazz spectrum and beyond. Trumpeter Arturo Sandoval, headliner Marcus Miller, vibraphonist Stefan Harris, the infectious California Honeydrops and others turned in solid performances with moments of soaring artistry.

But those acts create and perform within well-defined musical boundaries. The forms, styles and interplay are predictable.

Scofield and the rest of the quartet calling itself Hudson – the four veterans all live in the Hudson River Valley – are a different kettle of fish.

Drummer Jack DeJohnette and keyboardist John Medeski have careers threaded with wide-open musical strategies in which structure ranges from malleable to spontaneously evolving.

Over the past decade, Scofield has demonstrated his comfort and rousing facility in such uncharted waters – particularly in collaboration with Medeski’s best-known project, Medeski Martin & Wood. Upright bassist Larry Grenadier, a first-call bassist and longtime member of Brad Mehldau’s trio, also has a history of fly-by-the-seat fluency.

The result is art taking shape before your eyes and ears. When the chemistry and camaraderie and stars align, it’s like seeing time-lapse photography of the life of a flowering plant for the first time.

Take the opening tune, a take on Jimi Hendrix’s “Wait Until Tomorrow” that was both immediately identifiable and a natural, distinctive vehicle for the group.

After stating the theme with a funky, in-the-pocket groove and several outré asides, Scofield launched into a pungent, strutting improvisation that offered little trace of musical influences. Working without his usual arsenal of pedals, he displayed his ability to coax a vast arrangement of sounds from his black Ibanez six string.

Medeski, on a Fender Rhodes electric piano, offered now-pushing, now-pulling accompaniment over the slightly off-kilter bass-and-drums backing before launching into his own flight. It was a spiky, interstellar journey that began with obvious nods to Chick Corea’s playing with Miles Davis before subsuming that history into his predictably unpredictable musical voice.

The 45-minute set continued with a mix of originals and circa-1970 rock covers, including a moving and gentle – and nonetheless adventurous – take on Joni Mitchell’s “Woodstock.”  Despite the stylistic range of material – including a couple of vocals by DeJohnette – the personalities of the individuals and of the unit overall brought a cohesiveness to the outing.

But the peak moments came and went, often within a phrase or two, a bit of an unsettled confab that felt short-circuited at times. They would hit a moment of lift-off and then it would flare out.

Of course, that’s a hazard of the no-safety-net approach. The question is whether the gig was a victim of the relatively short set and tight scheduling, or perhaps the relatively new association of the four together in one group.

A similarly promising collaboration a few years ago among DeJohnette, Scofield and organist Larry Goldings – dubbed Trio Beyond – never lived up to its potential. On the other hand, the Medeski Scofield Martin & Wood congregation has repeatedly displayed an incredible level of spontaneous artistry in its periodic efforts over the past 25 years.

Here’s hoping the latter is the case with Hudson.

39th Playboy Jazz Festival

Where: Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles

When: June 10

Featherweight boxer Daniel Franco of Rancho Cucamonga on Saturday night sustained severe head injuries during his eighth-round knockout loss to Jose Haro at WinnaVegas Casino in Sloan, Iowa.
Franco, 25, after the bout was transported to a nearby hospital where he underwent emergency surgery to repair two brain bleeds, according to a statement released by Roc Nation Sports.
“At this point the doctors have told us the next 48 hours will be critical in regards to him making a complete recovery,” Franco’s manager Ray Chaparro said. “We ask for prayers from the boxing community at this time.”
Franco is 16-2-3 with 11 knockouts.

A week into the first leg of their tour Saturday night, Enrique Iglesias and Pitbull electrified the Staples Center audience with back-to-back sets that made it difficult to spend any time sitting. For those lucky enough to land a ticket, precision production, stellar musicianship and positivity channeled through pop singles ensured that the price of admission was money well spent.

For a little more than an hour, Pitbull proved relentless with a barrage of hits that kept the entire arena moving. Transitioning from club staples like the Lil Jon collaboration “The Anthem” into an instrumental of Celia Cruz’s “La Vida Es Un Carnaval,” Mr. Worldwide showed that his ability to play to his fans was as impressive as his skill at rocking a party. He asserted the style and flair that has become his signature with selections like the Harry Belafonte-sampled “Shake Senora” and “Bon, Bon.”

Flexing his charisma between songs, Pitbull reminded the crowd, “This is the United States, not the divided states,” and implored the arena to disregard the negativity that seems so prevalent in the media. Encouraging his followers to “lose their minds” if for only a night, Pitbull took on tracks like “Hotel Room Service” and “Fireball” with the kind of spectacle that could make fans forget their day-to-day troubles.

He added some context to his career between myriad hits that made the tunes especially meaningful. Before tackling a medley of his older material, Mr. 305 explained, “If you don’t know where you come from, you don’t know where you are going.” He also thanked fans for still wanting to hear his older material. Diving into “Shake,” “Culo” and “I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho),” he left the audience dizzy.

Pitbull finished with what he called his favorite record to perform live, “Give Me Everything.” Judging by the roar of the fans, he’s in no danger of losing his place at the top of the heap.

Emerging from underneath the arena floor and onto a catwalk positioned in the middle of the arena, Enrique Iglesias made sure there was no lull in the evening’s energy. He opened with his latest, the Reggaeton-influenced “Subeme La Radio,” which, combined with the pageantry of his top-notch stage production, left the fans in awe. Getting a bit risqué, he followed up with “I’m a Freak” and rounded out his opening combination with “Duele El Corazon,” during which he bounced from the arena floor, taking selfies with fans, to the drum riser with sticks in hand. The atmosphere transformed a pop concert into an arena-size celebration, with Iglesias as master of ceremonies.

Iglesias pulled out a bit of theatrics by taking the entire show to the middle of the arena floor. With band in tow, he set up on a satellite stage that added a feeling of intimacy for acoustic renditions of “Loco” and “Cuando Me Enamoro,” leaving his fans weak in the knees. Performing with the kind of vigor that would suggest this was his first time at Staples, Iglesias later confided, “I have been playing this place since 2002 and I still get … nervous.”

Naturally, his pop essentials proved to be his most effective. Selections like “Bailamos,” “Escape” and “Be With You” would have been enough to anchor a successful evening on their own, but with an encore that included a stirring rendition of “Hero” and the turbocharged Pitbull collaboration “I Like It,” Iglesias demonstrated why, after 20-plus years, he continues to be relevant among the ranks of pop music.

Enrique Iglesias and Pitbull

Where: Staples Center, Los Angeles

When: June 10