“Here, the whole feel is this combination of color blocking with this very deep artisanal and hand-crafted element which is really the signature we want to give to Edun,” said Edun chief executive officer Julien Labat of the resort collection.
“During the trip in Ghana a lot of the artisans we had a chance to work with were telling us “please tell the people that this is from Ghana; which is why we developed the “made in ghana”phrase on the batik; then we also got really inspired by the souvenir shops over there,” Labat explained. The result, colorful Logo T-shirts and shorts that looked like they were literally from a souvenir shop but with the kind of construction found perhaps at a fashion boutique.
Edun’s collaboration with artisans was strongly reinforced by Labat this season. Knitwise, he explained, that they worked with wool farms in Madagascar to develop a unique open cable-knitted mohair, and a caftan in a bi-color plisse stitch with oversize fringe; Another particular collaboration brought about a stripe cloth weave done by traditional woodlooms by the artisans of Mariama Fashion Productions — amongst others.
“We want this Edun girl to be really modern, she cares about what she is wearing — everything

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The works of London-based Moroccan photographer Hassan Hajjaj informed Prabal Gurung’s resort collection. “He takes concepts such as globalization and immigration and questions the whole idea of race and identity,” said Gurung, who is also interested in all of those subjects, as well as the face value of Hajjaj’s photos. For example, many of his subjects are wearing polka-dot caftans.
Gurung drew on Moroccan landscapes and colors — beautiful spicy yellows and oranges — and referenced the local culture in the silhouettes and shapes. Flirtatious ruffles accentuated everything from a cotton poplin shirtdress with point d’esprit overlay to a white floral off-the-shoulder midlength dress. As for the polka dots from Hajjaj’s photos, Gurung worked them throughout a flamenco-inspired maxiskirt paired with a matching top with tiered sleeves, as well as a white chiffon flared skirt. For more minimal clients, he also included plenty of his signature sleek looks: a green camisole over a powder-blue flared skirt, a fluid paneled satin cami and matching drawstring pants, and a pink spaghetti strap bias-cut dress.
“Multiculturalism — it’s such an interesting conversation right now,” said Gurung. To that end, he didn’t leave his references only in Morocco. He also paired up with Iranian Italian jewelry designer

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At her resort presentation Ulla Johnson referred to the opening of her store as being a very influential milestone. “Opening the store brought us a lot of soul searching in terms of our DNA and who we are,” she explained. “Resort is the most important season for our retailers because it has the longest floor time. We did a really robust one this season, we opened our store so with that in mind it’s been about expanding all these new categories while pushing the things that we are known for.”
So what’s new? Johnson introduced fleece into the collection, but these are not your regular sweats. Here, a mid-length dress features corsetting details as well as a jacket version. Also new were delicate macramé pieces which Johnson referred to as future heirlooms but done in new ways — for example, a one-shoulder top featured a puffed voluminous sleeve. A group of white Victorian lace pieces or Indonesian batik pieces could also fall in that category, particularly her batik quilted jacket. Meanwhile, Johnson is exploring further things that have resonated with her customer — light suiting, patchwork prints, novelty denim, superlight swiss dot dresses and her colorful embroideries. “We are always looking to

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An under-the-sea theme coursed through Elie Saab’s resort collection, where intricately beaded gowns featured a wavy pattern and seafoam chiffon dresses evoked the transparency of water.
Known for his over-the-top glamour, Saab is trying to cater to a more casual world. Thus, there was an undercurrent of increased separates. Still, dressed down in the hands of Saab means an allover embroidered T-shirt paired with sleek crepe pants and leather jackets; most memorably a snakeskin moto.
While there was a notable effort toward strengthening daywear, Saab isn’t abandoning his glam-seeking customer, to whom he also offered his wide-lace assortment: a coral-colored halter gown featuring chiffon ruffled columns was striking.
Zac Zac Posen Resort 2018: The Zac Zac Posen collection evoked the glamour of the Twenties and Thirties.
Christian Siriano Resort 2018: The takeaway was a balance of the hard-soft, volume, textural play and clean lines.
Gabriela Hearst Resort 2018: For resort, Gabriela Hearst focused on materials while playing with color in a refined way.
Cushnie et Ochs Resort 2018: Carly Cushnie and Michelle Ochs were inspired by the idea of a celestial goddess for resort.
Michael Kors Collection Resort 2018: Michael Kors showed a resort collection with looks suited to the all the islands he loves, from Bora Bora to Manhattan.

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LIVE AND KICKING: Dior is once again relying on Bergdorf Goodman’s BG.com for a limited-run, pop-up shoe shop.
Through June 28, BG.com will be the sole online retailer selling the Dior fall 2017 footwear collection from June 7 to 28. The alignment will give Dior, which does not have e-commerce in the U.S., another way to reach shoppers.
The French luxury label has also partnered with four influencers — Camila Coelho, Yoyo Cao, Melina Matsoukas and Mia Moretti — to model the new collection and share what they most “j’adior,” aligning with the popular J’adior slingbacks the company is bringing in new colorways this season. Retail prices range from $790 to $2,290. All assets promoting the pop-up will include the girls in spaces that inspire them. Each of the four has quite a reach. The Brazilian-born Coelho alone has nearly 6.2 million followers on Instagram and 2.9 million fans on Facebook.
In three years Cao, who is better known as @yoyokulala, has established herself as one of Singapore’s most internationally recognized social media personalities. Last year, she expanded her base by starting her own collection and e-commerce site. A two-time Grammy winner, Matsoukas directs music videos, television shows and commercials, having worked with Beyoncé,

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MILAN — Rossignol Apparel has tapped Italian designer Andrea Pompilio to design a capsule collection under the Studio line for fall 2018. The collection, comprising 30 styles for men and women, will bow at Pitti Uomo and Milan Men’s Fashion Week in January.
Alessandro Locatelli, chief executive officer of Rossignol Apparel, said Pompilio was selected “for his modern vision of urban style — elegant, refined and functional. Throughout his career Andrea showed great talent and expertise in mastering the combination of style and functionality and we believe his vision embodies the spirit of our urban capsule perfectly.”
Rossignol Apparel is a subsidiary part of the Rossignol Group. The collection was first presented at Milano Moda Uomo in January 2016, combining Rossignol’s sport performance heritage with a sophisticated and yet functional view on urbanwear. Studio flanks the Skiwear performance collection and the Sport Chic resort lifestyle collection.
“I was immediately taken by Rossignol’s project as I’ve always enjoyed working for iconic brands with strong tradition and heritage,” said Pompilio. Founded 110 years ago, Rossignol fits the bill. Pompilio said this was “an exciting challenge. My objective is to project the research, innovation and functionality that are typical of the ski world in a contemporary

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A few things stood out: Is it me or is American fashion over itself? Maybe we need a pep talk. How else can one possibly explain Raf Simons winning not one but two Designer of the Year Awards, for Womenswear and Menswear, after literally one show as an American designer for his first season at Calvin Klein? One show. One single show. It was a good show, a great show even, but it was one show. Sure, the dual wins tie back nicely to the fact that Calvin Klein himself was the only other designer to take home both Trovas in the same year (in 1993). But seriously? Everyone always side-whispers that the same names are on the CFDA ballots year after year, but this time the voters put it on the record: Out with the old, in with the new. Or maybe it’s just in with the imports.
There was a big European contingent on the marquee. Pat McGrath took home the Founders Award; Franca Sozzani was honored posthumously with the Fashion Icon Award; Rick Owens, who is American but has lived, worked and shown his collections in Paris for the better part of 20 years, got the Geoffrey Beene

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Following a surge in UK retail sales last month – the by-product of this year’s relatively late Easter – retailers were brought back down to earth with a thump in May as retail sales contracted, proving inflationary pressures are having an impact on consumer spend. 

Fashion software supplier Simparel has revealed its new product lifecycle management (PLM) solution, designed to enhance design creativity and productivity and boost efficiencies.