SEOUL — Chanel’s first flagship in South Korea was a bustling beehive on Thursday, as the new space in Apgujeong officially opened its doors for the first time to welcome Pharrell Williams and the debut of his much-awaited capsule with the luxury house.
The musician, known for pushing the borders of fashion’s gender norms, joined Jennie Kim from Blackpink and rapper Jay Park, in reveling to see the collection on the shop floor for the first time, which South Korea gets access to a full week before the rest of the globe.
“They’ve given me so much,” Pharrell told WWD. “They [Chanel] continue to put their arms around me and open their doors. I know that this opportunity has never been afforded to anyone else, and I just want to say how grateful I am.”
While there had been press speculation that this could be the French luxury house’s way of testing the market for men’s wear, the musician laughed the suggestion off easily.
“It’s not, it’s unisex,” he said, while wearing a pair of red sunglasses of his own design.
Chanel’s president of fashion Bruno Pavlovsky was equally emphatic in his directive not to overanalyze this capsule line.
“We have not decided that we want

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It was a very Los Angeles affair Wednesday night, when H&M celebrated the release of its spring Conscious Exclusive Collection with singing bowl players and crystal readings at a Laurel Canyon treehouse party with the city blanketed below.
It made for the perfect earthy-elegant backdrop for the fast-fashion brand’s latest sustainable collection, hitting stores April 11, with prices from $349 for a sequin dress to $25 for a pair of earrings.
Dakota Fanning, Rowan Blanchard, Irina Shayk, Halima Aden, Amber Valletta and more came out to support — and model — H&M’s ninth collection experimenting with new sustainable materials and processes on elevated fashion pieces such as a glam rock jacket and cowboy boots patchworked with a leather alternative extracted from pineapple leaves, metallic jacquard dresses made from orange fibers that are a byproduct of the juice industry, and leopard-pattern pool slides from a flexible foam made using algae biomass.

Abigail Spencer, Irina Shayk, Alek Wek, Camila Morrone, Ann-Sofie Johansson, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Dakota Fanning, Amber Valletta and Halima Aden. 
Billy Farrell/BFA.com

“Our vision is to lead the change toward circular and renewable fashion while being a fair and equitable company,” said H&M creative adviser Ann-Sofie Johansson, touting the company goals of using 100 percent sustainable

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THINKING PINK: In her 50th anniversary year Dame Zandra Rhodes will become a lifetime patron of the Graduate Fashion Week Foundation, the charity that promotes B.A. level fashion students with an annual week of catwalk shows and events in London.
The next Graduate Fashion Week will take place from June 2 to 5 at The Old Truman Brewery, and the event will culminate on June 5 with the gala awards show.
Rhodes’ new role for the Graduate Fashion Foundation will include being a judge for the week as well as drumming up support for the charity. She will also offer career mentoring. “I think it is a very important cause, supporting upcoming talent across the U.K. and internationally. U.K. colleges are the best in the world and graduates and U.K. talent need this visibility which the charity offers.”
Rhodes is the seventh lifetime patron of the charity, joining Christopher Bailey, Victoria Beckham, Vivienne Westwood and Nick Knight, who were appointed in 2016, when the charity marked its 25 years in business. Diane von Furstenberg and Nadja Swarovski were appointed in 2018.
Martyn Roberts, managing director of Graduate Fashion Week, said Rhodes’ work “has had a huge influence on fashion and British culture over her long-spanning

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TALENTS GO ONLINE: Altaroma has kicked off a partnership with Alibaba Group.
Developed through the group’s AliExpress e-commerce platform, the initiative is aimed at supporting young designers who have showcased their fashion and accessories collections at the Rome haute couture fashion event. AliExpress will sell the collections online to the 243 countries where the platform is available.
“This partnership with AliExpress – which might see new and interesting projects bowing as early as the [Altaroma] upcoming July edition — strengthens the role of Altaroma as a partner in the international expansion of young talents,” said Altaroma general manager Adriano Franchi.
Celebrated with a runway show and event called Mod@ in Italy–AliExpress Italian Fashion Night hosted at Rome’s Terme di Diocleziano historical venue on Tuesday, the project involves designers Martina Cella, Italo Marseglia, Leo studio design, Caterina Moro and Yezael by Angelo Cruciani.
Accessories labels 011 Eyewear, Adelaide C, Co.Ro, Laura Corner, Michele Chiocciolini and Matteo Maiorano also showcased their collections during the event to mark the project’s kick-off. A special high-tech tool called Magic Mirror installed during the event allowed guests to virtually try clothes on.
“Through this initiative, which integrates the success of the ‘Showcase’ project, our new young designers will have an additional

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The buy-buy-buy spirit of home shopping may feel a little numbing to viewers, but Isaac Mizrahi is about to offer his QVC audience a reason to get off the couch — a New Balance collaboration.
Just don’t expect the designer to be spewing tips about the keto diet, TRX training or burpees, when he officially launches the New Balance x Isaac Mizarhi Live! collection. A natural performer, Mizrahi has done a one-man cabaret, “Project Runway: All Stars,” an annual narrative for “Peter and the Wolf,” and has just released his memoir “I.M.” with Flatiron Books. Some of that on-stage sheen has come from nearly 10 years of air time, selling on QVC.
“People tell me, ‘Oh my God, you’re such a good salesman. I just show up and I talk about the product, which I really like. By the way, I’m not talking about ballgowns or about ironic twists on whatever. I’m just talking about these clothes that I think are well-thought through, and valuable because of how great they wear, how long they last and what they mean in a closet, as opposed to other stuff that’s so puzzling. It’s really straightforward,” he said. “That’s what I do. I just show

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“Not a doubt,” the legendary hotelier says.

On a test-drive in Germany, the cutting-edge sedan with classic aesthetics had us coveting a chauffeur.

The new 164-foot superyacht is a portrait of simplicity, elegance and open space.

The build time was 3,000 hours—about nine times longer than it takes to make a real Senna.

Props to Porsche for turning this tragedy around.