It’s only been two weeks since Edward Enninful’s departure from Vogue became effective, but there are those who have already found him a new position at iD. Last week its last director, Alastair McKimm, announced via Instagram that he was abandoning the ship of the which Karlie Kloss now owns, and the possibility of Enninful taking her chair is far-fetched, but not that far-fetched. The editor began his career in that same publication and independent magazines (read independent in quotes) are more benevolent than those belonging to large publishing groups when it comes to their workers collaborating through large contracts with other companies.
When Enninful announced that she was leaving British Vogue, that was one of the reasons given for the decision (the other was Anna Wintour). Those types of parallel collaborations are the only real means to get rich in this sector. There are other topics of conversation that the industry is busy holding these days.
You know that thing about how the important thing is not that they speak well, but simply that they speak? The shows are usually yesterday’s news as soon as the music turns off, but for some reason these days people are still talking about Daniel Lee’s third collection for Burberry, presented on Monday. The comment is that the creative director was abruptly fired after the event, and is motivated in part, I imagine, because things are not perceived the same when they are in front of them as when they are seen through a screen. It’s a good collection. What is not good because it is not logical is continuing to expect Lee to do with the British house what he did with Bottega Veneta.
This industry, which lives by selling things as if they were new, is too accustomed to its systems. That explains why some have spent more time talking about the announcement that the next Y/Project show will not be held in Paris than about what its creator Glenn Martens, who is also creative director of Diesel, did this week in Milan for the signing of the OTB group.
Skipping a season attributing it to “uncertain times” should not be interpreted as a catastrophe – perhaps it is rather a sign of sensitivity – nor be more relevant than giving live access to everyone with time and interest to the ins and outs of the brand (workshop , backstage, etc.) during the 72 hours prior to the parade, and project the faces of a thousand of those spectators on the screens during the show. Martens has achieved something as important as selling his Diesel collections: he has made the brand and its fans a true community.
More rumors: the possible signing of Alessandro Michele (ex Gucci) as creative director of Bulgari is gaining strength and there is speculation that Stefano Pilati will occupy the same position at Lanvin. Although the second would be a dream, only the first sounds plausible.
Luxury fashion is a form of entertainment for the majority who cannot afford it, and for that reason LVMH presented on Thursday the 22nd Montaigne, its new division to convert its more than 70 brands into films, series and audio productions in collaboration with the consulting firm Superconnector Studios. What are we gonna see? Something similar to The New Look (AppleTV) and content similar to what celebrities who have produced their own documentaries have offered us.
It is not the first group that has been able to see the richness of the audiovisual industry. At the end of last year, Kering acquired, through Groupe Artémis, the Pinault family office that owns 40% of the conglomerate, the prestigious talent representation firm Creative Artists Agency (CAA). At the time, there was speculation that CAA’s client portfolio, which includes Zendaya, Brad Pitt and Salma Hayek (François-Henri Pinault’s wife) among others, could give priority to image contracts with the firms. from Kering, but it is unlikely that they will miss the opportunity to collaborate with other houses such as Prada, Chanel or the brands of the LVMH group, which in 2023 allocated 20,768 million euros to marketing and sales expenses. That’s ten billion more than Kering’s profit the same year, 19.6 billion.
And speaking of entertainment at the expense of the fashion industry: Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway and Emily Blunt, stars of The Devil Wears Prada (2006), will reunite 18 years later at the SAG Awards taking place tonight in Los Angeles . Hopefully some sight of Prada.
It serves as an excuse to end with a recent rumor that I have decided to believe at face value. Remember when Selena Gomez clarified in an Instagram comment that what she was telling Taylor Swift and Keleigh Teller at the Golden Globes was that she found out two coworkers were dating? Meryl Streep and Martin Short, co-stars of Only Murders in the Building, have been photographed after sharing dinner in New York this week.
