Superstar merchandiseBeyoncé is getting into the festive mood with the launch of her new holiday merchandise collection.
Mystical styleAmerican filmmaker David Lynch has unveiled his first jewellery collection, inspired by meditation and the inner consciousness. The theme of this jewellery line — called “Meditating Eye” and created in partnership with Alex and Ani — is an eye symbol, encouraging everyone to find their inner peace. This striking symbol seems to be cropping up more and more in the world of fashion and accessories. In her first ready-to-wear collection for Dior, in September 2016, Maria Grazia Chiuri channelled mystical vibes by using tarot symbols in homage to Christian Dior. Tarot card imagery — such as The Lovers and The Hanged Man — was featured on the delicate fabrics of dresses, creating a poetic and romantic effect. A few months later, for spring/summer 2017 haute couture, the designer used celestial bodies and zodiac signs in her collection. These strong symbols made a lasting impression and seemed to have given rise to a trend. Recently, luxury footwear brand Stuart Weitzman presented a second collaboration with Gigi Hadid. The capsule includes several pairs of flat mules, named “Eyelove” and “Eyelovemore”, with a mysterious, even mystical theme, with each pair of shoes featuring an evil eye motif. “The evil eye is a powerful symbol meant to protect those who wear it from negative energies,” explains the American model. “It’s emotionally comforting and beautiful and captivating to look at.”
The cult designers remaking luxuryTo understand how Carol Lim and Humberto Leon have made Kenzo SA, a Paris-based luxury brand, into a popular phenomenon, you need to know that neither is a trained designer. “We were both really avid readers of magazines” as teenagers, Lim says. “As we listened to our favourite bands, we would see what they were wearing, where they would go eat.” They have used this voracious sensibility to build an utterly hip retail empire out of a brand that until about six years ago was known only to fashion’s most inside insiders — and in the process opened the stuffy world of high fashion to young, streetwise consumers. Both grew up in Los Angeles as first-generation Americans — Lim’s family is from South Korea, Leon’s from China and Peru. They met as undergraduates at UC Berkeley and have been professional partners since. Their first project was Opening Ceremony, the cult boutique started in 2002 by gathering together items from a variety of designers. It soon expanded to seven influential stores in New York, Los Angeles and Tokyo. In 2011, luxury conglomerate LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE hired the duo to lead Kenzo, then known for elegant pieces in fine fabrics and mixed prints. The label’s corporate parents were initially sceptical when Lim and Leon included Kenzo logo sweatshirts in their first collection. Since then, the average age of the Kenzo customer has dropped from over 50 to under 30, and the brand is adding 22 stores this year, including ones in Paris, Seoul and Madrid, with further expansions across Asia and Europe planned for next year. Lim and Leon may not have had fashion training, but they are deeply involved in Kenzo’s design process. “We explore ideas by drawing and draping, and I work with my design team to push silhouettes, shapes and lines,” Leon says. “It’s a lengthy process from start to finish,” often ending in some kind of collaborative project with a filmmaker, avant-garde artist or musician to bring the collections to life. Says Eva Chen, head of fashion partnerships at Instagram: “They add an element of surprise and delight to everything they do, which is fantastic.” Above all, they are committed to resisting fashion’s exclusive side. “We have always felt that clothing should be democratic,” Leon says. “We feel that you can have an expressive fashion show and find a piece that you can wear to a barbecue or a family reunion. It’s just the way we think.” Lim says: “We’re constantly looking to see how we can differentiate ourselves in a way that will surprise and delight and resonate and stay with you.” And make you want to buy clothes. — Bloomberg LP This article appeared in Issue 808 (Dec 4) of The Edge Singapore.
