Fendi collaborates with K-Way on versatile outerwear just as Maria Grazia Chiuri taps a Roman artist for Dior’s newest toile loungewear
Words by ELIZABETH VARNELL
Interior Monologues Inspire Dior’s New Loungewear Capsule
Dior creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri is contemplating the art of living at home, devising the house’s first capsule collection devoted entirely to loungewear. Calling the line Dior Chez Moi, she tapped Roman artist Pietro Ruffo to redesign zodiac motifs into a world map embellished with images of the commonalities we all share. Whether sheltering at home or spending a weekend in, Ruffo’s drawings of sky and earth, continents and constellations, flora and fauna depict the ways in which we’re all linked inextricably together, even in solitude. His version of toile de Jouy, a hallmark of the French house, appears on bathrobes, pajamas, slides and ponchos — all precisely tailored and ready to layer atop bikinis, shorts and bralettes for a quick trip to the grocery store, or another hour spent beneath zodiac-emblazoned wool blankets watching The Undoing.
SMR Days Proposes an Endless Summer Wardrobe
New menswear line SMR Days just made decamping to sun-drenched deserts and wind-swept beaches a quicker, and far more polished, affair. The brainchild of New Orleans-raised Adam Shapiro; Cape Town native Dan May; and Guatam Rajani, who grew up in Mumbai — locales steeped in varying degrees of heat — the line’s tailored trousers, tunics, shorts, shirts and even lightweight jackets are equally suited to driving along the PCH or a trip to the desert. To wit, Venice-based Bernard Fouquet (father of hatmaker Nick) and waterman Luke Stedman don the launch collection for the brand’s lookbooks.
Relaxed yet polished designs tap elements of Indian artisanal techniques including kantha embroideries reinterpreted on patterned cotton-jacquard drawstring shorts, chore jackets and camp-collar cotton shirts, plus traditional block printing, ikat weaving and bandhani tie-dye. “Things are a little louche,” says Shapiro. “Fabrics are soft and tactile from the cottons to the silks.” The three industry veterans also source the ethically produced clothes for modern nomads from India where they’re made from natural fabrics with coconut and wooden buttons. From cities to remote reaches, now there’s a new sustainably minded wardrobe to don wherever the sun turns up.
Jessica McCormack Taps the Haas Brothers for a Whimsically Singular Jewelry Collaboration
High jewelry gets infused with wit in London-based New Zealand native Jessica McCormack’s new collaboration with L.A.’s Haas brothers. The twin artists dreamed up fantastical scenes encrusted with diamonds for McCormack’s signature refurbished jewelry boxes — set atop four biomorphic legs. McCormack returns the favor, riffing on the brothers’ Bathy Bates splashing water drops to create 18-karat yellow gold mismatched diamond earrings, rings, a pendant and massive cuff plus enamel snake rings and tiny bejeweled limited-edition Fairy Berry ceramic sculptures mounted on elegant brass stands.
Kendall Conrad Trains Her Gaze On The Ocean
Kendall Conrad’s Project Zero pendants in brass, sterling silver or 14-karat gold — embossed with a swimmer and an image of the sun — signify a uniquely elemental connection. Each charm benefits Project Zero, a global movement taking on the climate crisis by creating a network of ocean sanctuaries from Antarctica to the Bering Strait. The rounded rectangles, paired with a brown leather cord or additional chains and silks sold separately, can be engraved with unique ocean coordinates signifying the wearer’s adoption of one square kilometer of the Earth’s life support system.
CH Carolina Herrera Seeks Joy Through the Heart for Hope Initiative
In response to the global pandemic, Carolina Herrera, Wes Gordon and Carolina Adriana Herrera are seeking alegría de vivir, the joy and beauty in life, through the house’s Heart for Hope international charitable initiative benefiting the Red Cross and Red Crescent. Through the end of the year, a portion of proceeds from all handbags and accessories that take shape in the house’s Spanish leather ateliers support the project, including the bowling bag-shaped Blaisón, the crossbody Charro, Madeleine handbag, Doma satchel and Matryoshka shoulder bag. “Knowing that our craft can help bring joy and hope to people around the world is the greatest reward imaginable,” says Gordon.
A Louis Vuitton Pop-Up and Virgil Abloh’s Hoop Dreams
Capping off a basketball season unlike any other, the Los Angeles Lakers hoisted the Larry O’Brien Trophy after their championship win, and now Louis Vuitton has paired it with a bespoke travel case. The trophy trunk, a nod to the French house’s roots in luggage design and savoir-faire emblazoned with a white V symbolizing victory, heralds Virgil Abloh’s new LVxNBA men’s capsule uniting the red, white and blue NBA emblem with the storied house’s moniker. Leather jackets, monogram suits, belts, ties, backpacks, dopp kits, sunglasses, necklaces, loafers and Derby shoes evoke key aspects of NBA players’ off-court looks from their arrival at stadiums to post-game press conferences. Swooping drones give virtual shoppers a firsthand look at the collection, trophy and trunk set inside New York’s panoramic Madison Square Garden where wardrobes are stocked with pre- and post-game looks beside ubiquitous courtside folding metal chairs.
The house is also launching a brightly hued temporary residency at The Americana at Brand, open through December, stocked with women’s and men’s leather goods, shoes, accessories, scents and travel designs plus pieces from its Since 1854 collection with its reimagined monogram motif incorporating the numerals of the brand’s founding year. 863 Americana Way, Glendale, 866-884-8866.
Fendi Takes On the Elements With K-Way
As winter approaches, Fendi is collaborating on a line of outerwear with Paris-based K-Way, known for its functional — and achingly utilitarian — windbreakers. In Fendi’s hands, the trademark reversible waterproof nylon jackets are printed with the house’s FF logo pattern on one side and remain solid on the other. There are versions created for men, women and children, and each is outfitted with a hood and zipper (plus stretchy cuffs and hems). As the mercury rises, the pieces convert into a hands-free pouch. For women, there’s a black and gold windbreaker, men have a dark blue option and tots can don a black and pink design. Naturally, the Roman house created a mink and nylon option as well as a shorter bomber-jacket version of the original for women. This season, raindrops have met their match.
Dec. 9, 2020
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