Billie, Jimi and Virgil Take on Rock 'n' Roll 'n' Haute Couture

All the while, Storm Reid turns 18 and stunts on the swimwear game and Kenneth Ize x Karl Lagerfeld arrive in Paris

It’s finally haute couture season again and of course, Virgil Abloh started it off with a bang. Debuting his first haute couture presentation since the pandemic, Abloh titled this year’s Fall/Winter 2021 ready-to-wear collection “Laboratory of Fun.” Abloh expresses that he spent a lot of time thinking and redesigning Off-White during quarantine and looked for ways to elevate the brand and turn it into something that feels more “adult.”

“I was writing in my journal that Off-White should be adult,” Abloh tells Vogue. “I’ve already said that it’s a youth brand adjacent to streetwear—and I get frustrated if I don’t feel an evolution, and the message becomes monotonous. I feel the world’s changed.”

The collection is absolutely stunning, juxtaposing jewel tones such as deep royal blues, bright oranges and rich yellows alongside very neutral shades of white, grey, black, and blue. There are very few prints in the collections but Abloh makes up for it with texture, giving us a surplus of fabric choices from shiny leather to velvet to a really beautiful structural neoprene that is just excellent.

The show opened Paris couture week featuring not only a variety of silhouettes but a diverse group of models. “I’ve always believed in diversity on all ends of the spectrum. Age, gender, orientation—when it comes to representing that, you know we’re across that as best we can,” Abloh states.

Abloh also opened the newest Off-White flagship in Paris after opening three other stores in London, Taipei and Milan.

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Kenneth x Karl

When Kenneth Ize was informed he was a finalist for the 2019 LVMH Prize for Young Designers, he’d hoped to meet late design legend Karl Lagerfeld, who passed just before the candidates were assembled in Paris. At the time, Lagerfeld was the one person who Ize was “really, really looking forward to meeting.” Famed French editor Carine Roitfeld, who was named style adviser at the Karl Lagerfeld brand in April 2019 approached Ize about a collaboration—which he began assembling this past May. According to WWD, Ize was still in shock when he “found himself at the Karl Lagerfeld headquarters” in Paris, the location where his capsule collection, Karl Lagerfeld X Kenneth Ize was shot.

Roitfeld, not typically a big fan of print and color, was fascinated by Ize’s work and felt it was like a “new wind of fresh fashion” that perfectly meshed with the Lagerfeld house. Ize’s label is gender neutral and has been a “vehicle for political and social activism, and for exalting African culture and its savoir-faire.” The brand employs weavers in Lagos who create its signature patterned fabrics. The collection has a calm yet weirdly psychedelic-safari vibe to them with bold colors and black and white prints from Madagascar, glass beaded jewelry and bags that resemble iPhones.

The collection is available on July 7 and can be found at Karl.com, Farfetch.com and Brownsfashion.com, and will be made available at brick-and-mortar Karl stores in Paris and London.

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Off-White and AMO

On top of a smashing ready-to-wear fashion show that opened up couture week in Paris, Off-White has just launched its newest flagship location in the “City of Lights” alongside AMO. AMO is the “think-tank arm” of OMA, a well-known globally-operated architecture company. The Off-White flagship is not just a store but also features a courtyard, market, gallery, three-floor stage and more. Abloh described this flagship as the “destination Roget immersed into the Off-White world [and] and incubator for new talent, a cultural connector within the community and an experimental laboratory of creativity and innovation.”

The store is open now and the Fall/Winter 2021 ready-to-wear collection is already on display.

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Taking the World by Storm (x PacSun)

When some people turn 18, they’re excited to be an “adult” and enjoy the freedom that comes with that. Well, Storm Reid is about to turn 18, is excited to be able to vote and has just launched a swimwear line with PacSun. The line, ArashiBlu (Storm Reid x PacSun), features 12 bikini sets, 2 one-pieces and 8 cover-ups. Each garment is named after an important female role model or friend in Storm’s life—including Halle, Zendaya and Iman. “I wanted it to feel luxury, I wanted it to feel accessible, and I wanted everybody to be able to put their hands on it,” she tells Teen Vogue. When wearing a bathing suit, you’re “baring it all to the world.” Most importantly, she wanted the people who wear the bathing suits to feel comfortable and confident in their bodies. The collection celebrates being “perfectly imperfect” and “wearing yourself proudly.”

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A Century of Music

Buckle up, rock ’n’ rollers, later this month you’ll be able to place a bid on a very special item (or three) at the “A Century of Music” auction hosted by Guernsey. The items up for auction include one custom-designed striped suit in maroon and brown once owned by Jimi Hendrix and a black and red floral printed dress of Billie Holliday’s. The online auctions are taking place on Wednesday, July 14 starting at 11:00 am EST and Thursday, July 15 starting at 12:00 pm EST.

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Bianca Saunders, Balenciaga’s CEO and 300,000 euros

Bianca Saunders, the British menswear designer, has just scooped up the top two prizes at the 2021 ANDAM Awards. The 32nd annual design competition prize, which includes 300,000 euros and mentorship with Balenciaga’s CEO, Cédric Charbit, will help Saunders in her mission to push the boundaries and representation in men’s fashion. She will be debuting her Spring 2022 collection the London Fashion Week in September, a typically entirely womenswear show. Saunders’ approach to her collections blends her British and West Indian heritage and creates a brand that has balance.

“You get the really over-masculine guy and effeminate guy existing in the same world. Even the pieces can be seen as slightly more feminine,” she told Women’s Wear Daily. “I think this is how I create the energy that brings something different, and more things to the men’s wear conversation.”

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