The Hennessy X.O x Kim Jones collection

It is not immediately clear why Hennessy decided that fashion was the right blend to explore. In recent years, luxury brands have diversified away from their core products into niches that can be considered alien to their brand. Ferrari, once a luxury auto brand, now wants to be known as a lifestyle brand on its way to becoming famous, not just for its cars alone, but also for its fashion line and fine dining.

And then there is Aston Martin, whose foray into the world of real estate has seen it put up some incredible structures, from the Aston Martin Residences in Miami to the № 001 Minami Aoyama in Japan. Louis Vuitton, on the other hand, chose to focus on products that enhance the luxury fashion shopping experience, which is why its café and chocolate shop, as well as the planned LV hotel in Paris, exist.

For Hennessy, however, the path to haute couture – if indeed it is considering adding fashion to its portfolio – was not as straightforward. When Jones was developing the collection, he paid a visit to Hennessy’s library and museum in Cognac, France. There, he discovered some of the brand’s oldest bottles wrapped in twists of paper and studied the bottles housing the alcoholic beverage. The paper wrapping reminded him of the draping technique used in creating a clothing item, and the bottles, which appeared to be shaped “almost like a ball gown, in a sense,” inspired his designs for the collection.

First, he created the limited-edition masterpiece decanter shaped exactly like the tissue wrappings that had caught Jones’ attention at the museum. Made of titanium, it was dipped in gradient colours that mimic the shades of the Hennessy X.O blend.

Next was the bottle, which, although preserving its original shape, took on an additional ‘ready-to-wear’ golden aluminium ensemble that highlights its natural dips and curves, just like a well-fitted dress clings to every curve and bit of its wearer.

The final item is an unexpected pair of trainers whose cognac brown shade and design are also informed by the Hennessy X.O blend. Manufactured in an Italian shoe factory owned by LVMH, the parent company of both Hennessy and Dior, the HNY low trainers have a simple design with a grooved rubber sole imprinted with cognac vines on its base, and a nubuck leather upper. They come in a stylish oak box that recalls the barrels that housed the Hennessy drinks.

Is a Hennessy fashion collection on the way?

Maybe Hennessy will stick to its cognacs after this project. Or maybe it will decide it had so much fun with it that we will see future fashion capsule collections inspired by its beverages. Whatever part it decides to take, one thing is for certain: the Hennessy X.O x Kim Jones collection is every bit as stylish as it is revolutionary.

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Both fashion shows are slated to take place in December, with the Chanel show happening on December 6, and Dior’s on December 3.

A decision rooted in necessity

A report published in 2019 makes a case for Egypt as an underrated luxury market, explaining that apart from luxury auto brands, wealthy Egyptians are forced to shop for their preferred luxury goods outside as these brands are not represented in their country.

This is in spite of the fact that Egypt is rather wealthy. It is not only the second richest African country but also the sixth in wealth per capita, making it a regional power (at least economically) in northeast Africa. It is therefore not surprising that Egypt is where Dior has chosen to showcase its men’s pre-fall collection.

Kim Jones’ connection to Africa

Even if Dior did not choose Egypt because of its capacity to develop into a mature luxury market, its men’s artistic director, Kim Jones’ great relationship with the African continent would have seen the luxury fashion house eventually put up a show on the continent. Jones spent time in Botswana, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, and Tanzania during his childhood and has since been inspired by Africa.

In 2020, he worked with Ghanaian painter Amoako Boafo on Dior’s SS21 collection, incorporating the artist’s drawings into pieces of the collection. While this new drop will not follow the same path, according to Dior, “the celestial collection celebrates a lifelong passion for travel.”

A new beginning?

It is remarkable that in just one year, two major luxury houses have announced their decision to hold their shows in Africa. This is besides the Fenty Beauty in Africa launch earlier this year. While these shows appear to be a way of testing the waters, it is clear that the luxury niche now considers Africans necessary, not just as consumers but also as contributors to its growth and sustenance.

We might see legacy luxury houses set up shop here on the continent in the nearest future, but for now, it’s time for us to sit back and simply enjoy the shows.

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Now, he has teamed up with luxury house Fendi for a ten-piece collection exploring local craft and pushing traditional techniques and materials into new directions.

The idea for a collaboration with Peter Mabeo was born after his work with Inès Bressand caught the attention of Kim Jones, artistic director of couture and womenswear for Fendi. The latter curated the project alongside Silvia Venturini Fendi, the brand’s creative director of accessories, menswear and children, and Delfina Delettrez Fendi, artistic director of jewellery.

“I was very taken by Mabeo’s 2017 collaboration with Inès Bressand, which featured the use of panga panga wood and distinctive hand-beaten metal panels on the ‘Zezuru’ cabinet and chair. I was immediately drawn to the considered approach Peter’s studio had to form and function, combined with materials and artisanal techniques specific to their local environment,” says Jones.

For him, the connection to the project was also personal, as he spent a significant amount of time in Botswana as a child, when his father, a hydrogeologist, was working in the region.

Another element that attracted Jones was Mabeo’s workshop set-up and his creative approach. Having moved away from the centre of Gaborone a few years ago, the studio is now located within a former general dealer, and when the season allows, the team works outdoors, in the yard – which is also the backdrop to much of their product photography. “The manner in which they have documented their collections stood out, photographing the works primarily outside and being used or handled in some way, capturing their everyday usefulness in a very pure and engaging way,” adds Jones.

The brief Jones and Delettrez Fendi gave Mabeo for the project was very free: “I felt like they really wanted me to express something,” he recalls. He also witnessed the brand’s approach to craft during a visit to the Fendi Rome HQ earlier this year. It inspired him to ‘go crazy’ with the artisanal techniques he employed throughout the project. “It’s so incredibly significant for me to have an opportunity to question and to experiment, to try and do things that are outside of typical ways of thinking,” explains Mabeo.

Launching at Design Miami, the collection includes the Gabi-Gabi sculpture, a large-scale centrepiece made of galvanised metal sheet, and recreated in a smaller version in the Gabinyana brass table lamp. There is also the Shiya seat, made of panga panga wood and plywood.

Reaching into different experimental territories is the Foro chair, which moves away from the idea of a clay object being a monolith and instead uses the material to create an archetypal seat (an additional version is made of panga panga wood). For this piece, Mabeo wanted to use clay as a freehand material, so he asked wood and metal artisans to build a shape that could then assist the hand-moulding of clay into the chair’s forms. The clay was fired using an old method, in which cow dung is used as fuel for the kiln.

Subtle nods to the fashion house can be found throughout the collection, such as in the mirrored F-shaped Efo stools in wood and clay, or in the Maduo chair, referencing a piece of jewellery designed by Delettrez Fendi and transformed by Mabeo into a wooden chair using precise joinery.

The Chichira cabinet combines woven palm leaves with a structure made of wood and metal. Here, Mabeo worked with weavers from Etsha, in north-western Botswana, who specialise in freeform woven vessels. “We wanted to see if it was possible to contain the weaver’s freedom: generally they weave in a circular shape, a sphere that’s never quite precise,” says Mabeo. The idea for this piece, he explains, was to create an association between a technique that’s fairly rigid and something more fluid. Mabeo also considered the functionality of his pieces, case in point being the Loma stool, which doubles as a storage container or side table and can be used combined into one piece, or split into two. Like other objects in the collection, it is made in both wood and clay versions.

Looking at the pieces in this collaboration is like exploring a map of craft in Botswana, as Mabeo called upon an extended network of artisans to bring each design to life. “We’ve travelled all over the country, we’ve engaged basket weavers, metal workers, people practising ancient techniques, as well as our local wood and metal artisans.” Human connections were key to bringing the pieces together: “I didn’t want to just employ the materials for the sake of it, but to create an opportunity to engage with the craftspeople who are still custodians of these techniques, going back so long.”

He admits that the reaction of some of the craftspeople he involved in the project was along the lines of ‘no, this is crazy’. But as the pieces developed, he witnessed an interest in doing something new, room for making things interesting. “It was really just about trying to take things that don’t necessarily belong together and removing divisions. ‘I like the idea of working freely, outside the confines of formality.”

Source: Wallpaper

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This is not Skims’ first attempt to establish itself as a prominent luxury brand. Earlier this year, it announced that it was the official loungewear for the US Olympic and Paralympic teams. Now, it has snagged a collaboration with Fendi, who last month released a stunning collection in partnership with Versace in what has been hailed as the best collaboration between luxury brands this year.

In a typical Kardashian fashion, Kim shut down all rumours about a possible collaboration by modelling some of the pieces from the Fendi X Skims capsule collection on social media the same day a Wall Street Journal article confirmed it. The Instagram caption read: “Introducing Fendi x Skims — a first of its kind collaboration that unites the luxury of @Fendi with the innovation of @SKIMS. This limited edition collection launches on November 9 at 6 am PST at www.fendiskims.com. #FENDIXSKIMS”

The new collection was designed by both Kim Kardashian West and Fendi’s creative director, Kim Jones. For now, we know that it will include tights, bodysuits, sports bras, tight-fitting tracksuits, body-hugging gowns and puff jackets in neutral, black and purple colourways. The logos of both brands will run throughout the clothes.

Skims, which in April was valued at $1.6 billion, has gained popularity with younger shoppers since its launch in 2019 helped by the reality star and businesswoman’s huge social media following. Kim has also been named the WSJ 2021 brand innovator for her efforts in building Skims into a billion-dollar brand.

To make sure you snag your favourite pieces as soon as they drop, keep your eyes glued to the Fendi x Skims website. As with collections such as this, every item is sure to sell out as soon as they become available.

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Jones’ artist collaborations have always gone beyond a supplied image splashed on a T-shirt. Since joining Dior three years ago, he has worked with a host of artists to create varied interpretations of the human figure. For this collection, he was fascinated with translating the surfaces of Doig’s paintings – rich in layers of pigment, oil skeins and drips of paint – into intricate fabrications.

“Peter brought in a series of amazing watercolours,” says Jones. “I thought they’d work really well in mohair, which would have the same sort of colour registration.”

Doig was instrumental in the design process, working more closely with Jones than any other artist to date, colour-matching swatches to his own pigments and even adorning several of the collection’s felt hats – crafted by his old college friend, the celebrated milliner Stephen Jones – with original artworks.

“Peter was in every single meeting and fitting,” says Jones. “He worked with every element of the Dior Studio. We’re still texting virtually every day, sending each other interesting things we’ve seen.” Adds Doig: “It was exciting and inspiring working within a team, rather than solo in my studio.”

The artist was struck by the connections between the French Maison and his own background. Doig had studied at Central Saint Martins in the 1980s with the milliner Stephen Jones, who has worked with Kim Jones for more than a decade and collaborated with Dior for double that time.

Doig was also intrigued to learn that Christian Dior was once a gallery director. Between 1929 and 1931, he and his business partner Pierre Colle presented some of France’s earliest exhibitions by Calder, Giacometti and Dalí. “I think it’s important to tell the whole story of Monsieur Dior’s life,” Jones explains. “It’s about looking at the people he would have been interested in today. [He] closely collaborated with Christian Bérard, and Peter is a collector of his work.”

The Dior x Peter Doig AW21 collection features a series of wide sportswear-inspired trousers, as well as bowler hats and berets, sported on the catwalk with ceremonial tailoring, smart peacoats and ribbed roll-necks. These have been handcrafted by Stephen Jones and hand-painted by Doig, with motifs inspired by Bérard, and they will be sold via private appointment.

“I’d initially only imagined an embellished badge or print,” Jones says. “I love the level of craftsmanship behind the pieces. Each hat really tells a story.”

Source: Wallpaper

The post The Dior x Peter Doig AW 21 Collection is Yet Another Fusion of Art and Fashion first appeared on Aspire Luxury Magazine.

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The Boys Essentials collection is replete with every piece you loved in the Men’s capsule collection. From bomber jackets to simple jeans and denim jackets, neat little sweaters and peak lapel tuxedos, the Baby Dior Boys Essentials collection is everything your son needs and more.

The collection also includes the B23 high top sneakers that were introduced to Baby Dior in October. Each piece in this collection is fused with timeless shapes and monochrome shades of navy blue, grey and white, just like the Men Essentials capsule, and also features designs that play on house codes such as the Dior Oblique motif, which patterns down jackets and shirts in a tone-on-tone version, as well as the CD icon logo which punctuates sweatshirts, polo shirts, and T-shirts.

All pieces are available for purchase on the official Baby Dior website.

Source: Luxuo

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