Clockwise from Top.
London Shows & Pitti
The menswear circuit started back up last week, with a small number of London shows, as well as the the annual June pilgrimage to Florence for Pitti Uomo. Pitti is famous for the extravagant outfits attendees wear - and Vogue was there to document this year’s edition.
Martine Rose got rave reviews for her show in London, which had a notable VIP in attendance:
This kind of talent is gold-dust. Presumably that’s why Michael Burke, CEO of Louis Vuitton, had come from Paris to view Rose’s show firsthand. There is a menswear creative director vacancy at the house following the tragic passing of Virgil Abloh. After this unlikeliest French-British assignation to have taken place under the arches at Vauxhall, is Rose on her way to filling it?
She also debuted her elongated take on the Nike Shox, which Nike is trying to resurrect after CDG took a pass at them a few seasons ago.
Meanwhile, if Martine Rose is auditioning to join LV, maybe Wales Bonner is too:
After the show, one attendee remarked that the collection felt like a job interview. If it was, Bonner definitely nailed it. She has all the makings of a visionary creative director who can lead a large luxury house. She has a deep network of partners and supporters in the art world. An ability to balance conceptual goals with commercial imperatives. She’s quiet and cerebral, but knows how to create spectacles that bring peoples’ phones out. (Before the pandemic, Bonner showcased her work at venues like the Serpentine Galleries in London and a church in NYC’s Midtown, where in 2019 she and Solange threw one of the coolest fashion parties ever.) Many think she’s the designer to beat to take over Louis Vuitton men’s.
The Wales Bonner x Adidas is really the best Adidas collab of late, much better than what Prada, Gucci or Balenciaga are doing with the German sportswear brand.
We talk more about Pitti on this week’s podcast.
Fashion Images
A lot of good campaigns were released into the wild this week.
Chanel had a rented out Balthazar for a big party in honor of the Tribeca Film Festival. Keith McNally posted of a photo of the restaurant pre-service. Many Chanel-adjacent celebs attended, including Penelope Cruz:
British Vogue continues to outshine its American counterpart. Exhibit A: the Beyonce cover shoot for their July 2022 issue.
And lastly, images of Loewe SS23 are starting to leak out. As usual, creative director Jonathan Anderson remains committed to keeping to weird and surreal.
Please don’t change!
New Drizzy
Drake’s new album Honestly, Nevermind released on Friday, and it landed with a giant thud.
By now, Drake albums are like software updates—they don’t go away until you finally click on them, and when you do, you only notice the stuff that doesn’t work as well.
It’s now been way too long since the last Drake slapper came out. Hold On, We’re Going Home was in 2013. Hotline Bling came out in 2015, Nice for What in 2018.
If there’s one thing we could use right now, it’s a Drake song to turn up loud with the windows down. The new album is classified as a dance album, but it’s really just all vibes, without much happening. It’s a tribute to Virgil Abloh, supposedly, but unclear what the connection is there.
Meanwhile, as Drake drought continues, he is getting passed by Bad Bunny whose Tití Me Preguntó is way better than anything Drake has released recently1.
Santa Maria Novella
And with Pitti happening, it’s worth mentioning local brand Santa Maria Novella.
They have been around since 1221 (!), when friars began to cultivate a garden to grow wellness2 products for their congregation. Fast forward 801 years, and they have a huge product assortment, ranging from fragrances to skincare.
I recently switched over from the citrusy Acqua di Parma shaving cream I’ve been using, to the foamier Santa Maria Novella version. And most importantly, Raquel doesn’t make fun of me for using it, which is a big win3.
Links.
Vanessa Friedman pays tribute to Nike on it’s 50th anniversary.
Adam Platt is moving on, and NY Mag will be hiring a new restaurant columnist.
BNEF’s Electric Vehicle Outlook.
Learned this week that Samuel Hine has a very good GQ newsletter.
Think Different:
<3
Chris & Raquel
To receive Tourist Trapp’s thoughts in your inbox once a week—become a subscriber today:
If you would like to post a comment, click “Leave a comment” below:
If you’d like to share this piece as a web page, click the button below:
Our newsletter is supported by our readers. We sometimes earn a small commission from purchases made through our affiliate links.
And weirdly, like Drake, also features a wedding in the music video. It’s the Summer of Weddings!
They did not call it wellness back then.