Clockwise from Top.
Inauguration Styling
The Biden/Harris inauguration is coming up fast, and their stylists are preparing for the big day. It is rumored that Biden will be wearing Ralph Lauren, with the President-Elect wearing a black (not navy!) polo for his second vaccine dose.
Meanwhile Kamala, the true star of the duo, is appearing on the cover of Vogue, though not without controversy. The print edition will have Harris in a very casual, dressed-down look, while the digital edition has Harris in a dressier, more professional Michael Kors look. It’s obvious which photo is more befitting for the second most powerful politician in the country (come noon on January 20th).
The Tabi Platform
Kim Kardashian shared some images on her Instagram Stories of an upcoming Maison Margiela x Reebok Tabi Classic Leather sneaker. Margiela has been busy expanding their Tabi line, with a canvas line debuting two years ago and this Instapump Fury releasing last year. This new sandal is a personal fave.
The Tabi is by no means a Margiela-only silhouette. Nike made the Aqua Rift, and there are no shortage of Tabi options out there. Just make sure you have the right socks: a few seasons ago, Nike made these fabulous Tabi Socks which sold out instantly.
Martine Rose Digital Show
One of themes we’ve been looking at here is the future of the fashion show. Martine Rose, a leading independent designer that staged a web cam show for SS21, wanted to digitally launch the collection before making it available to customers. This launch was a digital “one-off” show, presented just once on her website, that took viewers into the homes of Rose’s family and friends, including Drake’s recording studio:
Rose worked with the design studio International Magic to create something both novel and more sustainable:
“I was really coming at it from a sustainability angle. Asking would shows still be about shipping people across the world—thousands of people flying across the world to see huge, expensive shows with massive set-ups? And could there be space for digital shows that don’t feel hollow and empty? Then suddenly what we were talking about became the everyday reality. It really became social commentary, and we were reflecting everyone’s experience as it was happening.”
As we’ve highlighted in the cases of Gucci, Balenciaga and Bottega, we expect more and more brands to be exploring alternatives to traditional fashion shows when launching new product.
Holiday 2020 Results
We’re starting to see how retailers performed during Holiday 2020. Luxury and mass market retailers fared best:
Tiffany, just before it was officially taken over by French luxury house LVMH, said by email that it saw record net sales worldwide for the holiday period. From Nov. 1 through Dec. 31, global revenue rose 2% and comps rose 4% year over year.
Target posted a blockbuster holiday performance for 2020, with its digital comparable sales up 102% and store comps up 4.2% for November and December.
While mid-tier fashion retailers saw disappointing sales:
Nordstrom said that net sales fell 22%for the nine-week holiday period, though digital sales rose 23% and represented the bulk of the business.
L Brands reported that holiday net sales fell to $3.84 billion from $3.9 billion for the comparable nine weeks a year ago, though comps rose 5% in the period.
While a small sample size, this reinforces the theme that the top and bottom of the retail market is recovering significantly faster than the middle tier. We’ll get a fuller picture once companies start reporting Q4 numbers in February/March.
Far Right Iconography
The New York Times has an in depth visual look at some of the symbols used by the far right groups that invaded the Capitol Building.
Everyone has seen the red MAGA hats, and even Hawaiian shirts are now off limits. But the movement goes much beyond mere costumes and metastasizes into cultish fan fiction:
Also on display were the green-and-white flags of Kekistan, the fictional country that is home to the deity “Kek.” In the meme-driven culture of the alt-right, a satirical religion has sprouted up around Kek “as a way to troll liberals and self-righteous conservatives,” according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups. “He is a god of chaos and darkness, with the head of a frog, the source of their mimetic ‘magic,’ to whom the alt-right and Donald Trump owe their success.”
We wonder at what point brands feel they need to start removing items like orange beanies from their lines to avoid association with groups like the Proud Boys:
Links.
The frankly silly controversy over the Jacquemus office desk.
The Row is auctioning off a portion of its archive.
Mary-Kate’s divorce was finalized via Zoom.
Zegna’s new collection looks pretty good.
Joe Biden is trying to convince the secret service to let him bring his Peloton to the White House.
<3
Chris & Raquel
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