TT Vol. 44
Discover more from Tourist Trapp
TT Vol. 44
Ruba Abu-Nimah, Giovanna Battaglia Engelbert, Givenchy FW21
Clockwise from Top.
Creative Director Updates
A few new creative director appointments point towards a trend of companies looking for more female talent.
At Tiffany, Ruba Abu-Nimah, the former creative director of Revlon (who has a fabulous Instagram account), is the new Executive Creative Director of the storied American jeweler. She is taking over from Reed Krakoff after LVMH fired the senior team upon closing the deal to acquire Tiffany. We do feel like it’s an unusual move, given that Abu-Nimah is not a product designer, but we are excited because we think she is one of the industry’s top concept designers.
Over at Swarovski, the Austrian crystal company, Giovanna Battaglia Engelbert, the former Italian Vogue fashion editor, is now creative director of the legendary house. An early Instagram fashion influencer, she is now releasing her first Swarovski collection of oversized gems:
Batgio also had a Crazy Rich Asians style wedding in Capri back in 2016 - read about it here.
A New Instagram Competitor
Miss the glory days of Instagram? Dispo is a new social media camera app that we’ve been testing. The NY Times Style section did a write up of it here. We both had to wait several days to get off of the waitlist. This is my current Dispo camera roll:
Dispo tries to mimic using a disposable camera: there are no filters or captions, and after photos are “developed” they arrive on the app’s camera roll at 9AM the following day. Dispo’s appeal is its simplicity: it’s impossible to get distracted by strangers arguing in the comment section (we know you read those), and is really more about the photos. Can’t wait to fill up our Dispo rolls with beach pics this summer. Come find us: our handles are @aung and @raqui_t.
Birkenstock Update
L Catterton, LVMH’s private equity affiliate, announced at the end of February its acquisition of a majority stake in Birkenstock. The iconic German sandal company has been independent since its founding in 1774.
Birkenstock’s business has grown significantly over the past few years. We practically live in our EVA Birkenstock’s over the summer. In their designer tier 1774 product, they have worked with luxury brands like Rick Owens, Valentino and Proenza Schouler.
Their most recent collaboration is with Faye Toogood, one of Raquel’s favorite home goods designers. What we love about this collab is the way that a predominantly home designer has crossed over into the apparel/footwear space. It makes much more sense than this make up collection Chipotle is doing with E.l.f. (seriously this is really happening: article here). And the leather versions of the Faye Toogood’s look really good:
At $500, they are MUCH cheaper than buying her Roly Poly chair.
Footwear Release Updates
There are some really good projects that were just announced. After a hugely successful Dior x Air Jordan collaboration last summer, Kim Jones (creative director of Fendi Women’s and Dior Men’s) is releasing a small Nike Air Max collection. I was surprised how much I like these, and have a soft spot in my heart for the Air Max ‘95. In the industry, Air Max styles are known by the year they were originally released, with the ‘95 and ‘97 two of the most iconic.
Justin Bieber’s drew house put out a new lavender Crocs style. Not much to say about it though we do love a good lavender sandal. And who doesn’t love the Biebs. We were obsessed with his hotel slipper he developed a few years ago.
More FW21 Shows
Matthew M. Williams and Givenchy presented their FW21 women’s collection, which featured the below hoof-like footwear. Vogue called them “fit for a centaur”:
A lot of fashion commentators panned the show, with unfavorable comparisons to Alexander Wang and Alexander McQueen. The shoes are similar to McQueen’s armadillo shoes, and I’d love to see them in person. I can’t quite tell what the material is, but they look really interesting.
Weirdly, Williams makes the following claim about the women’s apparel he showed:
They’re sensual and elegant and show female empowerment.
But we don’t see this look as empowering, it’s probably the opposite. Female creative directors aren’t sending partially nude models down the runway.
Links.
These leggings were the top apparel items on Amazon in January and February thanks to TikTok.
An Instagram account dedicated to rare children’s books.
The ultimate guide to chile crisps.
A love letter to NYC’s weird local grocery stores: the Key Foods, Associateds, and C-Towns.
An interview with Dimepiece’s Brynn Wallner.
An interview with the global head of sustainability at Depop.
Hermès has created a mushroom-based vegan leather bag made from mycelium.
<3
Chris & Raquel
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