TT Vol. 67
Balenciaga SS22, Gucci Vault, Ozy Media Implosion, CJR x NYCB & The Row Kidswear
Clockwise from Top.
Paris Fashion Week Continues
Balenciaga won the spring shows after creating a legit Simpsons episode featuring creative director Demna Gvasalia and his SS22 ready-to-wear pieces. The full video is up on Balenciaga’s YouTube account here.
We can only imagine how long it took for Disney and Kering to hammer out an agreement. The fashion industry has always felt a kinship with the Simpsons, and we have to say we really loved this.
Gucci Vault
More news from the Gucci team. It is curating a small ecommerce shop stocked with smaller independent designers like Collina Strada:
the online concept store created by Gucci from the vision of Creative Director Alessandro Michele. The name evokes an air of magic, denoting the presence of precious objects that represent a love for beauty, dreams, passion, the search for ideas that go beyond the confines of time and space; a testament to the belief that past, present and future can co-exist through the power of the imagination.
It’s certainly interesting to see Gucci dip their toes into third party retail. This might be a way for Alessandro Michele to expand the Gucci universe further than he can do with just the Gucci label. These smaller brands can afford to take risks that Gucci cannot.
We did approve of these Collina Strada socks being stocked at Gucci Vault: they are our all-time favorite version of the tie-dye sock, and come with rhinestones to boot.
How to Lose Your Media Company In A Week
Ben Smith, the New York Times’ media correspondent, published an insane story about a small but growing company called Ozy Media last week. They pay to include inserts in our Sunday New York Times, but otherwise knew nothing about them.
And then this crazy story came out describing an Ozy Media executive impersonating a YouTube executive to trick Goldman Sachs to invest:
That’s what the Zoom videoconference on Feb. 2 that Ozy arranged between the Goldman Sachs asset management division and YouTube was supposed to be about. The scheduled participants included Alex Piper, the head of unscripted programming for YouTube Originals. He was running late and apologized to the Goldman Sachs team, saying he’d had trouble logging onto Zoom, and he suggested that the meeting be moved to a conference call, according to four people who were briefed on the meeting, all of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to reveal details of a private discussion.
Once everyone had made the switch to an old-fashioned conference call, the guest told the bankers what they had been wanting to hear: that Ozy was a great success on YouTube, racking up significant views and ad dollars, and that Mr. Watson was as good a leader as he seemed to be. As he spoke, however, the man’s voice began to sound strange to the Goldman Sachs team, as though it might have been digitally altered, the four people said.
After the meeting, someone on the Goldman Sachs side reached out to Mr. Piper, not through the Gmail address that was provided to participants before the meeting, but through Mr. Piper’s assistant at YouTube. That’s when things got weird.
Things moved swiftly after this. A follow-up story alleged Ozy had tricked producers into thinking a show was destined for A&E. Carlos Watson, the CEO of Ozy, resigned from the board of NPR, while Ozy writers started to quit.
A week after the initial story was published, Ozy announced it was shutting down for good. It seems that Ozy was able to exaggerate its audience through a number of funding rounds, but was finally exposed.
Christopher John Rogers & NYC Ballet
The NYCB returned last night after taking a few seasons off due to COVID. Christopher John Rogers designed the costumes, which were inspired by Teletubbies.
This was the latest installment of the NYCB’s Fall Fashion Gala, started by Sarah Jessica Parker 10 years ago to connect the fashion and design community with the ballet.
The costumes at the NYCB have never been the most exciting, and would love for this to be more than just a one-night-per-year thing. In fact, would love to see the fashion community supporting Lincoln Center even more - how about the New York Philharmonic outfitted in Pyer Moss tuxedos?
CJR has more photos on his Instagram here.
Mini Row
The Row, everyone’s favorite Olsen twins luxury fashion label, released a colorful kids line this week. Unlike the womenswear line, it has rainbow hues to spare. The ecomm shop is here.
If you are in the market for $500 cashmere loungewear for your child, this collection is for you. The shoes are actually quite cute and would probably fit a small adult, or Noemi in 6 months.
Links.
Antwaun Sargent by styled former colleague Mary Sucaet for ODDA Magazine.
Dunkin’ Donuts merch is doing numbers.
Net-A-Porter is partnering with Reflaunt to launch a re-sale program.
The Yeezy Gap hoodie has arrived, and is already on resale platforms for above retail price.
Luxury fashion houses and the outdoor market.
<3
Raquel & Chris
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