Honoring designer Rei Kawakubo, Comme des Garçons designer at the Metropolitan Museum
WHAT VICTOIRE SAW
HONORING DESIGNER REI KAWAKUBO
COMME DES GARCONS DESIGNER
METROPOLITAN MUSEUM, NYC, USA
The exhibit, which began with the glitzy Met gala Monday night and opens to the public May 4, is divided into nine themes, all of them dualities in Kawakubo’s work: Fashion/Anti-Fashion, High/Low, Design/Not Design, and Clothes/Not Clothes are a few.
The exhibition, held at the Metropolitan Museum in New York, will feature approximately 120 womenswear designs that Kawakubo, who’s known to be extremely private, has designed for the Japanese brand Comme des Garcons. It will feature pieces from her first Paris show in 1981 to her most recent collection that blur the lines between fashion and art.
“In blurring the art/fashion divide, Kawakubo asks us to think differently about clothing,” said Thomas P. Campbell, director and CEO of The Met, in a press statement. “Curator Andrew Bolton will explore work that often looks like sculpture in an exhibition that will challenge our ideas about fashion’s role in contemporary culture.”
Rei Kawakubo is one of the most important and influential designers of the past 40 years. “By inviting us to rethink fashion as a site of constant creation, recreation and hybridity, she has defined the aesthetics of our time.”
VFA team cannot wait to see this exhibition.
Liberty
WHAT VICTOIRE LOVES
HAPPY BASTILLE DAY – VIVE LA LIBERTE!!
This post is not one of our usual insight on the fashion industry.
It has been a difficult year for France and for so many countries in the world.
And we are incredibly happy to see people back in the stores, on our beloved « terrasses de café », enjoying and sharing it all with their friends and fellow human beings.
France is about a lot of things : of course fashion, food, wine, …but first of all about equality, fraternity and maybe even more about Liberty !
On this very special day, we wanted to share with you one of our favorite poem « Liberty » from Paul Eluard – This poem was written during dark times in France, when our country was deprived of freedom – this is a celebration on how important the value of liberty is and should be in all countries in the world.
On my school notebooks
On my desk and on the trees
On the sands of snow
I write your name
On the pages I have read
On all the white pages
Stone, blood, paper or ash
I write your name
On the images of gold
On the weapons of the warriors
On the crown of the king
I write your name
On the jungle and the desert
On the nest and on the brier
On the echo of my childhood
I write your name
On all my scarves of blue
On the moist sunlit swamps
On the living lake of moonlight
I write your name
On the fields, on the horizon
On the birds’ wings
And on the mill of shadows
I write your name
On each whiff of daybreak
On the sea, on the boats
On the demented mountaintop
I write your name
On the froth of the cloud
On the sweat of the storm
On the dense rain and the flat
I write your name
On the flickering figures
On the bells of colors
On the natural truth
I write your name
On the high paths
On the deployed routes
On the crowd-thronged square
I write your name
On the lamp which is lit
On the lamp which isn’t
On my reunited thoughts
I write your name
On a fruit cut in two
Of my mirror and my chamber
On my bed, an empty shell
I write your name
On my dog, greathearted and greedy
On his pricked-up ears
On his blundering paws
I write your name
On the latch of my door
On those familiar objects
On the torrents of a good fire
I write your name
On the harmony of the flesh
On the faces of my friends
On each outstretched hand
I write your name
On the window of surprises
On a pair of expectant lips
In a state far deeper than silence
I write your name
On my crumbled hiding-places
On my sunken lighthouses
On my walls and my ennui
I write your name
On abstraction without desire
On naked solitude
On the marches of death
I write your name
And for the want of a word
I renew my life
For I was born to know you
To name you
Liberty.
From Multi-Channel to Omnichannel
WHAT VICTOIRE THINKS
FROM A MULTICHANNEL
TO AN OMNICHANNEL EXPERIENCE
OUR CONFERENCE DURING MONTE CARLO FASHION WEEK
We had the opportunity this month to lead a conference about the Omni channel experience at the Monte Carlo Fashion Week.
Gone are the days where successful retailers can be one dimensional. In order to compete, they need to have a multi-dimensional strategy with online and offline.
Lets start with some facts :Online luxury fashion sales accounts for €10.9bn in 2018 (17% of the market). An overwhelming portion of sales/margin growth came, comes and will keep coming from Digital.
The multi channel experience is what most businesses invest in today. In the world of luxury and fashion, we have seen brick and morters store investing heavily in digital.
But the issue is:
The issue here: Having different Strategies is not cost-efficient and therefore not profitable enough!
ll omni channel experiences will use multiple channels, but not all multi-channel experiences are omni channel. Remember that. You can have amazing mobile strategy, engaging social media campaigns, and a well-designed website. But if they don’t work together, it’s not omni-channel.
The multi channel experience is what most businesses invest in today. They have a website, blog, Facebook, and Twitter. They use each of these platforms to engage and connect with customers. However, in most cases, the customer still lacks a seamless experience and consistent messaging across each of these channels.
So omni channel is THE solution.
What is omni channel?
An omni channel approach accounts for each platform and device a customer will use to interact with the company. That knowledge is then used to deliver an integrated experience. Companies using this technique align their messaging, goals, objectives, and design across each channel and device.
The omni channel aims to increase companies margin while increasing customer satisfaction at the same time.
It’s important here to distinguish an omni channel user experience from a multi channel user experience. Essentially, it comes down to the depth of the integration.
Ultimately, your strategy should consist of a strategic plan to build a coherent, aligned experience across multiple platforms, which may include any or all of the channels featured in the graphic.
Because this is still a relatively new emerging concept, there’s still time to start small and expand in the future through Stock & Marketing Integration, CRM, Responsive supply chain, Integrated Leadership & KPIs, Customised services, HR, Store renewal…. And much more.
Every company must develop its own unique omni channel infrastructure, and you’ll need to work closely with several departments in your company to develop this strong strategy.
Dont worry 94% of e-retailers have not yet executed omni channel strategies
It may feel hard to go Omni-channel but it’s worth it.
If you wish to get our full presentation, please do not hesitate to get in contact with our team.
Thanks
VFA
Seoul, the next Fashion & Art Capital ?
WHAT VICTOIRE SAW
IS SEOUL
THE NEXT FASHION AND ART CAPITAL?
The Seoul Fashion week showcased at the Zaha Hadid Design Plaza has been on everyone’s lips in the past few days.
It would not be relevant to say that South Korean Fashion is a brand new thing in the industry considering the impact of already re-known designers like Lee Young-Hee, Juun J or Wooyoungmi and internationally acclaimed retail concepts like Tom Greyhound, Shinsegae-Boon the shop or 10 Corso Como Seoul.
Seoul’s fashion week is already twelve years old, but it has never been talked about as much by fashion experts, journalists and buyers from all around the world.
The creativity in fashion has thrived towards street-culture & sportswear following the example of highly coveted brands like Vêtements.
And that is something South Korean designers have definitely integrated into their brand DNA mixing street-style, K-pop & technology elements. Blindness, SJYP, Moohong are some of the label names to watch closely in the future…
As usual, Fashion does not live on its own and the influence of South Korean Art is also very highly considered in established art cities like Paris or London. South Korea is currently guest of honor in Paris Art Fair, where the work of Kyum Kim and Yun Soo Kim at the Soso Gallery or Ung-No Lee at the Thessa Herold Gallery are currently displayed amongst many other talented artists.
Visit : http://www.seoulfashionweek.org/
The leading ladies of Glamour: Charlotte Olympia with Agent Provocateur
WHAT VICTOIRE LOVES
THE LEADING LADIES OF GLAMOUR :
CHARLOTTE OLYMPIA WITH AGENT PROVOCATEUR
A match made in heaven for this very exclusive lingerie capsule.
What a lovely surprise.
Charlotte Olympia and Agent Provocateur combined their talents once again for a capsule collection
This is the second time Charlotte Olympia collaborates with Agent Provocateur
According to a release, the line will be inspired by ‘the era gone old Hollywood glamour’ and will include three lingerie sets and more than three pairs of shoes.
The collection features Charlotte Olympia key signatures pieces, including the cat motif and leopard print
The campaign is featuring Julia Restoin-Roitfeld who Dellal describes as the perfect ambassador thanks to her “unique French allure and feminine sensuality”
The collection launches on January 18 in Agent Provocateur and Charlotte Olympia stores.
This is quite refreshing to have both of those leading ladies supporting womenswear glamour by combining again their creativity.
Tribute to a Starman
WHAT VICTOIRE LOVES
TRIBUTE TO A STARMAN
The widespread shock and sadness at David Bowie’s death at age 69 has affirmed the breadth and depth of his influence — on music, art & fashion.
We were sad to hear of another great man passing away.
The widespread shock and sadness at David Bowie’s death at age 69 has affirmed the breadth and depth of his influence — on music, art & fashion.
We were sad to hear of another great man passing away. Originally a painter, Bowie was his own canvas, putting voice and face to his singular visions.
Sometimes disturbing, always at the vanguard, he never failed to be admired and respected by each new generation. Mr. Bowie wrote songs, above all, about being an outsider: an alien, a misfit, a sexual adventurer, a faraway astronaut. His music was always a mutable blend -rock, cabaret, jazz and what he called “plastic soul” — but it was suffused with genuine soul. He also captured the drama and longing of everyday life, enough to give him No. 1 pop hits like “Let’s Dance.”
In concerts and videos, Mr. Bowie’s costumes and imagery traversed styles, eras and continents, from German Expressionism to commedia dell’arte to Japanese kimonos to spacesuits. He set an example, and a challenge, for every arena spectacle in his wake.
We were lucky enough to attend the major exhibition of Bowie’s costumes, lyrics, scenery, and ephemera in 2014 at the Philarmonie in Paris. The show has since traveled to multiple countries on a still-ongoing tour. Expect to hear the Star Man a lot those days … as it should be.
We have another star in the sky now.
VFA
The Dark Romanticism of Alexander McQueen Autumn Winter 2016 Menswear Collection
WHAT VICTOIRE SAW
THE DARK ROMANTICISM
OF ALEXANDER MCQUEEN AUTUMN WINTER 2016
MENSWEAR COLLECTION
Inspired by Sir John Soane and Charles Darwin, Sarah Burton delivered a beautiful and rich new menswear collection for Fall Winter 2016.
Alexander McQueen himself was always inspired by Victorian times and anthropology making us travel in beautiful forgotten or imagined worlds. We all remember the performance in his « Plasto’s Atlantis » or « Voss » fashion shows for example.
Needless to say that Sarah Burton is the right person to respect the legacy of Alexander McQueen.
The Fall Winter 2016 menswear collection invites us to enter in a dark and astonishing « cabinet de curiosité » and mixing elements like collected flowers and butterfly jacquards.
Buyers have always considered Alexander Mcqueen for the new approach on classic pieces. Once again (and probably in a stronger way than she did before), Sarah Burton proved that you can bring edgyness to Tailoring, applying embroidery details or gold jacquard on pinstripes suits or velvet tuxedo.
The dark romance is also accentuated by the men jewellery, creating more than a contrast, maybe an ambiguity, between the military feeling and the intense sensibility.
This collection is luxurious, romantic, flamboyant and decadent at the same time… Definitely one of the strongest collection presented during London Men Collection so far.
VFA
Video : www.alexandermcqueen.com