BUZZWORTHY: Boucheron has named popular actor Xiao Zhan its global brand ambassador on Tuesday, because the jeweler seeks to bolster its China presence.

In an announcement, Xiao expressed excitement at this development with a brand he described as “most stylish and cutting-edge French high jewelry maison.”

The jeweler’s chief executive officer Hélène Poulit-Duquesne lauded Xiao’s “fierce sense of fashion and his vibrant personality,” while noting the move aimed to “reassert [the brand’s] presence in China, which plays an important role in Boucheron’s strategy.”

A video announcement of his recent role garnered some 5.42 million likes in addition to tens of millions of shares and comments inside eight hours on Weibo, where Xiao has near 32 million followers.

The face of Gucci and Tod’s in China, Xiao generated greater than $9.3 million in earned media value on Weibo during March’s Fashion Month, in response to data compiled by influencer marketing agency Lefty.

The 32-year-old is a member of the Chinese boy group X Nine and rose to prominence in 2019 along with his performance within the TV drama “The Untamed,” later available globally on Netflix.

He found himself at the middle of a cyberbullying scandal in 2019, when a fan fiction portrayal of considered one of his characters created fervent fan support but additionally backlash against him that cost the actor a lot of his endorsement deals.

Xiao was subsequently forced to issue an apology for the actions of his fans and laid low for greater than a 12 months before regaining momentum amongst luxury brands in 2021. He can be the face of JD.com, Li-Ning, Tencent Video and Budweiser.

Amongst its China ambassadors, Boucheron counts Xiao and actress Zhou Dongyu, who appeared within the jeweler’s “Icons” campaign last 12 months and is global face of Louis Vuitton. — LILY TEMPLETON

SPECIAL PRIZE: Because it gets able to kick off its fifteenth edition, it’s annual fashion film festival A Shaded View on Fashion Film that gets the primary gong: sponsorship from France’s ministry of culture.

Minister Rima Abdul Malak “gladly agreed to position [the festival] under sponsorship” given the cultural dimension at stake, the ministry said in a letter addressed to founder Diane Pernet and festival president Emmanuel Asmar shown to WWD.

For the third 12 months running, ASVOFF will run from Thursday to Sunday at Dover Street Market Paris, which takes the place of the now-closed 3537 cultural center.

Swedish singer-songwriter Jay-Jay Johanson is the president of the edition’s jury. Judging movies and curated selections this 12 months are a broad group that features the likes of Sara Sozzani Maino, GQ head of editorial content Pierre M’Pelé, Canadian actress Gabrielle Lazzure, designer José Levy and the still-anonymous creative behind Instagram meme account Couturfu.

Some 115 fashion movies will compete for the 12 months’s 16 prizes, which range from the grand prize and Black representation in film to the “Climate Warrior” curation introduced this 12 months, specializing in children 6 to 12 years old who express themselves around climate change.

As is tradition, trophies might be made by Latest York-based artist and designer Miguel Villalobos, save for the one awarded for the “Responsible Actions” section, created by Paris-based upcycling artist William Amor with the support of the Ateliers de Paris fund for creative professionals.

Beyond the competition, highlights of the edition will include the opening projection of “Invisible Beauty,” codirected by Bethann Hardison and Frédéric Tcheng, that chronicles Hardison’s evolution from a runway model to an agent, activist, mentor, diversity aficionado and more; a three-film tribute to South African clothier Thebe Magugu; and a highlight on the industry’s disastrous environmental impact with the “Junk” docu-series by Olmo Parenti and Matteo Keffer.

Kicking off the 20 thematic sections of the edition is a curation of AI-generated movies, which might be followed by a chat between photographers and artistic directors Alexandre Sade and Marguerite Chaillou of MCAS Bureau, the agency behind the primary AI billboard campaign in France for underwear label UndizDocumentaries will take the lion’s share of the four-day event, with Olivier Nicklaus’ “The Versace Saga,” an homage to Academy-award nominated costume designer Arianne Philipps; and “The Pusher,” where skilled skateboarder Steve Olson looks at the next generation of his sport.

Talks and master classes can even be aplenty, including a session at 6 p.m. on Saturday where jury president Johanson will open up on his creative process and an exhibition by visual artist Anouk Kruithof will tap into the range of dance videos distributed online.

Closing the edition might be the Sunday projection of “Tilda Swinton: Le geste et le genre,” (or “gesture and gender” in English), a documentary by Pierre-Paul Puljiz that weaves together clips from the actress’ storied profession with insights from those that have worked along with her, including filmmaker Pedro Almodovar, Olivier Saillard and Haider Ackermann. — L.T.

SPECIAL K: Filippa K is looking back, and forging ahead, with a capsule collection marking the brand’s 30-year anniversary and a recent coffee table book in collaboration with the Swedish photographer J.H. Engström.

Liisa Kessler, Filippa K’s recent creative director who worked previously at Chloé under Clare Waight Keller and with Anthony Vaccarello at Saint Laurent, has overseen each projects.

In an interview, Kessler said she’s desirous to return Filippa K to its roots in sensual, practical, well-made clothes and offer up a fresh idea of what Scandinavian style will be.

“The brand pioneered the stripped-back, ’90s aesthetic” and helped to create the Scandinavian minimalist aesthetic in fashion, Kessler said.

“Now we’re asking ourselves what Scandinavian style means today, and the reply is effortless clothing that isn’t overdesigned. It’s also about intimacy, how the clothes feel on the body, and timeless, sustainable, ‘real’ products for every single day,” she added.

The corporate has been rebranding, repositioning and tweaking its prices to compete more effectively in an overcrowded market where raw material prices have been on the rise. Filippa K has also introduced a recent, and really discreet, tone-on-tone monogram inspired by the 12 months 1993, which might be featured on select garments.

The brand, which offers womenswear and menswear, has positioned itself alongside brands corresponding to Toteme, A.P.C., Ami and By Malene Birger.

Prices range from 160 kilos for a double-face cashmere scarf, to 225 kilos for wool trousers and 830 kilos for the double-breasted, tailored check coat.

Kessler said she takes a “unified” approach to men’s and ladies’s design and puts a giant emphasis on tailoring for each collections.

The 1993 Capsule Collection, which launched Tuesday, will sell exclusively on the brand’s stand-alone stores and on its website.

It comprises 19 “essential” pieces for men and ladies with languid, ’90s-inspired matches and denim styles with a vintage black wash. Fabrics, in response to Kessler, are “sustainable, low-impact and long-lasting.”

The broader Filippa K clothing offer is sold at stores and platforms including Galeries Lafayette, 24S marketplace, Farfetch and Tmall. As of spring 2024, it should also sell at Selfridges online.

The book, which is known as “It’s Been 30 Years,” might be released on Nov. 16. It mixes never-before-seen photography from Engström’s archive with fresh images of key garments from the brand’s history.

Kessler said the still life images within the book aim “to look beyond the polished mask” of Swedish culture and society and offer a glimpse of real life, nature and the outside. “It’s very arty, and private,” she said. — SAMANTHA CONTI

TURNING HEADS: Three years ago, Sophia Webster was feeling a bit at odds with the industry, and the constant demand for newness.

“I’d been fascinated by my archive and all those shoes boxed up. I loved taking a look at all of the old shoes from the past. To me, they’re still special,” said the London-based designer, who’s celebrating a decade in business. “After which I believed to myself: ‘I love drawing.’ I didn’t realize how much little time I might must spend drawing with all of the pressures of running the business.”

So within the waning days of 2020, she issued a challenge to herself: Each day of 2021, she would sketch a single shoe from her vast collection — before the clock struck midnight. Webster arrange a non-public Instagram account for family and friends to maintain herself accountable, and she or he started working. Some nights, the then mother of three fell asleep beside her young girls when she put them to bed and would get up just in time to complete that day’s drawing.

“So many memories were popping up — funny stories, different dramas with the factories, funny celebrity stories. It was a roller coaster, those early years,” she recalled. “I began writing down the memories, and we thought it will make an incredible coffee table book. It ended up as a coffee table book/memoir.”  

Known for her colourful, playful details, Webster produces her collections in Brazil and Europe.

By the top of 2021, Webster — who oversees the brand along with her husband, Bobby Stockley — had a book deal. Around the identical time, she discovered she was pregnant along with her fourth child.  

Almost two years later, the designer will release the colourful book — stuffed with the artistic, playful details she is thought for — within the U.S., after debuting it within the U.K. last month.

Called “Oh My Gosh, I Love Your Shoes: A Decade of Head-Turning Heels,” the book charts the designer’s journey through the 365 sketches she drew in 2021. (Webster said that “Oh my gosh, I like your shoes,” is the phrase she hears most incessantly when she meets strangers.)

Webster — who last 12 months reported $17.5 million in annual sales — doesn’t hold back when writing about her highs and lows, each skilled and private. (One of the vital emotional moments within the book comes when Webster recounts the 2017 incident that left her dad with catastrophic brain injury after he was attacked in London.)

Through all of the highs and lows, Webster has realized how unique it’s to be a part of the shoe industry. 

“You’re a little bit of an outsider and you’ll be able to do your individual thing — and stay in your individual lane. I feel we’ve done well to cultivate customers who’ve an actual affinity for the brand, and who’re loyal. It’s super vital to have that sort of following. I’ve seen so many brands come and go.” — KATIE ABEL

PALM ANGELS COLLAB: Palm Angels has revisited the Tod’s tabs sneaker for fall.

Francesco Ragazzi, founder and inventive director of the brand, has updated the classic style along with his own vision, adding a ‘70s touch to the development of the tongue. The toe cap has been revised for a more modern look, and on the tongue and on the back stands out the Palm Angels logo in gold Lurex. Tod’s T is embossed on the lace loop and on the back.

A black leather palm tree is stretched at the edges of the upper, and Tod’s signature Gommino pebble details are transformed right into a decoration, placed within the back.

“Supporting Made in Italy is vital to me, a part of my very own history and I actually have a passion for products which are well-made,” said Ragazzi, praising Tod’s chairman Diego Della Valle for his own belief in Italian craftsmanship. “To collaborate with Tod’s is a milestone and a pleasure and it teaches me a lot.”

Last 12 months, Palm Angels was a part of a collaboration with Tod’s and Moncler, with a dedicated communication campaign fronted by Naomi Campbell.

Ragazzi grew up wearing Tod’s, he recalls, and said “the values it expresses are linked to our culture of beauty and recognized globally.”

The Palm Angels x Tod’s sneakers, available for each men and ladies, might be released on Thursday at Palm Angels boutiques worldwide, on Tod’s and Palm Angels online stores, and at chosen international wholesalers. Ragazzi teased the launch throughout the Palm Angels show in Paris last March.

Individually, Palm Angels said it’s opening a recent boutique on Thursday inside the Bangkok Central Embassy. The shop partitions are covered in raffia and bleached cedar wood stands out on the fundamental display. Black Marquina and Calacatta red marbles are also key elements of the shop, which carries the brand’s collaborations as well, including with Moncler Genius.

Palm Angels is expanding its retail network, following the opening of a store in Latest York last month.

The corporate currently has a unit on the Wynn in Las Vegas in addition to within the Design District in Miami, where plans include doubling the shop size. Following the SoHo store, which measures 2,300 square feet, Palm Angels will open a store at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, Calif., by the top of the 12 months. There are a complete of 13 Palm Angels stores on the planet, including units in its hometown of Milan in addition to Paris. — LUISA ZARGANI

LIMITED EDITION: Paul Smith on Wednesday unveiled the second iteration of the &PaulSmith collaboration series with the Latest York-based label Commission, founded by Dylan Cao and Jin Kay, following an inaugural capsule with the London-based designer Priya Ahluwalia.

The 22-piece capsule collection encompasses a long wool-cashmere overcoat, a structured double-breasted brown worsted wool suit, and a yellow leather field jacket, in addition to wardrobe staples with accentuated details like point collars, low peak lapels, on-seam pockets, barely fatherly stripes and daring red touches.

As “an apparent synergy” was formed from the primary meeting, either side began to on a group mostly inspired by “Father & Son,” a book of photographs taken by Smith and his father Harold Smith, published after the latter’s passing in 2000.

The concept of family resonated with Commission’s ethos. The brand offers modern outfits fit for the Big Apple lifestyle with their Eastern viewpoint. Cao and Kay are first-generation U.S. immigrants from Vietnam and South Korea, respectively. They launched the brand in 2018 with the goal to reframe and elevate how Asian culture is represented in Western fashion.

Fairly often, the brand’s collections are based on the wardrobes of their parents’ generation, bringing back elements of nostalgia and uniform dressing, often pulled from straight from family photo albums.

Paul Smith’s archive in Nottingham, collections from 1997 to 1998 and 2002 to 2003 to be precise, also served as a source of inspiration to the duo behind Commission.

“Tapping into recent ideas is strictly why I wanted to begin the &PaulSmith series,” Smith said. “Commission are brimming with them. I even have an enormous sense of pride in our archive and I’m so glad that Cao and Kay have been inspired by pieces from past collections and put their very own truly unique spin on them.”

The duo added: “There’s a richness to his archive throughout the late ’90s that resonates with us, where its masculinity gave the impression of a mash-up of preppy, sex and post-punk, yet highly functional and romantic. Our approach to products and storytelling was similar in that it’s an eclectic mismatch of assorted narratives and undercurrents.”

The CFDA acted as a broker on this collaboration, because it presented a shortlist of candidates for the collaboration by private referral.

As a part of the collaboration, Paul Smith can even provide mentorship to Commission. — TIANWEI ZHANG

MEDIA PARTNER: The Running Event and Footwear News are teaming up. The 2 organizations have announced that FN will serve because the official media partner of the 2023 and 2024 TRE events. The partnership will include extensive editorial content, updates about TRE programming and deep dives into the annual show.

“FN’s platforms, industry knowledge and audience reach supports us in our mission to raise and support the running and outdoor industry,” said event director Christina Henderson. “This collaboration will bring TRE coverage and access to more people, creating additional opportunities for business, connection and visibility into the event.”

The partnership will include extensive editorial content and updates about TRE programming all year long, in addition to comprehensive pre-event, onsite and post-event coverage of the annual conference and trade show. Coverage will highlight key players, industry trends and TRE’s impact on the larger footwear industry.

“We’re thrilled about this recent collaboration with The Running Event,” said Michael Atmore, editorial director of FN and chief brand officer of Fairchild Media Group. “The TRE conference and trade show is home to a few of an important conversations across the running and outdoor industry today, and we sit up for leveraging FN’s access and platforms to grow awareness and proceed to bring this vital community together in recent ways.”

Amanda Smith, Fairchild Media Group president, echoed those sentiments: “Our brands are leading the conversation around running and outdoor with the specialty retail industry and its future, and I’m looking forward to bringing more of FN’s authority to the TRE exhibitors and audience experience as a complete.” — FN STAFF