CALIFORNIA DREAMING: Add Chanel to the posh brands answering the siren call of California.

The French luxury house revealed Saturday that it is going to unveil its cruise 2024 collection in Los Angeles on May 9. Chanel didn’t specify the venue for the show, but noted that it presented the cruise 2008 collection designed by its late creative director Karl Lagerfeld inside Santa Monica airport.

“This show is a chance for the home to have fun its connections with the City of Angels,” it said in a press release.

Chanel’s links with cinema date back to 1931, when movie mogul Sam Goldwyn invited founder Gabrielle Chanel to Hollywood. Her welcoming party on the Los Angeles train station included Greta Garbo, and Chanel would go on to design costumes for actresses corresponding to Gloria Swanson.

The home has costumed actresses starting from Kristen Stewart in “Spencer” to Jeanne Moreau in “Les Liaisons Dangereuses” and Cate Blanchett in “Blue Jasmine.” It also has long-standing partnerships with film events corresponding to the Deauville American Film Festival in France and the Tribeca Film Festival in Latest York City.

California has turn out to be a hot spot for destination shows, with Celine, Ralph Lauren, Dior, Louis Vuitton and Saint Laurent amongst brands which have mounted runway displays there in recent times.

While Lagerfeld was known for staging shows as far afield as Dubai, Singapore and Cuba, Chanel creative director Virginie Viard has mostly stuck closer to home, especially because the coronavirus pandemic hampered international travel within the wake of her appointment.

She presented her cruise 2023 show in Monaco, with a repeat show in Miami in November. Signaling it’s able to resume destination shows overseas, Chanel staged its Métiers d’Art show in Senegal in December, with a repeat show in Tokyo planned on June 1. — JOELLE DIDERICH

TIME OUT:  Philipp Plein hosted a chic cocktail party on Friday evening on the Hôtel de Crillon during Paris Men’s Fashion Week to disclose his Spectre watch line.

In one in all the grand, gilded rooms, set to live classical music, the Skeleton Spectre and Spectre Chronograph were on display in real life and thru holograph displays. Visitors could also see the campaign for the brand, fronted by motorsport great Eddie Jordan.

“I like cars, I like watches — [they’re] machines,” said Plein. “One is a Time Machine and the opposite is a racing machine and so they are very technical.”

Plein himself is a long-standing watch collector and launched his first watch collection greater than a yr ago, with licensee Timex’s luxury division.

“This was for Timex probably the most successful watch launch of the last two years,” claimed Plein, for whom the bestseller in 2022 was the Skeleton watch.

The model, which he designed, is less sporty than its predecessor.

“It’s more elegant,” said Plein, pointing to the flat case. The designer poured his brand’s codes into the model. For example, Spectre’s face is a hexagon, just like the shape of Plein’s logo, and there’s his signature skull inside, together with the automated movement.

“It is a watch you wear with a suit,” he continued.

Plein himself was wearing a tux with the timepiece, which is available in metals corresponding to pink gold and steel. The Spectre, out starting in February, will probably be priced at around 790 euros.

Plein expects his watch business will pull in 20 million euros in wholesale turnover this yr, versus 8.9 million euros in 2022, when there have been stock issues.

 “Spectre” holds great cachet. It was the name of the twenty fourth James Bond film, and can also be the moniker of the subsequent Rolls-Royce model.

“I’m a Rolls-Royce fan, too,” said Plein. “I even have 4 Rolls-Royces.” And, he’s ordered the Spectre, making five.

But back to timepieces. Next up for Plein will probably be an exclusive Swiss-made model, called Crypto King, with a retail price range from 2,000 euros to 4,000 euros. — JENNIFER WEIL

NEW AMBASSADOR: Louis Vuitton has appointed the Hong Kong-born singer Jackson Wang its latest brand ambassador.

Wang, who’s on tour in Europe, showed up at Louis Vuitton men’s fashion show in an all-black ensemble and mingled with fellow guests corresponding to Usher, Tyga, JJ Lin and Jasper Liu.

“I’m preparing for an American tour, then South America and possibly Europe after that. The European crowds are crazy. There’s a whole lot of prep, but I’m excited,” Wang told WWD before the show.

Ahead of the show, Vuitton teased the appointment with a 30-second video wherein Wang invited fans to look at the livestream on Weibo and WeChat. The video received greater than 188,000 views on the time of publication.

The worldwide star, who has greater than 31 million followers on Instagram and 30 million followers on Weibo, recently made headlines for reiterating his patriotic feelings on stage, calling China a “dope place” and defending the country against “bulls–t” Western media coverage. The subject began trending on Weibo and received greater than 540 million clicks on the platform.

Known for treating his fans as friends and alluring them onstage during soundchecks, Wang made Weibo Trending Topics again the next day for sharing an intimate home-cooked dinner with lucky fans. The news received greater than 160 million views on Weibo.

The Hong Kong-born, 28-year-old Wang is a former Olympian and member of the K-pop group Got7. Wang released his second solo studio album, “Magic Man,” last September and launched into his first solo world tour that launched in Bangkok. Recently, Wang also confirmed his return to Coachella this April.

The restless performer can also be the founding father of the record label Team Wang and director of the style brand Team Wang Design.

“We would like to bring more values to the international level,” Wang told WWD last summer after dropping a capsule collection called “Sparkles — Mudance” for his brand.

Before signing on as a Louis Vuitton ambassador, Wang was also the face of Armani Perfume in APAC and Hennessy. He was previously a China ambassador for Fendi, a “friend of the home” at Cartier and a spokesperson for Ray-Ban.

Wang is Louis Vuitton’s most high-profile Chinese ambassador appointment after Kris Wu, who fell from grace two years ago.

Vuitton cut ties with Wu after he was charged with predatory allegations in 2021. Wu was sentenced to 13 years in jail for rape and fined $83 million last November. — DENNI HU

DEEP DIVE: Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi, aka Kid Cudi, is delving ever deeper into fashion.

The rapper and actor sat surrounded by displays of his brand Members of the Rage’s first full ready-to-wear collection, for fall 2023, in a Right Bank Paris showroom on Thursday.

“I actually wanted it to represent Scott Mescudi, who I’m,” he said. “I feel anybody that knows me will have the ability to have a look at this collection and feel my spirit all throughout it.”

The artist is very inspired by ’90s culture — grunge, hip-hop — and described himself as a “super sci-fi freak.”

“So I desired to add futuristic elements and things like this on top, to simply give it just a little spin and make it just a little bit more fun,” he continued. “It’s almost like retro future-type vibes.”

Hanging along one wall was a brown faux-fur jacket, multihued floral shirts and dresses, plus camo bombers in a cool colorway of egg blue, olive and gray-green.

Mescudi said the unisex collection, which comes after a primary T-shirt drop last yr, will probably be sold worldwide in stores including Selfridges, Saks Fifth Avenue and H.Lorenzo. It got here together in pieces: A knit, then a leather jacket idea would bubble up.

“Over the course of a yr, I used to be just considering of all the things I ever desired to make, all the things I desired to perfect,” he said.

Mescudi would see clothing in-store and think: “If they modify this color and they modify that, it might be doper.”

Considered one of the primary things he desired to make was a black-and-red distressed sweater that’s an actual replica of the one Kurt Cobain wore. A varsity jacket with piping on the sleeves was one other early creation.

“I felt just like the varsity style has been around for many years, and nobody has really tried to freak it or upgrade it or do anything recent with it in all this time,” he said. “I desired to take a stab at it.”

Mescudi drew a design in his sketchpad and that got here out exactly as he wanted. He enjoys mixing fabrics in unexpected ways. There’s an overall product of sherpa, with tulle running down it, as an illustration.

“I’m at all times coming up with ideas,” he continued. “If I’m in Tokyo, I’m seeing all styles of vibes. The style out there may be totally inspiring.

“I’m only a fan of fashion,” added Mescudi, who planned to go to the Sacai show.

“Chitose [Abe] is a recent friend of mine,” he said of the brand’s designer. “We met recently once I was in Tokyo and we actually hit it off. We’re actually working on something special. I can’t say exactly what it’s.”

His goal is for MOTR to ultimately turn out to be a life-style brand. Meanwhile, Mescudi stays been busy in other domains. He has a cameo within the recently released movie “House Party,” and can appear as a dad in “Crater” from Disney+.

Mescudi will begin writing his memoir next month, but a dream is to direct his own movies.

“It’s up there with creating this line,” said Mescudi. “Doing this has given me a load of confidence. I feel like I can do anything now. I’m just really inspired.” — J.W.

K-POP WAVE: The K-chaos continued at Friday’s Dior show, with recent global ambassador Park Jimin drawing 1000’s to Paris’ Place de la Concorde ahead of Kim Jones’ latest collection.

The Korean pop star was joined by his BTS bandmate J-Hope, who also attended the Louis Vuitton show Thursday, keeping all of it within the LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton family.

It made for probably the most electric front row of the week, with Jimin and J-Hope seated between Naomi Campbell and J Balvin, just seats down from Eddie Redmayne and Robert Pattinson.

J-Hope chatted with LVMH scion and Tag Heuer chief executive officer Frédéric Arnault through an interpreter. He said he tried to make amends for sleep after Thursday’s Vuitton show.

Despite the madness outside, Balvin felt that the vibe of the shows this season is “more chill than it was once.” He has turn out to be an everyday at Paris Fashion Week, and took within the Vuitton and Givenchy shows earlier within the week.

He chatted with Jimin and J-Hope at their seats, and proclaimed himself a fan of BTS. Asked if there could ever be a collaboration with the group or solo members, he was up for the concept. “I met them before and I mean they’re great. I’d like to, why not?”

“They’re doing it amazing. I see how their mood goes up,” Balvin said of the group’s popularity. “They’re singing in Korean; I’m Latino and I’m singing in Spanish. It’s all about having a worldwide reach. I mean, you gotta get to know just a little bit concerning the culture and the sound but I feel it’s great. Individuals are connecting with their music, which suggests they’re doing the appropriate thing.”

Fellow face of Dior Pattinson seem unbothered by the commotion and chatted with Redmayne about upcoming travel plans. Redmayne, clad in a classic suit, complemented Pattinson’s kilt. “Just a little extra ventilation,” he joked.

Pattinson appeared on screen to perform T.S. Eliot’s poem “The Waste Land” with Gwendoline Christie, while models walked to a meditative mixture of their words and music.

“Kim is someone that I’ve known for a extremely very long time and we’ve a shared history meaning an awful lot to me,” Christie said. “Kim demonstrated what he’s at all times so good at, which is having the ability to see in people what other people can’t necessarily see, and make connections otherwise. It meant an enormous amount to me to really be brought along with this text, which I’ve never performed before, and to work with Robert Pattinson, who’s one in all my favorite actors.”

“It’s very overwhelming actually and emotional, and I loved the means of working on it,” she added.

“The White Lotus” star Adam DiMarco reflected on how much his life has modified prior to now yr. He got down to film the cult hit on location in Italy last February.

“That is all recent to me, it’s a extremely foreign world and I’m just curious, attempting to be a sponge and learn as much as I can. My brain is taking some time to meet up with my body. It’s very surreal all the things that has been happening,” he said of his sudden fame.

DiMarco promised to not take any sartorial suggestions from his character. “He wasn’t particularly well dressed, so I feel I learned what to not do,” he said. Sporting a velvet track suit, DiMarco said he had no idea if he would get to maintain the loaned duds. “It’s really comfortable — I hope so,” he said.

K-pop has dominated fashion week, with fans turning up for J-Hope on the Vuitton show on the Louvre, and Big Bang’s Taeyang at Givenchy. It follows the mobs that stood outside the Prada show in Milan for BTS’ labelmate Enhypen last week as K-culture continues to make its mark on the style world. — RHONDA RICHFORD AND JOELLE DIDERICH

SALE SET TO GO: Property from the groundbreaking clothier Arthur McGee will go under the gavel at Hindman Auctions in mid-March.

In 1957, McGee became the primary African American designer to run a Seventh Avenue design studio — Bobbie Brooks — doing so on the age of 24. Largely unheralded during his profession, McGee, who died in 2019, helped pave the best way for other African American designers like Willi Smith, Stephen Burrows, Scott Barrie, Jeffrey Banks and B. Michael. What distinguished him from others was the multiple platforms he worked on, running his own signature shop, selling his collection to department shops and dealing on his own on Seventh Avenue. McGee forged into fashion at a time of great racial divide within the U.S. Post-Bobbie Brooks, he ventured out on his own working from a St. Mark’s Place atelier. He also designed the Tammy Andrews juniors label at one point for the corporate Stacey Ames. In 1965, he opened his own store on Third Avenue, aptly named “The Store.” His collection of fresh styles was also sold via Bloomingdale’s, Henri Bendel and Saks Fifth Avenue. Combining African fabrics with Asian-inspired silhouettes, McGee’s apparel appealed to a big selection of shoppers crossing all ethnicities.

The McGee collection will probably be a part of Hindman’s March 14 Spring Fashion & Accessories auction. Along with dresses, sportswear and jackets designed by McGee, there will probably be photographs of him, including just a few with pre-sale estimates starting from $4,000 to $6,000.

Born in Detroit, McGee’s mother was a dressmaker who could make patterns from newspaper. He began designing hats for her on the age of 15. He first got here to Latest York after winning a scholarship to Traphagen School of Design, and later studied millinery and apparel design on the Fashion Institute of Technology. During that point, he also worked at Charles James for a period. After being told that there have been no jobs for Black designers, McGee ditched the educational route and arrange his own downtown operation catering to actresses. He later segued into making clothes for Broadway actors and dealing for Seventh Avenue corporations corresponding to College Town of Boston. McGee once recalled how he “worked in backrooms designing whole collections with no credit,” when he started off in fashion.

McGee was a supporter of the Fashion Coalition, a bunch formed in 1968 to advertise the advancement of Blacks in the style industry and to encourage more to affix. — ROSEMARY FEITELBERG

TAKING THEIR SEATS: On Friday night, the tables were turned on the Salle Pleyel concert hall, with musical artists taking to their seats reasonably than the stage for the third chapter of Nigo’s tenure at Kenzo.

Outside, Parisian fans had given a warm welcome, screaming in delight because the likes of rappers Pusha T, Skepta, Tyga and Kodak Black, who was carrying his one-year-old daughter Queen Yuri Kapri in his arms, got here in thick and fast.

Pharrell Williams also arrived along with his family, posing with wife Helen Lasichanh and son Rocket in a photo-call with spinning arms that captured an aerial 360-degree video portrait.   

“I like Paris — similar to my home. It’s at all times so good to me, at all times, from music to art, to design to fashion, they’ve at all times welcomed,” he said.

The following project he’ll be sharing with the City of Light will probably be Sunday’s launch of the sneaker collaboration between Adidas Originals and the artist’s product company Humanrace, which is able to see the NMD S1 Mahbs model released at Kith.

Pop star Aya Nakamura, recently dubbed the “queen of French pop” by French newspaper Le Monde and currently probably the most listened to Francophone artist on the earth on streaming platforms, slipped into her seat because the show was about to start out. Her fourth album, titled “DNK” as a reference to her last name Danioko, is slated to drop on Friday.

Fairly than the unconventional lyrics of any of those artists, it was the ballads of The Beatles that accompanied the autumn 2023 Kenzo show, as all-female string ensemble 1966 Quartet performed live.

For former “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” headliner Lisa Rinna, this felt like a warm-up for couture, as she revealed youngest daughter Amelia Gray could be coming to town to walk in her first couture show, though she demurred on revealing the home for fear of jinxing the project.

The actress was up for “all the things and anything” now that her eight-season run on the hit reality show is over. “I’m free and I can do whatever I would like — here I’m in Paris on the Kenzo show,” she said with relish. “Life is an open book right away and I like that.”

While her next move continues to be up within the air and with Rinna Beauty gathering pace, Rinna was spotted earlier within the day shopping and sightseeing with friend and former costar Erika Jayne, who also attended the Kenzo show.

After the show, guests regrouped downstairs within the foyer for canapés and cocktails named Boke and Poppy, after the home’s signature blooms.

Expectations were high as a surprise performance had been announced. With the various heavy hitters in attendance, it was American rapper Lil Baby who took to the stage, to the delight of the group.

Amongst them was K-pop star Big Matthew, who revealed he was a giant fan of the rapper as he nodded appreciatively to the lyrics of diamond-certified hit “Drip Too Hard.” The surprise concert was precisely the type of moment he’d come to expect from fashion week.

“Paris is at all times time,” said the Korean American musician with a smile. “A lot inspiration, a lot creativity around. It’s a breath of fresh air.”

With a recent Kard album and a rash of recent solo songs within the works, he’s already fascinated by what to wear for performances and public appearances. “There are a pair pieces — I took a pair videos — after they come out, they’re gonna be mine.” — LILY TEMPLETON