ROSÉ IN THE TEMPLE: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Korean beauty brand Sulwhasoo launched their yearlong partnership on Wednesday night with a dinner on the museum’s Temple of Dendur.

Earlier within the day, Sulwhasoo brand ambassador Roseanne Park, otherwise often known as Rosé of Blackpink, had shared on Instagram that she was on the town for the event, together with a photograph of the invitation. Not surprisingly, her fans had turned out in full force, congregating on the sidewalk at the underside of the Met steps as guests made their way contained in the museum.

The singer was joined by fellow brand ambassadors Youn Yuh-jung and Jia Song, together with guests including Ashley Park, A$AP Ferg, LaQuan Smith, Britt Lower, Precious Lee, Chloe Flower, Georgia Fowler and Antoni Porowski.

Dinner, created by Atomix chef Junghyun Park, kicked off with a screening of Sulwhasoo’s latest campaign video “I Am Ginseng” — projected on the museum partitions — followed by one other video that featured recent brand face Tilda Swinton. After opening remarks from the Met’s chief advancement officer Whitney Donhauser and Sulwhasoo parent company Amorepacific Group’s Sean Kim, the three brand ambassadors each took their turn on the mic.

“I’m not very used to those speeches, so please excuse me if I mess this up,” Rosé said. “Today has been an incredible experience for me, and I feel extremely honored to be a part of this tradition to rejoice global heritage. I might like to congratulate Sulwhasoo and the Met for this recent partnership, and I hope you each proceed to encourage us all to understand and observe timeless values that make our world a more beautiful place.”

Youn, who won an Oscar in 2021 for her supporting role in “Minari,” spoke about discovering the brand a few years ago in Europe, while visiting her sons during their study abroad.

“I believed that it was really smart to make use of such a standard Korean ingredient like ginseng. And after that, I fell in love with Sulwhasoo,” the actress said. “It shows appreciation and pride in our country. Now, the Met and Sulwhasoo are working together to share our heritage.”

Song kept her comments succinct. “I’m really honored to be here for Sulwhasoo, for art,” the actress said. “Cheers!”

The evening continued with a performance by Ambiguous Dance Company and after party DJ set by Anderson.Paak. — KRISTEN TAUER

GOTTA WEAR SHADES: The Tommy Hilfiger sunglasses were suspended in blocks of ice, broadcast on stacks of TV sets and on the disposal of guests for photos at various selfie stations, one depicting a futuristic city within the brand’s red, white and blue palette.

Custom cocktails were tailored to numerous lifestyles — beach, mountain or city — one in all them steaming like a cauldron.

The sprawling party at Palais de Tokyo in Paris on Wednesday night was to introduce a spring campaign for the eyewear featuring Spanish soccer player Sergio Ramos, Australian snowboarder Scotty James and Brazil-born mountain biker, surfer and skier Nick Pescetto.

It also underlined the fizzy marketplace for sunglasses designed for various outdoor spare time activities.

Clutching one in all the steaming drinks and straining to be heard above the hip-hop DJs, Angelo Trocchia, chief executive officer of Safilo Group, Hilfiger’s eyewear licensee since 2010, described robust demand for eyewear of this ilk. “We consider there’s a niche available in the market and that Tommy can fill that gap,” he said.

Dubbed “Sporty Lively,” the spring collection hinges on resin frames and polycarbonate “tech” lenses in a wide range of colours.

In response to Ramos, the glasses “mix all the pieces you would like — design, comfort and a cool touch.”

Safilo has been producing sporty eyewear for Tommy Hilfiger for about two years, Trocchia noted. The most recent licensing pact between the 2 firms runs until Dec. 31, 2025. — MILES SOCHA

KENDALL’S NEW CORP: The Kendall Jenner-owned tequila brand 818 Tequila was B Corp-certified Thursday, joining 1000’s of companies.

To certify as a B Corp, a business has to earn at the least 80 points out of a possible 250 points (the Florida-based business received 81.3 points overall). The common scorer receives just 50 to 55 points, in response to certifying firm B Lab, and the assessment spans environment, worker well-being, community impact and provide chain conduct amongst its rigorous rating card.

The 818 brand excelled in areas equivalent to “mission locked,” (racking up 10 points for its business model approach) and “supply chain poverty alleviation,” earning 9.3 points though its community partnerships. It scored lower on areas of air and climate (the corporate currently has no public emissions-reductions targets, earning a rating of 0.2), in addition to employee health, wellness and safety.

In an announcement, Jenner, who founded the brand two years ago, expressed her pride within the achievement. “I founded this company with sustainability at its core, and to be recognized for this commitment motivates us to proceed constructing on these goals. That is just step one, we’ll proceed to work hard to make 818 as sustainable as possible.”

WWD asked if 818 looks to set science-based targets, or to handle prior cultural appropriation backlash to the corporate, but didn’t hear back by press time.

The corporate touted its B Corp status on its website, alongside its 35 tasting awards at 12 international spirits competitions, amongst them Best Reposado on the World Tequila Awards, and a potentially dangerous green claim, if measured by the EU’s recent directive or FTC green guides, of “Made in Harmony with the Earth.”

Within the news, the corporate detailed its supplier commitments, equivalent to sourcing only Forest Stewardship Council-certified packaging, and philanthropic goals, including its 1 Percent for the Planet membership and “Buy a Bottle, Give a Brick” campaign. From April through June 30, every bottle of 818 Tequila purchased equates to at least one brick donated through its Bricks Program, as much as $25,000. The brand is partnering with Saving Agave for Culture, Recreation, Education and Development to fund infrastructure builds in Mexico.

Up to now, 818 Tequila has donated almost $400,000 in support of the Bricks Program, funding community library, small business and office projects in Mexico’s Jalisco, Oaxaca and the like. As with most of the entrepreneurial Kardashian-Jenner family businesses, Jenner’s business reported strong growth — with 1.5 million bottles sold as of 2021. — KALEY ROSHITSH

PRADA’S NEW CAFE: It’s a Prada par-tea.

The Italian luxury brand has opened a Prada Caffè at Harrods in Knightsbridge on the bottom floor of the department store.

The brand’s mint green hue has been plastered everywhere in the space, which incorporates a balcony area for extra seating. The flooring follows the black-and-white checkered floors of the Prada boutique on Corso Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan with the floral bas reliefs taking inspiration from the brand’s international flagships.

The tableware takes cues from ancient Celadon pottery, with pale blue Japanese porcelain utilized in the space.

Prada Caffè is open from March 31 to Jan. 7, and can soon be accompanied by an out of doors stall offering ice cream coming soon to Harrods.

The menu includes breakfast, light lunch bites and evening cocktails, from sandwiches and risotto to ​​buffalo mozzarella, salmon and crab dishes.

The mint-green counters may even be selling pastries for eat-in and takeaway — taking hints from Prada’s Milanese café Bar Luce designed by filmmaker Wes Anderson.

The drinks menu offers negroni-based aperitifs, classic cocktails and wines from across Italy, equivalent to Sicily to Piedmont.

In early March, the Prada Group reported a robust set of full-year results and said it achieved margin targets due to a solid performance of the Prada and Miu Miu brands, and across all product categories.

Within the 12 months ended Dec. 31, net profit soared 58 percent to 465 million euros compared with 294 million euros in 2021.

Revenues rose 25 percent to 4.2 billion euros compared with 3.36 billion euros in 2021, when the group returned to profitability. — HIKMAT MOHAMMED

TECH SUSTAINABILITY: Maison du Dodo and its parent South Korean company Hyaloid Co. have launched in Milan a recent proprietary fashion tech platform that mixes social media, e-commerce and community.

The project was unveiled during a press conference that took place Thursday at Italian textile maker Vitale Barberis Canonico’s showroom, introduced by Hyaloid founder Hin Sang Hyun and chief executive officer Oh Sang Hyeon.

The platform will offer to brands, businesses, entities and personalities the chance to create their very own customized social and e-commerce application.

The platform shall be available to all Hyaloid’s partner brands and influencers in search of to speak directly with consumers.

As a way to provide a really personalized experience, each app is very customizable. Brands and users can change the layout and add videos, photos and music. Particularly, they will add e-commerce functions, guaranteeing themselves a virtual flagship with a worldwide reach. 

Once launched, the app will enable content creators and users to sign up and create their very own profiles called “My Room.” 

The technology may even financially reward users for product and brand promotion — a kind of commission.

The more they promote the brands, the more users shall be bestowed a badge, differentiating the extent of authority within the system.

The platform will allow data to be fully available to the community.

Newly launched fashion brand Maison du Dodo will participate within the project with the aim of democratizing access to sustainable luxury products due to ethically sourced raw materials and low-carbon manufacturing processes. — ANDREA ONATE