The headline for this blog is a timely piece of advice for the fashion world from St. Laurent CEO Francesca Bellettini when questioned about global expansion and the best way to handle it. The first time I used this quote was for an ADEA blog titled “Dolce and Gabbana Say, “We’re Sorry.” CLICK HERE if you’re interested in reading about their debacle in China.
LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton made waves recently with its announcement of the fashion house, Fenty, led by Rihanna. This was a first in many aspects for LVMH. What stood out the most to me was LVMH was investing in someone whose original profession was not that of a designer. Yes, Rihanna was widely accepted in the fashion world as a trendsetter and had various collaborations under her belt, but she was not a traditional designer.
I recently came across an article in Smithsonian magazine’s March 2019 issue that discussed the relationship of the author, Margaret Chu, with Phyllis Diller, the stand-up comic who died on August 12, 2012 at the ripe old age of 95 and had outlived two of her children.
I recently read about an interesting trend in the world of travel that I was not aware of at all.
Adult females planning to travel by themselves now have an interesting option: all-women trips.
In the February 2019 issue of Fast Company magazine I came across an intriguing interview conducted by Karen Valby who reveals interesting insights about the digital world we live in now. Mandy Ginsberg, CEO of Match Group oversees a dating app portfolio that includes Tinder, OKCupid and Plenty of Fish, among other brands. Even more remarkable, Match Group spans 42 languages and more than 190 countries.
Museums. They are always on my visit list. Whether it's New York City's Museum of Modern Art or London's V&A Museum, I'm always keen to see what new exhibit is happening and where. With this said, I recently came across an intriguing exhibit at Paris' Palais Galliera. The exhibit, "Back Side – Fashion from Behind", looks at fashion from a different perspective. As the title of the exhibit implies, it looks at fashion from the back. Here's an excerpt about the exhibit from The Palais Galliera.
Have you noticed how much dining in or out has changed in recent years? First of all: everything has to be recorded on one’s phone. Then we have to listen to a litany of: a) I’m on a diet, b) no carbohydrates, c) I’m a vegetarian, d) no salt ever, e) white sugar is a killer, f) no peanuts ever.
Ad infinitum. Ad absurdum.
Now, let’s take a close look at what is one of the most important features of the Marmont. The short answer is: PRIVACY. The hotel never publicly discusses its famous guests or reveals the names of those currently staying there. In other words: zippered lips are stage center.
When the first Monday in May rolls around, all eyes in the fashion world look to The Met. That is when New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art hosts its fundraising gala for its Costume Institute. The gala's theme coincides with that year's fashion exhibit, which runs for a limited time. This year, the theme is "Notes on 'Camp'". Here's a brief description of that theme, courtesy of The Met.
For this week’s blog, and the next, I read three books about the famous Chateau Marmont Hotel, located at 8221 Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. All three books, (that I will list at the end of next week’s blog) were written at different times. This means the information goes from 1929 when the Marmont opened to the present day. Some things may have changed – but not many.
A rumble from Bumble is in the offing. This is the dating app founded by Whitney Wolfe Herd that we wrote about way back in May 2018. CLICK HERE TO REFRESH YOUR MEMORY.
There are buildings, and then there are symbols. What was quite transfixing about the events that unfolded before Easter in Paris was how people around the world, no matter their religion, were watching as Notre-Dame was burning. In fact, as I write this, it still seems surreal. Yet, the point being that a building turned into a symbol that for some had religious connotation but for others, it held memories, it held history and for others, it simply symbolized Paris to them, even for the many that had not ever stepped foot in France.
