Julia Fox Talks Confidence at Courrèges – WWD

Feeling Philosophical: Julia Fox was feeling philosophical at the early morning Courrèges show.

“Confidence is funny, because nobody knows if it’s real or not,” she said, all while wearing a see-through dress. Sure, her shoulders were covered with a moto-style shrug, but the rest left little to the imagination.

“Just don’t overthink it. Nobody cares as much as you do. You have to kind of let go and it’s a little bit of a selfless act because you’re not thinking about how you’re being perceived. It’s just about being in the moment and seeing what the moment has to offer, and what you can offer to others in the moment. If not, you just get stuck on stupid things,” she said.

And if the 5’5” model seems towering when she walks the runway, it’s all down to that apparent confidence. “I have a tall aura,” she said.

The show was all about being in the moment, or what we miss when we aren’t. Designer Nicolas di Felice sent models including Emily Ratajkowski down the runway staring down at phones while they walked through a cloud of smoke while the soundtrack thumped in query: “Is the sky blue?” It seemed to be a fashionable plea to look up from our screens.

Lisa Rinna and Avril Lavigne posed for pictures in the front row, though the Canadian singer wasn’t up to speaking and instead snapped her fingers at assistants.

Lena Mahfouf debuted a sleek bob, but admitted that it was just a wig for the day to top her leather look.

“It’s a little bit ‘The Matrix,’” the TikTok star said. “I love it because you feel sexy even though you don’t show any part of your body.”

Mahfouf said she met Courrèges designer Nicolas di Felice at a fashion week party. “We met with Champagne and I was like, ‘OK, you’re my soulmate now,’” she joked.

Chiara Mastroianni had style in spades, in a sleek black shift and thigh-high patent leather boots. The French-Italian star said the outfit suited her, and fits in perfectly with her upcoming role in the ’60s-set “Monsieur Spade.”

Clive Owen takes over the role of detective Sam Spade, made famous by Humphrey Bogart. The character is dropped in the South of France for the upcoming AMC drama from “The Queen’s Gambit” creator Scott Frank and costume designer Pascaline Chavanne.

“My character moves between the ’50s and ’60s, which were really different types of fashion,” she said. “We had incredible old vintage cars, which makes it really special because it gives you the feeling that you’re really in another world. Every little detail down to the extras in costume too, and it takes you into some kind of alternate experience,” she said.

As for the very of-the-now show, Mastroianni said that she loves sleek shapes that still have little bit of an edge. “It’s a little bit rock — rock might be a stupid word because it doesn’t mean anything anymore – but there’s a little bit of a twist to it. He’s kept the vibe of the ’60s with a little bit of Space Age touch, but he keeps very pure lines.”

She’s become personal friends with the Belgian designer who has an Italian name. “And his name is di Felice, it means happiness in Italian. How beautiful can that be?” — RHONDA RICHFORD

COUTURE COLLECTION: Stephanie Seymour’s personal collection of vintage haute couture dresses created by such designers as Azzedine Alaïa, Courrèges, Christian Dior, Yves Saint Laurent and Paco Rabanne will be on display at a new exhibition at NSU Art Museum in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, titled “The Swans: Karen Kilimnik and Stephanie Seymour Paintings and Dresses.”

The exhibition, which runs from March 12 to July 15, features a selection of romantic paintings by contemporary artist Karen Kilimnik. In her paintings, she casts a youthful Leonardo DiCaprio and other stars and fashion models in leading roles. The paintings are inspired by the glamour and sophistication of the fashion world, and complement the haute couture dresses.

The exhibit references the stylish and mid-20th-century high-society women whom writer Truman Capote dubbed, “The Swans.”

The exhibition is part of “Picturing Fame,” which comprises four concurrent exhibitions on the subject of fame that include: “Toulouse-Lautrec and the Follies of Fame,” “Hooray for Hollywood,” and “Emilio Martinez: Van Gogh, Lautrec and Me,” which all opened Feb. 11 and run through Sept. 3.

The NSU Art Museum is celebrating the exhibition with a black-tie event that includes cocktails, exhibition premiere and dinner, in honor of Seymour and Peter M. Brant on March 11. Individual tickets start at $3,000, and proceeds will support NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale exhibitions and educational programming. – LISA LOCKWOOD

ROAD TO MILAN: Edgy British retailer End. has set foot overseas, opening its first international flagship in Milan.

Named End. Milano, the three-story unit located on central Via Mercanti connecting the Cordusio and Duomo Squares offers 1,700 square feet in retail space organized around an airy three-story-high atrium and central escalator.

It is decked in marble and maple wood, which provide the space with a graphic and lean set-up, in addition to locally sourced materials such as terrazzo marble, a Milanese staple and Portofino timber.

“Creating inspiring retail concepts is a key element of our strategy at End. and I’m so pleased with how well this project has come together in Milan. It’s a beautiful space located right in the heart of the city, and we feel proud and privileged to have a space like this to welcome our existing community as well as new customers getting to know End. for the first time,” said Parker Gundersen, the company’s chief executive officer.

The brick-and-mortar unit builds on the strong e-commerce footprint in the city, the company said.

The ground and basement floors display a wide selection of End.’s menswear labels — from A.P.C., Arc’teryx and Carhartt WIP to Balenciaga, Saint Laurent and Rick Owens — and a dedicated sneaker corner. The ground floor also features a section dedicated to beauty and lifestyle products such as skin care, fragrances, cosmetics, homeware and edgy publications, as well as A Bathing Ape’s corner.

Traditionally a menswear-leaning retailer, known for its mix of street and luxury and for championing sneaker and hype culture, End. Milano boasts a strong womenswear assortment, displayed on the top floor.

“We’re grateful for the support of all our brand partners and are looking forward to a full schedule of events and exclusive product launches planned in the weeks and months ahead to bring the store to life. I’m also really thrilled to introduce our new End.,” Parker said.

Founded in 2005 and having built a strong reputation in the e-commerce space, the British retailer has opened physical destinations in Glasgow, Scotland, and London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Manchester, England. — MARTINO CARRERA

THE ATTICO’S SWAG: As much as the fashion crowd at large right now, The Attico’s Gilda Ambrosio and Giorgia Tordini are obsessed with the ‘90s and they are celebrating some of the decade’s icons in their latest capsule collection for fall 2023.

Dubbed “Kick Your Game,” it pays homage to R&B stars including Mary J Blige, Aaliyah and TLC — their style a mix of high and low, streetwear and glamour.

Comprising ready-to-wear and accessories that capture the zing of that era’s fashion, the collection updates The Attico’s styles, including cargo pants, jerseys and washed-out denim jeans scattered in crystals, as well as tops, frocks, skirts and leggings decked in a multicolored bandana motif.

Playing with contrasting silhouettes, oversize bomber jackets and low-slung baggy pants mingle with skin-baring body-con pieces with cutouts and chainmail or feathery details.

The capsule collection is complemented by accessories, a fast-growing category for The Attico. They include degrade PVC mules with geometric wedges, patent leather pumps and stiletto boots, as well as patent leather trapeze handbags.

After sitting out of the fashion week platform a few seasons ago and adopting a see now, buy now format, Tordini and Ambrosio will celebrate the launch of the capsule collection on Thursday, throwing a bash during Paris Fashion Week. Nicknamed The Attico Club, the event will feature performances and DJ sets by Caroline Polachek and The Blessed Madonna.

Available starting Wednesday on the brand’s e-commerce platform and at select retailers worldwide, the collection retails for between 230 euros and 2,900 euros for ready-to-wear; 810 euros and 1,270 euros for handbags, and 790 euros to 1,470 euros for shoes.

The brand — which in 2018 received an investment from Remo Ruffini, who acquired a 49 percent stake in the company through a vehicle called Archive Srl, controlled by Ruffini Partecipazioni Holding Srl — has been on a retail and category push as of late.

The designers traveled to New York to open their first temporary pop-up in the city, located in SoHo’s Wooster Street, last September following similar activations at key retailers worldwide. In 2021 the brand introduced its first handbag collection, expanding its accessories range; approached the world of streetwear with the “Life at Large” collection; launched beachwear, and unveiled the “Superattico” capsule of 14 evening outfits during Milan Fashion Week. — M.C.

STRETCH YOUR DENIM: Updating its heritage in jeans making, Pence 1979 has unveiled a capsule collection with wellness influencers Anna Kanyuk and Dmitriy Kanyuk, adapting denim to the active lifestyle.

The men’s and womenswear capsule includes denim kimonos and Bermuda pants, as well as the brand’s signature straight-fit jean equipped with side zips for extra practicality and a hybrid short-miniskirt apt for running in style. On the menswear front, denim overshirts, five-pocket jeans and waistcoats hinge on leisurewear and reflect Dmitriy Kanyuk’s penchant for traveling.

The collection, dyed in indigo, clay gray and flamingo pink, is complemented by basic jerseys in tonal nuances.

“Let’s motivate people to do some sport,” said Anna Kanyuk, detailing the rationale for the collaboration. “I’m a mum of two girls and I’m always looking for something comfy and sexy, that makes me feel good.”

Dmitriy Kanyuk said they first got in touch with Pence 1979 last June and started discussing details over Zoom calls. The pair is based in Dubai, from where they chronicle their life sharing Anna’s motto “Stretch Your Limits,” a pun nodding to the stretching workouts and videos she posts to her social media.

“I had fun and found it fascinating to create garments that explore the human body in a different way. Designed for more extreme movements than the ones we do in everyday life,” said Dora Zecchin, the brand’s creative director. “Anna certainly knows how to move and master her body with such lightness and sinuosity’,” she added.

The collection is part of the fall 2023 lineup that focuses on arty denim treatments leveraging the company’s high-quality manufacturing and know-how and cool knits done in collaboration with Danilo Paura.

In 2021 Pence 1979 was acquired by IPO Fashion & Design with Zecchin, the daughter of founder Otello Zecchin, retaining minority ownership. The brand has been bulking up its international footprint as of late and plans to enter South Korea this year via a local partner. — M.C.

FASHION REIMAGINED: Amy Powney is on a mission to educate the fashion industry and the wider general public with her debut documentary “Fashion Reimagined” with director Becky Hutner.

The two women met five years ago when Powney won the BFC/Vogue Fashion Fund Award. She told Hutner that she was going to use the money from the fund to make her label, Mother of Pearl, sustainable.

“Hutner just said it was her calling in life to follow my journey,” Powney told WWD in a Zoom interview.

Hutner has been a fly on the wall filmmaker, documenting every step of Powney’s business and activism. 

“None of us knew what we were going to find or what was going to happen. I didn’t have a plan, we were just going at it and she didn’t have a narrative or storyboard because she didn’t know what we were going to do,” Powney said of the filming process.

By the end of the five years, Hutner had collected more than 250 hours of footage that she edited down to 92 minutes slated for a Friday release in the U.K.

The experience for Powney has been touching, both on a professional and personal level, she said.

“It’s quite a privilege to have someone capture a moment of your life and time, especially being a mother. I always think that my children will never really remember me now and that they’ll remember me as an older woman,” said Powney, who never intended for the film to be a promotional piece of footage for herself or her brand.

The film is divided into three parts: the statistical part, the supply chain of how a brand operates and the personal journey of Powney.

The documentary takes a different approach to others in the category such as “The True Cost” and “Unravel,” which trace the problem of fashion rather than facing it.

“The most important part about this film is it’s teaching you about a problem and I want people to come away from it saying, ‘I didn’t realize how complex the fashion industry was, but actually this girl’s done something about it, so can I,” said Powney referring to her small upbringing in north of England.

Powney sits on the advisory board for Copenhagen Fashion Week and believes that London needs to be doing more. 

“There’s too much conversation and not enough action. That’s quite a harsh thing to say, but climate change affects everybody,” Powney said.

“It was too much money and too much pressure for seven minutes of your life that we weren’t uplifted from. We were exhausted from it and let down at the end of it because it’s such a huge moment that you put weeks and months into making,” she adds of her experience staging fashion shows.

Powney wants brands and designers to care more about the life of their garments beyond the starting and finishing point, but to rather think about the afterlife of garments and how they’re treated once purchased.

She’s taking it slowly and carefully with her brand Mother of Pearl. 

“In all honesty, I just want to make clothes done properly that make women feel good. All I care about for my brand these days is to get a message from a customer to say ‘I’ve got that and it makes me feel amazing,’” Powney said.

“I just want to simplify it and go back to what Coco Chanel was doing back in the day, where it was just making great, nice-quality products done correctly to make women feel good. I don’t really have much more of a desire than that,” she said. — HIKMAT MOHAMMED

GOING GREEN: Entrepreneur Nikki Reed, “Avatar” star Bailey Bass, “You” and “Uncharted” star Tati Gabrielle and more will join as cohosts of sustainable fashion platform RCGD [Red Carpet Green Dress] Global’s Pre-Oscars Gala this March.

As the Oscars’ official sustainable style partner — having recently published a sustainable style code for famous faces — RCGD Global’s pre-Oscars event will return March 9 in Hollywood. RCGD Global has collaborated with The Academy since 2011 on its Red Carpet Green Dress initiative at the Oscars. Its newest style guide includes sustainable outfit recommendations, while highlighting past red carpet designs that are sustainable and include circular-inspired actions items.

RCGD Global’s current ambassadors include Tati Gabrielle, Sophie Turner, Marlee Matlin and Billie Eilish, many of whom have already showcased their passion for sustainability through climate change-related advocacy.

The event is an annual tradition by RCGD Global (now in its 13th run) whereby stars and collaborators such as Tencel and new partners such as QR code provider VeriSwype and sustainable apparel trade group Sustainable Apparel Coalition, get a platform for showcasing sustainable fashion and honoring past legacies.

RCGD Global said the event will have a “very special tribute to the legacy of Dame Vivienne Westwood,” though further details were not provided.

“To honor the legacy of one of the most influential and pioneering activists in the fashion industry Vivienne Westwood alongside some of our closest friends and ambassadors as cohosts feels like a celebration like no other. Our collaborator since 2012, Vivienne Westwood has always been a true inspiration for us all and we aim to follow her mission of having a positive impact on society through fashion,” said Samata Pattinson, chief executive officer at RCGD Global.

RCGD Global’s Pre-Oscars Gala will take place ahead of the 95th Academy Awards where RCGD Global and Tencel’s fourth annual Oscar partnership gowns will be unveiled on the red carpet. The collaboration produces occasionwear using 100-percent renewable cellulose-based fabrics. — KALEY ROSHITSH