Louis Vuitton x Yayoi Kusama: A Playfully Chic Collaboration – Fashion: How Moncler’s Remo Ruffini is Future-Proofing the Brand – Fashion Give Your Face a Winter Makeover – Kate Middleton’s Style Stays on Message Amid Ongoing Royal Turmoil.
Dear Readers,
Today the Editorial Team of TextileFuture is proposing totally four features for your reading, all from the Fashion sightand firstly published in the Wall Street Journal Magazine.
The first feature gives you an insight on how Delphine Arnault is leading the show at Louis Vuitton and what relationship she is excercising with Yayoi Kusama.
The second item is on “Moncler’s Remo Ruffini who is Future Proofing the Brand”. Also well garnered with captions.
The third feature will tell you how to give “Your face a Winter Makeover”.
The last item is entitled “Kate Middleton’s Style Stays on Message Amid Ongoing Royal Turmoil”, and there is something offering a clue!
We do hope that you will enjoy reading all the features offered.
Please call back next Tuesday for the next issue of TextileFuture’s Newsletter. If you prefer to have it deliered directly to your email in-box, feel free to sign a free of cost subscription of TextileFuture’s Newsletter.
We wish you an excelelnt week ahead with many personal highlights in your business career or priate life, accompanied with our best wishes.
The Editorial Team of TextileFuture
Here starts the first feature:
Delphine Arnault introduces the fashion house’s more than 450-piece collection from the reclusive, renegade artist.
“It’s not simply Marilyn Monroe [by Andy Warhol] on a T-shirt,” Dephine Arnault (above, pictured at Louis Vuitton headquarters) says of the Kusama collection. “We are working directly with the artist, at the artist’s direction.” Louis Vuitton x Yayoi Kusama silk blouse.
By guest author Elisa Lipsky-Karasz, Photography by Hugues Laurent for WSJ. Magazine
Nov. 30, 2022
At 93, Yayoi Kusama has set many records, both official and unofficial, for a renegade artist: the most expensive painting by a living female artist sold at auction (USD7.1 million, at the time of sale in 2014, for White No. 28); the highest-grossing female artist at auction (USD 889 million generated by nearly 8000 lots); and the longest time spent voluntarily living at a mental-health hospital (since 1977, at a facility in Tokyo). She is known for being reclusive, as well as exigent about her daily artistic practice, which she sees as a way to maintain psychological equilibrium and stave off suicidal thoughts, she told WSJ. in 2017. Often, her only companions are a tight-knit group of longtime studio staff.
So when Delphine Arnault, executive vice president at Louis Vuitton, approached Kusama in 2021 with an idea to collaborate on a major new collection, Arnault didn’t have high hopes. “She basically always says no,” says Arnault, who thought she’d give it a try anyway.
“[Kusama’s] world is so happy, although there is a lot behind it. When you see [her work], it’s extremely joyful—there is this sentiment of a dream,” says Arnault, who thought it would be a strong counterpoint to the dour atmosphere of the global pandemic. Another draw was that it’s easy to understand, she says, for those who may not be familiar with her artwork, but then reveals itself as more intellectually complex. “She’s also a supporter of women…being able to express themselves.”
To Arnault’s surprise, Kusama’s team was immediately receptive. They remembered Louis Vuitton from a 2012 collaboration that saw the artist’s signature polka dots on the brand’s classic bags, among other pieces. It was one of the first examples of a major artist working with a fashion house at such a global scale, and it sparked an onslaught of covetous fans.
This time, the collaboration evolved into an all-encompassing collection featuring menswear, womenswear, handbags, costume jewelry and other accessories as well as the brand’s travel trunks, which became a hallmark of the house soon after it was founded in 1854. For a year and a half, the Louis Vuitton team worked with Kusama and her staff, meeting over Zoom and, eventually, when travel restrictions were lifted, in person in Japan. Arnault says one of the biggest challenges was re-creating dots on canvas or leather that mimicked the look and feel of those hand-painted by Kusama. Their placement in relation to the Louis Vuitton monogram motif was a matter of much discussion and negotiation. “Obsession on both sides,” says Arnault, laughing.
For Kusama, polka dots hold cosmic significance—in the same WSJ. interview she compared them to planet Earth, saying it’s “like one little polka dot, among millions of other celestial bodies.” The Vuitton collection features them on sweaters, blouses, miniskirts, tote bags, bucket hats, jackets, sunglasses, pochette purses and even the buckles of a pair of platform loafers. Kusama’s other emblems, including hallucinatory flowers, stars, fish, butterflies and totemic faces, appear on all manner of items, from dresses to beach towels and hoodies. Reflective silver balls, much like those Kusama has used in installations for decades, bubble up on black leather bags, shoes, leather jackets and ’60s-style dresses. And her most recognizable recurring subjects, her wildly colorful pumpkins, appear on the brand’s Speedy totes and in subtle ways across other pieces in the collection. There’s one yellow pumpkin-shaped bag, with Kusama’s black dots replaced with a version of the signature LV monogramme.
Several items from the more than 450-piece collection will be unveiled in late November, with two merchandise drops planned for early January and late March on the Louis Vuitton website and in stores. The launch, Arnault says, is a major part of the brand’s first quarter expectations. “It’s a very 360-degree project—the whole [fashion] house is involved.”
In 2012, Louis Vuitton stores were similarly transformed into de facto gallery installations, with windows filled with multihued iterations of Kusama’s pop-arty, outer space–inspired sculptures, or a surprisingly lifelike mannequin of the artist in her signature red wig. The resulting frenzy echoed previous collaborations that then–creative director Marc Jacobs had done with Takashi Murakami, Stephen Sprouse and Richard Prince. For Vuitton, it was a sign that high art could translate to the high street—blurring the line between art and commerce in a way that hadn’t been seen before. For Kusama, it helped cement her as a bona fide contemporary art star, presaging the lines of fans who wait for hours for a chance to snap selfies in one of her immersive infinity-room spaces.
“It vastly increased the audience for a very important artist who had for many years been neglected by the major museums,” says art dealer Jeffrey Deitch. “Kusama was in the artistic wilderness for many years. No longer.”
Since Arnault joined Louis Vuitton in 2013—just before the arrival of artistic director Nicolas Ghesquière, whom she helped recruit following Jacobs’s departure—she has championed artists. A serious collector, she was introduced to art as a child by her parents (her father, Bernard Arnault, is the chairman and CEO of the USD 330 billion luxury conglomerate LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton). “I remember going with my parents to museums, and I was like, Oh, no! I can remember going for like four hours. Now I’m happy that [we] did,” says Arnault, 47. For her, it became a way to discover new perspectives on the world, she says. With her own children, she has continued the tradition but keeps it short. “And then they get a reward after,” she says, with a smile.
A detail of the Louis Vuitton x Yayoi Kusama Infinity Trunk. “I think [it’s] very important is to give total freedom to the artist to reinterpret things in their way,” says Arnault of the brand’s collaborations.
Her mission at Vuitton is not dissimilar. She feels that the fashion house has a duty to share art with the public. “People can see it on the streets or in the windows of the shop or online,” she says. One of her first moves in 2013 was to recruit a group of creative luminaries—including artist Cindy Sherman, designers Marc Newson and Karl Lagerfeld and architect Frank Gehry—to dream up new ways to work with the brand’s famed monogram, giving each of them carte blanche to produce anything they wanted. “I think [it’s] very important to give total freedom to the artist to reinterpret things in their way,” says Arnault.
Each ran wild with the assignment: Sherman created a maximalist version of the makeup trunks she uses to transform herself into different characters for self-portraits, while, in a subversive move, Karl Lagerfeld proposed an ultra-luxe full-size boxer’s punching bag. Newson designed an outdoorsy backpack, and Gehry employed swooping curves, similar to the lines of the building he designed for the Fondation Louis Vuitton, for a torqued version of a top-handled, hard-sided case. “[That] was quite a challenge to do for our ateliers because there was not one straight line,” says Arnault. This October, the Sherman trunk made a reappearance on display at Vuitton’s booth at the art fair Paris+ par Art Basel.
Art star Jeff Koons, whom Arnault convinced to collaborate with the brand in 2017, used his Gazing Ball series as a jumping-off point. (Her father is a longtime collector of his work, and she has known Koons for years.) The series saw old master paintings reproduced on a range of handbags, with the artists’ names emblazoned in the manner of a fashion brand, bringing a dose of Koons’s signature acid kitsch. “DA VINCI,” scream metallic capital letters plastered on a tote bag over the museum’s most popular masterpiece, the Mona Lisa. “RUBENS” reads another, and “TITIAN” is written across Venus’s décolletage. Vuitton’s ateliers had to invent new techniques to achieve the ultra-sleek lettering that Koons desired. “It pushes the boundaries for the brand and the craftsmanship,” says Arnault of such collaborations.
Delphine Arnault introduces the fashion house’s more than 450-piece collection from the reclusive, renegade artist.
This is the beginning of the second item:
Fashion: How Moncler’s Remo Ruffini is Future-Proofing the Brand
The brand is celebrating its anniversary, but chairman and CEO Remo Ruffini is keeping it fresh.
By guest author Rory Satran, Photography by Salva López for WSJ.
I am not a minimalist at all,” chuckles Remo Ruffini, 61, the chairman and CEO of luxury outerwear brand Moncler, gesturing around his opulent art-and tchotchke-filled office in Milan. There are blown-up photographs of his over-the-top presentations (which have included large-scale ballets and a Vanessa Beecroft performance), stacks of art books and a rotating selection of props from the store, like a polar bear statuette (“to see if I like them”). His favorite piece? A photograph by Brigitte Lacombe of a black cat wearing a tiny, feline Moncler hooded puffer, because, he says, “[Having] a black cat in the house is very lucky.”
It’s taken far more than luck to grow a publicly traded global powerhouse from a nearly bankrupt outdoors brand, founded in 1952 in the French mountain village Monestier-de-Clermont. Ruffini, who acquired the Moncler brand in 2003 and took the company public in 2013, is celebrating the brand’s 70th anniversary with his characteristic maximalism. When we meet at Moncler’s headquarters in Milan on the Monday after his anniversary show, he’s still buzzing from the event. With 1,952 performers (symbolic of the company’s founding year) moving in unison across the Piazza del Duomo in all-white looks including Moncler Maya 70 puffers and beanies, it was a true spectacle.
Although the show, mostly open to the public, was beset by a downpour and crowds of jostling onlookers, it was a happening in Milan, with taxi drivers and teenagers chattering about it for days. Leonardo DiCaprio, Colin Kaepernick and Anne Hathaway watched the show in the champagne-popping VIP section, while Ruffini took it in among the audience in the square. He says he wanted to do something strong for Milan—a love letter of sorts to the center of Italian fashion. Ruffini said he hadn’t seen the final bill when we spoke, but that the production costs were less than one might think because the main set was already in place: the Duomo cathedral, which dates to the 14th century. But for a company that’s been resolutely global for at least a decade, it’s crucial that the show’s effects are felt everywhere. He says, “The real cost is the digital marketing, because we have to send this image everywhere around the world” to Moncler’s followers, through social media.
Today, those Moncler fans span in demographic from the Gstaad grande dame in her buckled jacket at the chalet to the young hypebeast who bought his Craig Green Genius collaboration puffer from Canadian cool-kid retailer Ssense. The Genius series of collaborations, a Ruffini brainchild that began in 2018, continues to bring high-concept fashion and a limited-edition drop mentality to the company. In addition to Green, buzzy collabs have included Simone Rocha, Pierpaolo Piccioli of Valentino, Thom Browne, Rick Owens, Jonathan Anderson, Virgil Abloh and more.
Although Ruffini says that the strategy has always been to appeal to all generations, he calls Genius the turning point for attracting young customers. They’re now responsible for 30 percent of the Moncler Group’s sales, which amounted to USD 916 million in the first half of 2022, up 48 % from the previous year. Those numbers include Stone Island, the Italian streetwear brand acquired by the group in a two-part deal over late 2020 and early 2021, which valued it at USD 1.4 billion. Ruffini said that no other acquisitions were on the horizon.
Looking ahead, Ruffini is bullish on the value of experience—both in-person and digital—to create a community around Moncler. “You have to be a little bit of a future predictor, if you’re talking 2025, 2028,” he muses. For technology, which changes so quickly, that can be tricky, he admits. But he senses that creating immersive moments in stores, in online videos or elsewhere, like the Duomo happening, will be one path forward. “I think the luxury world has changed from possession to experience,” he says.
He’s also looking to expand other categories that make sense for the elevated-outdoors DNA of the brand, including shoes and knitwear. When we met, he’d just come from a shoe meeting with Nike alum Nathan VanHook, Moncler’s new head of footwear design, that had him fired up. The quilted Trailgrip Après sneakers, which launched in September 2022 and run $595, are already sold out in most sizes.
“We don’t want to make product just to sell,” he says. “We want to make product to say something to our community, our customer, our people. I think this is the most difficult thing.”
He’s careful to always stick to the roots of Moncler, which was created to protect cold-weather workers and skiers from the elements: In 1954 it outfitted an Italian expedition to K2. So far, Ruffini feels this approach has served him well. “I think this is one of the things I’m most proud of: rebuilding the company with a modern approach and a contemporary vision, but remaining close to the history.”
“We want to make product to say something to our community, our customer, our people. I think this is the most difficult thing.”- Remo Ruffini
Maintaining that uniqueness is key in an elevated-outerwear landscape that’s increasingly crowded. There’s Chanel’s Coco Neige line, Gucci’s collaboration with the North Face, Prada‘s Linea Rossa skiwear, Dior’s DiorAlps collection. Giorgio Armani’s Neve mountain-wear line will show in St. Moritz, Switzerland, in December, followed by a tour of chichi ski resorts. Ruffini has taken note of the proliferation. “Basically, any luxury brand: They’re our competitor,” he says.
As far as other executives who stoke his competitive flame, he mentions Pietro Beccari, the chairman and CEO of Christian Dior Couture, and Patrizio Bertelli, the co-CEO of Prada, as strong rivals. He’s impressed by Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard’s recent announcement that he was devoting his family’s ownership of the company and its profits to fight climate change. “He was always in front of us, in terms of sustainability,” he says.
Edgier retailers such as Ssense help Ruffini reach new audiences. Brigitte Chartrand, Ssense’s vice president of womenswear, says that its customers are wearing Moncler on the street and even out to the club. By choosing designers to collaborate with such as Matthew Williams of Givenchy and 1017 Alyx 9SM, Jonathan Anderson for his line JW Anderson, and Rick Owens, whom Chartrand calls “hero brands for our audience,” Ruffini has expanded the brand awareness. Chartrand says that the younger Ssense customer saves up to buy Moncler.
Staying in touch with this new customer is a savvy move for an Italian honcho who has two children in their 30s, Pietro and Romeo, no grandchildren yet and an increasingly unrelatable lifestyle. He owns homes in Como, Italy, and St. Moritz and a 180-foot yacht. He is the portrait of the new Italian elite.
Leisure has become more important to him, he says, after realizing about five years ago that he was working too hard. “I think we have to be fresh when you come to the office,” he explains. Since then, he lives by the mandate: “Weekend is weekend.” But his weekends are filled with the kind of ritzy athletic pursuits that fuel his brand. He calls skiing in St. Moritz “very important,” and is continually testing new Moncler gear on the slopes.
Carla Sozzani, the founder of concept store 10 Corso Como, has known Ruffini for nearly 20 years, since around the time that he bought Moncler. She was a bit of a fairy godmother to him in the fashion world, introducing him to the designers Junya Watanabe and Nicolas Ghesquière (then the creative director of Balenciaga), who went on to be two of the earliest Moncler collaborators.
When Sozzani herself worked with Ruffini on a series of black-and-white printed 10 Corso Como x Moncler coats, they looked at the graphic painting and designs of American artist Kris Ruhs together, and she was impressed by his sensitivity to the work. “Never mind how big and important he became later, I don’t think he ever lost that touch for beauty, which for me is a must,” she says.
Sozzani, a close friend and collaborator of Azzedine Alaïa who is now president of the late designer’s foundation, also introduced Ruffini and Alaïa in the hopes that they could collaborate. Alaïa liked Ruffini, Sozzani remembers, but then, so does everyone: “He has good vibrations.” Although Ruffini sent Alaïa meters of Moncler duvet fabric—which the foundation still has—the collaboration didn’t happen before the designer’s death in 2017.
Although Alaïa may be the one that got away, not many potential Geniuses escape Ruffini’s clutches. Because Moncler collaborates with several designers a year, he’s always looking for new talent and meeting with young creatives. “It’s not obvious because there is a lot of creativity all around the world,” he says. He is particularly proud of the 2022 Genius collaboration with an unexpected partner, the Chinese designer Dingyun Zhang, who had also worked on Yeezy sneakers and produced some highly original fashion puffers of his own. Because China and Europe were still “closed” due to the pandemic during the design process, Ruffini and Zhang did initial meetings and all design by video call.
Sozzani, a close friend and collaborator of Azzedine Alaïa who is now president of the late designer’s foundation, also introduced Ruffini and Alaïa in the hopes that they could collaborate. Alaïa liked Ruffini, Sozzani remembers, but then, so does everyone: “He has good vibrations.” Although Ruffini sent Alaïa meters of Moncler duvet fabric—which the foundation still has—the collaboration didn’t happen before the designer’s death in 2017.
Although Alaïa may be the one that got away, not many potential Geniuses escape Ruffini’s clutches. Because Moncler collaborates with several designers a year, he’s always looking for new talent and meeting with young creatives. “It’s not obvious because there is a lot of creativity all around the world,” he says. He is particularly proud of the 2022 Genius collaboration with an unexpected partner, the Chinese designer Dingyun Zhang, who had also worked on Yeezy sneakers and produced some highly original fashion puffers of his own. Because China and Europe were still “closed” due to the pandemic during the design process, Ruffini and Zhang did initial meetings and all design by video call.
Genius contracts are each different, but most offer royalties in addition to the design fee. Along with the money and the creative freedom—both significant—collaborations offer younger designers access to a new audience. Simone Rocha, the Irish designer who was part of the inaugural wave of Geniuses in 2018, says that dipping her toes into athletic wear was an exciting prospect. Plus, the designs were shown at huge fashion presentations in Milan. “It was impossible for it not to be literally, physically introduced to a lot of people outside of my world,” she says.
Rocha, who sees Ruffini often, says, “He’s always looking for newness.” That hunt for newness extends to his personal life, too. Recently, in addition to skiing, he’s taken up mountain biking in St. Moritz, even in the winter (with spikes to grip the ice). “It’s my latest passion,” Ruffini says. “You have to go up first to come down. But downhill is what I like a lot.”
This is the beginning of the third feature:
Fashion Give Your Face a Winter Makeover
Cold temperatures and indoor heat can do a number on complexions, so women’s makeup strategies need to shift with the seasons. We asked experts how to do it right.
By guest author Baze Mpinja
Dec. 3, 2022
THINK OF matte concealer and foundation as the espadrilles of your makeup drawer: fabulous on sultry July days, but maybe not the best look come chilly January. Because cold temperatures and bone-dry indoor heat can do a number on even the dewiest complexions, your makeup strategy needs to shift with the seasons, just like the rest of your wardrobe. Ideally, said New York City makeup artist Keita Moore, that means “you should have both a winter and a summer foundation.”
How do you nail a flawless seasonal switcheroo? The first foundation sold at retail was created by renowned makeup artist Max Factor in the 1930s; now Sephora.com alone offers more than 150 different formulas—a bounty that may leave you feeling spoiled for choice. “There’s [something for every] different skin type and shade, but with so much out there, shopping can be confusing,” said Mr. Moore. To help you strategize the best chilly-weather swaps, we asked beauty experts to answer five timely questions.
Q: What makes a good winter foundation?
A: Shorter days make the “sun-kissed” look harder to pull off, and falling temperatures and lack of humidity can suck moisture out of skin. The smart play: Keep two or three different foundations on hand to help you adapt to a paler skin tone and thirstier pores. It’s also worth seeking out products that incorporate skin-care elements, said Katie Mellinger, a Los Angeles makeup artist. “A lot of [new foundations] contain moisturizing ingredients like hyaluronic acid (HA) and niacinamide, which can be very beneficial in wintertime,” she explained. Among her favorites is Lys Beauty’s Triple Fix Serum Foundation (USD 22), a luxurious formula that includes nourishing avocado and jojoba oils as well as HA to draw water to the skin.
Two more winter-friendly options that provide HA: Maybelline Dream Radiant Liquid Hydrating Foundation (USD 14) and Pat McGrath Labs Skin Fetish: Sublime Perfection Foundation (USD 68).
Q: Will using a heavier moisturizer mess up my makeup?
A: Not if you give it time to sink in. “Just make sure it is fully absorbed before you [start to] apply foundation,” said Ms. Mellinger. Her strategy: She does her eye makeup while giving her skin care time to set.
Q: I haven’t seen the sun in weeks. Can I skip the SPF?
A: Nope. Cold and cloudy weather doesn’t diminish the skin-damaging effects of UVA and UVB rays—so you really do need sun protection year round. A foundation that includes SPF provides some defence, but don’t rely on it as your go-to sunscreen. The American Academy of Dermatology recommends using an SPF of 30 or higher, but many foundations on the market don’t meet that requirement. Also, the Skin Cancer Foundation guidelines state that SPF should be reapplied every two hours—a regimen that’s not realistic for foundation. “I always wear regular sunscreen because I know from my dermatologist that it’s the most important thing you can do in terms of anti-aging,” said Ms. Mellinger. “If SPF is in my foundation, I think of it as a bit of extra coverage.” Her favorite multitasker is Iris&Romeo Best Skin Days SPF 25 (USD 42), which boasts a gel texture and is a sunscreen, serum, moisturizer and sheer foundation in one.
Q: How do I choose the right shade for my winter skin?
A: “The biggest mistake people make is trying foundation on their hand instead of their face,” said Mr. Moore.
His suggestion: Swipe three different shades downward along the skin where the side of your jaw meets your neck. The one that matches will deliver the most seamless effect. Ms. Mellinger cautions that overhead and mirrored lighting can also distort colours, so when in a store, assess swatches in natural light if possible (stand by a window or quickly step outside).
When shopping online or at the drugstore, check return policies and look for guidance. For example, Maybelline offers a virtual try-on feature and Lys Beauty features a shade-matching tool. For concealer, a good rule of thumb is to go two shades paler than your foundation. To cover dark circles, use a corrector underneath. “Choose something orange for deeper skin tones, a peachy shade for light skin, and light peach for fair skin,” said Mr. Moore. His preferred picks: Kevyn Aucoin’s Sensual Skin Enhancer, MAC Studio Fix Conceal and Correct Palette (USD 37) and Nars Radiant Creamy Color Corrector (USD 30).
Q: What tweaks are best for boosting dull skin?
A: To get a glow and counter the drying effects of winter weather, try this easy trick: In addition to your regular routine, add an extra hit of hydration by “mix[ing] foundation with a bit of moisturizer before you apply it.” Then top off with a refreshing mist like Mario Badescu Facial Spray with Aloe, Herbs and Rosewater (USD 7). “Spray that all over and it really brings your skin back to life,” said Mr. Moore.
The Wall Street Journal is not compensated by retailers listed in its articles as outlets for products. Listed retailers frequently are not the sole retail outlets.
Here starts the last item:
Kate Middleton’s Style Stays on Message Amid Ongoing Royal Turmoil
It’s a wardrobe that is keeping calm and carrying on, from navy tailoring to sensible stocking-socks.
By guest author Rory Satran from Wall Street Journal Magazine
Dec. 3, 2022
(Photo By: Richard Corkery/NY Daily News via Getty Images)
From the moment the Prince and Princess of Wales’s (commercial) flight touched down at Boston’s Logan International Airport this week, Kate Middleton‘s style set a clear agenda: She did not come to play.
Each element of her strategically chosen outfits seemed selected to signal a message, from the value of British tailoring and design, to the environmental consciousness of certain pieces, to a connection to the past—in the form of the jewelry of the late Diana, Princess of Wales.
For the couple’s first visit to the U.S. in eight years, pressure is on to present a strong vision of the British monarchy. Mere months after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, and not long since the new King Charles got mad at his pen while attempting to sign a document, the Prince and Princess of Wales arrived in Boston to inaugurate the Earthshot Prize, an environmental initiative.
Although Prince William and Princess Kate have been the very picture of calm control, the royal family’s drama continued to percolate this week. At Buckingham Palace, lady-in-waiting Lady Susan Hussey resigned after her comments asking where Ngozi Fulani, a Black charity founder, was “really from.” Prince William’s office responded that “racism has no place in our society.” And Prince Harry, the “spare” of his coming memoir, along with his wife Duchess Meghan Markle, released a titillating teaser for their coming Netflix documentary the day after the Waleses landed. Thunder: stolen.
Accordingly, Princess Kate seems to realize that this is not the right trip to have that much fun with fashion. Not that she ever goes too wild, with her prim wardrobe full of knee-length dresses, nude hose, ladylike coats and pointy heels. “She’s the goody-two-shoes of the royal family…she’s very dutiful,” said Eloise Moran, author of “The Lady Di Look Book.”
Diana, Princess of Wales at Costume Institute Gala at Metropolitan Museum of Art for a benefit ball.
(Photo By: Richard Corkery/NY Daily News via Getty Images)For her first outfit on American soil—well, asphalt—the Princess of Wales chose a trim navy-blue Alexander McQueen suit with a black turtleneck. The vibe was more boardroom than palace, signifying a desire to be taken seriously. She also wore, with what appeared to be nude stocking socks, a pair of sky-high Gianvito Rossi 105 millimetre-heel suede pumps, a USD 775 favorite that she repeated in several colours throughout the trip.
Aside from her ever-present stilettos, the main concession to glamour was her jewelry: a pair of sapphire-and-diamond drop earrings inherited from her mother-in-law, Diana, Princess of Wales, who had herself received them from the Queen Mother. The late princess wore them often, almost as a good-luck charm during her flashiest trips to the U.S.: for her dance with John Travolta at the White House in 1985, and for her 1996 post-divorce visit to the Met Gala. The oval sapphires ringed with diamonds mirror Princess Kate’s wedding ring, another Diana hand-me-down.
The former Ms. Middleton has long been a champion of British brands. In her book “HRH: So Many Thoughts on Royal Style,” writer (and former Wall Street Journal reporter) Elizabeth Holmes wrote, “Early on, Kate focused her wardrobe on U.K.-based brands, single-handedly boosting the British fashion industry.” This trip has been no exception, with the princess wearing the aforementioned navy suit as well as, later, a green coat and a brown coat from Alexander McQueen designed by Sarah Burton. Burberry also got some play, in the form of a pink pussycat blouse (worn with a maroon suit by Roland Mouret), and a fitted plaid dress.
Fittingly for a trip that is all about the environment, the princess also appears to have packed with sustainability in mind. She wore at least one notable vintage piece, a 1995 royal-blue Chanel blazer to sit courtside at the Boston Celtics game. It’s not exactly vintage, but she also carried a maroon Chanel bag that’s at least six years old. (Incidentally, it’s been reported that Diana did not wear Chanel after her divorce due to the C-C logo, which evoked King Charles and Camilla.) Princess Kate also wore some affordable recycled gold earrings from the sustainable brand Shyla London, which supports “several small charities educating some of the poorest women in India,” according to its website.
For the Earthshot awards ceremony, the Princess of Wales took the “green” theme literally, wearing a lime off-the-shoulder gown designed by Solace London from rental platform HURR. In another nod to Princess Diana, she donned the emerald-and-diamond choker that her late mother-in-law wore both as a necklace and a headband in the 1980s.
At the Celtics game, the princess paired a vintage 1995 Chanel blazer with very skinny black jeans. She left the heritage diamonds in the safe, choosing instead contemporary gold earrings from Shyla London and a necklace from Laura Lombardi. Photo: Getty Images
If the Princess of Wales’s goal was to appear unruffled and regal, then she achieved it. However, the comparisons to the gone-Hollywood branch of the Windsors are inevitable. In an interview with the Sunday Times, Tina Brown, the author of “The Palace Papers” said that “while Harry and Meghan have captured the tabloid imagination here, interest in William and Kate is low boil…I would like to have seen them hit more cities than Boston, where sizzle factor is quiescent to say the least.”
Stay tuned for sizzle next week, when Prince Harry and Meghan Markle head to New York City on Dec. 6, 2022, to receive an award from the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Foundation—right around the time their documentary comes out.
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Adidas Top Executives Discussed Risk of Staff’s ‘Direct Exposure’ to Kanye West Years Ago https://textile-future.com/archives/100688
Halti latest jacket makes use of both Spinnova and imogo’s new technologies https://textile-future.com/archives/100839
Nestlé outlines value creation model and 2025 targets at investor seminar https://textile-future.com/archives/100877
Discover Coloreel’s embroidery on-demand at Gina Tricot’s flagship Store https://textile-future.com/archives/101020
BASF launches Euperlan® NL Pearl, the first COSMOS compliant, wax-based pearlizer made for rinse-off applications https://textile-future.com/archives/101048
Cotton
Solidaridad Asia and CRB to launch regenagri cotton alliance https://textile-future.com/archives/100871
ICAC’s 80th Plenary Meeting Explores Sustainability Efforts for Global Cotton
https://textile-future.com/archives/101043
Data
EU First-time asylum applicants up 17 % in August 2022 https://textile-future.com/archives/100592
EUI Characteristics of enterprises that source abroad https://textile-future.com/archives/100599
Peer review report on the Netherlands now online https://textile-future.com/archives/100608
The McKinsey Week in Charts https://textile-future.com/archives/100665
EU trade with the Indo-Pacific region https://textile-future.com/archives/100732
EU Global Health Strategy and State of Health Preparedness Report https://textile-future.com/archives/100939
EU rail passenger transport: partial recovery in 2021 https://textile-future.com/archives/100963
Share of training in EU enterprises decreases in 2020 https://textile-future.com/archives/100970
Swiss Consumer prices remained stable in November 2022 https://textile-future.com/archives/101004
Summer months rule tourism seasonality in EU regions https://textile-future.com/archives/101097
EU Trade in electric cars steadily increasing https://textile-future.com/archives/101130
EU’s industries dependent on electricity and natural gas https://textile-future.com/archives/101145
Events
PICANOL AT INDIA ITME 2022 https://textile-future.com/archives/100727
Colorjet at India ITME 2022 https://textile-future.com/archives/100737
‘Made in Bangladesh Week’ Concluded with a Collective Promise https://textile-future.com/archives/100843
SHIMA SEIKI to Exhibit at India ITME 2022 https://textile-future.com/archives/100860
Oerlikon Nonwoven presents portfolio at the FILTECH 2023 https://textile-future.com/archives/101028
Karl Mayer at ITME 2022: Wide range of solutions for the needs of a volume market https://textile-future.com/archives/101107
EU
2023 Access City Award: winners to be announced today https://textile-future.com/archives/100587
Joint Statement by President von der Leyen and President Yoon on the EU-Republic of Korea Digital Partnership https://textile-future.com/archives/100684
European skills: Launch of a large-scale partnership on skills in retail https://textile-future.com/archives/100894
EU Commission welcomes political agreement on the new EU product safety rules https://textile-future.com/archives/100897
Drone Strategy: Creating a large-scale European drone market https://textile-future.com/archives/100919
e-Evidence: EU Commission welcomes political agreement to strengthen cross-border access for criminal investigations https://textile-future.com/archives/100945
European Green Deal: Putting an end to wasteful packaging, boosting reuse and recycling, and certifying carbon removals https://textile-future.com/archives/100958
EU anti-disinformation Hubs now extends to all EU countries https://textile-future.com/archives/101089
EU Commission welcomes political agreement on new internal rules for the enforcement of the EU’s agreements with the UK https://textile-future.com/archives/101092
Eurobarometre: survey shows strong public support for the Euro, the Recovery and Resilience Facility and SURE https://textile-future.com/archives/101124
Holiday Gifts
A holiday gift guide https://textile-future.com/archives/100643
Lipstick
The Lipstick Index Is Back https://textile-future.com/archives/100655
Personal Technology
When Your Data Tells You Who You Really Are.Spotify Wrapped shows how detailed and personal data collection can be https://textile-future.com/archives/101206
Personalities
Change on the Executive Board of Forbo Group https://textile-future.com/archives/100633
Personnel Changes at BASF https://textile-future.com/archives/101012
Salesforce Co-CEO Bret Taylor to Step Down https://textile-future.com/archives/101080
Rare Earth
Namibia Critical Metals Inc. Provides JOGMEC Joint Venture Update for the Lofdal Heavy Rare Earth Project https://textile-future.com/archives/100835
Sustainability
Swiss Autoneum: Coming full circle on sustainability: 100 % polyester carpet systems https://textile-future.com/archives/100740
Switzerland
Swiss Federal Councillor Ueli Maurer to meet Saudi Arabian and Qatari finance ministers https://textile-future.com/archives/100611
Gross domestic product in the third quarter of 2022: growth underpinned by domestic economy in Switzerland
Livia Leu represents Switzerland at OSCE Ministerial Council Łódź https://textile-future.com/archives/101054
Swiss NCSC to become federal office in DDPS https://textile-future.com/archives/101111
The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland resolves criminal investigation against ABB https://textile-future.com/archives/101136
Success story
Trützschler and Valérius 360: A breakthrough for recycled yarn https://textile-future.com/archives/100923
Ukraine
Ukraine: Reported deposits and frozen assets in Switzerland https://textile-future.com/archives/100998
USA
More card loan growth is coming. That could be a worry as the economy heads into uncertain territory https://textile-future.com/archives/100648
What to Watch https://textile-future.com/archives/101075
WTO
Trade and Development: WTO members take steps to invigorate working group on trade and transfer of technology https://textile-future.com/archives/100638