Dear Reader,
Today the Editorial Team of TextileFuture is suggesting only one feature to you.
It is entitled “From Rihanna to Chloë Sevigny, Fashion Week Prioritised Charisma Over Clothes” and it was firstly published in the Wall Street Journal Magazine.
We hope that you do enjoy this reading and the captions.
We wish you a terrific week and our best wishes shall accompany you!
Best regards from
The Editorial Team of TextileFuture’s Newsletter
Here is the Start of the sole feature:
“From Rihanna to Chloë Sevigny, Fashion Week Prioritised Charisma Over Clothes”
By guest author Rory Satran from the Wall Street Journal
In “Iron Man 3,” superhero Tony Stark is haunted by the existential question of whether the suit makes the man or the man makes the suit. The fashion industry depends on the former—selling clothing that it promises can transform and complete you. And recently, garments have continually trumped their wearers, with interchangeable influencers modeling attention-grabbing trends like micro-kilts, Big Red Boots and bra tops.
But these past few days at New York Fashion Week, the message is that, though fashion can help, ultimately it’s the wearer that elevates a look. Characters, more than clothes, dominated the week: 48-year-old first lady of New York Cool Chloë Sevigny opened the standout Proenza Schouler show; the cast of “The White Lotus” continued their tour of the zeitgeist; the late editor André Leon Talley spiritually presided over a Christie’s sale of his wardrobe and art. Even larger-than-life Rihanna in a notably casual, yet punchy, Super Bowl halftime look echoed the theme from afar.
Although some undeniable trends popped out in the fall collections—metallics, the return of the miniskirt, creamy Halston-esque wool outerwear—the week belonged to those charismatic enough to transcend what they wore.
Phoenix Phashion Week: How Rihanna stole the show(s)
No one dared stage an important fashion event on Sunday night around 8 p.m. EST, when Rihanna was set to take the stage for the Super Bowl halftime show. As it was, editors scuttled into parties and presentations late, sneakily checking their phones during dinners to see what the pop star would sing—and wear. But it turned out that her pure presence as a pregnant (surprise!) Rihanna was the real story, rather than a queenly procession of outfit changes.
Rihanna’s sporty, all-red look was designed to put her and her bump front and center. This was not the 2015 Guo Pei marigold-colored Met Ball robe that was memed into fashion history, nor even her last pregnancy announcement with its full bare-belly reveal. It was a relatively simple outfit that wouldn’t have looked completely out of place to coach a toddler tumbling class.
Fashion-minded onlookers interpreted Rihanna’s Super Bowl puffer as a nod to the late André Leon Talley. Photos: Mike Coppola/Getty Images; Ugg
Fashion-minded onlookers interpreted Rihanna’s Super Bowl puffer as a nod to the late André Leon Talley. Photos: Mike Coppola/Getty Images; Ugg
The pop star wore a red flight jumpsuit thrown open to reveal a red bodysuit and molded breastplate from the LVMH brand Loewe, designed by Jonathan Anderson. This outfit was topped off with two consecutively worn Alaïa scarlet leather puffer pieces: one a scarf with integrated gloves, the other a longer full coat. The red puffer looked like a homage to a similar Norma Kamali blanket coat worn by André Leon Talley, who was a friend of the pop star’s. Prioritizing comfort, she finished her look with red sneakers from the Maison Margiela MM6 and Salomon collaboration.
One final dramatic sweep of taffeta for André Leon Talley’s caftans
The live auction of André Leon Talley’s belongings at Christie’s crushed estimates on Feb. 16, netting over USD 1 million to benefit his former churches (with the online sale still going strong). The editor, who died in 2022, left behind a collection as eclectic and impressive as the man himself, including dramatic caftans made by designers including Tom Ford, Dapper Dan and Valentino, bespoke Manolo Blahnik sandals, and homoerotic artwork from Karl Lagerfeld, Antonio Lopez and Herb Ritts. A set of personalized Louis Vuitton luggage went for USD 94500, over 23 times its high estimate of USD 4000.
Mr. Talley’s Norma Kamali red puffer, said to inspire Rihanna’s Alaïa version at the Super Bowl, sold for USD 25200.
At the show’s opening, Mr. Talley’s presence was felt well beyond the objects themselves. The Cut’s editor in chief, Lindsay Peoples Wagner, spoke about how Mr. Talley opened doors for Black creatives in the industry, and the Abyssinian Baptist Church Choir belted out songs including “Respect” and “How I Got Over,” Mr. Talley’s favourite. Christie’s head of private and iconic collections, Liz Siegel, reported that during the preview, “people flooded the galleries to pay their respects to this larger than life figure and marvel at the diversity of his collection.”
Patience Torlowei, the creative director of Nigerian brand Torlowei, was in town to show her clothing at the Black in Fashion Council showroom and attended the opening of Mr. Talley, who wore her pieces. She felt honored to see her caftans in the context of the exhibition, but at the same time, “one was reminded of the great loss to our world his absence has been,” she said.
Chloë Sevigny incarnates Proenza Schouler’s realism
Somehow, even after 20 years in business, Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez of Proenza Schouler are seen as the “cool kids” of the New York fashion scene. Same goes for the women they dress, like Chloë Sevigny, who opened their show, and Sienna Miller, who sat front row. All of them are now in their 40s, but they possess a with-it edginess even as they’ve graduated from Lit Lounge to the Carlyle, from accumulating matchbooks to collecting Prouvé.
The brand’s fall outing, which they called “possibly our most personal collection,” was an ode to their inspiring friends, women like Ms. Sevigny but also stylist Camilla Nickerson, singer Sade and artists Yoko Ono and Louise Bourgeois. Intentionally devoid of a theme or silhouette, the clothing echoed the way a real working woman gets dressed: Throw this jacket over this top with these slacks; grab this bag.
The pair asked writer Ottessa Moshfegh, of “My Year of Rest and Relaxation,” to write a text that would be syncopated by the electronic musician Arca. In an interview, Ms. Moshfegh called the process “a complete joy, a creative ecstasy.” The resulting fictional journal entries were read by Ms. Sevigny for the soundtrack (for example: “I took Yasmin to lunch after the studio visit.”).
Ms. Moshfegh said she was inspired by a huge file of images of women that the designers shared before the show. Together, she said, she got the impression of “a very interior beauty, something thoughtful and solitary and individual and wise and curious and open.”
Fashion embraces the cast of “The White Lotus”—even Greg
Two months after the season-two finale of “The White Lotus,” the show’s pop-cultural moment is still going strong. The theme song is being remixed and bumped at clubs from Ibiza to Indianapolis; its stars Simona Tabasco and Beatrice Grannò appeared in a Valentine’s Day Skims campaign; and Jennifer Coolidge is doomed to live on forever as GIFs and memes of her hapless character Tanya.
The fashion industry, which adores a wink (and a paparazzi bulb), welcomed the show’s stars with open arms this season. Meghann Fahy (Daphne) appeared composed and elegant in the front row of the Khaite show. Ms. Tabasco and Ms. Grannò giggled, in the style of their hookers-with-hearts-of-gold characters, at the Michael Kors show. And Jon Gries, who plays the arguable villain Greg, walked the runway of indie brand Eckhaus Latta.
Fashion shows can be grimly serious, and all that focus on buttons and bias cuts gets repetitive. So it can be a relief when designers look to familiar and even funny faces to lighten the mood.
Newsletter of last Week
How a 27-Year-Old Designer Is Reviving Your Grandma’s Favourite Shoe Brand – For Rihanna Fans, the Super Bowl Is Just One Big Comeback Concert – The coolest clothes right now https://textile-future.com/archives/105018
Higlights of News of last Week, for your convenience just click on the item
Associations
AATCC Committee Updates https://textile-future.com/archives/105386
Biking
Brompton Bicycle’s CEO: ‘Price is not what’s stopping people from cycling’ https://textile-future.com/archives/105191
Cactus
Secretive Society Keeps Watch Over Arizona’s Holy Grail of Cactus https://textile-future.com/archives/105205
Column
Grapevine – a weekend column of the Wall Street Journal https://textile-future.com/archives/105199
Companies
Lonza Completes Expansion of Conjugation Facility in Visp (CH) https://textile-future.com/archives/105371
Rare Earths: Avalon Shareholder Meeting and Investor Presentation https://textile-future.com/archives/105467
Cisco’s Catch-Up Is Worth Catching https://textile-future.com/archives/105472
Swiss Consumer prices increased by 0.6 % in January 2023 https://textile-future.com/archives/105099
FOPH – Swiss primary care doctors give their healthcare system highest marks in international comparison https://textile-future.com/archives/105112
Swiss Producer and Import Price Index rose by 0.7 % in January https://textile-future.com/archives/105134
22 % of EU enterprises had ICT security incidents https://textile-future.com/archives/105157
European Green Deal: Commissionarget for new city buses and 90 % emissions reductions for new trucks by 2040 https://textile-future.com/archives/105165
EU economy greenhouse gas emissions in Q3 2022 https://textile-future.com/archives/105248
US: EU’s largest maritime freight partner in Q2 2022 https://textile-future.com/archives/105271
Out now: EU Manual on Government Deficit and Debt https://textile-future.com/archives/105402
3.5 million recent job leavers in Q3 2022 in EU https://textile-future.com/archives/105407
Rising secondary sector production in Switzerland in 4th quarter 2022 https://textile-future.com/archives/105431
EU
Statement by President von der Leyen on the 10th package of sanctions against Russia https://textile-future.com/archives/105267
Events
Explore the world of sustainable Digital Textile Printing at DTG Dhaka from tomorrow! https://textile-future.com/archives/105168
WACKER presents dispersible polymer powders for high bond-strength, easy-to-process tile adhesives and mortars at ECS (European Coating Show) https://textile-future.com/archives/105568
Innovation Forum
Consumers still making sustainable shopping choices https://textile-future.com/archives/105563
Long Life
You Might Live Longer Than You Think. Your Finances Might Not https://textile-future.com/archives/105233
McKinsey
McKinsey: What is productivity? https://textile-future.com/archives/105574
OECD
Substantial services trade liberalisation occurred during 2022, but imposition of new barriers in many key sectors demonstrate the need for renewed efforts to open markets, OECD says https://textile-future.com/archives/105118
New Products
Karl Mayer: From the machine to the printing table https://textile-future.com/archives/105076
Together with partner reaching a milestone in the development of a circular-based fashion collection https://textile-future.com/archives/105122
Groz-Beckert News February 2023 https://textile-future.com/archives/105279
Personalities
COLLEGE MEETING: The European Commission appoints a new Director-General for its Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations https://textile-future.com/archives/105149
Swiss Nestlé proposes Rainer Blair and Marie-Gabrielle Ineichen-Fleisch as new independent members of its Board of Directors https://textile-future.com/archives/105289
Science
Swiss Empa: High-precision analysis of precious ice samples: New technology revolutionises the analysis of old ice https://textile-future.com/archives/105375
A greener alternative for aviation fuel https://textile-future.com/archives/105393
Security Conference Munich
Kamala Harris Says Russia Has Committed Crimes Against Humanity https://textile-future.com/archives/105489
Blinken, China’s Top Diplomat Hold First Meeting Since Balloon Incident https://textile-future.com/archives/105515
Sheets
Wirecutter tried dozens of sheets — these are the best https://textile-future.com/archives/105548
Shelly Palmer’s Blog
Shelly Palmer’s Blog https://textile-future.com/archives/105541
Switzerland
Working visit by Jordanian Minister of Education and of Higher Education and Scientific Research in Switzerland https://textile-future.com/archives/105142
Swiss Federal Council has received legal clarifications on frozen Russian assets https://textile-future.com/archives/105245
Switzerland – UK: Federal Council approves negotiating mandate https://textile-future.com/archives/105255
Ukraine: price caps for Russian petroleum products to take effect https://textile-future.com/archives/105264
Swiss Confederation closes 2022 with a deficit of CHF 4.3 billion https://textile-future.com/archives/105260
Over CHF 130 million from entourage of former Ukrainian President Yanukovych targeted in confiscation in Switzerland https://textile-future.com/archives/105276
A digital guide to the Swiss Confederation’s promotion activities https://textile-future.com/archives/105295
Tesla
Tesla Recalls Roughly 362,800 Vehicles Over Full Self-Driving Beta Software https://textile-future.com/archives/105435
USA
Jimmy Carter, 98, Opts for Hospice Care https://textile-future.com/archives/105510
More Auto Payments Are Late, Exposing Cracks in Consumer Credit https://textile-future.com/archives/105528
WIPO
WIPO Respect for IP Webinars: The Role of the Domain Name System in Online Copyright Enforcement (February 23, 2023) https://textile-future.com/archives/105299
Madrid System Podcast: Episode 6 https://textile-future.com/archives/105481
Worldbank
COVID-19’s Impact on Young People Risks a Lost Generation https://textile-future.com/archives/105318
Workplace Fairness
Workplace Fairness Highlights Workplace Issues Unequally Affecting Black Workers and the Evolution of DEI at Work Since 2020 https://textile-future.com/archives/105452
Worth Visiting
London Design Museum to celebrate London as the powerhouse of global fashion in major new exhibition https://textile-future.com/archives/105182
WTO
WTO Members advance discussions on addressing challenges in implementing SPS Agreement https://textile-future.com/archives/105176
WTO: DG calls on Gulf ministers’ support to implement MC12 outcomes and chart path to MC13 https://textile-future.com/archives/105460