FASHION

Brio In RioLouis Vuitton took over Rio de Janeiro’s dramatic Contemporary Art Museum, a white modernist structure that resembled a flying saucer perched high on a cliff above Guanabara Bay, as the setting to show its resort collection. A fitting choice since designer Nicolas Ghesquière’s lineup channeled the city’s mood with its colorful palette and tropical references — with cutouts and ruffles thrown in for good measure. For more on Vuitton’s resort adventure, see pages 7 to 10.

Fashion. Beauty. Business.

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GOING BIGChristian Dior gets set to open a mega flagship on London’s New Bond Street, its largest store in Europe. PAGE 5

KARL’S SEIBU DEALKarl Lagerfeld designs a private-label collection for Seibu Sogo of Japan’s Limited Edition line. PAGE 3

EXITING ROSSIAngelo Ruggeri resigns as design director of Sergio Rossi, which was bought by Investindustrial in December. PAGE 3

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT PAMELA FIRESTONE, ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER AT 212 256 8103 OR PFIRESTONE@WWD.COM

Accessories Make Everything Look Better

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Issue: July 20 / Ad Close: July 6 / Materials: July 11

An Advertising Opportunity

in focus

31 MAY 2016 3

● The collaborative collection for fall spans women’s apparel and accessories and is destined for 15 Japanese department stores and online.

BY WWD STAFF

PARIS — “You know I love new ventures; I think it is perfect for the label,” Karl Lager-feld said about his latest surprising project: a collaborative private brand with Seibu Sogo.

Beginning in September, Limited Edition by Karl Lagerfeld will be offered exclusively in 15 Seibu Sogo locations including Seibu Ikebukuro and Sogo Yokohama, as well as the Japanese retailer’s online department store.

The label spans women’s ready-to-wear and accessories based on the design concept of “elegance with a touch of fun,” according

to Seibu Sogo.“I approached it the same way I

approached the collection we did in Brazil, but this time with a Japanese feeling in the mood,” said Lagerfeld, referring to a 75-piece collection he did for Brazilian fast-fashion chain Riachuelo this spring.

Lagerfeld becomes the first international designer to collaborate with Limited Edi-tion, a private-label Seibu Sogo introduced in 2009, focusing on quality over price in an effort to achieve a unique market positioning.

The brand launched with a collaborative collection with Japanese designer Atsuro Tayama, and has since teamed with a num-ber of Japanese designers including Junko Shimada.

Offering a range of items — including women’s and men’s rtw and accessories, baby wear, interior items, and sportswear — Limited Edition’s sales have grown 20 per-cent over last year, according to Seibu Sogo.

In March, the retailer added Limited Edi-tion Area Mode, a line consisting of every-day wear developed by suburban stores specifically for locals to meet regional needs and demands. Seibu Sogo also partnered with designers such as Yasutoshi Ezumi this March, launching its premium line, Limited Edition Platinum.

Seven & I Group, the parent company of Seibu Sogo, also boasts its own private brand, Sept Premiere, which has collabo-rated with Jean Paul Gaultier since the fall 2015 season. The group recently announced a collaborative project with Kenzo Takada, set to launch in the fall.

Lagerfeld — Chanel’s couturier and Fendi’s fur and rtw designer — also has a signature fashion house that has ramped up its global expansion with a “masstige” positioning for leather goods and rtw tinged with a rock-’n’-roll sensibility.

He has also picked up the pace of licenses, joint ventures and collaborations, like the new one with Seibu Sogo.

“I think it is a modern way for a label so totally different from Chanel or Fendi. That’s what I always wanted,” he told WWD from Saint-Tropez, where he was shooting a campaign for Chanel’s Coco Cuba resort collection shown in Havana earlier this month. It stars models Stella Tennant and Mica Arganaraz.

FASHION

Karl Lagerfeld Designs Line for Seibu Sogo

● D’Angelantonio will start at the Italian company on Sept. 1.

BY LUISA ZARGANI

Loro Piana has tapped Fabio d’Angelanto-nio as chief executive officer, effective Sept. 1. He succeeds Matthieu Brisset.

“I am excited to have Fabio take the helm at Loro Piana. He has a great track record in developing brands, retail operations and people across the globe,” said Antoine Arnault, president of the Quarona, Ita-ly-based company. “He also brings a warm

personality and Italian touch to continue the development of Loro Piana at the very high end of ready- to-wear and textile prod-ucts.” LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton took a majority stake in Loro Piana, known for its luxurious cashmere, wool and fine textiles, in 2013.

“Three years after the acquisition of Loro Piana, I think it is safe to say that Mat-thieu Brisset and I have accomplished the mission given to us by Sergio and Pier Luigi Loro Piana: to integrate their exceptional company smoothly into LVMH Group while respecting at all times the values of the

brand and the great people working there.” In thanking Brisset for his accomplishments and defining him “a key asset,” Arnault said his new position within LVMH will be announced “shortly.”

An Italian native, d’Angelantonio was previously chief marketing officer of Lux-ottica, as well as president of Sunglass Hut within the Italian eyewear giant firm. Prior to this, he held senior positions in sales and marketing between 1995 and 2004, at Edi-tions Hemma in Brussels, then in Milan at Ciaoweb — Internet portal of the Fiat Group — and Indesit Co.

BUSINESS

Loro Piana Appoints Fabio d’Angelantonio CEO

Louis Vuitton Resort 2017● The French luxury brand channeled the city’s tropical colors and sinuous architecture in a sporty resort collection.

● Dee Ocleppo Hilfiger, Aerin Lauder, Brandon Maxwell and Malan Breton Among FGI Rising Star Winners

● Front Row at Louis Vuitton Resort 2017

● They Are Wearing: Paris Fashion Week Fall 2016

● Cannes 2016: Inside the amfAR Gala

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● Design director Angelo Ruggeri joined the brand in 2013, succeeding Francesco Ruffo.

BY LUISA ZARGANI

Sergio Rossi’s design director Angelo Ruggeri is exiting the Italian luxury foot-wear brand.

Ruggeri joined the company in 2013, succeeding Francesco Ruffo. In February, Ruggeri presented Twenties-inspired dainty ankle-strapped d’Orsay pumps and soft vel-vet platform sandals with jet sequins in line with the brand’s staple feminine designs. He was also in charge of Sergio Rossi’s men’s division.

European investment house Investindus-trial in December took control of Sergio Rossi from Kering, and tapped former Pomellato chief executive officer Andrea Morante as president of the firm. In March, Riccardo Sciutto, former general manager of Hogan, joined Sergio Rossi as ceo.

While the company expressed “sincere gratitude” to Ruggeri, it did not provide

additional details or future strategies.“I am sure that we can put in place a

turnaround of the brand in such a relevant sector as shoes — a segment even more significant for Italy,” Morante told WWD in January. “There are business opportunities that can be developed by injecting new life into the brand, a new impetus, vision

and direction, leveraging a strong brand awareness in regions such as America, Europe and Japan. This could become a case study.”

Sergio Rossi relies on its production center in San Mauro Pascoli, in Italy’s Emil-ia-Romagna region, one of the country’s leather goods hubs.

The company has more than 80 stores — both directly operated and franchised — mainly in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, the U.S., Southeast Asia and Japan, along with wholesale distribution to such retailers as Saks Fifth Avenue, Barneys New York, Lane Crawford and Harrods.

Investindustrial was founded by Italian financier Andrea C. Bonomi and has stakes in Aston Martin, B&B Italia and luxury lighting firm Flos, among others. In May, it linked with Tod’s chairman and ceo Diego Della Valle and other shareholders to bid for RCS MediaGroup.

Sergio Rossi was founded by the epon-ymous shoemaker in the Fifties. Gucci Group, which has since been folded into Kering, snapped up a majority stake in the brand in 1999 during an aggressive acquisi-tion drive masterminded by Domenico De Sole and Tom Ford. The group eventually took full control in 2004.

According to a Barclays estimate last year, Sergio Rossi’s revenues were pegged at about 71 million euros, or about $95 million.

BUSINESS

Ruggeri Exits Sergio Rossi

4 31 MAY 2016

● The two executives warned that a new order in the fashion system is bound to emerge within the next few years.

BY EMILY BACKUS

MILAN — The role of a creative director is over at Tod’s, a casualty of breakneck business acceleration, declared chair-man and chief executive officer Diego

Della Valle in an onstage interview at the 8th Lux-ury Summit of Il Sole 24 Ore here Thursday.

“We do not need the designer in the classic sense, for us, because I think that figure has become, except in some cases, a bit of a

hindrance to projects,” said Della Valle. Tod’s parted ways with women’s wear designer Alessandra Facchinetti earlier this month, as reported.

Della Valle said he is overhauling Tod’s to eliminate seasons, and will instead generate new product on a monthly basis to generate regular news for the digital media mill and fresh items for stores.

“We become almost the office of public relations, marketing, that almost becomes a publishing house,” he said.

Della Valle warned that a new order in the fashion system is bound to emerge within the next few years. His company

will complete its own transformation by the end of the year.

“I believe that not one of us can think anymore season to season,” he said. “The entire business model truly is changing.”

Remo Ruffini, chairman and chief executive officer of Moncler, agreed.

“The world has changed,” he told a group of journalists after his own appearance onstage. “You must be fast. You can’t bore. And you have to communicate.”

Ruffini also spoke of needing to find ideas to stimulate customer interest each month, not each season. And the target of these efforts should “look after the local consumer” as opposed to visitors, even in shopping-tourism meccas like Milan, London and Paris.

“The consumer is very different from the past,” said Andrea Illy, president of luxury trade group Altagamma and head of Illycaffè high-end coffee. By his account, they are increasingly anti-Es-tablishment, anticonsumption, pro-sus-tainability, and angry. Because their models of consumption are new, and because the traditional luxury market is saturated, there is tremendous pressure to provide an unprecedented level of service.

“There is enormous opportunity for innovation,” as long as those develop-ments are under the aegis of “the cathe-dral of lifestyle,” Illy said.

Luca Solca, head of luxury goods at Exane BNP Paribas, said until now, the luxury sector has swelled on waves of

new consumers in emerging markets — think Japan in the Seventies and Eighties, and more recently Russia and China, among others. The luxury market’s second source of growth, he said, came from raising prices.

But with the economic slowdown in China, the rise of a price sensitive middle class, and the Chinese government’s desire to bring home hefty spending on luxury goods by Chinese travelers abroad, Solca predicts those levers will collapse within five to 10 years.

“Chinese consumers represent 30 per-cent of the global market in personal and experiential luxury, a market it continues to feed with new consumers,” concurred Nicola Pianon, senior partner and managing director of Boston Consult-ing Group. “Three quarters of Chinese luxury consumers make their purchases outside the borders of mainland China.”

And Chinese consumers are pushing the tide toward mobile e-commerce, which BCG expects to reach 74 percent of online purchases by 2020. In addition, strong in-store assistance is preferred by 63 percent of Chinese customers.

That extra attention, however, may not necessarily come from humans in the future. Gianluca Meardi, exec-utive director of PwC, predicted that robots — virtual and real — may prove to be the next aid to creating a winning buying experience in physical stores and e-commerce alike. To make his point, he introduced the two-foot green and white robot “Marty,” which spoke and moved in ingratiating ways, and sat down on the stage when asked to “take a seat.”

Meardi said Marty boosted sales when tested in Japanese stores as an adjunct to human sales assistants, which remains indispensable. Ironically, artificial intelligence and humanoid robotics are hot areas of sales innovation precisely because they make shopping a more “human” experience, amping up the empathy and warm feelings that facilitate purchase.

FASHION

Tod’s Della Valle, Moncler’s Ruffini Foresee Fashion Upheaval

● Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

BY LAURE GUILBAULT

PARIS — Japan’s Citizen Watch Co. has acquired Swiss luxury watch brand Frédérique Constant and its sister labels Alpina and Ateliers deMonaco.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.In a letter to partners, Frédérique

Constant founders Peter Stas and his wife Aletta explained that they had hoped to hand the company over to their children, but they have chosen other career paths.

“Naturally, they have also developed their own desires and ambitions — Piet-Jan in sustainable energy, Eline in the medical field,” they wrote.

They praised the “innovative technolo-gies” of the Citizen Group, saying: “We see the opportunity of a Swiss-Japanese part-nership to develop and market watches for the 21st century and beyond.”

As part of the deal, the founders and management team will stay in their current positions for a minimum of five years, the cofounders added. They also noted that Frédérique Constant, Alpina and Ateliers deMonaco will be managed as indepen-dent brands and companies within the Citizen Group.

“We have a great opportunity to expand the sales of Frédérique Constant through our current distribution channels of Citi-zen branded watches, particularly in Japan and the U.S.,” Citizen Watch Co. chief exec-utive officer Toshio Tokura stated. “With the acquisition of Frédérique Constant, the Citizen Watch Group will be able to augment its portfolio of brands and occupy the space in the markets where some of our competitors operate and further expand the presence of the Citizen brand in the market.”

The executive mentioned, as well, a “great synergy for sharing technologies and infrastructures in the future.”

The Frédérique Constant Group employs 170 people in six offices worldwide.

BUSINESS

Citizen Watch Buys Frédérique Constant

● In the first quarter, China sales were up 60.6 percent.

BY CASEY HALL

SHANGHAI — Furla has just opened a new flagship in Shanghai and the Italian handbag brand is seeing strong sales growth in the country despite the economic slowdown, according to its executives.

In the first quarter of 2016, Furla’s China sales were up 60.6 percent, with like-for-like sales up 46.1 percent in local currency terms, said Furla Asia-Pacific chief executive officer Alessandro Bartoli.

Furla has actually benefited from the broader economic slowdown and Presi-dent Xi Jinping’s corruption crackdown — factors that have hit higher-end luxury brands particularly hard, the executive said.

“Usually premium brands benefit from the middle class growing and trading up, passing through premium on their way to luxury brands. But we have also enjoyed a lot of trade down, so the women who can’t show off luxury brands because of the corruption crackdown, or are tired of the lack of exclusivity from big luxury brands, they want to try newer brands in the premium segment, but they can’t accept the horrible made in China quality of our competitors. Then the made in Italy craftsmanship and quality comes

into play,” Bartoli said.Furla’s new 3,230-square-foot flagship

store makes its home on Shanghai’s famous Nanjing West Road shopping street. A cocktail party Thursday night drew Furla creative director Fabio Fusi, Chinese actress Jiang Shuying and more than 100 local media guests, including Vogue China editor Angelica Cheung.

By the end of 2016, Furla will have 56 stores in China — its current store count worldwide stands at 415 — and is planning continued expansion in the country, though executives said the point of sale

growth will be of the slow and steady variety.

“We are planning to grow in a cau-tiously aggressive way, not too many stores, but enough to be accessible and well-distributed,” said Furla president Giovanna Furlanetto. “There is still wide potential to explore, there are many more Chinese people who will be able to afford premium products, so we are looking for quality expansion, rather than quantity, increasing the sales by square meter by enriching the range of products being offered in a more lifestyle direction.”

These new product categories — includ-ing men’s accessories, women’s wear and shoes — are already on display at the Shanghai flagship, and a major focus for Furla in the coming years will be to increase the size of their current stores to accommodate their growing number of products on offer.

According to Bartoli, the product expansion is going quite well, though he stressed that it would take time to grow in some competitive categories.

“The shoes category is not easy, because usually it belongs to specialists. The men’s section is difficult because the world of Furla has always been about women, but there isn’t really a premium brand doing 100 percent made in Italy accessories for men, so we are confident about that,” he said.

RETAIL

Furla Opens Shanghai Flagship

Frédérique Constant Manufacture Perpetual Calendar

The Furla flagship on Shanghai’s Nanjing West Road.

Remo Ruffini

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● The four-level boutique on New Bond Street is billed as the French brand’s largest in Europe.

BY MILES SOCHA

LONDON — Dior is answering its London calling in grandiose fashion this week, stag-ing its resort show at Blenheim Palace and unveiling a silvery flagship on New Bond Street loaded with exclusive attractions.

The four-level unit, which opens to the public Friday, is billed as the French firm’s largest in Europe, boasting London’s first freestanding Dior Homme boutique, a vast home department loaded with bespoke products — plus four lavish VIP rooms, including one in the children’s wear department.

The latter feature signals that Dior intends to cater to local and international high-rollers, including the 350 top clients invited to the cruise display, 200 of them U.K. residents.

“We see growth in the U.K. market — and energy,” said Sidney Toledano, chief execu-tive officer of Dior, ranking the U.K. among the brand’s five biggest markets.

Indeed, the executive said London is poised to welcome more well-heeled tourists, many of whom are bypassing Paris — still reeling from November’s terrorist attacks and now gripped with labor unrest — in favor of the vibrant English capital.

The sprawling New Bond Street flag-ship telegraphs Dior’s confidence in the market —- and underscores how today’s most powerful luxury brands are widening their lifestyle offering and ramping up elite services.

For example, one of the VIP rooms is fully equipped and furnished to host private lunches, while the entire fourth floor can be privatized.

“We call it the house of Dior,” said Toledano, noting the concept would be exported to Tokyo next year, where it will open such a unit in Ginza. “The whole universe is there.”

The London boutique, located at 160-162 New Bond Street directly opposite sister brand Louis Vuitton, was more than two years in the making. Dior opened tempo-rary stores on Conduit Street and Mount Street when it closed its original New Bond location in February 2014 to annex a second building next door for the expansion. (The Conduit Street location has already gone dark while Mount Street will shutter in a month.)

Dior was obliged to maintain the original landmark facades, but gutted and rebuilt everything behind, except a farmhouse, also listed, which makes a quaint setting for the brand’s children’s wear and home departments.

Toledano noted that Dior has never exported its home universe, overseen at the Avenue Montaigne flagship by Doris Brynner.

For the sprawling London home depart-ment, showcased under a glass-roofed courtyard scented with the jasmine crawl-ing up the trellis-clad walls of the farm-house, Dior commissioned French creative and interior design consultant Isabelle Dubern to assemble a collection specifically for London that will later be rolled out to other top flagships, including the recently opened Seoul maison.

American architect Peter Marino, who conceived a new design concept for New Bond Street, created a bedroom showcase with vivid pink wallpaper, appointed with cashmere throws, fine linens, cushions and objects, the fireplace filled with peonies in lieu of flaming logs.

Marino is also among the artists Dubern commissioned for specific products. He created cast bronze cigarette boxes, while Jeremy Maxwell did free-blown glass vases; India Mahdavi, etched silver frames, Lucie de la Falaise, a picnic basket, and Hubert le Gall, valet trays for emptying pockets of keys and other sundries. Stationery, cigar boxes, backgammon sets and playing cards round out the assortments.

“This universe is totally new, unique,”

RETAIL

Dior’s English Invasion: London Flagship Crowns Resort Showing

CONTINUED ON PG.6Sculpture “Distan Cousin” by Tony Cragg, 2008.

The children’s wear department. The central atrium.

Toledano said of the home department, showing off photos of vessels by Giberto Arrivabene and ashtrays by Jérôme Fail-lant-Dumas, perhaps best known in fashion circles for his fragrance flacons. “We know in London there’s a big potential for this. There are so many fine homes, and people invest in interiors. There’s a big demand.”

Other products unique to the location include limited-edition Lady Dior bags interpreted by sculptor Marc Quinn, one of Britain’s splashiest contemporary artists who once cast his bust in his own frozen blood and depicted Kate Moss in an elastic yoga pose.

His versions of the handbag come decorated with psychedelic orchids, a closeup of an iris and pupil, or a fossilized flower in relief. Prices range from 250 pounds, or $365 at current exchange, for a business-card holder to 5,000 pounds, or $7,300, for a large deerskin bag.

Fifty shades of gray doesn’t even begin to describe the preeminence of Dior’s signature color in the boutique, rendered in painstaking artisanal wall treatments, hand-woven carpets, hulking bronze cabinets and tables and couture-caliber curtains.

To silvery walls in embossed leather, lam-inated straw or a bespoke stucco treatment resembling scratched metal, Marino added flashes of white, describing the boutique as “lighter, cleaner, more modern.”

Etched glass columns are a wink to London’s grand old luxury hotels, which Marino remembers from visits as a child. They feature in the handbag and shoe salons, the latter appointed with a wall sculpture by Rado Kirov that resembles dripping mercury.

The architect completely reconfigured every single floor of the twin buildings, mapping out a series of generously sized rooms, each appointed with original art-works and custom furnishings.

“We want the customers to feel com-fortable — and glamorous,” said Marino, who juxtaposed 18th-century features like Versailles parquet and intricate grillwork on the stairwell with “unbelievably modern things,” like the HD video montages that flash in the stairwell, or a Barberini & Gun-nell bench that looks like it came off some spaceship.

Fashion illustrations by Christian Bérard are among decorative elements that nod to Dior’s history, while sleek touches include sculptures by Tony Cragg and Erwin Wurm and a gleaming off-kilter chandelier by Lee Bul. The latter punctuates the soaring atrium at the heart of the New Bond Street boutique, framed by yet more glass col-umns and funneling customers to various departments.

Video walls glimmer on the central stair-case, the one leading downstairs alighting on the vast men’s department, replete with a VIP room for demi-mesure suits, shirts and tuxedos. More than extra-large fitting rooms, Dior’s VIP suites are furnished like grand Parisian living rooms, selections of clothing sheltered in closets with mirrored double French doors.

Echoing Dior Homme’s flagship on the Rue François 1er in Paris, the London loca-tion offers a series of rooms for tailoring, sportswear, runway looks and large assort-ments of bags and footwear. The decor concept, conceived in-house, hinges on

chevron hardwood floors, white resin walls and gleaming steel shelves.

Dior Homme designer Kris Van Assche created a range of leather goods and a hooded nappa bomber embellished with graphic lines that wink to the Union Jack, all exclusive to London.

While Dior declined to give first-year sales projections, or even pinpoint the retail selling space, each department is given lavish space, including the salon for fine jewelry designed by Victoire de Castellane, and Baby Dior, overseen by her cousin Cor-delia de Castellane and offering miniature versions of the Lady Dior and a pink mink cape priced at 6,000 pounds, or $8,760.

Toledano said he can envision entire families descending on the shop, some per-haps fixing appointments to peruse couture options for mother and children. Dior bills itself as one of the only French purveyors of hand-made clothes for kids, which are

realized in an atelier in Redon, France. Christening gowns, the lace intricately hand-crimped with a small curling iron, take about a week to complete.

Toledano said ensuring the highest levels of service was a priority he set for the Lon-don store and its 70 staffers, all extensively trained in the run-up to the opening. They must all be able to explain the savoir-faire and house lore, in addition to all product features. On Monday, they greeted select customers, relieving them of shopping bags and offering Champagne or cups of specially blended teas, on sale in the home department for 25 to 40 pounds, or $36.50 to $58.40, for a tin.

Dior is orchestrating a series of events this week for visiting press and clients with a distinctively English accent, carving hedges outside Scott’s restaurant into New Look silhouettes, opening a Lady Dior Pub for one night only, and painting a fleet of

London taxis in its signature canework pattern.

On Wednesday, Marino will return to sign copies of a new Phaidon tome, “Peter Marino: Art Architecture,” which docu-ments some of the more than 250 site-spe-cific artworks he has commissioned over this career, many of them for Dior, like the circular gingko-leaf bench by Lalanna that stands at the entrance.

Dior has 195 stores worldwide. In London, Dior also operates a boutique on Sloane Street as well as shop-in-shops in Harrods, Selfridges and Dover Street Mar-ket. Outside London, it counts one shop-in-shop at Selfridges in Manchester plus a concession at Heathrow.

Looking ahead, Dior plans to open stores in Atlanta and Barcelona this fall, along with dedicated fine jewelry boutiques in Geneva and Paris, and Dior Homme units in Toronto and Macau, Toledano noted.

6 31 MAY 2016

Dior’s English Invasion: London Flagship Crowns Resort Showing CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

View of the shoe salon.

The men’s department.

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31 MAY 2016 7

● The French luxury brand channeled the city’s tropical colors and sinuous architecture in a sporty resort collection.

BY ADRIANA BRASILEIRO WITH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM MILES SOCHA

RIO DE JANEIRO – Louis Vuitton’s resort collection touched down here Sat-urday, channeling the city’s colorful and tropical spirit with sporty references and an urban, futuristic flavor.

Staged at the Contemporary Art Museum (MAC), a white modernist structure that looks like a flying saucer perched on a cliff above the waters of Rio’s Guanabara Bay, the show was framed by the city’s breathtaking, deep green mountainous landscape. The setting sun was reflected on Sugarloaf mountain, majestically guarding the entrance of the bay from the Atlantic Ocean. Below the Christ the Redeemer statue, the city seemed to spring out of the green forest.

The soft splashing sound of waves could be heard as about 500 guests — including customers and editors — took

their seats in a row of colorful crates made of wood, plastic and metal, in a visual reminder of Rio’s many favelas and traditional neighborhoods. As the models emerged from the top of the circular structure onto a bright red ramp that snaked down to a plaza by the water’s edge, about 150 fans outside the museum’s gates screamed. The balconies of buildings overlooking the museum turned into VIP boxes for the show, and were crammed with residents who clapped with delight at the sight of the girls.

“The idea for this collection was a fusion of this tropical, natural

quality that is all around us in Rio and the urban element,” said Nicolas Ghesquière, Louis Vuitton’s artistic director of women’s collections. “The scenery can be very dramatic but there is also softness.”

Softer lines were exactly what Oscar Niemeyer, the famed Brazilian designer who created the MAC, searched for in his work. His trademark was transform-ing the stark and angular lines that are so common in architecture into billow-ing, flowing structures infused with exotic and tropical elements.

In a clear tribute to Niemeyer’s

FASHION

Louis Vuitton’s Rio Brio

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Here and over the subsequent pages,

scenes from the Louis Vuitton resort show in

Rio de Janeiro.

8 31 MAY 2016

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creations, which include Brazil’s Con-gress with its two white semi-spheres, Ghesquière brought white maxidresses with asymmetric hems that resembled arches, and added a splash of color and oversize zippers to the tops. Bright blues and oranges, yellow and black with For-mula One-inspired details and peekaboo cutouts gave the dresses a casual look that could fit perfectly into Rio’s beach-town culture. And the ruffled skirts just had to be part of the collection inspired by this city, the designer said. A silver sequined minidress with ruffles on the top and bottom and a bit of flesh showing through looked like a cos-tume straight out of Rio’s wild Carnival parade. Ditto for the colorful, sequined skirts resembling beach towels.

In a nod to the city’s strong musical culture, Ghesquière created a petite malle shaped like a boom box, much like those found in “Baile Funk” dance parties that animate Rio’s poor suburbs and favelas. And, of course, there was soccer: minidresses embroidered with soccer players scoring beautiful goals.

Louis Vuitton flew in several of its celebrity friends for the show, including Alicia Vikander, Jaden Smith, Zendaya and Catherine Deneuve, as well as Bra-zilian models Alessandra Ambrosio and Isabeli Fontana. Deneuve was enjoying the sight. “I loved it. It was like watch-ing girls from the future getting out of a flying saucer. And the view is just incredible,” she said.

The house picked Rio for its exotic mystique, said chief executive officer Michael Burke. “Rio is iconic. Every-body knows about Rio, dreams about Rio. But very few people actually come here.” The house treated guests to early-morning private visits to the Christ statue, helicopter rides over the city and stand-up paddle classes. He said foreign clients were happy to be in the city, and mentions of the show on social media were going through the roof. “Rio has star power in that sense, too.”

Sabrina Sato, a Brazilian TV show host with 7.7 million followers on Instagram,

31 MAY 2016 9

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Nicolas Ghesquière and Alicia Vikander

was among the first to post a comment after the show: “It was gorgeous. And I loved my look,” she said of her black, gray and green soft leather jacket.

After the show, Sato joined Ambrosio, Smith, Vikander and other guests at a party at Parque Lage, a 19th-century mansion at the foot of the Corcovado mountain. Christ the Redeemer towered above the dance floor that covered the pool in the mansion’s atrium as samba dancers and drummers from the Grande Rio samba school mesmerized the crowd. DJs took turns mixing Brazilian dance music with favela funk rhythms. Vikander got into the groove of the elec-tronic Brazilian beats, waving her arms in the air as her slick ponytail flicked behind her.

Luxury houses are increasingly bet-ting on resort shows in exotic locations precisely because they resonate beyond those who can attend them. Burke noted that Ghesquière’s resort 2016 collection

10 31 MAY 2016

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in Palm Springs, Calif., at another midcentury architectural marvel — the John Lautner mansion belonging to the Bob and Dolores Hope estate — garnered a strong following on social media, earning more online impressions than the brand’s show during Paris Fashion Week. Vuitton’s Rio event comes almost a month after Chanel unveiled its “Coco Cuba” collection in Havana.

Brazilian clients from several states were in attendance since Vuitton is the top luxury brand in the country. Brazilians are among the top-10 largest Vuitton buyers, and sales are still healthy despite the country’s crippling recession and political turmoil that have severely hurt consumer confidence. An out-break of the Zika virus, which has been linked to hundreds of cases of babies born with brain damage, and delays in

Olympics-related infrastructure projects have added to the gloom.

Still, Burke said business is good. “I’d say nice double-digits,” Burke said before the show. But he admitted that Brazilian consumers who were so avid to shop for luxury goods in the boom years are retrenching because of the uncer-tainty. “We are used to ups and downs and we know that Brazil can be a difficult place to do business. But we don’t worry about that; we are here for the long run.”

The house arrived in Brazil in 1989 and has two stores in Rio, two in São Paulo, one in the capital Brasilia and one in the southern city of Curitiba. It also sells products on its online store, where busi-ness picked up in the last few years and now makes an important contribution to local sales, said Burke.

And does the brand have an appetite for new stores? Yes, but there is no need to rush, according to Burke. Brazil could easily be a “20-store country” but Vuit-ton is working on expanding relation-ships with clients who don’t necessarily need to go to a store to shop.

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● Relaunch coincides with others’ transition into more comfortable garb from work to weekend.

BY KARI HAMANAKA

LOS ANGELES — St. John Knits Inc. is relaunching St. John Sport to address the activewear trend.

The more casual offering from the Irvine, Calif.-based luxury brand returns with a modern touch that launches in conjunction with the resort 2017 collection.

“We don’t see ourselves as ath-leisure here,” said St. John chief executive officer, president and chief operating officer Bruce Fetter by way of clarifying any potential confusion with the line’s relaunch or motivation behind it.

But the move does beg the question as to why, with the company having tried its hand at St. John Sport in the past, it’s embarking on the casual jour-ney once again.

“St. John has had a sport line in the past,” Fetter admitted. “It was and has always been an important part of the business, initially starting as almost a kind of dressy, casual sweatsuit for Marie Gray to travel and grew to be a very significant part of our business, so we are considering this a relaunch. We’ve had a component of casual lifestyle as part of our collection for the past several years but really came to the realization that it wasn’t enough to really meet the needs of our clients.”

The relaunch of St. John Sport only became more necessary since consumer

trends on the ath-leisure front only continue to grow, with more and more brands entering the fray. St. John is in no way looking to compete in that seg-ment, but the category’s growth speaks to a broader shift in consumer attitudes that could not be ignored.

“People are continuing to dress more casually,” Fetter added. “It’s an evo-lution of a relaxed way to be, whether you’re at work, at lunch or with a friend or you’re traveling. People are just not dressing up as frequently as they have in the past. Our feeling with regards to that is just because people want to be

relaxed and comfortable doesn’t mean they want to be sloppy or unkempt. We believe there’s a client out there that wants to dress beautifully. She wants to be comfortable. She wants to look her best.”

It’s a recognition that not every day calls for eveningwear, shift dresses, or buttoned-up knitwear suiting. St. John Sport offers joggers, wide leg pants and sweaters weaving in cashmeres and silks. The collection, priced from $195 to more than $995, is designed out of the company’s Irvine office but Fetter said it will be “sourced where we think it can best be manufactured, which could be a combination of our own factories or offshore.”

Fetter described the offering as one that should resonate well with the exist-ing customer base that has been asking the company for more casual looks. It could also open the brand up to new followers, something the company has attempted several times in the past.

“We do believe the collection is mod-ern. It’s something that a new customer that maybe hasn’t worn St. John before could try. It’s an easy entry into the brand, maybe a little more affordable entry into the brand,” Fetter said.

Asked if he sees the spandex trend showing any signs of fatigue, Fetter said: “I’d love to say I hope so. Clearly, there are brands that are continuing to enter into this and it certainly is an important part of women’s lifestyles. We don’t think that’s something we want to try to compete with. We think our woman isn’t going to be comfort-able in a yoga pant. She wants some-thing more refined and in keeping with her lifestyle.”

FASHION

St. John Sport to Mark Comeback With Resort Collection

● The retailer refutes findings of a research report that it is dropping the designer from stores.

BY DAVID MOIN

Nordstrom likes Michael Kors and is sticking with the brand.

“We value our relationship with Michael Kors and hold them in the highest esteem,” Pete Nordstrom, copresident of Nordstrom Inc., told WWD exclusively, responding to a flurry of reports and inquiries over the past few weeks that the Seattle-based retailer was dropping or reducing its commitment to Kors.

“They have been good partners over the years and we plan on carrying their product in select stores and online,” Nordstrom said.

The speculation was fueled by a research report from Wedbush Inc. that stated “nearly one-half of Nordstrom stores eliminated Kors handbags during May.” Wedbush said its researchers spoke with 112 Nordstrom handbag managers in the U.S. and Can-ada, and 54 stores said they stopped carrying Michael Michael Kors handbags during this month. Wedbush is a financial services and investment firm with various holdings providing private and institutional brokerage, investment banking, asset management, research and other services.

Wedbush also said in its report that five Nordstrom stores were eliminating the brand and that their sources heard that 60 stores in total were eliminating the brand by June. The report cited “waning interest from customers as well as Macy’s constant discount-ing of Kors’ product” and contended that Michael Kors was the number-one returned handbag brand because of “poor craftsmanship.” According to Wed-bush, seven of 36 Nordstrom stores that carried the Michael Kors Collection bags line said they would not be carrying it going forward. The report cited several other brands that would take some of the Kors space in Nordstrom doors, like Coach and Kate Spade, and that Nordstrom’s “pull back on Kors raises more concerns about brand equity.”

But Dan Evans, a Nordstrom spokesman, refuted some of the contentions and research methods in the Wedbush report, telling WWD, “We became aware that a financial analyst used information they received from calling our stores — they said more than 100 — to write a report that included speculative information about our relationship with Michael Kors. The research was conducted with Nordstrom depart-ment managers who do not have the full context of our long-term business strategy with our brands and therefore wouldn’t be able to speak to our strategy or future plans on behalf of the company.”

Evans emphasized, “We have no plans to end our relationship with Michael Kors. While we don’t know how the handbag returns information was gathered [listed as “other sources” in the report], we have not experienced any unusual quality issues with Michael Kors handbags.

“Just like we do with any vendor, we will continue to partner with Michael Kors to ensure that we offer product that meets our customers’ needs. This process includes new future opportunities and, when necessary, adjusting and editing our current selec-tion. While we typically don’t speak to the relation-ships we have with our brands, we felt it is important in this case to present the facts.”

The author of the report, Lupine Skelly, retail equity research analyst, told WWD the methodology to find out if a store is carrying a product or not is “pretty black and white….If a product is in a store or not, you can’t dispute that.” Still, she added that it is fair to say department managers don’t necessarily know the future plans for a brand.

“My take was not that this is a complete elimina-tion of the brand [from Nordstrom stores], but that it is a massive reduction of the sku count reflecting that Michael Kors is coming out of favor with higher-end consumers.” Skelly also said she felt there were other reports that took her research and “blew it out of proportion” and understood Nordstrom’s concerns over that.

RETAIL

Nordstrom Denies Michael Kors Rumors

● The collaboration is set to drop this week.

BY KARI HAMANAKA

Fast and furious. That’s about the pace at which Revolve has been operating and next week it can add a new collection to its roster of announcements, with its House of Harlow 1960 collaboration.

The line, called House of Harlow 1960 x Revolve, is a 20-piece collection that will be sold on the Revolve and House of Harlow web sites exclusively beginning June 2. The offering doesn’t stray far from the sultry looks Revolve has long supplied its Millennial customer base with maxidresses, bralettes, slipdresses, bodysuits, jumpsuits and midi skirts in a palette of pale pinks, navy and coppery hues.

“We both are L.A. based and I thought it was important to celebrate that,” said House of Harlow creative director Nicole Richie. “There are so many parts of being in L.A., from being outdoors and having all this space. I was really inspired by that.”

Cerritos, Calif.-based Revolve, which carries more than 500 brands in its online

store and also operates the FWRD by Elyse Walker luxury online shop, has built a brand around the California lifestyle. The team there was approached by Richie’s manager about doing a jewelry collaboration but talks evolved into something more.

“When [Revolve cofounder and co-chief executive officer] Michael [Mente] and I met with [Richie], we obviously couldn’t help but say ‘Would you guys be interested in doing some kind of bigger collaboration and going into apparel,” said Revolve vice president of brand marketing Raissa Gerona. “House

of Harlow and Nicole speak so well to the Revolve customer.”

The ongoing collaboration will run for a year with new deliveries released monthly.

“I feel like I have a closer connection with the customer. There is no middle man. I’m extremely proud of this collection. I poured my heart and soul into it,” Richie said.

For Revolve, it’s one more notch in the company’s belt.

The House of Harlow collaboration follows last month’s launch of the vin-tage-inspired jeans line Grlfrnd Denim. The company in March bowed the Revolve Social Club on Melrose Avenue. The space is a hybrid venue for events and private showings as well as a place to try on and buy clothes for its exclusive member roster. The Social Club marked a return to Melrose for Revolve, which had a store there in 2008.

Last year, the company inked a deal to buy Los Angeles-based Alliance Apparel Group on undisclosed terms, which brought the brands Lovers + Friends, Tularosa and NBD into its fold. But the deal also brought design and production to the multi-brand e-tailer. The company entered footwear not long after the acquisition with the launch of Raye.

The company’s now targeting sales of about $600 million this year and doesn’t appear to be slowing on its path to becoming a $1 billion company, of which Richie per-haps described the corporate culture driving that growth best when she said, “It’s like a fun party that you just want to be a part of and everybody there is just really excited. You don’t hear the word ‘no’ a lot.”

RETAIL

House of Harlow, Revolve Team on Collection

Sketches from the St. John Sport collection.

House of Harlow 1960 x Revolve

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NEW YORK — At Ham-merstein Ballroom on Saturday, the day’s headliner coquettishly shimmied across the stage — sending the audience into frenzied screams, their glow sticks raised in a unified sway. The performer’s buoyant teal pigtails, pleated miniskirt and coy lyrics drew amorous howls. But such entrance-ment wasn’t aimed at a human performer. Rather, the hysteria was directed at Hatsune Miku — a hologram pop star from Japan touring North America.

Miku’s only human quotient is the community of fans who conceive her. Her voice is comput-er-generated and her song catalogue is entirely the creation of everyday people — a phenomenon known as “vocaloid.” For about $200, aspiring producers can pur-chase software loaded with Hatsune Miku proprietary voices — the only method used to compose her songs. Should a track take off within Miku’s active Internet community, the song can become part of her onstage act. Miku’s albums are sold as compilations and credit the online username of each song’s creator as its track artist.

In addition to techies and futurists, Miku has spurred interest from the fashion world as well. In 2013, Marc Jacobs was named as the digital wardrobe designer for her virtual opera tour, “The End.” Jacobs clothed Miku in a monochromatic checkered outfit inspired by designs from his spring 2013 collection for Louis Vuitton. Earlier this month, Riccardo Tisci gave the vocaloid a sartorial makeover in his gothic haute couture.

While Miku’s persona — a 16-year-old school girl arbitrarily measuring just over 5 feet and weighing 93 pounds — is entirely made

up, fans treat her with the same ardor they would a human act.

“I like the idea that it’s a hologram and a lot of people judge you for the fact that it’s not a real person — but I feel like that’s the coolest part. I’m a tech fan so I feel like I’m seeing what’s going to be new for the future,” said Eu-nice, an 18-year-old student from Flushing, Queens, who asked that her surname not be used.

“All the songs playing are made by normal people who bought the software and got famous online because they’re talented. For the most part you don’t know what they look like or who they are — anyone can do it. [Miku] is the manifestation of a whole community rather than just one person’s work,” she added.

Miku landed in New York on Saturday to play two sold-out shows that drew a combined audience of nearly 7,000. She was ac-companied onstage by four professional musicians, who lend a rockish grit to what is

otherwise a surreal experi-ence. Like a human pop star, Miku’s saccharine radio edits take on a rawer edge when seen in the pixelated flesh.

In the hours before each show, fans queued for an entire block’s stretch of 34th Street, snaking well down Ninth Avenue. Most ranged in age from their mid-teens to early 30s, and wore Co-splay ensembles or outfits emulating early-Aughts Harajuku attire.

While Miku’s entire two-hour act is performed in Japanese without subtitles, the majority of fans sur-veyed by WWD didn’t speak the language, or had ever traveled to Japan. They sang along nonetheless.

Among them was Lily, an 18-year-old from New Jersey who coordinates social media for a medical mari-juana firm. Dressed in neon pink platform boots and an iridescent biker jacket, she declared the Hatsune Miku phenomenon as, “Clap if you believe.

“We are all here to see her, but she doesn’t exist. The idea is to build a commu-nity around songs that are fan-made.”

Said fashion model and photograher Marcel Casten-miller, an avid Japanophile: “So many of these people, like myself, spend a lot of time inside playing video games and it’s good for them to get out and meet other people.”

The “expo,” as organizers call it, unfolded on a wide frosted screen mounted on-stage. It also featured five of

Miku’s lesser-known vocaloid counterparts — all owned by Sapporo, Japan-based firm Crypton Future Media. While watching the show, it was dif-ficult to discern if the spec-tacle was a total gimmick or offered a visionary glimpse into the future-perfect.

A high-wattage projector glowed from behind the screen, delivering vocaloids onto the stage, and fading them away after each song. The holograms’ illusionary eyes are engineered to connect with those of each audience member, no matter their location in an arena — perhaps explaining their fans’ emotional attachment.

Many behaved as if a human was onstage. When Miku sat down at a “piano” to sing, the audience hushed itself in a sign of respect. When her fellow vocaloid Meiko took the stage and gy-rated her derriere, the crowd erupted in shrill screams as if she were Shakira.

If vocaloids can become more widely proliferated, they could signal major fi-nancial gains for a struggling music industry. Miku’s virtual status alleviates many of the management and produc-tion headaches bestowed by human performers: costly riders, travel fees and tabloid fodder among them. Plus, it is feasible for the holo-grams to perform in multiple locations at the same time — maximizing tour income.

With her schoolgirl uniform, tartlet dance moves and pithy lyrics — one could easily draw parallels between Miku and

Britney Spears.Pete Berkman, guitarist

and producer for Anamana-guchi — a Brooklyn band that has been on tour with Miku as her opening act for the past two months — said of vocaloids: “To make [music] programmatic makes a lot of sense because if you are in the studio with Britney Spears, she will probably re-cord 100 or 200 takes of just one line that will be compiled together.

“Instead of spending all that time physically in a recording studio, saying, ‘No, do it like this,’ to get the pronunciation just so, that can be done now without spending human hours and stress. With Miku, a Britney Spears head-shaving moment would have to be programmed, instead of the natural byproduct of a psychosis that comes from trying to appeal to a lot of people.”

While Miku’s voice software has included an English-language database since 2013, the vocaloid medium has yet to take off among Western amateur producers. But according to Berkman — whose band just created an English song with the program, called “Miku” — that could soon change.

“Virtual programmatic things are only going to expand, unless there is some kind of rebellion where we break every machine in the world,” he said. “It might eventually flip to opposite, where it’s novel for an actual human to be singing on-stage.” — MISTY WHITE SIDELL

Hologram Pop Star Hatsune Miku Rolls Into New YorkInside the computer-generated Japanese pop star’s N.Y. concerts, which drew a combined audience of 7,000 this past weekend.

Hatsune Miku in concert.

Fans queued in line, wearing cosplay

and Hatsune Miku memorabilia.

Models Grace Hartzel and Marcel Castenmiller at the

Hammerstein Ballroom.

Two fans from Flushing, Queens outside the Hammerstein Ballroom.

Each concertgoer was given a glow stick upon entry.

Anamanaguchi has toured with Miku for two months and released an

English-language song composed with her vocaloid software, called “Miku.”

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Netting a JewelerNet-a-porter has another exclusive up its sleeve: Pomellato’s Tango collection, a new range by the Italian fine jeweler. The collection consists of 13 pieces that stand out for their voluminous shapes and bold use of color, including green, pink and gray rubies, sapphires and emeralds. Chain bracelets and earrings feature multicolored stones set in rose gold, and hoop earrings with stones set in different directions are designed to catch the light from all angles. Net-a-porter is the first retailer to carry the Tango bracelets in pink and blue sapphire. They were previously only available to view by private appointment in Pomellato stores.

The Tango exclusive is part of an ongoing relationship between Pomellato and Net-a-porter. In November, the Italian

brand entered an e-commerce partnership with the online retailer. It had never sold its products outside of its own stores and online platform before.

Net-a-porter began by launching 33 styles from Pomellato’s Nudo collection, which includes classic gold or diamond rings, pendants and drop earrings embel-lished with colored stones. Sophie Quy, Net’s fine-jewelry buyer, said sales have been evenly spread across products, with customers often making multiple purchas-es, as they are designed for stacking. As for Tango, Quy added there is an appetite from the customer for that particular level of quality and price point.

“The price point is significantly higher on this collection, but we know it’s what our customer is looking for. Many women don’t

have access to Pomellato stores, so we will be introducing these pieces to a global market. Aesthetically, this is what Pomellato does best in terms of colors, designs and craftsmanship,” she said. “As a business, we are able to sell across all price points. The highest-priced item we’ve sold this year has been a $60,000 ring. Our strategy is to offer beautiful jewelry across all price points and cater to a customer who loves newness and exclusivity.”

Six pieces from the collection, including the rose gold, diamond and pink sapphire loop earrings and a series of diamond rings, launched on Net-a-porter on Monday, with the remaining seven pieces set to drop on June 3. Prices range between 5,600 pounds, or $8,190, and 39,300 pounds, or $57,481.

The e-tailer has also recently partnered with Tiffany & Co. as the only global whole-sale channel for its T collection. Future launches include the American fine-jewelry brand Andrea Fohrman and Beirut-based brand Yeprem. — NATALIE THEODOSI

Taking a StakeExperienced Capital Partners has taken a 40 percent stake in Brion Sisters, the parent company of the French contemporary brand Soeur, for an undis-closed sum. The investment firm found-ed by former Sandro, Maje and Claudie Pierlot executives Fréderic Biousse, Elie Kouby and Emmanuel Pradère bought a 33.3 percent stake formerly held by the EPI Group, which owns shoemaker J.M. Weston, Bonpoint children’s clothes, Alain Figaret shirts and Piper-Heidsieck Champagne.

The remainder was acquired via a capital injection. Domitille and Angélique Brion, the founders of the brand, own the remaining 60 percent stake in the company. Founded in 2008 as a brand aimed at young girls, Soeur posted sales of 5 million euros, or $5.5 million at aver-age exchange, in 2015. It has six stores in France, an e-commerce site and a network of retail partners overseas. The brand recently teamed up with Inès de la Fressange on a jean jumpsuit and matching tote bag.

“Soeur has managed to gain recog-nition in the highly competitive ready-to-wear market thanks to a distinctive identity combining refinement and authenticity,” said Biousse.

“Soeur is part of a very small circle of aspirational brands with a strong potential for development in France and overseas,” added Kouby and Pradère.

Experienced Capital recently complet-ed a second round of funding, bringing the total amount at its disposal to 68 million euros, or $75.5 million at current exchange. It plans a third and final round of funding by July that will raise its worth to around 75 million euros, or $83.3 million. — JOELLE DIDERICH

Filming the RitzThe Ritz Paris has released a teaser of Zoe Cassavetes’ film. This confirms a WWD report revealing that the director of “Broken English” has shot a film for the reopening of the hotel. Called “Behind the Door,” the film stars French actress Ana Girardot and the Spanish model and actor Andrés Velencoso. The four-minute film is to be released on The Ritz Paris’ website and its YouTube channel on June 6, the of-ficial date that was set for the hotel’s much anticipated reopening. In it, Girardot sports creations by Azzedine Alaïa and Delphine Manivet, as well as Chanel fine jewelry, a spokeswoman for The Ritz Paris said.

The 29-second clip opens on a clock ticking. In it, a young woman sports a chic black sequined bustier dress and shows off her languorous dance moves. A spiral staircase is shown in a whirling shot. There’s a mysterious vibe to it. “It’s our inspiration, our reopening film. Emotion, magnificence and eternal, that’s what characterizes [the film],” the hotel’s spokes-woman said. The clip posted on The Ritz Paris’ web site and its social media on Fri-day has begun the final stretch of an online campaign. On Saturday, the hotel posted a photograph of another frame from Cassavetes’ film featuring a lavish dining room festooned with luxury furniture and tableware. Over the past weeks, the hotel has stoked curiosity by posting details of its revamp — think a fireplace in a suite, books in the Salon Proust’s library, a chan-delier and blue ceiling — with hashtags #thelegendcontinues and #leritzcestparis (or ‘The Ritz, it’s Paris’ in English.)

The Ritz Paris has been shuttered since July 2012 for what is billed as the biggest refurbishment in its history, headed by architect Didier Beautemps of Paris-based Atelier COS and interior designer Thierry Despont. — LAURE GUILBAULT

Fashion Scoops

Picture ThisBurberry is embracing change with its latest ad campaign, which for the first time includes illustrations alongside Mario Testino’s images, and offers see-now-buy-now products bearing the new, singular Burberry label.

An announcement is expected later today.

The campaign — in which whimsical, cartoonish images by the British artist Luke Edward Hall complement Testino’s portraits of Edie Campbell and Callum Turner — will break in June and run through September, in keeping with Burberry’s new strategy of allowing customers to buy what they see online, in print and on the catwalk.

The company showed its fall 2016 collection in February and, come September, it plans to sell its men’s and women’s collections in-store and online as soon as the runway show ends in a bid to align itself with the changing needs of the consumer and close the gap between showing and selling.

As soon as the ads break, consum-ers will be able to purchase some of the pieces that feature in the campaign, including the Burberry Heritage trench. A selection of The Patchwork — Burber-ry’s multitextured and patterned hero bag this season — will also be available to purchase.

No two Patchwork styles are the same and each one is named for a British town, street or village. Materials include the house check, snakeskin and suede.

The makeup that Campbell is wear-ing in the ads — dark and metallic eyes and Burberry’s Shimmer Dust Loose Glitter, will launch in August.

Christopher Bailey, Burberry’s chief creative and chief executive officer, said the combination of Testino’s images and Hall’s illustrations — done in watercolor, chalk, oil pastels and acrylic — “capture the artisanal spirit of

the collection.”Hall said he was “lucky to be given

free rein” with the project “and to be able to interpret the iconic trench coat in my own way.”

The campaign — which has no fall, spring or holiday tag — reflects all of the changes Burberry has been making in terms of clarifying the brand offer and speed to market. Earlier this month, during a presentation to analysts, Bailey said Burberry’s plans for the joint men’s and women’s see-now-buy-now September show were “on track” as the company seeks to become “more agile and consumer-focused.”

The campaign will break across print and outdoor outlets, and on Burberry’s social media platforms. — SAMANTHA CONTI

Black SwanBlanca Li appears an as exacting choreographer in a film she directed for Christian Louboutin’s fall collection.

Called “La Répétition,” or “The Rehearsal,” the 101-second-long clip features the Spain-born choreographer with a stylish cast of dancers clad in Louboutin fall styles. In it, they seem-ingly suffer under Li’s critical eye. One dancer even collapses from exhaustion.

The film, which takes inspiration from the Broadway musical “A Chorus Line,” is to be released on Tuesday.

“Louboutin shoes are not just to look at or to keep still in a nice position. You can go out all night and dance,” Li asserted.

The choreographer and the shoe designer have partnered before, on Li’s futuristic dance production “Robot,” which debuted at the Brooklyn Acade-my of Music in June 2015.

The clip is accompanied by images that were shot by René Habermacher in Paris for a Christian Louboutin look book also set for a release on Tuesday. — LAURE GUILBAULT

Memo Pad

The Christian Louboutin fall campaign.

Image from the Burberry campaign.

A frame of Zoe Cassavetes’ film ‘Behind the Door.’

Tango earrings by Pomellato.