Honoring designer Rei Kawakubo, Comme des Garçons designer at the Metropolitan Museum

WHAT VICTOIRE SAW

15.05.2017
 

HONORING DESIGNER REI KAWAKUBO
COMME DES GARCONS DESIGNER
METROPOLITAN MUSEUM, NYC, USA

rei comme des garcons

 

The exhibit, which began with the glitzy Met gala Monday night and opens to the public May 4, is divided into nine themes, all of them dualities in Kawakubo’s work: Fashion/Anti-Fashion, High/Low, Design/Not Design, and Clothes/Not Clothes are a few.

The exhibition, held at the Metropolitan Museum in New York, will feature approximately 120 womenswear designs that Kawakubo, who’s known to be extremely private, has designed for the Japanese brand Comme des Garcons. It will feature pieces from her first Paris show in 1981 to her most recent collection that blur the lines between fashion and art.

“In blurring the art/fashion divide, Kawakubo asks us to think differently about clothing,” said Thomas P. Campbell, director and CEO of The Met, in a press statement. “Curator Andrew Bolton will explore work that often looks like sculpture in an exhibition that will challenge our ideas about fashion’s role in contemporary culture.”

Rei Kawakubo is one of the most important and influential designers of the past 40 years. “By inviting us to rethink fashion as a site of constant creation, recreation and hybridity, she has defined the aesthetics of our time.”

 

VFA team cannot wait to see this exhibition.

Liberty

WHAT VICTOIRE LOVES

14.07.2016
 

HAPPY BASTILLE DAY – VIVE LA LIBERTE!!

This post is not one of our usual insight on the fashion industry.

It has been a difficult year for France and for so many countries in the world.

And we are incredibly happy to see people back in the stores, on our beloved « terrasses de café », enjoying and sharing it all with their friends and fellow human beings.

France is about a lot of things : of course fashion, food, wine, …but first of all about equality, fraternity and maybe even more about Liberty !

On this very special day, we wanted to share with you one of our favorite poem « Liberty »  from Paul Eluard  – This poem was written during dark times in France, when our country was deprived of freedom – this is a celebration on how important the value of liberty is and should be in all countries in the world.

On my school notebooks

On my desk and on the trees

On the sands of snow

I write your name

On the pages I have read

On all the white pages

Stone, blood, paper or ash

I write your name

On the images of gold

On the weapons of the warriors

On the crown of the king

I write your name

On the jungle and the desert

On the nest and on the brier

On the echo of my childhood

I write your name

On all my scarves of blue

On the moist sunlit swamps

On the living lake of moonlight

I write your name

On the fields, on the horizon

On the birds’ wings

And on the mill of shadows

I write your name

On each whiff of daybreak

On the sea, on the boats

On the demented mountaintop

I write your name

On the froth of the cloud

On the sweat of the storm

On the dense rain and the flat

I write your name

On the flickering figures

On the bells of colors

On the natural truth

I write your name

On the high paths

On the deployed routes

On the crowd-thronged square

I write your name

On the lamp which is lit

On the lamp which isn’t

On my reunited thoughts

I write your name

On a fruit cut in two

Of my mirror and my chamber

On my bed, an empty shell

I write your name

On my dog, greathearted and greedy

On his pricked-up ears

On his blundering paws

I write your name

On the latch of my door

On those familiar objects

On the torrents of a good fire

I write your name

On the harmony of the flesh

On the faces of my friends

On each outstretched hand

I write your name

On the window of surprises

On a pair of expectant lips

In a state far deeper than silence

I write your name

On my crumbled hiding-places

On my sunken lighthouses

On my walls and my ennui

I write your name

On abstraction without desire

On naked solitude

On the marches of death

I write your name

And for the want of a word

I renew my life

For I was born to know you

To name you

Liberty.

From Multi-Channel to Omnichannel

WHAT VICTOIRE THINKS

18.06.2016

FROM A MULTICHANNEL

 TO AN OMNICHANNEL EXPERIENCE

OUR CONFERENCE DURING MONTE CARLO FASHION WEEK

 

We had the opportunity this month to lead a conference about the Omni channel experience at the Monte Carlo Fashion Week. 

Gone are the days where successful retailers can be one dimensional. In order to compete, they need to have a multi-dimensional strategy with online and offline. 

Lets start with some facts :Online luxury fashion sales accounts for €10.9bn in 2018 (17% of the market). An overwhelming portion of sales/margin growth came, comes and will keep coming from Digital.

The multi channel experience is what most businesses invest in today. In the world of luxury and fashion, we have seen brick and morters store investing heavily in digital.

But the issue is:

The issue here: Having different Strategies is not cost-efficient and therefore not profitable enough!

ll omni channel experiences will use multiple channels, but not all multi-channel experiences are omni channel. Remember that. You can have amazing mobile strategy, engaging social media campaigns, and a well-designed website. But if they don’t work together, it’s not omni-channel.

The multi channel experience is what most businesses invest in today. They have a website, blog, Facebook, and Twitter. They use each of these platforms to engage and connect with customers. However, in most cases, the customer still lacks a seamless experience and consistent messaging across each of these channels.

So omni channel is THE solution.

What is omni channel?

An omni channel approach accounts for each platform and device a customer will use to interact with the company. That knowledge is then used to deliver an integrated experience. Companies using this technique align their messaging, goals, objectives, and design across each channel and device.

The omni channel aims to increase companies margin while increasing customer satisfaction at the same time.

It’s important here to distinguish an omni channel user experience from a multi channel user experience. Essentially, it comes down to the depth of the integration.

Ultimately, your strategy should consist of a strategic plan to build a coherent, aligned experience across multiple platforms, which may include any or all of the channels featured in the graphic.

Because this is still a relatively new emerging concept, there’s still time to start small and expand in the future through Stock & Marketing Integration, CRM, Responsive supply chain, Integrated Leadership & KPIs, Customised services, HR, Store renewal…. And much more.

Every company must develop its own unique omni channel infrastructure, and you’ll need to work closely with several departments in your company to develop this strong strategy. 

Dont worry 94% of e-retailers have not yet executed omni channel strategies

It may feel hard to go Omni-channel but it’s worth it.

If you wish to get our full presentation, please do not hesitate to get in contact with our team.

Thanks

VFA

Seoul, the next Fashion & Art Capital ?

WHAT VICTOIRE SAW

01.04.2016

IS SEOUL
THE NEXT FASHION AND ART CAPITAL?

The Seoul Fashion week showcased at the Zaha Hadid Design Plaza has been on everyone’s lips in the past few days.

It would not be relevant to say that South Korean Fashion is a brand new thing in the industry considering the impact of already re-known designers like Lee Young-Hee, Juun J or Wooyoungmi and internationally acclaimed retail concepts like Tom Greyhound, Shinsegae-Boon the shop or 10 Corso Como Seoul.

Seoul’s fashion week is already twelve years old, but it has never been talked about as much by fashion experts, journalists and buyers from all around the world.

The creativity in fashion has thrived towards street-culture & sportswear following the example of highly coveted brands like Vêtements.

And that is something South Korean designers have definitely integrated into their brand DNA mixing street-style, K-pop & technology elements. Blindness, SJYP, Moohong are some of the label names to watch closely in the future…

 

As usual, Fashion does not live on its own and the influence of South Korean Art is also very highly considered in established art cities like Paris or London. South Korea is currently guest of honor in Paris Art Fair, where the work of Kyum Kim and Yun Soo Kim at the Soso Gallery or Ung-No Lee at the Thessa Herold Gallery are currently displayed amongst many other talented artists.

Visit : http://www.seoulfashionweek.org/ 

The leading ladies of Glamour: Charlotte Olympia with Agent Provocateur

 WHAT VICTOIRE LOVES

18.01.2016

 THE LEADING LADIES OF GLAMOUR :
CHARLOTTE OLYMPIA WITH AGENT PROVOCATEUR

  A match made in heaven for this very exclusive lingerie capsule.

What  a lovely surprise.

Charlotte Olympia and Agent Provocateur combined their talents once again for a capsule collection

This is the second time Charlotte Olympia collaborates with Agent Provocateur

According to a release, the line will be inspired by ‘the era gone old Hollywood glamour’ and will include three lingerie sets and more than three pairs of shoes.

The collection features Charlotte Olympia key signatures pieces, including the cat motif and leopard print

The campaign is featuring Julia Restoin-Roitfeld who Dellal describes as the perfect ambassador thanks to her “unique French allure and feminine sensuality”

The collection launches on January 18 in Agent Provocateur and Charlotte Olympia stores.

This is quite refreshing to have both of those leading ladies supporting womenswear glamour by combining again their creativity.

Tribute to a Starman

WHAT VICTOIRE LOVES

18.01.2016

TRIBUTE TO A STARMAN

The widespread shock and sadness at David Bowie’s death at age 69 has affirmed the breadth and depth of his influence — on music, art & fashion.

We were sad to hear of another great man passing away.
The widespread shock and sadness at David Bowie’s death at age 69 has affirmed the breadth and depth of his influence — on music, art & fashion.
We were sad to hear of another great man passing away. Originally a painter, Bowie was his own canvas, putting voice and face to his singular visions.

Sometimes disturbing, always at the vanguard, he never failed to be admired and respected by each new generation. Mr. Bowie wrote songs, above all, about being an outsider: an alien, a misfit, a sexual adventurer, a faraway astronaut. His music was always a mutable blend -rock, cabaret, jazz and what he called “plastic soul” — but it was suffused with genuine soul. He also captured the drama and longing of everyday life, enough to give him No. 1 pop hits like “Let’s Dance.”

In concerts and videos, Mr. Bowie’s costumes and imagery traversed styles, eras and continents, from German Expressionism to commedia dell’arte to Japanese kimonos to spacesuits. He set an example, and a challenge, for every arena spectacle in his wake.

We were lucky enough to attend the major exhibition of Bowie’s costumes, lyrics, scenery, and ephemera in 2014 at the Philarmonie in Paris. The show has since traveled to multiple countries on a still-ongoing tour. Expect to hear the Star Man a lot those days … as it should be.
We have another star in the sky now.

VFA

The Dark Romanticism of Alexander McQueen Autumn Winter 2016 Menswear Collection

WHAT VICTOIRE SAW

15.01.2016

THE DARK ROMANTICISM
OF ALEXANDER MCQUEEN AUTUMN WINTER 2016
MENSWEAR COLLECTION

Inspired by Sir John Soane and Charles Darwin, Sarah Burton delivered a beautiful and rich new menswear collection for Fall Winter 2016.

Alexander McQueen himself was always inspired by Victorian times and anthropology making us travel in beautiful forgotten or imagined worlds. We all remember the performance in his « Plasto’s Atlantis » or « Voss » fashion shows for example.

Needless to say that Sarah Burton is the right person to respect the legacy of Alexander McQueen.
The Fall Winter 2016 menswear collection invites us to enter in a dark and astonishing « cabinet de curiosité » and mixing elements like collected flowers and butterfly jacquards.

Buyers have always considered Alexander Mcqueen for the new approach on classic pieces. Once again (and probably in a stronger way than she did before), Sarah Burton proved that you can bring edgyness to Tailoring, applying embroidery details or gold jacquard on pinstripes suits or velvet tuxedo.

The dark romance is also accentuated by the men jewellery, creating more than a contrast, maybe an ambiguity, between the military feeling and the intense sensibility.

This collection is luxurious, romantic, flamboyant and decadent at the same time… Definitely one of the strongest collection presented during London Men Collection so far.

VFA

Video : www.alexandermcqueen.com