Givenchy names new CEO

Givenchy has named Renaud de Lesquen their new CEO. Currently, de Lesquen is president and CEO of Dior Americas. He will step into his new role on April 1.

De Lesquen joins Givenchy at a time when their perfume and beauty business is growing, and his expertise in both fashion and beauty is thought to help the brand continue on its trajectory of growth.

De Lesquen succeeds LVMH veteran Phillip Fortunato, who steered the company through two very different creative directors, Riccardo Tisci and Clare Waight Keller. FashionUnited has reach out for further comment.

* This article was originally published here

Porter Magazine launches new podcast

Porter Magazine is adding a new podcast into its offerings. “Pieces of Me: My Life in 7 Garments,” a new weekly podcast from the Net-a-Porter-owned magazine, will explore the lives of notable individuals through specific garments.

Launching on Mar. 11, the new series will feature conversations with Porter Magazine’s editor-in-chief Sarah Bailey, who will be the host of “Pieces of Me: My Life in 7 Garments.” According to WWD, such conversations will focus on life reflections on defining moments from women including Tracee Ellis Ross, Sam Taylor Johnson, Zainab Salbi, and Halima Alden.

The launch of the new podcast follows Net-A-Porter’s announcement to invest further in digital and video content, as it decreases the frequency of Porter’s print edition to twice a year.

Images: Porter Magazine Facebook

* This article was originally published here

Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences appoints new lecturer of fash tech

The Executive Board of Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (HvA) has appointed Troy Nachtigall as the new lecturer of Fashion and Research Technology. Nachtigall will officially begin his professorship on April 1, his work has been widely published in scientific, cultural and professional publications, including ACM Computer Human Interaction, Italian Vogue and WGSN. The results of Nachtigall’s research in sustainability and digitization are well applicable within AMFI programs and in the world of fashion.

"It is vital that fashion and data are combined in such a way that we can tackle the very humane and complex problems surrounding sustainability. The HvA offers a unique opportunity to use data to change the way we wear fashion and the means by which it is made in the near future,” Nachtigall stated on the university’s website.

Nachtigall obtained his PhD in December 2019 at Eindhoven University of Technology where he has been working as a design researcher in The Wearable Senses Lab since 2015. He followed his own education at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York after which he created designs for major fashion brands in Florence. This brought him to the direction of fashion research on digital production, sustainability in fashion and collaborations with leading design schools in Italy. Nachtigall is currently completing a Postdoctoral study in social engineering design at the University of Aarhus, Denmark.

Frank Kresin, Dean of the Faculty of Digital Media and Creative Industry further added, "I am very pleased with the arrival of Troy Nachtigall as lecturer Fashion Research & Technology. His versatile background, his enthusiasm and his unique profile at the intersection of fashion and data make him a perfect match with our faculty. He is both hands-on and visionary, and I am convinced that his work will have a major impact on our education, the fashion industry and society."

* This article was originally published here

Inspiration Wednesday. How The Handbag Awards Changes Lives.

Inspiration Wednesday.

Florina Sirman worked in finance. While on her maternity leave, she discovered making handbags and loved it so much, she never went back. Florina was very methodical about everything she did from the design, to adding elements not seen on a handbag, to price. Florina applied to The Handbag Awards without much experience and won The Best Handbag in Overall Style and Design category. The Handbag Awards changed her life. She now has the interest of global retailers, attended her first trade show, and even was set up with The Accessory Think Tank to ensure her next collection would be cohesive and priced for the market. Florina is also from Romania. 

This goes to show, wherever you are from or at with your brand, you just never know and have so much to gain. 

Apply by April 25th by midnight EST. Continue to check TheHandbagAwards.com for new categories and additions. 

* This article was originally published here

German fashion trade fair Panorama files for insolvency

Panorama, one of two major Berlin-based fashion fairs, has filed for insolvency following its relocation in January.

Panorama Fashion Fair Berlin GmbH, represented by its managing director Jörg Wichmann, filed for insolvency proceedings at Berlin’s Charlottenburg District Court on 28 February, according to filings in the German insolvency database. Lawyer Niklas Luetcke has been appointed as provisional insolvency administrator.

In January, the fair relocated to Flughafen Tempelhof for the first as it hoped for a fresh start. It’s unclear how this step has affected the insolvency as Panorama has not yet commented on the situation to FashionUnited.

Panorama plans to continue in summer

Panorama will “definitely” continue with a new format in the summer, its managing director Jörg Wichman told German trade journal Textilwirtschaft. The fair wanted to restructure and free itself of "old debts," he said.

Panorama’s insolvency is an example of the global fashion industry’s ongoing transformation that is also affecting international trade fairs, including those in Berlin. For its first edition in January 2013, Panorama was held at the Berlin ExpoCenter Airport and showcased some 359 brands. At its peak in January 2019, it reported a record 100,000 visitors and 600 exhibitors.

It still remains to be seen how the insolvency of Panorama will impact the remaining Berlin fairs which, overall, have seen decreasing visitors numbers in recent years. Neonyt, Premium and Seek will all take place in July, their respective organisers confirmed on Tuesday.

Picture: FashionUnited

* This article was originally published here

Kanye West criticised as religious service pushes out transgender show

US rapper Kanye West was at the centre of a storm Monday after a Paris show by an acclaimed transgender performer was cancelled at the last minute to make way for one of his religious services.

The mercurial singer took over the Bouffes du Nord theatre in the French capital for one of his famous "Sunday Service" gospel hymn sessions during Paris fashion week.

His wife Kim Kardashian turned up for the service in an almost sprayed-on latex brown suit, one of three figure-hugging Balmain looks she wore during the course of the day.

But French trans performer Phia Menard was furious that her "Maison Mere" ("Mother Ship") show was pulled at just a day's notice to make way for the golden couple of American pop culture, claiming the audience was told it was cancelled for "technical reasons".

Menard -- one of the discoveries of the Avignon festival in 2018 -- refused take the news lying down, with her and her fans lambasting the theatre and West as an "imposter" on social media.

She accused the theatre of lying "so they could cash in on a religious ceremony and the money the Donald Trump-supporting rapper" could pay them, the 49-year-old juggler wrote on Facebook Monday.

Menard said that she felt she had been treated with "contempt". "I am an artist, a trans woman, the director of a company, and I refuse to accept this denial and contempt," said the performer, who transitioned in 2008.

Latexing the Kardashians

The Bouffes du Nord told AFP that they cancelled Menard's show that because of the "technical incompatibility of the two events".

"The 98 people who had bought tickets were contacted and most came to her show the night before while the rest were reimbursed," the theatre's management added.

The theatre, once the base of the legendary British theatre director Peter Brook, dubbed "the father of the fringe", insisted that its "support for creativity, even at its most demanding, remains total."

West is in Paris to show the latest collection for him Yeezy label Monday. The 42-year-old singer once dreamed of becoming the first black American head of a major Paris fashion label.

But his friend and former fashion advisor Virgil Abloh pipped him to it in 2018 when the Off-White creator took over Louis Vuitton's menswear line.

West was joined at the service Sunday by his wife, their daughter North West and his sister-in-law Kourtney Kardashian, also dressed head to toe in latex.

Kim Kardashian was tied up and robbed at gunpoint of more than nine million euros ($10 million) worth of jewellery during Paris fashion week in 2016. The haul included the engagement ring West had given her, which was reportedly worth $4.5 million.(AFP)

* This article was originally published here

Baselworld watch fair cancelled over coronavirus fears

Zurich - The organisers of Baselworld, one of the world's biggest watch fairs, said Friday they would cancel the 2020 event after the Swiss government banned mass assemblies over the spread of the deadly new coronavirus.

"For health safety reasons and in accordance with the precautionary principle following the bans of large-scale public and private events ... Baselworld announces that it has taken the decision to postpone the show," it said in a statement.

The show, which was to be held from April 30 to May 5, will now be put off until next January, it said.

The news came after the Swiss government on Friday announced it was suspending all public and private events with more than 1,000 participants until at least March 15, invoking emergency powers to do so.

A range of other major events in the wealthy Alpine nation have also been cancelled, including the Geneva International Motor Show, as well as another large watch show, the Watches and Wonders Geneva.

The Baselworld organisers said they had taken this "difficult decision in close consultation with its partners and the health authorities in charge".

"Following today's official ban on large public gatherings which meant direct repercussions for the show, Baselworld had no other option than to make a decision as all preparations, in particular, construction in the halls and of the stands was scheduled to commence next week," they said.(AFP)

* This article was originally published here