Vogue pays tribute to Karl Lagerfeld ahead of Met Gala

Image: Karl Lagerfeld archive American Vogue has cast iconic designer Karl Lagerfeld in the spotlight, featuring 10 looks of the master’s creations for the cover of its May issue, photographed at the Palais Royal in Paris by Annie Leibovitz. With a career spanning seven decades, Mr Lagerfeld’s tenures at Fendi and Chanel, respectively starting in 1967 and 1983, were for life, and ended at both houses at his death in 2019. Ahead of next month’s Met Ball, the annual fundraising gala for the Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute, Vogue has published a tribute led by editor in chief Anna Wintour, who is also the mastermind behind the museum's annual event. Mr Lagerfeld famously quipped fashion didn’t belong in museums and yet so much of his life’s work is a celebration of his unequivocal creative genius. "Fashion doesn't belong in museums" In its May issue, Vogue interviews ten designers who praised Mr Lagerfeld, giving personal anecdotes and insights into their relationships, including Pierpaolo Piccioli of Valentino, Thom Browne, Donatella Versace, Jun Takahashi of Undercover, Christopher John Rogers, John Galliano of Maison Margiela, Olivier Rousteing of Balmain, Chitose Abe of Sacai, Gucci and Simone Rocha. This year’s Met Gala honours Mr Lagerfeld by focusing on the designer’s stylistic vocabulary as expressed in aesthetic themes that appear time and again in his fashions from the 1950s to his final collection in 2019. The show will spotlight the German-born designer’s unique working methodology, with most of the approximately 150 pieces on display to be accompanied by Lagerfeld’s sketches, which underscore his complex creative process and the collaborative relationships with his premieres, or head seamstresses. Lagerfeld’s fluid lines united his designs for Balmain, Patou, Chloé, Fendi, Chanel, and his eponymous label, Karl Lagerfeld, creating a diverse and prolific body of work unparalleled in the history of fashion. One of the most striking photo’s in Vogue’s shoot includes model Naomi Campbell holding Choupette, Mr Lagerfeld’s beloved cat. The exhibition Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty opens to the public May 5th. American Vogue's May issue is out now.
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Chimera and Haeres launch a joint venture and acquire Vionnet

Image: ChimHaeres; Philippe Camperio, founder of Haeres Capital and chief executive of ChimHaeres Abu Dhabi-based investment firm Chimera has launched a joint venture with Haeres Capital to create a new luxury and lifestyle European player looking to revive French haute couture label Vionnet, while seeking other opportunities in Italy, France, Switzerland, and the UK. The new joint venture will be called ChimHaeres Investment Holding and will deploy its own capital towards the acquisition and build-up of luxury and lifestyle brands in Europe, starting with the storied brand Vionnet. In a statement, ChimHaeres said it has acquired 100 percent of Vionnet, the French haute couture label founded in 1912 by Madeleine Vionnet. In 2018, the French label and its holding company NVO Srl went through a voluntary liquidation. ChimHaeres also secured a majority stake in Swiss fashion hosiery brand Fogal founded in 1921 and completed a majority stake in Zagato, the Italian coachbuilder and car designer, founded in 1919. In addition, Haeres added that it is folding into the new vehicle its majority equity stake in hat manufacturer Borsalino, established in 1857 in Italy. ChimHaeres will be led by chief executive Philippe Camperio, founder of Haeres Capital, and supported by a strong team of industry veterans, including Antonella di Pietro, Alberto Nathansohn, Giacomo Santucci and Jérôme Macario, as well as a seasoned team of experts in the operations, financial, and legal fields. Commenting on the launch, Camperio said: “ChimHaeres embodies the shared vision of both Chimera and Haeres to build and manage a multi-brand luxury and lifestyle platform. The partnership will invest in unique European assets applying a pro-active management and ownership approach, through dedicated industry experts, to deliver the long-term strategies of each portfolio company.” ChimHaeres acquires Vionnet and majority stakes in Fogal and Zagato ChimHaeres said it remains on the “lookout for investments in strong aspirational luxury and lifestyle brands with high growth potential”. The aim is to accelerate these brands' growth with a focus on international expansion, digital transformation, and sustainability. The initial focus will be on brands and companies in the UK, Italy, France, and Switzerland. Giovanni Maria Rossi was named chairman of ChimHaeres and said: “I strongly believe that thanks to the team, the vision, the experience, and the available capital now in place, ChimHaeres is ideally positioned to become a key player in the luxury industry in Europe.” Mirian Khalaf, head of private equity at Chimera Abu Dhabi, added: “The global luxury market has shown remarkable growth and resilience in recent years despite the pandemic and various macroeconomic and geopolitical challenges. We are confident that our partnership with Haeres will enable us to capitalise on the attractive long-term fundamentals of the industry and establish ourselves as a leading investor in the European lifestyle space. “We look forward to working with Philippe and his team to position appealing ‘legacy’ and ‘next gen’ brands with favourable growth profiles to serve a younger and increasingly more global audience.” ChimHaeres is registered in Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) with operating entities in Milan, Italy and Geneva, Switzerland.
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Zara enters publishing together with Wallpaper magazine

Spanish fast fashion brand Zara, part of the Inditex group, is venturing into a new area: Together with British magazine Wallpaper, which specialises in design, architecture, fashion, travel, art and lifestyle, it has launched a 300-page coffee table book titled “Where to now”. It is actually a box set of five photography books for “would be adventurers” according to Zara. In the spirit of travel and adventure, each volume is dedicated to an off-the-beaten-track destination: Bruton in the green southwest of England, California's Ojai in the Topatopa Mountains, Galicia in northwestern Spain, the Japanese island of Naoshima, and the Namibian capital of Windhoek. “Where to now” Bruton by Zara and Wallpaper. Images: Zara According to Zara and Wallpaper, the coffee table book is meant more as a “travelogue than a travel guide” and also includes various notes that, along with the photos, are aimed at both the “armchair traveller and the enthusiastic explorer”. “Carefully crafted images and texts that suggest a calmer pace of life and offer peaceful encounters with stores, hotels, people, alleys, street vendors and small architectural wonders,” explains the Zara and Wallpaper team. “Where to now” Namibia by Zara and Wallpaper. Images: Zara The essays were written by Wallpaper editors Simon Mills and Pei-Ru Keh, and contributors Celeste Chipperfield, Jens H Jensen and Mazi Odu. The destinations were photographed by Salva López and Luis Díaz Díaz for the Galicia volume, Sophie Green for Bruton, Den Niwa for Naoshima, Kent Andreasen for Namibia and Pia Riverola for Ojai. “Where to now” Ojai by Zara and Wallpaper. Images: Zara The coffee table book costs 79.95 euros and is available via the Zara website. The respective photo volumes can also be purchased individually at a price of 17.95 euros. In addition to the photo books, Zara also sells notebooks for 9.95 euros, mini notebooks for 5.95 euros and posters for 25.95 euros with the motifs from the photo books. Although Zara Home has previously offered stationery, it remains to be seen whether Inditex's flagship brand Zara will venture into publishing in the future. In any case, the brand seems to want to get rid of its fast fashion image and has entered, for example, a supply deal with the Infinited Fiber Company, launched a detergent that reduces microfibre shedding and offers a resale programme, repair service and charity opportunies through Zara Pre-Owned. “Where to now” Naoshima by Zara and Wallpaper. Images: Zara The brand has also started a new beauty line, Zara Beauty, and the line Zara Atelier with only two collections per year as well as collaboration with brands like Clarks, Ader Error and others. Customers seem to like it as Inditex (not least through flagship brand Zara) is experiencing record highs in terms of revenue and profits. “Where to now” Galicia. Images: Zara
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