Dior Sets A Date for Cruise, Hyunjin in Versace Campaign – WWD

CRUISING AROUND: Pencil in another date on next year’s cruise calendar: Dior said Monday that its destination show would take place on June 3.

The French fashion house has yet to unveil the location of the event, which since the lifting of pandemic-era restrictions has taken place in Mexico City; Seville, Spain, and Athens. Louis Vuitton’s cruise show has been scheduled for May 23.

Maria Grazia Chiuri, artistic director of womenswear collections at Dior, is expected to continue her tradition of collaborating with local craftspeople on the annual collection, which has the potential to significantly boost tourism revenues in its destination.

“For Maria Grazia Chiuri, cruise shows are essential creative events and great opportunities to celebrate beauty and the plurality of cultures. Inviting both discovery and escape, the house will unveil the Dior cruise 2025 collection on June 3, 2024, in the heart of a still undisclosed destination,” Dior said.

The brand, owned by French luxury conglomerate LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, has ramped up the pace of physical events, including a pre-fall show in Mumbai in March and a repeat show for its fall collection in Shenzhen, China, in July. 

In a recent interview with WWD, Chiuri noted that Dior had a global outlook from its founding in 1947.

“It was a shock for me to find this little book in the archive that explained how Dior immediately was a worldwide brand, and there was this kind of map with the different locations around the world, but also in South America, in areas that were really faraway for the time, when it was not normal to fly,” she recalls. 

She added that for a brand of Dior’s size, it was important to stage physical events in other countries.

“These shows around the world help the brand to be in contact with the local clients,” she said. “It helped me also to understand how much we are connected [through] craft with other countries, especially at a time where we are speaking so much about cultural appropriation.” — Joelle Diderich

GO BIG OR GO HOME: Even by Las Vegas standards, Kylie Minogue made an entrance for the ages on Friday at The Venetian, kicking off her Voltaire residency by throwing off a gigantic faux fur pink coat.

It was one of three looks created for the performer by French designer Alexandre Vauthier, who also designed her asymmetrical open-back fringed dress in a sunset gradient of crystals she also wore that evening and a leopard crystal-embroidered jumpsuit in red with matching boots, slated to appear later.

“I wanted to play with the beginnings of Las Vegas, when Liberace and Frank Sinatra made [the city] blow up,” Vauthier told WWD ahead of the premiere, describing the show vibe as a mix between Studio 54, the legendary cabaret-meets-nightclub The Box and “the very Vegas side of where [Minogue’s show is] happening.”

Vauthier was particularly proud of the fringed dress, a “real challenge” that required well over 2,000 hours of work.

It’s not just Minogue whom he dressed for the occasion: the French designer produced some 141 pieces in total for the supporting cast, as well as all venue staff and hosts.

For Vauthier, working on this project felt like a “breather because it’s outside of the [fashion] calendar, with creative goals, expectations and requirements [that] are completely different.” It was the perfect way to stretch design legs that can go from “the most sober suit to something more out there than Bob Mackie.”

All in all, Vauthier worked two years on the concept with producer Michael Gruber, as well as Marc Zaffuto and Manon Savary of now-defunct Paris cabaret Manko.

To bring the looks to life, the designer teamed with costume designer Stefano Canulli, an industry veteran whom he’d first worked with under the late Thierry Mugler, Canulli’s collaborator Simon Crowhurst, as well as the nimble hands of the Métiers d’Arts specialist ateliers Vauthier works with for his own brand.

Although the French designer has previously created stage outfits for Taylor Swift, Beyoncé and Miley Cyrus, this project was a different beast owing to the number of outfits for dancers “because that’s a whole other approach where you have to consider every aspect from script to choreography to truly accompany them — think about what they’ll do and present on stage,” Vauthier said.

To avoid any costume connotations, he “treated them as a couture collection…pushing to find a balance between what they need [to move] for their performance and the technicity required of [couture] designs.”

In the cast’s lineup are gold jumpsuits for a Space Age moment, black backless catsuits, a bedazzled leopard-print number as well as a draped bodysuit paired with a furry pink chubby — to match two risqué poodle characters.

Female staffers wear rhinestone-adorned bustiers or a body suit with marked shoulders paired with stirrup leggings that give legs for days, while males sport sharp jackets or tuxedo shirts with a bedazzled bib.

There are also sunglasses, designed by eyewear guru Alain Mikli, including Minogue’s yellow crystal pair paired with that rainbow dress.

Footwear is designed by Giuseppe Zanotti, who currently holds the license for Vauthier’s eponymous footwear line.

Throughout Minogue’s three-month residency, the Parisian designer promised there would be further surprises with new iterations of looks. “There’s plenty more where that came from,” he quipped.

After Minogue, the 1,000-seat Voltaire nightspot, which is meant as a cross between a cabaret and a nightclub, has revealed Christina Aguilera as the headliner for the holiday season, debuting a show on New Year’s Eve weekend. — Lily Templeton

BAROQUE HOLIDAYS: Versace brand ambassador Hyunjin from K-pop sensation Stray Kids is fronting the luxury brand’s holiday ad campaign — his first official commitment for the house since being named to the role last July.

Boasting a combined social media following of 85.2 millions fans, Hyunjin, decked in Versace gear, is captured standing beside a decorated Christmas tree, sitting on the snow and blowing a kiss to the camera, or holding a sparkle stick. He is flanked by other talents including Amelia Gray, Hedi Ben Tekaya and Sacha Quenby.

“I wanted to celebrate joy with this holiday campaign — the joy of the season and being surrounded by those we love. I am thrilled Hyunjin has become part of our Versace family. I love his energy and the joyful spirit he brings to these images,” said Donatella Versace, chief creative officer of the house.

The campaign marks the debut of Versace’s Athena tote bag crafted from Global Organic Textile Standard-certified cotton canvas and bearing the Versace logo and a tone-on-tone jacquard Barocco motif. In the holiday campaign imagery, Hyunjin pairs the mini size in beige with matching colored cotton shirt and chino pants, as well as Barocco jacquard Odissea sneakers.

“Versace is exactly how I want the holiday season to be — it’s exciting, looks amazing, feels incredible, and is shared with good friends. That is how I felt making this campaign with my Versace family. Thank you, Donatella, you are the best,” Hyunjin said.

The images by Italian photographer Angelo Pennetta are flanked by videos by Rosie Marks in which Hyunjin is seen unboxing a gift and sprinkling festive glitter while spotlighting the Athena bag.

Talents don day-to-night outfits, from dressy tailored looks, including a wool and Lurex double-breasted blazer bearing the Barocco patterns and a jacquard Barocco cashmere coat, to cashmere sweatpants and trenchcoats.

Before joining Versace in the ambassador role, Hyunjin attended the brand’s “La Vacanza” fashion show last summer alongside American rapper Future, actress Simone Ashley and singer Troye Sivan, among other guests. He also attended the official opening of a Versace pop-up in Seoul in July.

In his role he joined the likes of Chinese singer, actress and model Chris Lee, who fronted the Versace Icons campaign alongside Anne Hathaway.

The eight-member K-pop band Stray Kids includes Bang Chan, Lee Know, Changbin, Han, Felix, Seungmin and I.N., in addition to Hyunjin, a dancer, rapper and vocalist.

The boy band was formed in 2017 through the namesake reality show by JYP Entertainment. Originally a nine-member group, Woojin left the group for personal reasons in October 2019.

Stray Kids released their first extended play “Mixtape” in January 2018. The group’s first studio album, “Go Live,” was released in 2020, becoming their first platinum-certified one. In 2021 they released their second — and first million-selling — studio album, “Noeasy” before signing with Republic Records for promotion in the U.S. in 2022, on the back of which their EP “Maxident” sold 3 million copies.

In July the group released their third studio album, “5-Star,” and embarked a month later on their latest tour “5-Star Dome Tour” which kicked off in Fukuoka, Japan, and touched down in South Korea. — Martino Carrera

COOKIN’ IT UP: Add restaurateur to the many hats worn by Sébastien Jondeau, a longtime ambassador and men’s product consultant for the Karl Lagerfeld brand.

He recently became part owner of Anima, an Italian eatery at 78 Rue du Cherche-Midi in Paris that’s popular with chic locals along with certain fashion figures, actors and musicians.

“It’s a new adventure for me,” said Jondeau, who has ambitions to open new restaurants under the same banner in places like Saint-Tropez, for example, not far from his home base of Ramatuelle, France.

Having spent 20 years working at the elbow of Lagerfeld until his death in 2019 — as his bodyguard, confidante and personal secretary — Jondeau also gobbled up plenty of excellent Italian food as he accompanied the German designer on hundreds of trips to Rome for Fendi, where Jondeau now lends his creative touch to sports-minded men’s products.

Jondeau has a been fitness fanatic and sports enthusiast since his teen years, burning off his carb intake with boxing, kite surfing, foil board, jet skiing, mountain biking, motocross, and all manner of training and extreme sports.

While he watched his weight carefully, too, Lagerfeld occasionally tucked into a Margherita pizza at Anima with Jondeau, who also ordered pies to go for his boss near the end of his life, cutting it into little squares when illness got the best of him. On at least one occasion, the two men scarfed pizza seated in Lagerfeld’s Rolls-Royce Phantom.

Jondeau has long been great friends with Anima cofounder Marco Marzilla, an ex-impresario for Daft Punk who is still partial to their concert merch, and can be seen in the restaurant wearing other cool band T-shirts: Cassius, LCD Soundsystem, Orbital, Aphex Twin and The Beatles.

The new partners have no plans to change the sleek, yet casual 80-seat restaurant, decked out with leather banquettes and a black and white Calacatta marble eating counter.

“It works very well,” Jondeau enthused. That said, he and Marzilla plan to organize more events at the restaurant, and perhaps do partnerships with chefs from different countries and regions.

Anima specializes in Neapolitan cuisine, and bestselling dishes include vitello tonnato, tagliolino with lemon and capers, fried calamari, and the Margherita and Trastevere pizzas.

“I love Italian food,” Jondeau enthused. “Also, I really like the atmosphere of this restaurant, the attitude, the people who go there. It’s trendy, but at the same time it’s very easy-going.…It’s a simple place in the sixth arrondissement with very beautiful and nice food.” — Miles Socha

HEALING POWERS: Stella McCartney is teaming with The Chopra Foundation to highlight the healing powers of horses.

The broad-based project will see McCartney raise money for the foundation and for equine therapy centers with sales of a limited-edition Falabella bag.

McCartney is also promoting a bespoke, guided meditation on the Chopra app and the publication of what she describes as “the world’s most extensive, equine-assisted therapy directory” that’s set to launch on a new website called Healingpowerofhorses.com.

The initiative follows McCartney’s fall 2023 fashion show, which unfurled at France’s oldest riding school, Manège École Militaire. During that show, models walked a dirt runway as seven wild horses, led by the equine expert and rescuer Jean-François Pignon, cantered, frolicked and rolled on the ground.

According to McCartney, healingpowerofhorses.com will be an “educational and storytelling platform” that taps into the expertise of therapeutic experts and “positive change makers” from around the world.

The project, McCartney said, evolved in the wake of the pandemic. She quoted statistics saying the number of young people living with depression doubled between 2011 and 2021, with 52.5 percent of the 17- to 23-year-olds reporting their mental health had declined since the onset of COVID-19.

The designer said that ever since she was a child, she has turned to horses as a source of healing. She added that equine therapy can include the caring for, riding, training, observing, and interacting with horses to support a variety of mental-health conditions from alcoholism and addiction to depression and eating disorders.

“We all need a helping hand sometimes, and I want to make people more aware of the benefits of equine therapy and connect them to it. I knew Deepak [Chopra] and his incredible foundation were the perfect partners to help carry that message to the world,” McCartney said.

Poonacha Machaiah, CEO of The Chopra Foundation, said the project “epitomizes the intersection of fashion and mental well-being, painting a picture of integrative healing for the modern world.”

The upcycled, vegan Falabella handbags come with a ribbon printed with the phrase, “The ride is long but leads you home,” by the American author and poet Cleo Wade.

According to the company, the 96 Healing Power of Horses totes were made from deadstock bags.

The accessory retails for 925 pounds, and will be sold on the Stella McCartney website and through select stand-alone stores in Europe and the U.S.

A portion of the proceeds will go to the Chopra Foundation, to mental health initiatives, and to equine therapy centers. — Samantha Conti

SAY CHEESE: British photographer Rankin will take over Carnaby Street for the holiday season with the RankinLive project. Between Nov. 22 and Jan. 7 he plans to photograph the general public alongside some famous faces.

“For years, I’ve had this idea of doing live photo shoots in the window of a shopfront, bringing the exclusive world of the photo industry out to the general public. Carnaby Street is arguably one of the most famous shopping streets in the world, so there is no better place to launch this concept,” Rankin said.

The ticketed experience, which costs 500 pounds per shoot, will let customers pose in front of the lens, solo or with a friend, to be documented by Rankin. They will receive a digital version of their final portrait and an A4 authenticated print.

“A RankinLive experience is unlike anything else I do,” said the photographer. “Across a day I get to meet and photograph 20-plus members of the public, and in the 15 minutes they’re with me I really feel like I get to know them. We talk, I shoot, and in the end everyone leaves the session beaming.

“Beyond this though, we showcase the images I shoot live on screen to anyone who wants to watch. Doing this allows everyone to feel included, and it becomes about so much more than me taking a photograph — it becomes a shared experience, one that celebrates creativity and community,” he added.

The experience also comes with a retail element, as Rankin is bringing his online store, Swag, to life in the space, and will be offering books, tote bags, and signed gifts. — Tianwei Zhang