TEMS AND TOMMY TEAM: Tommy Hilfiger, owned by PVH Corp., on Tuesday will launch its fall Tommy Jeans campaign featuring the 27-year-old singer, songwriter and producer Tems.
Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Tems headlines the campaign video with support from skateboarding collective Wafflesncream and Alte artists Lady Donli and Dami Oniru.
Alte is a subculture and creative center that will enable the brand to connect to new audiences around the globe.
The video was directed by Nigerian diaspora member Akinola Davies Jr. and photographed by Harlem-based Joshua Woods.
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“Being a part of this campaign feels exciting, especially since more people will be introduced to Lagos and the alternative scenes and communities that are thriving there,” Tems said. “Not only do these communities invite you to strive for greatness, to go harder and to push further — but it helps evolve you as a creative, which in turn has played a key factor in me becoming the artist that I am today.”
Featured in the campaign is the first Tommy Collection, inspired by the mixing of ’90s prep, skate and hip-hop culture. The men’s, women’s and gender-inclusive collection features signature silhouettes shaped into contemporary streetwear staples. A key item is the Alaska puffer jacket with an oversize fit, detachable sleeves and monogram print.
Tommy Collection will be exclusively available during a pre-launch pop-up in the new HBX store by Hypebeast in New York. The pop-up is open from Tuesday to Sept. 11, and will showcase exclusive artwork by LAAMS and the Tommy Collection by Tommy Jeans range. It will also be sold at such partners as End Clothing, BSTN and One Block Down, as well as on tommy.com and at select Tommy Jeans stores worldwide. — LISA LOCKWOOD
NEW DIRECTOR: Christine Macel has been named director of Les Arts Décoratifs, effective from early October.
She joins the institution after 22 years at the Centre Pompidou contemporary art museum, where she was chief curator and oversaw around 50 exhibitions, including shows by Sophie Calle, Gabriel Orozco and Franz West. The art historian succeeds Olivier Gabet, who left after a nine-year tenure to join the Louvre Museum as director of the decorative arts department.
Les Arts Décoratifs is the umbrella institution for the Musée des Arts Décoratifs and the Musée Nissim de Camondo, in addition to two schools: l’Ecole Camondo, a private school of product design and interior design, and les Ateliers du Carrousel, which runs art workshops for students of all ages.
Macel was artistic director of the 2017 edition of the Venice Art Biennale, and has shown a particular interest in artists from the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe, Les Arts Décoratifs said on Monday. She has written and edited a number of books, including “Art in the Era of Globalization,” published this year.
The curator has collaborated on international exhibitions with institutions including the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, the Tate Modern in London and the Guggenheim in Bilbao.
Sylvie Corréard, managing director of Les Arts Décoratifs, hailed Macel’s career trajectory in contemporary art.
“Always inventive and open to other arts, the exhibitions she has designed have left a lasting mark on their time. I am particularly delighted that her appointment as head of Les Arts Décoratifs supports the vision defended by this institution from the outset, the breaking down of barriers between the arts,” she said in a statement.
Macel said she was “fascinated in my adventure with contemporary art by the multiplicity, the porosity and the reciprocal influence of the different fields of creation,” adding that she plans to keep alive this interdisciplinary approach and “a fruitful dialogue with art.”
This builds on the existing policy of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, whose latest exhibition, “Shocking! The surreal world of Elsa Schiaparelli,” focuses on the relationship between couturier Elsa Schiaparelli and leading artists of her time, including Salvador Dalí, Leonor Fini, Man Ray and Jean Cocteau. — JOELLE DIDERICH
KOURTNEY’S NEW GIG: Kourtney Kardashian Barker has teamed with Boohoo.
The television personality and founder of Poosh is the fast-fashion e-tailer’s newest ambassador; she’ll release two capsule collections. The first, a 43-piece line, will be unveiled during New York Fashion Week on Sept. 13 at a see now, buy now presentation.
“When Boohoo first approached me to collaborate on a line, I was concerned about the effects of the fast-fashion industry on our planet,” Barker said in a statement. “Boohoo responded with excitement and a desire to incorporate sustainable practices into our line. It’s been an enlightening experience speaking directly with industry experts. I’m grateful for the opportunity to use my platform to drive conversations that lead to ongoing change and use my voice to share actionable tips with consumers on how we can play our own part. There’s still lots of work to be done and improvements to be made, but I truly believe that any progress we can make when it comes to sustainability is a step in the right direction and will open up the conversation for future advancements.”
Available exclusively on Boohoo.com, the line — priced between $6 and $120 — includes 41 styles made with recycled polyester and recycled cotton, as well as two vintage biker jackets. It’s Boohoo’s first time sourcing vintage, working with John Hickling of wholesale vintage company Glass Onion.
“Today is the culmination of months of work by our teams and I’m delighted that we’re now able to talk about this extraordinary collaboration,” said Carol Kane, cofounder and executive director of the Boohoo Group. “Together, we’ve produced an amazing collection that reflects both Kourtney’s unique style and her passion to improve the sustainability of the fashion sector. We know that like Kourtney our customers are keen to improve their knowledge in order to help them make more informed buying decisions so I’m particularly proud of the social series that we’ve created and grateful to all of the experts who kindly gave up their time to share their knowledge with Kourtney.”
As part of the partnership, Boohoo is releasing a series; Barker will host, chatting with sustainability experts to better understand challenges and opportunities in the fashion industry.
“Other garments feature materials made from recycled fibers, statement pieces to forever cherish, staple wardrobe silhouettes made with traceable cotton and cleverly designed multiway pieces that give customers a variety of styling options,” Boohoo said of the release. “The brand has also explored ways to extend the life cycle of the collection and have embarked on a partnership with [fashion rental platform] Hirestreet. Our customers love faux leather and sparkle in their wardrobes, and so we have created selected outerwear pieces using recycled polyester backing for the faux leather and three showpieces using recycled sequins. U.K. customers will be able to hire these particular garments through the partnership with Hirestreet exclusively. Although these improved fabric options are not the perfect solution, customers are given clear information about how their garments are made, offered options in terms of how they might access these pieces, and also provided with a free Kares document to help them extend the life of their purchases.”
Founded in Manchester in 2006, it was in 2021 that Boohoo launched Upfront, focused on using more sustainable materials and practices. — RYMA CHIKHOUNE
ALL ELSA: Elsa Hosk is launching her own brand, called Helsa.
In collaboration with Revolve Group, the former Victoria’s Secret Angel’s clothing line will launch Tuesday on the popular e-tailer and Fwrd’s official e-commerce sites. The initial release will include 48 styles ranging sizes XXS to XL that will be launched to coincide with the company’s Revolve Gallery during New York Fashion Week.
Hosk, originally from Stockholm, decided to name the brand Helsa as a play on the Swedish word for health (hälsa) and create a platform to communicate her vision based on her heritage, almost two-decade modeling career, travel experience and her beliefs for herself and others.
In creating the line, the model kept timelessness, honesty and minimalism top of mind.
“Helsa is my love letter to Scandinavia, where I grew up,” Hosk said. “It is a tribute to female empowerment and beauty as well as an ode to nature. In Sweden I was surrounded by people who were all feminists. We spent most of our time outdoors, enjoying the beauty and the simplicity of nature. This way of life is at the heart of Helsa and it is what I’ve taken with me wherever I’ve traveled and lived.”
She added, “The fabrics, colors and fits are inspired by my favorite essentials, the pieces I would bring to spend time on the islands outside of Stockholm. Feeling and looking my best while living freely and fully enjoying the moment.”
The collection will focus on bold yet timeless silhouettes with uncompromising quality and sustainability in mind. It includes essentials inspired by Hosk’s own wardrobe, such as knitwear, tailored fits, workwear, base layers and outerwear, with natural hues and crafty materials. Prices for the first release will range from $88 to $658.
“We’ve had the pleasure of working with Elsa for years and have witnessed her evolution from a supermodel and influencer to a designer and creative director,” Raissa Gerona, chief brand officer at Revolve, said. “Elsa has put her upbringing in Sweden at the forefront of the collection’s inspiration and ethos. From the timeless designs, to featuring her entire family in the campaign, Helsa is very true to Elsa and the reason we wanted to bring her vision to life.” — CONCHITA WIDJOJO
SUPPLEMENT OF SEOUL: The South Korean fashion scene is heating up — in Paris.
The Tranoï trade show and the Seoul Metropolitan Government have revealed that a second edition of the Seoul Fashion Week showcase would be held during the upcoming Paris Fashion Week, as part of an expanded cooperation agreement signed last March.
Reinforcing its partnership with Seoul Fashion Week is “a sign of Tranoi’s intention to be the creative hub of the fashion week, where [visitors] come to discover new brands, international trends,” said Tranoi managing director Boris Provost.
Beyond the Paris edition in October, this signals Tranoi’s desire to consolidate its position in Paris over 2023 before restarting its development of editions elsewhere from 2024, particularly in Asia, the trade show executive continued. A Shanghai edition, in partnership with Ontimeshow, had been initiated in 2019 but was curtailed by the outbreak of COVID-19.
As part of this renewed push, the Korean fashion showcase will be expanding its teams focused on international development in a bid to “develop representative fashion brands of [South] Korea that everyone would come to know,” Hyejeong Cho, director of the beauty fashion industry division in Seoul Metropolitan Government, told WWD in an email.
“The ultimate goal is to solidify the position of Seoul Fashion Week as the top Asian fashion week and one of five major global fashion weeks with continuous global networking and PR activities,” Cho continued, adding that Paris remained “the dreamland of all those who work in the fashion industry.”
The SMG also signed agreements with other cities, including London, Milan and Wuhan, China.
This is also a reflection of the changing face of South Korean fashion, driven by street fashion brands which have gathered pace in a domestic fashion industry previously dominated by large corporations, Cho continued.
“These street brands grew rapidly in just seven years into mega fashion brands with sales figures of 100 billion Korean won [or $72 million], compared to the 19 years of time that it took for Korea’s corporate fashion brand Kuho to reach its current mega status,” Cho explained.
Taking part in the spring 2023 edition of Tranoï, the first under the creative direction of Christelle Kocher, are Mmam, Lie, Sungju, Jeong Hee Jin, Seokwoon Yoon, Kumann Yoo Hye Jin, Tibaeg, Doucan and upcycling brand Ulkin, which Cho described as a still-novel approach for the Korean fashion scene but “a dark horse that is gaining spotlight thanks to its enormous public and commercial success.”
A three-brand fashion show featuring Lie, Kumann Yoo Hye Jin and Ulkin is also slated at 6 p.m. on Oct. 1 at Tranoï’s Palais Brogniart location. — LILY TEMPLETON
BILLY’S PLACE: Billy Reid is popping up in L.A.
The Alabama-based designer is opening his first retail store in Los Angeles, a pop-up shop at Platform in Culver City. The shop is Reid’s 15th in the U.S., and marks the culmination of a longtime dream for the designer to have a retail store in the city where he started his fashion career.
“L.A. holds a special place in my heart,” he said. “Traveling from Texas to Los Angeles in my 20s taught me the value of my perspectIve as a designer and that leaning into my differences was cool.”
He said when he first lived in L.A., he waited tables at Chin Chin on Sunset Boulevard. “The big benefit was that I could eat free and see celebrities.” A few weeks later, Reid found a job with Wrangler as a sales trainee at the downtown L.A apparel market, before being hired by Reebok as a sales rep and then moving into design to work on the Greg Norman and other golf collections for the company. “I hung out at places like Gladstones in Malibu on Sundays; The Gaslight in Venice; ChrisIe’s, a local bar near our apartment; Formosa Cafe in Hollywood; El Coyote Mexican, and Dukes for breakfast,” Reid reminisced.
The Billy Reid boutiques are known for their Southern-skewed decor that combine traditional and modern furnishings, antiques and art. The L.A. boutique displays artwork by Alabama artist Butch Anthony as well as a large gallery wall comprised of vintage European pieces. A seating area consists of midcentury vintage club chairs and coffee table, and a custom chandelier was made using driftwood from the Tennessee river.
The 900-square-foot shop will remain open through Jan. 31. — JEAN E. PALMIERI