For the past 30 years, @nick_knight has believed that fashion is best viewed in motion, and that clothing doesn’t need to be part of a live event to be scrutinized or appreciated.⁣ ⁣ The photographer, filmmaker and founder of @ShowStudio talked freely with WWD about fashion and film in a wide-ranging interview.⁣ ⁣ "We have to really acknowledge that the medium of fashion has changed fundamentally, and this pandemic, as awful as it is, will force the long road of change onto the fashion industry. That is one thing I’m very pleased about. Forcing a young designer to spend their money on a catwalk show is morally and financially wrong. It’s not for the benefit of the designer and not the best way to get their message across to the public."⁣ ⁣ "In a way, fashion has taken over from painting and film and music as the most zeitgeist-y, important, creative medium at the moment. We tend to work with young designers at ShowStudio to give them space to do something important. We just did this beautiful film which is coming out with Fredrik Tjaerandsen. He did dresses that look like beautiful balloons. It’s incredibly timely, because you have these people in the balloons and they can’t touch each other. It’s about how isolated we are in our own little worlds, and we can’t touch anymore. He’s a young designer who doesn’t quite know if he’s a fashion designer or an artist — or whatever he wants to call himself."⁣ ⁣ "The world is fundamentally changing. You’ve got to look at the world we’re becoming, not ignoring and trying to look back in the past and say, “I want it back there, because it was rosy 50 years ago.” It wasn’t, I lived through it. We need to be looking forward, and it’s really the responsibility for the artistic world to look forward and to shape the planet that we live on. For me, the most important thing is trusting the future, and for the artistic world to shape the future. We have to be shaped by artists, people who are concerned with the human condition. And we have to look at the future with optimism, intrigue, excitement — not just fear or retro-thinking." ⁣ ⁣ Tap the link in bio for the full interview. Report: Samantha Conti

The @CFDA and @papermagazine have teamed up to support 2020 fashion school grads.⁣ ⁣ The featured students are Samantha D’Iorio of Parsons, Justin Chi of FIT, Max Condon of SCAD, Kyra Buenviaje of RISD and Kenneth Brody McCasland of AAU.⁣ ⁣ Each graduate will be profiled on papermag.com and cfda.com today, accompanied by images of their work and a highlight reel of their virtual meeting with their design partner.⁣ ⁣ “Under quarantine, fashion students are unable to show their final presentations, so we felt it was crucial to support them right now in a meaningful way. In collaboration with the CFDA and Paper’s own Mickey Boardman, we selected top students across the country and paired them with leading American designers to spotlight the next generation of fashion,” said Justin Moran, digital director of Paper.⁣ ⁣ Sara Kozlowski, CFDA’s director of education and sustainable strategies, added, "The 2020 fashion graduates are future change champions. They are big on creativity and ingenuity, and also brilliant thinkers and masters of their chosen craft with unique voice within sustainability, innovation and inclusivity.”⁣ ⁣ Tap the link in bio for more. ⁣ ⁣ Report: @lisajlockwood

@Gucci's Alessandro Michele is doing it his way.⁣ ⁣ Michele said the pandemic was a signal to slow down and that Gucci will not be ready to present a collection in September. “We’ll show further down the road,” he said, without giving details. The change will allow him to “bring oxygen” to his creativity as well as that of the artisans that contribute to the success of Made in Italy and Gucci’s production, he continued.⁣ ⁣ He was also adamant that he “adore[s] the shows and meeting the press, to have an audience and a public, but showing five times a year is impossible.” However, he underscored that he did not feel inadequate, but that he needed to exit “a macro-system that is bigger than me.”⁣ ⁣ As reported, Michele over the weekend posted 18 posts on Instagram that referred to six letters he wrote between March 29 and May 16. One pointed to the abandonment of “the worn-out ritual of seasonalities and shows to regain a new cadence, closer to my expressive call. We will meet just twice a year, to share the chapters of a new story.”⁣ ⁣ Tap the link in bio for more. ⁣ ⁣ Report: @luisazargani

The show really must go on. The international Venice Film Festival will take place as scheduled and as a physical event, running Sept. 2 to 12.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ On Monday, a spokesperson confirmed the event will run in the Italian city as planned, following media reports on Sunday that Veneto’s governor Luca Zaia was giving the green light to the event. As reported last month, a decision was expected at the end of May.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Tap the link in bio for more. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Report: @luisazargani

@louisvuitton has snared acclaimed leather goods designer Johnny Coca, WWD has learned. He starts June 2 as women’s fashion leather goods director, a new post working as part of the team lead by Nicolas Ghesquière, Vuitton’s artistic director of women’s collections since 2013. It is understood Coca’s prime focus will be on high-end bags and show pieces. The hire further reinforces the upscaling drive spearheaded by Vuitton chairman and chief executive officer Michael Burke — and adds to a steady addition of top creative and management talent at the fast-growing brand, considered the largest in the luxury sector by revenues. Report: Miles Socha 📸 : @shutterstocknow