Japan Fashion Week Organization

Above left Christian Dada. Above right Vivienne Tam.

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Tokyo wrapped up Sunday as cherry blossoms bloom in Japan’s capital. Over the last couple of seasons, Tokyo Fashion Week kept its target on European and Japanese buyers and audiences, but this season, it has eyed the growing Asian market, especially China. It makes sense since Chinese consumers have now become the world’s leading buyers of luxury goods.
   Japanese fashion brand Christian Dada was the fashion week opener for the autumn–winter 2013–14 collections. Christian Dada’s designer, Masanori Morikawa, is known as a stage costume designer for the American pop singer Lady Gaga during her Born This Way Ball 2012 tour. Morikawa has been showcasing his signature style with a rebellious yet silent dark beauty, but this season he got inspiration from a Chinese mythological bird called the fenghuang (phoenix), which is the theme of his collection. Leather jackets and pants are mainly in black and white with blue, red and gold patterns representing the fenghuang. The most memorable moment of Morikawa’s show was definitely his signature tall boots with bird wings.
   Chinese-born designer Vivienne Tam held a special runway show during Tokyo Fashion Week to celebrate the 15th anniversary of her brand in Japan. Tam presented the same collection she first showed at New York Fashion Week for the lunar New Year. Chinese calligraphy added unexpected twists in her latest collection in a modern and punk-like way, which successfully engaged with the fashion-savvy Japanese audience.
   Johan Ku, a Taiwanese designer, presented his signature knit collection. This season, Ku revealed the sexiness of a woman’s silhouette, with the theme of Anna, the female lead in the 1992 movie Damage. Unlike his last several collections, this season was full of pieces that showed off plenty of skin using holes, fringes, and asymmetric necklines. They all look randomly placed but are well calculated, demonstrating Ku’s skill of knit-work, boosted since his last collection.
   Japanese veteran designer Hiroko Koshino was one of the highlighted designers at Tokyo Fashion Week, presenting her collection on the last day. She also eyed the growing Asian market as she presented her new “east meets west” look. In her collection, Floral Memories, it was not just flower-patterned dresses that walked down the runway. Her floral inspiration was everywhere: from texture of fabric, colour choice and make-up, to draping and rounded silhouettes on each of her looks. The natural phenomena of flowers were represented in an artistic form, rather than the romantic image which many designers use.
   Since the Great East Japan Earthquake, Japan has been investing a full effort to shift its gear towards marketing its brand outside the country, especially to the growing Asian market. There are still criticisms that Tokyo Fashion Week is marketing internally, while the fashion-savvy audience in Japan is interested in street fashion, which they call ‘real clothes’, as opposed to high fashion from the runway. Tokyo Fashion Week continues to tackle those challenges, and the next several seasons will be key to turning things around, to become a new trend-setting global destination.—Yuka Murai, YM Biz & Media

Japan Fashion Week Organization

Above left Johan Ku. Above right Hiroko Koshino.

Yuka Murai of YM Biz & Media is a correspondent for Lucire.

Nikita Brown/Nikita Brown Photography

Having viewed the Zambesi winter collection late last year in amongst the craziness of New Zealand Fashion Week, I had forgotten what my favourite pieces were (as so happens when you view collections six months before they are due in store and in quick sucession). When the invitation to attend the Wellington store’s winter launch appeared, the chance to stroll down memory lane and rediscover my favourites, and find some new gems, was welcome.
   Zambesi is one of those labels that is best appreciated up close. What appears to be plain shirting fabric is, in fact, a very fine mesh; or a print is turns out to be something else upon closer inspection. With the models rocking some looks from the collection, it was a joy to rediscover those well turned-out and brilliantly cut coats and jackets, tailored in fine wools and pieced together with wax-finish leathers. There were the beautiful brocades and jacquard prints featured on pants and dresses, the gorgeous knitwear, and one of my favourite standout prints of the season, the chequerboard print in butter yellow and ink navy.
   Stand-outs from the small showing in store were: the lace and knit dress—a beautiful, tight, sleeved dress with almost lace crochet detailing with tiny sequin embellishments, the perfect day-to-night outfit; and the black sheer silk shift dress with bandage-like side detailing and fringe work. The movement when the model walked was exquisite and very on trend with the flapper-esque feel to it all.
   From the menswear range, everything, from the military-style coats to the sharply tailored Slimane-like suiting, was very slick and super-stylish. The chequerboard pattern shirt is a must for winter, crafted in beautiful almost lace-like fabric. Also on the must-haves, one of the many coats that are in the collection: my favourite was the double-breasted wool coat with piece leather sleeves—cut with a surgeon’s scalpel this is a classic that will never date.
   The hair for the show had a very cool vibe to it—a mix of dishevelled chic, a wet look mixed with dry rough-and-tumble—directed by Buoy creative director Michael Beel. It was the perfect touch to the collection.
   Zambesi’s winter collection is in store now.—Sopheak Seng, Fashion and Beauty Editor

Nikita Brown/Nikita Brown Photography

April 25: Beyoncé releases ‘Beyoncé as Mrs Carter in H&M’—see her new video here

For years, Hennes & Mauritz hired spokesmodels who were familiar, but not instantly recognizable. There’s none of that these days as the retailer announces a partnership with Beyoncé, who will appear in print and TV advertising for its summer 2013 collection. Its last big name, promoting its autumn 2012 line, was Lana del Rey (see Lucire 28), as H&M ties in fashion with the biggest names in the music industry.
   Beyoncé kicks off her Mrs Carter Show world tour on April 15, and the new campaign ties in with that. The advertising features ‘Beyoncé as Mrs Carter in H&M’, with the company saying that it represents ‘the idea that all women can be all things: strong, vulnerable, sensual, maternal, fun, flirtatious.’
   The TV commercial, to be released online in full and edited for TV, features a new song from Beyoncé, ‘Standing on the Sun’. The song will be available worldwide and via hm.com from May.
   Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin shot the print campaign in Nassau, while the commercial was directed by Jonas Åkerlund.
   In a release, Beyoncé says, ‘I’ve always liked H&M’s focus on fun and affordable fashion. I really loved the concept we collaborated on to explore the different emotions of women represented by the four elements—fire, water, earth and wind. It was a beautiful shoot on a tropical island. It felt more like making a video than a commercial.’
   The famed Donald Schneider, now creative director at H&M, says, ‘H&M’s summer campaign starring Beyoncé is an epic fantasy, with glamour, drama and also a sense of paradise. It was amazing to watch her on the shoot make it all look effortless—a quality that makes her such an icon for women around the world. The campaign is the essence of Beyoncé, and also the essence of H&M this summer.’
   Ann-Sofie Johansson, head of design for the retailer, notes, ‘In the campaign Beyoncé is wearing the key pieces from H&M you need for life in the sun this summer.
   ‘There’s the perfect bodycon dress, as well as a flowing sun dress that makes a real statement. And of course there are the bikinis, especially the fringed bikini. What makes these pieces even more special is that Beyoncé herself had input into the design, and they are full of her own personal style.’
   The collection, which includes swimwear and beachwear from the H&M for Water collection benefiting H&M for WaterAid, hits H&M stores, on- and offline, from May.

Babies ’R’ Us UK has announced a collaboration with Heidi Klum, which sees a range of baby products exclusive to the chain.
   The Truly Scrumptious by Heidi Klum range has arrived at stores as well as the Babiesrus.co.uk website.
   The range has already launched in the US and Canada, and has been well received there. It is particularly colourful and includes floral prints. Clothing items include bodysuits, two-piece sets, and accessories such as socks and hats. A stroller joins the range in May, retailing at under £130.
   In a release, Klum, who has four children. calls the project ‘one of the most exciting and fulfilling’ that she has worked on.
   Meanwhile, while publisher Jack Yan was covering ID Dunedin Fashion Week, US west coast editor Elyse Glickman was at Vogue Eyewear’s launch, at which Eva Mendes was guest of honour, promoting the latest line with her as spokesmodel. You can read that story here, and Elyse’s pre-Oscar suites’ write-up here (with her earlier Grammy one here).
   In London, Elina Lukas has checked out Anna Popovich’s spring 2013 collection and notes some additional shows at London Fashion Week; we return to Sundance after nine years, thanks to Lola Saab; and Stanley Moss is in Vicenza, in the Veneto, in our latest travel special.

Above Lucire Paris editor Lola Saab with Lanvin artistic director Alber Elbaz.

Lancôme will collaborate with Alber Elbaz, the Parisian cosmetics brand announced yesterday.
   It is not Elbaz’s first collaboration with another well known brand. Lanvin, where Elbaz is artistic director, and H&M collaborated on a collection in 2010.
   ‘More than any other designer, he has shown his ability to renew conceptions of femininity with a simultaneously quirky and couture style, creating a breed of luxury that is definitively contemporary. His approach is naturally in tune with Lancôme, a brand symbolic of joyful femininity,’ the company stated in a release.
   ‘Alber Elbaz is, without a doubt, one of the world’s most influential fashion designers. But beyond that, he is also the most talented,’ says Lancôme presidet Youcef S. Nabi. ‘His sense of luxury, his vision of femininity and that hint of audacity resonate perfectly with the new values of the Maison Lancôme. We are extremely proud and happy that, with us, he is set to channel his universe into the world of make-up for the very first time.’
   Details are sketchy, but Lancôme has released a promotional video as a teaser for the make-up collection, which will be unveiled on June 15.

As early as 1978, there was a rumour that BMW would release a 4-series. That time, Motor magazine (the UK one, from IPC) hinted that there would be a sporting 3-series, possibly a sporting fastback.
   The rumour returned for the latest F30 generation of 3-series saloons: that BMW would introduce the 4 moniker for the coupé and cabriolet versions, mirroring what it did for the 5- and 6-series.
   The clearest sign that there would be a 4er-Reihe has come with the BMW Concept 4 Series Coupé, which is not far removed from the production model. Coincidentally the new model happens to be the fourth generation of the Dreier, which started off in 1975 with a range of two-door saloons (though a cabriolet was converted by Baur).
   Shown yesterday, the 4 ‘stands for greater sportiness, greater exclusivity and even clearer differentiation from the BMW 3 Series range,’ says the company.
   The Vierer is lower and has a wider stance than the saloon on which it is based. Compared to the existing 3-series Coupé, it has a longer wheelbase (2,810 mm, up 50 mm), a wider front track (1,545 mm, up 45 mm) and a wider rear track (1,593 mm, up 80 mm). The car is longer, lower, wider: 4,641 mm by 1,362 mm, by 1,826 mm.
   BMW says the 4er-Reihe has more of a wheel-at-each corner stance, with the long hood–short deck proportions found with sports cars. The car does look more purposeful than the current 3-series Coupé, and there is greater surface tension, reminiscent of the larger 6-series. The greatest change from the other coupés are the air vents in the front wings, while the aluminium accents create emotive detailing, such as around the intake under the front bumper. Inside, the cabin of the Concept 4 differs from the Dreier by being more driver-focused and lavish, especially with the use of wood extending across to the passenger side and the use of leather stitching, also reminiscent of the 6.
   The remaining question is whether calling the new generation of coupés the 4 will harm the equity built up over 37 years. On the one hand, the rumours have been around for many years, long enough for BMW fans to become used to the idea. On the other hand, two-door 3-series have been around since the beginning of the model line, with the four-door an extension, not the core.—Jack Yan, Publisher

In a typically Swedish socially responsible fashion, Hennes & Mauritz has announced a clothing collecting initiative as of February 2013.
   In all its stores in all 48 countries, customers will be able to bring in used garments, with H&M committing to sustainability. Customers will get a voucher in return.
   The company says it will accept items from all brands in any condition, reducing textile waste and overall environmental impact, and saving natural resources.
   ‘Our sustainability efforts are rooted in a dedication to social and environmental responsibility. We want to do good for the environment, which is why we are now offering our customers a convenient solution: to be able to leave their worn out or defective garments with H&M,’ says CEO Karl-Johan Persson.
   The collected clothes are handled by I:Collect, which will reprocess the clothes and make the resources ready for reuse.
   H&M says as much as 95 per cent of disposed clothes could be used again.
   The company says, long-term, it wishes to ‘reduce the environmental impact of garments throughout the life cycle and create a closed loop for textile fibres.’ H&M Conscious Foundation has been set up to support innovation to find ways of closing the loop on textiles.
   Last week, H&M announced an 11-piece men’s capsule range in collaboration of Brick Lane Bikes of East London, to be launched on March 7 in 180 stores worldwide. The range uses more sustainable materials, a development of the Conscious programme.

Scarlett Johansson will be the face of Dolce & Gabbana’s latest fragrance, The One Desire, continuing her role as a spokeswoman for the brand.
   The campaign, photographed by Terry Richardson, launches in Italy next month, with an international roll-out soon after.
   The scent was developed by Givaudan, in association with P&G Prestige, Stefano Gabbana and Domenico Dolce. Top notes are bergamot, mandarin, lychee and lily of the valley; mid-notes are Madonna lily, tuberose, jasmine and plum nectar, and basenotes are caramel-infused vanilla, sandalwood, musk and cistus labdanum.
   The fragrance will be available in 30, 50 and 75 ml eau de parfum.