In another sign of Italy beginning to open up again in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Malo, the Florentine cashmere knitwear brand, will open a new boutique in Verona, at 41, Corso Porta Borsari, behind Piazza della Erbe, on July 14. And it appears to be the first in a line of openings.
‘The opening of a new boutique in the historic center of Verona represents another important step for the company and also a strong sign of trust … By the end of the year, we also set another ambitious goal: the opening of a boutique in New York,’ says Malo president Walter Maiocchi.
The Verona boutique is the second in the Veneto, with the first in Venezia.
Maiocchi continues, ‘We are convinced that the “real” and online must go hand in hand, without one going to the detriment of the other. In December 2019, we launched the e-boutique on our website, and during the lockdown, it was a source of great satisfaction. However, in addition to this possibility, we want to offer our customers more and more boutiques where they can live the Malo experience, touching our fine yarns and our precious garments with their hands. A real sensory world that allows them to really perceive the quality of our “made in Italy”, which we love to define as “made in Malo”.’
Lady Gaga is now officially the face of one of Valentino’s perfumes, the upcoming Voce Viva, by creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli with Valentino Beauty.
The new campaign breaks in September with the perfume’s release.
‘Lady Gaga means freedom, self-consciousness, pure hear,’ said Piccioli. ‘Her participation in this campaign elevates the symbolic power of the project to the highest level. She is the icon of a generation. Her message of freedom, passion for art, self-consciousness and equality is the same our Valentino community stands for. I am so proud for having her in.’
On the new scent, the house said in a release, ‘Imagined as a voice to spread a message around the world, Valentino Voce Viva invites everyone to touch hearts, inspire others and live their dreams. Expressing the Maison’s values of inclusivity and individuality, Voce Viva celebrates one of the women’s most intimate sense.’
Lady Gaga, already a modern-day icon and the only artist to receive an Oscar, Grammy, BAFTA and Golden Globe in the same year (for A Star Is Born), has recently released ‘Rain on Me’, a duet with Ariana Grande, and created her own beauty line.
The star said in the release, ‘Be yourself, love who you are, and never give up your dreams.’
Above: Designs by Vudafieri Saverino Partners for SKC’s men’s, women’s, lifestyle, home and footwear spaces.
With China and Italy steadily reopening, it’s little surprise that a great deal of news is from those countries.
Vudafieri Saverino Partners, the Milanese architectural firm with a base in Shanghai, has announced that it was behind the interiors of two SKP (Shin Kong Place) malls in Beijing and Xi’an. SKP retails exclusive European brands, such as Chanel, Hermès, Louis Vuitton, Dior, Prada, Gucci, Bulgari, and Cartier.
Vudafieri Saverino Partners worked on a total of 6,000 m² over five floors in Beijing and four in Xi’an.
Each floor has its own distinct theme based on which products were sold and the target audience. The furniture and partitions have also been designed by the firm. All the spaces have a functional and flexible design.
Men’s sections have an automotive-inspired design; women’s have more classic furnishings; while the lifestyle sections reflect innovation and technology. The home section references domestic settings, with furnishings also created by Vudafieri Saverino Partners. The footwear section uses soft lines, warm colours and few materials, to emphasize the product.
As some celebrities and models continue with lockdown, and others are starting to emerge from theirs, their Instagrams are a far more mixed bag than when we began peering into them again earlier this year.
While a few months ago, there were express acknowledgements of the COVID-19 pandemic, this week there was no caption from Kylie Jenner as she posted a selfie of herself in a bra and jeans, love heart aside, with half-sister Kim Kardashian exclaiming ‘WOW’ with six flame emojis. And being Jenner the photo received 10·6 million likes, and Kardashian’s comment, at the time of writing, had 11,999—it’ll easily be over 12,000 by the time you read this.
In Milano, where things are beginning to open up again, Chiara Ferragni showed off her pride capsule collection, sharing the link in her Instagram Stories. The home-shot top showcases its rainbow stripes proudly, with ‘Love fiercely’ emblazoned on the front.
It’s outside for singer–model Hilde Osland modelling Bombshell Sportswear, showing off the red autumn leaves in Western Australia, as that country’s COVID-19 infections dwindle. German actress Franziska Knuppe went further afield, into the Baltic Sea on board a boat for a photo shoot, doing her own make-up (using Shiseido) and hair (using Schwarzkopf), but beyond that, it’s a ‘secret project’ and we’re to wait to see just what this is.
Bar Refaeli had a far simpler, more relaxed post on her ’Gram, looking natural in Tel Aviv with the simple caption, ‘Favorite time of the day. ME TIME’, a sentiment which many of us would embrace. Just as blissful was a post from Marina Laswick to her one million followers, her husband Kev Dukes holding her up. They’re making a Q&A video to answer questions about their successful marriage, and among the comments is an admission that Kev is usually behind the lens of Laswick’s photographs.
Silvana Araujo, with nearly a million followers as fans of her fitness advice, is the only one in our round-up who mentions her quarantine (in Bogotá) directly. Wearing a bikini, she’s alerting fans to her upcoming fitness videos.
Finally, Lucire cover alumna, actress Violett Beane, who turned 24 earlier this month, showed off a new hair colour (‘Extremely-faded-dark-brown-box-dyed’) and ’do.
During a global pandemic, how do you launch a new model? Lamborghini believes augmented reality is the way, and employed the technique for Iphones and Ipads for its Huracán Evo rear-wheel-drive Spyder. By visiting lamborghini.com on an Iphone or Ipad, tap ‘See in AR’ and the car can be seen in the space of your choice, even at a 1:1 scale, to get a closer look at the exterior and interior.
The new model, a roadster with a removable soft-top roof, boasts a V10 delivering 610 PS and 560 Nm of torque, reaching 100 km/h in 3·5 s. Top speed is 324 km/h. The top can be stowed at speeds of up to 50 km/h, while the 8·4-inch touchscreen links to an Apple Carplay-compatible system. Lamborghini says the car can even be personalized to ‘limitless colour and trim options’. UK price is £151,100 plus tax.
Lamborghini promises that its entire range will soon be available in AR.
The ID Emerging Designer Awards, in association with Otago Polytechnic, will be shown online this year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. There are 33 designers from 14 countries, with NHNZ producing the show.
The event, which grew out of ID Dunedin Fashion Week, was long forecast by Lucire to become the “main event”—the fact the organizers have persevered indicates the esteem in which the awards are held.
Entrants produced video shows to showcase their entries, which were selected by a judging panel.
The list of finalists and their entries can be found on ID’s website.
In Italy, where COVID-19 has had a massive impact on daily life, Design Italian Shoes (DIS), a start-up specializing in fully customizable, Italian-made footwear, has innovated with an app that scans your feet to allow them to create made-to-measure shoes. And in the spirit of the times, DIS says it will make its technology open to other manufacturers and retailers.
Presently, the app is only available for IOS.
Users only need their Iphone and an A4 sheet, taking three photos of each foot. The technology takes care of the rest.
DIS says the app is the last piece of the puzzle to create a fully digital process where one can get measured, then configure and order the shoes. Only when the ordering process is completed are the data sent to their artisans, who begin making the shoes.
By not having stock and semi-finished products, Andrea Carpineti, CEO of DIS, says there is a 30 per cent reduction in carbon emissions in the production process.
The company claims a 10-day turnaround.
DIS CIO Michele Luconi adds, ‘We have developed two different algorithms. The first carries out the mathematical reconstruction of the user’s foot through photos. The second—it’s the only one on the market—matches the user’s foot with the DIS shoe models, thus recommending the exact size to purchase for each specific model.’
To make the perfect made-to-measure shoe, the app takes 26 measurements of each foot, considerably more than existing apps, says the company.
Francesco Inguscio, CEO of Nuvolab, which has supported DIS, says, ‘This is the best way in which Italian industrial districts can respond to the deep crisis we are going through: by sharing start-ups’ innovations and the know-how of our SMEs to evolve together and thrive in a totally different future from what we had imagined.’
Above, from top: The founders of DIS. A retail corner showcasing DIS products.
