H&M

London-based Irish designer Simone Rocha is the next collaborator with H&M, with a collection launching March 11, comprising clothing for women, men and children—the first time Rocha has completed a collection for the entire family. Each category includes a full wardrobe. Also under the Simone Rocha × H&M banner are jewellery and pearl-embellished footwear.
   As with previous designers, the collection makes references to previous work, especially Rocha’s mixed heritage of Hong Kong and Ireland, but with new twists.
   H&M says in a release, ‘We see glimmers of Tudor courtiers, wild florals, portraits and photographs, dolls and trinkets. There is tartan, beading, florals, pinks, reds, and bespoke fabrications, developed in-house, exclusively for this collaboration.’
   The launch date coincides with Rocha’s 10th anniversary.
   ‘I am so thrilled to be working with H&M on this very special collection,’ she says. ‘It truly is a celebration of the signatures of my brand, and the influences that have shaped me. As a designer, and as a customer, I’ve been such a fan of the H&M collaboration concept. Margiela, Alber Elbaz, Comme des Garçons—it’s such an amazing list of alumni to be a part of.’
   Rocha says she is pleased that she can offer her designs to a wider audience, and for those who may have missed a piece the first time.
   Ann-Sofie Johansson, creative adviser for Hennes & Mauritz, adds, ‘Simone Rocha has been on the H&M wish list for some time. This collaboration offers a new audience the chance to own a very special piece of design history. All of us at H&M have been so inspired to work with a female designer who spends so much time thinking about contemporary femininity, and womanhood, and who is so committed to excellence in craft and design, from the process of developing special fabrications, to pushing silhouettes, shapes and embellishments. Every garment within this collection is unique, special and the result of years of work and meticulous research.’
   Daisy Edgar-Jones, Adwon and Jesewa Aboah, Robbie Spencer, and Tess McMillan appear in the campaign.

H&M

Jessica Jung (정수연), the American-born Korean pop star, actress and fashion designer, has been named as Revlon’s new ambassador, fronting the company’s campaigns in Asia.
   The K-pop star will appear in Revlon’s global campaigns for Super Lustrous and ColorStay, and new lines such as Total Color permanent hair colour.
   Jung’s campaigns break in spring 2020 across all media platforms. The first released photo from Revlon (top) was shot by Mario Sorrenti.
   ‘Revlon has always represented the epitome of glamour for me,’ said Jung in a release. ‘As a young girl growing up in San Francisco, I couldn’t help but be dazzled by the bold imagery of iconic women wearing Revlon make-up! To now be part of these legendary Revlon ambassadors is a thrill and an honour.’
   Those she joins include Gal Gadot, Sofia Carson, Ashley Graham, Adwoa Aboah, and Eniola Abioro.
   ‘We were drawn to Jessica because she is a force of nature, channelling her positive energy and entrepreneurial mindset into achieving her goals and breaking boundaries all along the way,’ said Silvia Galfo, Revlon global brand president. ‘She loves to experiment with beauty and has an unapologetic spirit that helps her transcend convention, perfectly capturing our “Live Boldly” ethos. We’re thrilled to have her as part of the Revlon family.’
   Jung moved to Korea at 11 and was discovered at a South Korean shopping mall with her sister, Krystal. From there she was part of a girl group, Girls’ Generation, which propelled her to fame. She runs her own fashion line, Blanc & Eclare. Jung is multilingual speaking English, Korean and Mandarin.

There’s a lot happening around this time of year, including the Orthodox Easter, Earth Day, the start of Ramadan, and ANZAC Day, and over the last week, celebrities have been Instagramming in a more positive way, even though the COVID-19 pandemic is very much with us.
   Natalia Vodianova (@natasupernova) showed off her dining table spread to commemorate the Orthodox Easter: the Orthodox Church never went with the Gregorian calendar and stuck with when they thought Easter should be, so there is a discrepancy between the two dates. They may well have a point: after all, can one Pope really declare a new starting-point for January 1? Religion aside, Vodianova had a colourful display to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ in her own way.
   American model Kara del Toro (@karajewelll) posed with her vintage Chanel sunglasses, which are arguably in vogue for 2020. Del Toro managed to keep up her high standard of photography on her Instagram—we’re guessing that it pays to have archives! Her most obvious COVID-19-related post was four weeks ago; since then her fans have been able to indulge in escapism through her Instagram account.
   It’s the same with Norwegian-born, Australian-based model and singer Hilde Osland (@hildeee), who gathered up her favourites of her in red, and put them into a single post of nine images. She’s a pro at Instagram: whenever we try to post nine, it crashes! She’s also becoming a pro at TikTok, where some of her content is reposted from.
   Our friend Panos Papadopoulos (@panosofficial) poses with sunnies and a black jacket, with a simple message, and comes close to acknowledging the pandemic: ‘Keep your best mood … the world is changing’, while hashtagging #positivevibes. We’ll gratefully accept!
   We completely admire Samantha Hoopes (@samanthahoopes) for being real and showing off bikini photos taken four months after the birth of her child. She notes, ‘7 months later my skin is still all stretched out! This is a reminder of how fucking awesome our bodies are & our journey into our new bodies is all about Self love & confidence is key! For me it has been a ride from loosing all my weight to figuring out ways to “bounce” back & in all of it I am proud of my new shape, new skin & new body!’ We love her positive attitude and it’s a wonderful message to have in these times.
   No stranger to Instagram, Viki Odintcova (@viki_odintcova) is staying at home in Moskva and playing with make-up, taking a selfie and keeping her message simple.
   Claire Rose Cliteur (@clairerose) poses for a selfie wearing eco-friendly, sustainable fashion brand Pangaia, which has its own material science R&D facility. The label, which was founded last year, may well be the first one that combines this level of research with its own collections.
   Finally, commemorating Earth Day is actress Alexandra Daddario (@alexandradaddario), with a million likes of her image in the forest. The earlier text caption has disappeared in favour of a simple Earth emoji, and maybe that’s all you need.

Above, from top: Paula Sweet at work in Italy. Her mink design, 2019. Black T-shirts, 2020. The Muslin Mink as detailed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

‘Those were my ideas from the first, to create a fashion brand which made people feel happy, feel powerful, and—most importantly—which was accessible to all. My agenda hasn’t changed. Technology is tomorrow’s great enabler. It seems like the perfect moment in history to present my designs to the world once again.’—Paula Sweet

The era of on-demand personalization presents many more options than mass production ever did for a creative force of nature like Paula Sweet. All her original ideas are still abundantly present in new output, found in her watchwords for the 2019–20 season: Joy, Power and Mink. These appear on a limited-edition label and on her revamped website www.paulasweet.com.
   Today, at 71 years old and energy undiminished, Paula Sweet is ready to reintroduce her classic design sensibility to a young generation, as well as her loyal fans. The revamped website enables users to deploy new and vintage Paula Sweet images on T-shirts, tote bags, cups, cellphone covers and pillows. Hidden on the site are other pages devoted to bespoke fashions, illustration, photography, Instagram posts and books created by Paula. A separate zone called ‘The Works’ includes CV, biographical notes, historic photography and a digital catalogue raisonné showing the incredible range of output by the multitalented and multifaceted Paula.
   It’s been years since she last revamped her website, but the iconic American fashion designer Paula Sweet is poised for a relaunch. Today marks the go-live date of the newly-renovated www.paulasweet.com, revived and repackaged for today’s audiences, with interactive product-creation options which reflect the unique style of the woman who four decades ago first created the Muslin Mink.
   The ubiquitous Mink was a fashion phenomenon which took hold of the public imagination in the 1980s and catapulted Paula Sweet’s fashion house, home products and art into the international spotlight. For over two decades the brand was present in top-end department stores and magazine pages, not to mention in the wardrobes and on the backs of the fast and furious, the famous, the fantastic and the down-to-earth. Today a Muslin Mink can be found in the permanent collection at the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, while vintage creations enjoy lively trading on Ebay by international collectors and fashionistas.
   What happened? ‘Parenthood, in a word,’ Sweet says. ‘I stopped to raise my daughter and led a more private life. I didn’t quit creating—I kept the old website going, just shuttered my shop in 2000. I never stopped being busy. I took photos, made ceramics, sewed my own clothes, did a lot of travelling and wrote books. These days I mostly live and work in the north of Italy, just outside Venice. What with the coronavirus I felt the time was right to reach out to a digitally-savvy group like my daughter’s.’

Above: Paula Sweet in the 1970s and the 1990s.

Matt Jones

Recognizing the power of the Latin American market, H&M’s full collection with Colombian designer Johanna Ortiz—who has both a following in her home market as well as the US—will launch in March with 19 pieces.
   This follows the four pre-drop dresses. Like the initial pieces, the collaboration features an exotic colour palette, tropical florals, and the energetic design that Ortiz is known for.
   Key pieces include a red floral maxi-dress, a magenta midi-dress in broderie anglaise, a black patterned floor-length column dress in viscose crèpe, and a ruffled wrap skirt in black-and-white cotton-poplin.
   Ortiz’s designs have already been seen on Michelle Obama, Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Alexa Chung, Jessica Biel, Olivia Palermo, and Sienna Miller.
   Trained at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Ortiz headed back to her native Colombia to create her eponymous label. She also gives back to the community with an educational programme for local women.
   H&M headed to Cali to understand the designer’s construction and to work on the collaboration.
   ‘The imprint of Colombia—the rhythm of the salsa dance, the beauty of the elegant orchids and the effortless palm trees dancing in a balmy pink sunset—can be felt in every Johanna Ortiz design,’ says Ortiz. ‘I’m thrilled to be able to infuse this H&M collection with effortless glamour and introduce some Latin American festivity to the H&M customer’s wardrobe. I hope customers wear the pieces barefoot and with a beautiful flower in their hair.’
   H&M head of womenswear design Maria Östblom said, ‘Johanna Ortiz has a gift for creating confident, colourful designs that make you want to dance. This collection is both a celebration of Colombia’s creative history and craftsmanship and an opportunity to bring Johanna’s signature feminine styles to our customers. The reaction to the pre-drop was very positive, and now the wait is over, we can’t wait to see how our customers will style this exciting collection.’
   The main collection will appear in selected H&M stores and at hm.com on March 12.

Matt Jones

After getting full control of her label back, Charlotte Olympia has embarked on a collaboration with Puma, with its founder’s sister, model Alice Dellal, modelling the new line.
   Charlotte Olympia Dellal had often taken her label into collaborations, including with MAC Cosmetics and Agent Provocateur. Dellal had hinted last month that she was collaborating with a sport brand.
   The Puma × Charlotte Olympia collection merges boxing-inspired silhouettes with Hollywood glamour, featuring leopard prints, ‘Kitty’ embroidery, fringe accents, and the Charlotte Olympia spider’s web symbol.
   Going beyond the Puma × Charlotte Olympia Cali Sport shoe (RRP NZ$180) are the TFS AOP track jacket (RRP NZ$190) and the AOP shorts (RRP NZ$100), all of which blend sports and glamour. There is also a reversible Bucket Hat (RRP NZ$55).
   Puma, meanwhile, has been working with female designers recently, including Tabitha Simmons and Sophia Webster. Working with Charlotte Olympia is another step in the label’s attempt to court women as customers.
   In New Zealand, the collection will be available from April 1 at nz.puma.com and at Karen Walker and Hype stores.