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Forbes
13 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Philipp Plein Unveils The 2026 Cruise Fashion Collection At Cannes
MILAN, ITALY - APRIL 11: Philipp Plein attends the launch of the Philipp Plein FW2025 Watches and ... More Jewels collection during Salone del Mobile on April 11, 2025 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Pietro S. D'Aprano/Getty Images for Philipp Plein) Set against the glossy star-studded red carpet of the Cannes Film Festival, the Carlton Beach Club sparkled with different kinds of stars: crystal embroidery, slick leather, and a sharp dose of high-octane glamour. The occasion? Philipp Plein's Cruise 2026 fashion collection, Noir Summer Dream, an aptly titled fashion show from the fashion industry's maximalist provocateur. Philipp Plein presents the Cruise 2026 Collection, 'Noir Summer Dream', over Cannes Film Festival Though Cannes is known for its sunshine, the forecast called for another bout of what locals call the 'Cannes Curse,' the unexpected downpours that seem to arrive right on cue each festival season. Sure enough, the skies opened, forcing Philipp Plein to relocate his annual resort show from his lush private villa to the storied Carlton Beach Club. It marked the first venue change in a decade for the designer. Still, the location change felt serendipitous. With its panoramic sea views and storied glamour, the Beach Club proved an ideal runway, or as Plein himself put it, 'the place to be, especially at the beginning of the summer season.' Philipp Plein presents the Cruise 2026 Collection, 'Noir Summer Dream', over Cannes Film Festival Plein's premiere Cruise collection featured 16 looks of models, clad in sculptural black halter gowns and jewel-studded minidresses, that moved through a scene somewhere between Studio 54 and a midnight séance, with a hint of French Riviera maximalism. It all felt like a stylized fever dream with a bit of a cinematic flair, perhaps as a nod to the film festival next door. There was no subtlety present, but then again subtlety has never been Plein's aesthetic point, quite the contrary, in his universe more is more. Plein's debut Cruise collection can be a study in opulence and contrasts: darkness and sparkle, strength and seduction. The collection is a precise ode to cocktail and evening-wear, one of the niche markets that Plein committed to unapologetically since the invention of the brand. Nearly every look was rendered in black, from leather suiting with sharply contoured shoulders to sheer gowns and crystal embellished dresses. The eye did wonder as Plein's silhouettes continue to retain the bravado of his early years. But there was a shift on the runway, his love for excess has been clearly distilled, think of it as less spectacle, and more statement. Philipp Plein presents the Cruise 2026 Collection, 'Noir Summer Dream', over Cannes Film Festival 'I'm not trying to sell basics,' Plein once quipped backstage at the Milan Fashion Week, where he infamously punctuated a 2015 show with a full-scale roller coaster and a declaration that he aimed to 'f*** your mind tonight.' A decade later, the tone may be more refined, but the intention remains provocatively clear. Take for example the little black dress, which Plein showcased with a crystalized, matelassé technique, revealing both Plein's love of embellishment and as well as his evolving command of construction. It was a winner. Guests travelled as far away as Cyprus and Monaco to see the show. 'Like Cannes, Cyprus has this deep appreciation for opulence and luxury, so Plein's dark glamour really resonated with me. Philipp Plein doesn't follow trends, he creates his own universe,' said Natalia Ellinas, CEO, Fashion Forum in Cyprus. Philipp Plein presents the Cruise 2026 Collection, 'Noir Summer Dream', over Cannes Film Festival What Plein cannot avoid is the drama on the runway, in fact, it is ever-present. Think of it as the old Hollywood filtered through Plein's over-the-top moodboard. It reminded me of Plein's recent presentation of his bespoke timepieces at Watches and Wonders 2025 in Geneva, where he unveiled three new watches — the King Phantom, Crypto King, and Diamond Queen — which, unsurprisingly, do not whisper the time so much as pronounce it. Crafted from sapphire crystal and industrial-grade steel, the watches attempt to marry famous Swiss precision with Plein's signature flair. The King Phantom's exposed mechanics mirror the architectural cuts of a leather trench shown in Cannes. The Diamond Queen watch, an over-the-top glittering, gem-encrusted beast of a timepiece, seems tailor-made for the same woman wearing crystal mesh at the Cruise Runway show in Cannes. In both collections, the message from Plein is consistent: luxury should be loud, unapologetic, and with a strong slice of Plein's DNA. 'I am drawn to and inspired by the Plein aesthetic because of how strong his looks are,' said Yasya Minochkina, Monaco-based fashion designer. Philipp Plein presents the Cruise 2026 Collection, 'Noir Summer Dream', over Cannes Film Festival Originally trained in law and launching his design career with crystal-studded luxury dog beds, Plein founded his namesake label 25 years ago, a testament to the entrepreneur he is. Philipp Plein is a ringmaster in the circus of opulence, and, arguably, a character of his own creation. With tattooed arms, and a taste for skulls and superyachts, he has cultivated a persona that merges business and bravado. Being a "luxury rebel" as he calls himself, Plein challenges the traditional, understated luxury market trends. To critics, he's a showman but to his fans, and there are many, he has built a universe where opulence is not looked down upon but celebrated. 'If you want to be boring, there's enough of that in fashion,' said Plein. Philipp Plein presents the Cruise 2026 Collection, 'Noir Summer Dream', over Cannes Film Festival His business model backs that up. Headquartered in Lugano, Switzerland, the self-financed label operates over 110 boutiques across the globe. It remains one of the few large independent luxury brands in an increasingly conglomerate-driven industry. Back at Cannes, Plein's ethos was on full display. Although Noir Summer Dream wasn't about resort utility per se, it was a confident reminder of Plein's manifesto: that fashion, at its most unrestrained can be a thrilling celebration of individuality. Yes it's over the top, but in a world increasingly obsessed with 'quiet luxury' and 'stealth wealth,' Plein's loud confidence feels excitingly convincing.
Telegraph
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy's stylish legacy has been utterly betrayed
When it comes to a costume designer's dream subject, you would think Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy would be high on the list. The epitome of Nineties minimalism and pared-back elegance, the striking blonde Calvin Klein publicist and wife of John F Kennedy Jr left an indelible mark on fashion. Her slip dresses, crisp white shirts, immaculate tailoring, on-point denim and unbranded accessories were a blueprint for now-ubiquitous ' stealth wealth ' dressing, marking a clear shift from Eighties extravagance. In the social media age, her influence has not only endured but intensified; it's rare to see a mood board or stylish Instagram feed that doesn't feature her sleek silhouettes. If I could inherit the wardrobe of any fashion icon living or dead, it would be CBK's. So when news broke of the upcoming television series American Love Story, which will tell the tale of the ill-fated golden couple who married in 1996 and died in a plane crash in 1999, it was an exciting prospect. However, when the first look appeared online over the weekend, I – and every other self-respecting fashion fan with access to the internet – was nothing short of horrified. The series of images taken from a camera test were posted on Instagram by Ryan Murphy, the American writer-director-producer behind the series (who's proved his skill in everything from Glee to fashion fable The Assassination of Gianni Versace). The post shows actors Paul Kelly and Sarah Pidgeon, who reportedly beat thousands of others who auditioned, in their upcoming roles as the tragic lovers. Some elements of the stills are convincing – Kelly looks the image of JFK Jr in a double-breasted dark grey suit and crimson patterned tie. Pidgeon's outfit, on the other hand, completely misses the mark, suggesting that the series will be a betrayal of CBK's stylish legacy. Everything about the look, based around a camel coat that feels more Karen Millen than Calvin Klein, feels off. 'I don't want to criticise the actor, because there's so much more to a role than the way you look, but it's baffling – it looks like an AI creation,' says writer and fashion influencer Camille Charrière, who was one of many commentators who expressed dismay on social media. 'Carolyn's spectacular simplicity is so recognisable. Everything she wore was about proportions, and I think that's why everyone who has pored over pictures of her is up in arms. Why is she wearing ankle-grazing trousers with those shoes? She would never have put those two things together. The length of the coat is wrong, the width of the shoulders is wrong, even the bag [an Hermès Birkin] is visibly empty.' The stakes are high because, as well as an enduring style muse, CBK was a culturally significant figure. As a working woman, she was an outlier in the upper echelons of Manhattan society, and is remembered for her refusal to pander to media attention in an era when high-profile women were intensely scrutinised. Her wardrobe echoed this quiet dignity and made American fashion covetable – crucial to the industry now more than ever amid Donald Trump's tariffs. 'She wore everything with this kind of classic, American sportswear mentality and intelligence,' says Sunita Kumar Nair, who wrote CBK: Carolyn Bessette Kennedy: A Life in Fashion. 'That was the mainstay of all the leading American designers in the Nineties. She worked for Calvin Klein, so she knew how to draw on the ease and simplicity of it all and make it accessible. She had this kind of inner assuredness that was really captivating, but at the same time she never really gave too much away.' Admittedly, it does sound like a hard balance to strike, and inimitable style does sometimes remain just that. 'Simplicity is often the hardest thing to get right,' says Charrière. 'That's why The Row has such a fanatical fan base, even though the prices are through the roof. It's not actually that easy to find well-made items that have those easy, simple cuts.' But the thing that's most galling about the CBK costume debacle is that many of her most recognisable pieces are still readily available to purchase today. Take, for example, the high-waisted bootcut jeans she owned in both medium and dark washes – they're Levi's 517 style, which can be found in plentiful supply on Vinted and in vintage shops. Then there's the unbranded oval sunglasses she owned in both black and tortoiseshell, still made by New York-based label Selima Optique (if their £448 price tag feels prohibitive, contemporary labels like Le Specs and Jimmy Fairly offer convincing alternatives for around the £100 mark). And while American Love Story might have maxed out its handbag budget on the Birkin Pidgeon is pictured carrying, here's hoping the costume department has also picked up a Boat and Tote from quintessential New England brand, L L Bean. CBK favoured the large iteration of the durable canvas holdall, which can allegedly carry more than 200kg and retails for just £41. Rather than buying new, fans – and costume designers, for that matter – might be best advised to shop second-hand, recreating what Charrière refers to as CBK's 'essence' rather than her copying her exact wardrobe look-for-look. 'If you're putting her in new clothes, it's not going to look right, because none of her outfits were box fresh,' she says. 'You'd never see her in a full runway look – she always mixed and matched pieces. She had a very lived-in wardrobe and wore things again and again, which is something we just don't see anymore.' Disgruntled fans will have to wait until February 2026, when the series is due to be released, to see if any aspects of the style icon's legacy have been honoured for television. Until then, we'll be taking CBK as a reference point for timeless, trend-proof dressing – as always.
The Guardian
04-06-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
From gallabiyas to kaftans, how African style went global
Hello and welcome to The Long Wave. This week, I look at the globalisation of African fashion, and how its popularity is part of a wider cultural takeover. I use the phrase 'African fashion' purely for convenience. In reality, there is no such thing that can be grouped under one name; there are only themes or regional concentrations. North Africa tends to favour a one-piece – a gallabiya, kaftan or head-to-toe swaddle of cloth. Sub-Saharan Africa is less categorisable, with bold prints and waxy or stiff material in west Africa, white linen in east Africa and intricate beadwork in the south. But these, too, are vast generalisations because even within each country the influences differ. The category is more a vibe than a style – that is to say, you know 'African fashion' when you see it. And then there's the distinction between fashion and everyday wear: gallabiyas, tobes, boubous, church outfits. 'Fashion' implies a stylised attempt to channel the genre or interpret it, rather than simply elevate casual clothing. It is a genre that is rising in popularity yet hampered by commercial and stylistic limitations. African and African-inspired fashion houses, based on the continent and abroad, have not only increased in number over the past two decades – African exports amount to more than $15bn a year – they have penetrated the luxury sector. African diaspora designers such as the Haitian-Italian Stella Novarino have become behemoths in the industry, and the Ethiopian model Liya Kebede's brand Lemlem has straddled high end and high street through a recent collaboration with H&M. Several smaller brands have been going strong for years. Zuri, a brand from Kenya that makes a single trademark patterned dress, has a store in Soho, New York. Dye Lab ships internationally and is holding a series of pop-up stores all over the world in 2025. So numerous and dispersed are these labels that a website, Ichyulu, curates almost 40 of them. The movement reached its cultural watershed at the Met Gala last month, for which the theme was Superfine: Tailoring Black Style. Several African designers – including Adebayo Oke-Lawal, the Nigerian head of Orange Culture, and South Africa's Thebe Magugu – were among those who dressed the stars. The rise in popularity is partly driven by a surge in purchasing power among the African middle classes, as well as an increase in younger and more affluent consumers of African origin in the diaspora. The mainstreaming of African fashion has followed the mainstreaming of the continent's music such as Afrobeats. The likes of Wizkid and Burna Boy have pioneered their own fashion collaborations and iconography, merging cultural influences in a patchwork of styles. But the rise of African fashion also speaks to two other factors: the growing clout of Black and African-born celebrities, and their adoption of an aesthetic on their own terms, rather than defaulting to the western mainstream. Black celebs have been making more deliberate fashion choices, particularly on the red carpet for Black-led films. The Kenyan-Mexican actor Lupita Nyong'o wore a cowrie-shell headpiece at the Wakanda Forever premiere in Los Angeles in 2022 and the Nigerian-born British star of Sinners, Wunmi Mosaku, frequently wears African prints at film launches and festivals. Beyoncé's collaboration with Tongoro took centre stage during her 2023 tour. The Senegalese brand hailed the tie-up on Instagram with the caption: 'Welcome to the African Renaissance'. One of the great virtues of African fashion is that it doesn't do mass-market production. Therefore, the quality is higher, the collections smaller and slower to drop, creating a much less disposable shopping experience. But it's not cheap. The higher-end brands, which are sold on luxury websites such as Net-a-Porter and featured in Vogue, are inaccessible to the average consumer. Even an item from a smaller brand can cost hundreds of dollars. Sign up to The Long Wave Nesrine Malik and Jason Okundaye deliver your weekly dose of Black life and culture from around the world after newsletter promotion There is also the matter of physical presence and logistics. Few of these brands have bricks-and-mortar shops across the continent or in western cities. For those in Africa in particular, online shopping can involve an expensive trial of customs and duties – and you can forget about returns and exchanges. It is a great irony that a fashion movement that subverts western uniform for more authentic styles can sometimes itself end up being exclusive. That exclusivity can be self-fulfilling. As a consumer, I feel the conceptual elements of African styles can at times overlook the everyday. African prints are indeed bold – the opposite of the popular 'quiet luxury' (and thank God for that) – but there is a middle ground that sometimes is missed. While the few pieces I have hunted down at sales and pop-ups are coveted and loved, I wish there was more that could be blended – a motif, a nod to a tradition, an emblem – that takes the style away from the event and elevates the mundane. African style is not just about statement but also colour, texture, practicality and even a bit of mischief. To receive the complete version of The Long Wave in your inbox every Wednesday, please subscribe here.
Asharq Al-Awsat
29-05-2025
- Business
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Fashion Commission Closes 1st Phase of 'Fashion Performance & Modeling' Course in Riyadh
The Fashion Commission has closed the first phase of the 'Fashion Performance & Modeling' course, delivered in partnership with globally renowned fashion institution Istituto Marangoni and in collaboration with Elite Model Management. The course, which launched its first phase on May 18, is designed to equip aspiring models and fashion talent with both the theoretical foundation and practical tools required to succeed in the global fashion industry, SPA reported. The curriculum combines classroom instruction with immersive, hands-on experiences across key topics, including the history of fashion, fashion styling, body language, performance techniques, and live project development. The second phase of the course will begin June 15 and continue until June 26, and will be hosted at FCR in the JAX District. Upon successful completion of the course, trainees will receive an official certificate of achievement from Istituto Marangoni, recognizing their participation in a renowned educational experience. As part of the commission's broader mission to support the creative industries and expand regional opportunities in modeling, this course helps develop local talent, foster professionalism, and elevate Saudi Arabia's presence within the international fashion ecosystem.
Daily Mail
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE The VERY humble life of the 'head of Fashion Week': After waltzing up runways and living large at The Langham, we reveal the photos diva stylist Jamie Azzopardi DOESN'T want you to see
'I'm Jamie. I'm the Head of Fashion Week.' With those eight words, celebrity stylist and self-described 'nomadic gypsy' Jamie Azzopardi burst onto the scene as one of the biggest personalities in Australian fashion.
