The moving CHANEL show of today doesn’t close an era, despite the “Heroes” final catwalk soundtrack.

Karl Lagerfeld immense legacy will stay forever in the #Fashion system.

We can still learn a lot from his life.

1. Believe in your talent and work to make your dream come true
2. Be an explorer. Accept no limits
3. Your life is in your hands. Stay awake
4. Nurture friendship and be kind, encouraging others to thrive
5. Your own storytelling is the magic enhancing your talent
6. Put your ideas at the service of the brand you work for. Make it a success. And you will be repaid.
7. Face good times and hard times with brightness and elegance
8. Go your own way even if you have to break the rules
9. Be eclectic
10. Never look back
11. Be aware that, despite your immense talent and charisma, nothing lasts forever but the style and the imagery you have created
12. Be iconic. And unique
13. Don’t follow be trendy, be timeless
14. Be the leader of your pack
15. Create empowering icons. Not just products

And you?

What is the most inspiring feeling Karl left you?

It is news of today that Prada created a Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Council co-chaired by director Ava DuVernay and artist Theaster Gates.

“Prada is committed to cultivating, recruiting and retaining diverse talent to contribute to all departments of the company,” Miuccia Prada, CEO and Lead Creative Director of Prada said in the statement. “In addition to amplifying voices of color within the industry, we will help ensure that the fashion world is reflective of the world in which we live.”

Following a backlash because of windows props judged racially offensive by the black community.

Something similar happened to Gucci recently for a balaclava.

Spike Lee said he will no longer buy Prada or Gucci until the brands “hire some black designers”…

Prada took a remarkable step that unfortunately won’t solve the issue.

Because it’s not supporting one skin colour rather than another one that things will improve and fairness and respect will be established.

It’s Equal Opportunities what is most needed in Fashion.

Not a misleading definition of Diversity.

Equal opportunity is treating all employees and applicants for employment equally, without discriminating in terms of race, sex, religion (Collins Dictionary).

And recruiting people because they are talented.

With no discrimination. At all.

As per the McKinsey & Company “State of Fashion 2019” next year won’t be easy, and the consulting firm calls for an urgent awakening all the fashion brands.
The document is very interesting and insightful, and quite scary.
Competition is getting harsher, markets won’t grow enough to host the industry wishful growth.
But…are fashion brands ready to wake up?
Are they ready to move on in a fast-paced and very demanding environment?
At what cost?
The 3 most frequent words in the survey are “changing, digital, fast

”The implication is that change has become a key priority among industry leaders, with a particular focus on digital and speed-to-market…The attitudes of executives also reflect evolving consumer behaviours that are forcing industry players to self-disrupt”.

That could be extremely risky.
To go from old school rigidity to being nimble asks for articulate reflection before action.

What is most urgent?

1. Reaching Awareness. In depth.
2. Finding the Right Mindset.
3. Setting up the Right Strategy.

Rushing into developing trendy tools won’t help.
The industry needs fashion and luxury well prepared and continuously trained professionals, in all fields, at all levels.
People can lead to success or failure.

Valentino Garavani founded the eponymous Maison in 1957.
Thanks to the support of Giancarlo Giammetti the Maison grew in prestige, appreciation and business.
Valentino and Giammetti, Yin and Yang of the Maison, established strong personal relationships and friendships with the most elegant women in the world.
Jackie Kennedy, Elizabeth Taylor, Marella Agnelli among others became natural ambassadresses of the elegant, chic, stylish brand.

In 1967 Valentino won the prestigious Neiman Marcus Award, in 1971 was portrayed by Andy Warhol and in 2006 received the Legion d’Honneur.
The infamous “red” Valentino is the trademark of the brand, now owned by Qatari Mayhoola, and directed by Pierpaolo Piccioli.
Despite having sold the brand in 1998, the duo Valentino-Giammetti still seat front row at the shows celebrating the evolution of the Maison style.

It is a unique case where the retired founders of a Maison still support the new era, with love and passion, trust and loyalty.

Such an endorsement is the smartest result that the Valentino brand could have ever achieved.
This virtual bridge between the past glory and the present success is a true Italian Masterpiece.

And the Valentino brand is very much nurtured by this deep love.

Gucci Alessandro Michele showed the brand Cruise Collection in a Roman necropolis turned romantic promenade two centuries ago in Arles, France last week.
The event took place at night time and started with church bells ringing and a catwalk on fire.
115 men’s and women’s looks were shown in cemetery lit up by candles.

The collection was very Alessandro Michele, a pot pourri of Victorian meets Chateau Marmont meets hipsters meets John Dee meets some zombies.
The music was angelic, the inspiration was evil.

No need to see the clothes, the accessories, the looks clearly.

Models walked like zombies for an audience of fashion victims.
‘Til death will do them apart.
The event was the statement of a very powerful brand that is facing one of the most common fears in the industry: death.

While other brands such as Dior and Vuitton focused on creativity, art and empowering women, Gucci highlighted a clear concept: Dante’s Inferno.
Hell.
The location was the Alyscamps, in Arles.
The place where people beloved by the Gods were laid to rest forever. Were they should “live” happily ever after. Turned into Inferno, instead.

Nothing is what it seems. Not even at Gucci?

The show was clearly a deadly blast.

The DNA of a luxury brand is one of its most precious assets.

It represents the backbone of the brand, its uniqueness, its point of differentiation and it nurtures the brand value.

Gucci stunning double digit growth of the past three years was confirmed a few days ago by a +27,1% in the first 2018 quarter.

Gucci disrupted the fashion world with a new weird, no-gender, vintage-remix, psychedelic style that created so much buzz and business in the industry.

All this excitement and focus on those trendy fashion brands partially distracted by the slow agony of a once uber luxury star brand of Kering, Bottega Veneta.

Bottega Veneta registered a slow down of sales in the first quarter of 2018 of – 6,8%. An alarmingly trend since several quarters that doesn’t seem to stop.

Has the Gucci and Balenciaga (and partially Saint Laurent Paris) effect and style of flashy, rich, baroque and daring clothes and accessories represented the worst enemy for the undercover, discreet and understated style of Bottega Veneta?

Has the move of several top executives and break up of BV team (Bizzarri, Bellettini, Flore among others) contributed to the weakening of the brand?

How can BV find its space in the market with such powerful in-house competitors?

With a newly appointed CEO, Serge Brunschwig, Fendi starts a brand new chapter of its life.
Since LVMH acquisition the brand has been very successfully relaunched thanks to Michael Burke efforts in the turnaround and the Pietro Beccari smart touch.
The new chapter at Fendi will certainly involve an amount of natural risk that Brunshwig, a discreet and focused CEO, will have to manage.

While Burke had to drive the most difficult yet rewarding years of the relaunch of the Roman brand and Beccari had just to steer it well with lots of diplomacy and business acumen, Brunshwig will have to promote changes and to make the brand more dynamic and desirable among its competitors.

Main topics in the next chapter could be:

• Creative direction (long live to Karl but who will be his successor)?
• Brand magnetic appeal (so far the brand is growing healthily but its appeal is a bit “foggy”)
• Product strength (product is impeccable, quality is at its best but what about more impactful storytelling about it?)
• Digital and online boost (even in China the brand had a very soft approach to this media)
• Genius loci. Fendi, with Valentino, Bulgari and Gucci has its creative roots firmly planted in Rome. Is it a factor to be further exploited or a limit?

Time will tell

Gucci will launch tonight the “Gucci Osteria” in Florence, a collaboration with the Michelin 3-star Massimo Bottura.
This is the last of several collaborations between food and fashion.

It is worth to mention that one of the pioneer in this field was Giorgio Armani, who took over, at the beginning of the ’90s, an amazingly traditional caffè in Florence called Doney and transformed it into the first Armani Caffè.
It followed the Armani Caffè in Paris, Saint Germain, with a delicious offer of high-end Italian food. The perfect mix of fashion and food Italian excellence.

Recently LVMH bought Cova caffè and Prada relaunched Marchesi, two traditional places located in Milan.

Cavalli bought in Florence the renown and delicious Caffè Giacosa, always full of local and international customers with an offer that went from fresh pastries for breakfast to light lunch and aperitivo. The caffè unfortunately was closed by the last owners of the Cavalli brand.

Ralph Lauren created amazing and uber chic, succesful restaurants in Paris as well as New York.

Gucci took over some years ago a bar in the Milan Galleria, opened a shop and kept the bar, which was recently closed. Now they are launching the Bottura project.

Italian Lifestyle at the very best.

Luciano Benetton, one of the founders of the eponymous knitwear brand, criticized the last management years of the company and the said he was going to take back the reins of it.
Benetton is an iconic brand of the ’80s, renown for its colorful collections and polarizing advertising campaign shot by Oliviero Toscani and part of the “United Colors of Benetton” message.

The brand had a huge success for a couple of decades, then the founders left the business to the managers and the second generation and the it started getting less competitive and interesting.
Unflattering fit, less than qualitative design and materials, sad stores contributed to its decline in an era that saw Zara, H&M, Uniqlo thrive and grow.

Now Luciano Benetton and his sister Giuliana, Oliviero Toscani and some old managers will try to relaunch this iconic yet disgraced brand.
Unfortunately it’s not looking back with nostalgia and sense of pride that Benetton will be relaunched.

Benetton needs to:

• refresh its key brand codes and values
• raise the quality of the fabrics
• upgrade the design and fit
• find exciting visual merchandising projects
• start a brand new message to share with the youngest generations

A restoration won’t work.
A new brand project should be developed.