This week, the world sat back in delight as Harvey Weinstein was finally convicted of his crimes; meanwhile Bernie Sanders made moves on his presidential campaign as 665 creative luminaries signed an open letter endorsing him. From Coronavirus fears to yet another #MeToo millionaire, here are five things you might have missed this week, courtesy of INDIE.
Coronavirus closed the doors for Armani’s show
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Fashion weeks all over the globe this season have been shaken by the spread of Coronavirus—Northern Italy was struck with a dramatic increase in reported cases of the virus, especially in the region of Lombardy where Milan is located, prompting the government to lock down many towns. Empty streets turned into an empty show for Giorgio Armani, who decided to close the doors for his Milan event—but the show must go on. Instead of opting to cancel it altogether, models walked the runway to an empty theatre. The Italian designer announced on Twitter that the show would instead be livestreamed on the label’s website. The fashion house explained in a statement that “the decision was taken to safeguard the well-being of all his invited guests by not having them attend crowded spaces.” Coronavirus anxiety is flying high in Paris after they kicked off Fashion Week on Monday, with many attendees opting to drive from Milan to avoid airports; as well as many Asian labels, buyers and journalists forced to pull out of the event altogether. With the postponing of Shanghai Fashion Week—and Seoul cancelling altogether—hopefully Armani’s forward-thinking approach to his show will inspire others to think outside the box.
Tyra made bank from wannabe models
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The smize never dies with Tyra Banks. Though the last season of her cult series America’s Next Top Model aired in 2018 with no renewal in sight, that hasn’t eased Banks’ tireless grip on remaining relevant. Her latest endeavour follows last year’s attempt, when she unironically changed her moniker to “BanX”, because that’s how the cool kids are doing it these days—or at least Elon Musk is. ModelLand is a new “attraction” that Banks has initiated in Santa Monica, which the website describes as “the first-of-its-kind, story-driven attraction features fashion AND beauty, photoshoots AND runways, shopping AND theatre…AND most importantly, YOU. No two visits to ModelLand will ever be alike.” The three-tier ticketing system starts at around $50 for a simple day including a small photoshoot and posing tips and more; and the highest tier sets you back almost $1500, which includes wardrobe, hair, makeup, additional photoshoots and a “custom curated Instagram row”, amongst other things. It all sounds very enticing and glamorous—however it could also be seen as a cheap and dirty money grab, which takes advantage of influencer obsession and young aspiring models with false hopes. BanX may as well just steal the money straight out of their pockets—kind of like how she stole her new name from SpaceX.
Millions worth of McQueen went under the hammer
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Following the news that Alexander McQueen’s creative director, Sarah Burton, would be gifting archival McQueen fabrics to fashion students across the UK—last week, it was also announced that a number of rare pieces from the acclaimed British designer would be up for auction. A decade since McQueen’s death, the archival collection belonging to his friend and the former head of his studio, Ruti Danan, was sold on her behalf by Boston-based auction house, RR Auction. “It’s a world-class private collection of rare and one-of-a-kind early Alexander McQueen items,” said Bobby Livingston, RR Auction’s Executive Vice President. With most of the garments made between 1994 and 1996, buyers had the chance to get their hands on rare pieces from McQueen’s most acclaimed collections, such as The Hunger, Dante and his infamous Autumn/Winter 1995-96 Highland Rape. One of the pricier items up for grabs was an extremely rare 1996 Military Matador Coat was estimated to go for over $150,000—only two others were ever made. Also included in the auction was a photo album belonging to Danan, capturing her time spent with McQueen in his studio during the creation of his earlier collections; as well as include show invitations, collection notes and clothing patterns. Danan had preserved them for years so they could become a part of fashion history, and the collection had an estimated value of over one million US dollars. Long live McQueen, ten years on.
The FBI finished off Canada’s biggest fashion mogul
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A multimillionaire. An island. An alleged sex trafficking ring. It’s the Epstein déjà vu that nobody asked for—this time in the form of Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard, whose company designs and markets brands such as SLIMS and Alia. This week, his New York HQ was raided by the FBI and NYPD following a five month probe into an alleged sex trafficking ring in the Bahamas, with 10 women and girls filing a lawsuit against him. The lawsuit accuses the 78-year-old of sexually assaulting “young, impressionable, and often impoverished children and women” after coercing them with promises of money and fame. He has also been accused of using drugs, alcohol and physical force to “to engage in commercial sex acts with these children and women”. Nygard has staunchly denied all accusations, claiming this is a set up by billionaire former-friend Louis Bacon—the pair have been feuding since 2009 when Nygard blamed Bacon for a fire on his Bahamas property. The billionaire did admit to kindling the case by paying investigators and lawyers to look into the allegations, but he says this was merely for the benefit of the victims, as he could not stand back and do nothing. “Peter Nygard looks forward to fully exposing this scam and, once and for all, clearing his name,” said a spokesman for the fashion mogul. We’ll see about that.
VIU and Armes’ collab framed the future
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Builders’ safety specs, but make it fashion. Eyewear brand VIU have teamed up with Swiss design studio, Armes, to do just that. The roots of each brand intertwine in a collaboration which challenges perceptions of conventional frame design—bringing future and function together to create a limited collection that is inspired by a “classic industrial visor shape”. Handcrafted in Italy, the frames are made from one solid piece of acetate with a nylon wiring detail to line the lenses—which harmonises the design elements to create “one modern and avant-garde frame.” Available in transparent green and transparent yellow, dubbed LUNETTES 01 and LUNETTES 02 respectively, each pair also comes with a compatible leash to carry the glasses. This might prove useful, as you don’t want to lose these frames—each style is limited to a run of 200 pairs, which are each uniquely engraved with their production number. The collection is available at selected VIU flagship stores and online—better get in quick.
