Lagerfeld’s Chanel made $11 billion in his last year

Chanel clocked up sales of nearly 10 billion euros ($11.1 billion) in its final year under the late designer Karl Lagerfeld, the French label said Monday.

The notoriously secretive brand owned by the Wertheimer family, which has only reported its results publicly twice in its 109-year history, said sales rose more than 10 percent in 2018.

Chanel’s iconic creator — who had so dominated fashion that he was called the “Kaiser” — died of cancer in February aged 85.

Lagerfeld worked until the end, and despite his final illness his creations “achieved double-digit growth with great performances in leather goods and ready-to-wear”, the label said.

Profits rose to close to $3 billion, with finance chief Philippe Blondiaux hailing “another strong year”.

The performance was particularly strong given that the fashion house had sunk $1 billion into upping its digital presence, Blondiaux said, as well as securing “supply chains… and strengthening social and environmental commitments.”

He said its perfume and beauty division had also shown rapid growth with the launch of new fragrances such as Coco Mademoiselle and Bleu de Chanel.

Chanel is regarded as one of the world’s richest and most stable fashion brands, said to be worth in excess of $20 billion.

Only rival Paris house Louis Vuitton has more financial clout, although much of its profits come from its luggage and handbag business.

In terms of turnover, it is also comes second behind Vuitton, whose owners LVMH reported sales of “well over $10 billion” in 2018.

The results were released on the eve of Paris men’s fashion week, where a special event will honour Lagerfeld in the city’s vast Grand Palais, the scene of some of his greatest catwalk triumphs.

Chanel opened its books for the first time last year, showing that its owners Alain and Gerard Wertheimer were the fourth and fifth richest people in France and among the 40 wealthiest on the planet.

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source: lifestyle.inquirer.net

Amy Schumer praises Fil-Am designer Monique Lhuillier in her funny way

LOS ANGELES—In her candid, funny way, Amy Schumer paid Monique Lhuillier the highest compliment when the actress explained why she chose and loved the Fil-Am designer’s wedding gown when she wed chef Chris Fischer in February.

“I didn’t have to wear Spanx,” began the “I Feel Pretty” star in our recent interview at The Whitby Hotel in Manhattan. “I didn’t wear a bra. I didn’t have to suck in. I felt like I could be totally free and be myself. And peeing was pretty easy (laughs).”

Nordstrom, which sells the gown at $5,490, describes Lhuillier’s creation on its website: “A beautiful ball gown of a dress … with floral lace appliqués tumbling gracefully down a V-neck bodice suspended from delicate spaghetti straps … A hint of pale color beneath a voluminous skirt of ethereal silk tulle adds a dramatic dimension…”

The gown’s comfortable style ties in with the standup comedian and actress’ fun personality. She shared several photos of her quickly planned, surprise outdoor Malibu wedding before 80 guests, which included pal Jennifer Lawrence, on Instagram.

“I feel prettiest when I don’t think about what I look like,” said the “Trainwreck” actress.

At the interview, she wore an orange top and skirt (with a white cardigan) which she revealed “is going to be from my line. It’s coming very soon. We’re considering two names.”

Amy revealed that Jennifer was not a bridesmaid (the only bridesmaid was her sister, Kim Caramele). “But Jennifer did give a toast. It was really sweet.”

Of her actress-buddy, Amy said, “Jennifer is 10 years younger than me, but she is an old soul. She’s wise and she has been famous for so long. I have a lot to learn from her. We look to each other and give advice, mostly unsolicited (laughs). She was openly talking about how she was hitting on Larry David at my wedding. As her friend, I was like, ‘Hey, let’s steer you in another direction (laughs).’

“And not just because of the age difference, but I know better than for her to want to date another performer. I was like, ‘I don’t think you should be with actors or comedians, and that is because I’ve had experience with them, too.’

“We’re the kind of friends where we met and felt close to each other right away. We feel really connected because growing up, people were telling us to shut up, simmer down and let the boys be funny and say their thoughts first. We both rejected that. We’re confident in ourselves, love our friends fiercely and are also complete a**holes. We have fun and yeah, she feels like family.”

Amy shared more details—one of the first few times that she did so—about her special day last Feb. 13 in our chat.

“The wedding was so much fun,” she said. “I’m 36, not 22, and want to have my wedding. I flew in all my girlfriends from home, and everyone was able to make it.

“There were no wedding crashers. We planned it in three or four days, which I recommend.”

Nobody got intoxicated, but Amy joked with a laugh, “There was a drunk bride (laughs). Nobody humiliated himself/herself. Everybody had a good time.”

The native New Yorker claimed that she never dreamt of a traditional wedding. “I thought if I ever met someone I wanted to commit to, that we would go to the courthouse. Yeah, I get enough attention. I didn’t need it to be my day. But the two of us were like, f**k it. Let’s have fun and let’s have a wedding.”

So, who is the man who inspired the no-nonsense comedian to do the wedding march, in a lovely gown and all? Aside from being a chef, Chris is an award-winning cookbook author who operates his family’s farm in Martha’s Vineyard, where he and Amy met.

“My assistant Molly is his sister,” Amy dished. “I had been working with Molly for months, and she introduced me to her brother as a chef. I was visiting Martha’s Vineyard, and he was cooking for us. I thought he was so cute.

“After five or six months was when we started looking at each other differently. Then, we asked Molly if it was OK with her. I think she said yes because she was afraid of losing her job (laughs).

“I’m 36 and had been dating forever. I never fantasized about getting married. Then, I met Chris, and he was the kindest, smartest, funniest and most giving person I had ever met. I wanted to partner up with him.”

Teased that it was a very smart move on her part to marry a chef, Amy laughed as she conceded, “Yeah, you bet! I never have to cook and do the dishes. He’s teaching me a lot about vegetables. He loves fennel, celery root—and these are things that I have mostly avoided (laughs).”

The wedding marked the end of Amy’s dating period, which included relationships with a furniture designer, a pro wrestler and a comedian.

She looked back at those days: “It was tough, but funny. A lot of my standup comedy came from there. I have lived with boyfriends before, but I was never with someone I wanted to marry.

“I’ve been heartbroken, but I don’t have anyone that got away. I’m lucky. I am close friends with a lot of my exes. They were at the wedding. I’ve been in abusive relationships. The story in the movie (‘I Feel Pretty’) about finding out that the guy had a girlfriend, that happened to me.”

Written and directed by Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein, “I Feel Pretty” is an enjoyable romp that taps Amy’s charisma and comedic chutzpah. She plays Renee, a woman who’s coping with insecurity until she wakes from a fall in a SoulCycle class. Suddenly, she believes that she is supermodel-gorgeous and a capable woman. Renee’s newfound confidence turns her life around, but what happens when she realizes that her appearance never really changed?

Michelle Williams (hilarious as a socialite beauty company owner), Rory Scovel, Busy Philipps, Naomi Campbell, Lauren Hutton, Aidy Bryant and Emily Ratajkowski round out the cast.

“The message of this movie is important to me—to realize that what you look like isn’t who you are, you have a voice and potential,” Amy explained. “Love yourself like your own mother does.”

Amy frankly admits that being an outspoken gun control advocate since a tragic 2015 shooting at a “Trainwreck” screening (even before the recent gun violence incidents) will affect the “I Feel Pretty” ticket sales in the United States.

“I know that this movie will sell less tickets because of it,” she said. “I can’t help but stand up for something that I clearly know is right. But I think the real leaders are the children, the younger generation.”

As far as success in her own career is concerned, Amy is buoyed up by the confidence that she gained like her character, Renee, did.

“Being in this business where I started out, like a lot of women do, I apologized before saying any sentence with, ‘I am sorry, but I have an idea.’ But working with filmmakers I respect, like Judd Apatow, was where I got the confidence to just go up and say, ‘I have an idea.’

“Then running my own TV show (‘Inside Amy Schumer’) and being a producer of these projects really made me understand more about my self-worth, that I have a lot to contribute.”

On a personal level, Amy seems to revel in her other new role, being a wife and partner in what promises to be a wonderful union. “It was our two-month anniversary yesterday,” she announced. “We made it, the big one!” she exclaimed with a chuckle. “And it feels nice. I feel settled with him. This is it. I just feel great, loved and so grateful.”

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

Raf Simons pays homage to America in Calvin Klein debut

NEW YORK—Raf Simons, considered one of the finest designers of his generation, made his debut for Calvin Klein on Friday, offering a tribute to America in one of the most eagerly awaited New York shows in years.

A-listers Gwyneth Paltrow, Julianne Moore and Sarah Jessica Parker, former Calvin Klein model Brooke Shields and current model Millie Bobby Brown, the 12-year-old star of Netflix hit “Stranger Things,” were the guests of honor.

Other guests were film director Sofia Coppola and Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour at the label’s Garment District headquarters, which reportedly archives every Calvin Klein item ever designed.

The 49-year-old Belgian former creative director for Christian Dior sent out men’s and women’s wear in what the program called an homage to America, a contrast of sports chic and double-breasted suiting.

Simons, whose career has straddled Europe and America, offered an outsider’s take on the diversity that makes up the contemporary United States as part of his mission to revive the iconic New York label best known for its racy underwear ads decades ago.

There was sharp suiting, denim, bat-wing style shoes for women, cowboy boots, plastic coated outerwear and dresses finished with feathers, an array of workwear, western wear and handcrafted quilting.

From the look that shouted modern urban, to the white bandanas sent to guests to promote diversity and the closing track — David Bowie’s “This Is Not America” — it was hard not to see shade being thrown at President Donald Trump and his administration’s assault on immigration.


Past and future

“All these different people with different styles and dress codes. It’s the future, the past, Art Deco, the city, the American West,” wrote Simons in the program notes.

“Not one era, not one thing, not one look. It is the coming together of different characters and different individuals, just like America itself. It is the unique beauty and emotion of America.”

Simons emerged at the end with Pieter Mulier, his long-term colleague and former right-hand man at Dior, before being mobbed backstage by well-wishers.

From the ceiling hung distressed fabrics and balls of wool, in a set designed by Ruby, who was born to a Dutch mother and American father, and whose work features in museums such as the Tate Modern.

Ruby has cited, among his influences, hip-hop, urban gangs, graffiti, prisons, globalization, violence, art history, as well as “American domination and decline.”

Calvin Klein last year put Simons in charge of the entire brand’s creative strategy, uniting all its clothing, underwear and jeans under one vision as it seeks to grow to $10 billion in global retail sales.

Simons, who also runs his eponymous label, was previously best known for breathing life into Dior after John Galliano was fired in 2012 following an outcry over anti-Semitic insults he made in a Paris bar.

“Not since Mr Klein himself was at the company has it been led by one creative visionary, and I am confident that this decision will drive the Calvin Klein brand and have a significant impact,” said CEO Steve Shiffman at the time.

Changing of guard
“I really liked it,” Imran Amed, founder of the London-based Business of Fashion website, told Agence France-Presse after the show.

“It’s quite a departure. When you change creative directors, part of the reason you do that is to get a new energy, a new direction, and I think they very successfully achieved that,” he added.

“That he dared to try to live up to the founder’s legacy and say something bigger and more visceral with his clothes — could make all the difference,” wrote New York Times fashion critic Vanessa Friedman.

Here are other highlights of fashion week day two:

— Oday Shankar, a red carpet designer with Iraqi roots, presented typically elegant evening wear in an personal show that he said was inspired by overcoming difficulties in life and “creating something beautiful.”

There were his trademark billowing, two-tone gowns and pleated skirts, and sequined tweed that glittered and hugged the figure.

— Retailer Kate Spade invited guests to sip mimosas and nibble blinis with caviar at The Russian Tea Room in tribute to 1920s Paris and “heroines who defy expectations.”

Models sashayed on a leopard print platform to the sound of a waltz. It was a very feminine collection with lots of red and poppies, with a stand-out purse in the shape of a chocolate cake with cherries on top.

source: lifestyle.inquirer.net