Balmain Hit by Robbery, British Vogue’s Big Week, Naomi Campbell Turns Out for Mains

BALMAIN ROBBERY: Clothes intended for Balmain’s upcoming Paris Fashion Week show have gone missing after a truck carrying the collection was stolen, according to an Instagram post from Olivier Rousteing.

“This morning I woke up with the smile, starting the fittings for my next show at 9 a.m. and this is what happened…50 Balmain pieces stolen. Our delivery was hijacked. The [truck] got stolen. Thank god, the driver is safe,” the designer wrote in a message to his 9.8 million followers.

Rousteing indicated that the show scheduled for Sept. 27 near the Eiffel Tower will continue as planned. “So many people worked so hard to make this collection happen. We are redoing everything but this is so so disrespectful,” he continued.

“So many workers, suppliers, my team and I. Please be safe, this is the world we are living in. Love you my Balmain team and we won’t give up,” he concluded.

The company did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Fellow designer Simon Porte Jacquemus commented on the post, writing “Strength” followed by a heart emoji, while others, including Jennifer Lopez’s stylist Mariel Haenn, left notes of support.

During his decade at the house, Rousteing has become known for his extensive collections and over-the-top spectacles often climbing to more than 100 looks per show that played more like music festivals than fashion presentations.

Earlier this year, he downsized to a more intimate show with 250 guests and just 52 looks.

Vehicle thefts in France spiked in 2022, according to figures from the country’s interior ministry, with 133,800 stolen last year. Thefts were up 3.5 percent in the Paris region. — RHONDA RICHFORD

NEW FACE: Vogue World, a variety show that took place Thursday night in London, garnered mixed reviews in the British press, and has now been eclipsed by talk of who the new editor of Vogue’s U.K. edition might be.

The title is set to reveal the successor to Edward Enninful, who is taking on two new roles at Condé Nast. But his successor at British Vogue won’t really be stepping into Enninful’s shoes as such since he or she will not be editor in chief but instead will be head of editorial content looking after the day-to-day running of the magazine, mirroring the situation at all of Condé Nast’s titles as they increasingly share the same content. The overall editorial direction of Vogue is instead set by Condé Nast global chief content officer and Vogue editor in chief Anna Wintour, who has solidified her complete dominance over the company’s editorial operations over the last few years.

Enninful has already said his final issue as editor in chief of British Vogue will be March 2024.

Chioma Nnadi is widely said to be the front-runner. Nnadi was born and raised in London and her parents are Nigerian and Swiss German. She is the editor of the Vogue website in the U.S. and is based at the title’s headquarters in New York.

Other candidates are said to include Sarah Harris, the European deputy editor; Mark Holgate, the fashion news director of American Vogue, and Mark Guiducci, creative editorial director, who oversaw Vogue World: London.

The British press panned Vogue World, with The Telegraph giving it two stars and calling it “the most random event you’ll see all year.” The Times said that despite all of the celebrities who appeared on the red carpet and on stage, “the biggest cheers of the night went to a passing bin lorry,” or garbage truck.

Vogue World: London was held at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane and featured a reenactment of “Romeo & Juliet” by actors including Tom Sturridge and Taylor Zakhar Perez, as well as a performance by Annie Lennox, singing “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” and “There Must Be An Angel (Playing With My Heart).”

But the event fell flat on more than a few fronts. Members of the public, who’d paid at least 150 pounds for seats, were relegated to the upper circles of the theater. They spent the night looking down on VIP tables on the ground floor, where Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie sat with the likes of Kate Winslet, Jared Leto and Jodie Turner-Smith.

Then there was a moment when Damian Lewis, Cush Jumbo, Sienna Miller, James McAvoy and James Corden appeared in red tartan uniforms, dressed like theater ushers and spending their time roasting the VIPs and other guests.

Vogue World: London followed the launch of the event in New York last September and is another revenue-generating concept from Wintour and Condé Nast as its core print titles see their advertising dwindle. It mirrors Wintour’s previous idea of Fashion’s Night Out in New York, London and Milan, where designers and retailers held numerous events in an attempt to generate sales. But that idea fizzled out after a few seasons as companies grew increasingly frustrated over the fact that consumers came out for the freebies and Champagne but rarely shopped.

Evidence of the importance of Vogue World to Wintour and Condé Nast is seen in the fact that she controversially was nowhere to be seen during New York Fashion Week earlier this month to, first, attend the U.S. Open tennis tournament and, second, leave for London early in order to oversee the organization of the festival. — HIKMAT MOHAMMED

MAIN ATTRACTION: Friends and family of British rapper Skepta turned turned up Saturday night to discover his revived fashion label Mains, paraded over a tennis court runway.

Naomi Campbell, Stormzy, Maisie Williams and Louis Theroux were among the attendees of the event at Banking Hall in London’s financial district. The musician’s designer friends — Ozwald Boateng, Matthew M. Williams, Charaf Tajer and Mowalola Ogunlesi — were also present.

Mains was launched in 2017, and the line was put on hold two years later. It was announced earlier this year that the brand would be revived with the support of Puma.

Inspired by London, the collection offered elevated sportswear staples suitable for the courts at Wimbledon. There were also graphic knits, leather biker jackets, overalls and boucle bombers made for all walks of life in the city. A new leather accessories line encompassing backpacks, harnesses and holdalls was presented as well.

“We reiterate the DNA of Mains, whilst also stepping into the future. Silhouettes and shapes may feel familiar from previous collections as this is not a reset or rebrand; this is the evolution of Mains,” said Skepta, whose legal name is Joseph Adenuga.

“The time I’ve spent in the studio with the team, conceiving these pieces and personally embellishing much of what you see today, has been both a beautiful and nourishing process. This collection, these fabrics, these techniques are a piece of me,” he added.

While some were expecting a performance toward the end of the show, as it’s become so common with celebrity-led fashion projects, Skepta took the audience by surprise with a heartwarming moment at the finale. He trotted down the runway with his daughter River and posed together in front of the cameras.

Following the show, the collection was available for purchase at Dover Street Market. — TIANWEI ZHANG

ON POINT: The Lanvin ballerina flat became an “It” shoe in the late 2000s and beyond — and the back story might surprise you.

Inspiration struck when Lanvin’s then creative director Alber Elbaz was preparing his debut show for the French house in 2002.

“​I was doing the fittings, there were so many pins on the floor and I wanted to protect the feet of the model, so I bought ballerinas,” the designer told WWD in a 2014 interview, adding that “in the end, it was just about protection and nothing else.”

He clearly liked the look of his cocktail dresses with flat shoes: A collaboration with Repetto followed, which then yielded to an in-house bonanza.

Jennifer Lopez, Emma Stone, Blake Lively, Nicole Richie, Reese Witherspoon and Emma Watson were among celebrities snapped wearing them in off-duty situations.

And now the ballerinas are back big time, with a dedicated digital campaign and distribution globally through Lanvin boutiques, on lanvin.com and select department and specialty stores from mid-September.

The Lanvin design studio tweaked the design, which boasts ultra-flexible construction, elastic and an integrated mini-wedge, according to the house.

Retailing at 590 euros, the ballerinas come in matte and patent leather, and future drops will include variations adorned with jewels or bows on the toes. The house logo appears on a contrasting pull tab on the heel of each shoe.

Photographer Theo de Gueltzl lensed the playful campaign, with ballerinas arranged in floral formations, or jutting from a model’s head like a punk hairstyle.

In its press kit, Lanvin notes that ballet slippers were invented by Charles Didelot in the late 18th century, and first entered the fashion lexicon in the mid-20th century thanks to their “feminine yet pragmatic appeal.”

The ballerina project is among key product volleys — a seasonless eveningwear and special-occasion capsule is another — as Lanvin seeks to bolster sales in the second half of the year. — MILES SOCHA

UPCYCLED COLLABORATION: Mulberry has opened its inaugural pre-loved pop-up store on Poland Street in Soho, showcasing pieces from the limited-edition collaboration with Stefan Cooke and celebrating the brand’s circularity program, Mulberry Exchange. 

The pop-up shop was unveiled Sept. 15 and will be open for nine days.

The bags on display are from Cooke’s recent London Fashion Week collection. The capsule was curated by design duo Cooke and Jake Burt. 

The collaboration involved the upcycling of 27 vintage Mulberry bag styles with signature Stefan Cooke accents, including slash patterns and bows.

“We love the idea of reworking and refining pre-loved bags, and bringing a new level of history to designs with an exceptional level of craft. It’s amazing to be working with and being part of a history of a brand that we’ve found aspirational for such a long time. This feels like a real marriage of ideas and a new blueprint in terms of pre-loved design,” Cooke said.

An sedit of pre-loved Mulberry bags in the signature Bayswater, Alexa, Roxanne and Antony is also available at the pop-up store. 

The interior space combines elements that reflect Mulberry’s aesthetic, with plastered walls adorned with flowing lines, while incorporating a graphic version of Cooke’s characteristic slash design technique on the store mirrors. 

For the duration of the pop-up a program has been created to reflect Mulberry’s values and aesthetic by way of events such as a conversation between the cofounders of Stefan Cooke and a bakery partnership with Greedy Cow Bakes. — MARIA PAPAKLEANTHOUS

PARIS CONNECTION: The Folklore Connect, the online wholesale marketplace that allows retailers to discover and shop diverse and sustainable brands in global markets, will host its first Paris Fashion Week wholesale showroom on Sept. 26 and 27.

This follows on the heels of their NYFW Showroom held this month, which showcased the spring 2024 collections of 14 diverse apparel and accessories brands.

The Folklore Connect PFW Showroom will host 10 diverse designers from Ghana, Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Colombia, New York, and London to showcase their spring 2024 collections. The brands will be presenting women’s and men’s apparel and accessories across contemporary and luxury price points.

The brands featured include Wanda Lephoto, BruceGlen, Cynthia Abila, Duaba Serwa, Florian London, Israella Kobla, Kente Gentlemen, Fruché, Rendoll and The Lulo Project.

“As The Folklore Connect is truly a global company, with a global roster of brands and a global perspective, we are thrilled to be bringing our incredible showroom experience to Paris Fashion Week for the first time,” said Amira Rasool, founder and chief executive officer of The Folklore Group. “Hosting the event in Paris during such a marquee time on the fashion calendar will allow our showroom to create new opportunities for discovery, connection and empowering wholesale buying opportunities for diverse brands looking to enter the European market.”

A large portion of brands on The Folklore Connect take a sustainable or ethical approach to developing their products and businesses. The platform was created to provide opportunities for brands that have historically been geographically or racially marginalized from connecting with global retailers.

The showroom will be held in the Palais Royale neighborhood between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. Registration for the showroom is required for attendance through thefolklore.com, or emailing events@thefolkore.com. — LISA LOCKWOOD

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