Loewe’s Latest On Sneaker, EBIT’s Clothes for a Cause, Albert Watson on Skye

DYNAMITE FOR DIOR: BTS member and Dior global ambassador Jimin is the face of the spring 2024 Dior Men campaign, slated to drop Tuesday.

It is the first for the South Korean singer, dancer and songwriter since he was revealed as global ambassador for the French luxury house in January.

In the spring 2024 images, shot by Alasdair McLellan, visuals swing between graphic black-and-white shots with Jimin in a streamlined suit or a preppy sweater and zippered shirt and color images set in a grassy forest knoll, where he wears a light blue twisted turtleneck sweater with a backpack in the Diamond CD rhomboid motif, or a navy suit adorned with brooches evoking ceremonial insignia with Dior emblems.

Kim Jones said he was “lucky to meet Jimin many years ago” when he arrived as artistic director of ready-to-wear and accessory collections at Dior Men, recalling how they “always talked about clothing together.”

“I’ve seen the rise and rise of [Jimin]. He has an amazing style and character that’s why I wanted to have him for the campaign,” the designer continued.

BTS’ relationship with the French luxury house dates back to 2019, when Jones designed stage outfits for their “Love Yourself: Speak Yourself” world tour.

The Dior Men ad campaign featuring Jimin is set to break on Tuesday in print. It was art directed by Ronnie Cooke Newhouse and styled by Ellie Grace Cumming. Makeup was by Dior’s creative and image director Peter Philipps and hair by Benjamin Muller. — LILY TEMPLETON

NEW SNEAKERS: Loewe‘s ongoing partnership with On has been something of a case study on how two hot brands can maximize each other’s buzz. Now the duo is taking on an entirely new sneaker.

For the brands’ fourth capsule, the LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton-owned brand and the Swiss athletic company are introducing the Cloudtilt. As part of On’s Cloud series (and overall design philosophy), the new sneaker silhouette is part of the brand’s lifestyle-focused product intended for everyday wear.

The Cloudtilt is the first shoe in On’s lifestyle series to incorporate the brand’s CloudTec Phase, which uses computer-generated midsole technology to provide cushioning with fewer components. The brand also utilized its Finite Element Analysis software, which simulates the ways in which walking stresses parts of the legs and feet.

The sneaker features a knitted sock upper made of 99 percent recycled polyester, On’s speed laces and an EVA foam outsole that minimizes the use of rubber, plus packaging made from 100 percent recycled industrial materials.

Done in both men’s and women’s sizing, the Cloudtilt will come in two drops, the first on Thursday (with pre-launch on the Loewe site on Wednesday), done in black, lime green, khaki and blue. A second drop is set for January with a series of more nuanced colorways (sand, wild rose, slate gray and beet red). Each pair is priced at $490.

The two brands tapped Thibaut Grevet to shoot the new capsule’s campaign, which shows athletes from all walks of life in the Cloudtilt to highlight the silhouette’s emphasis on movement. The cast includes world champion and Olympic gold medalist race walker Liu Hong; gymnast Yonghon Huh; dancers Roy Kaneza and Hortense de Gromard; BMX rider Cindy Dos Reis; animal flow instructor Stefan Crainic, and first-ever female Emirati motor racing driver Amna Al Qubaisi.

Both Loewe and On have excelled during a challenging year. For the second quarter, the Swiss athletic brand was one of the few footwear brands to post positive results in North America, reporting 66.8 percent growth for the region during that quarter. The brand recently also said it intends to double its projected 2023 net sales by 2026.

Loewe, meanwhile, topped Lyst’s Index Report for 2023’s second quarter, becoming the “World’s Hottest Brand” with a 19 percent rise in searches for that period. — SHANNON ADDUCCI

SAFE HAVENS: Can fashion help build community and belonging? And can clothes help cocoon our vulnerabilities?

Simon Whitehouse, founder of a creative collective called EBIT that promotes conversations around mental health in the fashion industry, certainly thinks so and is launching a loose-fitting, gender-neutral clothing collection with graphic prints and slogans like “Non-toxic,” “Anti-stigma” and “Bumper Jumper.”

The made-in-Italy ready-to-wear, realized with organic fabrics, is to launch in January exclusively at Modes boutiques, including its Paris and Milan locations, priced from 175 euros to 500 euros.

Unveiling the project Tuesday in tandem with World Mental Health Day, Whitehouse held out hope the clothes would created a “silent solidarity.”

Whitehouse, who is also chief executive officer of Berlin-based communications agency Reference Studios, said personal strife underlies his commitment to the cause.

His only brother had a severe mental breakdown 30 years ago, and never fully recovered, and Whitehouse himself has suffered deep depression, addiction and survived a 2009 suicide attempt.

“Ever since then I have been an open advocate in the fashion industry for mental health awareness and compassion,” he told WWD, noting that stress is a constant. “So many of the fashion community are right now feeling the mental relief after the end of another fashion marathon.”

Aldo Carpinteri, CEO of Modes, called EBIT, which stands for Enjoy Being in Transition, an “enlightened brand that supports an immensely noble cause,” adding that Modes has “always championed emerging talents, young brands and those with great potential.”

Modeling the collection, and sharing their personal stories, are Amina Ladymya, who grew up in a psychiatric hospital in her native Senegal, and Daniel Moore, who survived a breakdown and overcame suicidal tendencies after a tumultuous upbringing and rebellious youth in Manchester’s hardcore club culture.

Until now EBIT has been working mostly on under-the-radar culture and music projects, all of which focused on addressing mental health issues. Collaborators so far have included M/M (Paris), Glen Luchford, Michel Gaubert, Soo Joo Park, DJ John Digweed and Wilson Oryema. — MILES SOCHA

VIEW OF THE SKYE: Fashion fans may be surprised by photographer Albert Watson’s newest exhibition, “Albert Watson: Skye.”

While many associate him with his fashion images, including 100-plus Vogue covers and more than 40 Rolling Stones ones, the new show is more natural. Shot on the Isle of Skye in Scotland, the images were inspired by Victorian Romanticism, Impressionist paintings and J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings.” The show will be on view through Nov. 17 in London’s Hamiltons gallery, where Watson is expected Thursday night.

The Edinburgh-born Watson knows the area well even though he has been based in New York City since the mid-1970s. He vacationed there as a boy. The new show is rooted in a trip the OBE recipient took to the Isle of Skye in 2013. For five weeks he worked for 12 hours a day creating hauntingly ethereal images of natural landscapes.

“I was terrified of coming to Skye and producing picture postcards. I wanted to create landscapes that were quite mysterious, I deliberately went in October and November, because I was hoping for bad weather — and of course I got it.” Watson said in a statement. “I find blue sky with white fluffy clouds deadly when it comes to creating a powerful landscape and I was looking for wind and rain and mist.’”

Despite having no vision in one eye since the time of his birth, Watson has excelled in the visual arts. Although photography was part of Watson’s curriculum while studying television and film at London’s Royal College of Art, he had started taking photos as a hobby in the ’70s. A Max Factor assignment led to further work, including shooting celebrities for a holiday edition of Harper’s Bazaar. His portrait of filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock is one of his signature shots, as are others of Apple founder Steve Jobs and supermodels like Kate Moss. The new fine art-type show is markedly different than his work for Levi’s, Chanel, Gap and Revlon.

Skye magnifies his gifts for contrasts and intricate compositions. Although the photographer is known to use the human body to create formal and sculptural images, this series is his only project to date that does not feature one person. The making of the 2013 project was filmed by the BBC as part of its “What Do Artists Do All Day?” which aired the following year and is still available online. The Hamiltons show features archival pigment prints of jewel-colored landscapes that were handmade in the artist’s studio along with four oversized black and white UV pigment prints on linen. — ROSEMARY FEITELBERG

STRIKING A BALANCE: The late choreographer George Balanchine didn’t just provide a point of reference for the new capsule collection that debuted Monday morning from the New York City Ballet and Reformation. Union members in the New York City Ballet’s orchestra have been wearing T-shirts imprinted with one of his quotes — “See the music, hear the dance” — at rallies regarding contract negotiations.

Balanchine’s “Jewels” inspired the 19-piece Ref x NYCB collection that is geared for the off-duty ballerina or those pretending to be ones. Balanchine, the founder of the New York City Ballet and the son of a Russian composer, died in 1987 at the age of 79.

While Reformation chose a combination of rich jewel tones and staple ballet-core shades for the collaboration that incorporates deadstock, the 802 union members of the orchestra have been sporting black T-shirts to get their message across. They also wear ones carrying the message of “Fair Contract.” Last month, a few special performances, where the orchestra was raised at one point for the audience to see them more fully, were nixed since union members had sported the T-shirts.

Union members continue to wear the T-shirts for rallies and performances, according to Local 802 AFM president Sara Cutler. Meanwhile, the ballet corps’ Ava Sautter, India Bradley and Kennedy Targosz are fronting the new campaign for the Reformation initiative.

The next rally is slated for Wednesday outside of Lincoln Center to coincide with the New York City Ballet’s 75th anniversary celebration, according to Cutler. Union members hand out any extra T-shirts to passersby, should they ask. (The limited-run Reformation x NYCB capsule retails from $98 to $348.) The orchestra’s 67-person bargaining unit is not sharing details about either side’s demands, Cutler said.

Noting that the Local 802 AFM union is not on strike, Cutler said, “We are playing and talking and staging rallies — not pickets — to get our message out to the public. No other programs have been canceled so far due to the orchestra’s shirt-wearing.” With talks scheduled for next week, Cutler said, “We are still hopeful that the company will move off its current position, which doesn’t address our wage and health insurance needs.”

A New York City Ballet spokesman had not acknowledged requests for comment Monday. — R.F.

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