Tisci Teases Own Design, Ferragamo’s Early Offer, Stella Picks Her Winner – WWD

ON HIS OWN: Riccardo Tisci offered the first clue about his plan after Burberry with a custom-made gown for the Ghanaian British screenwriter and actress Michaela Coel, made for her to attend the London premiere of Marvel’s superhero blockbuster “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” on Thursday.

It marks the first time in 17 years that he has ever unveiled a design under his namesake label, which he closed before taking over the creative director role at Givenchy in 2005.

Coel wore an all-black matte stretch silk bodysuit with a multilayered Chantilly lace skirt in a combination of floral and starred designs. She completed the look with bespoke black floral lace tights and black sandals, all by Riccardo Tisci. 

This look was the result of a partnership between Tisci, Coel and her mother, who has made many dresses for her since her birth, according to Coel.

She played the Wakandan warrior Aneka in the movie alongside Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong’o and Angela Bassett. The 163-minute movie is set to hit the cinemas on Nov. 11 in the U.S.

Tisci, who served as Burberry’s chief creative officer from 2018 until last month, said when Coel approached him to work together, “we knew this premiere in London — a city so close to both of us — would be the best moment to bring our conversations to life in a very special way.”

“It felt like the perfect time to celebrate Riccardo Tisci, the house that brought me so many opportunities and which led me to where I am today,” he added.

Calling Tisci her “amore,” Coel said that “to become a part of this moment in which his career comes full circle is a nourishing experience,” and that his collaboration with her mother “displays a remarkable confidence and humility in his craft.”

The red carpet moment indicated Tisci may not retire from fashion any time soon — but where he takes his namesake label, and if he’ll take on another opportunity at a major design house, remains to be seen. — TIANWEI ZHANG

EARLY OFFER: A New Dawn, an edited preview of Maximilian Davis’ debut collection for Ferragamo, will be available to purchase for one month ahead of its official spring 2023 release. Looks will be offered at select Ferragamo stores globally, including New York; Beverly Hills and Costa Mesa, California; Miami, Florida; London, England; Milan, Italy; Dubai, U.A.E; Shanghai, China, and Tokyo, Japan, and online on ferragamo.com, starting Friday.

The first Ferragamo handbags are included in this preview. The designs include Davis’ interpretation of the archival Wanda handbag, revived through high-shine finishes and new proportions. The preview also features Davis’ take on ready-to-wear, which pays contemporary homage to Salvatore Ferragamo’s designs for Marilyn Monroe, as well as flashes of fetishism visible in tailored trousers decorated with harness detailing, and second-skin suede. There are also sleek, seductive sandals, and the Elina, with its graphic Gancini heel, alongside Davis’ interpretations of loafers and boots.

“I wanted to pay tribute to Salvatore’s start by bringing in the culture of Hollywood — but new Hollywood. Its ease and sensuality, its sunset and sunrise,” Davis said.

Ferragamo has also unveiled The World of Ferragamo, an innovative 3D multiverse gallery, where customers can explore Davis’ spring 2023 collection of ready-to-wear, shoes and handbags, and interact with the items and related content. Designed in Ferragamo Red, the virtual dimension is composed of a central hall to access four distinct areas dedicated to shoes, handbags, womenswear and menswear. Visitors can go to a landing page where designs and content slowly materialize on mannequins and pedestals as they navigate the rooms. The virtual space will be live from Friday to Nov. 30 worldwide at ferragamo.com. — LISA LOCKWOOD

STELLA’S CHOICE: Stella McCartney has named a winner as part of her project with Lenovo to challenge 38 MA Design Course students from Central Saint Martins to come up with a sustainability solution.

McCartney narrowed it down to four finalists, whose work was displayed inside the brand’s Old Bond Street store. She chose Peter Nasielski as the winner for an innovative eyewear design made from regenerative algae seaweed.

“They’re all winners, honestly, it sounds so cheesy, but I think at the end, I had to look at it on a couple of different levels, not only the creative, but also the realistic supply chain solution,” McCartney told WWD about how she made her decision.

“Every day at Stella McCartney I’m trying to make sustainability real and it’s easy to have a fantasy, but to try and find something in the winner that I could actually try and put into practice was my main goal,” she added.

McCartney recalled the judging process being an insightful one where she learned a lot. “Looking at the next generation, I personally put so much hope on them for solving the problems of design and sustainability,” she said, explaining that she was impressed how the students thought outside of the box and pushed boundaries.

“They’re activists and to try to take these amazing ideas and try and make them real is our challenge,” she concluded.

Nasielski, a student from California, will receive a three-month internship at the Stella McCarntey headquarters in a department of his choice, as well as an internship with Lenovo’s design innovation team at their headquarters in North Carolina, along with the other three finalists.

“Throughout these eight weeks, I have been challenged and empowered to think beyond sustainability and, as a result, I have created something that aims to inspire and make change for the regenerative future of the fashion industry,” Nasielski said. — HIKMAT MOHAMMED

STRANGER BEDFELLOWS: Olivier Rousteing’s latest surprising collaboration at Balmain is with “Stranger Things” — and since the designer was born in 1985, it was not born of personal nostalgia for that fashion era.

“But how could you not be in awe of all those incredible looks?” he asks, applauding the retro decor, music, graphics, hair, makeup and clothes that have endeared so many to the Netflix series, which follows a small gang of misfit kids battling against mysterious monsters from the “upside down.”

Rousteing’s limited-edition Balmain x Stranger Things capsule includes clothing and accessories inspired by ’80s music videos, aerobics workouts, mall-rat uniforms and zhuzhed up Balmain style. There are brightly patterned tops, tights, tailored jeans, sneakers and an iPhone case resembling a mix tape.

Retail prices range from 350 euros to 950 euros, while ready-to-wear items run from 595 euros up to 1,490 euros.

The collaboration drops on Sunday at Balmain’s flagship boutiques on Rue Saint Honoré in Paris and Melrose Place in Los Angeles, California, as well as on balmain.com.

Last year, Rousteing created a Balmain x The Harder They Fall Collection in tandem with Netflix’s release of a Western that tells the story of rival gangs of Black cowboys.

A host of fashion, beauty and accessories brands have already unfurled “Stranger Things” collaborations, including Nike, Quiksilver, Timex, Eastpak and MAC Cosmetics. — MILES SOCHA

COLOR WHEEL: A collaboration of a colorful and sustainable nature.

Material sciences company Pangaia has partnered with Timberland on their first collection launched Thursday.

The small capsule features a mule and the signature Timberland boots in three bright shades: Galaxy Pink, Palm Green and signature Wheat, which have become house colors for Pangaia.

All the pieces in the collection have been built with an embedded sustainable factor. The boots are made from renewable materials such as responsibly grown rubber, abaca plant fiber and organically grown cotton.

Meanwhile, the mules will be available exclusively at Timberland, and have been designed for circularity, with the brand asking customers to send back the product once it’s no longer in use to add it to their recycling stream.

Pangaia is donating a portion of the proceeds to their Tomorrow Tree Fund program, which supports grassroots NGOs to plant, protect and restore trees around the globe. Tomorrow Tree Fund was launched in 2020 and has planted more than 1 million trees.

In the Pangaia 2021 report, the brand outlined that they donated more than $670,000 in total to environmental and social causes. The company has also given more than $30,000 from their retail partnerships, pop-ups and internal sample sales to the Bee the Change fund, and has taken a stance against modern slavery in their internal production practices. — H.M.

NEW GUEST: Pitti Uomo’s love story with the Antwerp school continues.

After inviting Ann Demeulemeester to celebrate her career in fashion via an exhibition last June, the menswear trade show has invited Antwerp, Belgium-based Jan-Jan Van Essche as its designer project for the upcoming edition, which will run from Jan. 10 to 13 at the Fortezza da Basso in Florence, Italy.

The designer will mount a runway show on Jan. 11 at a still undiscoled location.

Born and based in Antwerp, Van Essche graduated from the city’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts in 2003 and introduced his label in 2010 with a collection titled “Yukkuri,” the Japanese expression for “take it easy.”

Credited for his minimalistic designs stemming from open shapes and free forms and stripped of flourishes, details and cultural connotations even when referencing African clothing, Japanese kimonos and medieval Belgian garments, Van Essche debuted on the Paris Fashion Week schedule in 2021 with a digital showcase and held his first physical presentation last June.

“I’m really happy, honored and grateful to be invited by Pitti Uomo to present our work,” Van Essche said. “This will be our first show ever, so it’s going to be a special event for us in any case. To be able to hold this first show in the unique atmosphere of the city of Florence makes it extra special, something I could have only dreamed of. We feel very much supported in creating the presentation and are very motivated to make it an unforgettable moment,” the designer added.

At first, Van Essche presented a single annual collection, coinciding with the spring season until 2013, when the brand’s business viability convinced him to introduce a second showing of “Projects” focusing on his textile research during the menswear shows in June.

Word of mouth and a biannual showroom in Paris have garnered him loyal stockists such as Dover Street Market in Tokyo, Japan; H. Lorenzo in London, England; Joyce in Hong Kong, China, and Stijl in Belgium.

“Jan-Jan Van Essche is a reserved yet emblematic figure in contemporary men’s fashion, to an extent that he would probably be the first to consider superfluous any claims of gender distinction,” said Lapo Cianchi, director of communication and events at Pitti Immagine. “Instead, he is interested in generating, each time, a different version of the same model of elegance and effortlessness and transmitting an idea of freedom. Being aware of his discretion and the attention he pays to maintaining the right balance between the content and the exhibition of his collections, I was not sure that he would accept our invitation.”

The announcement follows news that Martine Rose is also headed to Florence to unveil her brand’s fall 2023 menswear collection as the trade fair’s guest designer, as reported.

Pitti Uomo organizers are building up the hype around the 103rd edition of the trade fair, after June’s event suggested business was back in full force following a few pandemic-disrupted and digital-only editions. — MARTINO CARRERA

FASHION INPUT: As chair of the King’s Sustainable Markets Initiative Fashion Taskforce since last year, Yoox Net-a-porter Group founder Federico Marchetti will relay the Fashion Taskforce’s sustainability progress, hosting a panel event on regenerative fashion alongside Brunello Cucinelli co-chief executive officer Riccardo Stefanelli, who is also attending the event on behalf of the taskforce.

The panel is titled, “Regenerative Fashion: Innovative Solutions to Transform the Supply Chain” and the executives will also attend a COP27 reception to be held at Buckingham Palace Friday evening. The panel will address the biodiversity crisis and how to equip fashion value chains for the future.  

To date, the Taskforce’s achievements include the creation of the Digital ID system linking fashion physical products to digital versions, which launched at the G-20 meeting in Rome, Italy, last year, and The Regenerative Agriculture program, which counts a 1 million euro investment from Brunello Cucinelli.

At the time of launch, Marchetti underscored, “This Digital ID provides a genuine opportunity for consumers to make truly sustainable choices when they are making their purchases. In an industry that needs to do so much more to improve its impact on the environment, this is a huge step forward and only the beginning of the task force’s journey.”

As fashion looks to come together to define how a just, circular transition looks, topics like regenerative fashion and circularity sit squarely on the agenda of policymakers and industry alike. — KALEY ROSHITSH