Camera della Moda’s Finalists, Miu Miu’s Tennis, Liberty’s Print – WWD

THE NOMINEES ARE…: Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana held a press event Wednesday, teasing the finalists for its upcoming Sustainable Fashion Awards.

The luncheon was held at the Casa Cipriani in the Seaport neighborhood of lower Manhattan and convened executives from the CFDA, Launchmetrics and more. As with last year, the Italian fashion chamber partnered with the U.N. Ethical Fashion Initiative for the sustainability awards, with past partners including Eco-Age. Support this year comes from the Italian Trade Agency, among other governmental groups.

This year, actress Rossy de Palma will host the awards at La Scala theater on Sept. 25, closing out Milan Fashion Week.

This year’s Sustainable Fashion Awards will present 12 awards, among them the Visionary Award, the Human Rights Award and the Emerging Designers award. The last ceremony was held digitally in 2020 because of the pandemic but this year promises to be show-stopping.

At the luncheon, Desiree Bollier, chair of value retail management and luxury shopping center The Bicester Village, announced the three finalists for The Bicester Collection Award for Emerging Designers, among them: Torlowei, an all-encompassing fashion house based in Lagos, Nigeria; sustainable Nigerian brand Nkwo; and Themoiré, a Milan-based fashion project aiming to have the lowest possible environmental impact. The winners will get the chance for mentorship, production and distribution opportunities.

The judging and advisory committee counts the likes of the Ethical Fashion Initiative’s founder Simone Cipriani, Dame Ellen MacArthur and Samata Pattinson of Red Carpet Green Dress, as well as nonprofits like Textile Exchange and Redress. The designer applicant pool was narrowed down from more than 300 to a shortlist aided in part by data partner Quantis.

Carlo Capasa is the current chairman of the country’s fashion association which has an impressive board of executives, among them Prada’s Patrizio Bertelli (co-CEO alongside wife Miuccia Prada), Gucci’s Marco Bizzarri and Ermenegildo Zegna’s Gildo Zegna.

As Capasa highlighted in the opening remarks, the CNMI Sustainable Fashion Awards will be instrumental in measuring the state of the industry in terms of sustainability, but also of inclusivity and diversity. Since its inception, CNMI has developed comprehensive guidelines in areas like chemical management which is used by 92 percent of the Italian supply chain in fashion.

Capasa summarized how far the group mentality has come for the collective.

“In Italy, we are very individualistic. This idea of cooperation wasn’t so easy in the beginning,” he said. “They found out that with sustainability, you do it all together or you don’t do it. Nobody can say ‘I’m sustainable,’ unless the whole chain is sustainable, the whole process is sustainable, the whole distribution is sustainable. It doesn’t work alone. That’s why I say we have to cooperate. Ourselves, the CFDA ⁠— because all of us represent a community. We have to work together.” — KALEY ROSHITSH

TENNIS, ANYONE?: Miu Miu whisked the fashion crowd to new territory on a hot and sunny Tuesday afternoon: central Queens, N.Y.

The brand took over the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, Queens — the former location of the U.S. Open — for the second edition of Miu Miu Tennis Club, which launched last week in Saint-Tropez as an immersive celebration of the fall collection. Miu Miu’s signature was everywhere at the private club: everything from official West Side Tennis Club signage to white tennis balls and the club’s perimeter windscreen banners were transformed and branded for the one-day-only branded club. On arrival, guests were handed a blue mesh drawstring bag containing two sweat wristbands — which were put to good use for anyone who braved the 90-degree heat and stepped onto the grassy courts to take a swing at the sport. (Professional club instructors were on hand to offer instruction and optimistic encouragement; asked for a performance review of the afternoon, one instructor responded with nothing less than an enthusiastic “great.”)

“Serving,” exclaimed Richie Shazam, bouncing a ball on one of the white rackets provided at a Miu Miu tennis cart. Asked if they’d played a round on the court yet, Shazam gamely offered, “No, I’ve just been cosplaying.”

Whether or not guests took the opportunity to pick up a racket, most everyone at least looked the part in pleated Miu Miu skirts of varying lengths. (Yes, even the micro mini made an appearance, worn by the likes of Shazam, Jenny Walton and Athena Calderone.) Guests, composed mostly of models and editors, included Alex Cooper, Hailey Gates, Brigitte Lacombe, Destiny Joseph, Tanner Reese, Brianna Lance and Reign Judge. Ella Emhoff — whose 2021 inaugural breakout moment came courtesy of her Miu Miu coat — and boyfriend Samuel Hine stepped onto the court for a round of doubles play; others spotted playing throughout the afternoon event included stylist Brie Welch, model Emily DiDonato and Sky Ting Yoga founder Krissy Jones.

Throughout the afternoon, model Mona Matsuoka DJ’d as the crowd dined on summery fare like lobster rolls and strawberry salads on the club’s patio, which offered prime (and shaded) court views. As the arsenal of tennis balls began to dwindle, so did the lineup of black SUVs parked outside the club as guests hung up their rackets and began the journey back to their home boroughs. — KRISTEN TAUER

BEAUTIFUL PRINT: Liberty is embracing ink on paper, creating a biannual beauty newspaper called The Hall, with elements of an old-style print publication, including crosswords and horoscopes.

The super-sized newspaper also has interactive elements, such as QR codes, and will be supported by a social media campaign that’s meant to “ease the shopping experience, and link all our content streams together,” according to Madeleine Macey, Liberty’s chief marketing officer.

She said Liberty has prioritized print because “our audience loves knowledge, they don’t like being ‘sold to.’ They want to know what we’ve discovered, they want to learn.”

Macey added that the retailer has seen “excellent results in engagement and conversion” since it introduced The Book, Liberty’s collectable coffee table magazine.

The Hall is available in the London store’s beauty hall, and will be mailed to 50,000 Liberty Loyalty customers twice a year. The content includes beauty news, trends and practical advice, as well as reviews and recommendations from experts.

The makeup artist Gucci Westman has guest-edited the inaugural issue, which includes features on the return of the lipstick; how to master the art of “bath-scaping.”

There are fragrance horoscopes written by the store’s in-house astrologer, Lady Liberty, while the QR codes allow customers to shop edits on Libertylondon.com.

Shannon Peter edited the publication alongside Sophie Beresiner, Liberty’s global head of content and editor in chief. Beresiner joined the company last summer and oversees creative production, editorial and social media teams and reports to Macey.

Beresiner said the newspaper is compiled “by industry-leading editors, and will always feature dynamic visuals, compulsive shopping edits, the best practical advice and visionary contributors, all wrapped up in the unique delivery.”

The past two years have been busy on the branding front for Liberty, which marked its 145-year anniversary in 2020. It has refurbished its Tudor Revival flagship near Regent Street, and rebranded and relaunched its e-commerce site.

As reported, the new, more streamlined logo was inspired by the Liberty sign that’s been swinging above the store’s Great Marlborough Street flower stall entrance since 1925.

Liberty worked with the design studio Pentagram on the rebranding. The firm redrew the Liberty logo using the sign’s original typeface, and designed it to be flexible, repeatable, layerable and bendable to cover packaging, campaigns and transform into its own repeat print. — SAMANTHA CONTI

PADDLE PLAY: Pickleball anyone?

Addressing the needs of one of the fastest-growing sports in America, J. Crew has teamed up with Recess, a pickleball specialist business in Austin, Texas, to release signature paddles in some of J. Crew’s most classic prints. J. Crew is also offering activewear staples to complete one’s look for the game.

The signature paddles coincided with J. Crew’s drop of CloudStretch and Sculpt Stretch capsule collection. The sporty collection includes high-rise leggings, scoopneck sport bras, matching sets, tennis skirts and dresses. J. Crew activewear ranges in price from $34.50 to $118.

“Pickleball is trending,” said Lisa Greenwald, chief merchandising officer of J. Crew. “We love when J. Crew customers become our inspiration and show us what they’re up to on social media. Pickleball has been trending on social media and within our audiences, and as one of the fastest-growing sports in America right now, we had to get involved. Pickleball is a fun game, and your paddle should be, too. It’s another way we can inspire people to get outside, try something new and stay spontaneous.”

The offering includes six paddles, priced at $74 apiece.

While J. Crew hasn’t dropped an exclusive activewear for any sport recently, Greenwald said, “our collection is designed for a variety of activities, both on and off the courts.”

“Pickleball and activewear will be a big opportunity for J. Crew. It is an exciting way for the brand to break into the athleisure space in a way that feels authentic to the J. Crew lifestyle and our customers,” said Greenwald. — LISA LOCKWOOD