Martha and Megan, Gucci’s Latest Vault, Siriano’s Charity Show – WWD

MARTHA’S MOMENT: It was all about Martha Stewart on Thursday night, as Sports Illustrated took over the Hard Rock Hotel in Times Square in Manhattan to celebrate its latest annual swimsuit issue. 

The 81-year-old had become the oldest cover model to be featured in the annual issue earlier in the week when the covers were released, and she was in high demand at the celebration party. Fellow cover face Megan Fox was there, appearing to be on again with fiancé Machine Gun Kelly despite recent confusion about their relationship status. The couple posed for photos with Stewart, before Machine Gun Kelly turned to Fox and asked if she would take a photo of him with Stewart. 

Stewart seemed unfazed by all the attention.

“I thought it was very nice,” she said of seeing the issue in print for the first time.

“I mean, I’ve posed in bathing suits before,” Stewart said. “But these are special. The response has been phenomenal. Today we had 8 billion hits on the internet. Did you know that? Eight billion. And it’s very fabulous.”

The other cover faces Kim Petras and Brooks Nader were also in attendance, as was Lauren Chan, one of this year’s rookies who came out as gay in an essay for SI. 

“The Sports Illustrated team reached out asking for a casting tape, and I was going to do my usual spiel of ‘Hi I’m Lauren, I’m a former fashion editor, plus-size fashion brand over, blah blah blah,’ but I decided to share a personal story,” Chan said, dressed in head-to-toe custom Willy Norris. “I think SI tends to feature and celebrate talent for who they are holistically. And the year leading up to that I had gone through a divorce and I had come out privately, and so I shared that in the casting tape.” Soon after, she received a call that she was in.

Coming out so publicly has been a wave of emotions, Chan said.

“Nerve-wracking, exciting. It’s really been a relief, I think, to feel free and myself,” she said. “Like I’ve gotten through a lot of the hard work and now I’m in the celebration phase.” — LEIGH NORDSTROM

OPENING THE VAULT: Gucci is evoking the sun, clear blue skies and warm waters for the latest installment of its Vault concept.

Gucci Vault was introduced in the fall of 2021 as an experimental online space that offers vintage and archival pieces as well as limited-edition collaborations with other key brands, including Charvet, ERL, Wales Bonner and Martine Rose.

For this summer, it has partnered with eight brands from around the world to offer an eclectic assortment of ready-to-wear, jewelry, shoes and accessories for women and men from well-known as well as emerging brands.

Vault Summer will offer women’s beachwear and dresses hand-embroidered by Colombian artisans from Agua by Agua Bendita; men’s ready-to-wear from New York inspired by vintage outdoor pieces from designer Connor McKnight, and formal tailoring from Parisian menswear brand Husbands. In addition, the assortment will include a collection of minaudière clutch bags by Judith Leiber Couture, men’s and women’s hats from Maison Michel and 22-carat gold responsibly sourced South Sea pearls, tourmaline, emeralds precious and semiprecious jewelry from Prounis Jewelry.  

Rowing Blazers is returning for a second season with its men’s rugby shirts along with Vans, which will offer its signature footwear in new colors and prints.

To promote the latest iteration, Gucci has tapped Max Siedentopf to shoot the campaign at a lakeside getaway with images that offer up a playful twist on Hollywood glamour by using tongue-in-cheek humor.

The Vault Summer capsule collections will be available on the Gucci website beginning Monday. — JEAN E. PALMIERI

CHRISTIAN’S CHARITY SHOW: Christian Siriano on Thursday night hosted his first charity fashion show at his Westport, Connecticut, store, The Collective West, in support of the nonprofit organization for breast cancer Pink Aid. 

Founded in 2011 by Andrew Mitchell-Namdar, Amy Katz, Amy Gross and Renée Mandis in Westport, Pink Aid is the “only national organization that provides compassionate support and rapid emergency financial assistance to patients in treatment, supporting families during this critical time,” as stated on its website. 

“Pink Aid’s mission is to provide compassionate support, critical resources and emergency financial assistance to underserved breast cancer patients and their families,” Mitchell-Namdar said ahead of the runway show, adding the company has been able to support more than 20,000 women across 40 states.

“We like to say that Pink Aid is at the intersection of breast cancer and poverty. According to a new study done in February 2023 by the American Medical Association, over 35 percent of breast cancer patients in the U.S. will face financial toxicity while they’re battling the disease and in treatment. While there are so many organizations that find very needed research, we started Pink Aid really to keep lights on and food on the table; to help financially insecure patients pay their bills, and provide compassionate services to help them make it through treatment so that they can then return to their productive lives,” Mandis said, adding the company is now looking for a national sponsor to meet their goal of “turning 50 states pink.” 

“I’ve been in this business now for 15 years. You meet every type of woman when you make clothes, right? I just kept hearing so many horrible stories of so many women that are struggling so much. I actually think people don’t realize how hard it is for daily life,” Siriano said backstage, adding the charity is close to his heart. “I just wanted people to get a bit of fantasy, because they don’t get to see fashion.”

The sold-out show raised money for the breast cancer organization through ticket sales and seated 205 survivors, friends and supporters, including the likes of Whoopi Goldberg, Natasha Beddingfield, Ken Downing and Rosie Perez.

“It’s so nice sometimes when you do a fashion show outside of the normal world because you can feel the audience, they get a little more excited. It feels good. It’s always nice to do it for those people — they’re the customers, they’re the ones actually buying the clothes, so you have to give them something too,” Siriano added.

Titled “Pink Fantasy Fashion Show,” Siriano’s 25 runway looks spanned from archival silhouettes (dating back 10 years) to a select number of new styles, all in various shades of pink, including the viral Barbie pink. 

“I pulled out some of my archive pieces for a reason. I thought, ‘You know what, they sit there, nothing’s happened to them.’ Some of the pieces have never been on a runway as they were from resort collections. We wanted things that had never been really seen,” he said, adding the idea of sustainability, by giving clothes a new life, was also part of the conversation.

The lineup was optimistic, joyful and exuded plenty of feel-good fantasy, which he continually, and excellently, delivers. 

For instance, he showed bright fuchsia gowns and ruffle-sleeve suiting from his resort 2023 collection, a sleek baby pink corset look from pre-fall 2023, an extravagant pouf ball skirt from spring 2021, a selection of adorable matching pink plaid sets from resort 2019, striped ensembles from resort 2017 and many more. 

The show closed with one of Siriano’s newest creations: a voluminous, frothy tulle ball skirt with a sheer black crop top, covered in 3D butterfly appliqués. Always finding new ways to excite and engage his community, Siriano said the new looks will be available for purchase. — EMILY MERCER