Miu Miu’s New Muse, Bovan’s Milan Move, Porizkova’s La Ligne Pose – WWD

NEW MIUSE: Isadora Bjarkardóttir Barney, daughter of Icelandic music star Björk and American artist and film director Matthew Barney, is the latest talent to join the rooster of Miu Miu faces.

The fashion house, which is known for scouting emerging talents for its campaigns and projects, such the Women’s Tales short movie series with films created by female directors, has tapped Barney to front a new campaign unveiled on Wednesday.

Marking the first time Barney poses for a fashion brand, the ads are dedicated to the jewelry line Miu Miu developed with artists Nathalie Djurberg and Hans Berg.

In addition to creating the colorful pieces, Djurberg and Berg served as artistic directors of the campaign, which was photographed by Julien Martinez Leclerc and styled by Lotta Volkova.

In the studio images, Barney is seen wearing the jewels and interacting with otherworldly creatures, ranging from birds to skeletal hands.

“I first met Nathalie and Hans in 2005,” said Miuccia Prada in a statement. “Three years later we exhibited their work at the Fondazione Prada and since then, our dialogue has been constant. It has been so interesting to see how their work developed through time, encompassing different mediums, and always eager to confront with a new mind-set,” she said, adding that this approach “is exactly at the core of our ‘A Remedy’ project with Miu Miu.”

Djurberg and Berg said in a statement the project was an opportunity “to be playful and take on something very new. It makes you think differently, and new and unexpected things appear.”

In the collection, the animal- and pill-shaped charms were made of resin elements and hand-polished and galvanized metal with gold finishes. The jewelry pieces come in dedicated boxes painted with flora and fauna motifs in bright colors, matching the mood of the precious items. Upon opening, a carillon inside each box plays music composed especially for the project by Berg.

The collaboration between Miu Miu and the artists debuted at the brand’s fall 2022 runway show in Paris, when a sportier take on the viral Miu Miu set introduced the previous season was unveiled, kickstarting the tennis-gear fever that is trending on social media this summer.

In the advertising images, Barney is wearing some of the pieces, but the ready-to-wear collection’s key items are in full display in Miu Miu’s main fall 2022 campaign released last week and fronted by Emma Corrin, Sydney Sweeney and Demi Singleton. — SANDRA SALIBIAN

MILAN BOUND: Matty Bovan is joining the Milan Fashion Week schedule.

The Yorkshire-based designer will be showing his spring 2023 collection on the official calendar with support from Dolce & Gabbana, which is supplying Bovan with fabrics and materials.

Bovan graduated from Central Saint Martins in 2015 with an MA in fashion knitwear. Their graduate collection opened the final show at the fashion university that earned Bovan the L’Oréal Professionel Creative Award, followed by the prestigious LVMH Graduate Prize, which includes 10,000 euros and a junior designer placement at Louis Vuitton under Nicolas Ghesquière.

“Craft and handiwork are at the heart of my work, something that myself and this iconic maison have great affinity with; the synergy upon meeting Domenico and Stefano recently was palpable,” Bovan said in a statement, adding that they’re “still processing the idea that I am going to be exploring their archives and mixing their historic work with my new output for next spring. I’m already feeling the turbo charge of this alliance.”

Bovan’s avant-garde maximalist approach to design has secured them deals with the likes of Coach, working on a range of accessories projects since 2016; collaborating with Miu Miu on a series of dressed-up mannequins, and a series of limited-edition Barbie dolls dressed in their garments.

Fall 2022 was Bovan’s biggest collection to date, titled Cyclone, which they described as “chaos and destruction — even beauty — in the wake of its power.” Model Irina Shayk opened Bovan’s show in a repurposed Roksanda Ilincic voluminous gown.

Since their fashion week debut with creative hub Fashion East in 2017, Bovan has gone on to staging solo shows during London Fashion Week that have led to their designs being bought by Matchesfashion and Milan’s No30.

Bovan’s nonconformist aesthetic will bring a breath of newness to Milan’s otherwise traditional and star-studded schedule. ⁠— HIKMAT MOHAMMED

Breaking Thursday, the ads were photographed by Jill Greenberg at a private residence in Los Angeles. Greenberg previously shot the brand’s winter 2021 campaign featuring Amy Schumer.

The new campaign will appear on La Ligne’s website and across the brand’s social channels.

The shoot’s theme was Barbiecore meets Day in the Life. Hair was led by Gregory Russell, makeup was done by Beau Nelson, and La Ligne cofounder Meredith Melling styled the shoot. Key featured styles include the brand’s bestselling styles including the Marin sweater, the Val Sweater in hot pink and the Isabelle dress in acid.

“At La Ligne, we believe the woman makes the clothes, and not the other way around,” said Meredith Melling, the brand’s cofounder and chief brand officer. “This philosophy informs every aspect of our brand content, from our La Bande portrait series to our seasonal campaigns. We have long admired Paulina’s career as a supermodel and author, and more recently, the way she has harnessed her voice on social media to speak out about causes and issues that are important to her. She is open, honest, and real; she is smart and chic; she is playful and irreverent, and she breathes all of these qualities into our clothes.”

La Ligne, which was founded in 2016 on the universal appeal of the stripe, has been busy on several fronts. Last month, the company opened its fourth freestanding store in Greenwich, Connecticut, and will be branching into the denim category for fall, its first official product expansion. In addition to Melling, the brand’s cofounders are Molly Howard, chief executive officer, and Valerie Macaulay, chief creative officer.

Melling noted that Porizkova was a customer first having discovered La Ligne online. “Serendipitously, Jill Greenberg, who we previously worked with on our Amy Schumer campaign, is close friends with Paulina and connected us. The process was a truly organic coming together of like-minded women with loads of mutual respect and admiration,” said Melling.

Besides Porizkova and Schumer, La Ligne has featured Cleo Wade, Mindy Kaling, Maggie Rogers, Nina Dobrev, Olivia Wilde, and Savannah Smith, among others in its campaigns. — LISA LOCKWOOD

BIGGER GAME: Burberry, which is set to return to London Fashion Week this September, has further committed to the gaming community through a content partnership with e-sports organization Gen.G.

As a part of Gen.G’s “NetWork: Inspire” program, a four-part educational series will shine a light on women and the importance of inclusivity in the virtual world.

Hosted by entrepreneur Emily Ghoul, the partnership invited women in gaming, content creators and influencers from across the industry, alongside members of the Burberry team, to discuss the pressing issues women are facing within the gaming community and beyond.

Topics to be highlighted include how platforms have unmatched power in creating real change for the future; how people can use their creativity as a force for good to inspire women online and to encourage self-expression; how women use their voices to inspire advocacy as well as the role men can play in allyship, and how to evade the pitfall of burnout.

With the first episode out Thursday, the rest will be released every two weeks via Burberry’s website, TikTok, YouTube and Twitch.

SWIM TEAM: Pool party season is in full swing and Onia has marked the occasion by way of a limited-edition swimwear collection with The Standard Hotels.

“Though both companies are in different industries, we have a lot of core overlap,” Nathan Romano, cofounder and managing member of swimwear and lifestyle brand Onia, told WWD. “Both are fun and both are beach and pool focused while sharing a luxury, travel-oriented customer base. Once we realized this, a collaboration with The Standard felt natural and like a long time coming.”

The four-piece collection includes styles for both men and women (one-piece suits, string bikinis and board shorts) in eye-popping canary yellows. Romano said the collection was inspired by “playful pool scenes” taken from The Standard’s list of international boutique hotels in places like New York, Miami, London, the Maldives, Ibiza and Thailand.

“We took our classic silhouettes and reinterpreted them into variations based on The Standard’s iconic resort yellow — a bright and timeless shade for days in the sun,” he explained. “Each design captures the brand’s cheeky glamour and effortless leisure for the fun and travel-oriented sun-seeker.”

Pieces range in price from $75 to $145, and come in women’s sizes XS to XL and men’s sizes S to XXL.

“This is our first time working with The Standard and it’s been a great experience,” Romano said. “We could definitely see more collaborations in the future.”

Meanwhile, the travel industry’s massive resurgence this summer is benefiting both firms. The Standard is planning on opening boutique hotels in Dublin, Lisbon, Portugal, Brussels, Singapore and Melbourne, Australia. In addition, the firm sells travel-related products via its e-commerce shop.

Onia is also in growth mode. The swimwear brand — which Romano launched online in 2009 with the help of Carl Cunow — is now a full lifestyle brand, including resortwear and ready-to-wear. In January, Onia launched activewear. Denim arrived the following July. This fall, the brand will launch what Romano described as “all-weather apparel.” (Think outerwear and clothes built for autumn’s sweater weather.)

“This new collection features transitional-essential shackets, lightweight puffer jackets and cashmere travel sets,” the cofounder explained. Still, he added, “swimwear is definitely what we are most known and loved for.”

And while Onia was forced to close its New York City brick-and-mortar store during the pandemic, the brand has a robust wholesale business. Retail partners include Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom, Revolve, Neiman Marcus and Mr Porter, among others.

“For the time being, we will remain a website-based brand,” Romano said. — KELLIE ELL