Vuitton Down Under, Pucci in Rome, Talking Bessette Kennedy’s Jewelry – WWD

COURT ORDER: Louis Vuitton is courting the Australian Open, designing the official trophy trunks for the first event of the tennis tournament season.

The brand will create two trunks for the event, awarded at the men’s and women’s finals. The Australian Open’s men’s trophy is called the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup, while the women’s prize is called the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup. Vuitton will design bespoke cases for each of these awards.

The French luxury house is tied with tennis through other tournaments, and also designs the trophy cases for the French Open and the Davis Cup. It also creates carriers for the soccer FIFA World Cup, the Rugby World Cup, the NBA Championship trophy, the Formula One Grand Prix de Monaco prize, the esports trophy for League of Legends’ Summoner’s Cup and the sailing America’s Cup.

“Louis Vuitton is renowned for creating iconic trunks and we are delighted with the stunning handcrafted custom trunks created for our historic Australian Open trophies,” said Tennis Australia chief executive officer Craig Tiley. “The Australian Open and Louis Vuitton both share a commitment to unparalleled excellence and innovation, while retaining great respect for history, tradition and the celebration of legendary achievement and skill.” 

Handcrafted by artisans in the French luxury house’s historic atelier outside of Paris, the trunks will be covered in the traditional LV monogram and lined in the Australian Open’s signature blue. The two front panels open to reveal the trophy, while the exterior is painted with a large V.

“After the Trophy Trunks created for the Rugby World Cup and the Ballon d’Or in 2023, we are proud to announce this new partnership with the first Grand Slam tournament of 2024,” said Louis Vuitton chief executive officer Pietro Beccari. “For more than 170 years, the maison has been creating trunks that embody excellence, creativity and audacity, all values we share with the world’s greatest sporting events.”

Vuitton has been strengthening its ties to the sporting world, most notably becoming a premium partner of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The Australian Open begins Jan. 14 in Melbourne, and will conclude with the winners’ ceremonies on Jan. 27 and 28. — RHONDA RICHFORD

ROMAN HOLIDAY: Seeing Camille Miceli wandering around Rome, smiling her infectious, movie-star smile, and you might think you’re looking at film stills.

Pucci’s vivacious artistic director is feeling “very Vivara” and is clearly very smitten with the Eternal City, which will be the site of her next runway show for the Florentine fashion house.

It’s scheduled for April 4, but the venue and other particulars are still under wraps.

However, Miceli made clear the Vivara print, one of Pucci’s most iconic, will figure prominently. The wavy design, which dates back to 1965, was one of founder Emilio Pucci‘s favorites and most famous, inspired by the island of Ischia.

Over the years it has been interpreted as a wallpaper installation, ceramics, rugs and a perfume flacon, Vivara also being the name of the first fragrance launched by the jet-set designer in 1966.

Since arriving at the creative helm of Pucci in 2021, Miceli has staged multiday lifestyle “experiences” or fashion shows in Capri, Saint Moritz and Florence.

Her appointment — she was previously Louis Vuitton’s accessories creative director — coincided with Pucci’s return to its roots as a resort-focused brand and her collections are revealed on a see now, buy now basis.

Considered one of Italy’s fashion pioneers in outfitting the jet set, Emilio Pucci began designing skiwear out of jersey fabrics in 1947 and opened his house in 1949. His colorful, graphic motifs quickly became a signature of the house and synonymous with glamorous lifestyles. — MILES SOCHA

TALKING JEWELRY: Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, a Manhattan minimalist, wasn’t a magpie, but her jewelry carried meaning and value.

On Tuesday evening, fine jewelry designer Jessica McCormack hosted an intimate crowd at her Mayfair store on Carlos Place to celebrate Sunita Kumar Nair’s book, “CBK: Carolyn Bessette Kennedy: A Life in Fashion,” chronicling the tall, svelte and blonde New Yorker.

Nair was in conversation with Rachel Garrahan, project curator at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

“Carolyn was so effortless, and had such grace and poise. I really admire that she had her own innate sense of style, the way she dressed was timeless — that’s why images of her feel so relevant and still modern after all this time,” said McCormack, an admirer of the publicist turned wife of John F. Kennedy Jr.

Images of Bessette Kennedy are prominently shared on the designer’s Instagram on Wednesdays with the hashtag weddingwednesdays. 

When Kennedy Jr. was preparing to propose, he went against tradition of a big shining rock and instead took inspiration from his mother, Jackie Kennedy’s Schlumberger ring that she had nicknamed her “swimming ring” for its demure design.

The sapphire and diamond stones in Bessette Kennedy’s platinum eternity band were acquired by diamond merchant Maurice Tempelsman, Jackie Kennedy’s last partner until her death in 1994. 

The stones are said to mirror Bessette Kennedy’s blue eyes.

“I love Carolyn’s ring, and I love the idea it was inspired by one of Jackie’s. Lots of women come to us for eternity bands — I think they often attract a bride that’s more paired back in the way she dresses, but still wants a diamond ring,” said McCormack. — HIKMAT MOHAMMED

NEW AGENCY: Ye Zi, professionally known as Leaf Greener, a veteran fashion editor-turned-consultant, has launched LiamLeaf, a public relations consultancy firm with Liam Lam, a communication executive based in Shanghai.

The two will provide bespoke strategic communication and brand consulting services to international players in the fields of art, design, fashion and lifestyle, looking to expand their presence in China, as well as help local talents to have their voices heard globally.

In an interview, Ye said the idea of launching her practice came at a time when traditional PR in China felt “all too mechanized.”

“From what I am seeing, crafted service is missing from the market. More than ever, brands need diversified and cross-industry cultural services to stand out here … On top of the return of experiential economy post-pandemic, there are enormous, unleveraged opportunities in China to reach new audiences and develop new markets in the increasingly blurred space between fashion, art, design and lifestyle,” added Ye, who is known for her bold street style in the West.

With her more than 20 years of experience in the industry, Ye said LiamLeaf can speak the language of both the international and the local Chinese markets, an ability few possess.

It’s understood that LiamLeaf is in the process of onboarding several key clients for next year. Services it provides include brand strategy, consulting, communications, talent management and experience curation and execution.

A former senior fashion editor at Elle China, Ye is one of the most high-profile Chinese faces in the global fashion industry. She was honored with the top fashion influencer award by WWD China in 2019.

She has worked with Bottega Veneta, Chloé, Loewe, Isabel Marant, Ugg and Lane Crawford on multiple China-related projects, and has served as a judge at major fashion competitions such as the Hyères Festival and the LVMH Prize.

Prior to LiamLeaf, Lam worked as a PR executive at BoH Project, a Shanghai-based communication, creative and branding consultancy agency founded by Mr Porter alum Bohan Qiu. He worked on global brands like Ottolinger, Rombaut and Both, as well as Chinese designer brands such as Pronounce, Rui, Louis Shengtao Chen and Windowsen. — TIANWEI ZHANG