Watches of Switzerland’s Exclusive, Edie Campbell’s Capsule, Karl’s Tea Set at the V&A – WWD

EXCLUSIVE PARTNER: Watches of Switzerland is the exclusive U.S. partner with the Grand Prix D’Horlogerie de Geneve.

“Watches of Switzerland is honored to be selected as the GPHG’s official organizing partner of the 2022 exhibition,” said David Hurley, deputy chief executive officer of Watches of Switzerland Group. “When we opened our SoHo flagship four years ago, we wanted to shift the luxury retail status quo and set out to create an environment of education and discovery — looking to grow the appreciation of watchmaking in our market. This partnership and exhibition will give our audience the first look at this year’s height of watchmaking and brings a deserved spotlight to the importance of the U.S. market in the watch industry.” 

Founded in 2001, the GPHG is overseen by the canton and city of Geneva and was created with the purpose of highlighting and awarding the most remarkable contemporary horological creations. With the intention of promoting the art of watchmaking worldwide, following its annual November award ceremony, often affectionately referred to as the “Oscars” of the watch industry, the GPHG honors the year’s winners with an exhibition that in previous years has been held in Dubai, U.A.E.; London, England; Moscow, Russia; Paris, France; Vienna, Austria, and Singapore.

As a part of the first-of-its kind partnership, Watches of Switzerland will host the world’s first exhibition of all 15 category winners from the 2022 GPHG awards. In an effort to continue to expand and foster the U.S. watch community, Watches of Switzerland’s exhibition will be open to the public from Dec. 2 through Dec. 4 at its SoHo flagship in New York. — THOMAS WALLER
 

EDIE’S CHOICE: What does it take to compel Edie Campbell to design a capsule collection?

“I really like that when I went to the factory in Leicester it smelt like tea and biscuits,” the model told WWD about her new venture with British brand Sunspel.

The other factor that convinced her was that the brand designed T-shirts for James Bond while still operating under a sustainable way of producing.

The small collection she designed is made up of a series of pieces inspired by men’s clothing. Campbell was wearing the mustard yellow cable sweater on the Zoom call, which she jokingly admitted that she had worn for four days.

“Men have a quite reliable sort of uniform, when they put on something well made it just looks good. I wanted to translate that into a women’s capsule. It takes a little bit of the legwork out of getting dressed,” she said.

Campbell, who turned 32 in September, confessed that “now more and more I feel settled in how I dress and what I want to look like. The clothes that I feel most comfortable in that I accurately express myself are menswear classics.”

Jarvis Cocker, Harry Wormwood (Danny DeVito’s character in “Matilda”) and David Bowie were the muses she looked to when designing the pieces, from the checked double breasted blazer to tweed coat; light knit polos and funnel-neck tops, and tailored trousers.

The collection was shot by Campbell’s longtime collaborator Alasdair McLellan in the English countryside.

In her own personal life, she reminisced about the cool girl two years above her in school, who she would take styling cues from, such as wearing shoes with no soles.

Nowadays she’s scouring eBay for a bargain find. “I found a couple of sellers who I’m assuming are factory seconds. This one seller will have everything from Haider Ackermann to really great luxury things,” she said.

“I watch so much trash TV. I’m a sucker for reality TV,” Campbell said, listing her favorites such as “Married at First Sight,” “Love Island,” “Below the Deck” and “Selling the O.C.”

If she could be on one reality television show, what would it be? “I would actually maybe like to be on ‘Selling the O.C.’ or ‘Selling Sunset.’ There’s an English version and I think I could be doing that,” Campbell said.

For right now, Campbell will be settling on selling Sunspel. — HIKMAT MOHAMMED

KARL’S TEA SET: The Victoria & Albert museum is adding a dash of Karl Lagerfeld panache to its Wedgwood Collection with the purchase of a rare, Art Deco tea and coffee set that was previously owned by the designer.

The Campanula tea and coffee set was designed by Paul Follot for Wedgwood and acquired from the estate of the designer, a knowledgeable and voracious collector, who died in 2019.

The museum, which also purchased the accompanying set of Follot’s design drawings, said no other examples of the pattern, or even the shape, are known to exist.

Catrin Jones, chief curator of V&A Wedgwood Collection, described the Art Deco set as “glamourous” and a “rare and unusual” example of Follot’s designs for Wedgwood.

Jones said the set reflects the tastes of Lagerfeld, “who was known for his love of monochrome, as well as his interest in ceramics.” The set, she said, was probably used by the designer, as it shows some signs of wear.

She added that the pieces and the design drawings, “fill an important gap in the V&A Wedgwood Collection and are a wonderful example of the Wedgwood company’s tradition of working with innovative artists to create their designs and of inspiring tastemakers” such as Lagerfeld.

Follot, who died in 1941, was a French designer of luxury furniture and decorative art objects. After World War I he became a director of the Pomona Studios for the Paris department store Le Bon Marché.

He began working with Wedgwood around 1911. The museum said many of his designs were very labor-intensive for Wedgwood to produce, so were only made in small quantities and are now “very rare.”

The V&A added that the Campanula set and design drawings represent “a very significant contribution to the V&A Wedgwood Collection, as only a very small number of Wedgwood products were made in the Art Nouveau and Art Deco styles.”

The Campanula design has a scrolling handle and an elaborate, long-fluted finial with a fleur-de-lis at the top. The hand-painted decoration has black enamel stripes highlighted with a gilded stripe motif. The base is gilded with a scroll pattern.

Lagerfeld was a major fan of the decorative arts, especially those produced during the 18th century and the Art Deco period. He also had a penchant for 20th century advertising imagery.

The museum said the set was purchased with the support of the V&A Americas Foundation, the A. Alfred Taubman Foundation, The Friends of the National Libraries, The Decorative Arts Society 40th Anniversary Fund and Simon Wedgwood. — SAMANTHA CONTI

FRAGRANCE FOLLIES: The perfume bottles are smushed into jelly salads, shoved into underwear and cradled in various nether regions.

It makes for a provocative exhibition at Jean Paul Gaultier’s Paris headquarters, open to the public for the first time through Sunday.

Called “Under Your Smell,” the show features the work of 29 second-year photography students at the University of Art and Design Lausanne, also known as ECAL, who were given carte blanche to interpret iconic Jean Paul Gaultier fragrances, including Le Male, first introduced in 1995.

Florence Tétier, creative director for Jean Paul Gaultier fashion, said the creative exercise gave “a very, very new vision” to the fragrances, with most of the students referencing the way the founder “worked around the body and gender fluidity.”

Many of the 60 images were blown up to nearly billboard size on scrims hung in the vast space where Jean Paul Gaultier couture collections are paraded twice a year. Visitors might need to step back to make out exactly which body part they are viewing.

Many of the students played with the bottle top of the Scandal women’s scent, featuring two shapely silver legs poking out. One plopped the cap on a woman’s big toe; another stuck one limb into an earlobe with a tunnel piercing.

The exhibition was timed to coincide with the 25th edition of Paris Photo, the international photography fair taking place at the Grand Palais Éphémère temporary structure plunked near the foot of the Eiffel Tower.

Spanish actress Rossy da Palma, who frequently wears Jean Paul Gaultier on and off screen, is guest of honor of Paris Photo this year and wore a look from the brand’s current Cyber Collection to an opening event on Wednesday night in Paris. It winks to a Victor Vasarely print used in the founder’s 1995 collection known as “Les Amazones.” — MILES SOCHA

BUILD YOUR BRAND: Aliza Licht, who wears many hats as a marketer, author, podcaster and founder of Leave Your Mark, a multimedia brand and marketing consultancy, has written a second book called “On Brand: Shape Your Narrative. Share Your Vision. Shift Their Perception.” It is being published by Union Square & Co. and comes out April 18.

The former voice of the anonymous and once popular Twitter handle, DKNY PR Girl, Licht picks up where she left off in her first book, “Leave Your Mark.” That book, published in 2015, focused on personal brand-building and has been translated into multiple languages. In her new book, Licht shares personal and professional advice from her experiences and expert contributors to help readers discover what their brand is, who they already are, who they want to be and how to ensure others see them that way.

“In a world where we communicate nonstop in both obvious and subtle ways, getting your message right and learning how to market yourself is paramount to success,” Licht said. “This book is for the new graduate seeking their first job, the middle manager looking to level up, the executive who wants to become a thought leader, the entrepreneur building from scratch, the person who wants to pivot to a new career, the influencer who is their own brand — it’s for anyone who wants to affect the way people perceive them and feel proud when they hear the words ‘that’s so on brand for you,’” Licht said.

In another role, she will also be hosting an event on Zoom called “Navigating Layoffs, Pay Transparency and Negotiations,” on Monday from 3 to 4 p.m., and talking with Peter Rahbar, founder of The Rahbar Group and workplace legal expert.

Earlier in her career, Licht was senior vice president of global communications at The Donna Karan Co., executive brand marketing and communications at Alice + Olivia, and head of social media and brand experiences at Warby Parker. — LISA LOCKWOOD