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FASHION

Spanish label Desigual eyes more elegant future

One of Barcelona's most successful labels, Desigual, celebrated its 30th birthday in a riot of print and colour at New York Fashion Week on Thursday with CEO Manel Jadraque signaling a more sophisticated future for the Spanish brand.

Published: 5 September 2014 09:27 CEST
Spanish label Desigual eyes more elegant future
Desigual hired top Brazilian model and brand ambassador Adriana Lima to strut the runway at its anniversary show. Frazer Harrison/Getty Images North America/AFP

For its third collection in the Big Apple on the first official day of Fashion Week, Desigual hired top Brazilian model and brand ambassador Adriana Lima to strut the Lincoln Center runway.

Inspired by flowers freshly cut from an imaginary garden, Desigual described its spring/summer 2015 collection — designed by Christian Lacroix — as a multi-cultural bouquet of "daisies in bloom, desert roses, tropical hibiscus and Mexican dahlias."

The label dubbed its clothes as "cool Mediterranean spirit" combined with South American motifs and "classic English garden blooms meet the Iberian Peninsula's landscape."

Models wore garlands atop flowing hair and at the end of the show, showered the audience with flower petals.

There were dangly earrings, micro shorts, mini dresses and a trapeze dress edged with pearls. Materials were crepe georgette, satin and lace, and the brand's iconic geometric patterns.

"In life, 30 is the time to reflect on what has passed and make decisions for the future," 45-year-old CEO Jadraque told AFP at Desigual's New York showroom on 6th Avenue.

It's not a question of disowning the brand's DNA, the patterns, the colours and the mix — that's "our style," he said.

But perhaps it's time to "reinterpret them — to do more contemporary and more innovative things."

"What we can try to do… is a quieter Desigual," he said, alluding to "more subtle lines, new colours, new shapes, new materials and (being) a bit more sophisticated."

Created in 1984 in Barcelona as the "La vida es chula" ("Life is cool") brand for anyone aged zero to 100, the fashion label now has a presence in 109 countries and is in tip-top shape.

Turnover in the first half of 2014 was €452.9 million ($586 million), a growth of 23 per cent on the same period last year.

Net profit grew 47.9 per cent to €66.4 million ($86 million) and it opened 46 new shops, moved into Peru and Brazil, and strengthened its presence in Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore. It also opened a first shop in Luxembourg.

Spain, France, Italy and Belgium are its biggest markets, with the United States, where it opened five years ago, the fifth.

But despite all the success, Jadraque told AFP there were no plans to rest on its laurels.

He dreams, he said, of "a bigger, truly global Desigual, everywhere in the world, more creative and more innovative."

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FASHION

Paris exhibition celebrates 100 years of French Vogue

A new exhibition in Paris will tell the story of 100 years of French Vogue - from the post-war 'New Look' of Christian Dior through the sexual liberation of the 1960s to the dangling-cigarette waifs of the 2000s.

Published: 7 October 2021 08:21 CEST
French Vogue celebrates 100 years
French Vogue celebrates 100 years. Photo: Thomas Olva/AFP

But as well as celebrating the magazine’s storied history, the exhibit comes at a time of turbulence for the publication.

Just last month, it was confirmed that its editor of 10 years, Emmanuelle Alt, was out and wouldn’t be replaced.

She was not alone.

Looking to cut costs, owner Conde Nast International has axed editors across Europe over the past year, and put international Vogue editions under the direct control of global editorial director, Anna Wintour, in New York.

New York-based Anna Wintour now has overall control of French Vogue. Photo by Christophe ARCHAMBAULT / AFP

Like much of the media industry, Vogue is struggling with tumbling sales and ad revenue in the digital era.

But the latest twist is also part of the endless push and pull between New York and Paris going back to its early days.

“The whole history of French Vogue is one of back-and-forth with Conde Nast in New York – growing more independent for a while, then being reined back in,” said Sylvie Lecallier, curator of the new exhibition, “Vogue Paris 1920-2020″, which opened this weekend after a year’s delay due to the pandemic.

The Paris edition was often the loftier, more bohemian sibling to its more hard-nosed New York version.

But it was also the hotbed in which much of 20th century style and womenhood came to be defined.

“Paris was the place to hunt out talent and content and bring it to New York,” said Lecallier.

The exhibition charts the evolution from art deco drawings of the 1920s through the erotic image-making of photographers like Helmut Newton in the 1960s and 1970s.

Its last peak was under editor Carine Roitfeld in the 2000s, who brought back a provocative Gallic identity by ridding the newsroom of foreign staff and becoming a fashion icon in her own right.

Her successor, Alt, was a quieter presence, though she still oversaw key moments including its first transgender cover star, Brazilian Valentina Sampaio, in 2017.

But internet culture has created “a perfect storm” for Vogue, says media expert Douglas McCabe of Enders Analysis.

“The first 80 years of Vogue’s life, it had the market to itself, it was the bible for fashion,” McCabe told AFP.

“But online today, there are so many other ways to get your information. Influencers, Instagram, YouTube — everyone’s a threat.”

In a world where new fashion trends can blow up around the world in seconds, it has become much harder for a monthly magazine to set the pace.

“It’s not that they can’t survive for another 100 years — but they will be differently sized,” McCabe said.

Vogue has tried to branch out into different areas, including events.

“I used to work for a magazine, and today I work for a brand,” Alt said on the eve of French Vogue’s 1,000th issue in 2019.

But the big money was always in print, and Vogue Paris sales are dropping steadily from 98,345 in 2017 to 81,962 to 2020, according to data site ACPM.

It is perhaps unsurprising that the new top job in Paris, redefined as “head of editorial content”, went to Eugenie Trochu, who was key to building the magazine’s online presence.

She declared herself “thrilled to be part of Vogue’s international transformation”.

For the curator of the exhibition, it is ironic timing.

“We had no idea it would end like this when we started work on the exhibition,” said Lecallier.

“Who knows where it will go from here.”

The exhibition Vogue Paris 1920-2020 is at the Palais Galliera in Paris’ 16th arrondissement. The gallery is open 10am to 6pm Tuesday to Sunday and is closed on Mondays. Tickets for the exhibition are €14 (€12 for concessions and under 18s go free) and must be reserved online in advance. 

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