YStyle Picks

Shoe-d away

MANILA, Philippines - Designer Charlotte Olympia posted a photo of former First Lady Imelda Marcos holding a pair of her popular Cat Face ballet flats last Monday on her @charlotte_olympia Instagram account. It garnered 1,200 likes and dozens of comments, from Preview beauty director Agoo Bengzon’s (aka @agoo_b) “Haha! Cool” to @sonofpaul’s “Evil old lady.” After the The Cut posted the photo with the comment, “Previous Imelda Marcos activities include helping her husband embezzle billions from a desperately impoverished nation, where she and her countrymen still fight over fortunes accrued, stolen, and sold off during and after the Marcos regime,” the designer had the photo deleted. Clearly a polarizing figure, what we still can’t figure out is why Olympia received flak for the endorsement while David Byrne received praise when he collaborated with DJ Fatboy Slim on Here Lies Love, a disco musical biography based on the Iron Butterfly’s life. Ah, well. As Olympia writes on her Instagram biography, “There’s no business like shoe business.” Thoughts?

Marc strikes out

Following months of speculation, LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault, Marc Jacobs and his partner Robert Duffy have confirmed Jacobs’ exit from Louis Vuitton by the end of the year. According to WWD, “The applause that rang out moments ago from the vast tent in the Cour Carrée of the Louvre signaled the end of Jacobs’ tenure as creative director for the storied French house and the official beginning of Jacobs’ IPO preparation. The offering should occur within the next three years.” Jacobs’ decision to leave, however, would still prove to be beneficial for LVMH, since an IPO could generate billions of dollars and the congromerate holds a majority stake in the company. Plus, he’s already left behind a great legacy during his 16 years with the brand because, according to Business Insider, Louis Vuitton is the most valuable fashion brand in the world, coming in at No. 17 in the lineup compiled by Interbrand. Apparently, LV is the first fashion brand to make the list. There is no confirmed replacement for Jacobs at Louis Vuitton, though former Balenciaga creative director Nicolas Ghesquière appears to be the main frontrunner.

Big-Hedi’d

After a year at the helm of Saint Laurent Paris, Hedi Slimane continues to be the most controversial figure in fashion. First, his spring 2014 show received mixed reviews — again — with the Los Angeles Times’ Beth Moore describing it as “deliberately tacky” and the Telegraph’s Lisa Armstrong reporting that some “can’t forgive Slimane for not being more innovative and challenging.” (Still waiting on Cathy Horyn’s verdict.) Next, we heard that he didn’t look too kindly on Colette’s “Ain’t Laurent Without Yves” parody shirts. The backlash arrived in trickles: first, Saint Laurent’s commercial director had the merch removed from their online shop. Next, CEO Francesca Bellettini sent Colette creative director Sarah Andelman a letter “accusing her of selling counterfeit products that ‘seriously damaged’ the YSL brand and confirming the end of their business relationship,” WWD reports. Then, Saint Laurent canceled Colette’s entire spring 2014 order and uninvited Andelman to the show. And lest we forget Slimane’s pettiness, he banned the boutique from selling copies of Document magazine featuring a cover he shot. As WWD points out, Colette has sold similar parody shirts, like the Céline Dion, Homiés and Karl Who? tees without similar retribution. As Andelman told The New York Times, “I can’t believe this is just for a stupid T-shirt. ”

Zanini is in

Rumors about Marco Zanini’s iminent move from Rochas to Elsa Schiaparelli were whispered as early as late last year, but now, it’s finally been made official, with Alessandrio Dell’Acqua taking over Zanini’s vacated spot at Rochas. Zanini’s debut collection will be presented in January for Couture Week in Paris. “The biggest and most interesting challenge is to bring Elsa Schiaparelli’s legacy to the present and the future,” Zanini told WWD after his appointment last Monday. “She had an exceptional, incredible and intelligent approach; she was ahead of her times. The most interesting thing is to make her contemporary and current.” Zanini will design both couture and prêt-à-couture, the label’s version of high-end ready-to-wear, and will be based between Milan, where he was born and educated, and Paris, where the headquarters of Schiaparelli is located. Though Schiaparelli featured in the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institution, Zanini admits that that he still needs to “work on brand awareness.”

Breaking out

Local blogger Laureen Uy has launched a mobile app for her blog, Break My Style, which gives her readers a more convenient way to view content on her blog. “I’ve been blogging for almost three years and wanted to do something more for my blog’s third anniversary — that is why I created this mobile app. People nowadays are always on-the-go and they’re mobile almost 24/7, so I created the mobile app. With just one click away, they’ll be able to keep in touch with me,” Laureen shared. Readers will have access straight from their phones to Laureen’s up-to-date blog posts, picture galleries, fashion tips and her takes on the latest trends. Currently the Break My Style application is only available to iOS/Apple users. For more information and updates on the BMS app, visit Breakmystyle.com.

Jerome says “non”

Fashion blogs are literally freaking with the release of the complete collection of Isabel Marant’s H&M collection, which encompasses womenswear, menswear and her too-cool-for-school accessories. But they’ve also picked up on another story: Apparently H&M tried its best to convince Marant’s husband, designer Jerome Dreyfuss, to collaborate alongside his wife for the collaboration. “They asked if I wanted to do a line of bags to go with Isabel’s clothes for them,” he told Vogue.co.uk. “But Isabel and I don’t want to work together — it’s important that we have a private life, too. In fact, we don’t talk much about fashion at home — I’m obsessed with architecture, so I’m always talking to her about that. We were checking out all the show photos online last night and we discussed them a bit, and she’ll ask me for my opinion sometimes, or she’ll help me out with something if I ask.” It’s a shame though because Dreyfuss revealed that he and Marant are “inspired by the same girl. People we know are dressed by Isabel and then wear a bag from me.” Ah, well. No use contemplating what could have been. Instead, book your tickets to Hong Kong in time for the launch on Nov. 14.