New Year, New Industry Drama
News Roundup 13/01/2023: Thom Browne, Louis Vuitton, Pitti Uomo, and NYFW
Welcome to my weekly news roundup! Every week I summarize, highlight, and give my personal commentary on some of this week's need-to-know biggest news and gossip making its way through the grapevine.
Thom Browne Wins Adidas Case
After 2 weeks of hearings, the Southern District of New York determined that Thom Browne did not violate Adidas’ signature trademark. The trial which lasted 10 days failed to adequately showcase that consumers would be confused by Thom Browne’s $750 compression leggings versus the $60 Adidas ones found on their respective websites.
I don’t know about anyone else but I would like to see what physical evidence Adidas had that the consumers who can afford Thom Browne are confused into thinking they’re somehow buying Adidas.
And to make matters even worse, and frankly embarrassing for Adidas, a spokesperson for Thom Browne told WWD back in 2021: “What is important to understand is that Adidas gave its consent to Thom Browne over 10 years ago and in fact suggested that Thom add an additional stripe to reach four on the sleeves or the pants and that this would be OK by Adidas. From that point for over a decade, Adidas never said a word to Thom Browne.”
Like the unbothered king of modern tailoring that he is, Thom Browne wore his signature uniform: shorts suits with matching socks and the very visible 4 stripes to his SDNY court appearance. His lawyer’s first line in their closing statement, “Adidas doesn’t own stripes” says it all.
KidSuper Guest Designs for Louis Vuitton
In one of the first definitive moves since Virgil Abloh’s passing over a year ago, Kid Super has been announced as a guest designer/consultant for one season. To me, this announcement is a great moment for Louis Vuitton to continue to honor Virgil Abloh’s legacy whilst simultaneously looking to the future.
Perhaps in a similar fashion to Moncler Genius’ revolving door of guest designers and consultants, this would be a perfect opportunity for Louis Vuitton to introduce emerging designers to a wider audience. Or in the same manner that Jean Paul Gaultier has been opening up his couture archives for Chitose Abe, Glenn Martens, Olivier Rousteing, and the upcoming return of Haider Ackermann.
Rumors have been swirling for a while now that Martine Rose, Bianca Saunders, and Grace Wales Bonner's names were being vetted to take over Virgil Abloh’s role as creative director. All three women are phenomenal designers based in London who have made their mark on the menswear industry. The “Bushwick Birkin” creator Telfar Clemens also has his name thrown into the ring.
Skepta certainly had something to say about it:
Skepta went on to state, “For the record, I mean no shade to KidSuper (we are Puma team mates) he’s great and personally I would love to see him guest design at Marni” then later posted the images of Martine Rose, Bianca Saunders, and Grace Wales Bonner.
But the more I think about it, the more I want Martine Rose, Bianca Saunders, and Grace Wales Bonner to continue to thrive, on their own terms.
This is not to say I wouldn’t be thrilled if any one of these women were to land the role; I do! And it’s not because I don’t think they would take on the job and turn it into something exceptional; I do! More than anyone else, I want the musical chairs of white men as creative designers designing for women to be put to an end. The amount of women with a seat at the head table is far and few between; forget about being Black women or women of color in that position.
But I don’t believe the executives at LVMH would ever actually get what they do. The luxury conglomerate space has continued to be a never-ending saga of putting dollars over design and profits above people. This trio is so poignant and specific in the way that they approach design, who they are designing for, and what they are designing about. I shudder to think how a global luxury brand such as Louis Vuitton would dilute the work that makes them so special.
Pitti Uomo Kicks Off
Pitti Uomo starts off the 2023 runway season and one of the biggest stories is Gucci starting its new chapter, without Alessandro Michele. After three years of all-gender shows, Gucci has gone back to traditionally separating menswear and womenswear. Think simplicity! Think anti-Alessandro! Many have likened it to a similar vein as Matthew Blazy at Bottega Veneta.
(It’s rumored to be that one of the root causes between Michele and Gucci’s owner, luxury conglomerate Kering, was Michele’s aversion to starting a new design aesthetic and redistributing the brand’s design hierarchy. Michele famously has a hands-on approach and a love for the freakish, eccentric, and androgynous style. Under Michele, the brand was just shy of hitting its 2021 €10 billion projection mark.)
And keeping with the suspense since Michele left in November 2022, WWD has confirmed that the in-house team designed the collection as the next phase of Gucci is meticulously planned out. No one came out to take a bow. I guess they’re going to keep us in the dark a little longer about who is to be Michele’s successor, who has been at the brand since 2002.
I also came across this tweet about Martine Rose from Pitti Uomo on my feed…
I don’t believe in gatekeeping in the fashion industry. Nor do I think everyone needs to know everything when speaking about fashion; it’s impossible. But I’d certainly like to end the Diet Prada-ification of the general public’s fashion knowledge. It’s completely reductive and has no purpose in actually adding any dialogue to fashion discourse.
These “gotcha" moments need to end, like yesterday. Martine Rose worked alongside Demna at Balenciaga for three years and is known for this specific design and aesthetic. Not sure how you can “copy” something when you’re regularly being flown out to Paris to help consult for another fashion brand.
CFDA Announces NYFW 2023 Calendar
It’s that time of year, yet again! NYFW will return and its preliminary 2023 schedule has been released. As per Tom Ford's previous as Chairman, the CFDA has decided to keep the name “American Collections”. Not going to pretend that I understand the purpose of the rename but ok, Tom!
It confounds me that New York fashion is still looked down upon and seen as purely commercially-driven. Arguably the best talent in the world is based in this city and can be seen in this season’s schedule.
But fear not, there’s a new chairman in town and his name is Thom Browne! No doubt Thom Browne’s profound influence on American fashion is what makes him the correct choice in showcasing American fashion to the world.
Notable Takeaways:
Thom Browne has left Paris and is returning to the runway, on schedule
Rodarte is opening NYFW
Luar is once again ending NYFW, after a great show last year
Heron Preston is showcasing its first proper runway
Telfar, Tommy Hilfiger, and Peter Do are nowhere to be found
Tom Ford, after selling to Estée Lauder, is also completely absent
Some key brands I’ve got my eye on include Collina Strada, Dion Lee, Sandy Liang, AREA, Sergio Hudson, Adeam, Khaite, Paloma Spain, Elena Velez, Laquan Smith, Saint Sintra, Bach Mai, Head of State, House of Aama, Wiederhoeft, and Willy Chavarria.
Editors Note: I’m still in the midst of trying to figure out what exactly I want my Substack to be. Thus far, I’ve written and deleted at least a dozen drafts. So please bare with me as I figure out what my first post is going to be!