Fashion Scoops
Attico Catch
Remo Ruffini has acquired a 49 percent stake in women's wear company The Attico through a vehicle called Archive Srl.
“The deal — to be considered a mere financial investment — is in line with Archive's diversification strategy whose mission is to invest in the ready-to-wear as well as in the food and beverage and hospitality business,” said a note sent to WWD late Monday evening.
Archive is an independent company managed by Stefano Marcovaldi and controlled by Ruffini Partecipazioni Holding. Ruffini Partecipazioni is controlled by Ruffini, Moncler's chairman and chief executive officer, and is Moncler's main stakeholder.
Established in 2016 by top
Italian influencers Gilda Ambrosio and Giorgia Tordini, and launched as a collection of robes, Attico's aesthetic is eccentric and sensual. Ambrosio and Tordini, who at press time counted 631,000 combined Instagram followers, told WWD last year that “Attico was born from the desire to tell a women's story developed by women,” and that the line does not follow specific trends. “We find inspiration in the vintage world. We like to look at pieces [that] already had a story, and our goal is that our customers consider Attico items as one-of-a-kind objects to collect and keep in their wardrobe forever,” Tordini said.
For spring, Attico turned to Palm Beach, Fla., in the Eighties for inspiration and presented fluid jersey dresses with ample, draped sleeves and minidresses splashed with upholstery-like retro floral patterns and sequined slipdresses decorated with a cascade of feathers in sorbet tones. — LUISA ZARGANI
Ruth Finley Memorial
A memorial service will be held Oct. 13 for Ruth Finley, creator of the Fashion Calendar, in the Haft Theater at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York.
It will be followed by a reception in the John E. Reeves Great Hall. Finley died Aug. 25 at the age of 98.
The memorial will celebrate Finley's accomplishments and her commitment to her family and friends, to the fashion industry, and her various charitable causes.
A scholarship fund has been established in Finley's name at the High School of Fashion Industries. Finley was very involved at the high school as part of her mission to help young people enter the industry. Donations can be made to the HSFI Advisory Board — with Ruth Finley Scholarship Fund in the memo line — and can be sent to High School Fashion Industries, Attn: Anika Carter, 225 West
24th Street, New York, N.Y. 10011.
A collection of Finley's
Fashion Calendars will be on display outside the Special Collections and College Archives in the Gladys Marcus Library to coincide with the memorial. The memorial will be open to the public. — LISA LOCKWOOD
Influencer Award
The French government recognized Chanel for its commitment to supporting craftsmanship at an awards ceremony held during Paris Fashion Week.
Bruno Pavlovsy, Chanel's president of fashion and president of its Paraffection subsidiary, which controls 26 specialty ateliers, accepted the prize for economic influence at the Grand Prix du Rayonnement Français awards, held in the presence of Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Tuesday night.
The audience of politicians, business leaders and creatives included Virginie Viard, fashion studio director at Chanel; Eric Pfrunder, image director at
Chanel; Anna Wintour, editor in chief of U.S. Vogue, and MarieLouise de Clermont-Tonnerre, a longtime communications executive at the house, who also sat on the jury.
In his acceptance speech, Pavlovsky noted that Chanel's collaborations with artisans date back to founder Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, who worked with Massaro on the production of her signature two-tone shoe, jeweler Goossens for her costume jewelry, and Lemarié on the camellias that are an emblem of the house.
“For these houses, it is as much about heritage and preserving cultural and technical knowledge as it is about resolutely looking ahead. To that end, these skilled artisans are permanently innovating, recruiting and reinventing their trades and techniques in the service of creation and a French know-how that is valued worldwide,” he said.
He added that Chanel's creative director Karl Lagerfeld constantly pushes the craftsmen to outdo themselves, namely with the launch of a dedicated Métiers d'Art collection in 2002. “He gives them the possibility to deploy all the facets of their exceptional know-how by executing his designs,” Pavlovsky said.
In the gilded reception rooms of the Foreign Ministry, where the ceremony took place, a representative from Lemarié demonstrated how she uses a hot metal tool to curl the petals that go into making Chanel's signature camellias. At a Lesage stand, visitors were encouraged to play with sequins and other decorative elements.
Chanel last month kicked off construction on a new building for its specialty ateliers north of Paris. With a surface of close to 275,000 square feet, the building near Porte d'Aubervilliers will house creative and production workshops in a striking structure designed by award-winning architect Rudy Ricciotti.
Through the project, Chanel hopes to contribute to the influence of Paris as the capital of fashion.
The brainchild of French senator Joëlle Garriaud-Maylam, the Grand Prix du Rayonnement Français was launched in 2009 to reward individuals and companies who promote French values overseas.