Business of Fashion
t has been an action-packed first quarter of the year on the fashion circuit. But more than just the stylish threads on the runways of New York, London, Milan and Paris, what had the fashion world buzzing was the action off the runway. In January, Louis Vuitton men’s artistic director Kim Jones dropped a bombshell that he would exit the French maison after presenting his final autumn 2018 collection. The fashion cognoscenti was understandably dismayed, as the Briton had injected a new wave of cool into the storied house with recent and highly successful streetwear collaborations. (It was recently announced that Jones will head Dior Homme this month.) A few days later came the big news at Céline—fashion wunderkind Hedi Slimane would replace Phoebe Philo and become its new artistic, creative and image director. He takes charge of womenswear, and will introduce menswear, couture and fragrances as the maison’s three new pillars. Then in February, reports of the fierce bidding war for Lanvin between Chinese investment conglomerate Fosun and Qatari royal familybacked Mayhoola for Investments surfaced. France’s longest-standing couture house in operation has been bleeding since creative director Alber Elbaz’s ousting in 2015. Fosun won the battle, taking a controlling stake in the ailing fashion house for ¤120m. That same month, Burberry’s appointment of Riccardo Tisci to replace long-time creative director Christopher Bailey also sent shockwaves down the “frow” of Paris Fashion Week. Royal corgis out, aggressive rottweilers in! Such is the volatility of the business of fashion. Just as trends come and go, so do creative heads and brand owners; but bona fide trendsetters will always reign. And it doesn’t matter if they prefer pretty frocks or edgy streetwear, their healthy appetite for fashion and their unique styles keep the industry alive and exciting. This is exactly what Carmen Ow, Fanty Soenardy, Jeffrey Piak and Yenny Then —the society faces on our cover this month—have done. Their styles are as different as chalk and cheese, but the common thread that binds this year’s Singapore Tatler Fashion Awards recipients is their eye for picking runway trends that suit their own aesthetic (p.120). Slogan tees are a representation of the current climate of self expression and individualism. But importantly, to carry off such statement T-shirts with aplomb is a testament to their individual styles. On top of a fabulous feature on the fashionable four, flip the pages to our spring/summer 2018 runway report (p.86) and we take you through Clare Waight Keller’s debut collection for Givenchy (p.74), and the revamped Santos de Cartier collection (p.116). Horophiles, you also don’t want to miss our picks from the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie 2018 (p.98). Happy reading!
— Terence Lim Editor