Tommy Talks Karl, Wrangler Taps Lainey Wilson, Dr. Scholl’s Teams With Veronica Beard
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TOMMY AND KARL: For the Met on Monday night, Tommy Hilfiger’s tailor Denis Frison found a vintage Chanel bouclé fabric from which he made the designer a suit in a deep navy, red and white blend. But the real star of the show was the shirt Hilfiger wore: a gift from Karl, from Lagerfeld’s own personal closet.
“It’s one of his famous high collared shirts he had made in England many years ago. And it’s the first time I’ve ever worn a button back shirt, and the first time I will ever have worn a three and a half inch collar,” Hilfiger says. “But it was his own shirt, which is near and dear to me, and one of my favorite treasures. So I’m really excited about it.”
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Hilfiger met Lagerfeld in 2003 in Paris, and they would go on to become business partners.
“I was in Paris being photographed by Harper’s Bazaar [in 2003]. They were photographing American designers. My session was at about 5:30, 6 o’clock in Karl’s studio. And I was laughing because Karl had, I don’t know, 10 assistants setting up the lighting and the camera and basically spending hours perfecting every shadow. And then Karl would walk up and look through the lens and do a click and then walk away,” Hilfiger says.
“I started laughing about it, and he also joined into the laughter and started saying things like, ‘Oh, my job is very easy. All I have to do is push a button.’ And we just really hit it off from a sense of humor point of view, I guess you could say. He invited me to his home for dinner that night, but I already had dinner plans. So he said, ‘Well, why don’t you come for breakfast tomorrow?’ So I went to his home for breakfast,” he continues. “He gave me a tour of his home, which was incredible. It was on Rue de l’Université, with a beautiful courtyard, and a beautiful limestone building. It was quite spectacular.
“We had a very lengthy breakfast, and the conversation covered a lot of different subjects, but one was him asking me about my business. And I said, ‘Well, we’re a public company, and our board of directors and I are thinking of maybe acquiring another brand.’ And at that moment he said, ‘Buy mine.’ And I said, ‘Explain. What do you mean?’ He said, ‘Buy my Karl Lagerfeld brand.’ I took that idea back to my partners in New York, and we decided to proceed. Within 45 days, we were in a deal to buy the Karl Lagerfeld brand. We set up a studio in New York for Karl. He was very engaged, and he started to rebuild the Karl Lagerfeld brand. It’s since been sold, but it’s now morphed into an affordable, luxury lifestyle brand for the globe. I think Karl would be very proud today.” — LEIGH NORDSTROM
WRANGLER WRANGLES WILSON: Wrangler has signed a multiyear collaboration with CMA Female Vocalist of the Year and “Yellowstone” actress Lainey Wilson. Wilson, whose signature look is bell-bottoms, will be the face of the Wrangler brand’s fall 2023 collection that features jeans, tops and jackets and will support the brand via campaign imagery, social media content, onstage denim exclusivity and appearances.
“I have been devoted to the western lifestyle all my life, and there’s nothing that feels more like home than a pair of Wrangler jeans,” said Wilson, who was born and raised in Baskin, Louisiana, but moved to Nashville, Tennessee, after high school. “Teaming up with this brand feels like the perfect fit and there are so many new, exciting and trendy styles for women in the upcoming collection, including my favorite bell-bottom flare pieces.”
Wilson recently released her “Bell Bottom Country” album and headlined the sold out “Country With a Flare Tour” earlier this year. She will be performing at many festivals throughout 2023, including CMA Fest, Stagecoach, Watershed and Lollapalooza. She has also appeared in Season Five of the hit series “Yellowstone,” which Wrangler has collaborated with numerous times through costuming and the official Wrangler x Yellowstone collection.
“Over the last several years, Lainey Wilson has become a genuine and inspirational voice to fans of the brand, sharing her honest journey from a PRCA flag gift to an award-winning musician,” said Holly Wheeler, vice president global marketing at Wrangler. “As the most recognized female artist in recent country music history and a leading voice in the western movement, we’re thrilled to have her represent Wrangler alongside other industry greats like George Strait, Jon Pardi and Cody Johnson.”
The upcoming fall Wrangler collection will be available nationwide and on wrangler.com beginning in July. Key styles that Wilson wears include a denim vest, printed bootcut, trumpet flare and velvet flare bottoms, a denim sherpa jacket and western button-down tops.
The brand will continue to partner with Wilson in 2024 as she will also be the face of Wrangler women’s next spring and a Wrangler x Lainey Wilson Capsule Collection expected in the fall of 2024. — LISA LOCKWOOD
BEARD CAPSULE: Dr. Scholl’s continues its string of buzzy collaborations, and this time, it’s a family affair.
The comfort footwear brand, which is a division of Caleres, has teamed with fashion label Veronica Beard for a new series of summer sandals. (Veronica Beard has worked with Caleres since 2019 to produce its own footwear collection.)
Together, the brands crafted a seven-piece capsule built around the iconic Dr. Scholl’s Original Sandal, a fashion staple since the ’60s. But this time, Veronica Beard’s cofounders — sisters-in-law Veronica Miele Beard and Veronica Swanson Beard — took the shoe to new heights with a sleek, high-heel version.
“We are honored to collaborate with Dr. Scholl’s, a true American heritage brand,” said the Veronicas in a statement. “We share a love and appreciation of the clog, so we knew it would be an incredible mash-up — the classic Dr. Scholl’s wooden clog with a VB twist.”
The collection includes a classic flat silhouette and a block-heel version, offered in core Veronica Beard earth tones, signature ready-to-wear prints and clog metal rivets. Retail prices range from $250 to $395, and the line is available now at select Neiman Marcus stores and Neimanmarcus.com, as well as at Drschollsshoes.com and the Veronica Beard website and stores.
To create the line, the two brands utilized environmentally preferred materials. For instance, the artisanal wood clog bottom is made from natural beechwood, and the uppers are made either with certified organic canvas or suede leather that was responsibly sourced through Leather Working Group-rated tanneries.
“The Original Sandal is a timeless icon, and the Veronica Beard aesthetic makes it feel new all over again,” said Katie Moore, senior design director at Dr. Scholl’s Shoes. “These looks are about defining your style with a sense of whimsy and confidence. They perfectly capture the spirit that made our sandal a fashion classic from day one.”
In recent years, Dr. Scholl’s has kept customers guessing with unexpected collaborations, including past partnerships with Athleta, Kate Spade, Anthropologie, DJ Honey Dijon and Ganni. Most recently, in March, it unveiled another eco-conscious collection with Re/Done that found new uses for upcycled denim. — JENNIE BELL
GAME-WEAR: When it comes to the metaverse and gaming, no other sense is more involved than sight.
In its first venture into Web3, niche eyewear brand Retrosuperfuture has teamed up with Razer, the Irvine, California-based lifestyle brand that specializes in hardware such as peripherals and gaming laptops, software including game optimizers and payment services.
Orchestrated by D-Cave, the consumer marketplace of digital and physical wearables founded by Stefano Rosso, which also provides services as an agency, connecting the metaverse, gaming, fashion and entertainment worlds, the partnership marks Razer’s first foray into fashion eyewear.
“The collection of eyewear blends the best of both worlds,” said Daniel Beckerman, founder and chief executive officer of Retrosuperfuture. “The result is a harmonious union of style and function, technical eyewear that is not only stylish but also built to withstand the rigors of intense gaming sessions,” he said.
Dubbed Razersuperfuture, the mask-like sunglass style features a chunky acetate frame and photochromic lenses for indoor and outdoor use, as well as a blue-light protection finish apt for gaming sessions. Razer’s tag line “For Gamers. By Gamers” is engraved on the lenses while the brand’s green logo and serial number appear on the right wand.
Addie Tan, associate director of business development at Razer, highlighted Razer’s ambition to “outfit every aspect of the gamers’ world,” from gaming sessions to everyday activities.
The sunglasses will hit Razer’s e-commerce and Retrosuperfuture’s stores on Friday, retailing at $239.
“We believe gaming and Web 3.0 will change the world for the upcoming generations and our role is to be there to facilitate and enhance the best lifestyle projects for this new group of digital culture communities,” Rosso said.
A former Diesel North America CEO and the son of OTB founder Renzo Rosso, Stefano Rosso launched D-Cave with partner Furio Giraldi in 2020. He is also the CEO of Brave Virtual Xperience, or BVX, a new company set up in 2021 by OTB to help brands across its portfolio develop projects, products and initiatives intended for the metaverse.
Renzo Rosso’s family investment company Red Circle took a majority stake in Retrosuperfuture in 2019. The brand founded in 2007 by Beckerman has developed a range of collaborations over the years with high-end labels including Off-White, Gosha Rubchinskiy, Paco Rabanne, APC, Carhartt and Vans. — MARTINO CARRERA
SNAPPING CHARLOTTE: Happy eighth birthday to Princess Charlotte.
A new photo taken by Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, of the young princess sitting on a wicker chair was released to mark the occasion.
It was shot in Windsor this weekend, where the Waleses reside at Home Park.
Princess Charlotte is wearing a white dress with small blue and pink floral prints and an oversize collar from British brand Trotters.
The Frances Willow sundress retails for 70 pounds, according to the brand’s website, and it’s designed in England and made in Europe with only three sizes left available out of seven at the time of this report.
In April, the Waleses released a photo of Prince Louis to mark his fifth birthday, where he’s in a wheelbarrow laughing with his mother at the Windsor Estate.
The young prince wore a blue wool Fair Isle sweater from British brand Lallie London’s fall 2021 collection, which retails for 75 pounds and is only available for preorder. The sweater features autumnal designs by the collar and was knitted in Scotland.
Blue has become a family favorite color — the Waleses all gathered in shades of blue at Windsor Castle on April 9 for the first Easter Sunday appearance since Queen Elizabeth II’s death.
On the British morning show “This Morning,” TV presenter Alison Hammond revealed that she asked the princess if she was going to wear blue and the response was, “There is a hint of blue.”
Princess Charlotte, who is third in line to the throne, will join her siblings Prince George and Prince Louis at the king’s coronation on Saturday. — HIKMAT MOHAMMED
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