Dior’s Demand From Valentino, Siriano Opens in Westport, a Tribute to Steven Meisel
DIOR’S DEMAND: Valentino staged a dreamy couture show on the Spanish Steps on Friday evening, which had clusters of onlookers flood the nearby streets and look out of the windows from the buildings all around, cheering and clapping. The mood was festive — but the House of Dior was not amused.
In a letter sent to Valentino on the night of the show by the retail manager of Christian Dior Italia and seen by WWD, the French brand requested to be compensated for the disruption caused to the Dior store, located on the corner of Via Condotti and facing the Spanish Steps, in the amount of 100,000 euros to be paid in 15 days.
According to Dior, Valentino, which had been requesting permits to stage the event in such a key location in the city from the police and several authorities for months, in its own letter sent out to retailers on June 27 “guaranteed regular foot traffic to the stores,” but Dior said this was “not reflected in any way” by the situation on the evening of the show, according to the letter.
Dior stated that access to its boutique was “hampered” and customers were “refused access and blocked at the barriers,” so that the store “remained empty and could not operate from the early hours of the afternoon,” a fact that Dior alleged was “amplified” by the event being scheduled on a Friday, “a day when surely proceeds are [significant].”
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If the amount is not paid by Valentino in two weeks, Dior stated it will “adopt all the necessary measures to protect its rights.” Dior representatives did not return requests for additional comment.
At press time, no other fashion brand with stores in the area surrounding the Spanish Steps had submitted any complaint to Valentino. — LUISA ZARGANI
CONNECTICUT HOME: Christian Siriano, a Westport, Connecticut, resident, is setting up a multibrand shop close to home.
The designer posted on Instagram this week that he would be opening a store in Westport called The Collective West. The location is at 940 Post Road East.
“The space is so magical and I can’t wait for you all to come shop and enjoy it,” posted Siriano on @theCollective.west.
In an accompanying video, Siriano said, “We’re opening a new store pretty soon. Things are coming together, and I can’t tell you much, but it’s all happening very soon. It’s looking pretty gorgeous. Sneak peek behind me.” Siriano was standing inside a spacious, light-filled store of clothes, accessories and mannequins. The shop is expected to carry various brands that Siriano curates, including furniture, accessories and art.
Siriano posted that he’s having an opening party on Tuesday from 6 to 9 p.m. and the store will feature such brands as Swoon Gallery, Josh Levkoff jewelry, Irene Lummertz, Snif, Franny’s Farmacy and Bungalow Decor.
In 2018, Siriano opened a New York store at 5 West 54th Street called The Curated NYC, a multibrand boutique that carried luxury womenswear, ready-to-wear, accessories, fragrances, vintage home decor and gifts.
In September 2020, Siriano invited some 80 guests to the backyard of his 6,000-square-foot Westport home, which he had moved into earlier that year, to show his spring 2021 collection. — LISA LOCKWOOD
ALL FOR MEISEL: Marta Ortega Perez, the new chair of Inditex, is training the spotlight on another fashion photography giant: Steven Meisel.
“Steven Meisel 1993 A Year in Photographs” will open in A Coru?a, in Galicia, Spain, in November.
The exhibition is being organized with the personal support of Ortega Perez, and is part of a long-term initiative to bring “world-class culture to A Coru?a,” and to promote “Galicia’s rich cultural spirit to the world.”
It comes almost a year after Ortega Perez staged “Untold Stories,” a show of Peter Lindbergh’s work, in Inditex’s home city. That show ran from Dec. 4, 2021, through March 31 and attracted an audience of more than 110,000.
Meisel will present images made during “a phenomenal 12-month burst of creativity” in A Coru?a on Nov. 19, according to organizers.
Courtesy of Inditex
It will explore his work throughout 1993, which proved to be a pivotal moment in Meisel’s career.
He shot 28 covers for Vogue together with more than 100 editorial stories, including “Anglo-Saxon Attitudes” with Stella Tennant, Bella Freud, Plum Sykes and Honor Fraser, for British Vogue.
The exhibition will showcase more than 100 portraits from the worlds of fashion and film, including Linda Evangelista, Carla Bruni, Naomi Campbell, Claudia Schiffer, Jaye Davidson, Barbra Streisand, Marlon Richards, Isabella Blow, Amanda Harlech and Twiggy.
Meisel is one of the most prolific fashion photographers of his generation, and spent a career working with Vogue and Vogue Italia in particular.
He photographed Madonna for her 1992 book, “Sex,” and shot campaigns for brands including Prada, Versace, Valentino, Calvin Klein and Zara. He also helped to jump-start the careers of models including Evangelista, Campbell, Tennant, Amber Valletta, Kristen McMenamy and Christy Turlington.
Ortega Perez said Meisel’s “prodigious talent and tireless creativity have made him one of the greatest, and most intriguing, photographers of his generation. Like the images of the great photographers who have preceded him, Steven’s photographs reach beyond the surface to capture the true personality of his subject, always transcending their context. They are, without doubt, some of the most important and interesting fashion photographs ever made.”
She added that the show will “not only be an important addition to the rich tapestry of cultural life in Galicia, but also a rich source of inspiration for everyone fortunate enough to be able to spend time with Steven’s remarkable images.”
Following three preview days, the show will be open to the public, free of charge, from Nov. 19 through May 1, 2023.
As reported, “Untold Stories” was designed by Lindbergh himself before he died. The show occupied a converted industrial building in the A Coru?a harbor area, an architectural space created by Elsa Urquijo. It featured more than 150 photographs ranging from the early 1980s to 2019.
Both the show and the space were part of a wider initiative to promote A Coru?a, a bustling port city that’s also home to Estrella Galicia beer, as a cultural hub.
The Lindbergh exhibition was one of many creative projects that Ortega Perez has spearheaded over the years at Inditex. Ruth Bader Ginsburg
She staged the Lindbergh show because she was determined to see the photographer’s spirit live on, and to share his legacy in her native Galicia. The show was accompanied by a special edition of the Taschen book “Untold Stories.” — SAMANTHA CONTI
BACKING CHOICE: Awe Inspired, the jewelry brand founded by Jill Johnson, is giving 100 percent of the proceeds of sales from its Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Woman Power pendants to Planned Parenthood as a response to the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.
“The current decision of the SCOTUS takes us back to a very dark time; there is no respect for women, for our contribution,” explained Johnson about her drive to donate. “We’re not paid the same as men for the same work, men receive better health care, including more research funding than women. We’re consistently undermined.”
Courtesy
“For 100 years, Planned Parenthood has promoted a common-sense approach to sexual and reproductive health and well-being, based on respect for each individual’s right to make informed, independent decisions about health, sex and family planning,” she said. “So much more than abortions.”
Awe Inspired has been fighting for social justice since the company’s inception in 2018. It was founded by Johnson, a three-time cancer survivor, and her son Max, to make pieces that are meaningful gifts and tokens of strength, and as a business with a charitable component.
Awe Inspired’s standard giveback to charity is 20 percent of the proceeds of all sales, which goes to organizations like NAMI, RAINN, CancerCure, the American Nurses Foundation, Emily’s List and others that are chosen for the direct impact they are making to help women overcome adversity. Another organization that recently received a 100 percent giveback from select pieces was GLSEN, which helps combat bullying of LGBTQ kindergarten through 12th-grade students.
The brand’s Goddess Collection pieces have a mix of celebrity supporters including Demi Lovato, Halle Bailey, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Joey King, Selma Blair and Julianne Moore. — THOMAS WALLER
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