The creative director Anthony Vaccarello has hired the prolific German photographer to capture his Fall 2020 collection. Although studio photography is very rare for Teller — his style tends to be more reportage, capturing his subjects candidly in the middle of life — this campaign is an exception. Through basic studio portraiture, he captures Hartzel, using both black-and-white and color. Relying on the single set piece of a massive, sculptural lighting fixture, he sees similarities between the manner in which light plays across the multifaceted metal and the shimmering textures of Vaccarello's design. How much graphical unity and scope Teller can draw from just a few visual elements is remarkable. 

The campaign sets a clear objective: to show the power of Vaccarello's designs. Eschewing conceptual frills, compositions of Teller make subtle and clever use of pattern to accomplish this aim beautifully. 

Grace Kathleen Hartzel, of Zionsville, Indiana, is an American fashion model. At the age of only fifteen, she has been discovered while eating with her father at a St. Louis Cheesecake Factory. She "walked in almost every big show during the fall/winter 2015 and the spring/summer 2016 seasons," after being recognized in the fall/winter 2014 show as a muse of the then-YSL fashion designer Hedi Slimane. Slimane's spring 2014 show, when Grace Kathleen Hartzel has been an unknown, was "entirely made in Hartzel's image." 

Grace Kathleen Hartzel has been featured in a 2016 Salvatore Ferragamo short film, My Life is a Game, directed by Sebastien Grousset and filmed by Pawel Edelman.

Saint Laurent Creative Director | Anthony Vaccarello

In other news, Rick Owens isn't into doing anything halfway. The Paris-based California-born designer is known for some of the most controversial and envelope-pushing concepts in the fashion industry, with runway shows to suit. Yet Spring/Summer 2021 "PHLEGETHON" is another matter. The line, closely lensed by Owens himself, is a selection of repurposed pieces from the previous collections of Owens, accompanied by new designs and concepts.

Juergen Teller lenses Grace Hartzel in a new campaign from Saint Laurent.

SAINT LAURENT: #YSL33 FALL 2020 AD CAMPAIGN

In the same way as its direct competitor LVMH, Kering has been affected by the current coronavirus pandemic, though both luxury conglomerates boast resilience in their financial half-year results. However, Kering was hit slightly harder than LVMH, with sales falling by an unadjusted 29.7 percent (compared to the 27 percent decline in LVMH). 

The consolidated revenue of €5.3 billion (around $6.3 billion USD) is approximately a third less than Kering's previous year's reported revenue but its operating margin remains "resilient" at 17.7 percent, Kering reports. Shop closings and stopped tourism played a major role in subverting Kering's fortunes, as they did with LVMH, and the resulting post-pandemic reopening worked in Kering's favor as well. 

While sales from directly operated stores shrank by almost 31 percent — Kering's total revenue decreased by an estimated 43.4 percent due to closure in particular in Q2 2020. Online sales rocketed 47.2 percent, however, boosting the figures of Kering during global quarantines. Asia, particularly China, has played a particularly important part in the gradual recovery of Kering. 

Gucci, arguably Kering's crown jewel, is a reflection of Kering's difficult year. It enjoyed a "robust" beginning in 2020, but saw sales fall over EUR 3 billion (around USD 3.6 billion) in the first six months of 2020, down 33.5 percent from 2019 (EUR 4.6 billion or about USD 5.4 billion). Kering records "favorable traction with local customers in its main markets" as Gucci stores continue to reopen, boosting the brand's online sales by a remarkable 51.8 percent, following a 36.1 percent drop in wholesale revenue. 

Ironically, only Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent (revenue down 30%) and Bottega Veneta (revenue down 8.4%) are being supplied by specific finances from Kering. As for Alexander McQueen and Balenciaga, Kering's only note is that the houses "held firm" and reduced declining revenue due to "the appeal of their innovative offering." Kering's "other houses" (i.e. those not Gucci, Saint Laurent or Bottega Veneta) brought in €919.1 million (about $1.07 billion) with revenue down by 25 percent. 

Kering's main brands continue to innovate in gendered fashion, even in the face of a global pandemic: Gucci has recently launched its first non-binary collection, and Bottega Veneta has launched a masculinity-questioning line.

In other news, Adidas and Yohji Yamamoto‘s long-running Y-3 label is expected to present its FW20 footwear collection in the coming weeks, and one of the main pieces is a new style called the Hicho. A platform take on adidas Originals‘ iconic Campus, the Hicho serves as Y-3's court shoe for the autumn season, elevating a classical style both figuratively and literally for a completely innovative look.

KERING'S REVENUE DROPPED NEARLY 30 PERCENT IN 2020'S FIRST HALF

In case you are going to the South of France this summer, you're likely to be visiting Saint-Tropez, at least for a few days, if not more. If you do, be sure to check out Saint Laurent Saint-Tropez, the new temporary boutique. Designed to mirror the aesthetics of a quaint but upscale Parisian residential apartment, it features neutral coloring with a counter and seats in alabaster; Burgundy stone flooring in soft, pale shades; exotic wood featuring on a hand-sculpted staircase; mirrored niches; and vintage furniture, one piece more inviting than the other. The pop-up features the women's collections of the House — including ready-to-wear, shoes, handbags, and accessories — and looks like it's coming back in the future for summer seasons, too. To learn more, you can visit Saint Laurent website. 

Yves Saint Laurent, founded in 1961, was the first couture house to introduce the idea of luxury prêt-à-porter in a 1966 collection entitled 'Rive Gauche,' synonymous with youth and liberty. This move marked the first crucial phase in fashion modernization, revolutionizing the socio-cultural landscape. 

In the 60s and early 70s, Yves Saint Laurent popularized fashion trends such as the beatnik look, men's and women's safari jackets, tight pants and tall, thigh-high boots, including the creation of Le Smoking suit in 1966, arguably the most famous classic tuxedo suit for women. Pop Art, Ballet Russes, Picasso, and Chinese are among his most memorable collections. Yves Saint Laurent also began to promote the concept of wearing 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s silhouettes.

In 1999, the Kering Group's luxury goods division purchased Yves Saint Laurent and, since April 2016, continues to put the house at the top of the luxury universe under the artistic leadership of Anthony Vaccarello. 

Today, the collections of Saint Laurent include women's and men's ready-to-wear handbags, shoes, small leather goods, jewelry, scarves, ties, and eyewear.

In other news, Japanese design, the designs of Yohji Yamamoto, and perhaps the design in general, should not and can not be defined and fully understood, and emotions should be given considerable room to present the opinion of what lies beyond appearance.

This pop-up will be exclusively dedicated to the women's collections. The store is set to become a recurrent summer fixture in Saint Tropez.

SAINT LAURENT POP-UP: SUMMER 2020 IN SAINT TROPEZ

In the midst of a constantly changing fashion calendar, Saint Laurent has revealed its newest campaign star for Fall/Winter 2020: musician Lenny Kravitz, a Grammy Award winner. Known for both his music and style, which mixes his Caribbean roots with an R&B repertoire, Kravitz fits in seamlessly with the French fashion house's music-influenced ethos. 

Under Anthony Vaccarello's creative direction, and shot by David Sims, the campaign images feature Kravitz looking right at home in rock-inspired outfits. He is sporting a sharply tailored blazer in one over a satin-button down, tight black pants, and sunglasses. Another shows Kravitz in a long-sleeved leopard-print shirt cinched with a matching necktie, stuck jeans and black leather boots. Flaunting the Fall/Winter 2020 collection of Saint Laurent, the musician radiates cool with his nose and ear piercings, dreadlocks, and a wrist tattoo, adding touches of personal style. 

Kravitz is no stranger to the magic of Vaccarello's designs, as he and his daughter, Zoë Kravitz, who has been a brand ambassador for several seasons, were spotted together in the front row for the Fall/Winter 2020 Paris Fashion Week show at Saint Laurent. 

In October 2001, Kravitz released his sixth album, "Lenny". The musician recorded the album in Miami. Kravitz wrote album's song "Bank Robber Man" after he was detained and cuffed by the Miami Police Department while walking with his trainer to the gym because police claimed he matched a bank robber's description. At the time, Kravitz had no identification with him and the on-scene police did not believe he was indeed Lenny Kravitz himself. The bank teller who has been robbed was then brought to the scene and confirmed that the actual bank robber was not Kravitz. Later, Miami Police sent officers to Kravitz's home to apologize for the arrest. When being asked if he thought the incident was a racial profiling case, Kravitz said he wasn't sure though some of the song's lyrics suggest otherwise.

Looking forward to seeing Rick Owens and Victoria Beckham's future campaigns rock stars later this year. Let's hope that Saint Laurent has set up the new trend.

Lenny Kravitz follows in Keanu’s footsteps as the face of Saint Laurent.

NEW SAINT LAURENT FW2020 CAMPAIGN FEATURING LENNY KRAVITZ

King Princess, Jane Fonda, Lil Nas X, Miyavi and David de Rothschild star in Gucci's First Off The Grid Circular Lines campaign.

The collection and its campaign is the first part of Gucci Circular Lines, a series of campaigns working towards a purely circular production vision – creating no waste and remaining carbon neutral. Designed and developed by creative director Alessandro Michele, the Off the Grid range uses recycled, renewable, bio-based and sustainably sourced fabrics, including regenerated nylon, Econyl. This yarn comes from pre- and post-consumer waste nylon, including trashed fishing nets and carpets — reworking plastics that harm marine life and old materials that are likely to end up in a new high-quality thread in landfill. Beginning in 2016, Gucci became the first luxury brand to use Econyl regenerated nylon thread for its products. The company has also pledged as much as possible to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in its supply chains, and to offset the remaining emissions to be carbon neutral. 

Their commitment to sustainability is reflected in a Harmony Korine advertisement which has collaborated closely with Michele on previous initiatives. With an impressive cast consisting of Jane Fonda, Lil Nas X, King Princess, Miyavi, and David de Rothschild, the campaign follows a group of city-dwelling friends who built a treehouse to be their new home in the heart of a busy metropolitan area. These people seem content and beautiful as they come into contact with nature and rediscover their own connection. Throughout film and photography, both done by Korine, the pictures derive strength from a beautiful contrast between the natural elements such as wood and leaves and the steel, glass, and concrete constructions of humanity. Clad in Gucci upcycled, the stars and the optimistic energy they bring to the harmonious compositions of Korine fit colorfully. 

The campaign is already a tremendous success and a hugely significant message in itself, and provides an important moment in the wider brand sense. All of Gucci's imagery draws heavily on a sense of imagination, tap into a dream world that represents inner concepts of beauty rather than external reality. While this campaign suggests some of its elements of fantasy, with its whimsical contrast between organic and urban, it is also urgently real. Respect for nature and a commitment to sustainability is not just an eco-fantasy, a distant ideal, but is a real necessity if we want to live on this earth for a long time to come. It's time for companies – in our business and everywhere else – to use their power and energy to create a manufacturing process that is fully sustainable and emission-free. Gucci has started taking significant first steps and we hope the seeds they have planted will continue to grow. Looking forward to seeing big houses such as Rick Owens, Saint Laurent and Alexander Wang join this "trend" and start working along with Gucci on improving our planet.

Gucci is setting an example of how beautiful sustainability can be with their Off the Grid collection launching.

GUCCI'S NEW OFF THE GRID COLLECTION: JANE FONDA, KING PRINCESS AND DAVID DE ROTHSCHILD

Mark Seliger is a Portrait master. The Texan photographer captured iconic photographs during his thirty-year career from his first pictures for Rolling Stones, then for GQ and Vanity Fair, to his personal collection. Mark Seliger made black and white portraits his signature between his series of political figures such as Barack Obama, Nelson Mandela and Malala or of celebrities including Billy Porter, Kim Kardashian and Leonardo Di Caprio. Mark Seliger's talent will also benefit the music world, with the most influential artists of their time. Below is a throwback to 10 iconic musicians' portraits. 

Born in Amarillo, Texas, in 1959, before moving to New York City in the 1980s, Seliger graduated from the Houston High School for Performing & Visual Arts and East Texas State University. He was the Chief Photographer of Rolling Stone magazine by 1992, traveling the globe and shooting for the publication more than 150 covers. 

Seliger has worked for Condé Nast since 2002 where he would regularly collaborate with Vanity Fair and GQ as well as Elle, Harper's Bazaar and Italian Vogue shooting campaigns for major fashion houses such as Chanel, Saint Laurent or Courreges. Think of Apple, Dom Perignon, Levi Strauss, Amazon, Ralph Lauren, Ray-Ban and Rolex - the photographer has also been responsible for several unforgettable promotional campaigns. 

As for his striking portraits of celebrities, he says, "This is about trust. If you communicate well and report your intentions to them, they will respect you."

"Since the mid-1990s I have been working with the Stones and I probably photographed Keith Richards the most. He's a real gentleman, very wise and very intelligent. He's the best subject you're going to ever get: funny, sharp and engaged."

"The challenge of course is to do something unique because he's always depicted with a cigarette. He once said photographers wanted to kill him because we always ask him to smoke."

Kurt Cobain: "The blueness of his eyes had something very beautiful in it"

"During the Nevermind tour, I first photographed Nirvana in Australia, and it had been very unruly. Kurt arrived in a t-shirt that said "Corporate Magazines Still Suck" and I was quite distressed by what Rolling Stone would have thought. We did run the image as a cover, though, which meant he was very relaxed and cooperative with me the next time I met with Kurt."

"This shot was taken in Michigan, at Kalamazoo. My sister sent me the heads of those vintage dolls, and I bought some rose bushes; we built this little altar and let it deteriorate for a couple of days."

"I'm not entirely sure where my inspiration came from but I think it was from watching Nirvana's videos and listening to their lyrics, the sadness of Kurt's voice and the concern for life, death and decline."

"For doing the picture, Kurt was very spontaneous and there was something very beautiful about the blueness of his eyes and his dead stare. And, two months later, we got the tragic news he'd died. Since that, I have not looked at those photos for a long time."

“It’s really enjoyable because it takes the onus off of photographing just portraiture and actually building a story.”

10 ICONIC PORTRAITS OF MUSICIANS SHOT BY MARK SELIGER

How do you pick a decade's most important collections? The ones which have had a lasting impact? As far as runways are concerned, the 2010s started with New York's Spring 2010 shows in September 2009; they ended when haute couture shows wrapped up in Paris in the Fall of 2019. 

As for outcomes? Rei Kawakubo's minimalist manifesto of Comme des Garcons first collection on our list and the sharp match with a sustainability backstory that Sarah Burton has created at Alexander McQueen for 2019. That paints a picture of a ten-year shift from chic utilitarianism influenced by the Great Recession to resourceful elegance informed by climate change terrors. It was the years that produced the most news in the middle of the decade. 

No surprise, the list contains lots of new beginnings — the industry loves nothing more than a fresh start. But an era-defining, influencing swan song also made the cut. In our mix you will find career highs together with the collections that have changed the course of fashion — the silhouette of the clothes and the look of the models who wore them. If the 2010s were a decade of change, this list was nevertheless shaped and molded by the dominant forces of the era. Iconic labels edged out fierce independents, and male designers outnumbered females. But who knows for how long: Maria Grazia Chiuri at Dior, Clare Waight Keller at Givenchy, Virginie Viard at Chanel - this is the story of the recent haute couture shows. 

Freedom of expression was always a thing for Rick Owens, but here he opened the door to a new chapter, liberating himself from the ancient rules of fashion for good and jumping into a new era of runway diversity in the process.

Here, our top 10 collections of the 2010s, in chronological order.

After much debate, the enthusiastic, idiosyncratic lists were whittled down to an essential, agreed-upon 10.

10 OF THE MOST IMPORTANT COLLECTIONS OF THE 2010S

Alessandro Michele, artistic director of Gucci, has announced that the Italian brand will ignore the "stale" deadlines of the fashion calendar, holding shows only twice a year instead to reduce waste. 

He explains Gucci will abandon the traditional fashion rota of staging five shows a year under the cruise, pre-fall, spring-summer and fall-winter seasonal labels. Instead, on its own terms, the fashion brand will be presenting shows regularly only twice a year. 

"Two appointments per year is more than enough to allow time for creative thinking and to give this system more time," Michele said on Monday 25 May at a virtual press conference broadcast from his Rome studio. 

The decision, he says, comes in the light of the Covid-19 pandemic which led him to rethink the sense of his actions and to change a lot of things in the way he worked. 

"Our history is littered with crises that did nothing to teach us," Michele announced. "With economic collapses and social devastations which have been tackled by imposing the same recipes they originated from." 

"This present, therefore, encourages us to have additional responsibilities. This situation has somehow amplified such transformative urgency that can no longer be delayed. I will abandon the worn-out seasonal ritual." 

The Italian brand has no plans to arrange a show in September – when Milan Fashion Week would usually showcase their new collection. 

"It's an audacious but necessary foundational act that aims to build a new creative universe," he says. "A universe that becomes necessary in the subtraction of events and oxygenates by the multiplication of words." 

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, the news of Gucci comes at a time when fashion weeks across the globe are starting to move into digital formats.

Saint Laurent have recently announced they are going to stick to a similar schedule. Waiting for the official statements from big brands such as Rick Owens, Mugler, Courreges, Victoria Beckham. Will keep you updated.

GUCCI ABANDONS THE RITUAL OF TRADITIONAL FASHION SCHEDULE

Few people have the assurance — or the means — to juxtapose Picasso and Goya's paintings with Jean-Michel Frank's furniture, and then top it all off with bronzes from the Renaissance. Yet this is exactly what fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent and his life and business partner Pierre Bergé, created at their nine-room duplex on Left Bank in Paris, one of the 20th century's superlative interiors. 

"It was just a picture of Saint Laurent's eyes," says Muriel Brandolini, Manhattan-based interior decorator. "There's such a disparity in how the gathering is being done today, just speculation. He was a real knower. Everyone he has gained has their own dignity, power and elegance. 

The couturier, who died at the age of 71 in 2008, was fascinated with Art Deco, and the property at 55 rue de Babylone, with its provenance from the 1920s, appealed to the tastes of both him and Bergé. They were also delighted that former resident Marie Cuttoli, popular in the '30s for reviving the French tapestry industry, had covered up the walls of the duplex with weavings crafted by contemporary artists. The fashion couple, bringing the tradition forward, fitted the spaces — including the salon, seen, captured in 2008—with formidable paintings, sculpture, and furnishings. 

Interior designer Jacques Grange helped polish the decoration as the rooms of the apartment were abundantly enriched — by Old Master paintings, a rare Eileen Gray dragon chair, and the prolific Lalannes designed surreal fancies. The bronzes of the Renaissance represented the affection of Saint Laurent for the art-loving Rothschild dynasty, and his loyalty to Frank expressed his fondness for the irascible arts patron Marie-Laure de Noailles, Frank's seminal clientele. 

His and Bergé's headquarters were sold after Saint Laurent's death, auctioned at Christie's in 2009 for $484 million — the Gray chair alone brought in just over $28 million. Notwithstanding, or maybe because of, the dispersal of the apartment's legend will certainly keep through. As Marcel Proust, Saint Laurent's favorite novelist, once noted, "The only paradise is paradise lost."

Next time we will invite you inside Rick Owens and Michele Lamy's mindblowing Parisian house. Stay tuned!

As Marcel Proust, Saint Laurent's favorite novelist, once noted, "The only paradise is paradise lost."

INSIDE YVES SAINT LAURENT'S PARIS APARTMENT

High Risk editorial for Glassbook Magazine Styled by              Barbara Constantin 

Photography, Music, Digital Art: Brian Ziff

Schön Magazine Editorial, Brittle Star, Fashion by Designer - Stylist- Artist Barbara Constantin 

The bizarre couple Michele Lamy and Rick Owens seems to be the best couple ever. No matter there have been rumors about Rick Owens homosexuality he said “Frankly, in the beginning, I made a point of bringing up my sexuality just because I wanted it before anyone else could. I was with Michele and hated the idea of someone whispering to her “you know, I think your husband’s gay”. I was going to say it first. I didn’t want anyone to think they could embarrass me or Michele.” Sexuality doesn’t seem to be a problem as they complete each other perfectly, both in private life and work.

Having first seen each other at Christian Dior's funeral in 1957, they only really met in 1958 during a dinner organized by a journalist from Harper's Bazaar, Marie-Louise Bousquet. It is Pierre who took the first step, and congratulated the designer for his first Dior collection. Six months later, they have settled together and founded the Yves Saint-Laurent brand. Pierre was in charge of the house's financial management when Yves was designing the silhouettes that were going to revolutionize the 20th-century fashion. Although their story wanders in the 80s against the background of alcohol, drugs and deception, the two have never separated and stayed together until Yves Saint Laurent death in 2008.

They've met on the set of Aux Eyes du Monde, in 1990. Charlotte was 19 years old - it was the year after the death of Serge Gainsbourg, that they started dating. The perfect embodiment of the Parisian couple, they collaborated on several productions made by Yvan, such as Ma femme est une actrice and Ils se marièrent et eurent beaucoup d'enfants. Two almost autobiographical films, except that after 22 years spent together and having three children, they are still not married. Rumors says Charlotte Gainsbourg refused the proposal in 2013.

Their first date? In 1989. A visit to the Art Institute of Chicago, followed by a film screening: Do the Right Thing by Spike Lee. An instant thunderbolt, according to the 44th President of the United States: "We clicked immediately. It only took me one meeting to get convinced." After three years of relationship, Barack made his proposal at the Gordon restaurant, also in Chicago. The whole world knows what has happened next.

When Paul met Linda at the Bag O'Nails bar in London, he fell in love with her at first sight. "She was about to leave, so I went to approach her to ask her name," said the ex-Beatle in an interview. They meet again for days later and spent their first year in a tumultuous on-and-off relationship, then ended up moving in together and getting married. They did not leave each other for 30 years, until the photographer died in 1998. They were living in total harmony, where Linda, realistic and down to earth, would give a perfect counterpoint to the whimsical personality of the musician.

"The first night I went out with Richard, I felt like I already knew everything about him," said Tom Ford about Richard Buckley, whom he met at a New York fashion show in 1986. Richard was 38 years old and an influential fashion journalist for Women's Wear Daily, Tom was a young fashion designer, barely 25. A week later, Tom went to the WWD editorial office to collect pieces after a shoot: that was the beginning of a relationship that has lasted for 30 years. "I can't imagine my life without Tom," explained Buckley in an interview.

Céline's artistic director and the London gallery owner are one of the most influential couples in England. And, undoubtedly, one of the most stable in the world of art and fashion: they have been married since 2004 and have three children. To keep the family together, Phoebe even moved the studio from the Parisian Céline house to London. A business union? Not really as the couple said recently that they have no plans to collaborate, neither in art nor in fashion. Do not mixing work and private life may be the secret of the love that lasts.

They've met at a fair in Milan in 1977, and became partners eight years later, when Miuccia entrusted Patrizio with the post of sales manager for Prada leather goods. Still working hand in hand today, the couple is known for their fighting spirit: "You have to work hard," explains Miuccia Prada. We've always had an intense relationship, and it's sometimes hard to collaborate, although I admire and respect Patrizio.” This collaboration makes the two Italians one of the most powerful couples in the fashion world. Together, they imposed their vision on Prada, Miu Miu and generally within the Prada Group, which now owns companies such as Helmut Lang or Jil Sander.

They spoke for the first time at the production of The Virgin Suicides soundtrack, in which Thomas took part with his "Air" band. The two would not start dating until after Marie-Antoinette, for which Thomas also composes a part of the soundtrack, with Phenix this time. They married in 2011 at the Palazzo Margherita, in the village of Bernalda in Italy and now have two daughters: Romy and Cosma. The two work together regularly, for instance on "A Very Murray Chrismas" theater play or "Somewhere" movie, both orchestrated by Coppola.

Among the few love stories that survive in the hectic world of Hollywood, we noted one of Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman. They fell on top of each other in the early 1950s on Broadway, then met again in 1957 during the shooting of The Long, Hot Summer and then started a love story that everyone would envy. Joanne and Paul got married the following year and lived a stable relationship despite the regular rumors of separation. The union lasedt until the death of Newman in 2008. In 2013, the cinema industry paid homage to the couple by putting their photo on the official poster of the Cannes Film Festival. "It was a couple who perfectly embodied the cinema spirit," explained the festival organizers.

Ten iconic power couples that have shaped the world of Art, Film and Fashion

Slimane’s crossover success was clearly explained by the potential transferability of his designs to mass retail and by the fact that many of his key design pieces looked neither new nor luxurious to the naked eye, but rather “authentically” vintage.

In her ethnographic research on vintage styling among members of the Sixties scene in Germany, Heike Jenss has described the specific performance of authenticity involved in restaging mod styles. Rather than reproducing the sartorial codes perfectly, members combine past with present, tending towards the iconic looks associated with the period. As a result, the prevailing looks in the Sixties scene are the “stereotypical” styles commonly associated with the decade in question, which are influenced by the media images of rock stars, fashion models, and actors. 

The most commonly remembered styles, like space-age and op-art looks, often reconstructed in detail, recur at Sixties events in dense concentration, presenting a hyper-version of the decade past . The menswear pastiche of the mid-2000s operated in a similarly selective manner, picking and mixing from post-1960s rock heritage to hone a contemporary classic ideal or “hyper-version” of the past.

Paradoxically, Slimane rejects the prefixed predictability of postmodernism (recycling, re-appropriation, revisiting), preferring to emphasize fashion’s “perpetual mutation,” accelerated through the last decade’s fast forward movement from analogue to digital culture, from consequential logic to parallel multiplicity.

Whilst it is true that the technologies of consumption and distribution have been transformed radically through changes in digital media platforms the 2000s, the content (of both pop and fashion cultures) is locked into a permanent mashup of the styles of recent decades. Elizabeth Wilson pointed this out early on as the checkmate position of contemporary fashion within postmodernity: “our culture of global mass media feeds us so much information that a massive cultural eclecticism is the only possible response”

Rick Owens's penchant for all rock'n'roll stuff places the leather jacket at the top of every shopping list inspired by Saint Laurent Paris. Subcultural patterns like grungy tattered knitwear and glam rock-inspired embellishments come and go, but a true style staple is the rockabilly biker jacket. While an investment in this classic Saint Laurent design needs no reason in our opinion, an oversized leather in a different shape won't take you too far from the vibe you're looking for in 2020.

SLIMANE REJECTS THE PREFIXED PREDICTABILITY OF POSTMODERNISM

The thought in fashion on everyone's minds is what the runway circuit would look like when September comes, and brands will be expected to show off their Spring 2021 collections in all four major capitals during the fashion month. 

Although some suggest that the shows might possibly be canceled outright (like this summer's Paris couture and men's shows), Saint Laurent has decided they won't sit back and wait and see what's going to happen. 

The brand today confirmed it would miss PFW this fall and not stick to any set fashion calendar for the remainder of 2020. Instead, they must work on their own schedule and decide whether and when to introduce a new approach to their forthcoming collections.

"Conscious of the current circumstance and its waves of radical change, Saint Laurent has decided to take control of its pace and reshape its schedule," the company said in a statement. "Now more than ever, the brand will lead its own rhythm, legitimating the value of time and connecting with people globally by getting closer to them in their own space and lives."

"With this strategy firmly in place, Saint Laurent will not present its collections in any of the pre-set schedules of 2020," they continued. "Saint Laurent will take ownership of its calendar and launch its collections following a plan conceived with an up-to-date perspective, driven by creativity."

With the news, Saint Laurent is becoming the first major house in Paris to separate itself from post-COVID-19 fashion week calendar. (It is hard to tell if the other brands in Kering's parent company's briefcase, such as Gucci and Bottega Veneta, will follow suit.)

And although the brand hasn't ruled out hosting runway shows this year, there could be a possible change in how they would be produced and how people would attend, as some analysts expect that major crowds will remain on hold until next year.

We look forward to getting more insider information from our top brands such as Alexander Wang, Victoria Beckham or Mugler. We hope that the fashion houses we work along, will find their solution how to proceed in these never-happening-before circumstances.

SAINT LAURENT REVEAL THEIR POST-PANDEMIC COLLECTION PLANS

Reinforcing the possibilities of misusing camouflage were other counter-culture groups emerging at the time, most notably the Punks. As part of their distressed, aggressive and nihilistic persona, camouflage represented their anti-establishment stance. Punk groups like the Clash re-appropriated military wear and surplus camouflage as a way of turning the tools of the system against itself. Although not part of the punk movement, George Clinton and his band, Funkadelic, were among the first musicians to wear camouflage, in part because it was cheap, but also because the swirling Woodland pattern was suitable for hallucinogenic states.

As is typical throughout the course of fashion history, the fashion system soon took notice of the anti-fashion camouflage trend and co-opted it. The biggest shift in fashion’s appropriation of camouflage was that designers did not merely use military surplus, rather they followed Schiaparelli’s lead from a half-century prior and began creating their own artistically-influenced camouflage designs.

Yves Saint Laurent’s 1971 spring/summer collection contained a silk crêpe de chine dress with a marbleized camouflage pattern in rich green tones worn with a silver fox fur shrug. Sent down the runway at the height of the Vietnam War, the dress created a stir, with the juxtaposition of the military-like pattern rendered in silk and paired with luxurious fur. While it is unknown what exactly Saint Laurent’s intentions were in creating the dress, his reputation as a designer who pushed gender boundaries, particularly with his tailored pant suits for women, reinforces the likelihood that he was aware of the seditious appeal camouflage took on when used in body-conscious fabrics on the female body.

Today, designers often apply camouflage prints to their models. Within his last season, Boris Bidjan Saberi presented several variations of camouflage hooded raincoats, camo bombers and t-shirts, as well as denim pants, true to the brand’s urban roots, which boast a slim-fit and mid-rise, while their coated patches produce a camouflage effect.

Punk groups like the Clash re-appropriated military wear and surplus camouflage as a way of turning the tools of the system against itself.

CAMOUFLAGE AS THE ANTI-ESTABLISHMENT STANCE OF PUNK SUBCULTURE

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