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    Now reading: Pharrell on sneakers and style and Sex by Saint Laurent: What’s in Fashion?

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    Pharrell on sneakers and style and Sex by Saint Laurent: What’s in Fashion?

    Your one-stop-shop for this week's fashion news to know!

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    My loves, we know you must be weary after staying up all night to catch the very first of the Black Friday sales (and if you didn’t, then do check out our handy guide for what to cop here!), but there’s still fashion news to be abreast of! Today, we’re bringing you a conversation with none other than Pharrell (!!) to toast his new collaborations with Adidas, as well as a new installation in London celebrating one of Alessandro Michele’s final Gucci collections, a must-see Saint Laurent exhibition in Miami, and SO much more! Here’s what’s in fashion!

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    Pharrell tells us why money can’t buy you taste

    You might have noticed a lot of talk about football of late. Well, dear fashionista, there is a World Cup going on – you know, in the same place that Fashion Trust Arabia took place! Don’t worry, though, we’re not going to start bombarding you with sports news. However, a silver lining to all this footie-related fanfare is that it has brought us — perhaps coincidentally — Pharrell’s latest Humanrace x adidas Original collab. Though the artist has long been a collaborator of the German sportswear brand (their partnership stretches back as far as 2014) this collection marks the latest chapter of Pharrell’s fast-growing Humanrace brand, which now spans skincare, clothes and sneakers. Taking his cue from the original Samba football sneakers, Pharrell’s collection looks to the world of soccer — the jerseys, the sneakers, the sense of community and camarederie even! After all, the best thing about football is the … clothes? I guess we’re biased. Anyway, we caught up with none other than Pharrell himself, to talk sneakers, personal style and why money can’t buy you taste.

    Hey Pharrell! Welcome to London. What was the story you wanted to tell with this collaboration?

    Well, it’s an ode to my partnership with the brand. They have a lot of iconic IP.  Sometimes people say ‘take it a step further’ — we wanted to take it to the furthest. It was about using premium materials and celebrating the heritage of the silhouette. I’m always trying to level it up, like beyond. And so we got the finest leather from Italy we took a look at the outer sole execution, and asked ourselves how we could take it to the absolute next level. I can’t say too much, right? This is just the first step in many.

    Adidas Sambas were designed for football training on difficult ground, which feels apt for the moment. Are you a football fan?

    We worked on some football jerseys in 2020 for the World Cup at the time. And it’s a beautiful sport. [Football] is not something that I’m good at. I mean, I see what these guys do with the rigorous training and you know, and I’m not one of those guys — and I’m not chugging a beer and toasting either. But I love the silhouette of the jerseys and we went to the archives in Herzogenaurach and saw some of the original pairs in those air-controlled rooms with the white gloves on. You know, we went all the way back to the very beginning and then asked ourselves how could we go beyond modernity into the future and bring the most quality experience to the football shoe that the world knows very well. 

    Do you remember your first pair of sneakers?

    My first pair of Adidas was I bought them at a store called Foot Action in Pembroke mall, in Virginia Beach, I had worked all summer at a McDonald’s — one of the ones that I didn’t get fired from — I was working there because I wanted to save my money and go school shopping, and really, like, take care of myself. But I would always blow my monwy. First of all, my checks were low, because I was lazy. I would just blow it on like food and I wasn’t really responsible. So needless to say, at the end of the summer, I only could afford a pair of shoes that retails for $46.99. And they were the Lakers colours of the low-top Adidas Instincts. It was the first pair of shoes I purchased. So that’s why having this relationship with Adidas now, in the way that I have it, is kind of crazy.

    Sneakers are more than just shoes – they’re loaded in symbolism. Is that something you were thinking about?

    Shoes, apparel, all these things are reflections of what we think of ourselves and how we want to be perceived. Oftentimes, affordability and accessibility come into play. But sneakers for us — in particular, in my culture — it’s a reflection of, for the most part, controlling the perception, because one person can have on a pair of Sambas and it’s super cool and another person can have it on and like it’s super corny, right? You have to remember another part of it is the energy you vibrate. Suddenly, the corniest person in the world who can afford everything is still a cornball. You know what I’m saying? The person who can’t afford any of it, but is managing to figure out how to still make themselves look cool and attractive with what it is that they can afford, is always the person that like turns heads in the room. So, you know, these shoes won’t make you cool. But they will absolutely contribute. If you know what you’re doing, they can they they become the greatest accessory. If you don’t know what you’re doing, well, it’s like at least you got the shoes right!

    What are your tips for figuring out what you’re doing? 

    You know, I don’t want to mislead. Not everybody’s gonna have that. If you study, sometimes that happens if you’re good with attention to detail, then more than likely, you have already figured out your style. There are people who for whom self esteem is necessary. You know, you have to have the guts to step out and be different. You have to have the guts to step out and celebrate your individuality. You know, it’s so funny, because as a human race, our whole thing is individuality. And if you look at, you know what, so many marginalised communities are going through these days, it’s all about textbook tropes and stereotypes and judgments on people’s perceived identity, from Black people all around the planet, to LGBTQIA+ people. Even white folks go through it, you know, in the right environment, they go through it. Women go through it every day, right? You have to have the goal of individuality. And you have to have the heart and the assurance to just be you and to vibrate that light and that energy, regardless to what environment you’re in. That’s not always easy. And to me, those are the people with the greatest style — the people who are just unafraid to be right, because, isn’t that what we are? We’re human beings! That word being is a verb, as well as a noun, right?

    The collaboration is available now on Humanrace.com, and globally on the Confirmed App, adidas.com/Pharrell, in-store, and via select retailers on December 2nd.

    Jockstrap dressed in Gucci

    Browns toasts Alessandro Michele with an exclusive installation

    The opening of Browns’ latest special activation couldn’t feel more timely. Just the day after news of Alessandro Michele’s departure from Gucci after an era-defining tenure of 7 years, the Mayfair fashion hub opened its doors to a special immersive installation at its Brook Street flagship, celebrating Gucci Cosmogonie, one of the Italian designer’s final collections for the house. Located in the store’s Focus Room, the installation draws upon the collection’s foremost inspirations: the stars in the night sky, and humanity’s longstanding traditions of studying the heavens. Back on terra firma, the room plays host to exclusive 27-piece edit from the collection, spanning emerald velvet shirts, svelte leather slip dresses, reversible shearling jackets and more. “Gucci is one of Browns’ oldest legacy brands and of course, we are big fans of Alessandro Michele’s universe,” Ida Petersson, Browns’ buying director, says, describing the now-former creative director as “a storyteller like no other, dreaming up not just collections but worlds, which makes the brand a perfect collaborator for the immersive experience taking place in The Focus Room.” To toast the launch, Browns have also commissioned an editorial starring experimental pop duo du jour, Jockstrap (who also feature in our latest issue, available here!). Well, what are you waiting for? Cop yourself a piece of fashion history now! MS

    Woolmark Prize Nominees

    The International Woolmark Prize nominees are in

    And they’re off! Yes, the nominees for the 2023 International Woolmark Prize – one of fashion’s most prestigious awards for independent designers – are in, and the upcoming edition’s shaping up to be a corker! They’re all winners before they get to the finale, though – not just on account of the calibre of their talent, but also due to the fact that each of this year’s eight finalists will receive an AU$60k grant to use for the development of a merino wool collection in line with this year’s theme – Dialogue. They’ll then be competing for two prizes – the International Woolmark Prize and the Karl Lagerfeld Award for Innovation – which carry respective cash prizes of AU$200k and AU$100k, as well as access to mentoring from some of the industry’s brightest and best. Stunning, no? Oh, we almost forgot! The nominees are: A. ROEGE HOVE, Bluemarble, Lagos Space Programme, MARCO RAMBALDI, MAXXIJ, Paolina Russo, RHUDE and ROBYN LYNCH. Congratulations and good luck to all of you! MS

    Madonna biting a man's nipple ring
    Madonna lying naked against a fountain
    Madonna hanging naked from a winch
    Madonna, bottom half naked, standing on a radiator facing a window
    Madonna hailing a car naked in the street
    Madonna wearing leather lingerie, sucking a finger and simulating masturbation

    Saint Laurent and Madonna bring you SEX! 

    Haven’t booked your tickets to Miami for Art Basel yet? Well, here’s a seriously sexy reason to! From November 29th till December 4th, Saint Laurent will be bringing a show sure to get you hot under the collar to town, co-curated by creative director Anthony Vaccarello and Mother Madonna herself! Yes, the pair will be presenting a selection of images from Sex,  the pop icon’s seminal photography book shot by Steven Meisel and art directed by Fabien Baron, and first published three decades ago to immediate cult acclaim. That’s not all though – not only will Saint Laurent be exhibiting the infamously saucy pics, they’ll also be reissuing the notoriously hard-to-get-hold of tome through Saint Laurent Rive Droite in collaboration with New York-based publisher Callaway. You’ll have to move fast though – only 800 copies of the book will be made available, and we can pretty much guarantee that they’ll fly off the shelves at a rate quicker than your pulse after flicking through its pages. Sexy news indeed! MS

    Alexa Chung outside a London Fashion Week show
    Edie Campbell outside a London Fashion Week show
    Sarah Harris outside a London Fashion Week show

    Pictures of the heyday of London street style

    All this chat about the return of Tumblr as a result of Twitter’s precarious state has got us feeling a bit nostalgic for the content we used to flock to the platform for: street-style pics! In the late 00s and early 2010s, the site was a haven for snaps taken of insouciantly stylish editors, models and it-girls on the streets of London during fashion weeks. If you, like us, were (or even still are!) an avid consumer of this sort of content, you’ll have likely come across pictures by the late Japanese fashion photographer Kumi Saito, whose catalogue spanning almost two decades – from 2001 to 2018 – serves as a striking visual chronicle of the British capital’s style identity. Now, Parsnips Archive, a group of friends and colleagues who formerly worked for Japanese fashion publication Parsnips, is releasing a book of the photographer’s work, titled Have I Met You Before?, after the greeting she’d often receive from her subjects outside shows. Though they need your help to do it! To assist with the printing and binding costs associated with seeing the project through to completion, they’ve set up a GoFundMe that you can donate to help bring this important project to life. Street-style fans, assemble for the cause! MS

    Virgil Abloh at the finale of an Off-White show with Gigi Hadid

    A new Virgil Abloh documentary has arrived

    This Monday will mark one year since the death of creative visionary Virgil Abloh, a man who had a major impact across the fashion, art and music worlds, as well as leading the output of Louis Vuitton Men’s and Off-White. Now, a new documentary – Virgil Abloh: How To Be Both directed by Cassie Quarless, has landed on BBC iPlayer, tracking the polymathic creator’s sharp ascent to the heady heights of popular and visual culture. Featuring contributions from his close peers and collaborators, including Benji B and Headie One, it’s a must-see for fans of both the late designer’s work and fashion and design culture at large. Head here to watch! MS

    Kaia Gerber enters the void in Alexander McQueen’s new bag campaign

    Thought that things couldn’t get any more dystopian than they already are? Don’t be sily, of course they can! For proof, look no further than Alexander McQueen’s eerie, cinematic campaign for it’s new Slash Bag, shot by Glen Luchford and starring Kaia Gerber. An exploration of the fraugh relationship between man and technology, it sees the divine model actress is seen striding through a smog-hazed urban sprawl, and into a phosphoric white room. There, clutching onto her exquisite quilted leather shoulder bag for dear life, she gingerly makes her way to the other side to discover her disembodied clone (!!) who, after a tender moment, comes to LIFE! A truly bracing watch, and the stuff that fashion campaign dreams are made of. MS

    MONCLER MAYA 70 COLLABORATION BY PHARRELL WILLIAMS.jpg

    Moncler taps Pharrell for its latest Maya 70 collab

    Well, Pharrell has been a busy boy this week! Not only has the iconic musician and fashion stalwart launched his collaboration with Adidas – this week also sees the launch of a collaboration with Italian luxe label Moncler! As part of the brand’s 70-year anniversary, Pharrell was invited to interpret its emblematic Maya 70 jacket, with previous iterations coming via Rick Owens, Pierpaolo Piccioli, Giambattista Valli and more. For his version, he reimagined the jacket in a moulded polymeric fabric for a slick, futuristic look. “I knew from the beginning I wanted it to be all rubber,” Pharrell said via a statement. “Getting to design the iconic Maya jacket with my own twist was a total honour.” MS

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