Dior Looks to Marlene Dietrich in New York Fall Show

Logos of Dior brand are seen outside a Dior store in Paris, France, March 3, 2017. (Reuters)
Logos of Dior brand are seen outside a Dior store in Paris, France, March 3, 2017. (Reuters)
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Dior Looks to Marlene Dietrich in New York Fall Show

Logos of Dior brand are seen outside a Dior store in Paris, France, March 3, 2017. (Reuters)
Logos of Dior brand are seen outside a Dior store in Paris, France, March 3, 2017. (Reuters)

French fashion house Christian Dior unveiled a fall line inspired by actress Marlene Dietrich at a catwalk show in New York on Monday evening.
Nodding to Dietrich's personal style, Dior designer Maria Grazia Chiuri dressed models in white shirts, sometimes with ties, pleated trousers and black blazers.
Belted or cowl-neck dresses looked to 1940s silhouettes while some frocks sparkled with beading, Reuters said.
There were also nods to New York, with prints of the Statue of Liberty featuring on some designs. Others were adorned with depictions of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, where Dior is based.
Chiuri worked with artist Claire Fontaine on designing the show space, with pairs of illuminated hands adorning the catwalk's backdrop.
"These hands represent positively and in an empowering way the female sex and they are the hands of the seamstresses, of the creators, myself, of Maria Grazia and the hands of the women that made this project possible," Fontaine said in an interview.
Among the celebrities attending the show were actors Anya Taylor-Joy, Michelle Williams, Naomi Watts, Rosamund Pike and Charlize Theron.



Hermes 2Q Sales Rise 13% on Continued Appetite for High-End Luxury

People stand with Hermes shopping bags as they wait at a traffic light in Tsim Sha Tsui, a bustling shopping hotspot, in Hong Kong, China December 5, 2023. (Reuters)
People stand with Hermes shopping bags as they wait at a traffic light in Tsim Sha Tsui, a bustling shopping hotspot, in Hong Kong, China December 5, 2023. (Reuters)
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Hermes 2Q Sales Rise 13% on Continued Appetite for High-End Luxury

People stand with Hermes shopping bags as they wait at a traffic light in Tsim Sha Tsui, a bustling shopping hotspot, in Hong Kong, China December 5, 2023. (Reuters)
People stand with Hermes shopping bags as they wait at a traffic light in Tsim Sha Tsui, a bustling shopping hotspot, in Hong Kong, China December 5, 2023. (Reuters)

Birkin-bag maker Hermes reported a 13% rise in second-quarter sales on Thursday, demonstrating the continued appetite from wealthy shoppers for its luxury handbags, even as less affluent consumers pull back.

Sales at the French luxury group grew to 3.7 billion euros ($4.02 billion), a 13% organic sales rise that strips out currency fluctuations. The figure was in line with analyst expectations, according to a Visible Alpha consensus.

Operating profit for the first half was 3.1 billion euros, compared to a forecast from consensus provider Visible Alpha for 3.2 billion.

One of the most steady performers in the luxury goods sector -- even as economic conditions worsen -- the French group's results stand out after a string of disappointing earnings updates from peers which have raised investor concern about uncertain prospects for the sector in the coming months.

Hermes' famously classic designs and tight management of production and stock have helped reinforce the label's aura of exclusivity, and CEO Axel Dumas told reporters the company had seen "no big interruption in trends".

However, he said Hermes was seeing slightly less traffic with aspirational clients, which was impacting higher volume products like fashion accessories.