Coel, Cruz, Federer, Lipa and Wintour Are Met Gala Chairs

British singer Dua Lipa attends Variety's 2022 Hitmakers Brunch at City Market Social House in Los Angeles, California, on December 3, 2022. (AFP) 
British singer Dua Lipa attends Variety's 2022 Hitmakers Brunch at City Market Social House in Los Angeles, California, on December 3, 2022. (AFP) 
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Coel, Cruz, Federer, Lipa and Wintour Are Met Gala Chairs

British singer Dua Lipa attends Variety's 2022 Hitmakers Brunch at City Market Social House in Los Angeles, California, on December 3, 2022. (AFP) 
British singer Dua Lipa attends Variety's 2022 Hitmakers Brunch at City Market Social House in Los Angeles, California, on December 3, 2022. (AFP) 

A starry group of celebs from film, TV, sports, music and fashion will be channeling the Lagerfeld Look at this year’s Met Gala on May 1. Michaela Coel, Penélope Cruz, Roger Federer, Dua Lipa and Anna Wintour are the evening’s co-chairs. 

Also announced Wednesday was the dress code: Perhaps not surprisingly, it is “In honor of Karl” – i.e. Lagerfeld, the German-born couturier who worked at Chanel, Fendi and Chloe and died in 2019 at age 85. 

The theme comes from the accompanying exhibit at the Met’s Costume Institute. “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty” will gather some 150 of his creations to explore his “stylistic language.” Lagerfeld’s original sketches will also be on display. 

The Met Gala, which takes place the first Monday in May, is a huge money-maker for the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, providing its main source of funding. It’s also one of the biggest nights in fashion and beyond. 

Presented in the museum’s Tisch Gallery, “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty” will be on view from May 5 through July 16, 2023. 



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.