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Paul Costelloe Opens 40-year-old London Fashion Week with Classic Designs

A model presents a creation at the Paul Costelloe catwalk show during London Fashion Week in London, Britain, February 16, 2024. REUTERS/Hollie Adams
A model presents a creation at the Paul Costelloe catwalk show during London Fashion Week in London, Britain, February 16, 2024. REUTERS/Hollie Adams
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Paul Costelloe Opens 40-year-old London Fashion Week with Classic Designs

A model presents a creation at the Paul Costelloe catwalk show during London Fashion Week in London, Britain, February 16, 2024. REUTERS/Hollie Adams
A model presents a creation at the Paul Costelloe catwalk show during London Fashion Week in London, Britain, February 16, 2024. REUTERS/Hollie Adams

London Fashion Week kicked off on Friday with Irish designer Paul Costelloe championing classic looks and bringing a little bit of nostalgia to the catwalk as the showcase event celebrates its 40th birthday.
The 78-year-old designer, who could not attend the show due to illness, presented a mix of whites, dark greys and plenty of tweeds in his "Once upon a Time" autumn/winter 2024 collection, described as "Where Limerick meets Downtown New York".
Models in white jackets and floaty skirts opened the show. A selection of plaid looks followed, with the color palette then turning darker for tailored tweed skirt suits, belted coats and short feminine dresses, Reuters reported.
For the evening, there were patterned frocks with puffy sleeves.
"This collection expresses my view that classic design still has its place in high fashion," Costelloe said in show notes.
"I have added a personal moment of nostalgia by adding a print based on the street where I once lived. It was a glorious moment to dream and live."
Costelloe's team also shared a note from the designer explaining his absence due to a virus and wishing London Fashion Week a "happy 40th birthday".
This year marks 40 years since the British Fashion Council (BFC) held its first London Fashion Week, which is one of the four big catwalk fixtures alongside New York, Milan and Paris and is best known for its emerging talent and avant-garde trends.
On Thursday night, several London landmarks were lit up green for the occasion and other celebrations are planned for the year.
"Of course, 40 is kind of a coming of age, a maturity and when we look back, I think we reflect on the incredible creativity that has come through London, and London Fashion Week as a platform," BFC Chief Executive Caroline Rush told Reuters.
"It continues to be about youth culture, subcultures, creativity, innovation and really leading where the rest of the fashion industry will no doubt follow."
Costelloe's show was one of more than 40 catwalk presentations this London Fashion Week, which runs until February 20, with the likes of Burberry, Bora Aksu and Mark Fast also on the calendar.

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Fashion

Hermes Shows Biker Looks in Dusky Colors for Fall/Winter Collection in Paris

A model presents a creation for Hermes for the Women's Ready to Wear Fall/Winter 2026-2027 collection fashion show as part of the Paris Women Fashion Week, in Paris, on March 7, 2026. (AFP)
A model presents a creation for Hermes for the Women's Ready to Wear Fall/Winter 2026-2027 collection fashion show as part of the Paris Women Fashion Week, in Paris, on March 7, 2026. (AFP)
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Hermes Shows Biker Looks in Dusky Colors for Fall/Winter Collection in Paris

A model presents a creation for Hermes for the Women's Ready to Wear Fall/Winter 2026-2027 collection fashion show as part of the Paris Women Fashion Week, in Paris, on March 7, 2026. (AFP)
A model presents a creation for Hermes for the Women's Ready to Wear Fall/Winter 2026-2027 collection fashion show as part of the Paris Women Fashion Week, in Paris, on March 7, 2026. (AFP)

‌Hermes designer Nadege Vanhee took inspiration from the ambience of twilight for a fall/winter collection featuring fluid leather coats, zip-front mini dresses, and biker shorts.

Guests entering the Garde Republicaine, the sprawling barracks of Paris' mounted gendarmes, stepped onto a floor of thick moss extending across the show space.

Models emerged from a luminous ‌circular opening ‌in the far wall evoking the ‌moon ⁠and marched along ⁠a winding raised catwalk, above the vegetation.

The looks came in dusky blue and green tones, with pops of orange, oxblood and yellow.

Tight dresses in dark leather had asymmetrical zips revealing a contrasting ⁠shirt underneath, while long brown overcoats ‌featured huge ‌sheepskin collars.

Aviator jackets and trench coats were paired ‌with glossy cycle shorts made out ‌of lambskin.

Ostrich leather was used throughout for jackets, jodhpurs, and an orange biker-inspired jumpsuit that was zipped up the front and belted ‌at the waist.

Tailoring featured double-breasted jackets and cigarette trousers in browns ⁠and ⁠iridescent burgundy.

Vanhee has been womenswear creative director since 2014 for Hermes, which caters to the ultra-wealthy and tightly controls access to its products, with years-long waiting lists for its most exclusive handbags.

Hermes is one of many major luxury brands showing at Paris Fashion Week, which started on Monday and runs through March 11, with Chanel and Louis Vuitton catwalks still to come.

Fashion

Victoria Beckham Shows Sheer Dresses and Sharp Suits at Paris Fashion Week

FILED - 03 September 2019, United Kingdom, London: David Beckham (L), Victoria Beckham and Brooklyn Beckham arrive at the GQ Men of the Year Awards 2019 in association with Hugo Boss at the Tate Modern. Photo: Matt Crossick/PA Wire/dpa
FILED - 03 September 2019, United Kingdom, London: David Beckham (L), Victoria Beckham and Brooklyn Beckham arrive at the GQ Men of the Year Awards 2019 in association with Hugo Boss at the Tate Modern. Photo: Matt Crossick/PA Wire/dpa
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Victoria Beckham Shows Sheer Dresses and Sharp Suits at Paris Fashion Week

FILED - 03 September 2019, United Kingdom, London: David Beckham (L), Victoria Beckham and Brooklyn Beckham arrive at the GQ Men of the Year Awards 2019 in association with Hugo Boss at the Tate Modern. Photo: Matt Crossick/PA Wire/dpa
FILED - 03 September 2019, United Kingdom, London: David Beckham (L), Victoria Beckham and Brooklyn Beckham arrive at the GQ Men of the Year Awards 2019 in association with Hugo Boss at the Tate Modern. Photo: Matt Crossick/PA Wire/dpa

Victoria Beckham presented sculptural gowns in sheer fabrics, tightly cut suits and voluminous coats in Paris on Friday for a fall/winter 2026 collection that played with shape and texture.

Dresses in dark blues and greens featured bodices of three-dimensional rosettes, a motif that repeated across skirts, contrasting with sober suits in navy and ‌black, said Reuters.

Large overcoats ‌were paired with sheer ‌white ⁠skirts or drainpipe trousers, ⁠while knitwear had giant collars and cut-outs revealing the models' backs.

According to the show notes, the collection was inspired by the work of Art Deco artist Tamara de Lempicka, famous for ⁠her cubist portraits of aristocrats in ‌sumptuous clothing.

Victoria Beckham's ‌husband David and the couple's children Romeo, Cruz, ‌and Harper were on the ‌front row. Their eldest, Brooklyn, was conspicuously absent after he went public in January with accusations against his parents, laying bare a family ‌feud for the first time.

Beckham founded her brand, which sells ⁠dresses ⁠between $950 and $2,500, in 2008 and launched Victoria Beckham Beauty in 2019.

Guests at the show were gifted bottles of her recently launched perfume, Portofino '97, inspired by a holiday the British couple took when they were still a secret item.

Paris Fashion Week, which started on Monday and runs through March 11, features big-name brands including Chanel, Dior, Hermes, Louis Vuitton, and Saint Laurent.

Fashion

Italy's Agnona Brand: Lamb among the Fashion Wolves

Italy's Agnona Brand: Lamb among the Fashion Wolves
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Italy's Agnona Brand: Lamb among the Fashion Wolves

Italy's Agnona Brand: Lamb among the Fashion Wolves

At Milan Fashion Week, headlines go to splashy names, over-the-top fashions and celebrities posing by catwalks.

But behind the scenes, Italy's smaller and medium-sized brands, the often family-owned lifeblood of the industry, are doggedly defending their craft, striving to keep alive long traditions of excellence.

One of them, Agnona, began in 1953 as a wool mill in Italy's northern Piedmont region, producing luxurious textiles in natural fabrics like cashmere, lambswool and angora that supplied top haute couture houses in Paris, from Christian Dior to Givenchy to Yves Saint Laurent.

Acquired in 1999 by the Ermengildo Zegna Group, Agnona switched from textiles to apparel and was sold in 2020 to Zegna family members Stefano Aimone, the chief executive and creative director, and his father Roberto.

Agnona, which is opening its first flagship store in Milan next month, envisions a global network of owned and franchised stores in future.

Stefano Aimone sat down with AFP to explain the challenges facing smaller names amid competition from the big fashion conglomerates, changes in consumer habits and the race towards retail.

- 'Overwhelmed by demand' -

"If you want to aim for quality and certain types of craftsmanship you have to stay here in our Italian boot. But many companies have closed. Many closed because of Covid, post-Covid they were absorbed into larger groups because costs went up, prices fluctuated, they had periods of no sales -- no work at all -- followed by excess work. Financially they didn't have the reserves.

"The businesses that remain are now extremely overwhelmed by demand from the big French groups and the Italian brands.

"The problem isn't just cut-and-sew, it's also the production of materials, because everything cascades down... the dye houses that are still around are clogged up, which creates delays, and delays weaken the quality of the entire industrial process."

- 'Made in Italy' -

"I'd say 'Made in Italy' is becoming relatively less important to them (customers); the customer now identifies more with the brand itself, with its values, with what the brand represents...

"Made in Türkiye, Made in Italy, Made in France -- it can be important, but it's definitely not as important as it once was, because brands have been very active in communicating many other values they embody, which provide justification beyond geography.

"And in a way that's right, because a brand isn't just its product -- it's also what it stands for and what it does beyond the product itself."

- 'Sowing seeds' -

"We're just under 15 million euros in revenue but we expect to reach 20 million and beyond within three years.

"We still have many markets that we haven't even started talking to, for example, all of China, the entire Middle East, all of Latin America, the whole APAC region including Australia.

"Since we took over the brand, there have been years of rebuilding: not only rebuilding our premises -- the industrial site and the headquarters -- but working on the collection.

"We introduced menswear, so we focused heavily on internal work, and we didn't necessarily want to push revenue right away. Because if you go out to market without a solid product, you risk ruining everything you're trying to achieve -- it can be counterproductive.

"So those were years of sowing seeds, and now that we're ready, we're beginning to address the global market."