Latest news with #AlexanderFury
Fashion United
23-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Fashion United
Swarovski's ‘Masters of Light' exhibition heading to Hollywood
Austrian crystal house Swarovski has confirmed that its immersive 'Masters of Light' exhibition is heading to Hollywood in Los Angeles, after sold-out stops in Vienna, Milan, Shanghai and Seoul. The exhibition, envisioned by Swarovski's global creative director Giovanna Engelbert and curated by British fashion journalist and critic Alexander Fury, celebrates Swarovski's 130th anniversary with a multisensory journey through the Austrian house's heritage, innovation, and creativity. The Los Angeles experience will kick off with an exclusive invite-only event on October 28, followed by a seven-day public run from October 29. The immersive exhibition will pay homage to Swarovski's savoir-faire, showcasing its influence on stage, screen, and style, offering visitors a close-up view of iconic Hollywood moments crafted with Swarovski. Swarovski 'Masters of Light' exhibition in Milan Credits: Swarovski
Vogue Arabia
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Vogue Arabia
Jimmy Choo Revives its Archival Designs
Shoe addicts, consider yourselves warned . That clickity-clack you hear? It's the unmistakable sound of the hot heels you'll be chasing down very soon. To mark its 30th anniversary, Jimmy Choo has reissued eight iconic styles from its archives — masterpieces born in the late '90s and early 2000s. It was a heady time when fashion was feral, unapologetic and very high-heeled. Now, three decades later, curated by Jimmy Choo's Creative Director Sandra Choi, London-based designer Conner Ives, and fashion journalist Alexander Fury, they're back — and they've lost none of their original bite. Its a line-up that reads like a capsule of fashion's wild at heart - exciting and pulsating with potential action: The Boot. The Thong. The Slide. The Strappy. Each one a distilled archetype of early-aughts glamour, engineered to ignite a frenzy of flashbacks, and probably a few frantic add-to-cart moments. But, firstly, we need to talk about the Leo. An animal-print, strappy heeled sandal, first immortalised by Carrie Bradshaw in the opening credits of the era defining Sex and the City, twirling in her pink tutu on the streets of NYC. That tutu and those heels came to define the chaotic chic of every twenty-something's vision of downtown dressing. Blink and you might miss it, but that's the moment Jimmy Choo walked right into pop culture – and never left. The Leo, released in 1998 Photo: Jimmy Choo Then came the oddly named 72138 — a delicate lilac suede sandal, its toe strap festooned with a band of wispy feathers. Worn by Carrie Bradshaw once again as she scurried through the city, it helped set the stage for one of Sex and the City 's most iconic moments. In an episode titled Where There's Smoke , Carrie's racing to catch a ferry back to Manhattan, chasing down those elusive cabs — only to lose one, and with it, a single shoe. The perfect cue for the perfect line 'I lost my Choo!' she cries as the ferry pulls away. Off-screen, the moment ignited a frenzy. The 72138 quickly sold out and became a shorthand for the brand's mix of whimsy and desirability. It marked a turning point: no longer just a luxury label, Jimmy Choo became the name in aspirational footwear. Women weren't just buying heels, they were buying into a lifestyle, a TV fantasy, a character's closet. 'That was the moment I discovered Jimmy Choo,' shares Duha Bukadi, the shoe designer behind her eponymous label. 'I was still an architecture student and couldn't afford any Choos, but they made me dream, the way fashion still does.' 'I think the feather sandal 72138 has a lot to answer for,' reflects Choi, the niece of the original creator, Jimmy Choo, who founded the brand in 1996. 'It anchored a point of view in what was then regarded as outstanding fashion, establishing the importance of cultural connection from the very early days.' Now, with the original series resurfacing on Netflix and the reboot ( And Just Like That ) pulling in a whole new generation of acolytes, the Carrie/Choo relationship is being reintroduced — and with it, a renewed interest. 'What's nostalgia for some is discovery for others,' Choi adds. The iconic 72138 established in 1998, re-issued for the first time Photo: Jimmy Choo Speaking of throwbacks, there's the aptly named Thong heel — a disco ball of a shoe, featuring a slinky, silvered chainmail triangle that channels the Y2K obsession with handkerchief tops. Ill-fated as a piece of clothing, perhaps, yet ever so scintillating as a shoe. There's also the Flower, one of the best-selling styles from S/S 2001, with a silk corsage-like purple bud perched delicately atop a barely-there metallic gold sandal. An impossible shoe, the flower seemingly floating, ushering in yet another frenzy, this time round for groomed heels and glossy pedicures. Back then, a salon in NYC was offering high-end 'Choo-Choo' pedicures, where scraps of paisley and floral prints from Jimmy Choo's summer collection were affixed to nails and sealed with high-gloss polish. An article in Elle magazine in the early aughts even reported a rise in cosmetic foot surgeries across North America, all in pursuit of toes worthy of a pair of Choos. The obsession was real. The Thong circa early 2000 Photo: Jimmy Choo Photo: Jimmy Choo 'Personally, I love the first Strappy design as a thong sandal on an 85mm heel" writes Choi, with such gusto you can practically hear the enthusiasm in her voice. "Those fine straps casing around the toes and the curve of the arch push just enough sexiness that you forget you're wearing a thong sandal on a high heel, because you're going to have fun looking so fabulous!'
New York Times
03-03-2025
- General
- New York Times
Why Is Everything Dry-Clean Only Now?
In truth, I think the ubiquity of the dry-cleaning label is less about a conspiracy between fashion and launderers and more about fashion companies watching their backs. How to wash clothes, especially special clothes, is one of those skills that became … well, unfashionable back in the middle of the last century, when home ec classes went the way of the dodo. Given that many consumers are no longer schooled in the art of hand washing silk versus cashmere versus wool, or may simply feel it is not worth their time, it is likely that companies have decided it is wiser and simpler to advise dry cleaning rather than to include complicated care instructions that may not be followed. If that happens, dissatisfied customers may blame them when garments have shrunk, become discolored or been otherwise wrecked when they were placed in the washing machine by mistake. It's possible there are other reasons for the tags. Alexander Fury, the fashion features director of AnOther magazine, told me that he had spent time working for a young British designer before going into publishing and that the company always added 'dry-clean-only' tags to garments because they were the only tags the brand had. 'I think it was a cost-saving decision,' he said. That said, it is true that we generally over-clean our clothes and over-dry clean them. Since dry cleaning is done with chemicals, that is not good for the environment or, if you do it too often, the clothes. It is common wisdom, for example, that jeans rarely need to be washed. Chip Bergh, the former chief executive of Levi Strauss, once told me he never washed his denim, and Daniel Roseberry, the designer of Schiaparelli, told me he almost never washed his suits. Mr. Roseberry, who worked at Thom Browne for 10 years before joining Schiap, said, 'They told you never to dry clean your suits.' 'It shortens the life span of your clothes dramatically,' he said. 'I know most people wear designer clothes and dry clean them after every use, but it's crazy.' Instead, he advised simply spot cleaning a stain (the American Cleaning Institute has good suggestions for how) and then hanging the suit up and brushing it down as needed to remove dust and lint. I decided to poll some other fashion folks to find out how they thought about dry cleaning. There are no hard and fast rules, but many of them, like Nikki Ogunnaike, the editor of Marie Claire, said their approach to each garment depended on their own comfort level with washing. 'Cashmere, generally, I don't think needs to be dry cleaned,' Ms. Ogunnaike said, adding that she usually hand-washed her sweaters or used the lowest machine cycle. 'It really just depends on how sad I'd be if I got it wrong,' she said. Penny Martin, the editor of The Gentlewoman, went further. She never dry cleans anything, she said — 'even the fanciest things, with paillettes' — because she lives in the countryside and cleaners are an hour's drive away. She simply hand-washes garments in cold water (she uses Soak laundry soap) and then blocks everything carefully to dry. She also swears by the book 'Garment Goddess' by Laura de Barra for advice on how to clean all kinds of clothes. And she always looks pristine. For more advice, our sister publication Wirecutter has published a useful guide entitled 'All the things you don't need to dry clean even if the label says you do,' which pretty much sums up the situation, and is a great starting point for making an educated decision about your own wardrobe. Though, speaking of education, I think every high school should reintroduce home ec (and shop for that matter). After all, given the investment cost of clothes, laundry isn't really a chore — it's a science. Your Style Questions, Answered Every week on Open Thread, Vanessa will answer a reader's fashion-related question, which you can send to her anytime via email or Twitter. Questions are edited and condensed.
