Latest news with #ArdAzAei
Fashion Network
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Fashion Network
Paris couture: Elie Saab, By Fang Couture and ArdAzAei
Often, the greatest progenitors of couture – a very French concept – are born thousands of kilometers from France. Three such talents – Elie Saab, By Fang Couture and ArdAzAei – offered up impressive visions of revived couture classicism. None of them were born in France. Elie Saab: Royal court couture 'I dreamed of a royal court,' beamed Elie Saab, after one of his most opulent and sculptural collections to date. Staged inside the Pavillon Cambon, opposite Chanel 's HQ, the cast marched down the Belle Époque wrought-iron staircase into a packed house for the Lebanese couturier's latest show. Keeping to the regal theme, Elie sent out three veteran runway princesses to open the show. The ever-defiantly moody Dutch blonde beauty Lara Stone, swaddled in charcoal and crème caramel silk shantung, sculpted into a stunning gown. Russian beauty Sasha Pivovarova followed up in a décolleté black velvet jacket, laced at the back, and paired with crepe knickerbockers and a moiré satin train. Isabeli Fontana completed the trilogy in a va-va-vroom curvy velour gown, held together with diagonal lace stitching. Their hair left tousled, the throats looped in black ribbon, this was the sexiest Saab opening in eons. And no harm in that. Then Elie sent his famous atelier into overdrive with beautiful gowns made in magnified spring flowers, finished with bugle beading, strass and crystals. One technique of knotting folds of fabric at the front, used on duchess satin gowns, was the work of a master couturier working his magic. While his pyramidal pink feather dress was a work of astounding skill, as was his reinvented and seductive French corsetry. Composed in a fresh macaron palette of nude, rose coral pink, faint blue, and mint, with dollops of imperial black and gold, this felt like a magnificent court. For those who desire their couture to blend beauty with technical excellence, Saab and his atelier are second to none on their day. No wonder Elie won a standing ovation. As the cast assembled on the staircase, he took his familiar modest bow. By Fang Couture: Zhezhi chic at the Eiffel Tower East dialogued with West this season at By Fang Couture, an elegant indie label that staged its first show on a terrace facing the Eiffel Tower. Created by China-born Fang Yang, a graduate of noted Paris fashion college Esmod, By Fang is all about blending great European fabrics and silhouettes with clever Chinese techniques. The collection's key idea was using Zhezhi, the Chinese art of paper folding, a little like their version of origami, which ranged from handkerchiefs folded into wee flowers to some beguiling dresses made of dexterously folded duchess satin. The result was a very refined series of folded lattice dresses, such as a ruby red sheath finished with tiny buds of jade beads. Yang founded the brand with her life partner Grégoire Caillol, and together they have dreamed up a marque with a distinctive point of view. In 2015, she opened the couture maison By Fang. By Fang also showed breastplate tops made in puckered black organza finished with crystals, or a pair of beautiful chiffon lattice bustier dresses decorated with tiny amethysts – in red or softer beige. 'I wanted to work with silk and other fabrics the way I had worked with paper. It's a homage to my heritage and also to my idea of Parisian elegance,' explained Yang in a pre-show preview. As the sun descended, Yang staged her show, the refined delicacy of the clothes happily contrasted by the raw power of the tower across the Seine. East rather at ease with the West, just like this collection. ArdAzAei: Folded sea, fine food Charles Darwin would have loved the latest collection by ArdAzAei, and the audience certainly did too. Darwin believed – quite rightly – that the origin of life was the meeting of land and sea, which was why he studied mollusks on the shores of the North Sea, while a student at the University of Edinburgh. Like the great scientist, ArdAzAei's designer Bahareh Arkadani found inspiration from the sea, more specifically the sea urchin, with its unlikely pentaradial geometry and mythical status as 'talismans of protection.' Entitled The Folded Sea, the collection played on the ideal shape of sea urchins, whose shells decorate seaside homes from Galway to Gothenburg, Nantes to Naples. The result was a hyper-original collection of undulating shapes, ribbed formers, and unexpected drama. Suggesting the curvature of a bivalve with opening black crepe blazers and bustier dresses. The glistening finish of crustaceans in techy ecru pantsuits. Or playing visually on a stormy sea in a superb, layered lurex gown, finished with bold cut-outs. Everything looked elegant and noble in the midday light of the airy ground floor of the Cartier Foundation. To ArdAzAei fell the honor of being the first couture house to show there since the art center's recent restoration, in some savvy management. Though highly eco-conscious, Arkadani is not afraid to use advanced fabrics – like the 'armor-plated' cocktail with protective straps that sat three inches off the shoulders, made of silk, cotton and stainless steel. Arkadani could do with a little self-editing. Quite a few looks had one too many swirls, dissections or ruffles. But this was still a special fashion statement, using the power of fabric and fashion imagery to suggest a more beautiful, and understanding, world. Staged at a slow speed, surprisingly to a soundtrack that included a lovely quirky industrial track named Metabolism by Baintermix, this was one of those shows one only ever sees in Paris couture. Celebrated with delightful food courtesy of the happening Danish chef Claus Meyer, a new star of Nordic cuisine. Hand-dived scallops on caviar with white sturgeon caviar, topped by a sprinkling of fennel. Oyster emulsion with pickled cucumber and flowers, all washed down by an excellent Spanish biodynamic wine, Can Sumoi Ancestral Montonega. Come to think of it, Darwin would have approved of the food too.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
EXCLUSIVE: Sustainable Couture Label ArdAzAei Taps Ulrik Garde Due as CEO
PARIS — Sustainable couture house ArdAzAei is ramping up for its next step of development, with the nomination of Ulrik Garde Due as chief executive officer. 'Ulrik is a seasoned executive with a deep understanding of how to translate creative excellence into market opportunity,' says Johannes Falk, cofounder of ArdAzAei. 'This marks a pivotal evolution for our maison. His leadership will allow us to balance our uncompromising artistic standards with the operational strength required for growth.' More from WWD Balenciaga, Maison Margiela Among Highlights of Provisional Paris Couture Schedule StockX Taps Frequent Nike, LeBron James Collaborator Daniel De Jesus Krueger as Head of Creative EXCLUSIVE: Kizik Names Former Nike Exec Gareth Hosford as Its New CEO A trained gemologist, Iranian Swedish cofounder and creative director Bahareh Ardakani came to couture while taking a technical look at the supply chain combined with an old-world French craftsmanship. She and Falk founded the brand in 2018 in Stockholm and established it in Paris in 2022, with an off-schedule couture show followed by the opening of a showroom and atelier on Rue Saint-Florentin in the 1st arrondissement. From the start, the goal was to build a house complete with couture, ready-to-wear, accessories and high jewelry, all while making it sustainable. For her first Paris show, Ardakani told WWD her ready-to-wear would 'eschew trend-based consumption' — tackling the overconsumption problem of multiple 'must-have' collections a year — and be released in small, in-season drops. ArdAzAei became a guest member of the couture federation starting with the fall 2024 couture season. Its fall 2024 ready-to-wear was its first fully Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS)-certified collection. For Garde Due, who has served as strategic advisor to ArdAzAei since 2024, the company is 'building something truly exceptional.' 'ArdAzAei is answering a global demand for fashion that carries meaning — crafted with precision, driven by purpose,' the veteran executive declared. 'We're entering a chapter where emotionally intelligent design must meet commercial scale, and I'm excited to bring this vision to the global consumer.' On his roadmap is the brand's expansion into a 'complete wardrobe of ready-to-wear,' slated to be unveiled during October's Paris Fashion Week. Garde Due has extensive experience in the fashion and luxury space, most recently as operational chairman of the board of Cecilie Bahnsen, a position he has held for over nine years. He is also chairman of the board at sustainability reporting and consulting firm Positive Luxury. Previously, the executive served stints as president and CEO of American leather goods brand Mark Cross; president of the living division of Fiskars Corp., which operates Wedgewood, Waterford and Royal Doulton and other home labels; CEO of Temperley London, and president and CEO of Georg Jensen. Earlier in his career, he served as senior vice president of Burberry; global director of marketing and sales at Cerruti, and vice president of North America at Celine. Best of WWD EXCLUSIVE: Maje Names Charlotte Tasset Ferrec CEO Nadja Swarovski Exits Family Company Amid Ongoing Corporate Shakeup Aeffe MD Exits Fashion Group Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Balenciaga, Maison Margiela Among Highlights of Provisional Paris Couture Schedule
PARIS — Demna's final haute couture collection for Balenciaga and Glenn Martens' debut for Maison Margiela will be among the highlights of a thinned-out Paris Couture Week, the provisional calendar released Monday by the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode confirmed. As reported, Dior is sitting out the season following the arrival of Jonathan Anderson at the creative helm of womenswear. He succeeds Maria Grazia Chiuri, who showed 31 haute couture looks as part of her swansong cruise collection in Rome last week. More from WWD Rachel Brosnahan Gets Sculptural in Dior, Leslie Bibb Pops in Stella McCartney and More Looks From the 2025 Gotham TV Awards EXCLUSIVE: Sustainable Couture Label ArdAzAei Taps Ulrik Garde Due as CEO Kerry Washington Pairs Japanese-inspired Dior Look With Platform Sandals for Peabody Awards 2025 Jean Paul Gaultier is also taking a break after appointing Duran Lantink as creative director, switching from its strategy of seasonal guest designers. The Woolmark Prize winner is set to show his first ready-to-wear collection for the house in September and will make his couture debut next January. Also dropping off the calendar this season are Alexis Mabille, Julien Fournié, Gaurav Gupta, Maison Sara Chraibi and Miss Sohee. There will be 27 shows on the four-day fall couture schedule slated to run between July 7 and 10, with Schiaparelli kicking off proceedings on the Monday at 10 a.m. and Germanier closing the week at 5:30 p.m. on the Thursday. Balenciaga will stage its annual couture show on July 9 at midday, after which Demna will move to Gucci and hand the baton to Pierpaolo Piccioli, who was confirmed as the brand's new creative director last month. Meanwhile, Martens will inaugurate his tenure at Margiela with an Artisanal collection due to be unveiled on July 9 at 7:30 p.m. After presenting his first couture collection for Valentino in January, Alessandro Michele is sitting out this season. The Italian house announced in September that it planned to show couture once a year in Paris. Among those returning to the official calendar are Iris Van Herpen, who has also moved to an annual calendar for her couture collections; Robert Wun; ArdAzAei and Adeline André. Syrian-born, Dubai-based designer Rami Al Ali will be making his debut on the official calendar on July 10 at 2:30 p.m. Chanel, Giambattista Valli, Zuhair Murad and Stéphane Rolland will stick to their usual time slots. Chanel is showing its last collection designed by a studio team ahead of Matthieu Blazy's debut show as artistic director in October. Giorgio Armani Privé's two shows will take place at July 8 at 6:30 and 7:30 p.m., instead of 6 and 7 p.m. previously, while on July 9, Elie Saab has moved to 2:30 p.m. from 12:30 p.m., and Viktor & Rolf to 4 p.m. from 4:30 p.m. Juana Martin and Ashi Studio have moved up by two days and will now be showing on the Tuesday at 3:30 and 4:30 p.m., respectively. In another eagerly awaited debut, Michael Rider will present his debut collection for Celine on the eve of Paris Couture Week with a fashion show on July 6 at 2:30 p.m., as previously reported. It is not yet clear if the display will feature womenswear, menswear or both. Patou will show its spring 2026 women's ready-to-wear collection on the same day at 5 p.m. Best of WWD Bottega Veneta Through the Years Chanel's Ambassadors Over The Years Ranking Fashion's Longest-serving Creative Directors
Fashion Network
03-06-2025
- Business
- Fashion Network
Couture label ArdAzAei names Ulrik Garde Due as CEO
Garde Due, who has worked in Asia, Europe and America, is a highly experienced luxury industry executive, having held senior positions at several fashion and jewellery brands. After studying business and marketing in Copenhagen, Paris and London, he worked for Celine, Cerruti and Burberry. In 2007, he took charge of Danish jewellery brand Georg Jensen. Six years later, he was named CEO of British fashion label Temperley London, and in 2016 he took charge of a division of Finnish kitchenware producer Fiskars Group. At the end of 2018, he was named CEO of long-established US luxury leather goods brand Mark Cross. In parallel, Garde Due became chairman of the board of consulting firm Positive Luxury, a sustainability specialist, and operational chairman of the board at Danish label Cecilie Bahnsen, which shows in Paris. 'With this appointment, ArdAzAei is affirming its vision: to gear up for sustainable growth, transforming the brand with rigour and preparing the label for a new stage in its international expansion,' said the label in a press release. ArdAzAei was founded in Stockholm in 2018 and established a presence in Paris in 2022, opening a store and an atelier near place de la Concorde, at 11 rue Saint-Florentin. ArdAzAei's sophisticated minimalist style 'is a blend of French expertise, Persian heritage, and Scandinavian design principles,' and takes great care to respect the environment. Most of the items in its next ready-to-wear collection will be 'GOTS-certified and crafted from organic, custom-developed textiles. The garments will be produced in EPV-certified ateliers in France (entreprise du patrimoine vivant, or living heritage company), ensuring full traceability,' said ArdAzAei.
Fashion Network
03-06-2025
- Business
- Fashion Network
Couture label ArdAzAei names ex-Temperley London chief Ulrik Garde Due as CEO
Garde Due, who has worked in Asia, Europe and America, is a highly experienced luxury industry executive, having held senior positions at several fashion and jewellery brands. After studying business and marketing in Copenhagen, Paris and London, he worked for Celine, Cerruti and Burberry. In 2007, he took charge of Danish jewellery brand Georg Jensen. Six years later, he was named CEO of British fashion label Temperley London, and in 2016 he took charge of a division of Finnish kitchenware producer Fiskars Group. At the end of 2018, he was named CEO of long-established US luxury leather goods brand Mark Cross. In parallel, Garde Due became chairman of the board of consulting firm Positive Luxury, a sustainability specialist, and operational chairman of the board at Danish label Cecilie Bahnsen, which shows in Paris. 'With this appointment, ArdAzAei is affirming its vision: to gear up for sustainable growth, transforming the brand with rigour and preparing the label for a new stage in its international expansion,' said the label in a press release. ArdAzAei was founded in Stockholm in 2018 and established a presence in Paris in 2022, opening a store and an atelier near place de la Concorde, at 11 rue Saint-Florentin. ArdAzAei's sophisticated minimalist style 'is a blend of French expertise, Persian heritage, and Scandinavian design principles,' and takes great care to respect the environment. Most of the items in its next ready-to-wear collection will be 'GOTS-certified and crafted from organic, custom-developed textiles. The garments will be produced in EPV-certified ateliers in France (entreprise du patrimoine vivant, or living heritage company), ensuring full traceability,' said ArdAzAei.
