Latest news with #Birkin
Pink Villa
19 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Pink Villa
Cardi B Goes Instagram Official With Stefon Diggs Amid Ongoing Divorce From Offset
Cardi B has made her relationship with NFL star Stefon Diggs official on Instagram. The rapper shared a series of photos from their Memorial Day weekend getaway in Miami, Florida. One of the pictures shows Cardi posing on a yacht in a black one-piece swimsuit, while another features her and Diggs leaning in for a kiss with her leg draped over his. She captioned the slideshow, 'Chapter 5……Hello Chapter six,' referring to the months of the year. This post marks the first time she shared photos of Diggs directly on her Instagram grid. The couple first sparked dating rumors back in February 2025 after being spotted on a Valentine's Day date in Miami. They were later seen attending a Met Gala afterparty in May and sitting courtside at a New York Knicks playoff game, which marked their first public appearance together. Earlier in May, Stefon Diggs also included Cardi B in his own photo dump on Instagram, adding to the speculation. Their recent Memorial Day weekend trip seemed to celebrate six months of dating. In the Instagram post, Cardi B shared several glamorous moments from the trip, including a video of her twerking in a hot tub, clips of red rose bouquets, and shots of her showing off diamond jewelry and a bright blue Birkin bag. One video showed her singing in an elevator, while another captured her with pink and blonde curls getting ready with her glam team. However, the trip was also linked to a recent viral video of Stefon Diggs partying on a yacht surrounded by women, reportedly during the same weekend. The video showed him handling a bag with an unknown substance, which could potentially affect his status with the New England Patriots. Cardi B's relationship update comes while she is in the middle of a divorce from her estranged husband, Offset. The couple secretly married in 2017 and have three children: Kulture, 6, Wave, 3, and Blossom, born in September 2024. Offset is now seeking spousal support and has requested 'everything' in the divorce proceedings, which led Cardi to share a fiery rant on social media. Cardi B accused Offset of harassment and claimed he has made threats during the legal battle. Despite the ongoing drama, she has chosen to move forward and publicly share her new chapter with Stefon Diggs.
Miami Herald
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
This Birkin, LL Bean love child is chaotic genius (and I need it)
I'm a New Englander through and through. I spent childhood summers swimming in New Hampshire lakes or frolicking on the beaches of Southern Maine. And wherever I went, an L.L. Bean Boat and Tote was always in the mix. Monogrammed, oversized, and packed with snacks, sunscreen, and sandy towels, it was the bag that never let me down. To this day, there is always a Boat and Tote hiding somewhere at our family beach house - ready to be tossed in the car or hauled down to the sand when the moment calls for it. Related: Dior suffers major loss as trailblazing designer exits Though the canvas is a little softer now, it holds everything and somehow still feels cool, in that effortless, practical New England way. But like most people, my taste has evolved. I still love the no-nonsense appeal of a Boat and Tote. But I also can't help but fantasize about the Hermès Birkin, that grail-level icon of luxury handbags. It's aspirational, expensive, and in some ways, totally absurd. Which makes it kind of perfect. So when I came across a bag that mashed up both - the Birkin and the Boat and Tote- I did a double take. Ladies and gentleman, this one is SPECIAL. Image source: Hathaway Hutton Enter the Boatkin. The Boatkin is a handmade, tongue-in-cheek luxury bag from the brand Hathaway Hutton. Dreamed up by founder Jen Risk, the Boatkin fuses the iconic silhouette and hardware of the Hermès Birkin with the familiar canvas and stitching of the L.L. Bean classic. According to the New York Times, Risk launched the Boatkin earlier this year. And while it may have started as a playful one-off, the bag has quickly become part of a much larger - and growing - conversation in fashion: the rise of the dupe. From TikTok-famous Stanley cup lookalikes to the now-infamous Wirkin, dupes have become a defining trend in fashion, blurring the line between homage and knockoff. Related: Forget the Birkin bag, Hermès unveils something unexpected They signal status without the sky-high price, and let consumers buy into the look of a lifestyle without the gatekeeping. The Boatkin, with its wink at two iconic brands, offers a different kind of flex - one that says, "I get the joke." It also reflects a generational shift. Consumers are increasingly seeking individuality, irony, and access, even in their luxury purchases. The Boatkin doesn't pretend to be a Birkin, and that's exactly the point. What began as a playful fashion trend is now a fast-moving market. Social media has supercharged the demand for lookalike luxury, with content creators posting "dupe hauls" and brands scrambling to deliver lower-cost versions of high-end designs. According to a report from WARC, approximately 31% of adults have purchased a dupe, with the number rising to 49% among Gen Z and 44% among millennials. The Boatkin taps into that momentum, but stands apart in its craftsmanship. Where many dupes are mass-produced, Risk's creations are made by hand, often using customer-supplied materials. That limited scale adds exclusivity - ironic, given the concept's populist appeal. But it's exactly this contradiction that makes the Boatkin feel so of-the-moment. The legal gray area surrounding designer-inspired goods remains a hot topic. And as luxury fashion contends with shifting consumer values, brands may have to reckon with more than just copycats. They'll have to compete with creators who remix heritage with humor, yet still command a waitlist. For now, the Boatkin remains a standout. Not because it's trying to be a Birkin, but because it's not. It's a reminder that in today's fashion landscape, the cleverest accessory might be the one that doesn't take itself too seriously. And for me? Let's just say...I'm not not on the waitlist. Related: Birkin bag maker faces major problem The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
Buzz Feed
4 days ago
- Business
- Buzz Feed
23 Luxury Retail Employees Who Deal With The Ultra Rich
We recently asked people of the BuzzFeed Community who worked in luxury retail to tell us what it was really like, and they shared their juiciest work secrets and encounters with the super rich — including celebrities. Here are the most surprising responses: "I worked a call center job for Ralph Lauren. When I say the folks on the phone were entitled, I mean it. They would have full tantrums because socks in a specific color were out of stock, or if we no longer carried a particular item in the store or online. I will NEVER work luxury again." "My tippy top clients are billionaires. You'd be surprised how many there are; most are not household names. They are actually quite polite. They're either focused on having a fun shopping experience or getting their desired items as efficiently as possible. Many have personal assistants who handle the boring stuff like paying and schlepping their items home. And they'll spend thousands in one shot, easily. The lower upper class/upper middle class clients are almost always polite, but they are definitely the source of all the nightmare Karens." "It wasn't couture, but I used to have a few very rich clients when I worked in the men's section of an upscale department store. The wife or administrative assistant would call me and say that the man had however many days of travel or needed a new set of clothes for spring — here's the card. Top of the line suits, pants, sweaters, etc. No biggie to spend $7,000, and they wanted it shipped as quickly as possible." "I worked at a flagship Tiffany & Co. store in the diamond section. It wasn't unusual to see men purchase items for their wife and their side piece (giveaway is that they'd pay with their card on one item and cash on the other). I won't name names, but there was a CEO of a well-known company who openly and casually asked me to pick something for his wife and girlfriend." "I worked in a wedding dress shop where the dresses were on the higher end. Women would come in with NO underwear on and try on these dresses. Mind you, they had to have a salesperson with them to help. I saw so many private parts, it was ridiculous. And not everyone did us a solid and showered before coming in." "Worked in Hermès for a while until I just couldn't stand the entitled people anymore. Pro tip: There is no actual waiting list for a Birkin. If you really want one, you'll need to gather $6,000+ of merchandise and toss it on the counter, and then just before the cashier starts to ring you up, casually ask if they have any Birkins. They'll bring you a selection." "I worked for Michael Kors, and the theft was unreal. While working one night, a group of known offenders came into the store and started grabbing handbags while making it known that employees couldn't do anything about it. They were threatening anyone who even thought about trying to stop them, and customers were frozen in fear. After all was said and done, they got away with thousands of dollars in merchandise. I called the mall police who called in the city police, but the thieves were long gone." "I worked for a boutique retail store geared toward Maserati-driving soccer moms. Someone came in with their 80-year-old sugar daddy, who stood and pointed at everything he wanted her to wear and dropped $1,200 on outfits for her. She walked in with her husband a week or two later like we didn't recognize her from before." "I worked for a very high-end luxury department store for six years. Let me tell you every single person, including myself, is doing some shady stuff. 'Accidentally' marking down items, hiding stock, stealing, hooking up with other coworkers and clients in the back, coke in the fitting rooms, getting items delivered to the wrong address on purpose, etc. The worst was we found out our store manager was using the client book to steal credit card numbers and got arrested. Great designer clothing, though." "I worked for a high-end retailer for home decor. The amount of people who would begin the call with their job title was very high. It gave an air of 'I think I'm more important than you.' And most of the time, they did act like they thought their 💩 didn't stink. I was berated and threatened by many 'lawyers' about back orders or damaged items I had no control over, told how 'important' the order was, had people asking if they could be bumped up in the order line because they needed it for a 'VIP party,' or some other BS." "Always be nice to the associate showing you shoes. I worked at a luxury department store, and so many times a colleague of mine would come to the back stock room, not look for a shoe, and just tell the customer we didn't have it because 1) they didn't think they would end up buying it, 2) the customer would return it within a week, or 3) they just didn't like them." I worked in a high-end chain retail store for a long time on several malls. One of them pretty prominent in the Philly area. I had a few customers who would come in with their wife, and then later, their mistress. A lot of Amex black cards (this was the early 2000s) and a weekly visit — and sometimes lunch — from Bam Margera and his then-girlfriend!!" "A lot of 'luxury' items are made in Asia, but the brands use loopholes that make it look like it was made in Europe or in the US to give the illusion it wasn't mass-produced next door to the Gap sweatshops. There was a big ruckus years ago about some brands getting purses made in India and only getting them finished in Europe, but it was only spoken about in the industry — never made it to the public. Lots of high-end 'American' jewelry is made in Hong Kong." "A sugar daddy came into our store with his two 'babies' — they were sisters, by the way. They had gotten him drunk at lunch and went around the store picking out clothes, handbags, and shoes. Anytime he would ask about the price of something, they would kiss his cheek and whisper things in his ear to shut him up. It was really disturbing. In the end, he spent, like, $20K on them. Who knows what he did or how he got that money. They all looked happy in the end, so it worked out, I guess?" "I worked at Nordstrom in downtown San Francisco (which is now closing) in the designer section. A famous news reporter came in (who was married) with a younger lady friend and bought her $3K in clothes in about eight minutes. Nordstrom also has a 'million dollar sellers club' for the sales associates that obviously sell over a million a year; they get special assistants to help them sell. The busiest time was the anniversary sale where professional women from all over the country would make appointments at our store with these associates to come and pick up their clothes or have them shipped out." "I worked as the assistant to one of the in-house personal shoppers at a high-end department store in Beverly Hills. Some of these extremely wealthy clients would not purchase anything in a size that was labeled anything different than the size they thought they were in their heads. So, I would be sent to the alterations department with multiple couture items that needed their size tags 'switched.' I would take them garments in a size 8, and they would remove the inside tags and sew in a new designer tag that would say it was a size 2 instead — even though the woman buying the clothes was definitely not a size 2. I was shocked that my boss made me do this, and I felt like I was committing some type of fraud. Now, I just look back and feel sorry for those women that needed to be fed a lie in order to buy clothes." "I worked in a women's boutique in an affluent area outside of San Francisco. It was easy to distinguish the rich from the wealthy by how they treated our sales associates when the owner wasn't around. Rich customers were some of the rudest and most insufferable people I have ever encountered while working retail. I've had shoe boxes thrown at me and full glasses of wine spilled on designer handbags without as much as an apology. In contrast, the truly WEALTHY were the most unassuming and appreciative." "Not necessarily 'luxury,' but I sold high-end designer watches once and had a customer come in whose English was wanting. The associate who was helping her became frustrated at this and asked me to take over. Turned out, the customer ended up practically clearing the counters! A little patience goes a long way." "I had a client who would buy three of the same item — one for his wife, the other two for his side pieces. He said he'd buy the same things so he didn't forget who he gave which item or get confused and blow his cover. And there were many, many of these guys who would do the same. We also had a lot of cash purchases that usually still had drug residue on the bills." "I worked at Rolex for exactly 30 days during busy season as their 'ambassador,' meaning I was every sales person's sales assistant and the store manager's personal assistant. Any time someone would come in and sit down to discuss a purchase, it was my job to offer fancy coffee and sparkling water; I'd then take down the order, run across the street to the boutique coffee shop, cut the line, and pay nothing (because Rolex had a limitless tab set up). When I wasn't doing that, I would be handed the boss's Amex and car keys and told to go shopping for his holiday gifting with a vague direction of 'this high-end store, no more than this amount' (which was usually a couple grand)." "I worked at a large luxury department store in the UK, and the customers who didn't have money were so rude. We had a few regulars who would come in and buy the odd candle or designer jumper every now and then, and if you couldn't bend everything to their whim, they would become so aggressive it was unreal. The customers who would regularly do large orders with us or were shopping with us daily, however, were some of the nicest, most polite people I've ever met. One day, close to Christmas, we had a family come in with their children who proceeded to absolutely terrorize the store. When we approached them and told them they needed to control their children, they screamed that they were spending a lot of money and didn't have to do anything we asked. They spent around £200 on the cheapest things they could find in store." "There are demanding customers — especially the ones who pretend that they have the money but don't. Many of the repeat customers, especially socialites, often buy expensive outfits to wear to a fundraiser or major event and return them a few days later for all sorts of odd reasons. These ladies can't be seen in the same outfit again, so they constantly wear and return garments. One time, a lady returned an expensive designer dress and claimed that she hadn't worn it, but was caught in a lie when the salesperson showed her a picture of her in it from the society column of a newspaper. She was stunned and said that she had forgotten what she had worn to that event. I've seen women try on expensive clothes and throw them in the corner of the dressing room instead of hanging the garment back on the rack or laying it on the chair in the room. There were women who would buy the same garment somewhere else on sale and return it to store to get a full price refund." And finallly... "Working in the home department at a Nordstrom in LA, I grew to hate children. Ninety percent of the time, if someone came into our department with a kid, they would NOT watch them. I once pulled a cake knife out of a kid's hand, and the mom just rolled her eyes. Christmas was the worst because kids would regularly grab an ornament off the tree and throw it on the ground to break it." If you've worked at a luxury retail store, what was your experience like? Feel free to tell us in the comments, or use the anonymous form below.
CNET
4 days ago
- Business
- CNET
Listen in Luxury: Hermès Launching $15,000 Headphones This Summer
Handstitched leather. Metallic finishes. Sleek design. A five-digit price tag. No, we're not talking about a car, but it costs nearly as much. Luxury brand Hermès is launching its first headphones this summer -- they're already on sale in The Netherlands -- and if you have to ask the price, you might not be able to afford it. They're $15,000. And no, they're not solid gold. The design, from Paris-based Ateliers Horizons, features handstitched cowhide leather and comes in colors such as naturel (dark beige), black, chocolate, rouge H (deep red) and Prussian blue. The headphones mark the first foray into audio for the company's bespoke division. The Hermès headphones are not yet for sale on the US store website, but they are on the site for The Netherlands. Hermes A representative for Hermès did not immediately respond to a request for comment. There's no word on when the headphones will be for sale in the US. It's the kind of unique and expensive product we're accustomed to seeing from Paris-based Hermès, which also sells the renowned and equally pricey Birkin tote bag. The Birkin was first introduced in 1984 for $2,000, but now sells for over $13,000. Don't have a cool $15K to pony up for these Hermès headphones? For more modestly priced devices, check out CNET's review of the top headphones of 2025, the best wireless ones and the best for noise-cancelling. For a bit of perspective, for the price of one set of Hermès headphones, you could buy 33 pair of one of CNET's top headphones for 2025, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Bluetooth headphones, currently priced at $449 at Amazon. Hermès' new headphones are among the latest creations to come out of Hermès' bespoke division, Ateliers Horizons, based in the Paris suburbs. Designer Axel de Beaufort and his team of around 50 have previously made audio products such as a jukebox, vertical turntable boombox, and a lacquered mahogany DJ table. Hermès has also had a years-long partnership with Apple to create leather straps for Apple watches.
Miami Herald
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
Dior suffers major loss as trailblazing designer exits
There are few moments more core to my fashion memory than the day my mom bought her first Dior bag. We were in London - just the three of us: my mom, my aunt, and me. A girls' trip filled with visiting family, seeing The Killers at the O2, and eating our way through the city. Of course, no girls' trip is complete without a little shopping. My mom, who had spent most of her life putting everyone else first, finally let herself splurge. She looked at a handful of bags. But then she tried on a white crossbody with gold hardware. Related: Louis Vuitton, Dior customers get bad news My aunt and I stood behind her, beaming. It wasn't quite her usual style, but we all knew it was the one. It just worked for her in a way nothing else did. That moment felt bigger than just a shopping win. Dior had become part of an ongoing shift - not just in how she looked, but in how she was starting to see herself. The brand stood for women becoming the main character in their own stories, unapologetically and on their own terms. This is why the news Dior just dropped feels like such a blow. Image source: Solaro/AFP via Getty Images Maria Grazia Chiuri, Dior's first female creative director, is stepping down after a nine-year tenure. The fashion house confirmed her departure in a Thursday statement, ending a run that began in 2016 and reshaped the brand with a boldly feminist edge. From her debut Spring/Summer 2017 collection with the now-iconic "We Should All Be Feminists" tee, Chiuri brought a clear message: fashion isn't just about clothes - it's about power, identity, and inclusion. Related: Forget the Birkin bag, Hermès unveils something unexpected During her time at Dior, Chiuri made headlines with bold collaborations, feminist messaging, and the revival of iconic pieces like the Saddle Bag. Her designs weren't always about flash; they were about feeling. And they resonated. Under her leadership, Dior's couture sales jumped from €2.2 billion in 2017 to €9.5 billion in 2023, according to HSBC. But in the first quarter of 2025, LVMH (LVMHF) reported a 5% decline in sales in its fashion and leather goods division. Her departure comes during a delicate time for the brand. Chiuri didn't just create clothes - she created meaning. She was the architect of a brand identity that managed to blend heritage with progress. Under her watch, Dior didn't just reference Christian Dior's past, it reimagined it through a female lens. In an industry still dominated by men, she carved out space for stories and silhouettes that celebrated all kinds of women. As Dior works through a luxury slowdown and increasing pressure from rivals like Chanel and Loewe, this leadership gap could be more than symbolic. It may signal a creative reset, one that risks alienating the very customers Chiuri brought into the fold. A successor has yet to be named. And as for me, every time I see my mom wearing that white Dior bag, I think of that London day - of laughter, joy, and the quiet power of watching a woman choose herself. Dior helped make that possible. Now, without Chiuri, it has to prove it still can. Related: Chanel customers should be happy about its new pricing plan The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
