Latest news with #Vivier
Daily Maverick
20-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Maverick
Is Bitcoin useful yet? The question explored in ‘Decrypting Crypto: the utility conversation'
Forget speculation – can you buy bread with Bitcoin? Daily Maverick's second Decrypting Crypto webinar tackled whether crypto's promise of real-world use is finally growing roots from South Africa's (SA's) townships and suburbs to shops and remittances. Bitcoin's rocket ride is well known – a single coin, worth around R3,300 at the end of 2014, then called the worst investment of that year, is now worth more than R2-million. While exchanges do exist to turn Bitcoin into fiat currency, the question remains: is Bitcoin gaining real practical utility for ordinary South Africans? The answer is that while it's still early days, cryptocurrency is becoming more practical to use in everyday life, thanks to growing adoption and an expanding range of real-world applications. In this second edition of Business Maverick's Decrypting Crypto webinar series held on 10 July 2025, crypto journalist Lindsey Schutters looked to unpack the issue beyond the hype of the marketplace, in conversation with Larry Cooke, head of legal for Binance Africa, and Hermann Vivier, founder of Bitcoin Ekasi and Chairman of The Surfer Kids. It's about simplicity For Vivier, Bitcoin's usefulness isn't just about whether it works as a payment system. It's about what it represents. 'Bitcoin was created specifically as a response against central banking,' he said. 'Satoshi Nakamoto recognised that the basic problem is the centralisation of control. So the answer to that is decentralisation.' Vivier's motivation isn't profit, but principle. 'Utility is a second-layer conversation. The first layer is ideology,' he explained. 'If my utility application of this thing loses sight of that core question, then I'm not doing it right.''I want to be able to do everything I do with normal money. I want to be able to do that with Bitcoin – in the simplest, most straightforward way possible,' he continued. Building Bitcoin Ekasi But ideals are tested in the real world – which is exactly why he helped launch Bitcoin Ekasi in Mossel Bay. Inspired by El Salvador's Bitcoin Beach, the project is building a circular economy around Bitcoin. Salaries are paid in crypto, and spaza shops are encouraged to accept it. 'We've onboarded about 50 businesses in the community,' Vivier said. 'We currently pay 22 staff salaries entirely in Bitcoin. The coaches at Surfer Kids use that money to buy essentials like groceries and electricity. Where Bitcoin isn't accepted, I sometimes convert to rand – but the goal is for crypto to be used as is.' It's not an overnight transformation, though. 'Adoption is slow. It's gradual. And that's normal,' Vivier said. 'Money changes very slowly. Just look at how long it took to go from gold to fiat, or for credit cards to become mainstream.' Everyday use, and a grocery pocket While Vivier is building grassroots use cases, Cooke sees crypto utility growing both personally and institutionally. At Binance Africa, he focuses on legal frameworks, consumer protection and enabling everyday use. Cooke uses his Binance wallet to pay for groceries at Pick n Pay via the Lightning Network, a fast and cheap transaction layer built on top of Bitcoin. 'Freedom of money – that's our slogan,' he said. 'It's about giving consumers control over their assets and allowing them to choose the tools that work best for them.' He distinguishes between personal utility – how individuals make their money more efficient – and general utility, where a broader ecosystem enables spending and saving with crypto. 'What you're trying to solve for is efficiencies,' he explained. 'How do I get the most out of my money? How do I make it simpler, better, faster?' Taxes, scams and the chain that doesn't lie Crypto may be borderless, but Sars treats it as an asset – every disposal triggers a tax event. 'We do enable tax regimes because we are global… we've created a tax tool that allows individuals to reconcile buying and selling and basically calculate their own tax,' said Cooke. 'It's not a certificate per se, but it's one of the closest things you'll find at this point in time.' And while scams are a persistent risk, the blockchain never forgets: 'Once the crypto transaction takes place, you can't undo it. You can't remove it off the blockchain… Eventually you will get caught.' The conversation repeatedly returned to the need for education and inclusion. 'A lot of people have burnt their fingers in past hype cycles,' Vivier admitted. That's why responsible onboarding and community-building matter. For Cooke, the future isn't about crypto versus banks, but about co-existence. 'We're not here to compete with banks or M-Pesa,' he said. 'It's about interoperability. All technologies are embraced. All systems function together.' He points to mobile money's success in Kenya and explains why SA – with its robust banking infrastructure – hasn't seen the same adoption pattern. 'South Africans weren't desperate for a mobile solution like M-Pesa. But crypto can still be valuable in a strong financial system – especially when it offers new ways to move money or store value.' Volatility bites Of course, Bitcoin's volatility remains a sticking point. But Vivier argued that fiat currencies aren't much better – especially across Africa. 'The value of Bitcoin comes from its decentralised network and its rules. It's run without fail for 16 years.' Cooke agreed, adding: 'Fiat is just as volatile in some African countries. What we offer with crypto is transparency and immutability.' That transparency is also a double-edged sword. While the blockchain can expose fraud, it's also why CBDCs (central bank digital currencies) are raising red flags. 'CBDCs are a surveillance tool,' Vivier warned. 'They represent the final merger of money and state. With that control, governments can switch off protestors' bank accounts. That's dangerous.' 'This is why we're doing this series,' Schutters explained to viewers. 'Crypto isn't just a currency play – it's a community education project too.' 'Even I fall victim to concentrating too much on the investment asset side of Bitcoin, and forget to talk about the everyday-use case,' he confessed. One (big) question at a time 'Is crypto useful yet?' asks Schutters in conclusion. In short: yes, but it's still early days. Crypto is being used in Mossel Bay townships, at retail tills in Pick n Pay, and increasingly in online services and cross-border remittances. But broader adoption hinges on community education, smarter regulation and practical use cases. Both DM guests had advice for crypto newcomers. 'Ask questions,' Vivier urged. 'Don't feel stupid. This is a paradigm shift. Every person you onboard brings us closer.'
Fashion Network
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Fashion Network
Valentino Garavani launches Vain bag campaign, Roger Vivier celebrates pre-fall collection
Two key European luxury labels have launched new campaigns with Valentino Garavani and Roger Vivier launching new creative marketing drives in the accessories and footwear sectors. Following the recent launch of the Nellcôte bag campaign, Maison Valentino now continues its storytelling journey with the unveiling of the second chapter: the Valentino Garavani Vain bag campaign. Conceived by creative director Alessandro Michele and shot by photographer Sharna Osborne, we're told the campaign 'is a tactile exploration of emotional intimacy and femininity. Evoking the aesthetic of analogue photography, it crafts an atmosphere where beauty is suspended in time'. The brand added that 'the images, with their faded colour tones and grainy backdrops, are imbued with a powerful texture that recalls the dreamlike sensibility of early film and the intensity of voyeuristic cinema'. Looking almost like video stills, the bag is the focal point of every image as the visuals portray two women 'in a series of compositions that suggest an atmosphere of private and shared allure. Whether together or apart, they appear caught in a world of whispered secrets and shadowy glamour, where the Vain bag becomes a silent witness to their intimacy'. The campaign supports new developments for the Vain bag this season with the introduction of a new top handle style featuring an elongated handle that allows it to be worn on the shoulder. There's also a new oval-shaped vanity bag, with a top flap acting as a lid, that 'brings a modern attitude to the line while preserving the original bag's refined codes'. The signature shoulder bags also return with updated finishes and 'rich surfaces', that is, multicolour floral embroideries rendered in beads, velvet, raffia, or leather, and a new printed animalier variation referencing the RTW collection. Vivier's Paris life Meanwhile, at Riger Vivier, the new campaign for the autumn 2025 pre-collection is called ' La Vie Parisienne ' and was conceived by brand creative director Gherardo Felloni 'as both homage and provocation'. Shot inside a hôtel particulier (one of the grand townhouses found in key French cities) 'and along hushed city streets, the story unfolds like a secret — caught in a glance, stretched across a brocade sofa. It captures something rarer than beauty: character. Here, elegance isn't constructed. It's instinctual'. So far, so very Parisian. But the company said that 'this is not the Paris of clichés. Nor is the Vivier woman one. She is elegant but unpredictable, refined yet untamed — never explaining, always becoming. Like the muses who once wore Vivier — Deneuve, Bardot, and beyond — she moves between worlds. Perhaps an art dealer. Perhaps a writer. Or neither. She doesn't follow fashion. She defines style'. It features a variety of both formal and casual shoes, along with bags. So who are the stars of this particular show? As far as the models are concerned, Felloni has cast three women 'who embody this spirit". There's Louise de Blegiers," with a modern intensity beneath her quiet poise; [plus] Zoé Adjani and Léa Rostain, actresses whose presence distills softness and edge. Parisian by birth or by affinity, these are not women who perform femininity — they reinvent it'.
Fashion Network
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Fashion Network
Valentino Garavani launches Vain bag campaign, Roger Vivier celebrates pre-fall collection
Two key European luxury labels have launched new campaigns with Valentino Garavani and Roger Vivier launching new creative marketing drives in the accessories and footwear sectors. Following the recent launch of the Nellcôte bag campaign, Maison Valentino now continues its storytelling journey with the unveiling of the second chapter: the Valentino Garavani Vain bag campaign. Conceived by creative director Alessandro Michele and shot by photographer Sharna Osborne, we're told the campaign 'is a tactile exploration of emotional intimacy and femininity. Evoking the aesthetic of analogue photography, it crafts an atmosphere where beauty is suspended in time'. The brand added that 'the images, with their faded colour tones and grainy backdrops, are imbued with a powerful texture that recalls the dreamlike sensibility of early film and the intensity of voyeuristic cinema'. Looking almost like video stills, the bag is the focal point of every image as the visuals portray two women 'in a series of compositions that suggest an atmosphere of private and shared allure. Whether together or apart, they appear caught in a world of whispered secrets and shadowy glamour, where the Vain bag becomes a silent witness to their intimacy'. The campaign supports new developments for the Vain bag this season with the introduction of a new top handle style featuring an elongated handle that allows it to be worn on the shoulder. There's also a new oval-shaped vanity bag, with a top flap acting as a lid, that 'brings a modern attitude to the line while preserving the original bag's refined codes'. The signature shoulder bags also return with updated finishes and 'rich surfaces', that is, multicolour floral embroideries rendered in beads, velvet, raffia, or leather, and a new printed animalier variation referencing the RTW collection. Vivier's Paris life Meanwhile, at Riger Vivier, the new campaign for the autumn 2025 pre-collection is called ' La Vie Parisienne ' and was conceived by brand creative director Gherardo Felloni 'as both homage and provocation'. Shot inside a hôtel particulier (one of the grand townhouses found in key French cities) 'and along hushed city streets, the story unfolds like a secret — caught in a glance, stretched across a brocade sofa. It captures something rarer than beauty: character. Here, elegance isn't constructed. It's instinctual'. So far, so very Parisian. But the company said that 'this is not the Paris of clichés. Nor is the Vivier woman one. She is elegant but unpredictable, refined yet untamed — never explaining, always becoming. Like the muses who once wore Vivier — Deneuve, Bardot, and beyond — she moves between worlds. Perhaps an art dealer. Perhaps a writer. Or neither. She doesn't follow fashion. She defines style'. It features a variety of both formal and casual shoes, along with bags. So who are the stars of this particular show? As far as the models are concerned, Felloni has cast three women 'who embody this spirit". There's Louise de Blegiers," with a modern intensity beneath her quiet poise; [plus] Zoé Adjani and Léa Rostain, actresses whose presence distills softness and edge. Parisian by birth or by affinity, these are not women who perform femininity — they reinvent it'.
Fashion Network
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Fashion Network
Valentino Garavani launches Vain bag campaign, Roger Vivier celebrates pre-fall collection
Two key European luxury labels have launched new campaigns with Valentino Garavani and Roger Vivier launching new creative marketing drives in the accessories and footwear sectors. Following the recent launch of the Nellcôte bag campaign, Maison Valentino now continues its storytelling journey with the unveiling of the second chapter: the Valentino Garavani Vain bag campaign. Conceived by creative director Alessandro Michele and shot by photographer Sharna Osborne, we're told the campaign 'is a tactile exploration of emotional intimacy and femininity. Evoking the aesthetic of analogue photography, it crafts an atmosphere where beauty is suspended in time'. The brand added that 'the images, with their faded colour tones and grainy backdrops, are imbued with a powerful texture that recalls the dreamlike sensibility of early film and the intensity of voyeuristic cinema'. Looking almost like video stills, the bag is the focal point of every image as the visuals portray two women 'in a series of compositions that suggest an atmosphere of private and shared allure. Whether together or apart, they appear caught in a world of whispered secrets and shadowy glamour, where the Vain bag becomes a silent witness to their intimacy'. The campaign supports new developments for the Vain bag this season with the introduction of a new top handle style featuring an elongated handle that allows it to be worn on the shoulder. There's also a new oval-shaped vanity bag, with a top flap acting as a lid, that 'brings a modern attitude to the line while preserving the original bag's refined codes'. The signature shoulder bags also return with updated finishes and 'rich surfaces', that is, multicolour floral embroideries rendered in beads, velvet, raffia, or leather, and a new printed animalier variation referencing the RTW collection. Vivier's Paris life Meanwhile, at Riger Vivier, the new campaign for the autumn 2025 pre-collection is called ' La Vie Parisienne ' and was conceived by brand creative director Gherardo Felloni 'as both homage and provocation'. Shot inside a hôtel particulier (one of the grand townhouses found in key French cities) 'and along hushed city streets, the story unfolds like a secret — caught in a glance, stretched across a brocade sofa. It captures something rarer than beauty: character. Here, elegance isn't constructed. It's instinctual'. So far, so very Parisian. But the company said that 'this is not the Paris of clichés. Nor is the Vivier woman one. She is elegant but unpredictable, refined yet untamed — never explaining, always becoming. Like the muses who once wore Vivier — Deneuve, Bardot, and beyond — she moves between worlds. Perhaps an art dealer. Perhaps a writer. Or neither. She doesn't follow fashion. She defines style'. It features a variety of both formal and casual shoes, along with bags. So who are the stars of this particular show? As far as the models are concerned, Felloni has cast three women 'who embody this spirit". There's Louise de Blegiers," with a modern intensity beneath her quiet poise; [plus] Zoé Adjani and Léa Rostain, actresses whose presence distills softness and edge. Parisian by birth or by affinity, these are not women who perform femininity — they reinvent it'.
Fashion Network
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Fashion Network
Valentino Garavani launches Vain bag campaign, Roger Vivier celebrates pre-fall collection
Two key European luxury labels have launched new campaigns with Valentino Garavani and Roger Vivier launching new creative marketing drives in the accessories and footwear sectors. Following the recent launch of the Nellcôte bag campaign, Maison Valentino now continues its storytelling journey with the unveiling of the second chapter: the Valentino Garavani Vain bag campaign. Conceived by creative director Alessandro Michele and shot by photographer Sharna Osborne, we're told the campaign 'is a tactile exploration of emotional intimacy and femininity. Evoking the aesthetic of analogue photography, it crafts an atmosphere where beauty is suspended in time'. The brand added that 'the images, with their faded colour tones and grainy backdrops, are imbued with a powerful texture that recalls the dreamlike sensibility of early film and the intensity of voyeuristic cinema'. Looking almost like video stills, the bag is the focal point of every image as the visuals portray two women 'in a series of compositions that suggest an atmosphere of private and shared allure. Whether together or apart, they appear caught in a world of whispered secrets and shadowy glamour, where the Vain bag becomes a silent witness to their intimacy'. The campaign supports new developments for the Vain bag this season with the introduction of a new top handle style featuring an elongated handle that allows it to be worn on the shoulder. There's also a new oval-shaped vanity bag, with a top flap acting as a lid, that 'brings a modern attitude to the line while preserving the original bag's refined codes'. The signature shoulder bags also return with updated finishes and 'rich surfaces', that is, multicolour floral embroideries rendered in beads, velvet, raffia, or leather, and a new printed animalier variation referencing the RTW collection. Vivier's Paris life Meanwhile, at Riger Vivier, the new campaign for the autumn 2025 pre-collection is called ' La Vie Parisienne ' and was conceived by brand creative director Gherardo Felloni 'as both homage and provocation'. Shot inside a hôtel particulier (one of the grand townhouses found in key French cities) 'and along hushed city streets, the story unfolds like a secret — caught in a glance, stretched across a brocade sofa. It captures something rarer than beauty: character. Here, elegance isn't constructed. It's instinctual'. So far, so very Parisian. But the company said that 'this is not the Paris of clichés. Nor is the Vivier woman one. She is elegant but unpredictable, refined yet untamed — never explaining, always becoming. Like the muses who once wore Vivier — Deneuve, Bardot, and beyond — she moves between worlds. Perhaps an art dealer. Perhaps a writer. Or neither. She doesn't follow fashion. She defines style'. It features a variety of both formal and casual shoes, along with bags. So who are the stars of this particular show? As far as the models are concerned, Felloni has cast three women 'who embody this spirit". There's Louise de Blegiers," with a modern intensity beneath her quiet poise; [plus] Zoé Adjani and Léa Rostain, actresses whose presence distills softness and edge. Parisian by birth or by affinity, these are not women who perform femininity — they reinvent it'.
