Vogue Chaos Issue 1: Money and Menswear Drama

LV x Yayoi Kusama, Golden Globes Menswear, Adidas vs Thom Browne

How much money does LV have anyway?

Did you see the giant Yayoi Kusama art installation at Champs Elysees? If you are in Paris you must send me a picture. It looks ridiculous! They also had robots of her painting dots in New York’s 5th Avenue.

💎 @chaoswintour

Okay LV really went OFF with this one

Yayoi Kusama is a Japanese artist who is famous for her installations and interactive infinity rooms. She suffered from hallucinations since childhood and infinitely repeating a dot pattern helped her calm down. She often resorted to kooky measures to get more attention to her art. For example, in true chaotic spirit, she crashed the Venice Biennale and started selling chrome balls from her artwork called Narcissus Garden for $2 to the audience until she was removed from the premises. She became paranoid of people copying her art when her close friend Andy Warhol created a repeated design wallpaper - very similar to what he had seen Yayoi make previously. In 1977, she checked herself in at a psychiatric facility and has stayed there since.

When I look at Yayoi’s original work, I can experience it in a unique way. It is a physical representation of her mental situation as well as her genius. This collaboration with Louis Vuitton seems unfortunate as the product does not match up and fails to evoke any feeling. Simple dots and over the top campaigns don’t capture her message. Someone from my followers informed me that this over-the-top marketing was all approved by her studio, every last brush dot - even though it may seem distasteful and insulting to some….

I don’t want a pimple bag, however, I am happy this ostentatious campaign helped me and a whole new generation discover and relate to Yayoi’s art. After all, she was determined to be a star, and at 93, she is immortalised across fashion capitals.

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Golden Globes Menswear was Popping! What to expect with menswear now?

When award season strikes I am always confronted with my who’s who illiteracy. I refuse to learn the names of celebrities! Unless they make my best dressed list ofcourse (or if they are hot - hello Diego Calva).

The fashions at the Red Carpet were pleasant and I have no complaints. The menswear struck out to me because everyone was so well dressed! The tailoring on these Gucci suits was sublime. We saw modern twists on classic suiting with sheer tops, skirts, floral details and also an interesting new silhouette by Amiri.

The right-most cluster represents the desi influences I recognized on the red carpet. To preface, desi usually refers to the Indian subcontinent but it is also closely related to Persian culture because of our intermingled histories. You could see the kurta pyjama interpreted through western fabrics and tailoring for the red carpet. I have a feeling we will be seeing a lot more of this in 2023.

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Of Adidas and Thom Browne Courtroom Drama

When I first heard about this lawsuit last week I was amused because who in their right minds would confuse Adidas for Thom Browne? However further reading on BOF really opened my eyes to the larger issue behind it.

Beyond stripes, Adidas had an issue with Browne only when they began to venture into sportswear which they consider as their territory. Thom Browne insisted that their price points and target segment do not overlap with Adidas which means there is no scope for confusion. Adidas on the other hand has ventured into multiple luxury collaborations with their price points higher than Thom Browne’s sportswear. With no limit to the scope of activity in brands, it is expected that there would be more of such lawsuits in fashion.

For now, Thom won the battle, as we expected they would. Instead of appealing against this decision, which I highly doubt they would win, wouldn’t it be kinda cunty if Adidas chose to collaborate with Thom Browne for their next collection? They would certainly make back the $7 million dollars they sued for and more. Make the best of it bestie Adidas!

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