Gucci Guessing Games & a Bottega Bonanza

0:28Hello and welcome to Fashion People. I'm settling in. I got here yesterday. Today is probably my freest day of the year. I was able to write yesterday, so I didn't have a ton of writing to do today. And I just did a little reporting in the morning, made some calls, talked to some people, and I ran some errands. I also went for a run, which was really nice. It's the first one I've been able to do in Europe. Hopefully, I'll get one more in tomorrow and then I won't have any more time. But I also went to Dover Street Market today in the Moray. And I have to say, I ran there and you should also run there.

1:06Don't walk. It's amazing. I'd say I've been to pretty much every single Dover Street except for I've been to Japan, Paris, London, Los Angeles, New York. I've not been. I think they have one in Shanghai maybe, and maybe in Seoul as well. I'm not positive. I haven't been to those. But this one is really unique. I think it was probably a bunch of apartments that they strung together. And so each room feels like you're discovering a whole new thing. The way they have it merchandised is really amazing, like a bag on a podium not connected to anything else. And the brands, they sort of pair together, like Bottega and Prada Miu Miu makes a lot of sense, but also tells a fun story.

1:53And then there was this incredible art in the courtyard, this giant pile of chairs by Tadashi Kawamata. There was also, I'm forgetting the name of the artist that Bottega worked with last season, but did those cacti invitations. The big glass cactus was in the hallway, but this pile of chairs was just stunning. Even if you don't care about fashion, you just like, Ark, you should go to it. And it was interesting. Like the sawdust was falling from the chairs and there was a person, I think expressly there just going around sweeping the sawdust up. It was an interesting moment. And I also had lunch at the Rose Cafe and Adrian Jaffe, Ray Kawakubu's husband and business partner, he was in there doing a meeting and it was just really nice.

2:42I mean, the food was very good. I had a great day. I am still recovering from the whirlwind that was Milan. The beginning of the week in Paris is very slow. So this is publishing on Tuesday. I'm recording this on Monday and I'll probably do like three or four shows a day until Thursday. Then it picks up again. Then I leave on October 2nd. It feels too long, but I, you know, I always say get enough reporting done here in a week to last me months. So it's worth the time. I think next year with the Oscars and all that stuff, I'll, I'll rearrange a little bit, but you know, you can't complain about being in Paris and I get to see so many people that I don't get to see a lot.

3:31I had dinner with my friend Delphine last night and having dinner with another friend tomorrow night and all that good stuff. And then also just getting to see a lot of industry contacts that I don't even get to see in New York when I'm in New York. So it's really fun. You should check out Line Sheet for some of that scoop that I'm getting. I also have further details on the arrival of Nike's new CEO and some very interesting stuff there. We're going to be watching that really closely in the next few months, I'm sure, and ongoing because Nike is one of the most important companies in fashion. You might not think of it that way, but it really is.

4:10And I also have some updates on the Perronza Schooler business that you should check out. It's an interesting one to look at over the years. I've been covering them so closely for so long and always curious what's next for them. So check that out. And also I will start picking up the SMS texts again. So you know what I'm up to this week, what I'm seeing, what I'm hearing, all that good stuff. And if you already have my phone number, feel free to text me with information or just to say hi. I'd love to hear from you. Glad to have Becky back on. She did not make it to Europe this year because of a lot of stuff she has to do in the US that was more important than going to shows, unfortunately.

4:54But we've been talking back and forth all weekend about the Milan shows. So we're going to discuss what she thinks. and guess we should get started. Becky Malinsky, welcome back to Fashion People. Thank you for having me. I went to my derm today, my Paris derm. Okay. And what'd they say? She lasered a bunch of stuff off my face. 60 years. She's like a real doctor. It's not like a med spa. someone else was talking recently about how like going to the derms in la versus new york versus paris versus like what they're gonna tell you was it you i think it was no no or it was it was melanie mascarin i think this is melanie mascarin is how i found this woman oh amazing and she is also i don't want to reveal who it is but she is also the daughter of someone who lives in new york who we all know.

5:53Oh, interesting. I'll tell you offline. I don't want to give this woman's name out. But I thought that was interesting. It was like, everyone relax. Your face is great. Yes. So I found this woman through Melanie because Melanie said, if you want to try Botox, this woman does Botox. She's a real doctor. She'll give you like a mole check. And then I went and she said, you don't need Botox. She wants me to get this like procedure where my like basically an eye lift, but she said, she's like, do it when you're here for 10 days and you can just chill out. So maybe I'll do it the summer or something if I, if I go to Europe, but, um, she did like laser some issues on my face and also on my, like, she did a whole body scan.

6:37It was like, she's a, she's a legit doctor. And last time I went, she only takes cash or check and I didn't have my debit card. I obviously didn't have a check. So she's like, just pay me next time. And this time, Oh my God. She didn't have any change. So she, I still owe her money. But it's sick to do all of that work with 60 euros. I was like, Like less than a copay. It's crazy. She's like, come back in a year. I'll do it again. It's fine. It's like, if you need anything, let me know. She gave, she recommended a serum. Cause she says, my skin's too sensitive to use retinol. It's great. I mean, it's one of those things that only someone who has privilege would get such a discount.

7:21I go to Europe five times a year. So I go to Paris at least three or four times a year. I can easily have my dermatologist in Paris, but I am a person who goes to Paris three or four times a year. Whereas in LA, like even if you have insurance, it's not going to be that cheap. Yeah, no, definitely not. It's wild. One other funny thing that happened to me today that I would love to share with you is that I went to dinner with Delphine Delval last night and she was like, oh, you have to get this lip balm. It's so good. So I pick up this lip balm at the pharmacy with a bunch of other stuff that my dermatologist recommended and I I've been applying it all afternoon and I go to get on like the puck weekly call and my lips are completely white.

8:10And I was like, what is wrong? Am I sick? I look in the mirror. I look, it's actually not lip balm. It's like a color corrector or a cover up or something. My lips were like, you get the wrong one. Yeah, I got the wrong one. You can sort of, I put on lipstick before anyone saw me because it was really scary. So when you go back, will you get me one too? Yeah, I'll get you one. I also, yeah, send me a list of anything you need. Unfortunately, the other update I have for you is that Arquette officially has no kids clothes in their store in Paris now. The powers that be at Arquette, this is not cool.

8:51They have some baby clothes, no kids clothes. So I'm going to just do what I always do, which is ship a bunch of stuff to my friend's office, who then sends it to LA for me. But I'm very sad because I wanted to buy Fritz his next wardrobe. I don't do a ton of Arquette for kids. I do a lot of Petit Patoe pajamas, like in two sizes, a haul, and monoprix for the season. And then once he's grown out, next season, buy the whole new wardrobe. Yeah. I, I have bought the petite bateau pajamas on your recommendation and I will do so again. Yeah. They're not tight. No, they're really nice. All American pajamas are too tight.

9:34Yeah. They're really nice. Uh, my, my feeling on Monoprix, I actually bought, I bought Fritz a cute sweater. I didn't get them that barber-esque field jacket because it's too puffy. And then I bought my friend who's about to have a baby and who has an almost three-year-old a couple things for her kid. My thing is, Thomas, you dressed your child in, I would say like, he dresses pretty preppy, right? Yeah, pretty classic. Classic is a good word. Yeah. Some stripesies. Fritz is a little more, yeah. A little more LA? I would say a little more are Scandinavian. Like, Oh, okay. He's, he wears a lot of bright colors.

10:21I don't dress them in like the muted tones, the sandy colors that are very popular in LA. He does dabble in milk teeth, the LA based store and like some of that Korean fast fashion stuff. But generally, I mean, he wears a lot of Arquette and some upgrades to Boba shows, but it's really like very primary colors, a lot of like blue and red and green. And so Monoprix is a little more muted and classic looking. So yeah, like great Navy pants. Yes. Great khaki pants. Yeah. But also last time I was there, every single thing said Brooklyn. Yes. Like, OK, this is not the vibe. I'm not bringing all of this back to New York.

11:06So that was a bummer. So I think last year he got like one pair of khaki pants, which was sad. And now I'm not going this season. So. Well, we'll we'll do a big haul next season. If you need anything, I'm available. Next season, we'll revamp the whole wardrobe because he will have grown out of all of it. He will. I'm sure is. He's just extremely tall also. Right. So. Extremely tall. Yeah. Love it. I love being tall. I always say to Fritz, you're allowed to drink coffee when you're six feet tall. because he asked does thomas ever ask fritz is always like he started can i have some coffee and i say no not until you're six feet tall yeah no yeah i say it's a grown-up drink thomas i accident i mean i gave him coca-cola and i opened that gate and now though no like every day he wakes up in the morning coca-cola today is a special day can today be a special day every day.

12:03Poor guy. That's awesome. Well, I know that you're running around with him and doing a bunch of way more important than Fashion Week stuff. But what did you think of the shows in Milan? I was sad that you weren't there to experience them with me. I know I was sad. And thank you for having me because, you know, Milan is my my spirit city. I thought of you often, not just because we were texting the whole time. Yeah, I mean, obviously standout favorites, It's Bally and Bottega Veneta. Oh my God. Too good. Too good. Too good. I mean, it's so fascinating and amazing that Bally is like the show to miss.

12:42So Bally's really interesting right now because obviously Simone Belotti, I don't know if that's how you pronounce his surname, but he. Belotti. Belotti has been the designer for three seasons and was sort of a surprise. Ruiji, the rude designer, He was there for a while. They brought in this LA guy to remake Bally. It was an unmitigated disaster. They bring his second-in-command interviews to take the top job. Takes the top job. We all go to the show and are like, we're just going to the show as a favorite of all the nice PRs who work on Bally. And we're blown away and all fall in love with it.

13:22And it's just so good. It's very wearable. But there are ideas. I was talking to him yesterday. Saturday after the show. And he was saying like, he's very into Gili, Romeo Gili. Is it Romeo Gili? Romeo. It's fine. You're American. But like that was like sort of the silhouette he was looking at. And I thought that was interesting because so many of the vintage stores that are really popular right now, like carry tons of Gili. And it's it's like the person who would buy Bali is buying vintage, really. So that made a lot of sense. But it feels like there are ideas in it and it's emotional, but it's also like extremely wearable.

14:06Even the bags are good and feel unique and doesn't like look like anything else on the market. And it's just like a brand that is conjuring a lot of fandom. At the same time, it got sold to an American private equity firm in August and they kind of buried the news. No one knew this company. I've actually written about them a lot. They own Intermix. They own Cheddar News. They own like it's called Regent. They're based in L.A. They own tons of stuff. And they also own Escada and Club Monaco. But this is like the real the first brand that they've bought that I know about that I cover that wasn't like dormant, that is like a hot brand.

14:52They mostly own brands that are sort of like not really moving right now. And now they own this brand that's really moving. So I'm interested to see what happens with it. Yeah, I wonder how long that was in the works. Was it in the works before the brand started moving? Because it's very new. Three seasons is nothing. No, and it's funny. today I wanted to go to the store and buy something because you're you're in Europe. There isn't a store in Paris. No, I know. I know. Is there one in L.A. though? I mean, in New York, there's one in New York, and I've ordered something online once and it came from Costa Mesa.

15:32So I looked that up. I was like, oh, my God, is there one at South Coast Plaza? There must be. Yeah. Yeah. But that's the it's the question. And he I don't know. It's just like he came out of nowhere. I feel like all the other houses that need people are probably looking at him. It's just like popped immediately. Popped immediately. The clothes are great. They're simple, but they're interesting and covetable. And the price is right in a strange way. Obviously, we're still talking about luxury price points. But when everyone is, you know, barrier to entry is a thousand dollars. All of a sudden a$684 pair of suede booties is great.

16:13Yeah. Yeah. And the shapes just feel great. Like you want to put it on right now. But this season felt much tougher, much more interesting. Like he definitely seems more comfortable to take risks. I agree. The shapes were really cool. I thought it was good. Tim Blanks went backstage. He knew every single reference. Yeah. Did he talk about the Nicola that I immediately said? He didn't mention Nicola, but you're right. It had a hint of the early 2000s Balenciaga florals and sculptural. I 100 % agree. No, he didn't mention that. He mentioned Gili, and that was not in the group conversation that was me and him chatting later.

17:00He talked more about kind of art. He kept referring to ballet as a project and sort of looking at like, not redefining what Swiss means, but you think of, he had a really good quote that was like, I was like, I wonder if a PR fed this to him, but I don't think so because it was just so quotable and digestible. But it was something about like and I'd used it in my piece bankers chocolate and precision like that's Switzerland's about more than bankers chocolate and precision or something but it was fun hearing him and Tim blanks riff and talk about all these not so obscure but like kind of obscure art references and everything not really obscure but just only Tim could have that conversation backstage stage.

17:49Whereas most people are like, what's that grommet all about? And I'm just like, I love you. You're so great. So great. And so kind. So kind. Just like, it's just cool. It's a great story. It's like this, this person worked at Gucci for 15 years, was the menswear designer at Gucci, takes this job at Bali because things are changing at Gucci. I think he left three months before Alessandro left, which I had thought he left after Alessandro, but he didn't. He left three months before and takes this job under this guy, Ruiji, who got to say, I love that guy. When I interviewed him, he said to me, I interviewed him before Bali launched.

18:34It was like my story was to debut the new logo, which is hilarious. That was the story. But I like, I twisted it into something bigger. And he told me that when he was growing up, he used to sell stuff on eBay and he would put a designer tag in it and sell it for more money. And that's when he realized like how to do pricing, which is very clever. But anyway, he goes to work under this guy, Luigi, who I think has the best intentions. It was not right. Gets the job afterwards and becomes the toast of like the town or at least a very particular group of fashion editors. But, you know, everybody was there.

19:19Cheryl Hines was there. I saw that. Why? Maybe estranged wife. She's very good friends with the investor. Okay. This makes a lot more sense. So I'm excited to meet the new investor. And because I do write about so many of the companies he owns and he's based in Los Angeles. So I'm available for for a meeting in a couple of weeks. But yeah, it's going to be interesting to see what happens. Are they going to make it bigger? Is, are they going to make this stuff more available to people? Is he going to stay? I like all these people, all these like extremely talented design driven, but still commercial people in these top jobs at these smaller brands.

20:02Cause it's making fashion interesting again. Right. There's more to talk about.

20:10You can always search for the right film or the right movie. Or we tell you a story about a young man. Say we are living under a wall. He can do it and can go to a school for a walk. There is a man without a nose. There are wild things. First nobody believes it. Until everyone else does. Spend your time with HBO Max. Streaming stories like Harry Potter, A Night of the Seven Kingdoms, Superman and so on. me up. Up jetzt. HBO Max. Hi, this is Jill Schlesinger, CBS News Business Analyst, Certified Financial Planner, and the host of the Jill on Money podcast. With the new year upon us, there's no better time to take control of your financial life.

20:53And the Jill on Money podcast is here to help. It's your questions that make it possible for me to provide unconventional, and I hope entertaining insights on your money, and more importantly, on your life. Follow and listen to Jill on Money wherever you get your podcasts.

21:13You had an amazing piece on Bottega Veneta and Mattu and what he did there on Saturday night, which was it was awesome. He's so great. Amazing. It was amazing. So tell me what your process was as someone watching it from home, because I thought your Sunday newsletter and Becky. I mean, who doesn't subscribe to your newsletter, but everybody should check out Becky's newsletter from Sunday because it was just really great. It was like a show review, but also an explanation of how to bring the ideas from the show into your real life. So I'd love to hear more about what you went through after you saw Bottega.

21:55Well, it's funny because I wrote that story about the fall show because the fall show is what's becoming available to my reader right now. but I mean it was the timing was helpful that it was a happy accident of it you know coming at the exact same time as the new show but obviously the spring show was a knockout and even from afar you could just see it and feel it and you could read the texture through the screen and the social media surrounding it obviously those beanbag chairs were very cute obviously I love anything Richard scary. So I thought that was very cute. Yes. But it's his moment. It's his moment right now.

22:34You can see his influence absolutely everywhere. And as I was looking through the fall collections and looking through just fall clothing out in the world, it's like you can see the Bottega effect on everything, the colors, the proportions, the textures, how it's all getting put together. It's inescapable. So it's and it's it makes me so happy because it's interesting fashion. So it's, you know, it's not a conversation about basics. It's not a conversation about, you know, forever pieces, which, you know, obviously these are expensive things. You'd hope you keep them for a while, but you know, it's really a conversation about what's interesting now and how to play with things now.

23:16It doesn't feel any, there's no referential points of history and bringing back classic styles. And that feels so refreshing and hard to do these days. Yeah. There's something, I don't want to say innocent about what he does, but, or not, it's not naive, but there is something innocent about how he approaches fashion and the Richard Scarry thing. I have mixed feelings about Richard Scarry personally, but I love every time, every one of his shows, I think of working girl. And I think it's because a, of course, like the big hair and the big shoulders and all of that, but it's also something about like there's an optimism to what he does of like my life is just starting and that's sort of how it feels like he's just starting and and it's very easy to compare what he's doing at Bottega with what Jonathan Anderson does at Loewe because they I mean I guess they're around the same size at this point and also they're both like young and cool and the kind of people who shop one probably shop the other.

24:22But the thing that I think people really forget is that Jonathan isn't doing this for 10 years. So it took a while. Like we were all on the Loewe bandwagon from the beginning, but it took a while for the customer to really get on it. And now Loewe handbags are like often at stores the number one selling bag. And I think it was just, it was a great show, lots of silhouettes and ideas that real people will want to wear but also more than that it's so nice to go to a show and and not just be about product like there's a lot of great product that people will want but I did I did the scrum backstage which I do very few I think I did four in Milan and maybe I'll do I don't know five in Paris or something like that just because they make me very stressed out and uncomfortable.

25:20And also you can never hear anything as some of them are worth it. Like Prada is worth going to, to hear Mrs. Prada and Raph and, and I could hear them this time, which was awesome. Um, but his scrum is very interesting. Like I, I, they let me in and I went backstage to get in it and I didn't even see them because he's so it's so calm. I was like asking the models where the journalists were and they were right. And you just couldn't tell. Cause, and he did something that's really interesting. He made an effort to make eye contact with every single one of us, which like, usually it's really one person and the designer or two people in the designer talking because like the more senior people like Tim Blanks, Vanessa Friedman end up talking a lot.

26:10And Kathy Horn, if she goes backstage, age. But at this show, it was really a mix. And he took extra time with us. A lot of times, they'll cut them off, which is understandable. I mean, it's just the most stressful thing in the world to have to. You just put on this big show, your whole livelihood, all your energy and creative effort and all that stuff. And then you have to talk to a bunch of annoying people who are going to ask you mostly stupid questions. But he was just such a great communicator. And it It helped me understand what he was trying to do, but also made me just love the collection even more.

26:43And the materials, it was a great moment. And it's nice that it's like the last really big show of the week because it's such a positive way to end things. Right. I mean, did he say anything surprising? You know, he said it was essentially about like growing up. and some of it was like first day of school or the gray dress he called the first interview dress, which I loved. And again, that's sort of the working girl thing. That's what it reminds me of. And also just that idea of like, let me see, I can just pull up my notes and tell you, because I actually wrote a lot down that day. Little children dressed up like grownups, but like also the Italian idea of sartorial, the first day of school.

27:37Oh, Frankenstein beauty. So there were some looks where like the proportions, it would be a short leg and a long leg, that type of thing. He said the last collection was like more introspective and more thinking about like what was happening in the world. And this was more personal. The raffia, it was like wigs coming of age. and then the dress that had the little matches dangling from it. You know, it's a dangerous game. So it was all about like childhood, but also like school drop off and normal life and just like getting through your life. And so this is my point that he's so good because those references are not so literal and in your face in a way that you saw in a few other collections in Milan this season that you're just like, it's still really interesting clothes.

28:26But then you look at like the celebrity front row and everyone looks amazing in those clothes. People don't look like they're in costumes. Everyone looked pretty good who was there and being dressed for the show and he's just doing something right. He really is. What a pleasure. It's funny, Julianne Moore, who is a Bottega ambassador and seems like the nicest person alive was at the show, of course, with A$AP Rocky who looked adorable. He's just so cute. But she posted about it And I actually quoted her in my piece because it was so good. What did she say? It was, I mean, it was, I wonder if they cut it out.

29:04Let's see. Oh, no, they kept it. Deeply felt romantic and human. And you know what? She's right. And the thing is, like, now it's up to the people who work at that company to merchandise this stuff to sell well. And I, of course, they will. But like, he's doing the work. It was lovely. I had a great time. And it's always nice to sort of Prada is not the first show, but it's like the first big, big show. Fendi was so early this season. I did not go. I was not there. But it was Tuesday afternoon. I think a lot of people just weren't in town yet. I didn't get in town until Wednesday. But Prada is really the first big show of Milan.