Sandra‘s Closet

Virgil Abloh, the acclaimed artistic director of Louis Vuitton’s menswear collection and founder and CEO of Off-White, the label he founded in 2012, died of cancer on Sunday, according to a post from his verified Instagram account. He was only 41.

«We are devastated to announce the passing of our beloved Virgil Abloh, a fiercely devoted father, husband, son, brother, and friend. He is survived by his loving wife Shannon Abloh, his children Lowe Abloh and Grey Abloh, his sister Edwina Abloh, his parents Nee and Eunice Abloh, and numerous dear friends and colleagues,» the post read. «For over two years, Virgil valiantly battled a rare, aggressive form of cancer, cardiac angiosarcoma. He chose to endure his battle privately since his diagnosis in 2019, undergoing numerous challenging treatments, all while helming several significant institutions that span fashion, art, and culture.»

A trained architect, Abloh, who also worked in Chicago street fashion, entered the world of international fashion with an internship at Fendi in 2009, alongside American rapper Kanye West. The two then began an artistic collaboration that would launch Abloh’s career into founding Off-White. The first African-American to be artistic director at a French luxury fashion house, Abloh was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2018. Abloh’s design aesthetic which bridged streetwear and luxury clothing was described as transformative by the The New York Times. According to The Wall Street Journal, he reached a level of global fame unusual for a designer.

His death has shocked the world of fashion and many industry leaders pay tribute to the late designer who leaves a big impact on the way we dress behind.

Rest in Peace, Virgil Abloh!

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Via Instagram / Louis Vuitton

LVMH has appointed Off-White designer Virgil Abloh, who came to prominence as Kanye West’s creative director, to lead men’s design at Louis Vuitton. His first show for one of the oldest and most powerful European houses in the luxury business will take place in June during Men’s Fashion Week in Paris.

The appointment, widely rumoured in recent months, follows the departure of Kim Jones, Abloh’s predecessor at Louis Vuitton, in January. Last week, it was announced that Jones would become the men’s designer at LVMH-owned Christian Dior, replacing Kris van Assche.

Kim Jones, Abloh’s predecessor at Louis Vuitton is now at LVMH-owned Christian Dior.

“Having followed with great interest Virgil’s ascent since he worked with me at Fendi in 2006, I am thrilled to see how his innate creativity and disruptive approach have made him so relevant, not just in the world of fashion but in popular culture today. His sensibility towards luxury and savoir-faire will be instrumental in taking Louis Vuitton’s menswear into the future,” said Michael Burke, Louis Vuitton’s Chairman & CEO.

Virgil Abloh with Naomi Campbell at his Off-White™ S/S 2018 show.

“It is an honor for me to accept the position of Men’s Artistic Director for Louis Vuitton. I find the heritage and creative integrity of the House are key inspirations and will look to reference them both while drawing parallels to modern times,” stated Virgil Abloh.

Who is Virgil Abloh?

Born in Rockford, Illinois in 1980, Virgil Abloh is an artist, architect, engineer, creative director, and designer. After earning a degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Wisconsin Madison, he completed a Master´s Degree in Architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology in a curriculum founded by Mies van der Rohe. It was here that he learned not only about modernist design principles but also about the concept of multi-disciplinary working.

Virgil Abloh’s brand Off-White c/o Virgil Abloh™ was started in 2012 as an artwork titled “PYREX VISION.” In 2013, the brand premiered a seasonal men’s and women’s fashion label showing runway collections during Paris Fashion Week since 2015. Abloh has also presented his work at major design institutions around the globe by the likes of Harvard Graduate School of Design, Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation and the Rhode Island School of Design.

In 2019 he will have a major exhibition of past and current work at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Chicago, Illinois. In 2015, Virgil Abloh for Off-White c/o Virgil Abloh™ is among the finalists of the LVMH Prize. He has been awarded various prizes, most recently winning the British Fashion Awards Urban Luxe award and International Designer of the Year at the GQ Men of the Year Awards in 2017.

Off-White™ S/S 2018

 For Off-White™ ‘s S/S 2018 collection, Virgil re-imagines what Princess Diana’s wardrobe would look like if she were alive today – right down to the much-anticipated shoe collaboration with Jimmy Choo, which is available to shop here.

Plastic-covered stilettos:  Jimmy Choo x Off-White collaboration campaign image.

Get the look: Crepe blazer, crepe mini skirt, Diana silver-tone crystal clip earrings, and C/O Jimmy Choo Anne 100 PVC-wrapped satin pumps, all by Off-White™.

LoL, Sandra

Photo: Courtesy of Louis Vuitton, © Fabien Montique, Courtesy of Pyrexforsale and Off-White™

The Met Gala is an annual fundraising event for the benefit of the Metropolitan Museum of Art‘s Costume Institute in New York City and marks the grand opening of its annual fashion exhibit. Celebrating this year’s theme “China, Through The Looking Glass”, it seems to be one of the most challenging yet. See below who honored China’s heritage and its present culture on the red carpet best.

This year’s award to best dressed of the night goes to:

Rihanna wearing Chinese designer Guo Pei

The butt girls:

Jay Z and Beyoncé in Givenchy

Kanye West and Kim Kardashian West in Roberto Cavalli

Donatella Versace and Jennifer Lopez, both in Atelier Versace.

Best Chinese inspirations:

Zendaya Coleman in Fausto Puglisi

Karolina Kurkova in Tommy Hilfiger

I am always looking forward to seeing Sarah Jessica Parker‘s outfit because she has never let us down in pulling off the best looks. And let’s just say the headpiece combined with her H&M dress is divine.

Georgia May Jagger in Gucci and Alessandro Michele

Chloë Sevigny in J.W. Anderson

Very sophisticated: Tom Ford and Rita Ora in his design.

Alexa Chung in Erdem

George Clooney and Amal Clooney in Maison Margiela

Not so inspired by the Chinese theme… but great to watch:

Jeremy Scott kissing Kate Perry‘s hand who is wearing Moschino.

Also Madonna wore Moschino.

Stella McCartney framed by Cara Delevingne, Sofia Richie, and Zhu Zhu, all dressed in her designs.

Alexander Wang kissed by Lady Gaga in Balenciaga

Miley Cyrus and Zoë Kravitz dressed in Alexander Wang.

Kendall Jenner in Calvin Klein Collection

Robert Pattinson and FKA twigs in Christopher Kane (definitely not my favorite gown of the night).

Supermodel Joan Smalls arrived at the Met Gala in a black tulle and purple silk one-sleeved Roberto Cavalli gown with cutouts and sheer paneling. Her date was the newly appointed designer of the Italian fashion house Peter Dundas. Isn’t this gown to die for?!

Anna Wintour in Chanel

LoL, Sandra

Photos via: Alessandro Garofalo / Indigitalimages.com, Moschino, Vogue and Style.com

The 57th Annual Grammy Awards were held last night at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Rapper LL Cool J hosted the show for the fourth consecutive time. In all, 83 Grammy Awards were presented, one more than in 2014.

Sam Smith accepts the Best New Artist award from singer Taylor Swift onstage

Sam Smith was the big winner at the 2015 Grammys, taking home four awards for best new artist, best pop vocal album, record of the year and song of the year. In an upset, Beck took home album of the year for Morning Phase, beating out Beyonce’s Beyonce.

But what interests us most are the best dressed winners and of course the worst as well. Enjoy, from a dreamy Giambattista Valli frock on Rihanna to Taylor Swift’s sexy Elie Saab gown, most of the celebs hit all the right notes on the music industry’s biggest night.

Rihanna in Giambattista Valli Couture

Taylor Swift in Elie Saab

Beyoncé in Proenza Schouler

Nicki Menaj in Tom Ford

Rita Ora in Prada

Ariana Grande in Atelier Versace (one of my favorite looks)

Awkward moment: Miley Cyrus in Alexandre Vauthier grabs Katy Perry’s boob who wore Zuhair Murad

Weird boob situation: Lady Gaga in Brandon Maxwell

Kiss of the night: Kanye West and Kim Kardashian in Jean Paul Gaultier Couture

Also in love: Nicole Kidman in Thierry Mugler Pre-fall 2015 with her husband Keith Urban

Ageless beauty: Jane Fonda in Balmain Pre-fall 2015

Looking cute: Charli XCX in Moschino…

… but how cute is her doggy?!

And last but not least: Queen M Madonna in Givenchy Couture…

… who still knows the best how to seek attention in the right moment.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images, Valerie Macon/Getty Images, Reuters, Wireimages

Last week, I attended the Diesel Black Gold S/S 2014 fashion show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Vanderbilt Hall at Grand Central Terminal in New York City, such an amazing location to host a runway presentation.

For Andreas Melbostad‘s second season, he describes his inspiration like this: “A new ease of attitude by combining opposing icons to express strength and fearlessness”. The collection evolves its iconic staples to include a new, courageous fragility: metal eyelets, discs, zippers, buckles and hardware accents introduce luxe industrial elements, for a range of pieces, from leather to georgette. Lighter, softer materials – silk crepe de chine, silk georgette, cotton poplin, cotton voile – are juxtaposed against the collection’s utilitarian core of leather and denim.

I love the jeans that come with a more slouchy fit at the hips and deep rolled cuffs at the ankle. A pastel leather moto jacket will definitely be on my wish list. The only question is white, icy blue or baby pink?

LoL, Sandra

Designer Andreas Melbostad whom I met the first time this spring in Zurich (For the previous post, please click here please).

Front row: Renzo Rosso framed by Coco Rocha to the left and Kanye West to the right

Photos: Courtesy of Diesel Black Gold and © Sandra Bauknecht

Another blockbuster fashion event took place this week in NYC. One evening after the Maison Martin Margiela with H&M launch party, Donatella Versace hosted a cocktail party to celebrate the opening of her new Versace boutique in Soho on 160, Mercer Street followed by a dinner at the Waldorf Towers.

A huge variety of celebrities chose to attend both events, with everyone from Gerard Butler and Kanye West to supermodel Linda Evangelista and close friend of the House Lady Gaga.

Carrying both menswear and womenswear ready-to-wear collections in addition to accessories, the store will also house special collaborations.

Kicking off the shop’s opening, Donatella Versace tapped Christopher Kane, who also creates the Versus line, to design a capsule collection of tees and other items with iconic Versace images pulled from the archives, which will be sold exclusively at the Soho store. With printed T-shirts being so à la mode, be sure that those tops will activate another fashion hype!

Below, find a complete list of celebrities who chose to wear Versace:

Donatella Versace entered the cocktail party at the boutique in a Fall 2012 black corset top with a Swarovski encrusted jewelled cross emblem on the front with a velvet pencil skirt (see photo below with Princess Charlene of Monaco).  She changed later for the dinner into another look from Fall 2012 (as you can see above with Lady Gaga) – she was perfect in a black Versace leather top with crescent-shaped neckline with Swarovski crystal details and Versace leather pants, completely embedded with Swarovski crystal details from the knee down.

Princess Charlene of Monaco wore a chic black Versace cocktail dress paired with thigh-high leather Versace runway boots with a gold capped-toe. She finished her look with a black Versace cashmere waistcoat with leather inserts.

Linda Evangelista wore a black velvet Versace coat from the Fall 2012 runway enriched by Swarovski crystal crosses.

Doutzen Kroes wore a Versace Fall 2012 black coat with flared skirt covered entirely in Swarovski crystals.

Bar Refaeli looked amazing in a fitted black leather cocktail dress with Swarovski crystals detailing with a matching leather jacket and black Versace booties.

Coco Rocha wore a black dress with metallic detailing from Versace Fall 2012 paired with black Versace Fall pointed toe pumps.

Alexa Chung here with Christopher Kane wore a look from the Versus Fall 2012 runway: a burgundy knit turtleneck top paired with a matching leather miniskirt.

Karolina Kurkova wore a black leather bomber jacket with intricate floral detailing with a pencil skirt with a matching pattern, paired with black Versace pumps and a black Versace clutch.

Leigh Lezark sporting a yellow cocktail dress with leather cutouts at the hem and on the side with a modern crescent shaped neckline. She completed her look with black Versace shoes.

Tali Lennox, daughter of Annie Lennox, wore a full look from Versus Fall 2012 – she looked fabulous in a fuchsia top, miniskirt, and huge fur coat. She completed her outfit with blue booties with fuchsia inserts.

Hunger Games star Alexander Ludwig chose a Fall 2012 look – he wore a blue floral printed suit with matching tie. He completed his look with Versace Fall boots with gold buckles and a black Versace belt with a medusa buckle.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Versace

Ladies, store your ballet flats! If you haven’t focused on the day-slipper trend, you really should embrace it. They are on the shopping list of every fashionista and a hot fixture on the fall high street. I went for leopard print slippers by Louis Vuitton in blue (for the previous post, please click here) – Poppy Delevigny has the same ones in red. 
For fall, Miu Miu‘s velvet embroidered slippers are my season’s favourites, so chic!

By the way, gentlemen, you are in the game as well. You can find the most extraordinary models for the fashion-forward of you at the end of this post.

Get involved now and shop those must-have footwear below!

LoL, Sandra

Shop the best slippers for WOMEN:

Embroidered velvet-covered leather slippers by Miu Miu

Embroidered satin-covered leather slippers by Miu Miu

Sequined leather slippers by Marc by Marc Jacobs

Intern tartan canvas and patent-leather slippers by Christian Louboutin

Sequin skull-embellished suede slippers by Alexander McQueen

Embroidered velvet slippers by Alexander McQueen

Swarovski crystal-embellished suede slippers by Giuseppe Zanotti

Wheel studded leather slippers by Jimmy Choo

Shop the best slippers for MEN:

Victory nude nubuck leather slippers by Kardinale

Leopard print suede slippers by Jimmy Choo Men

Sloane zebra print ponyskin slippers by Jimmy Choo Men

Coarse glitter slippers by Jimmy Choo Men

Purple velvet slippers by Del Toro

Velvet slippers with crystal tassel by Giuseppe Zanotti Men

Suede and Swarovski embellished slippers by Giuseppe Zanotti Men

Embroidered velvet slippers by Stubbs & Wooton
(Stubbs & Wooton is a Florida-based label, founded in Palm Beach in 1993, that specialises in luxurious slippers).

How amazing is this all over beads sandal by Kanye West by Giuseppe Zanotti? The only downside is that it is a little overpriced. You would have to splurge $6000 on a pair of shoes!

The designer’s friends Kim Kardashian and Chanel Iman were already spotted rocking these pieces of art. In case you love to buy the shoes and rock the tribal trend, they are available at LuisaViaRoma.com.

LoL, Sandra