Dior Is Heading to Egypt, Sonia Rykiel Pops Up in New York, Dan Levy Talks His Eyewear Brand

WALK LIKE AN EGYPTIAN: Globetrotting designer Kim Jones is bringing his next Dior men’s show to Egypt.

The men’s pre-fall collection is scheduled to be unveiled on Dec. 3 against the backdrop of the pyramids of Giza near Cairo, the brand said in a statement provided exclusively to WWD. “Designed by Kim Jones, the celestial collection celebrates a lifelong passion for travel,” it added.

Dior last year resumed its pre-coronavirus tradition of traveling men’s pre-fall collections with a show in London. Jones previously staged pre-fall runway displays in Miami and Tokyo. The British designer has a long-standing relationship with the African continent, having spent his childhood years in Botswana, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Kenya and Ghana.   

The son of a hydrogeologist, Jones continues to travel the globe to gather inspiration and see rare and exotic animals in their natural habitat. He is passionate about conservation, sponsoring a number of endangered species including the pangolin and the douc langur monkey.

Founder Christian Dior was also known for his international outlook, establishing global subsidiaries shortly after launching his house in 1947. By the mid-1950s, the Dior empire included eight companies and 16 affiliates, and employed 1,700 people on five continents, according to the International Directory of Company Histories. — JOELLE DIDERICH

SONIA’S SPACE: Sonia Rykiel will open its first U.S. pop-up store at New York’s Hudson Yards on Monday.

The 900-square-foot retail footprint will showcase Rykiel Forever, a fresh reinterpretation of the brand’s knitwear, including its signature stripes and sweaters, Velvet Strauss, styles that combine rhinestones and velvet, and Mai ’68, the fall 2022 collection.

The Hudson Yard boutique combines the brand’s design legacy with a future-forward spin. Wallpaper inspired by the books in Rykiel’s original stores is used. There is also a red vinyl archway around the entrance portal as an homage to the red walls and ceilings in the original Saint-German store in Paris.

The pop-up features antique furniture and has neon window displays inspired by the colors of the season.

Last year, G-III Apparel Group acquired Sonia Rykiel.

“We are thrilled to come back to New York where the brand has a long-standing history. Hudson Yards allows us to reintroduce Sonia Rykiel to a new, modern, spirited area which appeals to New Yorkers and visitors alike,” said Roland Herlory, chief executive officer of Sonia Rykiel. — LISA LOCKWOOD

BACK TO EYEWEAR: “Schitt’s Creek” star Dan Levy is rebooting the d-to-c eyewear brand D.L. Eyewear he founded a decade ago.

He had to put the brand on hold while filming the Canadian television sitcom, created by him and his father Eugene Levy. But as the show wrapped up in 2020, he is ready to pursue his fashion passion once again.

Levy tapped Elena Doukas, who was previously the design director at Garrett Leight California Optical for 11 years, as co-creative director and president last year to help run the brand.

On Saturday afternoon, D.L. Eyewear unveiled its first eyewear collaboration with this year’s LVMH Prize winner S.S. Daley during the brand’s spring 2023 fashion show, where Levy was in attendance, wearing an oversize green trenchcoat with drawings of water birds from the brand’s fall 2022 collection.

Later in the evening at the JW Anderson show, Levy opened up about why he chose to collaborate with S.S. Daley.

“This is a very special one because it involves a lot of people that I care a lot about,” said the star who will be starring in “The Idol,” an unscripted show coming to HBO Max this November.

Levy was also impressed with the fact that Jonathan Anderson decided to put on the show at the Las Vegas Arcade Soho right next to the brand’s store,

“It’s amazing. These slot machines work,” said Levy, who wore a pink sweater from JW Anderson with a Rembrandt drawing on the front.

It also appears that attending fashion shows is not the only reason why he is in London. — TIANWEI ZHANG

HELPING OUT: The Della Valle family is donating one million euros to the Marche region, which has been hard hit by devastating floods, leaving at least 10 people dead, 50 injured and hundreds of people forced to leave their homes.

Heavy rain began to lash the coastal city of Ancona and its nearby towns on Thursday afternoon, with streets turning into rivers.  

The Della Valles on Saturday also appealed for more help from other industries “to support and help in every possible way the people and the territories” at this tragic moment.

Tod’s is based in the region, in Brancadoro, near Civitanova Marche, and the Della Valles have for years been supportive of the territory.

In 2016 they acquired around 54,000 square feet of land in Arquata del Tronto, in the Marche region, reportedly investing 1 million euros, to build a new factory to support Central Italy’s area, which was hit by a deadly earthquake that year and inaugurated in 2017.

They have supported a range of projects and initiatives with a cultural and social bent.

Over the years Tod’s has earmarked 1 percent of its net profit to activities to support the territory, especially projects geared at underprivileged families.

Tod’s most public effort to support the country has been the restoration of the Colosseum in Rome, which in 2010 was revealed as a 25-million-euro investment.

The Della Valles have long made social sustainability a key responsibility for their company and through their own personal investments. — LUISA ZARGANI

BATTALION PROMOTION: Robbie Cantonwine has been named a partner in the Battalion marketing communications company, effective immediately. As a partner, he will work even more closely with founding partner Jim Kloiber.

Cantonwine has been at Battalion for four years and during that time has overseen many of the firm’s key clients, including Watches of Switzerland, Johnston & Murphy and Girard-Perregaux. During the pandemic, he also helped Battalion expand its client base with the addition of Breitling, Watchfinder & Co. and the School of American Ballet. In the last month he helped grow the firm’s menswear division by bringing in The London Collective, which is made up of four leading bespoke British brands: Edward Sexton, Budd Shirtmakers, Gaziano & Girling footwear, and E.B. Meyrowitz. Most recently Battalion has added Arthur Ashe, Gyles and George, Rowing Blazers and Warm & Wonderful.

“Whether it’s developing a breakthrough press campaign, identifying emerging talent partners or bringing a brand to life experientially, Robbie is highly skilled at delivering very smart, creative solutions that move the needle for our clients,” said Kloiber. “In the evolving landscape of media and communications, Robbie has a rare PR IQ that will undoubtedly lead to the continued success and growth of Battalion.”

Cantonwine also has helped grow the company’s philanthropic efforts, earlier this year spearheading the first U.S. gala fundraiser for The Prince’s Trust, which was started by the-then Prince of Wales who is now King Charles.

As a partner in Battalion, Cantonwine will co-lead the firm’s blue-chip clients with Kloiber and also help grow the company’s position in fashion and menswear, as well as hospitality and home/design. He began his career in menswear working with firms such as Barneys New York, Dior and Comme des Garçons. —WWD STAFF

MOOD INDIGO: Hugo Boss’ young brand Hugo is teaming up with Italian denim specialist Replay for a capsule collection dropping Sept. 28.

It’s part of Hugo’s ambition to strengthen its denim offering as the brand builds its own voice complementing the Boss main line. The two brands are the result of the most recent Hugo Boss transformation and push toward broadening their appeal among younger consumers.

The capsule collection comprises trend-driven denim styles for men and women combined with easy jersey pieces. Crafted entirely from organic cotton, the men’s lineup includes a denim jacket and straight-fit jeans; a denim overshirt; matching roomy pants; a garment-dyed indigo T-shirt and hoodie, as well as a crew-neck T-shirt.

The latter will bear the capsule collection’s emblem, a combination of both brands’ logos tinged in red.

The women’s range includes boy-fit jeans in three washes and a number of drop-shouldered T-shirts, as well as a cropped jacket with raw edges and matching balloon-fit jeans.

The collection retails between 68 euros for T-shirts to 278 euros for denim jackets.

“Since our brand refresh last January, denim has established itself as one of Hugo’s codes. Replay is one of the greatest denim brands, so we thought they were the perfect partner for this collaboration,” said Miah Sullivan, senior vice president global marketing and brand communication.

Boss has been ramping up its social media profile, especially on Gen Z-friendly platform TikTok and the Hugo Replay capsule makes no exception.

TikTok creators Oluwanifewa Agunbiade, Louis Powell and Isla Loba were tapped to front campaign imagery shot in London. They were invited to style the collection adding their personal flair and accessories. Hugo is also releasing a dedicated effect on the platform, known as “Rewind Your Day,” allowing creators to post transition-like videos showcasing the collection’s versatility day-to-night.

“Hugo represents one of the most relevant brands for the newest generation and has a natural contemporary way to engage with it. It also represents values such as craftsmanship, quality and progressiveness that are in line with our way of thinking and acting with our brand,” said Matteo Sinigaglia, chief executive officer of Replay.

Last year, Hugo Boss CEO Daniel Grieder, the former Tommy Hilfiger executive who joined the German giant in mid-2021 tasked with reversing the fortunes of the company, unveiled an ambitious five-year strategy for Boss, named “Claim 5,” which aims at transforming it into a lifestyle company without reneging on the brands’ roots in formalwear.

As part of it, the brand has revamped its image, extended its digital reach, created new logos and sales strategies and enlisted a wide array of influencers and celebrities.

It also shuffled its creative leadership, tapping Marco Falcioni as senior vice president of creative direction, in charge of the Hugo and Boss brands in tandem with their respective designers. The newly created role replaced that of chief brand officer helmed by Ingo Wilts, who stepped down from the executive board for personal reasons.

Falcioni is to unveil a see now, buy now fall 2022 collection for Boss on Sept. 22 as part of Milan Fashion Week. — MARTINO CARRERA