Our take on what’s cool, trending and fashionable
French House Gets New Chief
French fashion house Carven has appointed Serge Ruffieux as creative directo, overseeing women’s ready-to-wear, accessories and footwear collections. He’ll be showing his first Carven collection during the Resort 2018 season.
Serge has extensive design expertise, including close to a decade spent at Christian Dior as head designer of the women’s ready-to-wear and haute couture studios, and as co-artistic director between 2015 and 2016. His previous role includes time spent as right hand to the late French designer Sonia Rykiel.
He says: “I am thrilled to embrace my new creative role at Carven, feeling a real affinity for Madame Carven and her vision of fashion. I look forward and am very honoured to be leading the creative direction of the house as it enters a new chapter.”
Reuse and Recycle
Calling on friends of the environment, the Swedish multinational has launched the new ‘Bring It’ campaign to create a global movement towards recycling unwanted garments. H&M first launched its worldwide Garment Collecting initiative in 2013 and since then has collected more than 40,000 tonnes of clothing. The goal is to increase this amount to 25,000 tonnes a year by 2020.
Customers can drop off unwanted garments and textiles, from any brand and in any condition, all year round, and the campaign aims to raise awareness of the importance of garment recycling. By recycling, fewer garments go to landfill and, in 2014, the brand also introduced its first Close the Loop collection made with recycled textile fibres — an important step in closing the loop for fashion.
Visit http://about.hm.com/en/sustainability/get-involved/recycle-your-clothes.html for more information.
Bahrain Hosts GCC Style Debut
Luxury fashion and lifestyle destination retailer, Maris Collective, has officially opened Rhodium, its first premier boutique in the Middle East, at the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay. The store offers an expertly curated selection of unique and exclusive global designer labels, including Chloé, Emilo Pucci and Jean Paul Gaultier as well as iconic US brands such as Rosetta Getty, Prabal Gurung, as well as fine jewellery designers Suzanne Kalan, Kimberly McDonald and Nina Runsdorf. The ideal destination for the sophisticated jetsetter, Rhodium’s dynamic mix of global fashion brands allows guests to create the perfect wardrobe for transitioning from lounging poolside to glamorous evenings out in Manama’s famed nightlife.
Spanish Brand Chases ME Market
Mango has adapted its website and e-commerce portal for the Middle East, one of the brand’s main markets. There’s a more user-friendly design and customers can now see an Arabic translation of mango.com, alongside a new payment method to make shopping easier. This involves a virtual purse for each customer.
The Middle East is one of Mango’s key markets and accounts for more than seven per cent of the chain’s total turnover. For more than 10 years, the brand has had a special collections department which focuses on creating exclusive designs adapted to the needs of the Middle East market, taking its cultural and religious aspects into consideration.
Cyrine Extends Ambassador Contract
The region’s fastest growing grassroots fashion brand, Redtag, has extended its celebrity ambassadorship agreement with popular Arab model, actress and singer Cyrine AbdelNour for 2017/18.
Redtag has gained strength across the region, opening 21 stores in the past 12 months alone. And it’s not just in women’s fashion that the brand leading the race; it offers variety for the entire family as well as homes products.
Commenting on her ongoing association with the brand, Cyrine AbdelNour says: “Since our partnership began in 2015, Redtag and I have worked together to bring to life the real meaning of fashion for everyone every day with collections which are on trend and on budget and, most importantly, made for the women of the Middle East. I very much look forward to unveiling what promises to be another exciting seasonal collection for summer 2017.”
One-Stop Fashion Shop
White Deal, a Bahrain based e-commerce website supplying the finest brands at the click of a button, has announced the launch of its new online fashion website.
Now customers of all ages can enjoy shopping for their favourite international brands such Armani, Calvin Klein, Gucci, Rolex and various other well-known international and local collections, in the comfort of their own home.
Shoppers have the option of visiting the web page www.whitedeal.com or downloading an iOS and Android compatible app. The service is 24/7, with experts on hand to answer questions and delivery across all areas of the GCC areas. Shipping is free and there are several payment options including cash on delivery.
CEO, Rehab Sharif, says: “To ensure customers get the best products, our team of experts made sure to select only the most fashion-forward brands. The aim is to mix shopping with comfort and that is what makes us the perfect choice for everyone. We are accessible everywhere, every day.”
