"Weekend Reading" is a weekly rundown of our favorite stories from around the web.

LVMH and the Next Big Digital Shopping Experience
" Ian Rogers, chief digital officer of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, sat in his sunlit office on Avenue Montaigne last month, alongside a large cactus with a mélange of Pucci-pattern skateboards and black and white rock band photographs arrayed on the walls behind him. Using a tattooed finger, he punched in a pass code that would unlock access to “Babylon”: the code name for the top secret project he has been working on since his arrival 18 months ago at the world’s largest luxury group."

via: The New York Times

What Do We Talk About When We Talk About Luxury?
"​In 2017, tracksuits and sweatshirts say more about the real fashion of our times than many of the collections by the luxury houses, yet they are frequently labelled as streetwear. Why? Because fashion has become too closely linked to luxury, meaning that valid work goes undervalued and underappreciated, and the fashion of our time is not fully understood. Men’s fashion critic Charlie Porter investigates…"

via: i-D

NYU Launches Fashion & Luxury MBA
"​New York University Stern School of Business is launching a new category of specialized MBA, optimized for MBA seekers who are firmly committed to business careers either in technology or in fashion and luxury. Stern's new Tech MBA and Fashion & Luxury MBA will enable students to build applicable knowledge, gain relevant real-world experience and earn their MBA in one year."

via: Apparel

Balenciaga and the Art of the Ordinary
"Balenciaga has traditionally had a reputation as a purveyor of luxury, femininity, and fine couture. However, it might come as a shock to some to see the French house’s latest sartorial offerings, particularly the large blue tote bag which is clearly reminiscent of those unbeatably practical royal-blue plastic sacks, notorious for populating the aisles of IKEA, everyone’s favourite furniture paradise."

via: Varsity

From Farm To Finished Garment: Blockchain Is Aiding This Fashion Collection With Transparency
"From farmer to consumer, there are multiple steps along the way to create the t-shirts, jeans and dresses we all frequently buy. And buy we do. According to a study from McKinsey & Company, annual clothing production exceeded 100 billion items for the first time in 2014. Consumers also now keep said pieces for about half as long as they did 15 years ago, and nearly three-fifths of all clothing produced ends up in incinerators or landfills within a year of being made."

via: Forbes

Paris Freeze Frame
"In the run-up to the second round of the presidential elections here in Paris, people asked me how a Marine Le Pen victory would affect the fashion industry. Given Emmanuel Macron’s victory, which was always a fairly safe bet, the question is no longer relevant—for the time being, at least—and, in any case, I have never claimed to be much good with crystal balls."

via: Fashion Unfiltered

Hanne Gaby Odiele: Interstellar
"'My life changed in the space of a few weeks,' recalls Hanne Gaby Odiele. 'I discovered who I was and then I was discovered by the industry.' The Belgium-born model – whose rulebook-defying personality has always made her one of fashion’s boldest, bravest figures – is recalling the twin discoveries that changed her life: one, when she was told she was born intersex by a doctor, and two, when she was shortly afterwards flung into the fashion universe after being discovered at a music festival."

via: Dazed Digital

Remembering Isabella Blow, the Maverick Stylist Who Changed British Fashion, a Decade on from Her Death
"The mother of all future street style peacocks, she was an original, vivid dresser with a penchant for statement hats - and someone who hated the word eccentric. As a fashion editor at Vogue and Tatler, her creative, entertaining work is still referenced by stylists and designers today. On the constant search for new talents- be they models, milliners, or fashion designers- she discovered names like Alexander McQueen and Philip Treacy, as well as models Sophie Dahl and Stella Tennant, describing herself as ‘a pig sniffing out truffles’, when it came to spotting the next big thing and helping them build lasting careers."

via: Telegraph

Crafting Tokyo Cool: Why Celebrities Love This Design Duo
"They've collaborated with Kanye West on jewelry design, and pop icons such as Rihanna, Beyonce and Lady Gaga have worn their accessories.But designers Verbal and Yoon -- co-founders of the Tokyo-based luxury brand AMBUSH -- created their game-changing accessories label almost by chance."

via: CNN Style

Palace Skateboards Comes to the US
"Last year, Jonah Hill—an Oscar-nominated actor who has starred in Martin Scorsese films alongside Leonardo DiCaprio—appeared in an online ad for skateboard brand Palace's collaboration with British sportswear giant Reebok. Rumor has it he did it for free, getting paid in sneakers, hats, and shirts. To promote the New York store—which opens today and is the only Palace location outside of London—Hill again featured in a promo video, complaining to his agent about getting 'paid in stickers.' Both ads are about as far removed from typical fashion promos as you could get—which, when it comes to Palace, is absolutely no surprise."

via: Vice

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