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

Beyoncé Loves His Work. So Does Melania. Meet the Gucci Designer Trying to Bridge Many Divides.
"Designer Alessandro Michele of Gucci was as surprised as anyone to see his red, white and blue A-line coat, with its rows of feline buttons, become one of the more memorable — and mocked — visuals from the Trump inauguration. But there it was on that gray January day: Kellyanne Conway wearing his $3,600 coat — a signature look from Gucci’s Resort 2017 collection — with a bright red hat and raspberry-colored gloves and handbag. She called the ensemble “Trump revolutionary wear,” and she looked pleased as punch with her fashion battle cry."

via: The Washington Post

Chanel’s Boomerang Comes Back to Hit It
"Another day, another brand being called out on social media for a misbegotten product. The latest name in the cross hairs is Chanel, and the latest offering in question is a glossy black wood-and-resin boomerang sporting the double C logo and priced at $1,325. In Australia, home of Aboriginal culture and the boomerang, this has not gone down well."

via: The New York Times

I Spent a Day at Design School with Virgil Abloh
"As a freelance writer, it's rare that I will schedule something that will put me outside of my house before 10:30 a.m. But on the first Tuesday of May, I was to be at Penn Station — a 40-minute train ride from my apartment — for an 8 a.m. train the morning after the Met Gala. This early train would bring me to the Rhode Island School of Design to spend a day with the buzzy designer of Off-White and CFDA-Award nominee Virgil Abloh, who would be speaking that evening. Unlike me, he showed up a little late for class; though, it wasn’t without a good excuse."

via: Fashionista

Off-White x Nike Is (Probably) Happening: Here's Everything You Need to Know
"The upcoming Off-White x Nike sneaker collaboration is both the best and worst kept secret in the sneaker world these days. On the one hand, our repeated requests to Nike for any information on the release date or even a confirmation of the collaboration's existence have been essentially stonewalled. On the other, not only have several images of the supposed sneakers leaked online, but Virgil Abloh (the man behind Off-White) himself has worn the shoes on several occasions—including on the biggest night in fashion, the Met Gala. So, it doesn't seem that Abloh has much interest in being inconspicuous about the collaboration, though details remain in short supply. That said, here's what info we do have thus far."

via: GQ

Justin Bieber Just Dropped a New ‘Purpose the Stadium Tour’ Look Book
"It’s been almost two years since Justin Bieber dropped 'Purpose,' his fourth studio album that produced hits 'What Do You Mean?' and 'Sorry.' The album’s accompanying world tour came with a series of merchandise collections that quickly went viral, including a collaboration with Barneys, a VFiles pop-up collection and a more affordable line with Forever 21."

via: WWD

Carla Sozzani: I’ll Take Manhattan
"Looking down from far above, the port seems like a toy town, with its tiny boats, old brick warehouses with signs reading 'Seafood' and 'Shellfish,' and – across the East River – the jagged outline of Brooklyn’s high-rise buildings. Many floors up in the Howard Hughes offices, there are models of Space Age structures and then a more familiar curved pattern with rounded letters: '10.Corso.Como' read the dots and dashes that announce Carla Sozzani's first retail venture in New York."

via: Vogue

Tracing Rap’s Love Affair with Raf Simons
"Rappers have been peppering their rhymes with designer and fashion references for years. From Biggie to Jay-Z, they’ve all used it to add flair and give their lines some lqqks. Remember Grandmaster Flash repping his Calvin Klein in ‘Them Jeans’ in 1987? Or that time Kanye West name-checked 21 models in his verse on ‘Christian Dior Denim Flow’. A$AP Rocky has consistently dropped designer bombs in his songs and recently enlisted Frank Ocean, Lil Uzi Vert and Quavo to rep their fave Belgian designer – Raf Simons. Rocky had already teased the song – simply titled 'Raf' on Twitter earlier this year with the hashtag #pleasedonttouchmyraf but the song was finally released this week on Ocean’s Beats 1 show 'blonded RADIO'. Simons has a squad of rappers (literally) singing his praises, but when did the obsession start and why?"

via: Dazed Digital

Jeremy Scott on a Car Door That Started His Career
"I went to Paris when I was 20. I wanted to learn from the greats, all those designers who inspired me. Even if it was just picking up pins from the floor my ambition was to be in the same room as them. To be in the atelier. My look at that time was pretty extreme. My hair was a mohawk-mullet situation, I smudged on eye make-up with my thumb, and I wore ripped shredded 1930s dresses over leather pants, concert-shirts and customised DM platforms. All my creativity was channelled onto myself – every day was my fashion show because I was desperate to express myself."

via: The Economist

Nike’s 36-Year Quest for the Transparent Sole
"A pair of platinum-colored Nike running shoes seem to levitate above a pedestal in the middle of a circular room. The left and right sneakers point outward, each poised at 45 degrees. Spotlights give them an ethereal glow and, here and there, illuminate strands of silvery suspension filament strung from the ceiling in a 'V.' The walls, floor, ceiling, and pedestal are all white, save for a deep blue circle painted above. Were a choir to file in and begin singing hallelujahs, it wouldn’t seem out of place. Instead, there is Brett Holts, Nike Inc.’s vice president for running footwear, surrounded by about a dozen reporters and photographers."

via: Bloomberg

Is British Fast Fashion Too Fast?
"Manchester’s city center juxtaposes Britain old and new. Wide, freshly paved roads rest on the same grid as narrow, windy streets that crisscross through town. Grand neo-gothic buildings hold banks, coffee shops, and grocery stores. Steely modern high-rises tower over 19th-century brick buildings. It was here that England established itself as a mass producer of textiles during the Industrial Revolution, with Manchester eventually gaining a reputation for being a 'Cottonopolis.' Today, most of the city’s giant mills and factories have closed, with production having largely migrated to Asia, and many of these spaces have since been turned into offices and warehouses."

via: Racked

Why Nordstrom Is Opening a New York Men's Store a Year and a Half Before a Women's One
"I, Fashionista's West Coast editor, am originally from the West Coast, where there are Nordstroms everywhere. And throughout the 10 years I lived in New York, the city you think has everything — especially when it comes to retail — there was always one thing missing: a Nordstrom. I practically cried tears of joy when the Seattle-based retailer announced official plans to open up on West 57th Street... five years ago."

via: Fashionista

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