Loose Threads
Pierpaolo Piccioli is the new creative director of Balenciaga, replacing Demna, who’s on his way to Gucci. Piccioli did an interview with Vogue Business in which he didn’t say much of anything at all (“This is a new moment for fashion, and you can change the rules only from the inside.”). But oh how I have missed his runway collections since he left Valentino, which were of that beautiful, breath-catching variety so few are these days!
Anna Wintour gave an interview to the Washington Post’s Robin Givhan about her approach to diversity as editor-in-chief Vogue and head of content at Condé Nast, acknowledging past failures and how she has “more work to do.” Givhan credits her for remaining committed to DEI as other content businesses like Meta and Google abandon them under Trump 2.0. The story is a nice bit of legacy-preserving, for Anna.
Alexander Skarsgård has been dubbed “the god of fashion chaos at Cannes.” In other words, he wore a gray pinstriped jacket, white shirt, and pink bowtie with blue sequined pants. No full runway looks for this rebel.
Just about every trend website tells us pearls are set to be one of the defining jewelry trends of 2025. Mejuri has a great selection of well-priced pearls. I’ve been enjoying these earrings that are a bit Zendaya-at-Wimbeldon-esque or you can get this necklace (which would look great with a T-shirt) for under $100.
It’s the question keeping you up at night: What is going on with Atelier Jolie?? Angelina Jolie hosted an event at the New York store including the panel discussion, “The Power of Patterns: How African Fabrics Evoke Emotions.”
And now onto, today’s main story…
Lauren Sànchez's Bachelorette Party a Symbol of Excess and Oligarchy
Lauren Sànchez’s bride tribe descended on Paris over the weekend for her bachelorette party, and far as we know based upon available reportage and social media content, there was nary a penis straw or “maid of dishonor” sash in sight.
This was no average affair where someone shows up with a handle of Bacardi and hopes the rental has a blender. Nor was it the type of event where celebrities have a “just like us” moment — like when Hailey Bieber wore a $57 dress to her bachelorette, for which Kendall Jenner had reportedly personally bought, from a local sex shop, cheapo-looking penis candy necklaces. No, this was a bachelorette party that screamed money, that said “we’re all wearing this stuff once and none of it came from Amazon like your last-minute, budget theme-party clothes.”
To celebrate her upcoming wedding to Jeff Bezos, the world’s third-richest man with a $220 billion net worth, Sànchez and her squad ate $118 roast chicken at Lafayette’s Paris and had lunch at L’Avenue, where, a source told People, they drank “espresso martinis and everybody got up and danced when Lauren asked for Earth, Wind and Fire.” They then continued the party in a private, open-air boat on the Seine.
The squad included Kim Kardashian, who — in a black gown, sheer pantyhose, black pumps, a tight and elaborate updo, and diamond earrings — looked like she could be attending the Oscars; Natasha Poonawalla, whom creator Jack Savoie identified on Instagram as wearing a rare Issey Miyake breast plate from fall 1980, which sold at auction in December for $54,000; Eva Longoria, who wore a blue cut-out gown and metallic heels; Katy Perry, dressed in a bodysuit and sheer skirt; and Kris Jenner, who wore, she shared on Instagram, “head to toe Christian Dior.”
Sànchez, of course, could have done anything on the planet — or, actually, not on the planet — for her bachelorette. She could have chartered a boat for a private tour of Antarctica. She could have sought isolation on a private island in the Maldives. She could have rented out all of Instagrammer’s paradise Amangiri in Utah. She could have taken a few more squads back up to space. Instead, she chose to visit the crowded French capital known for being both the birthplace of luxury fashion and site of the French Revolution.
I’ve been told that Sànchez isn’t really a fashion person. But given her visibility and preference for luxury brands, she’s arguably one of the most important fashion influencers in the world right now. And her style is the opposite of the minimalist glamour and “good taste” popularized by designers like Phoebe Philo and the Olsens.
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