Is leather out for luxury fashion? How to build your resume when you have no experience? Fendi x Marc Jacobs?
plus the latest jobs and internships
This is Inside Fashion a newsletter brought to you by Glam Observer that each week covers behind-the-scenes of fashion, industry news, career advice, profiles to follow, jobs and more!
Is leather out for luxury fashion?
Stella McCartney has long been leading the way for vegan and sustainable fabrics in the luxury accessories sector, but her latest venture has caught the eye of many industry insiders.
And although McCartney might be setting the ball rolling, there are other brands becoming the force to push next-gen materials alongside her.
Balenciaga, Hermes and Stella McCartney are all starting to make products from mushroom-based fabrics. Yes, you read that right, mushrooms!
This mycelium leather is formed from the roots of a mushroom. After years of investments in companies such as Bolt Threads and experimentation to create the perfect non-leather with minimal environmental impacts, it seems McCartney has become the first to successfully do so. As she produces the world's first-ever luxury bag crafted from mycelium.
With more and more luxury fashion houses needing to meet the new values of consumers, they are beginning to seek out non-animal-based, environmentally friendly, and less-energy intensive materials as an alternative to leather.
Luxury leaders LVMH and Kering are finding great value in investing and testing mycelium leather.
Stella McCartney’s brand new SS22 bag collection has taken four whole years in the making to finally hit our shelves. The efforts taken on this project come as no surprise as McCartney is one of the biggest advocates in fashion for sustainable luxury fashion.
McCartney began her relationship with Bolt Threads back in 2017 and first began experimenting with Mylo in 2018 as the start-up developed the initial prototype. This first-ever creation was seen in London’s V&A Museum as part of the Fashioned from Nature exhibition in 2018. The bag was a version of McCartney’s bestselling Fabella style and although it was a ground-breaking moment it was far from ready.
After many more years of collaboration between Bolt Threads scientists and McCartney’s manufacturing team to improve the fabric’s quality, durability and performance, leads us to this brand’s new SS22 collection of luxury handbags.
Bolt Thread has transformed mycelium, into Mylo, a now certified vegan alternative to leather that has a significantly lower impact on the environment than livestock.
“They grow mycelium in a vertical agriculture facility with just air, water and mulch to recreate a process that happens on the forest floor using ingredients found in nature and powered by renewable energy. “ - Stella McCartney
This highly limited collection launches this July with just 100 items.
But, will Mylo become the new leather of the luxury market? The fashion industry has been producing luxury leather items for hundreds of thousands of years. A consumer of luxury looks to leather for durability, a bag for a lifetime. Can Mylo offer this significant trait that makes a bag worth the price point?
Balenciaga AW 22 collection even featured a dramatic full-length coat created from a different mycelium-based fabric developed by Sqim.
While Hermes, the fashion house parallel with luxury is still planning on launching it’s own handbag from mycelium with a company named MycoWorks.
Does it seem the luxury is heading into a new world without leather? Let us know in the comments below.
What's happening in the industry this week💚?
Could Fendi X Marc Jacobs really happen?
A luxury on luxury collaboration is no stranger to the fashion world anymore.
Creative directors Kim Jones and Marc Jacobs are rumored to be reuniting for a special luxury collab. And wow we hope the rumors are true!
The pair were a creative duo around a decade ago now at Louis Vuitton. Jacobs was appointed creative director from 1997 to 2014, when Jones joined as creative director of menswear in 2011. Where they both left a huge impact on the French fashion empire.
Jones has been known for his pioneering collabs while Fendi, from his Fendi x Versace designer swap and unforgettable runway moment to Skendi, when he joined luxury to Kim Kardashians shapewear brand, Skims.
Will we see old paths cross again with Marc Jacobs?
Valentino Vintage Project enters the next phase Stage one in 2021 saw Valentino launch their vintage initiative to collect and approve vintage Valentino garments giving them a second life. The luxury house encourages owners of vintage pieces to submit them in exchange for store credit.
Now in 2022, phase two is here with second-hand vintage stores held in four major cities, where garments from the Maison’s heritage are for sale. The latest initiative also means that select stores are hosting special events.
Good news? They are open now! You can visit a store near you:
Madame Pauline Vintage in Milan until June 12th
The Vintage Dress in Tokyo until June 19th
Resurrection Vintage in Los Angeles until June 18th
New York Vintage Inc in Manhattan until June 19th
Cher collaborates with Versace for Pride Month The music Icon is partnering with none other than Donatella Versace this month to release a limited-edition capsule collection in celebration of pride.
“It has always been a dream to collaborate with Cher, and it’s finally come true. I’m delighted that we can support such a brilliant charity that has such a positive impact, particularly on young people.”- Versace
All proceeds from the Chersace collection will go to the Gender Spectrum charity, which works alongside the LGBTQ community to help children and youth.
Louis Vuitton to open Restaurant in Saint Tropez The luxury French fashion house is opening a restaurant this summer at the White 1921 Hotel at Places des Lices.
As we discussed a few weeks ago, it is no surprise that fashion is entering the hospitality market for a more experiential approach and revenue stream.
The outdoor restaurant is set to open 17th June 2022 for the summer near by a Louis Vuitton store.
Fendi opens a pop-up café To celebrate the design week in Milan, the temporary bar is set up within the Fendi boutique in Via Montenapoleone, in the heart of Milan’s fashion district,
Open until Sunday, June 12.
Fashion Career Tip of the Week
Are you worried your CV isn’t enough to land an internship because you have 0 experience?
Well did you know that it is absolutely possible to get into fashion even if you have no experience yet (if you think about it’s quite logical, right? Or how would everyone else, including Anna Wintour have done?)
Did you attend our live fashion resume workshop that SOLD OUT? If not why not catch up on this week’s article, we shared how to build your resume when you have no experience.
Listen the podcast episode to learn 6 steps to build your resume when you don’t have experience yet Apple Podcast or Spotify
Nice things
A 90’s dream come true…
Winona Ryder is the star of the latest Marc Jacobs campaign and people are going wild!
The actress has been the face of Marc Jacobs many times, dating all the way back to 2003 when she was cast for Jacobs SS campaign. She landed the campaign after wearing many Marc Jacobs designs to her courtroom appearances landing a lot of publicity.
Ryder is now a personal friend of Marc Jacobs and has featured in many ads over the years.
What to watch this week
Take a look into what might be the future of luxury fashion accessories. Bolt Threads created this video with the V&A museum for their Future of Fashion exhibition back when they created their prototype for Stella McCartney that was featured in the exhibition.
This insightful video gives you an understanding of mycelium and sustainable textiles.
Watch here:
Fashion Profiles to follow this week
Mylo Unleather Created by Bolt Threads is the possible future of luxury leather, as sported by Stella McCartney, the icon of vegan and sustainable fabrics.
The Marc Jacobs Why not follow Marc Jacobs himself as well as the luxury label for a deeper dive into the creative director’s lifestyle.
Your Fashion Jobs Date
Here is for you an updated list of fashion jobs and internships. Happy application ;)
London
BOTTEGA VENETA- PR & Communications Graduate Trainee, London
Farfetch- Freelance Marketing Content Writer - Italian, London
ASOS Global Assistant Planner, London
ASOS- Junior Shoot Producer, London
ASOS- Junior Copywriter, London
Burberry- SEO Assistant, London
The Business of Fashion- Growth Marketing Associate, London
Manolo Blahnik- Marketing and Content Coordinator, London
New York
Conde Nast- Associate Beauty Editor, Allure.com, New York
Steve Madden- Influencer Marketing Coordinator, New York
Christian Dior Couture- PR Trainee, Entertainment Relations, New York
Saks Fifth Avenue- FP&A Intern (Summer 2022), New York
Valentino- Public Relations Assistant, New York
Versace- Public Relations Coordinator, New York
Milan
Valentino- Clientele Office Internship, Milan
Stella McCartney- PR Assistant Intern, Milan
Moncler- Visual Merchandising Intern, Milan
Dolce & Gabbana- Digital Copywriter (English Native), Milan
Dolce & Gabbana- E-Commerce Buyer - Accessories, Milan
Paris
Loewe- PR Showroom Assistant, Paris
Balmain- Men's Ready-to-Wear Stylist Assistant, Paris
Christian Dior Couture- Technical follow-up officer – Studio Textiles, Paris
Chanel- Retail and Learning Engagement Coordinator, Paris
Balenciaga- Intern Shoes Design, Paris
LVMH- Internship - Group Global Talent Management, Paris
Lacoste- CDI - Collection merchandiser, Paris
That’s all for this week.
Forward this email to your fashion friends :)
Giada Graziano, Inside Fashion Editor in Chief and Glam Observer Founder
Georgia Rhodes, Editorial Assistant