INTRODUCING THE MIU MIU PRELUDE 2025 COLLECTION 

“Reduce to the max” is the motto of the latest Miu Miu campaign directed by Edward Quarmby and photographed by Alessio Bolzoni. In the focus – the clothes and accessories of the Prelude 2025 collection, styled by Lotta Volkova and worn by the models Xiaohan Chen, Jessie Craig, and Ro Pinheiro. While the background, a white wall, couldn’t be less plain, the poses stand out. Or better to say: Lay, because the models present the Miu Miu outfits lying, photographed like a standing pose.  

The campaign spotlights the collection’s uniformesque shapes and colors. Ribbon belts, box buckles, and utilitarian fabrics dominate the overall look, and the colors khaki, navy, burgundy, and racing green stand in the foreground. Miu Miu stays true to its typical mini length of the clothes that come in chino, gabardine, and cotton piquet check fabrics. The brand’s Beau, Wander, and Arcadie bags have their moments, as well as the previously launched Tyre sneaker.  

 

PROTOBLAST – ASICS SPORTSTYLE’S & OTTO958’S LATEST SNEAKER COLLAB  

For the second time, ASICS SportStyle teamed up with the brand OTTO958, co-founded by Kiko Kostadinov and LA-based art gallery Morán Morán. The outcome? PROTOBLAST CMLVIII, a sneaker dedicated to the future. The promise? Feeling the vibe of the future through wearing the shoes. Inspired by the Performance-Running-Collection, the PROTOBLAST comes with a supporting FF BLAST–cushioning, including some elements of the ASICS GEL-100 series, and boasts hints of the already existing basketball shoes GELBURST and GEL-HOOP 6. The graphite grey and forest green sneakers are available online for €220.  

 

 

ACNE STUDIOS HAS ACHIEVED THE B CORP CERTIFICATION  

The so-called B Corp certification refers to a company’s accountability and transparency granted by the non-profit network B Lab. After an intense application process involving 300 questions about every business aspect–including governance, workers, communities, environment, and customers–Acne Studios now proudly announces the successful certification. That applies to the next three years, after that timespan, the fashion brand will be assessed if it still fulfills the requirements.  

With this step in a more sustainable direction in many ways, Acne Studios stands out as a responsible luxury brand. Mattias Magnusson, CEO of Acne Studios, stated: “As a brand we have a responsibility to foster and drive change, and play our part in creating a more sustainable fashion industry. This is a commitment we have been implementing across all facets of our business, from our design practices to our production, partners and ethical standards. B Corp certification is an achievement that recognises the steps we have taken, and provides us with a rigorous framework to reinforce and accelerate our social and environmental commitment as a progressive luxury business.” 

DIOR INTRODUCES THE D-JOURNEY BAG 

Fashion designer and Dior’s Creative Director Maria Grazia Chiuri introduced the D-Journey at the Houses spring-summer 2025 ready-to-wear show. Now, the bag is available in the boutiques and could be the next signature piece of Dior. This designer piece elevates everyday looks and is practical in many ways: wearable as a crossbody bag or on the shoulder, with a spacious central part ideal for all the daily stuff that should fit in a bag, and offered in sizes small, medium, and large. The strap’s “CD” initials hint at the D-Journey’s origin while keeping the timeless look. Also, the material comes in variations: There are two canvas options–the Dior Oblique and the Dior Graphic jacquard–and a selection of leather designs–matte, polished, smooth, crinkled,… Already a classic, coming in various options to satisfy Dior fans.
 

LOEWE AND SWISS SPORTSWEAR BRAND ON REFRESH THEIR SNEAKER COLLAB 

Loewe and On already introduced the Cloudtilt 2.0 sneaker in May 2024. This season’s design upgrade includes new hints of color on the lining and branding– the color combinations are all white, white/khaki green, white/orange, and white/navy–and the collab has been available in selected stores and online since January 8th. Highlighting the sneakers’ functionality, the new campaign presents the Cloudtilt 2.0 in the mountains on rocks overgrown with green moss. In the background are the mountains, and the scenery’s shades of green and blue pick up the colors of the shoe. The staging pays tribute to On’s Swiss engineering: Born in 2010 in the Swiss Alps, the brand quickly developed a range of premium footwear, apparel, and accessories dedicated to outdoor sports and active life. The brand’s award-winning CloudTec innovation is also embedded in the sole of the Cloudtilt 2.0, ensuring soft and cushioned steps.  

The Dior Summer 2025 collection, centered on craftsmanship and the art of creation, is inspired by South African ceramist Hylton Nel. Kim Jones, Dior’s Men’s Artistic Director, continues to evolve craftsmanship by blending luxury and functionality. The collection reinterprets workwear and women’s haute couture archives, emphasizing utility, longevity, and heritage.

Sculptural and practical elements borrow from ceramics in form and finish, merging humble and noble in the tailoring. Functionality shines through haute couture techniques, with Dior ateliers’ exceptional craftsmanship. Rounded volumes in tailoring and outerwear add a sensuous touch. Footwear features traditional clogs, and bags blend canvas with raffia or leather. This collection celebrates global and local craftsmanship, highlighting artisans’ skill and pride.

In the tailoring and outerwear of the Dior Summer 2025 collection, rounded volumes create sensuous cuts. The haute couture inspiration is reimagined this season, sparked by an unreleased 1958 Yves Saint Laurent sketch for a coat, now brought to life and influencing other looks. The scarf collar motif, inspired by Saint Laurent’s “Négatif” from Fall-Winter 1960, is rendered in ceramic through a unique, months-long technique. Knitwear features joyful drawings, prints, and ceramic closures inspired by Hylton Nel’s world.

Accessories blend playfulness and practicality with precision and elegance. Shoes take on traditional workwear forms, like clogs, transformed into boots or closed shoes made from beechwood and calf leather. The iconic Saddle bag remains central, its construction softened with its curves echoed in other pieces.The collection’s materials showcase their nobility in bags with durable canvas accented by raffia or leather. Cloche hats, crafted by Stephen Jones in collaboration with Earth Age, are hand-crocheted by South African artisans and adorned with ceramic beads in Paris, symbolizing a global-local collaboration. The Dior Summer 2025 collection highlights the virtuosity of artisans, embodying values and symbols that unite and inspire.

Maria Grazia Chiuri sees “Big Aura” as the embodiment of haute couture’s unique and adaptable nature, referencing Walter Benjamin’s concept of aura.

Chiuri explores Dior’s history, focusing on the La Cigale dress of 1952, blurring art and life. The collection features moiré fabric in gold, white, gray, burgundy, and green, recreating geometric lines from La Cigale in coats, skirts, and layered outfits. Black velvet dresses and a feather cape add grace, while embroidered details evoke ancient poems and nature. In this collection, Chiuri captures the chromatic and constructive essence of haute couture, creating a powerful and performative experience that expresses the transformative spirit of imagination.

“I had been thinking about the relationship between the ballet dancer Margot Fonteyn and Monsieur Dior. The masculine interpretation of this also involved thinking about her most famous dance partner: Rudolf Nureyev. Nureyev is entwined with my personal history because of my uncle, the photographer Colin Jones. Colin had been a ballet dancer, had a friendship with, and photographed the star. The collection, or rather collections, are about contrast: the contrasts in the House of Dior in terms of ready-to-wear and haute couture. It’s the difference between onstage and backstage; the life of Nureyev theatrically and in reality. Here, it is a meeting of the dancer’s style with that of the Dior archive.” – Kim Jones

In Kim Jones‘ presentation of the Dior Men’s Winter 2024-2025 Collection, the artistic director skillfully merges utility and lavishness, seamlessly blending the realities of ready-to-wear with the theatrical allure of haute couture. This season marks a notable debut, as the collection explores the dual lives of ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev, incorporating rigor, excellence, ease, and discipline into both public and private spheres. Drawing inspiration from the Dior archive, the tailoring reflects Saint Laurent’s influence, emphasizing volumes, vents, pleats, and necklines. The clothing exudes a ’60s and ’70s straightforwardness, employing rich wool mélange in single-breasted simplicity and gently flared trousers. Elements of Nureyev’s dance style are evident in zipped wool jumpsuits, shorts, ribbed knits, and duffle-inflected outerwear, showcasing a harmonious fusion of his personal style with that of a practicing dancer. The couture segment magnificently mirrors the extravagance of Nureyev’s stage presence, capturing his flamboyance and elegance. Ancient Japanese hand techniques are employed in kimonos, and archive embroideries, including the iconic DeBussy dress worn by Margot Fonteyn, are reinterpreted with a masculine touch.

From leather constructions resembling dancing slippers to silk-polyester Mary-Jane sneakers and utilitarian bags amplifying house codes, the collection strikes a delicate balance between discipline and opulence. The presentation, directed by Baillie Walsh with music by Max Richter, is enhanced by a special rendition of Sergei Prokofiev’s “Dance of the Knights,” known for Nureyev and Fonteyn’s iconic performance in 1965. The show successfully captures the essence of Nureyev’s multifaceted life, seamlessly blending practicality and poetry, utility and extravagance.