Some serious business this week with Saint Laurent owing Hedi Slimane $15 million and Nine West filing for bankruptcy, plus a MAAS exhibition, colourful Birkenstocks and a Pared Eyewear sample sale.

Hedi Slimane and Saint Laurent

After a longstanding dispute with his previous employer, former creative director of Saint Laurent, Hedi Slimane, has collected AU$14.8 million in unpaid wages from Kering. According to The Business of Fashion, even though Slimane tripled profits of the French fashion house, he was paid a mere €667,000 (equivalent to AU$1 million). A court ruling found that under a certain clause, Slimane was owed €10 million (AU$15 million) in shares. Slimane left the brand on bad terms, with continued conflict over pay and intellectual property rights. All eyes will continue to be on Slimane as he takes over as creative director for Céline.

Colourful Birkenstocks

Birkenstock has just dropped a new range of colourful, sporty-chic slides. The classic Arizona sandal, that we all know and love, has been reimagined in many different rainbow-inspired colourways, with colours including classic black and white, but also bright blue, red, pink, orange, silver and yellow. They’re also non-leather, with the whole shoe made from a rubber-like material called EVA (ethylene-vinyl acetate). This isn’t the only drop that Birkenstock have graced us with recently. Alongside Barneys New York, the brand have also reimagined and redesigned the Arizona sandal with pastel pink and blue shearling on the foot bed, with patent leather straps and again, an EVA sole.

Nine West has filed for bankruptcy

Global retailer Nine West Holdings Inc have filed for bankruptcy after a period of financial strain. The news was confirmed by Ralph Schipani, Chief Executive of the company last Friday. It has been reported that the company will try to sell two of their brands – Nine West and Bandolino – to Authentic Brands Group, who are the same people that own Juicy Couture. If the sale goes ahead, the brand will go further to restructure and reorganise the business to ensure its growth.
Schipani released a statement saying, “Once we complete the reorganisation process, our company will have meaningfully reduced debt and interest costs and be well-positioned for the future”.
This has come as no surprise to those in the economics nor fashion industry, with reports that H&M struggled through their first quarter of the season and the likes of American Apparel and Nasty Gal going under too.

Reigning Men: Fashion in Menswear

Sydney’s Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences (MAAS) have announced their latest fashion exhibit: Reigning Men: Fashion in Menswear 1715-2015. The exhibition will launch May 2 and run all the way through until October 14. As the name suggests, the presentation – located at Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum – will explore men’s fashion from the 18th century onwards, breaking down the ‘fashion is feminine’ stereotype. Over 130 garments will be featured, with pieces from designers like Alexander McQueen, Burberry, Calvin Klein, Chanel, Giorgio Armani, Gucci, Jean Paul Gaultier, Louis Vuitton and YSL.
Tickets are $13 for concession and $20 for adults.

To celebrate the opening of the exhibition, MAAS will be hosting a Creative Industries seminar as well as an Etihad Airways mentorship session on May 3 – this prize will go to a designer from the Student Fashion exhibition at the Powerhouse. Industry Threads: First Edition (the first seminar) will be hosted by Glynis Traill-Nash, fashion editor of The Australian and Damien Woolnough, editor at Honey. Speakers include Justin O’Shea, Rebecca Vallance and Lee Oliveira.

Pared Eyewear Sample Sale

Who: Pared Eyewear
What: Sample Sale
When: Until stock lasts
Where: Online. Click here https://paredeyewearsamplesale.com/collections/all?page=1