ON MESSAGE: In line with two key messages in U.S. President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address Tuesday night, First Lady Jill Biden showed an allegiance to the people of Ukraine and a commitment to American manufacturing by sporting a blue domestically made dress from the LaPointe label.
Designer and founder Sally LaPointe is rooted in New York City, where she also manufactures her ready-to-wear collection. The cobalt blue frock worn by FLOTUS at the U.S. Capitol was made with double-faced satin and features arm slits — the better to applaud with. The minimalist style had an embroidered sunflower on the sleeve of the dress that was emblematic of Ukraine’s national flower. The blue was symbolic of the same shade that adorns Ukraine’s national flag.
President Biden offered more forceful words in retaliation for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He announced that America will join its allies in closing off American air space to all Russian flights, and providing support to the Ukrainians in their fight for freedom with military, economic and humanitarian assistance. Referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Biden said, “Putin has unleashed violence and chaos. But while he may make gains on the battlefield — he will pay a continuing high price over the long run.”
Biden’s solidarity with the Ukrainian people was evident by the presence of the ambassador of Ukraine to the U.S., Oksana Markarova, who was among the guests seated with the first lady in the viewing box. Facebook’s former lead product manager on civic misinformation Frances Haugen, Intel’s chief executive officer Patrick Gelsinger, United Steelworkers Local 1557 member Joseph “JoJo” Burgess and the diabetic seventh-grader Joshua Davis were among some of the others. The Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff and the president’s sister Valerie Biden Owens were also in the viewing box.
Rallying for the passage of the Bipartisan Innovation Act sitting in Congress, Biden said it will “make record investments in emerging technologies and American manufacturing.” He went on to say during his nearly hourlong address, “There’s something happening in America. Just look around and you’ll see an amazing story. The rebirth of the prude that comes from stamping products Made in America. The revitalization of American manufacturing.”
FLOTUS’ choice of a dress from LaPointe’s pre-fall collection was testimony to that mindset. The designer hails from Massachusetts and graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design with a BFA in apparel design. She started her signature company in 2010 and is a former winner of one of the Fashion Group International’s “Rising Star” awards. Her dresses can retail for upward of $1,000. As for the specifics about how and why the State of the Union dress was chosen, a spokesman for LaPointe declined to comment Tuesday night. — Rosemary Feitelberg
CLOSE UP: Sephora has taken its marketing efforts to new heights — and a new medium.
The retailer is debuting a documentary film this week called “The Beauty of Blackness.”
It chronicles the inception, decline and relaunch of Fashion Fair, which came back to market last year under the ownership of Desirée Rogers and Cheryl Mayberry McKissack.
Sephora created the film in partnership with Vox Media’s Epic Digital and Vox Creative subsidiaries. It was subsequently acquired by HBO Max, where it will be available this week.
“We were honored to acquire Fashion Fair in 2019, a brand which ash so much history and significance to the Black community. With this documentary, we are able to share our journey of bringing this pioneering, Black-owned beauty brand back to the marketplace,” Rogers and Mayberry McKissack said in an email.
Although the format is new territory for Sephora, the brand’s resurrection made it perfectly suited for a long-form medium.
“When our merchant partners internally told us we would be the exclusive retailer for Fashion Fair, we dug into the story. We felt that the traditional marketing vehicles and tactics didn’t do it justice,” said Abigail Jacobs, Sephora’s senior vice president, brand and integrated marketing. “This is a story that deserves a narrative around it. It was something we had never done.”
The documentary features a few other interview subjects, including singer Kelly Rowland, and beauty editors Julee Wilson and Kayla Greaves.
“There are a lot of different stories that can be told. Entertainment at its heart is just storytelling, and as community builders, and as brand builders, we’re really interested in creating this inclusive community,” said Candace Payne, director of campaigns and content, Sephora. “The connection between beauty and entertainment is very strong because there are so many stories that need to be told. We feel very responsible to make sure those stories come through.”
Sephora is not the first beauty company to blur the lines between beauty and entertainment. Beekman 1802 and Pat McGrath Labs have both announced collaborations with the Netflix show “Bridgerton.” Last year, Neutrogena also announced Neutrogena Studios, a new entertainment division, inaugurated with a short film featuring Kerry Washington.
“As consumers, there are people behind the products that we buy: there are cultural sources behind putting a brand on the shelves,” Jacobs said. “There are characters and rises and falls and tensions and things that make for a good story behind the creation of brands.” — James Manso
DOUBLES PARTNERS: Christopher Bevans is doing his part to make the tennis court more fashionable, thanks to his partnership with Fila.
The award-winning designer, who worked with Kanye West on his Yeezy brand and also served as Nike’s design director for urban apparel before launching his own brand, Dyne, signed on last year with Fila as a guest designer and creative collaborator.
His first project for the sports brand was a tennis-inspired Fila Renno x Bevans sneaker that released last September. And now, Bevans has created a full line of men’s and women’s apparel that will be unveiled at the Fila-sponsored BNP Paribas Open that kicks off Monday in Indian Wells, Calif.
Called the Bevans Park Collection, the line incorporates colors and motifs that are both personal to the designer and also stand out in the desert sun. That includes a nature-inspired palette of white, navy, green, pink and teal with pops of orange and a variety of geometric patterns and sonic wave designs intended to express energy for the players who will be wearing it at the tournament that runs through March 20.
“Tennis was an important part of my upbringing and the opportunity to work with such an iconic brand in the sport and to see our vision on center court, on the world’s top tennis players, is a dream come true for me,” said Bevans. “As someone who plays the game myself, I know that designing for optimum performance is the priority. I wanted to create pieces that would enhance and not impede on the game, while at the same time, share my creative point of view and bring a unique new style and energy to the court.”
All of the players will wear Fila’s Axilus 2 Entergized performance footwear in special-edition colors that tie back to the apparel.
The Bevans Park Collection is available for purchase to the public on the Fila website. It retails for $60 to $100. — Jean E. Palmieri
Source: WWD