BURBERRY’S FRONT ROW: Burberry drew an impressive crowd for its spring 2023 runway show in South London on Monday, which was postponed from Sept. 19 out of respect for Queen Elizabeth II’s death.

Thai actor Vachirawit Chivaaree, known professionally as Bright, arrived at the show venue with loyal fans shouting and screaming outside.

He rewarded his fans post-show, signing autographs for them in the rain while he and his team were about to leave.

With more than 16 million followers on Instagram, he was appointed a brand ambassador of Burberry earlier this year. He is best known for his roles in drama series “2gether: The Series” and “F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers.”

Bright instantly made friends with “Bridgerton” star Simone Ashley inside the venue, laughing and posing together in front of the Asian press, who are finally able to travel for Fashion weeks again.

A few seats away, Chinese influencer Yuwei Zhangzou chatted with Milly Alcock from “House of the Dragon,” who plays young Rhaenyra Targaryen in the “Game of Thrones” prequel.

Also in attendance were famed actress Gillian Anderson, who sat next to Anna Wintour, models Jourdan Dunn, Lara Stone, and Winnie Harlow, singers Normani and Erykah Badu, music artist Griff, who is currently on tour with Ed Sheeran, “Nope” actor Daniel Kaluuya, and British rapper Stormzy.

Kanye West made a surprise appearance just a few minutes before the show started. The ex-husband of Kim Kardashian wore a pair of glittery flip-flops with socks on for the occasion.

He had a quick chat with Carine Roitfeld, former editor in chief of Vogue Paris and founder of CR Fashion Book, before sitting down right opposite Wintour, and Jonathan Akeroyd, chief executive officer at Burberry since April 1.

Post-show, while Wintour dashed away swiftly, West stayed, greeted Akeroyd, took photos with friends, and then went backstage to congratulate Riccardo Tisci, who he has known for over a decade. — TIANWEI ZHANG

TISCI AFTER BURBERRY?: Burberry’s spring 2023 show in London on Monday afternoon opened the rumor mill among industry showgoers about the future of chief creative officer Riccardo Tisci at the British heritage brand.

The company which is 100 percent quoted on the London Stock Exchange, has not addressed any of the brewing speculation. 

Tisci’s tenure has been the subject of speculation for the past year with his contract coming to an end in March 2023.

The Italian fashion designer joined Burberry in March 2018, where he amped up the volume on the house monogram; TB logos, and introduced his starlet friends such as Kanye West, Marina Abramović and Nicki Minaj to the brand.

Tisci, a buzzy designer who made a name for himself at Givenchy from 2005 to 2017 as creative director, has not been able to achieve the same level of critical success at Burberry.

However, some defenders of Tisci contend the British brand, an official supplier to the royal household, has been too stiff in its treatment of him and has controlled his creative potential.

It has been widely anticipated that former Bottega Veneta creative director Daniel Lee is to sign imminently with Burberry, but under a different job description to Tisci’s.

A friend and champion of Tisci, then-chief executive officer Marco Gobbetti hired the designer at Givenchy and Burberry. Gobbetti left the company in 2021 and joined Salvatore Ferragamo as CEO, where he appointed Maximilian Davis as the Italian brand’s new creative director in March 2022.

What Tisci needs is a fashion house that understands his sense of wit and penchant for gothicism.

Tisci, who is a close friend of Donatella Versace’s, has been previously linked to the Italian fashion house prior to his position at Burberry. 

In 2015, Versace appeared in the brand’s fall 2015 campaigns and rumors have often circulated about Tisci going under her wing at Versace. But some believe rather than solely taking over, a better idea would be to have the two designers in a co-creative directors position like at Prada with Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons.

A fashion house from his native country sounds like a safer bet but not always. Right now, there’s a shakeup of new blood at houses such as Ferragamo, Bally, Etro and Missoni and these designers’ first efforts during Milan Fashion Week had mixed results.

The possibilities for Tisci are numerous — he’s a designer trained in womenswear, men’s, couture and accessories. His contact list includes Hollywood stars, athletes, artists and musicians. 

Tisci used to frequently collaborate with Nike while still working at Givenchy and given his close friendship with West, a consultancy gig with Adidas or West’s own brand is not completely off the cards. — HIKMAT MOHAMMED

THEBE MAGUGU FASHION SHOWS: Thebe Magugu, the South African fashion designer who has scored major collaborations with Adidas and AZ Factory, will stage four free fashion shows in the Raphael Court at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum on Oct. 7.

It’s part of the V&A’s Fashion in Motion series, supported by socialite Libbie Scher Mugrabi.

Tickets will be available on the V&A’s website beginning Thursday at 10 a.m.

The shows will be Magugu’s first catwalk shows outside of Johannesburg, according to the museum, and will present highlights from his spring 2023 collection “Discard Theory.”

Magugu, who took home the LVMH Prize in 2019, visited Dunuza in Johannesburg, a site for secondhand clothes discarded by Europeans and Americans, to gather materials that he later reinterpreted into the 25-look collection.

“For this collection, I thought about national identity politics, and how Western influence has penetrated Indigenous dress,” Magugu said.

“Oftentimes, I see a woman in downtown Johannesburg wearing a shweshwe wrap skirt — a fabric often worn for traditional ceremonies — but paired with a Vodaphone or Manchester United T-shirt. I found that Dunuza acts as a nexus between local and global, throwing everything into a melting pot that produces a post-modern interpretation of what African fashion is,” he added.

Oriole Cullen, senior curator of exhibitions at the V&A, said Magugu’s collections are “beautiful to behold” and “also convey important stories.”

“Magugu deftly manages to both celebrate the possibilities and joy of fashion whilst also causing us, as viewers and consumers, to reflect and question how we can all be better when it comes to our own engagement with fashion and the politics that surround it,” she argued.

The fashion shows will take place during V&A’s major “Africa Fashion” exhibition, which aims to highlight the continent’s global impact and “spark a renegotiation of the geography of fashion,” according to Christine Checinska, the museum’s senior curator of African and African diaspora textiles and fashion.

Besides presenting looks from Magugu’s fall 2021 collection, the exhibition, which runs until April 16, represents 45 designers from more than 20 countries across the continent and highlights other influential contemporary African fashion creatives including Imane Ayissi, Iamisigo, Moshions and Sindiso Khumalo. — T.Z.

SUPPLY INVESTMENTS: LVMH Métiers d’Art is adding to its roster of suppliers with the acquisition of a majority stake in Heng Long Italy and taking a minority stake in Robans.

Heng Long Italy is the new name for the former Ally Projects, aimed to better reflect that it is the longstanding European outpost of Singapore’s famed Heng Long Tannery. The original Heng Long Tannery was founded in 1977 and became a renowned supplier of alligator and crocodile skin, before being acquired by LVMH in 2011 in a deal then valued at $161 million.

Ally Projects was formed in 2013 to supply Italian fashion houses with exotic animal skin from the leather hub of Santa Croce sull’Arno. It’s known for its small batch orders and short lead times which has made it a key and agile supplier for European brands. The Métiers d’Art support is aimed at helping Heng Long Italy to develop even further its capacity as demand continues to grow unabated.

Robans is also a new name, formerly Roban’s Produzione, for the artisanal ready-to-wear manufacturer that specializes in producing leather and suede collections for luxury labels. The house was started in 1989 by Andrea Palmieri in Pisa, Italy. Robans is growing its material research and treatment specialties, and has been key in recruiting and training young people of the region to enter into craftsmanship careers.

LVMH has been investing in cultivating strategic suppliers as well as manufacturers to strengthen its supply chain. The LVMH Métiers d’Art division was set up in 2015 tasked with helping the conglomerate’s houses build and maintain strong sourcing of rare materials, as well as education and training for the industry. The same year it acquired a stake in Spanish tannery Riba-Guixà. A stake in another Santa Croce sull’Arno-based tannery Masoni followed in 2019 as it continues to strengthen its supply chain. — RHONDA RICHFORD

STRIKING A BALANCE: Kate Moss swept into the private, lush apartment nestled in Paris’ La Samaritaine department store Monday morning to talk with journalists and influencers about her beauty and wellness brand Cosmoss.

But first, she dabbed a few of its Golden Nectar CBD Pro-Collagen Oil Drops under her tongue, to help relax.

Moss came up with the name Cosmoss with an old friend, who had been her personal assistant in the ’90s, but is now an interior designer.

“She does plant music — she listens to plants, roses sing and stuff,” continued Moss. “She’s really into all of that.”

The two sat on the floor of Moss’ KMA agency in London’s Soho and brainstormed about names. Two bubbled up — Cosmoss being one, and another moniker, which Moss wouldn’t divulge.

“Then I spoke to a psychic,” she said. “And I was like: ‘What do you think?’ He was like: ‘Seven letters’ — you know, all those things.”

Moss tried the name out on other people, too. “It rolls off the tongue,” said Moss.

Cosmoss is meant to be about the universe and grounding. “We want to be in touch with both, really,” she explained.

To wit: Cresent moon symbols figure on Cosmoss’ product packaging, as do sun-like icons. Back down to earth, moss (the plant) is used as a product ingredient.

“Just all made sense, really,” she said, of the name. “It all kind of clicked.”

Alongside meditating, while using a red light, Moss also likes potting in the countryside to help unwind.

“I’m a member of the gardening center,” she shared. “I buy flowers and pot when I’m not working – and play with my dogs. That’s my balance: crazy fashion, then potting and dogs.” — JENNIFER WEIL

FROM LILY WITH LOVE: Weekend Max Mara this season unveiled its new Signature Collection in a collaboration with Lily Aldridge.

Called “From Lily With Love,” it comprises chic and easy summer pieces, and it’s obvious meeting Aldridge in Milan that she had fun conceiving this playful collection, which is also very personal, nodding to her father, English illustrator Alan Aldridge.

“He always looked cool and timeless,” she said, as she revisited his three-piece suits, denim on denim, bringing bright and joyful colors and patterns to the collection.

Aldridge, who hails from Los Angeles, added an arty and whimsical vibe and a ’70s hippie, boho-sensibility with her Californian heritage.

The prints, she said, reflected her “rock ‘n’ roll side.” After all, her husband is Caleb Followill, the frontman of the Kings of Leon rock band.

Floaty and romantic dresses were shown either in finely decorated eyelet cotton or in gauzy textures. There were pretty tops and bishop-sleeved blouses that contributed to the feminine yet easy lineup.

A fluid pajama set in slinky silk twill was printed with Alan Aldridge’s floral motifs.

Aldridge also presented a series of of accessories, ranging from a new version of the brand’s signature Pasticcino Bag to a hat, silk scarves and shoes.

Weekend Max Mara has previously collaborated on its Signature Collections with architect and designer Patricia Urquiola; New York-based stylist and editor Gabriella Karefa-Johnson; top model Alek Wek; American illustrator and pop artist Donald Robertson; Lucinda Chambers, former fashion director of British Vogue; Oscar-winning costume designer Gabriella Pescucci; American interior designer Anthony Baratta, and American artist Richard Saja. — LUISA ZARGANI