Louis Vuitton opens new store in Las Vegas

Louis Vuitton has opened a new men’s store in Las Vegas. Located in the famous Bellagio luxury resort and casino, the new shop features a contemporary design reflective of the Paris brand’s luxury roots and uncompromising craftsmanship. The outpost overlooks the popular Bellagio fountains and designed with an eye-catching façade studded with twisted stainless-steel blades. Moreover, the interior is as sleek and as pristine as they come with leather goods being the first selections customers see.

Moving along inside the shop are travel goods and accessories with ready-to-wear at the rear which opens to a relaxing outdoor terrace. Consumers will be pleased to know that the new LV men’s location carries the latest season collection as well as the new LV Volt unisex jewelry collection up for pre-launch. The release, which is the second collection by Francesca Amfitheatrof, Louis Vuitton’s Artistic Director of Watches and jewelry, is part of the store’s opening. 

The Bellagio outpost is Louis Vuitton’s third store in Las Vegas. The other two are located at the Wynn Las Vegas and the Forum Shops Caesars. 

Frieze London and Frieze Masters cancelled in light of coronavirus continuous disruptions

Frieze London and Frieze Masters are the latest events to be cancelled in the art sphere in light of Coronavirus’ continuous disruptions.

The news comes after Frieze New York announced that it would be refunding nearly 200 planned exhibitors and would instead host online viewing rooms rather than a physical fair. Much like New York’s art fair, Frieze London and Frieze Masters will now be a digital-only showcase. Frieze’s customary exhibition of international gallerists specialising in contemporary artworks and pre-21st-century art had been scheduled to run from October 8 to October 11, 2020, in London’s Regent’s Park. The week would have usually brought thousands o the U.K.’s capital to attend the fairs, as well as the shows, museum exhibitions and auctions around the city. 

The Frieze Viewing Room is set to commence online on the same dates as the fair would have taken place. Visit Frieze.com for more information. 

UNIQLO owner forecasts 50% profit shortfalls in light of the present crisis

Fast Retailing Co., owner of Japanese apparel retailer UNIQLO, has officially readjusted its financial forecasts for the rest of this year, lowering its profit outlook as a result of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. 

More specifically, the company now expects an annual operating profit of ¥130 billion JPY, approximately comparable to $1.21 billion USD. This marks a 50 percent decrease, as compared to the smaller 44 percent drop previously predicted, which altered due to an operating loss of ¥4 billion JPY ($37,400 USD) in the period between March and May.

Despite these forecasts, Fast Retailing Co. remains positive as it reports a strong bounce in domestic sales for the month of June in Japan as well as a faster-than-expected recovery in the Chinese market. UNIQLO’s domestic sales — which comprise online purchases — rose by a notable 26 percent last month compared to a year earlier, an impressive achievement by the retailer following a 57 percent decrease in April followed by being 18 percent down in May. 

In light of these two recovering markets, the company says it will continue to open more stores globally.

100 word-class photographers team up to grapple against racism

100 world-class photographers from around the world have teamed up to take part in a fundraiser for various anti-racism organisations. Names including Wolfgang Tillmans, Martin Parr and Renell Medrano have all donated work, along with emerging trailblazers including the likes of Joshua Woods, Kai-Isaiah Jamal and Benjamin Huseby, creative director of GMBH. 

Each photographer involved has contributed images from their archives, with each print priced at £100 GBP (approximately $125 USD). The organisers behind the Anti-Racism Photography Fundraiser have also added that there will be a series of special announcements regarding artist editions in the near future. 

In a statement launching the fundraiser, the project’s organisers said, “Racism is a deeply Racism is a deeply rooted British issue. As the Black Lives Matter movement continues to lead the fight for equality, the decision to operate under the banner of Anti-Racism is a call for the creative world, and the world at large, to fight racism everywhere it exists, while empowering the organisations and charities already doing this work.”

Take a look through some of the editions that will be available in the gallery above and visit the Anti-Racism Photography Fundraiser site for more information. All proceeds minus production and shipping costs will be donated to The Black Curriculum, Black Minds Matter and Exist Loudly.

The creative industry to receive £1.5bn in light of global crisis

Creative organisations are to get a £1.5bn lifeline to help stay in business while coronavirus forces dim all hopes.

The rescue package is expected to help world-known institutions such as the Royal Albert Hall, the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Mary Rose Trust. Unveiling the plan, Boris Johnson said the money would help safeguard the arts for “future generations.” The British government has been under pressure to help the arts after warnings the industry would be brought to its knees without government intervention. Now organisations comprising palaces, museums, galleries, live music venues, cinemas and others will be able to access emergency grants and loans. Ministers said the money was the largest ever one-off investment in UK culture. 

MANINTOWN to launch multifunctional studio space, ‘Manintown + Progetto Nomade’ in Milan

Where fashion, culture and art abound.

MANINTOWN prods to new ventures: in the heart of Milan’s metropolitan centre, the menswear and lifestyle platform powers the ‘Manintown + Progetto Nomade,’ a pioneering concept where fashion and design combine one another with the search for novelty and design excellence, along with storytelling. The project was born thanks to the union of two realities: on one hand MANINTOWN magazine, which explores menswear ever since 2014, founded by Federico Poletti; on the other, the PROGETTO NOMADE, a new travelling container inspired by the likes of art, design and the collection of 50s pieces by Christian Pizzinini and Antonio Lodovico Scolari. From this creative synergy, a new exhibition format has developed, burgeoning a narrative that’s curated in visual design by art director and brand strategist Cecilia Melli.



MANINTOWN + PROGETTO NOMADE GALLERY wants to be a prime meeting point, a small living area in the center of the city of Milan, where fashion, craftsmanship or design enthusiasts will meet, likewise industry insiders. The space will host Italian and international talents who will be able to exhibit their productions, but also have networking opportunities thanks to presentations, small happenings and targeted appointments. 



August 2020 will see the launch of MANINTOWN’s e-commerce space, giving change to fashion brands (both emerging and non) and push digital access to retail horizons, encompassing both menswear and womenswear labels. “By combining the strength of the already renowned digital platform with the functionality of the e-commerce platforms and the exhibition space, we can better serve brands in an omni-channel approach,” remarked Francesca Riggio, Executive Brand Strategist Director at MANINTOWN.



The Progetto Nomade, however, has created the space and shared it with MANINTOWN, wants to consolidate the experience of the Palazzo dell’ Elefante della Torre in Salento, where exhibitions and events related to art and the design will enable a solid continuity to the projects and experiment with refreshing promotional approaches.

MANINTOWN’s Editor-In-Chief Federico Poletti concludes: “This space was born in the name of inclusion, giving a voice to new realities that will not only be put on display, but also told in a different way following a phygital vision. From month to month the Gallery’s program will be enriched by creative appointments, scheduling new pioneers and small events. A new phase has now taken place in Milan, city which has always been dynamic and fruitful in cultural initiatives.

Kanye West revamps Chicago Gap store as result Of YEEZY’s collaboration

Kanye West knows exactly how to drop the jaws. Yes, you heard it right. Singer and entrepreneur, he announced a head-scrabbling partnership with chain retailer GAP, kicking off a ten-year-long collaboration. 

A mysterious shroud envelops the Gap Store at the corner of Michigan and Ohio in Chicago, apparently the exact store that West himself used to shop at. https://www.instagram.com/p/CB_RIL9HI_8/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

One of the street-facing side features the quirky asymmetric logo for YEEZY Gap (as the joint effort is known), while a larger one at the end of incline is emblazoned with text sourced directly from a note West wrote by hand. It says:

Thank God
Hi Chicago it’s me
This is [the] Gap store
I used to shop at when
I would drive my Nissan
from the southside
so blessed
I thank god and I am
so humbled at the
opportunity to serve
I put my heart into the
color palette and every
detail I love Tron the original
Do you like stuff
I don’t know what to do with
my hands
Love YEEZY

The text indicates that West himself redesigned the store down to the colour palette. No launch date for the collection or store opening have been confirmed, but specific timelines will surely emerge soon.

Microsoft shuts all its retail stores permanently

Last week, tech giant Microsoft announced a new approach to retail. This approach, taking place with immediate effect, will see the closure of all but four of Microsoft’s stores cross-globally.

Only a quarter of stores of stores will remain open in New York, London, Sydney and Redmond, but they will become Microsoft Experience Centres offering no product sale. The shift to digital service over brick and mortar is something that Microsoft wanted to implement in 2021. As reported by The Verge, Covid-19 made its impromptu catalysing a need for the company to enact immediately. 

Microsoft also noted that none of its retail staff will be let go, as they instead transition to digital-driven positions. Moreover, the company’s site will update its support service with a one-to-one video chat, online tutorial videos and virtual workshops.

“Our sales have grown online as our product portfolio has evolved to largely digital offerings, and our talented team has proven success serving customers beyond any physical location,” said Microsoft Corporate Vice President David Porter in a statement. “We deliberately built teams with unique backgrounds and skills that could serve customers from anywhere. The evolution of our workforce ensured we could continue to serve customers of all sizes when they needed us most, working remotely these last months.”

Facebook will alert you when sharing old news

Social media giant Facebook has dominated the headlines for the past few months, and now the company has just announced that it will be rolling out a new feature which alerts users when sharing content older than three months. Now, when trying to share a post, an alert reading “this article is over three months old” will pop up, allowing you to continue or cancel your post.

Facebook has been criticized for not limiting radical political news, “fake news,” and other potentially harmful stories, and the introduction of the 90-day warning banner, the platform hopes to decrease the amount of untimely content shared by its users.

Vice-president of feed and stories at Facebook said in a statement, “news publishers, in particular, have expressed concerns about older stories being shared on social media as current news, which can misconstrue the state of current events. Some news publishers have already taken steps to address this on their own websites by prominently labeling older articles to prevent outdated news from being used in misleading ways.”

In addition to the new banner, Facebook is also in the process of developing other functions such as highlighting stories containing COVID-19-related content, and will feature a notification detailing the source of the link, and then transfer users to the Facebook COVID-19 Information Center for “authoritative health information.”The 90-day news notification is rolling out across Facebook globally, starting today.