CLAUDIA FOR VERSACE: Versace and Claudia Schiffer go way back as the brand helped cement her supermodel stardom in the ’90s.
The relationship has never fizzled and is commanding renewed attention after Schiffer closed the Versace spring 2024 show in September wearing a lime green metal mesh slipdress with an argyle pattern and lace fabric inserts. In January, she wore a nearly identical dress in neon yellow to attend the London premiere of the film “Argylle,” directed by her husband Matthew Vaughn.
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Describing Schiffer as “legendary,” Donatella Versace has tapped the German model to front the brand’s spring 2024 ad campaign, together with Loli Bahia, Mona Tougaard, Fernando Lindez, Noah Tumataroa, Meng Yuqi and Liu Wen. “The power of these incredible women dressed in iconic house silhouettes and fabrics,” said the chief creative officer of the Italian luxury brand. “Loli, Mona and our legendary Claudia! This is everything I love in fashion. Of course.…It’s Versace!”
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The campaign, which debuts on Thursday and was photographed by Mert Alas, introduces the Medusa ’95 bags, defined by a new version of a metal detail featuring the brand’s Medusa signifier that debuted in 1995, and in a luxurious powder-like leather.
Schiffer is seen wearing one of Versace’s girlish checkerboard duchesse satin suits for spring in a mini length in pastel pink.
“Tailoring is still a big part of the collection. We saw after the L.A. show the success of the jacket, our Versace jacket, so we are going to keep doing it in different variations,” the designer said in September, referring to the fall 2023 show held in Los Angeles last March, where a padded hourglass silhouette was the star.
This season’s boxy shapes “were so your body can move inside,” and the checks and pale colors “look fresh and contemporary,” Versace said, adding that her muse is “a powerful woman with a touch of sweetness.” — LUISA ZARGANI
Style & Sport: Nautica has tapped top collegiate gymnast Olivia “Livvy” Dunne as its latest brand ambassador. The elite athlete and influencer will also be the face of the brand’s women’s sportswear campaign.
In the campaign, she will wear looks from the spring line, created by Nautica’s women’s licensee G-III Apparel Group, in images featuring open skies and stylized gymnastics equipment.
Dunne said she has been a fan of the brand since she was a child. “Nautica perfectly aligns with my lifestyle because it values confidence, versatility and style.”
Dunne is a senior at Louisiana State University and in 2014 was the youngest athlete in the U.S. to qualify as a junior international elite. By 2017, she earned a spot on the USA National Team and was selected to represent the U.S. at The City of Jesolo Trophy in Italy, where she and her teammates won gold in the All-Around competition. In 2020, Dunne began her collegiate career at LSU on a full athletic scholarship and during her freshman season was named WCGA All-American, WCGA Academic All-American, and First-Year SEC Academic Honor Roll Honoree.
“We’re excited to welcome Livvy Dunne to the Nautica team,” said Stefani Fleurant, senior vice president marketing — lifestyle, at Authentic Brands Group, owner of Nautica. “Livvy’s dedication to her craft and ability to inspire millions aligns perfectly with Nautica women’s sportswear — a line designed for women who are active, confident and embrace a lifestyle that seamlessly merges fashion with performance.”
Dunne is the most-followed college athlete with 12 million followers on Instagram and TikTok. — JEAN E. PALMIERI
HONORING JOSIE: Josie Natori will be the guest of honor this spring, when the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation hosts its 10th annual luncheon.
More than 200 people from the tristate area are expected at the May 15 event at Riverpark restaurant.
Natori is the latest designer to be honored by the organization, following in the footsteps of Oscar de la Renta, Carolina Herrera, Dennis Basso and others including Nicole Miller, who was among the 55 women at the inaugural luncheon, which was held in someone’s home. To date, more than $650,000 has gone to the foundation’s top-notch scientists to help further their research.
Aside from inevitably helping to boost ticket sales for the luncheon, Natori will be strengthening the cause by donating 20 percent of proceeds from online sales to the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation for a limited time in May. Attendees will get a glimpse of the designers’ offerings at the event, since Natori’s fall collection will be shown.
In honor of the Year of the Dragon, Natori introduced a limited-run Dragon collection last month that will have subsequent drops through this year. The debut assortment featured her first unisex styles.
The SWCRF salute is the second one that she has received in recent months. Last fall Natori received one of the Asia Society’s Game Changers awards. The artist Yayoi Kusama and Yahoo’s cofounder Jerry Yang and his fellow philanthropist wife Akiko Yamazaki were a few of the others.
The designer’s other philanthropic efforts include chairing the Asian Culture Council, and serving on the board of the Statue of Liberty Ellis Island Foundation. Natori is also deeply committed to enhancing manufacturing and supporting workers and emerging talents in the Philippines. — ROSEMARY FEITELBERG