Hi, and welcome to Line Sheet. Happy to be back on the clock ⏰, and happy to be in Paris, where the weather is fine and the trains run on time. It was quite the weekend here, and I didn’t even go to any parties. There was A$AP Rocky’s “surprise” show on Friday, Dries on Saturday, then Vogue World on Sunday. More on all that below, amid additional intel and observations from the center of the fashion world.

🚨🚨Programming note: Chris Black, the famous podcaster and Tory Burch’s No. 1 fan, joins me tomorrow on Fashion People to talk Men’s Fashion Week, Couture, Vogue World, being a brat, and more. You may have a parasocial relationship with Chris because of How Long Gone, but we’ve been actual friends for more than a decade. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did. Subscribe here.

Speaking of brats, anyone who watched Hulu’s Brat Pack documentary knows that acting like a brat after the age of 24 is uncouth. (Dear Andrew McCarthy, Demi Moore is not your therapist!) Stop embarrassing yourself and sign up for access to Puck immediately. Not only will you get a mountain of exclusive reporting and life-altering analysis from our roster of incredible journos, including me, but I may also be inclined to share the details of my new French dermatologist with you. (Probably not, but maybe.) She told me I didn’t need Botox; could this country get any better?

Mentioned in this issue: Vogue World, Anna Wintour, Condé Nast, Dries Van Noten, A$AP Rocky, the Antwerp Six, Gucci, Chitose Abe, Rihanna, Alexandre Arnault, Pharrell Williams, John Galliano, Josh Allen, Puig, LVMH, Gap Inc., Coperni, Gigi Hadid, Kendall Jenner, Roger Lynch, Steven Newhouse, Edward Enninful, Hermès, Cara Delevingne, and many more.

• Gap’s on a collaboration tear: I hear the Gap is planning a collaboration with the young, French fashion label Coperni. (A spokesperson for Gap Inc. said that the company had “no news to share.” A rep for Coperni did not respond to a request for comment.) I hope it’s true, as I adore those boys, Sébastien Meyer and Arnaud Vaillant, and their cute-chic take. Hopefully this’ll give them a little boost in the U.S. Also, whoever is organizing the Gap collaborations has great instincts. (Remember, Dôen was a big hit.) If they can bring a little more sparkle to the Gap product—especially in the main line—then there might be something more than just marketing to this new direction.

  Also on the Gap Inc. front: Last week, I mentioned that there were going to be big design changes across brands over the next six months. Now, Richard Dickson has hired Tania Flynn away from Nike to become Athleta’s head of design. In his LinkedIn post, Dickson noted that the company is determined to “unlock creativity across Gap Inc.” And Flynn, a nearly 20-year veteran of Nike, is an impressive get. Let’s see how she fares outside of that very particular company culture.

• Moves at Gucci, and everywhere else: Last week, there was a wild amount of speculation around the revolving door at Gucci. Was chief brand officer Alessio Vannetti departing? What about global brand image lead Cédric Murac and C.M.O. Jonathan Kiman? Turns out that Murac, who was previously running campaigns at Calvin Klein, was the one (or the first?) to announce his exit. Why all the speculation? Well, there is the offline chatter, the online chatter, and the general uncertainty at pretty much every brand right now, and it’s all fomenting an unprecedented level of accusatory gossip that is not great for employee morale.

  There are going to be more announcements at every house, and many of them will pertain to the marketing and communications departments. Product isn’t selling, consumers are pulling back because everything is too expensive, they already have too much stuff, and there’s very little that’s inspiring them to open their wallets. Even if these macro forces would seem to relate to product and merchandising, marketing and comms functions are harder to measure and usually get the shaft first—especially in mercurial industries like fashion. Also, designers tend to want allies in those roles, and at the moment there are so many empty creative director positions that a lot of these jobs are floating without an anchor.

  Sure, some things have been settled. Thierry Conrad Reutenauer was officially promoted to global chief communications officer at Bottega Veneta; Gaelle Collet is now installed at McQueen; Valerie Leberichel appears to be staying put at Givenchy. I suspect that Rod Manley’s C.M.O. replacement at Burberry will be announced soon, or at least filled. (Manley is staying through the end of the year, but there’s a clear frontrunner, currently installed at an LVMH house.) Then there’s the empty Gucci global comms job that we’ve talked about previously. Plus, you’re all guessing where Ben Cercio, who previously held that gig, might be headed next. What did I miss?

• What to do about an emaciated Couture Week?: Yes, Fendi is canceled (as I reported here first), Valentino skipped, Alaïa decided to hold off. (They’re showing in New York on September 6!) You had Schiaparelli, Dior, and Thom Browne on Monday; Armani and a “headless” Chanel on Tuesday (thanks to my friend who came up with that descriptor); plus Balenciaga on Wednesday. There’s other good stuff, of course (Iris van Herpen, Julie de Libran, Giambattista), but the pleasure for editors who attend Couture is that there aren’t a ton of shows every day.

  I’m hearing from a lot of people that they’re enjoying spending more time in the showrooms with young designers—some brands are entering their second round of orders this month, after opening their doors to retailers early this season. Buyers, meanwhile, seemed positive about what they saw, especially after the Sacai show—a mix of men’s and women’s Resort looks. Chitose Abe is just so good at making very commercial, sellable clothes with teeth. I loved the penny loafers, but most of all the exacting, exaggerated sleeves. (Puffed sleeves are a pain for the wearer if they are sloppily done.) She really should have a big job at a big house, if she wants one.

• The Kelce Effect?: Everyone knows that athletes are the most marketable stars in the world, and fashion has been using them for decades to sell stuff. That’s all coming to a head this summer with the Paris Olympics, and the men’s shows in Paris and Milan were a precursor. To wit: I received quite the press release detailing the Milan Fashion Week schedule of Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Josh Allen. (No, not the Buffalo Bills guy, that’s another one. And no, I didn’t know who either of them were before this release was sent to me.)

  Anyway, this Josh Allen, who just signed a five-year contract worth $141 million, is “interested in entering the fashion space,” according to the release, and attended Dolce & Gabbana, Zegna, Fendi, and Prada—basically every show!—and even brought his wife, Kaitlyn. In Paris, other NFL stars Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase (both Cincinnati Bengals), and Justin Jefferson (Minnesota Vikings), as well as DeShon Elliott (Pittsburgh Steelers) and Stefon Diggs (Houston Texans) all made appearances.

  I asked one of my menswear friends if this American football invasion was perhaps inspired by clotheshorse Travis Kelce’s extreme fame: He said ish. Kelce doesn’t have any big campaigns, and I am not sure he’ll get one. Even if football players have fashion ambitions, they have less global renown than basketball stars or European soccer players. I hope they all had a good time, though.

  Anyway, the men’s shows were great by all accounts! People seem happy and, dare I say, relaxed, despite the absolutely chaotic state of the industry. (And the world. What snap election?) Maybe fewer shows is better?

• Don’t Be Dumb: On Friday night in Paris, A$AP Rocky staged an impromptu fashion show, backed by Puma, in Karl Lagerfeld’s former home, now a popular Fashion Week venue. Rihanna, his partner, sat front row next to Tiffany exec and LVMH heir Alexandre Arnault. Rocky, who launched the line under the moniker AWGE, is eager to comment. The show, titled “American Sabotage,” was “political satire,” as Rocky repeatedly described it, featuring fake political posters, a reappropriated N.Y.P.D. logo, and a model wearing a D.E.A. hat. In the foyer, there was a cake covered in fondant fashioned into a brick of cocaine, and another shaped like a revolver, with a tiny sign that read, “A gun is easier to buy than a cake.”

  The energy in the room was high, and Rocky walked out with a big smile, carrying what looked like a copy of his new album, Don’t Be Dumb, set for release on August 30. I can’t tell you anything, really, about the clothes, nicely styled by Matthew Henson, other than that they had a whiff of Hood By Air. (I liked the look where a model was carrying a filled-to-the-brim laundry bag as an accessory.) Also, I owned the shoes, a pair of ballet slipper-like black Pumas, 20 years ago. Is this the end of fashion, finally?

• Dries signs off: There was a generosity in the way the final Dries Van Noten show was handled. Everyone who wanted to be there, who could be there, was there. Plenty of Van Noten’s peers showed up to support him, including Ann Demeulemeester and Walter Van Beirendonck—fellow members of the fabled group known as the Antwerp Six—plus Thom Browne, Maria Cornejo, Haider Ackermann, and Pierpaolo Piccioli. (The rumor that the elusive Martin Margiela, another fellow Belgian designer, had shown up was swiftly denied.) There was even a shuttle provided for those traveling to and from Antwerp, the company’s headquarters and his home. Backstage, Van Noten spent hours talking through it all with anyone who wanted to listen.

  I found the lack of sentimentality refreshing, even optimistic. Few designers possess such an openness, and that disposition is obvious in his clothes. It wasn’t that there was zero fanfare: the miles-long runway, punctuated by a giant disco ball and lined with silver foil that flitted onto the cheeks of front-row guests as the models strode down, was dazzling. As were the clothes themselves, but not in a commemorative way. There were nods to previous silhouettes and techniques, yes, but very little print, and just enough color. Instead, Van Noten wanted to take things “not one, but seven steps forward,” he said, with the sheer organza trousers for men in particular. “I thought, I have to try,” he continued. It was, however, fan service in that there was plenty to want. (Last season, the company stopped offering personal orders to editors, a devastating move that should have foretold what was coming. I’ll take every inch of Look 11, thank you very much.)

  Waiting for my Uber back into the city, I asked Beirendonck what he thought. He expressed hope that Puig, which owns the Dries Van Noten name, would not disrupt the flow of the studio. From what I hear, there has been an effort to recruit a new creative director, but the person will be required to move to Antwerp. That person will also have to be comfortable with Van Noten hanging around—he’s going to keep tabs on things without producing collections. This retirement felt the most dignified, and least nostalgic, of any that I’ve witnessed in 20 years, but it also undeniably marked the end of an era. Van Noten and Rick Owens, independent designers with over $100 million a year in sales, built businesses that would be impossible to create today. (Thom Browne, now owned by Zegna, is another example.) The future for brands like theirs, built upon products that can never be commodified, is less certain than ever.

Most people were impressed. Some people thought it was weird. I thought it was equal parts American theater, Mediterranean hoke, sheer wonder, and worth all the effort for Vogue. Theatrics aside, this was an industry swap meet. Wintour’s feat was her ability to secure the hallowed location (something many French megabrands have tried and failed to do) and convene so many fashion executives and insiders. For the paying customers, including members of the Vogue 100—the private club that costs at least $100,000 a year to join—the €2,000 minimum entry fee was not about rubbing elbows with famous people (the celebrity quotient was low). Instead, they paid in order to feel famous. The dress code was, essentially, “wear a French designer.” There were people in ball gowns, but also jeans.

Michael Burke, the outgoing C.E.O. of the LVMH fashion group, was seated in a different section, and Bernard Arnault didn’t show, but his eldest children—Dior C.E.O. Delphine and Olympics liaison Antoine—attended with their spouses. Minutes before the performance got underway, with the audience already silent, record and film mogul David Geffen got out of his seat, shuffled over to the Arnault kids and introduced himself to Antoine. (I hear Geffen loves Berluti trousers, but I haven’t confirmed.) It was the most Hollywood thing I’ve ever witnessed in Paris.

Not far from Delphine was Wintour, seated between Pharrell Williams and John Galliano. Free agents Pierpaolo Piccioli and Sarah Burton—who is said to be a leading candidate for Givenchy, if not already signed—were there, too. Kering’s François-Henri Pinault and his wife, Salma Hayek, were not. The night was made for LVMH, after all, with a heavy nod to independent powerhouses Hermès and Chanel. As I wrote in April, LVMH and the French government are symbiotic and inseparable when it comes to the Olympics—and Vogue World wouldn’t happen on the Place Vendôme without Arnault’s endorsement.

Overshadowing it all was anxiety surrounding France’s snap elections next week, which could usher in far-right leader Marine Le Pen. For luxury firms, a new regime might not only hurt the stock market and discourage trade, but limit the further development of the French fashion system, which is embedded deeply with the government. Perhaps, for Pinault and Arnault, the optics of being present at such an event, even one that was designed expressly for them, were too complicated.

It’s a fair query, and leads to something more existential: Can the Vogue business match the size of the brand? The September issue, of course, is a relic. And the express purpose of the Met Gala is to generate contributions for the Metropolitan Museum. During the past decade, commercial sponsorships have blossomed around the event, but they nevertheless trail its cultural significance. Vogue World, a key tentpole for Vogue 100 customers, is more intimate and gatekept. Yes, there is a livestream for Vogue World, which was narrated this year by Cara Delevingne and directed by The Eras Tour’s Sam Wrench, but it’s really about being there—it’s this close to being accessible. The first Vogue World, after all, was a moment, a rollicking advertisement for fashion as a cultural force. The second, last year in London, was more muted, reflecting the British disposition, but also the strangeness between Enninful, who was about to exit, and Wintour.

Vogue World—made possible by Wintour, yes, but also her army, including mastermind Mark Guiducci and his team, as well as France’s content head, Eugénie Trochu—did make money. I’m told revenues were more than last year’s $10 million. Factor in the charity component, and you’re left with a modest profit, enough for Lynch to show the Condé Nast board that these sorts of productions matter. As I noted recently on Fashion People, Vogue is probably the second-most-important brand in the industry after Chanel, which made $20 billion last year. Vogue World: Paris is a measurable success, but it’s hard not to wonder whether this event, and the brand, could become so much more.

A fun look back with the producer of every single one of Dries Van Noten’s 129 runway shows. [Vogue Runway]

Young people just want to buy art and furniture and a vintage Mercedes! And watches. [Puck]

I cannot get enough of Dylan’s Washington Post reporting, but especially the way it deftly exposes the differences between American and British culture. Americans are far more puritanical, prudish. Brits are more resolved, defeatist. What’s the best way to be? [Puck]

Shein is going to list on the London Stock Exchange. [Reuters]

There is surprisingly a lot of fashion-slash-costume talk in this podcast about the very stylish, very fun Apple TV+ show Presumed Innocent. [The Watch]

Laura Reilly’s Paris dispatches have been such a delight. I’ve especially enjoyed her reporting on everyone’s outfits at various parties and events, including the Dries show. (Emilia did a great roundup of Dries looks, too.) By the way, Noah, are you an investor in Evan Kinori? [Magasin]

Who needs Pumas or split-toe Nikes when you can get Jeep sneakers? [Instagram, via Leandra Medine Cohen]

I did a little Q&A with the Fédération, and I don’t hate it. Thank you, Amy, for thinking of me. [FHCM]

Don’t worry, I’m done talking about myself for a long time now, but it was also fun to discuss my boring personal style with Bart. [Cabmate]

Until Wednesday,
Lauren