#project runway lb

[circle--of--confusion]

"I'm not sure it's wearable"

Yeah because you made them get their garment supplies from the GROCERY STORE

[the-kipsabian]

"im a squid with no ocean" me too bradley me too

[iamsosmaug]

Miraculous Fic Recs

Recently I've been complaining a lot on the internet how sucky the recent seasons of ML have been, and how much better the old fanfics are; I'm going to prove my point by sharing my tried-and-true rec list. Here we go.

Back To Us - Written in 2017, so some things are inaccurate. Basically Marinette, as Ladybug, kills Gabriel Agreste on accident by pushing him off the Eiffel Tower and Adrien moves to Milan. Seven years later Marinette is a rising fashion designer, her long-lost partner comes back seven years later but hot, and a new Hawkmoth shows up on the very day Adrien comes back. Suspicious. INCLUDES: Antihero!Chat. Alternate superhero names for Alya, Nino + there are only seven miraculouses which honestly I like a lot better than Ladybug just busting another one out whenever she feels like it. At one point, it was the longest fic in the fandom but now it's not even close. 446k. Requires an Ao3 account to read.

Second Chances- Again, written fairly early in the fandom. Adrien is a single dad and Alya volunteers Marinette to be his daughter's nanny - the premise sounds like it could turn out really weird but I promise it's not. Adorable adorable. INCLUDES: Past ChloexAdrien and MarinettexNathanael, and Adrien never went to school. Reverse best friends (Alya + Adrien, Mari + Nino). 105k.

Whose Woods These Are (I Think I Know) - Ladrien Cinderella AU. Super well-written in a kind of fairytale style. I honestly love this fic. 105k.

Spotty Connections - Adrienette texting fic (no miraculous AU, but does incorporate LadyNoir). Tikki & Plagg are M&A's cats. One of my favorites ever. 66k.

Film It - Adrien is a youtuber! Soon all of Twitter ships #adrienette. INCLUDES: Gabriel Agreste's A+ Parenting. Endgame Adrienette. Superheroes exist, but LB & CN aren't a huge part of this. Also worthy of note: #thatfoursome and a decent amount of Twitter formatting. This has pretty much everything I want in an Adrienette fic. 56k.

Chasing The C/h/atwalk - Project Runway AU. Marinette is a designer and Adrien... is her model. Shenanigans ensue. INCLUDES: Some LadyNoir, mostly after the identity reveal. #MarinetteInDenial. 100k. I love this fic.

Lucky Us - No Miraculous email AU. See Spotty Connections: LadyNoir incorporated without the actual superheroes. Fluff with a tiny bit of angst but still happy ending. 136k.

Secret Santa - fluff. Pure fluff; classic in the fandom. A bit cheesy and very outdated but very nice. Time for a reread. It has a sequel called New Year's Ball. 52k.

Être Majeur - horror, AU, fairly short, creepy and strange but really well-written. 24k. M for horror elements.

La Pucelle Et La Coccinelle - Absolute favorite. Explores Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc in this story) with the Ladybug Miraculous. INCLUDES: Actual historical references, lore for the miraculouses, and a flashforward to the future at the end with Marinette. 38k. I have it printed out, I love it so much.

Pray For the Children You Lost Along the Way - Silent Hill AU (Emilie Anderson from the arcade game is Adrien's mom). It has been on hiatus since 2019, but is still worth a read because so many things tie together in a satisfying way. 86k. Rated M b/c of Silent Hill-type things.

Under Lock and Key - Huge classic also published on Wattpad. Author/artist collab with Maerynn & EdenDaphne - Maerynn passed away while the fic was being written and ED finished it. Very nice art by ED. I view this fic as the quintessential 2017 era Adrienette fic. Very sweet and fluffy. 34k.

Tripped at Fencing - Gabriel hits Adrien. INCLUDES: Gabriel Agreste's A+ Parenting. Accidental identity reveal (Marinette finds out first). Only 5k but a classic.

The Butterfly and Her Brother series (Generations Past and Future) - written c. 2016. Gabriel is NOT Hawkmoth; Gabriel is not a villian in the least so technically OOC. First couple are set in the 1990s, then a couple in ~2016 and the latest in like 2044. I haven't read the last one in the series but WHATHGAWAATG (Europe gets taken over), featuring the next gen of Agrestes, is really good as well. Many things are outdated/false as this was written based off of s1, but I honestly like this interpretation of the Miraculous much better than how the show does it. Mama Agreste's name is Adele (again, s1) and I quite like her character. I freaking LOVE this series. I have it downloaded to my phone and I reread it when I'm feeling sad. 340k in total, but the longest work in the series is about 166k. SO many kudos.

a fight that you were born to lose - "Adrien finds out that Gabriel is Hawkmoth, and Gabriel gets to bring his long-waited plan into action." TW abuse, emotional manipulation, forced dieting. Gabriel Agreste's A+ Parenting. Fairly short for how well-rounded it is - 17k.

An Impromptu Proposal - what it says on the tin. Reverse love square kinda: Ladynoir requited love bc Adrien never went to school. Includes identity reveal and Hawkmoth!Lila takedown. 33k.

On The Prowl - Criminal CN. Also on ffn.net. Good story and TOTALLY a classic, but also uses 'ravenette' and 'sapphire orbs' unironically. The writing is okay if a little melodramatic. 53k.

Chat Noir's White French Man Hit List For Feminist Purposes - pretty much what it says on the tin. Sentimonster!Adrien. 7.8k.

i think it's time i told you (i'm a fan of your universe) - ladynoir proposal. v v nice. Just 5k. Smidge of angst.

The Ladyblog Comment Section - what it says on the tin. 27k. Hilarity and crack.

spark - Tinder AU. Lots of Marichat. Angst with a happy ending. 49k. Slow burn w/ eventual identity reveal.

all dressed up and nowhere to go - No Miraculouses modern royalty AU - human Tikki and Plagg. Mostly DJWifi but a mild amount of adrienette and a smidge of chlogami. Includes arranged marriage Adrien x Alya but they don't end up together. "Twenty-five-year-old Marinette is a wedding dress designer, business blooming in her trusty shop, Ladybug Bridal. When the engagement of Prince Adrien Agreste and Ancient Princess Alya Césaire is announced, all she expects is an influx of work. What she gets instead is... a bit different." 35k.

tangled ribbons - Ao3. ballet/dance AU (no miraculous). Adrienette with some DJWifi and human Tikki & Plagg. "Marinette is a small studio dancer who wins a scholarship to a summer long ballet intensive. Adrien is a famous ballet dancer who would rather be at home than at said intensive. The end of the summer will bring about a showcase that could make Marinette's career, if she can ignore Chloé and focus on something other than Adrien." 82k. The slowest of burns.

Where timing is kind to us - Ao3. marichat discusses quantum physics. 4.3k. This is a beautiful one-shot with a one-sided reveal.

[cleverhottubmiracle]

Ami — the 14 year-old French brand known for its mix of heart-emblazoned sweaters and more discreet, well-cut wardrobe pieces — has grown its sales ten-fold in 4 years to more than €300 million ($312 million). Leveraging a network of 75 stores and 700 points of sale in over 100 countries, Ami has won over an international clientele ranging from shoppers seeking bold symbols of identity to those who seek to free themselves from overly visible codes, preferring sober lines and a quiet allure. Powering Ami’s seemingly irresistible ascent, there’s the backing of Chinese fund Sequoia Capital, which acquired a majority stake in 2020. And a vision: for a friendly, optimistic brand that draws inspiration from its Parisian roots while steering clear of snobbery and “posturing.” “Ami is a promise kept between the commercial reality of a garment—its price, its quality—and the values it conveys. It’s a joyful, reassuring simplicity,” Mattiussi said in an interview at his Place des Victoires headquarters ahead of the brand’s autumn-winter 2025 runway show in Paris Wednesday. “After four years of hyper-growth, we want to strengthen the foundations,” CEO Nicolas Santi-Weil said. The brand is pulling back its exposure to online wholesale and taking steps to project a more consistent brand image. The brand has headroom to invest in preparing its next steps, having achieved a double-digit profitability in 2024. Five years after launching womenswear, the category remains a key opportunity for growth, making up 15 percent of sales.“We’ve rethought our offer to make it clearer. We want to have the same message for both retail and wholesale. We want to be masters of our own destiny, to create a story that makes sense,” Santi-Weil said. Ami’s new collection championed relaxed, fluid tailoring, with a palette of matcha greens punctuated by the occasional floral print and styled with leather bags that echoed the return of ultra-classic pocketbooks at many brands this season. Stars including Whoopi Goldberg and Catherine Deneuve counted among some thousand guests in attendance. But the show, which was accompanied by tranquil piano music, still felt like a softer expression of the brand than recent spectacles like a star-studded runway show on the Buttes Montmartre or the brand’s marketing coup in season 3 of “Emily in Paris”. After all, as Sacha Guitry said: ‘To be Parisian is not to be born in Paris, it is to be reborn there.” This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.Laurence Benaïm: Fourteen years after creating Ami, how would you define yourself? Alexandre Mattiussi: I love doing, creating, producing... I’m an entrepreneur who looks at AMI’s worldwide figures every morning before his coffee. Nothing gives me greater pleasure. I’m a retailer, and I’m proud to be able to maintain the same enthusiasm and passion every day. LB: How do you explain Ami’s worldwide success? AM: Ami is a promise kept between the commercial reality of a garment--its price, its quality--and the values it conveys. It’s a joyful, reassuring simplicity: a rib in the right place, a sweater that doesn’t puddle, a fit that’s just right, a cut that doesn’t play tricks. We don’t mock our customers by raising prices and not the quality. Did you feel you’ve made some mistakes along the way? Yes, with products that weren’t right, that didn’t live up to my passions. Or with mega-runway shows. The worst was the Sacré Coeur show, in June ‘22, at the top of the Butte Montmartre. I got caught up in something that wasn’t me. And yet you continue to assert this image of Paris and the Parisian woman through your collections...Yes, but since then I’ve come to understand that Paris shouldn’t be just a postcard. Of course, when I open an AMI café in Tokyo and people queue for two to four hours for a cappuccino with a milk foam heart, yes: Paris is Disneyland, let’s not hold back. It’s bingo.But Paris shouldn’t be oversimplified. Paris is an attitude, a look. And that’s what I’m trying to convey through Ami today.How has AMI’s style evolved since the brand was created in 2011?In 2011, after years of consulting, I decided I wanted to create a brand. I remember calling loyal manufacturers and [marketing expert] Jean-Jacques Picart. At first there were two employees, but today we are over 700. Fourteen years later, there are fewer effects, fewer tralalas. We’re refocusing on attitude, on clothing, on an increasingly precise and identifiable wardrobe. A blue poplin shirt, a camel coat, a little navy sweater, a blazer, two pairs of jeans, a sweatshirt, pleated pants. The idea is to recreate desire every time. It’s like an orchestra playing the same music—but the interpretation has evolved. Ami is a wardrobe that evolves with moods and desires. As for next winter, with camels, soft oranges, aniseed, jackets reduced to jacket structures, tee shirts like blouses, satin cut on the edge, coats both enveloping and ultra-airy, knitwear like milk... It’s the lightest winter collection we’ve ever done. You’ve done more than 20 runway shows now for Ami. What motivates you to keep coming back to the catwalk every season? WhatI’ve loved since I was a kid is telling stories. And what could be more beautiful than an evening show? Lights up, music plays, the first exit. It’s a vital 10 minutes for me. The show offers an augmented reality, a staging that I absolutely need. I love the idea of the troupe, the troubadour side of this profession. Even if I’m sure I won’t be doing it all my life. How do you see yourself fitting in to the world of luxury and fashion? Between the good guys who have become bad guys, and the bad guys who’ve signed a pact with the devil, I don’t recognize myself anywhere. I feel apart, even if the appointment of Mathieu Blazy at Chanel and Louis Trotter at Bottega Veneta gives me hope that fashion is evolving in the right direction: away from posturing. I’ve been offered corporate jobs, and I’ve said no every time. Why would I give my body and soul to a third party who won’t thank me in the end? The fashion world has become an empire of fatal liaisons, with exhausted, jaded people, condemned to produce in quantity, six times a year, to justify the existence of a system that has reached its breaking point.Do you have any motto? I’ll always remember the one that Remo Ruffini, the chairman of Moncler, passed on to. He told me: “Don’t get too big too fast”. Our aim now is to improve and structure our image, marketing and communication. Is it true there’s an Ami fragrance on the way?We’re working on it. I can’t give a date, but it will be made from the heart. At the moment I wear Shalimar by Guerlain, Musc Ravageur by Frédéric Malle, Bois d’Argent by Dior, Eau de Cologne by Helmut Lang for special occasions.Your heart logo is such an important signature for the brand, but you almost never see it on Ami’s runway. Why don’t you choose to play with or celebrate the logo in this context? This little heart is not a logo, but a symbol, a story, who I am: It’s how I’ve signed things since I was eight years old. So I want to protect it in a way. We can push it sometimes—on a cappuccino, for “Emily in Paris”—but mostly I want to keep it safe. This heart is already copied so much it can make you dizzy.At one point you could have fooled me into thinking that this heart was a trap. But it’s my signature, my “number 5,” so to speak. I’ll never give it up. Additional reporting by Robert Williams. Source link

[norajworld]

Ami — the 14 year-old French brand known for its mix of heart-emblazoned sweaters and more discreet, well-cut wardrobe pieces — has grown its sales ten-fold in 4 years to more than €300 million ($312 million). Leveraging a network of 75 stores and 700 points of sale in over 100 countries, Ami has won over an international clientele ranging from shoppers seeking bold symbols of identity to those who seek to free themselves from overly visible codes, preferring sober lines and a quiet allure. Powering Ami’s seemingly irresistible ascent, there’s the backing of Chinese fund Sequoia Capital, which acquired a majority stake in 2020. And a vision: for a friendly, optimistic brand that draws inspiration from its Parisian roots while steering clear of snobbery and “posturing.” “Ami is a promise kept between the commercial reality of a garment—its price, its quality—and the values it conveys. It’s a joyful, reassuring simplicity,” Mattiussi said in an interview at his Place des Victoires headquarters ahead of the brand’s autumn-winter 2025 runway show in Paris Wednesday. “After four years of hyper-growth, we want to strengthen the foundations,” CEO Nicolas Santi-Weil said. The brand is pulling back its exposure to online wholesale and taking steps to project a more consistent brand image. The brand has headroom to invest in preparing its next steps, having achieved a double-digit profitability in 2024. Five years after launching womenswear, the category remains a key opportunity for growth, making up 15 percent of sales.“We’ve rethought our offer to make it clearer. We want to have the same message for both retail and wholesale. We want to be masters of our own destiny, to create a story that makes sense,” Santi-Weil said. Ami’s new collection championed relaxed, fluid tailoring, with a palette of matcha greens punctuated by the occasional floral print and styled with leather bags that echoed the return of ultra-classic pocketbooks at many brands this season. Stars including Whoopi Goldberg and Catherine Deneuve counted among some thousand guests in attendance. But the show, which was accompanied by tranquil piano music, still felt like a softer expression of the brand than recent spectacles like a star-studded runway show on the Buttes Montmartre or the brand’s marketing coup in season 3 of “Emily in Paris”. After all, as Sacha Guitry said: ‘To be Parisian is not to be born in Paris, it is to be reborn there.” This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.Laurence Benaïm: Fourteen years after creating Ami, how would you define yourself? Alexandre Mattiussi: I love doing, creating, producing... I’m an entrepreneur who looks at AMI’s worldwide figures every morning before his coffee. Nothing gives me greater pleasure. I’m a retailer, and I’m proud to be able to maintain the same enthusiasm and passion every day. LB: How do you explain Ami’s worldwide success? AM: Ami is a promise kept between the commercial reality of a garment--its price, its quality--and the values it conveys. It’s a joyful, reassuring simplicity: a rib in the right place, a sweater that doesn’t puddle, a fit that’s just right, a cut that doesn’t play tricks. We don’t mock our customers by raising prices and not the quality. Did you feel you’ve made some mistakes along the way? Yes, with products that weren’t right, that didn’t live up to my passions. Or with mega-runway shows. The worst was the Sacré Coeur show, in June ‘22, at the top of the Butte Montmartre. I got caught up in something that wasn’t me. And yet you continue to assert this image of Paris and the Parisian woman through your collections...Yes, but since then I’ve come to understand that Paris shouldn’t be just a postcard. Of course, when I open an AMI café in Tokyo and people queue for two to four hours for a cappuccino with a milk foam heart, yes: Paris is Disneyland, let’s not hold back. It’s bingo.But Paris shouldn’t be oversimplified. Paris is an attitude, a look. And that’s what I’m trying to convey through Ami today.How has AMI’s style evolved since the brand was created in 2011?In 2011, after years of consulting, I decided I wanted to create a brand. I remember calling loyal manufacturers and [marketing expert] Jean-Jacques Picart. At first there were two employees, but today we are over 700. Fourteen years later, there are fewer effects, fewer tralalas. We’re refocusing on attitude, on clothing, on an increasingly precise and identifiable wardrobe. A blue poplin shirt, a camel coat, a little navy sweater, a blazer, two pairs of jeans, a sweatshirt, pleated pants. The idea is to recreate desire every time. It’s like an orchestra playing the same music—but the interpretation has evolved. Ami is a wardrobe that evolves with moods and desires. As for next winter, with camels, soft oranges, aniseed, jackets reduced to jacket structures, tee shirts like blouses, satin cut on the edge, coats both enveloping and ultra-airy, knitwear like milk... It’s the lightest winter collection we’ve ever done. You’ve done more than 20 runway shows now for Ami. What motivates you to keep coming back to the catwalk every season? WhatI’ve loved since I was a kid is telling stories. And what could be more beautiful than an evening show? Lights up, music plays, the first exit. It’s a vital 10 minutes for me. The show offers an augmented reality, a staging that I absolutely need. I love the idea of the troupe, the troubadour side of this profession. Even if I’m sure I won’t be doing it all my life. How do you see yourself fitting in to the world of luxury and fashion? Between the good guys who have become bad guys, and the bad guys who’ve signed a pact with the devil, I don’t recognize myself anywhere. I feel apart, even if the appointment of Mathieu Blazy at Chanel and Louis Trotter at Bottega Veneta gives me hope that fashion is evolving in the right direction: away from posturing. I’ve been offered corporate jobs, and I’ve said no every time. Why would I give my body and soul to a third party who won’t thank me in the end? The fashion world has become an empire of fatal liaisons, with exhausted, jaded people, condemned to produce in quantity, six times a year, to justify the existence of a system that has reached its breaking point.Do you have any motto? I’ll always remember the one that Remo Ruffini, the chairman of Moncler, passed on to. He told me: “Don’t get too big too fast”. Our aim now is to improve and structure our image, marketing and communication. Is it true there’s an Ami fragrance on the way?We’re working on it. I can’t give a date, but it will be made from the heart. At the moment I wear Shalimar by Guerlain, Musc Ravageur by Frédéric Malle, Bois d’Argent by Dior, Eau de Cologne by Helmut Lang for special occasions.Your heart logo is such an important signature for the brand, but you almost never see it on Ami’s runway. Why don’t you choose to play with or celebrate the logo in this context? This little heart is not a logo, but a symbol, a story, who I am: It’s how I’ve signed things since I was eight years old. So I want to protect it in a way. We can push it sometimes—on a cappuccino, for “Emily in Paris”—but mostly I want to keep it safe. This heart is already copied so much it can make you dizzy.At one point you could have fooled me into thinking that this heart was a trap. But it’s my signature, my “number 5,” so to speak. I’ll never give it up. Additional reporting by Robert Williams. Source link

[ellajme0]

Ami — the 14 year-old French brand known for its mix of heart-emblazoned sweaters and more discreet, well-cut wardrobe pieces — has grown its sales ten-fold in 4 years to more than €300 million ($312 million). Leveraging a network of 75 stores and 700 points of sale in over 100 countries, Ami has won over an international clientele ranging from shoppers seeking bold symbols of identity to those who seek to free themselves from overly visible codes, preferring sober lines and a quiet allure. Powering Ami’s seemingly irresistible ascent, there’s the backing of Chinese fund Sequoia Capital, which acquired a majority stake in 2020. And a vision: for a friendly, optimistic brand that draws inspiration from its Parisian roots while steering clear of snobbery and “posturing.” “Ami is a promise kept between the commercial reality of a garment—its price, its quality—and the values it conveys. It’s a joyful, reassuring simplicity,” Mattiussi said in an interview at his Place des Victoires headquarters ahead of the brand’s autumn-winter 2025 runway show in Paris Wednesday. “After four years of hyper-growth, we want to strengthen the foundations,” CEO Nicolas Santi-Weil said. The brand is pulling back its exposure to online wholesale and taking steps to project a more consistent brand image. The brand has headroom to invest in preparing its next steps, having achieved a double-digit profitability in 2024. Five years after launching womenswear, the category remains a key opportunity for growth, making up 15 percent of sales.“We’ve rethought our offer to make it clearer. We want to have the same message for both retail and wholesale. We want to be masters of our own destiny, to create a story that makes sense,” Santi-Weil said. Ami’s new collection championed relaxed, fluid tailoring, with a palette of matcha greens punctuated by the occasional floral print and styled with leather bags that echoed the return of ultra-classic pocketbooks at many brands this season. Stars including Whoopi Goldberg and Catherine Deneuve counted among some thousand guests in attendance. But the show, which was accompanied by tranquil piano music, still felt like a softer expression of the brand than recent spectacles like a star-studded runway show on the Buttes Montmartre or the brand’s marketing coup in season 3 of “Emily in Paris”. After all, as Sacha Guitry said: ‘To be Parisian is not to be born in Paris, it is to be reborn there.” This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.Laurence Benaïm: Fourteen years after creating Ami, how would you define yourself? Alexandre Mattiussi: I love doing, creating, producing... I’m an entrepreneur who looks at AMI’s worldwide figures every morning before his coffee. Nothing gives me greater pleasure. I’m a retailer, and I’m proud to be able to maintain the same enthusiasm and passion every day. LB: How do you explain Ami’s worldwide success? AM: Ami is a promise kept between the commercial reality of a garment--its price, its quality--and the values it conveys. It’s a joyful, reassuring simplicity: a rib in the right place, a sweater that doesn’t puddle, a fit that’s just right, a cut that doesn’t play tricks. We don’t mock our customers by raising prices and not the quality. Did you feel you’ve made some mistakes along the way? Yes, with products that weren’t right, that didn’t live up to my passions. Or with mega-runway shows. The worst was the Sacré Coeur show, in June ‘22, at the top of the Butte Montmartre. I got caught up in something that wasn’t me. And yet you continue to assert this image of Paris and the Parisian woman through your collections...Yes, but since then I’ve come to understand that Paris shouldn’t be just a postcard. Of course, when I open an AMI café in Tokyo and people queue for two to four hours for a cappuccino with a milk foam heart, yes: Paris is Disneyland, let’s not hold back. It’s bingo.But Paris shouldn’t be oversimplified. Paris is an attitude, a look. And that’s what I’m trying to convey through Ami today.How has AMI’s style evolved since the brand was created in 2011?In 2011, after years of consulting, I decided I wanted to create a brand. I remember calling loyal manufacturers and [marketing expert] Jean-Jacques Picart. At first there were two employees, but today we are over 700. Fourteen years later, there are fewer effects, fewer tralalas. We’re refocusing on attitude, on clothing, on an increasingly precise and identifiable wardrobe. A blue poplin shirt, a camel coat, a little navy sweater, a blazer, two pairs of jeans, a sweatshirt, pleated pants. The idea is to recreate desire every time. It’s like an orchestra playing the same music—but the interpretation has evolved. Ami is a wardrobe that evolves with moods and desires. As for next winter, with camels, soft oranges, aniseed, jackets reduced to jacket structures, tee shirts like blouses, satin cut on the edge, coats both enveloping and ultra-airy, knitwear like milk... It’s the lightest winter collection we’ve ever done. You’ve done more than 20 runway shows now for Ami. What motivates you to keep coming back to the catwalk every season? WhatI’ve loved since I was a kid is telling stories. And what could be more beautiful than an evening show? Lights up, music plays, the first exit. It’s a vital 10 minutes for me. The show offers an augmented reality, a staging that I absolutely need. I love the idea of the troupe, the troubadour side of this profession. Even if I’m sure I won’t be doing it all my life. How do you see yourself fitting in to the world of luxury and fashion? Between the good guys who have become bad guys, and the bad guys who’ve signed a pact with the devil, I don’t recognize myself anywhere. I feel apart, even if the appointment of Mathieu Blazy at Chanel and Louis Trotter at Bottega Veneta gives me hope that fashion is evolving in the right direction: away from posturing. I’ve been offered corporate jobs, and I’ve said no every time. Why would I give my body and soul to a third party who won’t thank me in the end? The fashion world has become an empire of fatal liaisons, with exhausted, jaded people, condemned to produce in quantity, six times a year, to justify the existence of a system that has reached its breaking point.Do you have any motto? I’ll always remember the one that Remo Ruffini, the chairman of Moncler, passed on to. He told me: “Don’t get too big too fast”. Our aim now is to improve and structure our image, marketing and communication. Is it true there’s an Ami fragrance on the way?We’re working on it. I can’t give a date, but it will be made from the heart. At the moment I wear Shalimar by Guerlain, Musc Ravageur by Frédéric Malle, Bois d’Argent by Dior, Eau de Cologne by Helmut Lang for special occasions.Your heart logo is such an important signature for the brand, but you almost never see it on Ami’s runway. Why don’t you choose to play with or celebrate the logo in this context? This little heart is not a logo, but a symbol, a story, who I am: It’s how I’ve signed things since I was eight years old. So I want to protect it in a way. We can push it sometimes—on a cappuccino, for “Emily in Paris”—but mostly I want to keep it safe. This heart is already copied so much it can make you dizzy.At one point you could have fooled me into thinking that this heart was a trap. But it’s my signature, my “number 5,” so to speak. I’ll never give it up. Additional reporting by Robert Williams. Source link

[chilimili212]

Ami — the 14 year-old French brand known for its mix of heart-emblazoned sweaters and more discreet, well-cut wardrobe pieces — has grown its sales ten-fold in 4 years to more than €300 million ($312 million). Leveraging a network of 75 stores and 700 points of sale in over 100 countries, Ami has won over an international clientele ranging from shoppers seeking bold symbols of identity to those who seek to free themselves from overly visible codes, preferring sober lines and a quiet allure. Powering Ami’s seemingly irresistible ascent, there’s the backing of Chinese fund Sequoia Capital, which acquired a majority stake in 2020. And a vision: for a friendly, optimistic brand that draws inspiration from its Parisian roots while steering clear of snobbery and “posturing.” “Ami is a promise kept between the commercial reality of a garment—its price, its quality—and the values it conveys. It’s a joyful, reassuring simplicity,” Mattiussi said in an interview at his Place des Victoires headquarters ahead of the brand’s autumn-winter 2025 runway show in Paris Wednesday. “After four years of hyper-growth, we want to strengthen the foundations,” CEO Nicolas Santi-Weil said. The brand is pulling back its exposure to online wholesale and taking steps to project a more consistent brand image. The brand has headroom to invest in preparing its next steps, having achieved a double-digit profitability in 2024. Five years after launching womenswear, the category remains a key opportunity for growth, making up 15 percent of sales.“We’ve rethought our offer to make it clearer. We want to have the same message for both retail and wholesale. We want to be masters of our own destiny, to create a story that makes sense,” Santi-Weil said. Ami’s new collection championed relaxed, fluid tailoring, with a palette of matcha greens punctuated by the occasional floral print and styled with leather bags that echoed the return of ultra-classic pocketbooks at many brands this season. Stars including Whoopi Goldberg and Catherine Deneuve counted among some thousand guests in attendance. But the show, which was accompanied by tranquil piano music, still felt like a softer expression of the brand than recent spectacles like a star-studded runway show on the Buttes Montmartre or the brand’s marketing coup in season 3 of “Emily in Paris”. After all, as Sacha Guitry said: ‘To be Parisian is not to be born in Paris, it is to be reborn there.” This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.Laurence Benaïm: Fourteen years after creating Ami, how would you define yourself? Alexandre Mattiussi: I love doing, creating, producing... I’m an entrepreneur who looks at AMI’s worldwide figures every morning before his coffee. Nothing gives me greater pleasure. I’m a retailer, and I’m proud to be able to maintain the same enthusiasm and passion every day. LB: How do you explain Ami’s worldwide success? AM: Ami is a promise kept between the commercial reality of a garment--its price, its quality--and the values it conveys. It’s a joyful, reassuring simplicity: a rib in the right place, a sweater that doesn’t puddle, a fit that’s just right, a cut that doesn’t play tricks. We don’t mock our customers by raising prices and not the quality. Did you feel you’ve made some mistakes along the way? Yes, with products that weren’t right, that didn’t live up to my passions. Or with mega-runway shows. The worst was the Sacré Coeur show, in June ‘22, at the top of the Butte Montmartre. I got caught up in something that wasn’t me. And yet you continue to assert this image of Paris and the Parisian woman through your collections...Yes, but since then I’ve come to understand that Paris shouldn’t be just a postcard. Of course, when I open an AMI café in Tokyo and people queue for two to four hours for a cappuccino with a milk foam heart, yes: Paris is Disneyland, let’s not hold back. It’s bingo.But Paris shouldn’t be oversimplified. Paris is an attitude, a look. And that’s what I’m trying to convey through Ami today.How has AMI’s style evolved since the brand was created in 2011?In 2011, after years of consulting, I decided I wanted to create a brand. I remember calling loyal manufacturers and [marketing expert] Jean-Jacques Picart. At first there were two employees, but today we are over 700. Fourteen years later, there are fewer effects, fewer tralalas. We’re refocusing on attitude, on clothing, on an increasingly precise and identifiable wardrobe. A blue poplin shirt, a camel coat, a little navy sweater, a blazer, two pairs of jeans, a sweatshirt, pleated pants. The idea is to recreate desire every time. It’s like an orchestra playing the same music—but the interpretation has evolved. Ami is a wardrobe that evolves with moods and desires. As for next winter, with camels, soft oranges, aniseed, jackets reduced to jacket structures, tee shirts like blouses, satin cut on the edge, coats both enveloping and ultra-airy, knitwear like milk... It’s the lightest winter collection we’ve ever done. You’ve done more than 20 runway shows now for Ami. What motivates you to keep coming back to the catwalk every season? WhatI’ve loved since I was a kid is telling stories. And what could be more beautiful than an evening show? Lights up, music plays, the first exit. It’s a vital 10 minutes for me. The show offers an augmented reality, a staging that I absolutely need. I love the idea of the troupe, the troubadour side of this profession. Even if I’m sure I won’t be doing it all my life. How do you see yourself fitting in to the world of luxury and fashion? Between the good guys who have become bad guys, and the bad guys who’ve signed a pact with the devil, I don’t recognize myself anywhere. I feel apart, even if the appointment of Mathieu Blazy at Chanel and Louis Trotter at Bottega Veneta gives me hope that fashion is evolving in the right direction: away from posturing. I’ve been offered corporate jobs, and I’ve said no every time. Why would I give my body and soul to a third party who won’t thank me in the end? The fashion world has become an empire of fatal liaisons, with exhausted, jaded people, condemned to produce in quantity, six times a year, to justify the existence of a system that has reached its breaking point.Do you have any motto? I’ll always remember the one that Remo Ruffini, the chairman of Moncler, passed on to. He told me: “Don’t get too big too fast”. Our aim now is to improve and structure our image, marketing and communication. Is it true there’s an Ami fragrance on the way?We’re working on it. I can’t give a date, but it will be made from the heart. At the moment I wear Shalimar by Guerlain, Musc Ravageur by Frédéric Malle, Bois d’Argent by Dior, Eau de Cologne by Helmut Lang for special occasions.Your heart logo is such an important signature for the brand, but you almost never see it on Ami’s runway. Why don’t you choose to play with or celebrate the logo in this context? This little heart is not a logo, but a symbol, a story, who I am: It’s how I’ve signed things since I was eight years old. So I want to protect it in a way. We can push it sometimes—on a cappuccino, for “Emily in Paris”—but mostly I want to keep it safe. This heart is already copied so much it can make you dizzy.At one point you could have fooled me into thinking that this heart was a trap. But it’s my signature, my “number 5,” so to speak. I’ll never give it up. Additional reporting by Robert Williams. Source link

[oliviajoyice21]

Ami — the 14 year-old French brand known for its mix of heart-emblazoned sweaters and more discreet, well-cut wardrobe pieces — has grown its sales ten-fold in 4 years to more than €300 million ($312 million). Leveraging a network of 75 stores and 700 points of sale in over 100 countries, Ami has won over an international clientele ranging from shoppers seeking bold symbols of identity to those who seek to free themselves from overly visible codes, preferring sober lines and a quiet allure. Powering Ami’s seemingly irresistible ascent, there’s the backing of Chinese fund Sequoia Capital, which acquired a majority stake in 2020. And a vision: for a friendly, optimistic brand that draws inspiration from its Parisian roots while steering clear of snobbery and “posturing.” “Ami is a promise kept between the commercial reality of a garment—its price, its quality—and the values it conveys. It’s a joyful, reassuring simplicity,” Mattiussi said in an interview at his Place des Victoires headquarters ahead of the brand’s autumn-winter 2025 runway show in Paris Wednesday. “After four years of hyper-growth, we want to strengthen the foundations,” CEO Nicolas Santi-Weil said. The brand is pulling back its exposure to online wholesale and taking steps to project a more consistent brand image. The brand has headroom to invest in preparing its next steps, having achieved a double-digit profitability in 2024. Five years after launching womenswear, the category remains a key opportunity for growth, making up 15 percent of sales.“We’ve rethought our offer to make it clearer. We want to have the same message for both retail and wholesale. We want to be masters of our own destiny, to create a story that makes sense,” Santi-Weil said. Ami’s new collection championed relaxed, fluid tailoring, with a palette of matcha greens punctuated by the occasional floral print and styled with leather bags that echoed the return of ultra-classic pocketbooks at many brands this season. Stars including Whoopi Goldberg and Catherine Deneuve counted among some thousand guests in attendance. But the show, which was accompanied by tranquil piano music, still felt like a softer expression of the brand than recent spectacles like a star-studded runway show on the Buttes Montmartre or the brand’s marketing coup in season 3 of “Emily in Paris”. After all, as Sacha Guitry said: ‘To be Parisian is not to be born in Paris, it is to be reborn there.” This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.Laurence Benaïm: Fourteen years after creating Ami, how would you define yourself? Alexandre Mattiussi: I love doing, creating, producing... I’m an entrepreneur who looks at AMI’s worldwide figures every morning before his coffee. Nothing gives me greater pleasure. I’m a retailer, and I’m proud to be able to maintain the same enthusiasm and passion every day. LB: How do you explain Ami’s worldwide success? AM: Ami is a promise kept between the commercial reality of a garment--its price, its quality--and the values it conveys. It’s a joyful, reassuring simplicity: a rib in the right place, a sweater that doesn’t puddle, a fit that’s just right, a cut that doesn’t play tricks. We don’t mock our customers by raising prices and not the quality. Did you feel you’ve made some mistakes along the way? Yes, with products that weren’t right, that didn’t live up to my passions. Or with mega-runway shows. The worst was the Sacré Coeur show, in June ‘22, at the top of the Butte Montmartre. I got caught up in something that wasn’t me. And yet you continue to assert this image of Paris and the Parisian woman through your collections...Yes, but since then I’ve come to understand that Paris shouldn’t be just a postcard. Of course, when I open an AMI café in Tokyo and people queue for two to four hours for a cappuccino with a milk foam heart, yes: Paris is Disneyland, let’s not hold back. It’s bingo.But Paris shouldn’t be oversimplified. Paris is an attitude, a look. And that’s what I’m trying to convey through Ami today.How has AMI’s style evolved since the brand was created in 2011?In 2011, after years of consulting, I decided I wanted to create a brand. I remember calling loyal manufacturers and [marketing expert] Jean-Jacques Picart. At first there were two employees, but today we are over 700. Fourteen years later, there are fewer effects, fewer tralalas. We’re refocusing on attitude, on clothing, on an increasingly precise and identifiable wardrobe. A blue poplin shirt, a camel coat, a little navy sweater, a blazer, two pairs of jeans, a sweatshirt, pleated pants. The idea is to recreate desire every time. It’s like an orchestra playing the same music—but the interpretation has evolved. Ami is a wardrobe that evolves with moods and desires. As for next winter, with camels, soft oranges, aniseed, jackets reduced to jacket structures, tee shirts like blouses, satin cut on the edge, coats both enveloping and ultra-airy, knitwear like milk... It’s the lightest winter collection we’ve ever done. You’ve done more than 20 runway shows now for Ami. What motivates you to keep coming back to the catwalk every season? WhatI’ve loved since I was a kid is telling stories. And what could be more beautiful than an evening show? Lights up, music plays, the first exit. It’s a vital 10 minutes for me. The show offers an augmented reality, a staging that I absolutely need. I love the idea of the troupe, the troubadour side of this profession. Even if I’m sure I won’t be doing it all my life. How do you see yourself fitting in to the world of luxury and fashion? Between the good guys who have become bad guys, and the bad guys who’ve signed a pact with the devil, I don’t recognize myself anywhere. I feel apart, even if the appointment of Mathieu Blazy at Chanel and Louis Trotter at Bottega Veneta gives me hope that fashion is evolving in the right direction: away from posturing. I’ve been offered corporate jobs, and I’ve said no every time. Why would I give my body and soul to a third party who won’t thank me in the end? The fashion world has become an empire of fatal liaisons, with exhausted, jaded people, condemned to produce in quantity, six times a year, to justify the existence of a system that has reached its breaking point.Do you have any motto? I’ll always remember the one that Remo Ruffini, the chairman of Moncler, passed on to. He told me: “Don’t get too big too fast”. Our aim now is to improve and structure our image, marketing and communication. Is it true there’s an Ami fragrance on the way?We’re working on it. I can’t give a date, but it will be made from the heart. At the moment I wear Shalimar by Guerlain, Musc Ravageur by Frédéric Malle, Bois d’Argent by Dior, Eau de Cologne by Helmut Lang for special occasions.Your heart logo is such an important signature for the brand, but you almost never see it on Ami’s runway. Why don’t you choose to play with or celebrate the logo in this context? This little heart is not a logo, but a symbol, a story, who I am: It’s how I’ve signed things since I was eight years old. So I want to protect it in a way. We can push it sometimes—on a cappuccino, for “Emily in Paris”—but mostly I want to keep it safe. This heart is already copied so much it can make you dizzy.At one point you could have fooled me into thinking that this heart was a trap. But it’s my signature, my “number 5,” so to speak. I’ll never give it up. Additional reporting by Robert Williams. Source link

[circle--of--confusion]

It's wild to me when people on this show don't know much about sewing. Like.

Bro what did you think you were going to be doing on this show??

[the-kipsabian]

one of my favorite things about project runway is watching the mid 2000s fashion on some of these men like holy shit

[excercizoeoeoe]

Bones was a physics major?

[nicollekidman]

omg mimi is the first trans model on project runway and her designer was so excited to work with her he almost started to cry........... 

[coldasyou]

also a dude literally won a challenge about empowering women over two women who were way more deserving i gtg 

[joslynfoxes]

WHY DOES EVERYTHING GRETCHEN MAKE LOOK FUCKING BEAUTIFUL NO MATTER WHAT ITS MADE OF???

[gecklund]

This is too stressful

[krissywendell]

colin wilson said im giving the gays everything they want