Regular onboard cruise lecturer Carole Klein and Michel Chertouh, above, are two really cool people. As opening boss of the honestly-gorgeous and long-awaited THE REGENT HONG KONG, the Parisien was showing a few select friends the light-and-bright already-open lobby lounge, with its double-height, wall to wall windowed panorama across the harbour to Hong Kong Island.
The view, and the ambience, made Girlahead and her companions feel good, and you could see everyone around felt the same. This is a far cry from research published in Biological Psychiatry: Global Open Science late last year which purported to say that prolonged pandemic stress can indicate a higher risk of depression, anxiety, and addiction as well as cancer, diabetes and heart disease. Interestingly, a new trend on social media that focuses on frontal lobe development has gained popularity amongst Gen Z. #frontallobe had 29.9 million views on TikTok and more than 5,000 posts on Instagram. Gen Zs are also into exercises and supplements for brain health.
But dare to be different, Gen Zs. LVMH leaders are. Louis Vuitton Chairman/CEO Pietro Beccari, who came from Dior, says he has experienced mass market where repetitive messages are pushed on customers. but when he moved to luxury he realised that this approach was wrong and incoherence can be healthy for business. Following that belief, Beccari has controversially appointed as Creative Director of Louis Vuitton the singer-rapper Pharrell Williams. In his defence, Williams is already ‘in’ fashion. As a former muse to Karl Lagerfeld he has a longtime relationship with Chanel, and he co-owns streetwear brand Human Made with Kenzo creative director Nigo (founder of the Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream). He also has a unisex skincare brand, Humanrace.
All that notwithstanding, Pharrell Williams’ appointment shows, say Institut Français de la Mode in Paris’ Professor Benjamin Simmenauer, that the fashion industry is going even further in the model of the artistic director focused on image as opposed to the couturier. “Pharrell Williams knows how to capture coolness”.
