August 2025 News Roundup
J. Crew’s New York store in lower Manhattan. Image courtesy of DW Labs, Inc.
1.
Two brands came under fire this month after featuring AI-generated advertising visuals. The first was Vogue, which included a Guess Jeans ad in their August 2025 issue that featured an AI-generated model. Though the magazine did include a footnote on the image stating it was created through AI, it still received an outpouring of criticism from readers. J. Crew, on the other hand, included AI-generated images for their current catalogue that referenced their own looks from the 1980s and ‘90s. It was an odd move, because J. Crew could have started a conversation about reusing vintage images by going back to their own archives. Instead, audiences called them out for being lazy and cheap. In an amusing post, Blackbird Spyplane took note of each funky AI glitch seen in the images. Looks like J. Crew’s art team needs to pay a little more attention to the details.
2.
In fashion circles, two stories dominated headlines the latter half of the month: The Ssense bankruptcy (read all about it in this BoF article) and Louis Vuitton’s beauty debut. By now, everyone has read about LV’s $160 lipsticks and $250 eye kits, which pushes the price ceiling on luxury beauty. Of course, the pricing has little to do with the product itself and everything to do with the packaging, branding and marketing. This story in Beauty Independent features industry experts talking about the launch, from the product and it’s packaging to Pat McGrath’s involvement and what LV hopes to achieve.
3.
Fashion designer Richard Quinn’s signature aesthetic of combining bold color and overblown floral prints with classic haute couture silhouettes from the 1950s and ‘60s has made him a highlight of London Fashion Week. His unique, maximalist look means his eveningwear pieces are a favorite of A-list actresses and musicians, from Zendaya to Cardi B. In this interview, Quinn discusses how he started in fashion, his approach to designing a collection and what he considers to be his career highlights.
4.
While luxury fashion continues to struggle in key markets like the US and China, the scene in Nigeria seems to only be growing bigger. One of the key players is Reni Folawiyo, the founder of Alara, Lagos’s first concept boutique. Folawiyo is the originator of “Afro-lux,” a style she intends to take global. Read up on how Folawiyo balances tradition with modernity, why she partners with Western institutions–like the Los Angeles County Museum of Art–to give African designers visibility, and how her boutique’s visual language celebrates her Yoruba heritage.
Roquebrune Cap Martin and La Pausa..
5.
Chanel announced last month that after a decade of renovations led by architect Peter Marino, Mademoiselle Chanel’s Côte d’Azur home had been meticulously restored by the maison. Coco designed her Mediterranean villa with a focus on lines and light, an element emphasized by the villa’s sparse furnishings in tones of white and beige. Learn more here about the home’s architecture, how the Chanel Heritage Sites team tracked down and purchased many of her original furniture pieces, and how Chanel enjoyed life at her getaway home and with whom.
Image of the Old Town in Roquebrune Cap Martin by Liudmyla Yaremenko / Shutterstock.
