“Listen to the vision first … You always need a leader for the creativity.” That is Sidney Toledano, chairman of the Institut Français de la Mode, recalling his Dior years in a WWD interview this morning, and it is the thread through today: founders keeping the pen while money, factories and new materials line up behind them. Here is what moved in fashion and luxury from Sunday morning through Monday morning, Nov 2, 2026. Every item is checked against its source and linked.
Houses & Designers
Style Capital takes control of No. 21, and Alessandro Dell’Acqua stays
Private equity fund Style Capital has taken control of No. 21, the Milan label Alessandro Dell’Acqua founded in 2010, WWD reports; financial terms were not disclosed. Dell’Acqua remains creative director, while longtime industrial partner and licensee Gilmar exits. “Our aim is to support Alessandro in this new chapter, preserving his creative autonomy,” said Style Capital founder Roberta Benaglia. Source: WWD
The Institut Français de la Mode turns 40
The Paris school marks its 40th anniversary this month, and chairman Sidney Toledano and dean Xavier Romatet told WWD its edge is teaching business, design and craft under one roof. Toledano sketched his formula as a pyramid: creativity, craftsmanship and management at the corners, with the brand at the top. Source: WWD
Zuhair Murad does shoes and bags for Aldo
Aldo revealed its first-ever partnership of this kind, a Zuhair Murad capsule of shoes, bags, jewelry and eyewear built around a platform sandal and a pointed slingback in glitter and gold. Shoes retail at 200 to 300 dollars and bags at 140 to 180 dollars, now in Aldo stores and online. “I wanted to mix the spirit of couture with versatility, and wearability,” Murad said. Source: WWD / Footwear News
Why it matters for LA: Couture-house shoes at mall prices land right before holiday party season, at a price LA party regulars can actually say yes to. The No. 21 deal is the template LA labels should study: outside money, founder keeps the pen.
Campaign Season
Megan Stalter hunts for a party in Marc Jacobs’ winter campaign
The “Hacks” star fronts “Let It Joy,” set in a snowed-in downtown New York hotel where she has an invitation but no room number, WWD reports. Ashtin Earle, Kai Schreiber, Knicks center Andre Drummond, Mel Ottenberg and Miyako Bellizzi turn up along the way, with The Scene Bag back in new sizes. Source: WWD
RelatedStyle Capital Takes Control of No. 21. Why the Founder Keeping the Pen Is the Real Story
Stray Kids’ I.N fronts Damiani’s holiday campaign, his third
Damiani ambassador I.N returns opposite model Mariacarla Boscono for “Winter Whites,” shot by Larissa Hofmann in frescoed Italian palazzos, WWD reports. He wears the Belle Époque collections, including the signature cross pendant, while Boscono wears a high jewelry set of diamonds, sapphires and opals. Source: WWD
Why it matters for LA: Scripted, comedic campaigns are winning attention over still portraits. LA creators who can write a 60-second story around a bag are exactly who brands are hiring this season.
Luxury Launches
Raffles opens an online shop, styled by Jessica Diehl
Raffles Hotels & Resorts is launching The Little Shop by Raffles, its first global e-commerce platform, with a palm-print collection developed with stylist Jessica Diehl and collaborations with Frette, Christofle, Globe-Trotter, Orlebar Brown, Smythson and Ginori 1735, WWD reports. “The Little Shop by Raffles is a natural expression of who we have always been as a brand,” said chief brand officer Claudia Kozma Kaplan. Source: WWD
Vacheron Constantin’s Year of the Goat watches arrive early
Vacheron Constantin unveiled two Métiers d’Art Legend of the Chinese Zodiac watches for the 2027 Year of the Goat, with engraved, micro-painted and grand feu enamel dials and no hands, Robb Report Singapore reports. The Calibre 2460 G4 shows time through four apertures, in 50 pieces (25 pink gold, 25 platinum), price on request. Source: Robb Report Singapore
Kiton opens a menswear-only flagship on Via Montenapoleone
Kiton’s 2,700-square-foot store sits between Zegna and Brunello Cucinelli in the former Balmain space, and its old Via Sant’Andrea flagship now goes to womenswear, WWD reports. Menswear is 80 percent of sales. “With this opening, we’re tripling our footprint in town,” said CEO Antonio De Matteis. Source: WWD
Lacoste opens a Seoul flagship with its first Korean café
Lacoste unveiled a four-level, 8,000-square-foot flagship in Seoul’s Seongsu district, home to its first Café Lacoste in South Korea, with terracotta interiors that nod to brick walls and clay courts, WWD reports. CEO Thierry Guibert called the city “renowned for its creative energy and cultural influence.” Source: WWD
Why it matters for LA: Hotels selling wardrobes and fashion brands selling coffee are the same move: turn a visit into a habit. Expect West Hollywood hotels to follow with their own shops.
Status Garage
Fabrizio Giugiaro’s modern Gallardo, from 900,000 euros
CAVËN Atelier revealed the HOMMAGE 26, a carbon-bodied reinterpretation of the Lamborghini Gallardo penned by Fabrizio Giugiaro, at the Concours at Wynn Las Vegas, The Supercar Blog reports. A 5.0-liter naturally aspirated V10 with a manual gearbox makes up to 560 hp and revs to 8,500 rpm; only 25 will be built, from 900,000 euros, excluding the donor car. Source: The Supercar Blog
Why it matters for LA: Manual V10s are the new status signal. Every HOMMAGE 26 needs a donor Gallardo, so LA owners holding one may want to watch prices before selling.
Fashion x Superintelligence
Maybelline puts virtual makeup try-on inside ChatGPT
Maybelline New York, which launched the feature Oct. 29, says it is the first cosmetics brand to offer real-time virtual try-on within ChatGPT, using L’Oréal’s ModiFace technology to preview lips, eyes, face and brow shades by live camera or photo, Global Cosmetics News reports. A Where to Buy function links shoppers to retailers and stores. Source: Global Cosmetics News
Desa and Gozen launch Nuera to scale lab-grown materials
Turkish leather maker Desa launched Nuera, a subsidiary with exclusive global rights to Gozen’s Lunaform biomaterial, taking it from biofabrication to finished goods, WWD reports, with Kering among its first commercial clients. “The biggest problem with next-gen materials right now is credibility,” said Desa CEO Burak Çelet. Source: WWD
Why it matters for LA: Try-on inside a chat window means shade matching before you ever reach a counter. LA makeup artists should expect clients to arrive with a shade already chosen.
Off the Runway
NYC Marathon winners ran in Adidas and Nike’s newest super shoes
Sheila Chepkirui won the women’s race in 2:24:36 in Adidas, and Sweden’s Andreas Almgren won the men’s in 2:06:01 in the Nike Apex, the shoe’s first major marathon win before its January release, Footwear News reports. Footwear News says Chepkirui is the eighth 2026 major marathon winner to wear the Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 3. Source: WWD / Footwear News
Why it matters for LA: Race-day shoes become street shoes within a season. The Nike Apex is due in January, so Melrose sneaker shops are the place to ask about allocations.
Go deeper
Four of today’s biggest stories, with full sourcing and what each one means for you in LA.
- Style Capital Takes Control of No. 21. Why the Founder Keeping the Pen Is the Real Story: What the deal changes for No. 21, why Alessandro Dell’Acqua keeping the pen matters and the lesson for LA labels raising money.
- Zuhair Murad x Aldo: Couture Codes at Mall Prices, and What to Buy First: Twenty couture-inspired pieces, limited stock and what to buy first for holiday party season.
- The NYC Marathon Was Also a Shoe Launch. Here’s What the Winners Wore: The results, the Adidas and Nike super shoes on the podium and why a race became a product launch.
- Maybelline’s Try-On Inside ChatGPT: How It Works and What It Changes: How the try-on inside ChatGPT works, what it changes for shoppers and what LA makeup artists should expect.
Tips
CFDA Awards are tonight in New York, and we will report winners only once they are announced. Spotted a new store, campaign shoot or launch in LA? Send it with a photo and a time stamp. We verify before we print. editor@nightlifereport.app
nightlifereport.app | Tips: editor@nightlifereport.app | 1049 Havenhurst Dr, Unit 67, West Hollywood, CA 90046
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