Essence Fashion Digest: Burna Boy X Jean Paul Gaultier, Spencer Badu X Vitaly, And More

By ESSENCE Fashion Editors ·Updated June 2, 2023

This week in Essence Fashion Digest, we have a few new collections and some shifting industry news. We love when brands collaborate with each other and even more when they collaborate with our favorite celebs. As summer approaches, there’s a sense of newness in the air within the fashion industry, and it’s really cool to see how in just a few days, the landscape of it all can be significantly better than before.

From emerging brands to established ones, we have all the tea on what’s been going on and what’s new. Through the lens of Creative Directors and designers is a world that is full of storytelling through fabrics, stitching, and sewing patterns. That’s a world that we’re happy to be able to witness.

To stay up to date on all things fashion read on below to see what’s been going on.

Burna Boy X Jean Paul Gaultier Collection

Celebrity designers and capsules are everywhere lately, and none other than Burna Boy has been tasked with being part of this new campaign and collection. The Nigerian musician was asked to pick out his favorite archived frames from the 90s and re-imagine them. The campaign, shot by Marcin Kepski, was inspired by 90s music videos.

There are four colorways and one exclusive piece by the fashion house with heart-shaped steel details on both sides and red lenses available on Friday, June 2nd, at www.jeanpaulgaultier.fr.

Jean Paul Gaultier Spencer Badu X Vitaly

The Ghanaian-Canadian designer Spencer Badu was tapped by Vitaly to create a piece that represents to Badu his heritage and migration. In turn, this supports the global design framework of Vitaly. The necklace is made of cowrie shells, stainless steel, and African turquoise stones, which evokes memories of the beach in Africa in accompaniment to the campaign and a Ghanaian Adinkra symbol charm.

The piece is available now on vitalydesign.com.

Vitaly Cristiano Fagnani Is Announced As Off White’s New CEO

The late Virgil Abloh’s brand is getting another change, and hopefully, this is also for the better. Ib Kamara’s appointment as the new Image and Art Director has proven to be a good choice, so if there’s one thing we know about Abloh’s estate is that it’s in good hands. The beloved designer’s team has been doing an amazing job so far with keeping his legacy alive and keeping his brand true to himself. Cristiano Fagnani was already the brand’s chief marketing officer and now will be the brand’s CEO. That should mean the next few moves won’t make too many waves.

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Denim Tears Drops “Cotton Wreath” Collection

The streetwear brand is back with another drop, and this time it’s looking really cozy. We all know and love the prints that Denim Tears comes up with, and this iteration of their classic print is of cotton, hence “Cotton Wreaths.” The collection will come in four colorways; red, navy blue, grey, and black. These pieces are slated to be released at two pop-ups in both LA and New York. We, of course, know the utterly devastating history of cotton. Creative Director Tremaine Emory has always been about telling stories through clothing.

The pops in LA and New York will take place on Saturday, June 3rd, from 12 pm to 7 pm.

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