Thom Browne Named CFDA Chairman, and Other News

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The CFDA’s board unanimously elects Thom Browne to become its next chairman.

“Thom Browne will be the next chairman of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, effective Jan. 1, the organization announced. The New York designer succeeds Tom Ford, who stepped down May 31 after holding the position for three years. Browne was elected unanimously by the CFDA’s board of directors for a two-year term. CFDA CEO Steven Kolb will continue as interim chair through the end of the year. Browne launched his label in 2003 and joined the CFDA in 2005, when he was a runner up for the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund. Browne now serves on the fund’s selection committee, and has won the CFDA’s Menswear Designer of the Year award three times, in 2006, 2013 and 2015.” [H/T Vogue Business]

Marisa Meltzer will publish a book about the meteoric rise of beauty brand Glossier.

“Writer and New York Times contributor Marisa Meltzer is set to publish a book about the meteoric rise and slow fizzle of beauty brand Glossier, detailing its evolution from cult blog to billion-dollar behemoth and its recent failure to keep pace in a changing industry. “Glossy: Ambition, Beauty and the Inside Story of Emily Weiss’s Glossier,” is set for release by One Signal at Simon & Schuster in Summer 2023. Into the Gloss, Weiss and Glossier caught Meltzer’s attention from its earliest days. In the book, she will take a critical look at the era-defining company and where it’s headed, while savoring all the story’s juicy details, like what business books sat on the shelves of Emily Weiss’s New York apartment, and what quote she chose for her high school senior yearbook.” [H/T Business of Fashion]

The Uffizi Gallery sues Jean Paul Gaultier for unauthorized use of Botticelli imagery.

“Italy’s Uffizi Galleries are suing the French fashion house Jean Paul Gaultier for damages that could exceed $97,500 after the company’s allegedly unauthorized use of images of Botticelli’s Renaissance masterpiece The Birth of Venus to adorn a range of clothing products, including T-shirts, leggings, and bodices. The matter came to light this year after the Uffizi in Florence was notified of the garments being advertised by Jean Paul Gaultier on its website and social media. The painting by Sandro Botticelli is the centerpiece of the Botticelli Rooms at the world-famous galleries and, according to Italian law, use of the country’s publicly owned art to sell merchandise requires permission and payment of a fee.” [H/T The Guardian]

RIOS designs a $600 million expansion for early TV pioneers Technicolor in Hollywood.

“RIOS has just been announced as the architects of a new $600 million television studio project in Hollywood, California. The studio will look to expand on its other ongoing television production projects in the delivery of its latest venture, which is set to transform the former corporate headquarters of the early TV pioneers Technicolor on 6311 W. Romaine Street into a comprehensive studio campus for developers BARDAS and Bain Capital Real Estate. The 620,000-square-foot Echelon at Television Center involves the restoration of two existing Art Deco structures and the addition of two new six-story office towers on the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard on a two-block site that also includes multiple sound stages, a “basecamp,” and a new public restaurant.” [H/T Archinect]

Oakland will become one of U.S.A.’s first cities to return land to Indigenous people.

“Oakland, California, announced a plan that would make it among the first cities in the country to return land to Indigenous people. The city council will conduct hearings and decide whether to grant an easement over five acres of land in a city-owned park to local Indigenous organizations: the Sogorea Te’ Land Trust, the East Bay Ohlone tribe, and the Confederated Villages of Lisjan Nation. The easement would allow the Sogorea Te’ Land Trust to immediately use the land, known as Sequoia Point, for public education, natural resource restoration, cultural practices and other future uses.” [H/T USA Today]

Superblue closed its London space in May after a single show, but plans to return. 

“Superblue, the experiential and immersive commercial art venture founded by Pace president Marc Glimcher, has ceased to operate in its London location as of earlier this year. It quietly closed after just one show by AA Murakami at its 6 Burlington Gardens space, which opened in October last year and ran until May. ‘Superblue London was located within a temporary space until May 2022. We are thrilled that it was successful and we are excited to bring Superblue back to London again once an appropriate venue is available,’ says Mollie Dent-Bocklehurst, the co-founder and CEO of Superblue.” [H/T The Art Newspaper]

Today’s attractive distractions:

Here’s how a single terrifying car accident inspired a literary masterpiece. 

Natalie De Blois transformed how women engage with architecture today.

Max Cameron’s new book explores his fixation with Japan’s traffic cones.

A prizewinning property on The Sea Ranch has entered the market again.