24/09/2025

LYFE WEDNESDAY | SEPT 24, 2025

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Nepo-baby at Louboutin?

F RENCH fashion icon Christian Louboutin’s decision to name Will Smith’s son Jaden as his chief menswear designer is a bold choice that took the industry by surprise and stirred up fresh allegations of “nepo-baby” favouritism. When not following in the footsteps of his famous father into acting and rap music, 27-year-old Jaden has been a regular at fashion shows for years, as a high-profile front-row guest or as a model. His often eccentric dressing has frequently caught the eye, such as when he turned up to the Grammy Awards this year wearing a black Transylvanian castle on his head or when he carried his own freshly shorn dreadlocks into the Met Gala in 2017. “I am convinced by his creativity, but I am also happy to have an intelligent voice from a different generation at my side,” Louboutin, 62, told Le Figaro newspaper recently as he unveiled Jaden. Jaden is set to move to Paris and be responsible for four men’s collections per year, including shoes, leather goods and accessories for a brand which is famed for its red-soled stilettos. While women’s shoes continue to be the bulk of the Louboutin business, menswear accounts for around a quarter of sales, according to the company. Jaden will take the hotseat with limited experience in the fashion industry, however, at a time of fierce competition from corporate juggernauts such as LVMH and a global slump for the sector. o Controversy swirls as Jaden Smith selected as chief menswear designer

In 2012, he co-founded niche unisex streetwear brand MSFTSrep, pitched firmly at fellow Gen Z and Millennial fashionistas, and is a long-time collaborator with sneaker-maker New Balance. The LA native, whose love of the waste-heavy fashion industry sits alongside a passion for environmental causes, has also backed a sustainable bottled water business and a vegan food truck for the homeless. “Today he lacks technique but he’s starting to learn,” Louboutin said of his fashion skills, explaining his new protege had already made several visits to Italian factories. “What you cannot learn is enthusiasm and taste and passion. All that, he has,” the stylist added. Pressure Jaden, son of power couple Will and Jada Pinkett Smith, was in the spotlight from a young age, acting in The Pursuit of Happyness in 2006 and 2010’s The Karate Kid before turning towards music and fashion. “I feel a lot of pressure to be able to live up to everything that Louboutin has done for the house, and also stepping into such a serious role,” he told fashion outlet WWD . Part of his attraction for Louboutin is his ability to connect to new younger audiences, helped by his 19 million Instagram followers. He “is going to show the brand’s vision in a much more visible way,” Louboutin told WWD . The choice has echoes of LVMH-owned Louis Vuitton’s decision to name fellow black American entertainer Pharrell Williams as creative director for menswear in 2023. Mixed reaction on social media. “He hasn’t been to design school, doesn’t have any technical experience but he’s the son of Will Smith,” sniffed a headline on the BFM news channel in France.

Bellettini. – PICS FROM AFP

New Gucci head pledges to restore label’s glory KERING appointed Francesca Bellettini as the new head of its troubled Gucci label as Luca de Meo took over the reins of the French luxury group. Bellettini, who since July 2023 has served as deputy CEO of Kering and had previously run Yves Saint Laurent for more than a decade, will now take over management of Gucci, by far the group’s biggest fashion house. “At this pivotal moment, I intend to build a leaner and clearer organisation in which the best talent drive our houses forward,” de Meo said in a statement that noted that Kering will no longer have a deputy CEO. “Gucci, as the flagship of our group, deserves the sharpest focus, and Bellettini – one of the most seasoned and respected professionals in our industry – will bring the leadership and flawless execution needed to restore the brand to its rightful place,“ de Meo added. Kering announced in June it had poached de Meo from French automaker Renault to help turn around the company. Francois-Henri Pinault, whose family controls the holding that is the largest shareholder in Kering, ceded executive control but stayed on as board chairman. Luxury groups worldwide have been hit hard by slowing Chinese appetite for luxury goods and by US President Donald Trump’s barrage of tariffs since returning to office this year. Kering saw a 46% plunge in net profit during the first half of this year, with sales slumping again at Gucci, which has been its major generator of sales and profits. The Italian fashion house, famous for its handbags, has struggled since the pandemic, and in March, it wooed the Georgian designer Demna to take over as artistic director.

Jaden is an actor and rapper.

Johnny Depp, Lenny Kravitz or Gwyneth Paltrow among many others. Stella McCartney, daughter of Beatles legend Paul McCartney, has confounded critics by establishing herself as a major player in the fashion world at the head of her eponymous brand. The Business of Fashion publication said it believed retirement-age Louboutin was thinking about the future. “The billionaire shoemaker is taking a first step toward succession by bringing in a new creative director for the men’s category,” it said. – AFP

“This industry is already one of the toughest to break into, and instead of opening doors for real talent, it feels like 90% of opportunities go straight to celebrity kids or famous names,” complained one post on Louboutin’s Instagram message announcing the nomination. “Nepo-babies”, shorthand for nepotism babies, is a recent pejorative term referring to someone whose success in the entertainment or fashion business is seen as based on the work of their parents. It has been regularly attached to Jaden, as well as the offspring of

Louboutin remains a giant of fashion.