Balenciaga at the “Euphoria” premiere, Meryl Streep and Anna Wintour promoting “Devil Wears Prada 2” on the cover of Vogue — Hollywood synergy has never been more in style. At L.A.’s Fashion Trust U.S. Gala, Tory Burch wins a long-overdue Designer of the Year Award. A moment with emerging New York designer Ashlynn Park. And Tracee Ellis Ross gives shade in the best way.
Hollywood Synergy Has Never Been More in Style
The “Euphoria” tie-up with Balenciaga that debuted at Paris Fashion Week last month was apparently a package deal that included dressing some of the cast members for the Season 3 premiere in Hollywood on Wednesday.
You may remember that Balenciaga designer Pierpaolo Piccioli brought “Euphoria” to his Fall 2026 runway, collaborating with the HBO show’s creator, Sam Levinson, on moody video sets and incorporating imagery from the upcoming season into streetwear looks that were clearly designed to capture a younger generation.
At the premiere, Sam and Ashley Levinson, Darrell Britt-Gibson, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Priscilla Delgado, Danielle Deadwyler and Anna Van Patten all wore Balenciaga — a mix of custom pieces and looks from the “Euphoria”-themed fall runway show. (Not so the bigger stars: Zendaya was in Ashi Studio couture, Maude Apatow in Celine, Hunter Schafer in Roberto Cavalli and Sydney Sweeney in vintage Pierre Cardin.)
The new season starts Sunday, jumping five years into the future to follow the cast as 20somethings. The costumes, by Natasha Newman-Thomas, will be a mix of contemporary, vintage and up-and-coming designers, with Jacob Elordi, a celebrity ambassador for Bottega Veneta, wearing some luxe workwear from the brand in character on the show, which has already caused a frenzy of discussion online.
No word on whether any Balenciaga runway pieces will appear on-screen, but the brand did rush some into production for a see-now, buy-now collection, including a $625 T-shirt with an HBO tag at the hem.
Although it was reportedly born out of a mutual creative admiration between director and designer, the full-360 collaboration is yet another example of how luxury brands continue to invest in Hollywood and blur the lines between fashion, costume and merch. (Hello, “Marty Supreme” jacket.) I imagine we will see many more partnerships like these, going from runway to red carpet to cash register and back again.
The Vogue magazine May cover shoot and story out this week promoting “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” featuring Meryl Streep and her character Miranda Priestly’s alter ego Anna Wintour, was similarly self-aware and synergistic.
Streep’s comment in the story about her costumes from the first film was telling: “Well, everybody was afraid of Anna on the first one, so we couldn’t find any clothes. Nobody would give us any clothes.”
How the power has shifted. Vogue needs this film, of course. In a meta moment, the challenged media landscape is a major plot point. And brands have lined up to dress the cast on the red carpet and integrate into the storyline with a bonanza of placements that started last year — where else? — on the Dolce & Gabbana runway. “The Devil Wears Prada 2” opens May 1.
Tory for the Win!
At last, Tory Burch has gotten her long-overdue Designer of the Year award — not in New York, but at the Fashion Trust U.S. gala in Los Angeles.
It was well-deserved. Burch, who has reinvented herself numerous times, including, elevating her brand on the path to the current “Toryaissance,” is at the top of her game creatively and commercially.
Her friend Pamela Anderson (the two were introduced by their sons, who knew?) presented the honor, saying, “She’s a devoted mother, a visionary designer and a fearless advocate for women. Through her Foundation, she leads with compassion and is the first to say, yes, I can help advise and support.”
Burch delivered wise words to the young creatives in the room: “Fashion is an industry that constantly asks you to explain yourself. It takes conviction, resilience and trust in your instincts. And if I can offer one piece of advice, I would say nurture your point of view, respect it and let it grow and evolve. And build the thing that only you can build.”
The awards elevated the next generation of ready-to-wear and accessories designers with $600,000 in financial aid and mentorship for the winners, who were selected from more than 600 applications.
Now a marquee event on the spring social calendar, the fourth annual gala hosted by the non-profit organization pulled in a stylish, starry crowd, including Sharon Stone, Mindy Kaling, Julia Fox, Paris Hilton, Lana Condor, Chrissy Teigen, Hunter Doohan, Jordan Firstman, Emma Chamberlain, Fergie, Kumail Nanjiani, Paris Jackson, Skye Hankey and more.
Designers and creatives were in attendance from L.A., New York and beyond, including Gap’s Zac Posen, Diotima and Proenza Schouler’s Rachel Scott, J. Crew’s Olympia Gayot, Disney’s Bobby Kim, James Perse, Jonathan Simkhai, Sergio Hudson, Dani Nahmias, Gaia Repossi, Leonardo Lawson, Loree Rodkin, Mugler’s Miguel Castro Freitas, David Koma, Jamie Haller, ALC’s Andrea Liebermann, Daniella Villegas, B. Ackermann and many more.
Hosted by actress and comedian Ego Nwodim, the evening featured awards in multiple categories.
Carrying the torch for the avant-garde, Michèle Lamy, the influential proprietress of 1990s-era Hollywood hotspot Les Deux Cafes just up the street from the gala venue, and later a key part of designer Rick Owens’ creative rise and a cultural force herself, was the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award for Design & Culture, presented by Travis Scott and Erykah Badu.
Accepting it wearing a sharp shouldered leather jacket and platform shoes, she urged the crowd to face the geopolitical moment, raising a fist and saying with her French inflected accent, “Resistance!”
“Michèle is the poster child for exceptional freedom, for resistance, for non-conformity and creativity,” Badu said. “It takes a lot to be creative … First they laugh. Then they copy.”
Finalists were selected by Founding Board Member Tania Fares and additional board members “All the Cool Girls Get Fired” co-author Laura Brown, UTA’s Dan Constable, CAA’s Maha Dakhil, stylists Jamie Mizrahi, Karla Welch and Carlos Nazario, beauty guru Anastasia Soare, fashion consultant Anne Crawford, Lady Emma Thynn, Marchioness of Bath and FTUS partner Google.
The ready-to-wear award went to Zane Li of LII. In just two years, the Chinese-born designer has made his name in the industry with soft, sculptural, sport-couture pieces, which have been worn by Greta Lee and Ayo Edebiri, among others.
Known for her playful yet structured pieces, New York-based Mexican American designer Josefina Baillères took home the jewelry award, presented by Olivia Wilde, who was wearing a striking bra top and pants look by ready-to-wear finalist Ashlyn. (More on her later.)
Miami-based Andrea Marron, who makes sculptural leather bags as design objects, won the accessories award.
Melissa McCarthy took the stage to give the Graduate Award to Marcelle Barbosa of Amaramara, who is fresh out of Parsons and already garnering Instagram likes from Lauren Sánchez Bezos for her experimental designs, such as a water-soluble garment.
Deborah Won of Pisces Rising won the inaugural Type One Ventures award honoring an emerging designer exploring outer space as inspiration.
Maxwell Osborne and Kristy Chen of anOnlyChild accepted the sustainability award from Jodie Turner-Smith, and Lykke Lii serenaded the Whispering Angel-fueled crowd before everyone headed across the street to the afterparty.
A Moment With a Rising Fashion Star
Ashlynn Park may not have taken home the FTUS ready-to-wear award for her brand Ashlyn, but her first trip to L.A. was fruitful nonetheless. (Plus, the rising star already won back-to-back awards last year from the CFDA and the Vogue Fashion Fund, and is getting mentorship from Thom Browne and others.)
A veteran pattern maker of Yohji Yamamoto and Alexander Wang, Park started her brand in 2020. And she has a growing fan club who gathered Wednesday at the Des Kohan boutique on Fairfax Avenue to shop her soft yet architectural spring 2026 collection with rounded silhouettes evoking Korean buncheong jars, peplum hem fine knit tank tops and crisp organic cotton shirts, Italian viscose sculpted skirts, ruffled cocoon coats and Ashlyn’s cult favorite pants.
“I wanted to create a fit addiction,” Park said of her focus on construction and a simple elegance that have made her among the most promising new American designers, with early celebrity supporters Gwyneth Paltrow, Anna Sawai and Katie Holmes.
“I remember looking at it and I lost my mind,” store owner Desiree Kohan said about the appeal of the modern feminine pieces, which are designed to be layered.
As woman after woman tried on looks, Park reflected on her short time in L.A. before heading to the airport. “Last night’s gala was fantastic, and then being here … I’m very inspired by boutiques, and being able to talk with the customers.”
Tracee Ellis Ross Throws Shade in the Best Way
Tracee Ellis Ross is no slouch when it comes to style. She was wearing Azzedine Alaia back in college for goodness sake, and her Instagram shows her genuine passion for clothing and accessories is not limited to any brand ambassadorship.
Which is why it makes sense that the Pattern Beauty entrepreneur is launching a cool-as-hell eyewear collaboration with a relatively obscure, 1960s French avant-garde design house, Emmanuelle Khanh.
Sometimes called the French Mary Quant, Khanh was a pioneer of a liberated, expressive femininity who designed bold, architectural eyewear to match her silhouettes.
Ross is a collector who has worn Emmanuelle Khanh frames over the years, including “La Fleur” and “1997” styles in early 2023 while attending the 54th NAACP Image Awards, according to the brand.
The collab started like so many do, with a simple exchange of DMs on Instagram. “Looking at Tracee’s style, from early 2000s red carpets to her everyday looks, I was struck by her fearless yet balanced use of color and oversized, graphic silhouettes. That became our starting point,” said the brand’s creative director Eva Gaumé.
“French style is an anchoring inspiration for my style; quiet maximalism, unapologetically personal and functional with great accessories,” said Ross.
Drawing from Emmanuelle Khanh’s archives and Ross’ love for oversized frames, their collaboration led to the creation of two exclusive frames with names that seem particularly apropos for the moment: Truth and Freedom.
Freedom is a dramatic acetate mask silhouette and Truth is a pilot-shaped optical frame. Each piece is handcrafted in Italy and France and prices are $510 to $700. The glasses are available exclusively at The Webster stores in L.A., Montecito, Palm Springs, Soho, South Beach and at the brand’s website. Just in time for styling that fearless Coachella look.
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