Panel of high profile fashion designers part of special Somerset House event.
A number of high profile fashion houses and retailers – including Jimmy Choo, Chloé and Selfridges – have been speaking about the inspiration they have taken from Disney properties in some of their collaborations.
The special panel discussion was part of Disney’s recent showcase at Somerset House, which aimed to show some of the company’s most recent collaborative projects.
Some of the pieces on show included the shoes and accessories designed by Roland Mouret at Robert Clergerie, inspired by Alice Through the Looking Glass; Fausto Puglisi’s resort collection, with Captain America comic book prints; and Giuseppe Zanotti’s suede sneakers and loafers, featuring Mickey and Minnie Mouse, illustrated through elaborate crystal embellishment.
The panel was moderated by Imran Amed, the founder of The Business of Fashion, and was made up of Sandra Choi, creative director of Jimmy Choo; Geoffroy de La Bourdonnaye, president of Chloé; Susanna Lau, founder of Style Bubble; and Sebastian Manes, buying and merchandising director at Selfridges.
Notably, Chloé’s Geoffroy had a career at Disney before moving into fashion. “The dynamics of Disney and fashion are similar,” he told the audience.
“With fashion, the fashion show is the story, and everything else stems from that moment. It’s about how you tell a story and how you create a theme and characters that are common to the whole world.”
Sebastian Manes from Selfridges commented: “At Selfridges we strive to ‘surprise, amaze and amuse’ our customers.
“Retail theatre, by very definition, is storytelling. Store experiences need to feel fun, but real, as it was with the collaboration with Disney, for the launch of Star Wars: The Force Awakens last year. We had our own Jedi Academy at the store. Just putting product on the shop floor isn’t enough.”
The panel also discussed earlier personal experiences of Disney, their favourite characters and the power of Disney imagery in the age of social media.
