Los Angeles-based menswear brand Rhude has collaborated with Milanese tire manufacturer Pirelli on an exclusive capsule clothing collection, uniting the worlds of fashion and motorsport. While Rhude has maintained a long-standing connection to sports—evident in past collaborations with brands such as Automobili Lamborghini and McLaren—this capsule marks the first official partnership between the two companies.
Rhude and Pirelli team up on a capsule collection. – Roman Koval
The 13-piece capsule captures the essence of racing—an integral part of Rhude’s creative identity. The lineup includes oversized logo T-shirts and hoodies printed with “World Champion” and “1st” graphics, as well as racing-style jackets and track pants that incorporate Pirelli’s signature color palette of black, yellow, and red. The collection also reimagines some of Rhude’s best-known pieces, such as logo-woven shorts featuring a custom Rhude graphic. Classic baseball caps are embroidered with vintage racing symbols, including flags and laurel badges.
“The collection celebrates the joining of two forces to define what it means to be a champion. Striving to be the best… what it means to make your dreams a reality and come in first at whatever your heart desires,” said Rhuigi Villaseñor, founder and creative director of Rhude. “The partnership between Rhude and Pirelli captures the meaning of excellence and always pushing to give your best—whatever the race may be.”
Rhude X Pirelli – Roman Koval
The collection launched exclusively on Rhude’s e-shop on April 18. Founded in 2015 by Filipino-American designer Rhuigi Villaseñor, Rhude is a Los Angeles-based luxury menswear brand known for fusing streetwear aesthetics with upscale construction. The collections reflect themes of modern socioeconomics and Villaseñor’s own journey since moving to the United States.
After graduating from high school, he briefly studied art history and gained early industry experience as an assistant and intern to menswear designer Shaun Samson. Despite lacking formal training in fashion design, Villaseñor attributes his technical knowledge to his upbringing with a seamstress mother, who taught him the fundamentals of garment construction. Villaseñor’s deep connection to sportswear further evolved in late 2024 when he was named chief brand officer of Como 1907, the official merchandising brand of the Italian Serie A soccer team.
Rhude with Pirelli – Roman Koval
Founded in 1872, Pirelli is a global leader in tire manufacturing and the only major player solely focused on the consumer market. Its product range spans tires and services for cars, motorcycles, and bicycles, with a strong focus on the premium and ultra-premium segments. Pirelli has also played a prominent role in motorsports since 1907 and is currently involved in over 350 international competitions. Since 2011, the company has served as the exclusive global tire partner of the Formula 1 World Championship—a partnership recently extended through at least 2027.
An Hermes handbag that once belonged to Jane Birkin was sold for $2.86 million (2.45 million euros) at auction in Abu Dhabi on Friday, just months after the record-breaking sale of her first bag from the French brand, Sotheby’s said.
Jane Birkin with one of her signature Hermes bags – Sotheby’s
Hermes first created the design for the British singer and actress in 1984 and it has gone on to become a modern and highly prized classic, sought by fashionistas the world over. The first prototype was sold for 8.58 million euros ($10 million) at a Sotheby’s auction in Paris in July, smashing previous price records for a handbag.
The one sold on Friday was a ‘Birkin Voyageur,’ which was gifted to the former wife of French singing legend Serge Gainsbourg in 2003. The final sale price was around six times times higher than the estimated price range of $230,000-$430,000 given before the sale.
“Jane Birkin’s handbag legacy continues to captivate collectors,” Sotheby’s said in a statement sent to AFP, adding that bidding took place over 11 minutes between six collectors. The new owner was a phone buyer and has not been identified.
The handbag was one of four owned by the late celebrity, who used to sell them to raise money for charitable causes. It has a handwritten inscription in French inside from Birkin that reads: “My Birkin bag, my globetrotting companion.”
A third Hermes bag owned by Birkin is set to go under the hammer on December 15 at the Hotel Drouot auction house in Paris. It was entrusted by the late star to her friend and biographer Gabrielle Crawford, who is selling it to help fund the future Jane Birkin Foundation, Drouot said in a statement.
Produced in very limited numbers, the modern Birkin bag manufactured by Hermes has maintained an aura of exclusivity and is beloved by celebrities such as the Kardashians, Jennifer Lopez, and Victoria Beckham. The most expensive fashion item ever sold at auction was a pair of ruby red slippers worn by actor Judy Garland from The Wizard of Oz in 1939, which sold for $32.5 million in 2024 in Dallas, Texas, according to Sotheby’s.
Artificial intelligence (AI) continues its march to transform businesses’/consumers’ lives with customer advocacy platform Mention Me launching ‘AI Discovery IQ’, a free-to-use tool that “helps brands reach target consumers in the new age of generative AI search”.
Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP/Archives
It claims to allow brands to “instantly audit how discoverable they are within popular AI systems” such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity.
According to Mention Me, 62% of UK consumers now turn to generative AI tools for product recommendations, brand discovery and comparisons, “bypassing traditional search engines entirely [so] businesses are under pressure to respond to this behaviour change,” said the platform’s CEO Wojtek Kokoszka whose platform works with firms including Charlotte Tilbury, Huel and Puma, “helping marketing teams to boost consumer awareness and sales”.
With AI, it says the modern customer journey, powered by natural language prompts instead of outdated keyword strings, means consumers are 4.4 times more likely to convert if they find a brand through a large language model (LLM).
“The rise of ‘agent-mode’ assistants and AI-driven voice search has pushed brands into a new world of digital visibility. Despite this, most brands have little to no insight into how they appear in AI-generated answers”, said Kokoszka.
AI Discoverability IQ claims to give brands an overall LLM discoverability score, specific details on areas such as technical website elements, content and structured data, and actionable recommendations to improve their AI discoverability.
Its tool generates “measurable, trackable outputs” like AI Visibility Score, brands’ prompt-based results, and a side-by-side comparisons with their competitive set. This means brands “can react quickly to improve their discoverability scores” with Mention Me’s wider suite of products and unique first-party data.
It’s also “innovating and evolving” its platform to include more capabilities, such as the ability to benchmark against competitors, to drive further improvements for marketing leaders in the age of AI.
Mention Me CMO Neha Mantri said: “AI Discoverability is not yet a named practice within most marketing teams; the same way SEO wasn’t in the early 2000s. But when up to 31% of consumers say they’re more likely to trust responses from generative AI than traditional search results, this needs to change. Mention Me is naming the problem and providing a solution at just the right time.”
A host of celebrities and high-end brands have donating goods to ensure Savile Row’s latest annual ‘Pop-Up Crisis’ store will continue to support the Crisis charity event that has so far raised over £650,000 since 2018.
Image: Crisis charity
Across 8-13 December, the pop-up store at 18-19 Savile Row in London’s Mayfair will sell a curated selection of designer clothing, past stock and samples from luxury brands.
Celebs donating goods include Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Naomie Harris, David Gandy, Jarvis Cocker, Louis Partridge, Jamie Redknapp and Emma Corrin, among others, for a week-long event and raffle with all proceeds going to help end homelessness across Britain.
Hosted by landlord The Pollen Estate, the temporary shop is also selling designer goods donated by Savile Row tailors including Mr Porter, Wales Bonner, Crockett & Jones and many other luxury brands from Barbour, Tod’s to Manolo Blahnik and Watches of Switzerland Group.
This year, celebrity model and fashion entrepreneur David Gandy will also be curating an exclusive online edit on shopfromcrisis.com, including donations from his own wardrobe as well as items from friends including Redknapp’s brand Sandbanks, Hackett and Aspinal of London.
Gandy said: “Having supported Crisis for a number of years, I’m delighted to have had the opportunity to curate my own online edit this year with the help of some of my close friends. It means a lot to know that donations from my own wardrobe are going towards such an important cause. Whether you’re looking for the perfect Christmas gift or to treat yourself, your purchase can help make a real difference to people facing homelessness this Christmas.”
Liz Choonara, executive director of Commerce and Enterprise at Crisis, added: “Pop-Up Crisis is such an iconic event in the Crisis calendar and one that we look forward to every year. We’re thrilled to be partnering with the team once again for another week celebrating the iconic craftsmanship and style of Savile Row – with all proceeds going towards our crucial work to end homelessness.”