Luxury brand Swaine is to unveil a dedicated retail space in Harrods on 27 June, marking what it says is “a significant milestone in its continued retail expansion”. 

It’s taking space in the Menswear Designer Collections room as it continues to boost its presence in the world’s most prestigious department stores. 

In London, Swaine currently has a flagship store on New Bond Street and smaller boutique in Burlington Arcade, both in the West End, so a presence in key luxury shopping district Knightsbridge should expose it to a raft of new and affluent potential customers.

The leather goods and accessories heritage brand (275 years old and counting) has a big focus on British craftsmanship and the Harrods location will present a curated edit of its signature pieces across leather goods, umbrellas and headwear, all of it handmade using traditional techniques in the UK.

Carine de Koenigswarter, Chairman and CEO of the firm, said that “opening at Harrods is an exciting milestone… and a continuation of our strategy to reestablish the brand across globally respected luxury destinations”. 

And Yasmin Mehmet, buying manager at Harrods, said the brand “is a natural addition for our customers who appreciate timeless style and enduring quality”.

Hero styles available there will include the New Bond Attache, Whitehall Briefcases in Jaguar Green and Black Ostrich, Kensington in Black and Cognac, and the Mayfair in Havana, alongside caps and hats such as the Poet in Deep Sable and the Slim Cap in Olive. Swaine’s umbrella range including the Oak and Maple styles and a selection of small leather goods will also be available.

Two key European luxury labels have launched new campaigns with Valentino Garavani and Roger Vivier launching new creative marketing drives in the accessories and footwear sectors.

Following the recent launch of the Nellcôte bag campaign, Maison Valentino now continues its storytelling journey with the unveiling of the second chapter: the Valentino Garavani Vain bag campaign. 

Conceived by creative director Alessandro Michele and shot by photographer Sharna Osborne, we’re told the campaign “is a tactile exploration of emotional intimacy and femininity. Evoking the aesthetic of analogue photography, it crafts an atmosphere where beauty is suspended in time”.

The brand added that “the images, with their faded colour tones and grainy backdrops, are imbued with a powerful texture that recalls the dreamlike sensibility of early film and the intensity of voyeuristic cinema”.

Looking almost like video stills, the bag is the focal point of every image as the visuals portray two women “in a series of compositions that suggest an atmosphere of private and shared allure. Whether together or apart, they appear caught in a world of whispered secrets and shadowy glamour, where the Vain bag becomes a silent witness to their intimacy”.

The campaign supports new developments for the Vain bag this season with the introduction of a new top handle style featuring an elongated handle that allows it to be worn on the shoulder. There’s also a new oval-shaped vanity bag, with a top flap acting as a lid, that “brings a modern attitude to the line while preserving the original bag’s refined codes”.

The signature shoulder bags also return with updated finishes and “rich surfaces”, that is, multicolour floral embroideries rendered in beads, velvet, raffia, or leather, and a new printed animalier variation referencing the RTW collection.

Vivier’s Paris life

Meanwhile, at Riger Vivier, the new campaign for the autumn 2025 pre-collection is called ‘La Vie Parisienne’ and was conceived by brand creative director Gherardo Felloni “as both homage and provocation”.

Shot inside a hôtel particulier (one of the grand townhouses found in key French cities) “and along hushed city streets, the story unfolds like a secret — caught in a glance, stretched across a brocade sofa. It captures something rarer than beauty: character. Here, elegance isn’t constructed. It’s instinctual”. 

So far, so very Parisian. But the company said that “this is not the Paris of clichés. Nor is the Vivier woman one. She is elegant but unpredictable, refined yet untamed — never explaining, always becoming. Like the muses who once wore Vivier — Deneuve, Bardot, and beyond — she moves between worlds. Perhaps an art dealer. Perhaps a writer. Or neither. She doesn’t follow fashion. She defines style”.

It features a variety of both formal and casual shoes, along with bags. 

So who are the stars of this particular show? As far as the models are concerned, Felloni has cast three women “who embody this spirit”. There’s Louise de Blegiers,” with a modern intensity beneath her quiet poise; [plus] Zoé Adjani and Léa Rostain, actresses whose presence distills softness and edge. Parisian by birth or by affinity, these are not women who perform femininity — they reinvent it”.

John Lewis has announced the appointment of a new chief customer officer with experienced fashion retail exec Anna Braithwaite set to take up the role on 1 October. 

She’ll report to Peter Ruis, MD of John Lewis, and we’re told she “brings a deep expertise in customer and brand strategy”. 

Braithwaite will be responsible for leading the John Lewis brand and marketing across all channels, loyalty, customer experience, and creative and content teams, with a remit to ensure “the brand continues to deliver exceptional quality, value and service for its customers”.

She has more than 25 years of brand and marketing experience, most of it immersed in the fashion sector, and actually began her career at John Lewis, joining as a graduate trainee before spending a decade in a variety of marketing roles. 

After that she moved to Hobbs and Jacques Vert before joining Tesco, where she was head of brand marketing for F&F Clothes and global brand director for non-food. Most recently, she was M&S’s marketing director for fashion, home and beauty.

Ruis said “her understanding of the John Lewis brand and her laser focus on the needs of customers makes her the ideal person to lead our customer and marketing strategy”.