Today's Fashion Headlines: Louis Vuitton Foundation, Dolce & Gabbana Tax Hearing, Bottega Veneta and Christopher Kane CEOs

Louis Vuitton Foundation Paris
Louis Vuitton Foundation Inauguration
Last night night was the official inauguration of the Louis Vuitton Foundation. The convergence of fashion and art plus a dash of political intrigue reached a new apex in Paris. Luxury titan Bernard Arnault beamed proudly as he and French President François Hollande pushed a button to light up the new Frank Gehry-designed structure. It was a moment to savor for Arnault, a personal project of art sponsorship, and a gift to France that he named after his biggest and most profitable brand. “Louis Vuitton is the brand in our group that probably has the strongest links with artists — and for the longest time,” the chairman and chief executive officer of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton told WWD in an interview on the eve of the opening event, which was attended by fashion designers, Hollywood actresses, politicians and artists.
Dolce and Gabbana Tax Hearing At Italy’s Highest Court
The first hearing at the Corte suprema di Cassazione, Italy’s equivalent of the Supreme Court, took place in Rome on Tuesday morning. Lawyer Riccardo Olivo was present in place of the eight lawyers for the defendants Stefano Gabbana, Alfonso and Domenico Dolce, Cristiana Ruella, Giuseppe Minoni and Luciano Patelli. None of the defendants were in attendance. Their lawyers are appealing a guilty verdict handed down by a Milan appeals court in April. That court dismissed the possibility of ignorance in the matter, which the designers claimed in their defense but saw “an intentional” plan to avoid a higher tax rate in Italy, compared with rates in Luxembourg, where they had based ownership of their company. The hearing at the Cassazione was to determine if there were any procedural flaws or breaches at a lower court level that might result in a reverse of the appeals court’s decision.
New CEOs at Bottega Veneta and Christopher Kane
Kering has appointed new chief executive officers at Bottega Veneta and Christopher Kane as part of a management reshuffle in its luxury division unveiled earlier this year. Carlo Alberto Beretta will take over as Bottega Veneta CEO effective Jan. 7.  A graduate from Bocconi University in Milan Beretta joins the fashion house from Ermenegildo Zegna, where he has spent the last 11 years, most recently as retail development director. Prior to that Beretta worked at Valentino and La Rinascente. He will report to Marco Bizzarri, the former CEO of Bottega Veneta, who in July took up his new post as CEO of Kering’s luxury couture and leather goods division, based in Cadempino, Switzerland, where Kering has a centralized logistics and distribution hub. Kering said Bizzarri will remain president of Bottega Veneta in order to ensure a smooth transition.

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