Fashion News Alert: ANTM’s Whitney Thompson’s New Campaign, Schiaparelli’s New Director, and LVMH’s Youth Obsession

Where are the America Next Top Model winners? We often ask this question and with the exception of Yaya Dacosta, Fatima Said, Chantel Jones, Aminat  Ayinde, Reina Heim, Brittany Kline, and Lisa Jackson, sightings of ANTM’s alums are few and far between.

Well, add Cycle 9 winner Whitney Thompson to the lists of ANTM former contestants who is back on the radar. Whitney Thompson recently landed a campaign with British plus-size lingerie brand Panache Lingerie’s new Sculptress line, a fun, flattering collection offered in cup sizes ranging from D to J and band sizes ranging from 36 to 46.

“I feel feminine and sexy when I wear the pieces, which is important for me and other curvy women. It’s about time we had a collection like this for the real woman,” says Thompson.

With this campaign, Thompson proves that there is life after ANTM.

LVMH Likes Them Young

Young designers rule; well, at least they do at some of LVMH’s luxury brands. In recent months, LVMH has acquired two young fledgling brand, Nicholas Kirkwood and J.W. Anderson. LVMH last week also appointed Anderson, known for his urban androgynous style, as creative director of its Spanish luxury handbag brand Loewe. And LVMH has recently invested in young French fashion label Maxime Simoens.

With LVMH grabbing up so many talented young designers and burgeoning brands, competition among fashion holding companies is getting very tight. “We also considered investing in them [Nicholas Kirkwood and J.W. Anderson] but we never expected LVMH to move so quickly,” Rosso told Reuters before the Margiela show at Paris Fashion Week. “What groups like LVMH are doing, is preventing young designers like Anderson from working for somebody else,” contends Renzo Rosso, founder of Diesel.

Schiaparelli’s New Boss

There is a new boss in town and it is at the iconic House of Schiaparelli. Marco Zanini, formerly of Rochas, has been hired as the new creative director of Schiaparelli.

Schiaparelli has been on the hunt for a creative director since May 2012. Christian Lacroix presented a capsule collection for the iconic fashion house in July.

Zanini will present his first collection for the brand during Couture Week in Paris in January. “Schiaparelli symbolizes the capacity to think and create in a different way. My wish is to make this mythical house live again,” says Zanini.

—William S. Gooch