We Speak Fashion

Colman Domingo Brings Couture Color to Cannes in Valentino and Boucheron

Published

5 months ago

May 22, 2026

Colman Domingo treated the Cannes premiere carpet as a couture runway. At the 79th Cannes Film Festival, which ran May 12–23 on the French Riviera, Domingo stepped onto the red carpet for the premiere of Garance in a custom look by Valentino creative director Alessandro Michele — a hit of amethyst color in a sea of black tailoring, and a centerpiece of The Kit’s best-dressed roundup of the festival.

The construction was pure Michele maximalism, precisely tailored. A sequin-adorned amethyst top — sheer purple, in The Kit’s description — came with a surprise cape and a matching cummerbund, paired with slim-cut black trousers. The finishing detail was jewelry worn as tailoring: an art deco-style black lacquer and diamond brooch by Boucheron, pinned in place of a tie. Styled by Wayman + Micah, Domingo made the brooch do the work a necktie does on every other man at Cannes — and made it look considerably more interesting.

It was not his only statement of the festival. WatchMojo, which ranked Domingo’s run among the ten best looks at Cannes 2026, counted two custom Valentino creations: the purple Garance look, and a black jacket embellished with silver and green stones worn to the Kering Women in Motion Awards, topped with a Boucheron squid ear cuff whose tentacles wrapped the cartilage. The same Garance premiere also produced the festival’s other standout covered in The Kit’s roundup — Cate Blanchett in a backless silk fringe Givenchy gown by Sarah Burton.

The wider context explains why the looks landed so hard: Cannes kept in place the dress-code rules introduced in 2025 discouraging nudity and excessive volume, pushing the 2026 carpet toward construction, embellishment and tailoring — exactly Domingo’s territory. While most men at Cannes default to the black tuxedo, he spent the festival proving that menswear, given couture ambition, can carry a premiere.

We Speak Fashion

L’Oréal Powers Past the Beauty Market: €35.33 Billion in Nine Months as Salon and Derm Brands Lead

Published

4 days ago

October 22, 2026

We Speak Media

The world’s largest beauty company is growing faster than the market it leads. L’Oréal reported sales of €35.33 billion for the first nine months of 2026, up 6.9% like-for-like and 7.7% as reported, in a statement released on October 22. Third-quarter sales reached €11.56 billion, up 7.2% like-for-like.

CEO Nicolas Hieronimus called it “an exceptional third quarter,” saying the global beauty market “once again proved its resilience” and that L’Oréal “continued to significantly outpace it” — company commentary put the wider market’s growth at roughly 5% for the quarter.

The quarter’s heavy lifting came from the group’s two professional-facing divisions. Professional Products — home to Kérastase, Redken and L’Oréal Professionnel — sold €1,469.1 million in Q3, up 12.1% like-for-like, while Dermatological Beauty (La Roche-Posay, CeraVe, SkinCeuticals) sold €1,871.6 million, up 12.2%. L’Oréal Luxe added €4,176.6 million (+6.4%) and Consumer Products €4,044.3 million (+4.3%), as fragrances and haircare drove growth, skincare continued to accelerate, and e-commerce sales grew around 17% — well ahead of the online beauty market.

The brand highlights told the same story. Kérastase grew double-digit, powered by Gloss Absolu, Genesis and Chronologiste; La Roche-Posay launched Mela B3 Double-Dose and Anthelios UV Air; Yves Saint Laurent’s Libre and MYSLF fragrances grew double-digit; and the newly acquired fragrance house Creed performed strongly.

Regionally, SAPMENA-SSA was the standout at +19.2% like-for-like, followed by Europe at +9.9% and North Asia at +7.8%; North America grew 2.2% (5.6% adjusted), and Latin America was the only region to decline, down 1.0%. During the period L’Oréal also closed its acquisition of a majority stake in Innovist, a digital-first Indian personal care house of brands — a results statement that underlines a simple point: at €35 billion in nine months, L’Oréal is not just leading the beauty business, it is widening the gap.