Lifestyle news briefs: Louis Vuitton excels with Shanghai store

Local filmmakers nominated for awards

Six local filmmakers who received funding and support from the KwaZulu-Natal Tourism and Film Authority have been nominated for the 2025 Simon Mabhunu Sabela Film and Television Awards, scheduled to take place in Durban on July 19. Sibusiso Gumbi, acting CEO of the authority said the nominated films reflected “the success of our vision to elevate KwaZulu-Natal as a creative powerhouse”. The nominations highlighted “the power of public investment in nurturing new voices, authentic stories, and sustainable careers in film and television”. The festival was named in honour of the SA actor and director, with the awards celebrating excellence across the film and television landscape.

American Vogues seeks editorial head

Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour has announced that she will be looking for a new head of editorial content at American Vogue as she steps down from the role after nearly 40 years. She has been rinning Vogue US since 1988 and is regarded as one of the most powerful people in the fashion world. Wintour has raised more than $300m for the US Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute. She will continue as Vogue’s global editorial director and chief content officer at Condé Nast, the publisher of titles such as The New Yorker, Vanity Fair and GQ. Reuters

Louis Vuitton excels with Shanghai store

Louis Vuitton’s latest Shanghai store is not your average luxury flagship. The 30m high, ship-shaped store, “The Louis”, is billed as an experience, and houses an exhibition space and cafe in Shanghai’s downtown Nanjing Road shopping strip. “The Louis”, which had a grand opening last week, will undoubtedly draw crowds eager to post pictures to social media of its gleaming façade and the photo-ready exhibits inside. But LVMH-owned Louis Vuitton will also be hoping it can stimulate sales among Chinese consumers whose spending on luxury goods has slowed. LVMH’s business strategy aligns with a broader shift among luxury goods retailers, from a transactional model — where a shop merely sells goods to customers — to enticing customers with “experiences” that ultimately spur growth. Reuters

Disney opens Hercules in West End

Disney takes London audiences back to Ancient Greece with its new musical Hercules, bringing alive its 1997 animation on the West End stage. Showing at composer Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Theatre Royal Drury Lane, the show is inspired by the much-loved Disney film, itself based on the ancient myth. It follows the titular character and son of Zeus who, on losing his immortality as a baby due to the plotting Hades, god of the underworld, goes from zero to hero to stop his uncle from taking over.

“It’s a myth that reflects contemporary culture and still honours the DNA of [the] animated movie,” Robert Horn, who wrote the show’s book with Kwame Kwei-Armah, said. “It’s its own new thing and yet fans of the movie will absolutely come and recognise it and love it.” Central to the show are the five Muses, who sing their way through the story with energetic gospel-like tunes and plenty of costume changes. “I think I speak for all of us ... we have idolised these women. We have looked at these women and seen ourselves in times when we weren’t really represented,” actor Malinda Parris, who plays Calliope, said. Reuters