For Fashion Brands, the Rise of the Wrist
LONDON, United Kingdom — When John Idol, chief executive of Michael Kors, announced in May that the brand aimed to turn its menswear business into a “major force” with sales of over a billion dollars,...
View ArticleAmanda Parkes on Why Wearable Tech is About More Than Gadgets
NEW YORK, United States — For many, the market for “wearables” — often called the next major technology battleground — refers to gadgets worn on the body. The category has yet to truly take off, but...
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De-Mystifying the Cult of Common Projects
NEW YORK, United States — Ten numbers, divided into three sets, are stamped in gold on the outer heel of each shoe. Each set corresponds to a style number, European size and colour. It’s the only...
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With Mosaert, Belgian Musician Stromae is Building a Fashion Brand
PARIS, France — “Mosaert is in the same vein as my music. I do it to express my vision, to learn and, above all, to have fun,” says Paul Van Haver, alias Stromae. The Belgian pop star whose second...
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Adam Lippes Won’t Make the Same Mistakes Twice
NEW YORK, United States — It’s rare to find Adam Lippes wearing anything other than a perfectly fitting t-shirt of his own design. He tends to go for the crewneck, short-sleeved version, made of 100...
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Market Pulse | Head to Tail
LONDON, United Kingdom — The Savigny Luxury Index (“SLI”) rallied 7.3 percent during the month, outperforming the MSCI Word Index (“MSCI“) by over 5 percentage points. The sector seems to have reached...
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Inside Outerknown, Kelly Slater’s New Kering-backed Surf-Lifestyle Brand
CULVER CITY, United States — Earlier this year, surfing champion Kelly Slater chose not to renew his sponsorship contract with Quiksilver, after over two decades as the face of the troubled surfwear...
View ArticleHow Ugg Turned a Fashion Trend Into a Staple
LONDON, United Kingdom — “Ugg boots are over — the fashion world rejoices.” So read a headline in the Guardian newspaper when California-based Ugg Australia, the brand behind the cosy sheepskin boots...
View Article‘Sleeping Beauty’ Brands: Myth or Magic Formula?
PARIS, France — Disney’s rose-tinted fairy tales are often mistaken for the originals (displacing gorier source narratives; in the 1697 version of ‘Sleeping Beauty’ by Charles Perrault, for example,...
View ArticleWill Men Buy Into Their Girlfriends’ Brands?
NEW YORK, United States — When Michael Kors’ 22,000-square-foot flagship opens at 520 Broadway in Soho this December, there will be a floor dedicated to accessories and fragrances, another to women’s...
View ArticleDo Diffusion Lines Still Make Sense?
LONDON, United Kingdom — Since their inception, second-tier “diffusion” lines like Emporio Armani, D&G and Marc by Marc Jacobs, which combined the halo of a designer brand with more accessible...
View ArticleBright Old Things and the Silver Spend
LONDON, United Kingdom — Since 2011, British department store group Selfridges has kicked off each retail year with its ‘Bright Young Things’ initiative, celebrating fresh young talent in its flagship...
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How Mansur Gavriel Created the First Post-Recession It Bag
NEW YORK, United States — It was mid-afternoon on December 9th when the founders of Mansur Gavriel took to Instagram with great news for their more than 123,000 followers. The handbag line’s fall...
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Market Pulse | In with the New
Both the Savigny Luxury Index (“SLI”) and the MSCI World Index (“MSCI”) suffered from profit-taking in the first half of December. The more general MSCI recovered lost ground in the second half to...
View ArticleKevin McKenzie on Reinventing the Shopping Mall
SAN FRANCISCO, United States — In mature markets, the future of the traditional indoor shopping mall looks more uncertain than ever and nowhere more so than in the USA, where malls were once a gleaming...
View ArticleWhere Will Growth Come From in 2015? Fashion CEOs Speak
LONDON, United Kingdom — 2014 was a year of geo-political tumult. The crisis in the Ukraine. Hostilities in Syria and Iraq. The Ebola outbreak. Pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. All played a role in...
View ArticleDo Fashion Trends Still Exist?
LONDON, United Kingdom — In 1937, the English author, critic, curator and fashion historian James Laver drew up a rudimentary timeline of how trends evolve. According to Laver’s Law, when a trend is in...
View Article‘Made in Portugal’ is on the Rise
GUIMARÃES, OPORTO AND ALCANENA, Portugal — The global financial crisis dealt Europe a heavy blow. Six years later, Italy remains lodged in an economic quagmire. And the risk of recession hangs like an...
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Why Are Sportswear Giants Nike and Adidas Embracing Fashion?
LONDON, United Kingdom — On Monday, Nike launched a new capsule collection, dubbed NikeLab x JFS, with Berlin-based Acronym designer Johanna F. Schneider. On Thursday evening, at Paris men’s fashion...
View ArticleThe Curious Case of Fenwick Bond Street
LONDON, United Kingdom — In the middle of Mayfair, London’s luxury mecca, only a stone’s throw away from a set of gleaming megastores erected by the likes of Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Dior, stands...
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