Articles by AFP
Temu's Chinese owner sees revenue growth slow
Chinese e-commerce giant PDD Holdings announced Thursday slower revenue growth for the third quarter running, as the Temu owner confronts trade tensions between Beijing and Washington. The Shanghai-based company posted revenues of 110 billion yuan ($15 billion) in the three months to December 31, up 24 percent year-on-year. The figure was down...
BusinessMember20 Mar 2025
New generation of Afghan women shift from burqa
Young, urban women in Afghanistan are increasingly ditching the all-enveloping blue burqa with a face mesh that has become a symbol of the Taliban's oppression of women. Since their return to power in 2021, the Taliban have imposed an ultra-strict vision of Islamic law, modelled on their previous rule from 1996 to 2001. But while women must...
Fashion 19 Mar 2025
Shein says US tariff hit won't stop fast-fashion flood
Tariffs imposed by the Trump administration will not eject fast-fashion juggernaut Shein from the US market, its executive chairman Donald Tang has told AFP. The head of the online platform, which has come in for scrutiny over its environmental footprint and allegations of human rights violations, also insisted that the company does not use...
Business|Interview 17 Mar 2025
LVMH to lift age limit, letting Arnault remain CEO until 85
LVMH will ask shareholders to raise the age limit for its CEO and chairman to 85, allowing its billionaire boss Bernard Arnault to remain longer at the helm of the French luxury goods group. Bernard, 76, created the group and has grown it into the world's largest in its sector, holding the position of both chief executive and chairman of the...
BusinessMember14 Mar 2025
Chanel plays with proportions as Paris Fashion Week wraps up
Chanel presented its Fall-Winter collection on the last day of Paris Women's Fashion Week on Tuesday, playing with proportions and layering in a show designed without incoming artistic director Matthieu Blazy. Staged in the Grand Palais exhibition hall in central Paris, the catwalk presentation featured a monumental black ribbon that spiralled...
Fashion 11 Mar 2025
Stars hop aboard for train-inspired Louis Vuitton show
Louis Vuitton invited a star-studded audience to its Fall-Winter 2025 show near the Gare du Nord train station on Monday in Paris, unveiling a collection packed full of its version of travel essentials. LV-branded luggage and bags, some in the form of musical instruments, thick-soled trainers for walking, hats, capes and trench coats to protect...
Fashion 11 Mar 2025
From 'mob wives' to millennials: Faux fur is now a fashion staple
Thanks to the "mob wife" style trend and advances in manufacturing technology that make it look like the real thing, fake fur has conquered catwalks and the high street. The look is set to last, with the Fall/Winter 2025 shows at Paris Womenswear Fashion Week over the last 10 days showcasing the material in almost every conceivable way. Whether...
Fashion 11 Mar 2025
Trends at Paris Women's Fashion Week
Lots of fur and leather, ever-expanding shoulder pads and shoes, splashes of yellow: AFP looks at some of the trends from Paris Women's Fashion Week, which wraps up on Tuesday. Fur Back on the runways last year and in the streets for several months now, fur (mostly fake) was absolutely everywhere in the Fall/Winter 2025 collections, whether as...
Fashion 10 Mar 2025
Amazon rival Mercado Libre to invest 3.4 billion dollars in Mexico
Mercado Libre, a Latin American rival of Amazon, announced Friday a 3.4 billion dollars investment in Mexico, the latest in a series of pledges by foreign firms in spite of US tariff threats. "It means that despite these tariff issues, they're going to continue their investment in Mexico," economy minister Marcelo Ebrard said after the Argentine...
BusinessMember10 Mar 2025
Matières Fécales makes a splash at Paris Fashion Week
Paris Fashion Week witnessed a debut show on Friday from one of the most unusually named brands in the luxury clothing industry: Matières Fécales, which means fecal matter in French. After meeting in fashion school in Montreal, Hannah Rose Dalton and Steven Raj Bhaskaran set up their label 10 years ago in opposition to the idea of the clothing...
Fashion 10 Mar 2025