Canadian made-to-measure menswear brand Indochino plans to open 10 new showrooms across the US in 2027, marking the company's largest investment in standalone retail in years, according to a company announcement. Six locations are confirmed for early 2027, with four more slated to open in mid-to-late 2027.

The confirmed early-2027 locations are Cherry Hill, New Jersey; Columbia, Maryland; Ross Park, Pennsylvania; Brea, California; Roosevelt Field, New York; and Boca Raton, Florida. Indochino says it will announce the remaining four sites in the coming months as it finalizes site selection and lease agreements.

The expansion follows six consecutive quarters of positive earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization for Indochino, including a record quarterly figure in the second quarter of 2026, the company said. Indochino frames the growth as being underpinned by that financial performance, alongside its continued investment in its appointment-based, no-inventory showroom model.

"This is the largest investment we've placed on standalone retail in years, and it is the start of a new small format approach to our retail network, one we think we can expand for a decade," said Drew Green, president and CEO of Indochino. Green added that customer demand and consumer data gave the company confidence to bring its showroom experience to more locations.

Each new showroom will offer the brand's full format, including one-on-one styling with staff the company calls Style Guides, a premium fabric selection, and made-to-measure suiting, shirting and outerwear. Indochino positions the rollout as reinforcing its position within the made-to-measure category, with new markets chosen based on customer demand in each area.

This article was written with the assistance of AI.

OLYMP Bezner KG in Bietigheim-Bissingen (Ludwigsburg district, Baden-Württemberg, Germany) is refining the brand identity of its exclusive OLYMP Signature collection. The redesigned product logo emphasises the brand’s high quality standards and gives this premium line an even more distinct identity under OLYMP’s umbrella. OLYMP is internationally renowned for high-quality menswear and is positioned in the upper mid- range market segment with its clothing products. With OLYMP Signature, the fashion brand has also been successfully established in the premium segment of high-quality menswear for many years.

OLYMP Signature combines outstanding fabric quality with precision craftsmanship and a distinct attention to detail. Among the numerous quality features that epitomise the highest standards of craftsmanship are high-quality two-ply fabrics, the finest handmade lap seams, removable collar stiffeners and mother-of-pearl buttons sewn on with a thread shank in Neapolitan tradition. Added to this is a meticulous individual sizing system, in which each shirt size is developed individually. This results in a fit that almost feels as if it were made to measure. OLYMP Signature shirts thus combine exceptional wearing comfort with timeless elegance and are unrivalled in the premium segment.

Heiko Ihben, OLYMP Managing Director for Brand, Product & Human Resources, explains: “OLYMP Signature stands for uncompromising quality and the highest level of craftsmanship in its production. With the new product logo, we are expressing this premium standard even more clearly. Designed as a distinctive signature, the product name gives the collection a more personal touch and makes its unique identity apparent straightaway. The elegance, excellence and individuality it embodies are values that have always characterised OLYMP Signature and which fans of our brand associate with the collection.”

Since its launch in 2017, OLYMP Signature has been steadily gaining prominence both in upmarket national and international fashion retail and amongst quality-conscious customers. Today, the range extends far beyond classic business shirts and includes, amongst other things, high-quality linen and jersey shirts, overshirts, fine knitwear, as well as polo shirts and T-shirts. The premium line is complemented by selected accessories such as ties, bow ties and pocket squares.

OLYMP Signature is thus consistently evolving into a modern fashion collection for upmarket office wear and style-conscious men. This new brand identity reinforces OLYMP Signature’s distinctiveness within the OLYMP brand universe and will highlight the premium line’s unique character even more clearly in future.

Today, OLYMP is not just the market leader in the shirt segment in Germany, but also one of Europe’s leading shirt brands, with a brand presence in over 40 countries. In addition to Germany, its most important markets include the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium and France.

German fashion brand Marc Cain has presented its spring/summer 2027 collection as a digital fashion show under the motto 'Palazzo Dreaming', according to a press release. The show was filmed at the historic Palazzo Ca' di Lista in Veneto, a 16th-century Venetian villa set in the hills between Padua and Venice.

Fifteen models present the collection's 45 looks, with model Faretta Radic opening and closing the show, alongside a deliberately understated hair and make-up look.

The collection features airy dresses, flowing blouses and relaxed shorts, paired with feminine silhouettes, accentuated waists and more casual tailoring. Details include sheer fabrics and summer knitwear with openwork structures, while silk, linen and cotton underline the lightness.

The colour palette runs from raspberry red and fuchsia to royal blue, green and orange, balanced by black and white. Floral and graphic prints, animal prints in leopard, giraffe and cheetah, stripes and statement hats add accents, while the finale turns to sequins, sheer fabrics and lace for a more evening-focused mood.

"Palazzo Ca' di Lista is a magical place, full of history, elegance and Italian lightness," said Marinela Oglan, creative director of Marc Cain, who described the collection as a celebration of summer with relaxed femininity.

In Pictures Disney has announced its style lineup for fall 2026. During its D23: The Official Disney Fan Club exposition, held from August 14 to 16 in Anaheim, California, the company confirmed 15 collaborations releasing from August to October.

The number of collaborations announced shouldn’t come as a surprise. Disney has a long history of partnering with different brands, creating collections and products that keep its characters top of mind for consumers. In 2025, the company was the number one licensor in the world, according to License Global's Top Global Licensors 2026 whitepaper, earning 63 billion dollars from retail sales of licensed consumer products.

The Disney | Bobby Kim collaboration will open the schedule with vintage-inspired T-shirts celebrating Disney classics including The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Lady and the Tramp, Oliver & Company, Mickey Mouse and Fantasia. Its Sorcerer’s Apprentice Mickey long-sleeve shirt will be available exclusively through D23 and disneystore.com on August 17, followed by the six-piece Classics collection on August 20.

Other August launches bring fresh takes on iconic characters. Peruvian designer Angie Schlegel (August 20) gives Disney Villains a haute couture treatment, combining traditional craftsmanship with expressive silhouettes, while Shoe Palace’s Mickey Mouse Traveler collection (August 21) turns Mickey and Friends into travel-ready streetwear through coordinated hoodies, tracksuits, jerseys, shorts and shirts.

September focuses on major anniversaries and fan-favorite franchises. Cakeworthy (September 4) commemorates 30 years of The Hunchback of Notre Dame with a colorful ’90s-inspired range, including a flannel featuring lyrics from “Out There.” Loungefly (September 4) marks Cars’ 20th anniversary with character bags, mystery collectibles and a light-up Lightning McQueen backpack, followed by Crocs’ (September 16) Dinoco-inspired blue CrocBand silhouette.

Vera Bradley’s (September 24) Fantasia collection features Sorcerer’s Apprentice Mickey across bags, wallets and accessories.

Streetwear also takes center stage through Civil Regime’s (September) first The Nightmare Before Christmas collaboration, Culture Kings’ (September) globally available 16-piece Mickey Mouse range and Realism’s (September) premium Winnie the Pooh collection. Little Words Project (September) adds a collectible element with Disney Villains blind-bag bracelets.

October brings festive releases from ColourPop (October 8), Girls Crew (October 20) and Pandora (October 22), including holiday beauty, jewelry and accessories inspired by Mickey and Minnie, Disney Christmas motifs, Mulan and Winnie the Pooh. Japanese label Baroque Japan (October) rounds out the lineup with “Natuventure,” a contemporary fashion collection featuring quilted outerwear, statement bags and utility accessories.

New York's Plaza hotel, part of Fairmont, and French brand Lacoste have brought back their tennis-season collaboration, running from 12 August to 6 September, according to a press release. The tie-up spans hospitality, hotel installations and retail during the city's tennis season.

At its centre is the return of Le Café Lacoste, the brand's café concept, to the hotel's Palm Court with a reimagined afternoon tea. The menu, created by executive chef Muhannad Al Ateem and executive pastry chef Kevin Clemenceau, mixes French flavours with tennis references and includes the signature Café Lacoste Polo pastry.

Beyond the tea, the collaboration extends through the hotel. The Fifth Avenue entrance steps are wrapped in Lacoste green, the lobby features a tournament-inspired installation, and the historic Edwardian Room houses an exclusive Lacoste retail pop-up with accessories, limited-edition pieces and co-branded apparel created for the collaboration. Themed cocktails, music and décor round out the experience.

"Last year's partnership was a grand slam, and we're thrilled to build on that success this season," said Sam Ioannidis, managing director of The Plaza, who added that the two brands share an interest in timeless style and craftsmanship.

The Le Café Lacoste afternoon tea runs from 12 August to 6 September at the Palm Court, 768 Fifth Avenue, daily from 11am to 4pm, priced from 150 dollars, with reservations available through OpenTable.

In a guided tour of the Victoria and Albert Museum’s comprehensive exhibit, "Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art," Chioma Nnadi, head of editorial content at British Vogue, joins Daniel Roseberry, creative director of Schiaparelli, to explore the historic legacy and modern evolution of the iconic house.

The feature offers an insider look at several of the brand's most landmark archival and contemporary pieces. Highlights include Elsa Schiaparelli’s groundbreaking 1927 trompe-l'œil "cravat" sweater, the historic surrealist Lobster Dress, and the famed shoe hat created in collaboration with Salvador Dalí. Bringing the house's narrative into the present day, the discussion also examines Roseberry's recent runway and red-carpet designs, including the alien-inspired "Robot Baby" dress and the custom ruby-red gown worn by Ariana Grande at the Academy Awards.

Emmy-winning costume designer Caroline McCall offers an inside look into the costume department of HBO’s House of the Dragon, detailing the design process and production pipeline required to execute roughly 1,000 garments per episode.

The feature explores the specialized artisan workshops behind the series, spanning delicate embroidery, leatherwork, jewelry fabrication, and chain mail, as well as an armory where blacksmiths forge swords and etch battle-distressed armor using historical techniques. McCall outlines how the costume department established a distinct visual identity for the prequel series while maintaining thematic continuity with Game of Thrones. She also breaks down how silhouette, textile choices, and hidden garment details are leveraged to reflect character evolution and support narrative world-building.

Propelled by the rise of the “gorpcore” movement, which saw technical apparel infiltrate urban fashion, Canadian brand Arc'teryx has become one of the most coveted names in the outdoor industry in just a few seasons.

Its newfound visibility is now prompting the brand to consider how to pursue growth without devaluing its image. Moreover, it must determine how to broaden its customer base without diluting the technical exclusivity that is the very source of its appeal.

While many outdoor brands are seeking to accelerate their development, Arc'teryx is carving out a unique path. Its executives insist that chasing trends is not an option. The objective is to preserve a brand DNA forged in the mountains for over 30 years.

With public statements from the group being rare, FashionUnited spoke with Avery Baker, chief brand officer, and Tobia Prevedello, general manager EMEA. We discussed distribution strategy; the specifics of the European market; the rise of outdoor communities; and the management of controlled growth in an exclusive interview.

Arc'teryx was historically a niche brand, closely associated with the mountains. Today, it appeals to a much broader, notably urban, audience. Has the European consumer changed over the past five years?

Avery Baker: Our core consumer has not fundamentally changed. They are still looking for products that offer an exceptional level of performance, impeccable build quality and a meticulously considered design.

What has evolved, however, is the number of people who now recognise these qualities. We are now seeing a much broader audience appreciate technical apparel, whether they are mountaineers, cycle to the office or travel regularly.

Therefore, it is not Arc'teryx that has changed its identity. We have remained true to our commitment to performance, and this authenticity now resonates with a much broader audience.

Is the outdoor market normalising after years of hype, or is the momentum here to stay?

Avery Baker: Trends evolve naturally, but we believe the desire to spend more time in nature extends far beyond a mere fashion trend. It reflects a profound shift in lifestyles.

Consumers now place greater importance on their physical and mental wellbeing. They are looking for gear that can support them everywhere, from the mountains to their daily lives.

Our role is not to follow trends. It is to design exceptional products and create experiences that inspire a lasting reconnection with the outdoors.

What are the main growth drivers for Arc'teryx in Europe today?

Tobia Prevedello: Europe remains a strategic region for Arc'teryx. Its main strength lies in the extraordinary diversity of its landscapes, from the Alps to the Dolomites; the Scottish Highlands to the Norwegian fjords; not to mention an exceptional network of accessible trails.

We think less in terms of countries and more in terms of communities of enthusiasts. Our priority is to support each of them through a balance of our own stores, our wholesale partners and our community programmes.

Our growth will continue to be based on three pillars: designing exceptional products, investing for the long term in local outdoor communities and delivering a consistent premium experience across all touchpoints.

How is your European distribution strategy evolving? What is the balance between own-brand stores and multi-brand partners?

Tobia Prevedello: We believe in an integrated model. Our stores provide a space where we can fully express the Arc'teryx world and build a deeper relationship with our customers. Simultaneously, our wholesale partners have played a vital role in our development within European outdoor communities for over 30 years.

Regardless of the distribution channel, our objective remains the same: to meet our customers where they are and to work with partners who share our commitment to technical excellence and outdoor culture.

Beyond products, outdoor brands are increasingly investing in communities and events. What role does this play at Arc'teryx?

Avery Baker: Community has been part of our DNA since the company was founded by climbers in North Vancouver. We want to make mountain sports more accessible and support enthusiasts as they progress. That is the entire purpose of our Arc'teryx Academies, which are held in locations such as Chamonix, St. Anton, Squamish and Mammoth.

From climbing and trail running to film festivals, mountain training courses and local events, we create opportunities to bring enthusiasts together for experiences that go far beyond simply buying a product. This approach fosters a lasting relationship with our customers, built on trust, shared experiences and a common passion for the great outdoors.

How does Arc'teryx preserve its exclusivity and desirability amid unprecedented growth?

Avery Baker: We continue to prioritise investment in product innovation and a consistent premium experience. Seeing more people discover Arc'teryx is a fantastic opportunity to reconnect them with nature. This growth, however, also comes with a responsibility.

Our “Leave It Better” principle guides every one of our decisions. Before each project, we ask ourselves if we are genuinely helping to preserve the natural spaces and the communities that have shaped our identity. We do not build the brand by following short-term demand. We make decisions that are right for Arc'teryx and for the long-term health of the outdoor ecosystem. Growing does not mean becoming a mass-market brand. Our priority remains to uphold the standards that have built our reputation.

Sustainability, repairability and technical innovation: how to balance these demands with consumer expectations for higher performance?

Avery Baker: At Arc'teryx, performance and durability have always been inseparable. The most sustainable product is often the one that is kept for many years. We are constantly working on new materials, new manufacturing methods and circular design principles to reduce our environmental impact without ever compromising the performance our users expect.

Innovation is not about choosing between performance and sustainability. It is about making simultaneous progress across several dimensions: durability, repairability, circularity and technical quality. Our ReBIRD programme perfectly illustrates this philosophy. Launched in 2021, it extends the lifespan of equipment through care, repair and resale services.

In 2025, more than 50,000 products were serviced or repaired, and our 50th ReBIRD™ service centre opened its doors. This is a tangible example of our vision for circularity and our commitment to advancing industry standards for the long term.

Following a FW26 season that reinforced its position as the unofficial fifth stop on the global fashion calendar, Copenhagen Fashion Week returned from August 3 to 7, 2026, continuing its 20th-anniversary celebrations with 34 collections presenting the vision for the 2027 season.

The week marked several notable milestones: By Malene Birger returned to the runway for the first time in six years, while Henrik Vibskov celebrated 25 years in fashion. New York–based label Collina Strada, founded and designed by Hillary Taymour made its Copenhagen debut as part of the International Guest Slot.

For SS27, Copenhagen’s signature minimalism took on a decidedly more playful turn. Clean silhouettes and familiar wardrobe staples were layered, clashed and reimagined through sculptural proportions, unexpected prints and nostalgic references, signalling a new era of Scandi maximalism.

Rather than abandoning its pared-back roots, Copenhagen’s designers seemed to be challenging them, introducing contrast, eccentricity and individuality into an aesthetic once defined by restraint. The SS27 Copenhagen story is not minimalism disappearing—it’s minimalism being disrupted.

Vanilla Pod

A creamy, slightly warm off-white rather than stark white, vanilla became a sophisticated neutral across tailoring, dresses, knitwear and separates, often working tonally with beige, tan and soft brown. It felt like a natural successor to the cooler whites of recent seasons.

By Malene Birger SS27 by Emilie Martinsen-Kønigsfeldt

A strappy camisole with an all-over shaggy fringe texture and extended rear hemline panels with high-waisted, straight-leg pants in mid-weight bouclé tweed.

Henrik Vibskov SS27

A tiered sleeveless midi dress in a raw-edged, fringed textile in an intricately layered design with highly tactile, frayed, and shredded fabric panels and an asymmetric midi skirt that flowed beneath the waist wrap.

Mr. Larkin SS27

A collarless, jacquard tunic jacket with frog-style loop closures, paired over an asymmetric miniskirt with extended back panels.

Almada Label SS27

A relaxed-fit silk scoop-neck camisole, matching high-waisted, wide-leg fluid silk pants and a sash wrapped around the hips, trailing into a long dramatic train.

Herskind SS27

An oversized utility, knee-length shirt-dress featuring puff sleeves and a gathered drop-waist that led into a ruffled hemline, accessorized with a marabou feather rosette.

Pep(lum) Rally

The peplum was one of Copenhagen’s strongest silhouette stories. Instead of the body-con peplum tops of the noughties, this time around the peplum was treated as more of a supersized ruffle, sometimes created with almost skirt-like proportions.

Baum und Pferdgarten SS27 by Helle Hestehave & Rikke Baumgarten

A textured grey mélange suit: a button-up blazer with a peplum, and matching knickers, layered over a tiered, voluminous white ruffle skirt extension.

Gestuz SS27 by Sanne Sehested

A vanilla-colored structured, collarless peplum jacket with architectural lantern sleeves paired with matching voluminous, high-waisted knickers.

By Malene Birger SS27 by Emilie Martinsen-Kønigsfeldt

A sleeveless, textured ivory-colored tank with a multi-layered peplum and high-waisted, fluid balloon-leg pants.

Nicklas Skovgaard SS27

A structural, light blue, retro-inspired two-piece pantsuit with a short-sleeved, double-breasted bodice featuring a ruffled peplum waist, and skinny leg pants with magenta-colored inserts.

Mix and Match

Copenhagen’s designers embraced deliberately mismatched combinations: contrasting prints, different garment genres and seemingly incompatible layers were worn together.

SSON by Yulia Kjellsson

A black and white dress featuring a mix of varying polka-dot scales; from fine pin-dots on the ruched bodice, medium polka dots on a bubble hemmed tier, and an oversized macro polka-dot print on the trailing maxi skirt hem.

Nicklas Skovgaard SS27

A mixed-gingham piece featuring a tan and white grid bodice, paired with a structured, sculptural peplum midsection in black and white checks and a sheer pink-and-white checked pleated midi skirt.

Solitude Studios SS27

An earth-toned distressed linen halter neck dress with an asymmetrical frayed high-low hem layered over gauze and white lace.

Collina Strada SS27 by Hillary Taymour

A multi-paneled sheer asymmetric tunic in pastel shades of pink, green and blue over a lace base layer, grounded by oversized, multi-pocket distressed denim cargo shorts

Capri is for Lovers

Simple black capri/knee-length leggings were used almost as a layering device rather than a standalone fashion item — worn underneath dresses, skirts, shorts and longer tops, it created an early-2000s reference.

Almada Label SS27

A tan/camel wool zip-up bomber jacket featuring a statement high funnel collar and relaxed, oversized raglan sleeves with matte black fitted capri leggings designed with a mid-to-high rise waist and a 3/4 cropped leg.

Gestuz SS27 by Sanne Sehested

A structural, collarless tiger-print jacket with matching print clutch, paired with black capri leggings and white heels.

Baum und Pferdgarten SS27 by Helle Hestehave & Rikke Baumgarten

A short, white babydoll mini dress featuring a black ditsy-style floral pattern, a gathered empire waistline, and voluminous 3/4 sleeves, fitted black capri-length cropped leggings, ribbed grey socks and ballet flats.

OpéraSPORT SS27 by Awa Malina Stelter and Stephanie Gundelach

A textured, black blouse with oversized ruffled short sleeves, black capri-length leggings and black slides.

Into the Wild

Copenhagen designers showed animal prints once again, but in a much less restrained way. In addition to leopard and zebra, tiger was particularly noticeable, alongside more unexpected interpretations such as Bambi/deer markings.

Baum und Pferdgarten SS27 by Helle Hestehave & Rikke Baumgarten

A long, fawn-spotted tan statement trench coat over a loose, cornflower blue matching blazer and slouchy shorts co-ord.

Almada Label SS27

A leopard print pencil skirt, rendered in fuzzy, textured faux-fur, with a fitted black long-sleeved turtleneck top, black flats and bold tortoiseshell square-framed glasses

Caro Editions SS27 By Caroline Bille Brahe

A textured leopard-print jacket framed with thick pink and green floral embroidery, a lime green sheer mesh top embellished with 3D floral appliqués, high-waisted fuchsia pink capri pants, and heavily beaded white mesh ballet flats

Gestuz SS27 by Sanne Sehested

A loose, unbuttoned zebra-print blouse with long fluid sleeves, accessorized with a matching printed neck scarf draped down the back, high-waisted black athletic shorts with white side stripes and brown below-the-knee boots.

In a market announcement on Thursday evening, August 13, Allos, the largest Brazilian company in the shopping centre sector, reported that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with XP Malls. The agreement is for the total sale of its 60 percent stake in São Bernardo Plaza Shopping.

According to the statement, “the transaction is in line with the company's strategic objective of concentrating its portfolio on market-leading assets”.

The transaction will yield Allos 331.1 million reais (63.47 million dollars). Its completion is subject to the fulfilment of preceding conditions and approval from CADE – the Administrative Council for Economic Defence. Of this amount, 231.8 million reais will be paid on the closing date of the transaction through Allos' subscription to XP Malls shares. The remaining 99.3 million reais will be paid in cash within 24 months of the closing date, adjusted by the CDI – Interbank Deposit Certificate.

Nearshoring in the garment industry has evolved from a defensive reaction and temporary safety net to shipping crises into a permanent, data-driven core strategy. With sweeping US tariff pressures in 2026 and stringent European eco-regulations like the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Digital Product Passport (DPP), brands are strategically restructuring how and where they produce clothing.

They look increasingly beyond traditional, long-distance offshoring models. Fashion brands are actively restructuring their manufacturing layouts, moving a substantial portion of their production closer to their primary consumer markets to protect profit margins and guarantee stock availability.

The traditional model of relying entirely on far-away production hubs left brands highly vulnerable to major bottlenecks, maritime delays and unpredictable freight spikes. Industry analysis from an expert overview published by Turkish sourcing partner Deepwear emphasises that this geographic distance now carries an expensive volatility premium. When ocean vessels are forced to avoid unstable maritime corridors and take longer routes, the extra weeks compress selling windows and delay critical replenishment, making proximity the new competitive edge.

A dual-sourcing approach

To combat these risks, successful brands are abandoning the all-or-nothing approach in favour of a balanced dual-sourcing matrix. In this hybrid framework, long-lead manufacturing hubs in East and South Asia serve as the foundation, handling high-volume, highly predictable baseline items like basic underwear and t-shirts. Meanwhile, regional nearshore factories act as the agility engine, absorbing volatile demand spikes and handling fast-moving, trend-led clothing lines that require rapid replenishment.

“A few years ago, a fashion trend could take months to travel from the runway to retail shelves. But not anymore. Today, one viral TikTok video or a celebrity’s Instagram post can ignite a global trend overnight. Fashion doesn’t wait — it moves at the speed of the scroll,” emphasises S. Mahmud Sagir, AI generalist at Walmart, in a recent LinkedIn post.

European market: Turkey, Portugal, North Africa

For European retailers, Turkey stands out as the ultimate nearshoring ecosystem due to its complete, vertically integrated textile infrastructure. Unlike many smaller hubs that must import their raw components from Asia, Turkey boasts its own domestic raw cotton, massive fabric mills, advanced dye houses and highly efficient trucking routes into Central Europe. Brands and retailers utilise Turkish factories to execute a flexible ‘read and react’ inventory model, cutting standard 120-day Asian production timelines down to small, agile blocks.

Premium, luxury and highly sustainable fashion brands are turning their attention toward Portugal to meet strict quality benchmarks and ethical consumer demands. An economic review by clothing wholesaler Exploretex points out that producing closer to the end consumer allows brands to re-order high-performing styles mid-season, enabling them to sell a higher percentage of products at full retail price without relying on heavy markdowns. “By leveraging nearshoring apparel production Europe, brands produce smaller initial runs, analyse early point-of-sale (POS) data and quickly reorder winning styles, protecting profit margins,” sums up the Lisbon-based comapny. Portuguese factories excel in high-end jersey fabrics and sophisticated tailoring, while providing ready-made legal compliance for Europe’s complex environmental laws.

North African nations like Morocco and Tunisia are also stepping up to serve as high-speed production alternatives for everyday European apparel giants. According to a strategic insights report by supply chain consultancy Inverto, major fashion retailers have deliberately reversed their long-term reliance on distant Asian suppliers, returning directly to Moroccan and Tunisian manufacturers to satisfy both environmental and logistical demands. These proximity hubs excel at high-volume woven goods, swimwear and complex denim treatments.

“Explore various nearshoring options and alternative supply chains to ensure the best fit for your brand. Ensure you analyse different regions, such as North Africa, Turkey and Eastern Europe, to determine where specific production processes can be most efficiently relocated, while maintaining high standards of quality and sustainability,” advises Inverto.

North American market: Mexico, Central America

For brands targeting North American consumers, Mexico and Central America have emerged as the premier regional fulfilment engines. Sourcing through Mexico allows companies to completely sidestep heavy Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports while capitalising on the fast overland trucking corridors protected under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Associate professor of fashion and apparel studies Sheng Lu warns in the latest USFIA Fashion Industry Benchmarking Study that an uncertain trade policy environment will dominate the industry, making tariff-exempt regional hubs like Mexico essential for survival.

Further south, Central American nations such as Honduras and El Salvador are carving out technical specialisations to capture massive market share. These hubs focus heavily on large-scale synthetic activewear, circular knits and specialised athletic clothing, offering rapid-turn shipping directly to major United States distribution centres. By keeping manufacturing within the same hemisphere, brands drastically lower their reliance on unpredictable trans-oceanic shipping routes.

Outlook

While the benefits of regional proximity are undeniable, moving to a nearshoring model requires navigating specific cost and raw material trade-offs. Factory floor labour rates are typically higher in nearshoring regions compared to traditional offshore sites. In addition, smaller regional hubs often lack local fabric mills, requiring some materials to still be imported. However, a data-driven sourcing study by French e-commerce logistics provider Flex Logistique demonstrates that nearshoring ultimately yields significant net savings over traditional offshoring when factoring in reduced transportation, compressed lead times and lower regional compliance risks.

Ultimately, successful nearshoring in the current retail climate relies heavily on advanced digital infrastructure and transparent technology. Nearshore facilities are rapidly deploying RFID tracking, internet-of-things sensors and cloud-based management systems to feed live production data directly to brands. Sourcing insights published by Fibre2Fashion reveal that the growing shift toward nearshoring is driven heavily by a demand for total supply chain visibility, as brands seek real-time, item-level data to drastically reduce fulfilment errors and operational risks. While an exodus from Asian sourcing destinations is neither likely nor wise, it is the delicate mix of far- and nearshoring strategies that will distinguish successful brands and retailers.

Madrid – Rumours have been circulating in the ever-active fashion world about a potential collaboration between designer Jonathan Anderson, the current creative director of Dior, and Zara. Zara is the flagship brand of the Spanish fashion multinational, the Inditex group. However, these rumours have now been denied by the British designer's brand.

All sources point to the Instagram account Deux Moi as the origin of this rumour. On Thursday, citing an anonymous source, the account reported a supposed collaboration between the Northern Irish designer and the Inditex group's flagship chain. It was assumed that any potential partnership would be through the British designer's own brand, JW Anderson. This would follow similar initiatives the brand has undertaken over the years with other fashion brands and chains such as Converse, APC, and Uniqlo. Uniqlo is the main fashion chain of the Japanese group Fast Retailing, making it one of Zara's biggest global competitors.

In this context, the whispers suggested that Zara was about to get ahead of its Japanese competitor, taking its place as JW Anderson's new strategic collaborator. According to the same rumour, the brand seemed ready to terminate its collaboration agreement with Uniqlo, which has been in place since 2017. This partnership has produced one of the most popular and interesting product lines in its commercial offer. The move would have seen JW Anderson link up with the Inditex group's main fashion chain.

This comes at a time when Zara's strategy to elevate its brand and collections seems limitless, following its high-profile activations with Bad Bunny and the signing of John Galliano as a creative collaborator. It was suggested that the Spanish chain was about to mark a new milestone. While this possibility cannot be ruled out, it will not be with JW Anderson, at least for now. The label has already denied any information about a potential collaboration with Zara via a brief post on its Instagram account. Jonathan Anderson himself shared the denial, thereby endorsing his fashion brand's statement.

In this regard, “the rumours suggesting that JW Anderson and Zara are working on a collaboration are false,” the British luxury brand stated in its very brief announcement. With these statements, they have settled the matter and denied the growing rumour that had been spreading rapidly over the last 24 hours.

Footwear label Mahabis has appointed Dean Cooper as its new sales and commercial director as the footwear brand prepares to expand its business from B2C into B2B. Creative director Graham Gordon announced the appointment on LinkedIn, describing Cooper’s experience and commercial background as a strong fit for the company’s next phase of growth.

Cooper joins Mahabis after more than 30 years in fashion and commercial leadership. Most recently, he served as managing director of Wave Spas between September 2025 and April 2026, with responsibility for its overall P&L, growth strategy and operational performance.

Prior to this, Cooper spent three years as global sales director at Panache Lingerie, where he grew global revenue from 25 million to 30 million pounds across international markets.

He also previously held commercial director roles at Wacoal Europe and Roja Parfums, alongside senior positions at Diesel, DKNY and Burberry. His career has spanned wholesale, retail and e-commerce, with experience in international expansion and commercial transformation.

Gordon said Cooper’s “commercial instinct” will be important as Mahabis moves into its next stage, adding: “Dean's experience and commercial instinct are exactly what we need as we move into our next phase of growth, from B2C to B2B."

Interview

The popularity of vintage clothing has skyrocketed in recent years, as new players arrive on the scene with fresh models and sourcing patterns increasingly influence the flow of stock. But it hasn’t always been like this. The sector has had to wade through negative public perception and accessibility concerns in order to move beyond being a niche, subcultural market into a more mainstream part of fashion.

“Part of that shift was likely as the overall aesthetic started to casualise,” said Eibhleann McMahon, creative director of vintage retailer Rokit, noting that changes were particularly pronounced in the late 2000s and 2010s. “You had normcore and streetwear rising and opening up vintage up to a newer market. Guys that would be shopping in JD Sports were suddenly coming to Rokit.”

Now on the cusp of its 40th anniversary in September, Rokit has seen vintage crawl through the trenches to its modern day renaissance, serving as a sectoral placeholder from its base in London. Since its founding in 1986, the retailer has evolved from a single market stall in the English capital focused on American vintage to a fully fledged chain, with four locations in London and one in Cardiff, Wales.

Part of this longevity can be attributed to Rokit’s ability to transform itself adjacent to the times. The company has slowly changed its own retail model, moving away from the traditional ‘hunt and dig’ vintage shop towards stronger merchandising, lighting, clearer product organisation and a high street-style shopping experience, striving for McMahon’s objective of opening up the environment.

“Rokit is for everyone,” she notes. “It is not a niche vintage shop. I wanted to compete with the high street, to improve merchandising and make the store experience feel akin to the way you’d be used to shopping in any other street shop. That was very much the objective: to bring Rokit into the new, to make it accessible to everybody, whether that’s physical accessibility, cultural accessibility or price point.”

That shift was also driven by changes in product quality. As new clothing became cheaper and trend cycles accelerated, vintage increasingly offered consumers an alternative. McMahon explains: “Man-made fibres became worse, everything became cheaper, the fashion juggernaut became out of control, the repetition of trends and the speed at which they were produced was crazy.”

For Rokit this has meant positioning vintage not only as a sustainable alternative, but also as a source of better quality clothing. “If you’re going to buy that white T-shirt, why not buy it vintage, where you’re going to find a better quality,” she says. “It already exists and it’s our responsibility to do something with that.”

Vintage meets the commercial market

The mainstream trajectory of vintage has brought more commercial players into the category. Retailers such as Primark and Urban Outfitters have toyed with vintage categories in their stores, while resale platforms like Vinted and preloved offerings by brands like Zara and Boohoo have made secondhand shopping more accessible. But MacMahon believes there is a difference between incorporating vintage into an existing retail model and building a business around it.

“Sometimes when you’ve got these small vintage pop-ups in high street stores, it can feel a little bit false, a little bit greenwashy, or almost like jumping on a trend that perhaps the buyers don’t fully understand,” she says. “Rokit has had customer bases growing with us. We’ve grown together and people my age and older continue to return. We don’t feel like we have to stop going there.”

That does not mean commercial competition is necessarily a bad thing. McMahon sees it as an opportunity for Rokit to continue improving its own proposition. She notes: “Any commercial output needs competition, but you need it to be better. How can our website be better than Vinted? It can be better than Vinted because you can trust Rokit. We’re going to give you an accurate description, we’re going to vet our product, we’re going to photograph things professionally. We’re going to invest in that.”

That investment extends to cleaning, pressing, measuring, checking composition and photographing each piece. “We’re not dealing with huge markups, not like your traditional fashion model. Our markups are relatively small because we put a lot into the processing.”

Vintage hasn’t escaped the microtrend curse

The rise of social media has also changed how consumers shop vintage. While previous generations were influenced by subcultures that developed over time, today’s consumers are increasingly exposed to rapidly changing microtrends. “Rokit certainly skewed towards the microtrends for a long time,” McMahon says. “We used to merchandise and edit alongside that. I think we’ve all shifted it to a more open market.”

Consumers still come to Rokit looking for the original versions of current trends, but the retailer believes they are also looking for something more authentic. “Most people are shopping trends, but I think our customers are trying to shop a more authentic version of them that would perhaps stay with them a little longer,” she says. “There is no doubt about this being driven by social media. It’s not driven by subcultures which take a while to gestate and build and grow. Now, it's an algorithm.”

A changing sourcing model

As vintage has become more popular, sourcing has become more complicated. Much of the product available today has already passed through the secondhand market multiple times, meaning older, higher-quality pieces are becoming increasingly scarce. “The grade in vintage has changed a lot,” McMahon says. “As it’s returned to market once, twice, even three times, it’s dying off.”

Rokit has maintained stability through a long-standing relationship with a textile recycling operation in Canada, which supplies the majority of its stock. “We’re fortunate that we’ve got this long-term relationship with a single supplier,” she says. “We can feed back and forth. They’re recycling everything, from lamps to shoes to bedding. Rocket is a portion of that.”

Despite this, the sourcing landscape has become more competitive. “Whilst it had become easier for resellers in a window of maybe the last decade, it’s now starting to become more difficult because the people they’re buying off can sell themselves,” McMahon says, adding that as a result, flexibility is becoming increasingly important for Rokit. “We can’t say, ‘Okay, you don’t have this grade of varsity jacket, so I’m going to go elsewhere.’ We have to ask, ‘Okay, we don’t have that grade of varsity jacket. What should we do next?’”

The next step of circularity

That question has helped push Rokit further into reworking and upcycling. Its Rokit Originals line takes pieces that would otherwise be difficult to sell and transforms them into new products. “Rocket Originals is really about how we serve these trends but in the right way,” McMahon says. “We want to be on trend, but it’s not a shallow pursuit. We want to produce good quality pieces.”

This approach also tackles a growing problem for the wider textile industry of lower-quality clothing that can no longer be resold. “We’re sitting on mountains of product and we all have to collaborate in a bid to solve this issue because it’s only going to get worse,” she adds. “We can put it back to market as is, or we have to find new ways of reworking it or completely disassembling it.”

For Rokit, that can mean everything from reworked denim and shirts to cushions and other products made from smaller fabric cuts. “We want to meet trends, we need to keep adapting, but we’ve also got this surplus of product that would otherwise be unsellable.”

Digital growth, physical discovery

While physical retail remains central to Rokit’s model, its digital business has allowed the retailer to reach a much wider audience. The website ships globally and offers a different experience to the physical stores. McMahon says: “In-store, it still remains about the experience and being able to find everything at every price point. Online, we find people are more like, ‘This is what I want, this is what I’m looking for.’ So we try to serve the differences in that respect.”

That online experience has been built around the same attention to detail as its stores, with detailed listings, measurements, composition information and product photography. “I didn’t want the shop to be dusty. I don’t want the website to be clunky. I want it to feel very, very simple to find what you’re looking for, but you also know more about it.”

The international reach of the website has also opened up new opportunities as luxury vintage becomes more prominent. The online site therefore serves a slightly different market, with a higher price point and a more global consumer.

New stores, new concepts

Rokit’s dedicated accessories store is another example of the retailer looking to differentiate and modernise its existing offer. Earlier this year, the retailer opened the store on Brick Lane as a means of “redefining vintage shopping”. The location offers pieces like Coach bags, statement jewellery and designer footwear, as well as reworked items from the Rokit Originals brand.

McMahon states: “We were seeing an increase in interest in accessories and it really was time to create what we think was the UK’s only dedicated accessories offering. It makes sense to go, ‘Okay, this is what we’ve got. Where do we go from here? How do we subdivide it? How do we modernise it?’”

The next stage could take several forms, from further specialist stores and pop-ups to an expanded luxury offer. McMahon, however, is deliberately leaving the door open. “Maybe we’ll have pop-ups within stores, like a niche of this, or maybe we’ll look internationally. Maybe we’ll develop the luxury side as we see more of this come through. Early reworks are going to feed into that.”

What comes next?

For Rokit, the future of vintage is likely to be shaped as much by what already exists as by what comes next. Nostalgia, changing consumer behaviour and the decline of newness are all feeding into the category. McMahon says: “Newness isn’t happening. It’s the reshaping of the existing that’s happening. Historically people would be replicating eras through vintage or replicating subcultures, punk, goth. Whereas now it’s all about the mashup.”

Ultimately, she believes Rokit’s ability to keep adapting is what has allowed it to reach 40 years. “It never rested on its laurels. It always wanted to move forward. It always wanted to adapt. It was always seeking change. It was always open to how we do things better, keep things fresh.”

While the vintage shop of the past may still have its appeal, McMahon believes the category has to keep moving forward. “Vintage isn’t about having a pinball machine in the corner and a dusty pile. That’s not the shop your granny could shop in. We need everyone to go in this direction and hopefully we’ll be part of that journey.”

Fashion tech company IoDF – or the Institute of Digital Fashion – is rebranding as Patina, marking what founders Leanne Elliott Young and Cat Taylor describe as a new chapter for the business after six years of developing technology for the fashion industry.

The new London-based company will focus on “post-purchase commerce”, using Digital Product Passports to connect products with services including authentication, care, repair, resale, compliance and customer engagement.

According to a LinkedIn post by Elliott Young, the aim is to move products beyond a one-off transaction and create longer-term relationships between brands, consumers and products.

The rebrand follows the introduction of the EU’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation and its Digital Product Passport requirements, which the founders say helped validate the direction of technology IoDF had already been developing.

“Our mission is to turn ownership into responsibility, connection and lasting value,” said Elliott Young and Taylor in a joint statement. “We believe the future of sustainability, commerce and culture lies in a new model of ownership, one where products are no longer disposable transactions or marketing tools, but lasting relationships that connect people, brands and the planet.”

The company has also unveiled a Strategic Advisory Board with experience spanning global capital, AI policy, enterprise technology, luxury, retail and international growth, Taylor revealed in her own LinkedIn post.

The Patina name reflects the founders’ belief that instead of losing value after purchase, products can become more valuable through time, use and care. The company said it is already working on live proofs of concept with enterprise and emerging brands, alongside research into the state of post-purchase commerce in 2026.

Launched in 2020 at the time of the prevalence for the metaverse, the IoDF served as a think tank and culture lab working to bridge the gap between traditional clothing and new technology. The company offered services like the creation of AR, VR and 3D assets and worked with educational institutions to make fashion events more accessible.

As consumers increasingly favour environmentally responsible companies, businesses face growing pressure to transform sustainability into a competitive advantage. A new study demonstrates that environmental responsibility indirectly improves financial performance by increasing sales. This identifies a key mechanism that has received little attention until now.

The effect was more pronounced among large conglomerate companies (Chaebol). It became even more significant after the Covid-19 pandemic, highlighting the growing influence of green consumerism on corporate success.

Consumers are increasingly choosing products from companies that demonstrate genuine environmental responsibility. Many studies have linked environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance to stronger financial results. However, the exact way environmental responsibility translates into higher profits has remained unclear. A new study suggests that sustainability indirectly improves corporate financial performance by boosting sales.

Results highlight how sales are the channel through which environmental responsibility creates economic value

The study was led by professor Sang-Ho Lee from the department of economics at Chonnam National University in South Korea, in collaboration with professor Arturo Garcia from the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León in Mexico. It identified sales as the key mechanism linking environmental responsibility to financial performance. The research was recently published in the journal Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management.

A statement noted that growing concern about climate change has prompted companies across all sectors to reduce emissions, adopt greener technologies and strengthen their environmental practices. Simultaneously, consumers have become more aware of the environmental impact of their purchasing decisions. This has increased pressure on businesses to demonstrate credible sustainability efforts.

“With the rise of green consumerism, growing global concern about climate change has forced companies in numerous sectors to integrate eco-friendly practices into their core operations, such as reducing greenhouse gases and adopting green technologies,” explained Lee.

To understand how environmental responsibility affects financial performance, the researchers analysed ESG ratings from the Korea Corporate Governance Service. They also examined financial data from the KIS Value database for 579 listed Korean companies, totalling 2,316 firm-year observations between 2019 and 2022. Using mediation and moderated mediation analyses, they investigated whether sales could explain the relationship between environmental responsibility and financial performance. They also explored if this relationship varied by company type and before or after the Covid-19 pandemic.

Strategies that strengthen both environmental responsibility and consumer trust must be encouraged

Companies with better environmental performance generated higher sales, leading to improved return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE). This indirect relationship was significant for large Chaebols but not for non-Chaebol firms. This suggests that larger companies are better able to convert environmental initiatives into greater consumer demand due to their superior visibility and reputation. The sales-mediated effect also became significantly stronger after the Covid-19 pandemic, reflecting increased consumer and stakeholder sensitivity towards sustainability.

The results highlight that sales are the channel through which environmental responsibility creates economic value. “This approach can potentially be applied to other countries characterised by different business styles and varying levels of green consumerism,” Lee added.

The note states that the researchers believe their findings can help businesses, investors and policymakers better understand the economic benefits of sustainability. This understanding encourages strategies that strengthen both environmental responsibility and consumer trust.

US heritage footwear brand G.H.Bass will celebrate its 150th anniversary in 2026. At the same time, the brand is looking back on 90 years of the Weejuns loafer. The anniversary coincides with a period of expansion, particularly in the German market.

According to the company, sales in Germany increased by 99 percent year-over-year. Digital traffic grew by 148 percent. This makes Germany one of G.H.Bass's fastest-growing markets in Europe.

In addition to its direct-to-consumer business, the brand is further expanding its wholesale operations. Its retail partners include Breuninger, VooStore, BSTN, HHV and Suppa. G.H.Bass is also increasingly targeting younger, fashion-conscious demographics. According to the company, trends such as “Dark Academia” and “Preppy Chic” are contributing to this demand.

On the product side, G.H.Bass continues to focus on the Weejuns Original Penny Loafer, expanding its range with styles featuring more prominent soles. Collaborations also play a role in the brand's positioning. Current and planned partners include the Amsterdam-based streetwear brand Pop Trading Company and Karl Lagerfeld.

The Weejuns loafer was introduced in 1936 and is based on an interpretation of a Norwegian farmer's shoe. The style is considered one of the earliest examples of the penny loafer and is now a core part of the brand's portfolio.

Swedish jewellery brand Mockberg is expanding its international presence, with a strategic focus on the DACH region and the UK. Alisa Ernst has been appointed managing director for DACH & UK to steer this growth. She will be responsible for establishing and expanding the brand's presence in both markets. Ernst brings industry experience from her previous roles at Acne Studios in Stockholm and Jimmy Choo in London.

Another step in the expansion is the opening of its first German flagship store in Berlin-Mitte in September. Following market entries in Norway and the Netherlands, Mockberg is now specifically targeting the German market. The store will not only showcase the brand but also serve as a business-to-business (B2B) hub for partnerships, acting as a starting point for further European growth.

British fashion retailer Ted Baker is continuing to rebuild its fashion business with the launch of Ted by Ted Baker, a new menswear collection designed to bring a more contemporary take to the brand’s identity.

Launching exclusively at Macy’s from August 14, the autumn 2026 collection, titled 'London in Motion', includes outerwear, knitwear, shirting, polos, trousers and other everyday staples. The range draws on London’s creative scene, with relaxed silhouettes, premium fabrics and a palette of deep navy, earthy neutrals and brighter colour accents.

Gina Ottomanelli, senior sirector, creative design at ULAC, which was appointed to manage the brand's North American business by parent company Authentic Brands Group, said that vision "was to create a menswear collection that feels authentically British while speaking to today's global consumer".

Ottomanelli continued: "The collection reflects the craftsmanship and design heritage people associate with Ted Baker, reimagined through a more contemporary, relaxed lens. It's about timeless style, individuality and clothing that fits naturally into everyday life.”

The launch comes as Ted Baker continues to reestablish its presence following the collapse of its UK operating company in 2024, which resulted in the closure of 46 stores. Authentic has since been rebuilding the brand through new wholesale, e-commerce and licensing partnerships.

More recently, Ted Baker has begun returning to physical retail, opening a second Selfridges shop-in-shop in Birmingham in July after launching its first at the retailer’s Manchester Trafford location.

UK-based specialist parenting and kidswear group Mothercare has reported its full-year financial results for the 52-week period ended March 28, 2026, recording a statutory loss after tax of 5 million pounds. The performance represents a decline from a statutory profit of 6.2 million pounds achieved in the prior financial year ended March 29, 2025.

Group turnover for the period dropped 42 percent to 22.4 million pounds, down from 38.9 million pounds in 2025. Adjusted EBITDA decreased 63 percent to 1.3 million pounds, compared to 3.5 million pounds in the previous year. Net debt stood at 6.4 million pounds as of March 28, 2026, widening from 4.5 million pounds recorded at the end of the previous period.

International franchise sales and geographic performance

Worldwide retail sales generated by Mothercare’s global franchise partners fell 22 percent on a reported basis (19 percent in constant currency) to 180 million pounds, compared to 230.6 million pounds in the prior period. The company attributed the top-line contraction to two primary headwinds: the termination of its exclusive distribution agreement with UK retailer Boots at the close of 2025, alongside ongoing geopolitical instability across its Middle Eastern markets, including disruption stemming from conflict in Iran during the final month of the financial year.

Excluding the impact of operations in the Middle East and the UK, like-for-like (LFL) retail sales across the group’s remaining international footprint were positive for the full year. Online retail sales accounted for 12 percent of total franchise retail turnover, totaling 20.9 million pounds.

The group’s retail store footprint contracted by 11 percent during the year, ending the period with 331 store locations, down from 372 stores as of March 29, 2025.

Regional turnover breakdown

The company's revenues in Asia declined to 7.4 million pounds, down from 10.9 million pounds, Europe registered revenu of 6.6 million pounds, down from 8.8 million pounds, Middle East sales contracted to 6.4 million pounds versus 9.3 million pounds and UK declined to 2 million pounds compared to 9.9 million pounds last year.

To streamline its business structure into an asset-light franchising model, Mothercare completed a joint venture transaction in October 2024 for the South Asian region with Reliance Brands, a subsidiary of Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries. Reliance Brands aims to expand retail sales within the South Asian territory to approximately 300 million pounds over a five-year period, supported by a physical store expansion plan targeting 50 new store openings in 2026. Mothercare also expects to generate ongoing sourcing fees alongside returns from its 49 percent stake in the JV.

Additionally, the group signed a brand license agreement with ebebek in Turkey and remains in active negotiations to secure a new retail distribution partner for the UK market.

Current trading and outlook

During the first 19 weeks of fiscal year 2027, franchise partners recorded total retail sales of 58.5 million pounds, compared to 68.8 million pounds in the prior-year period, reflecting ongoing pressures in the UK and Middle East. Excluding those two markets, LFL sales trends remained positive.

In an official statement, Clive Whiley, chairman of Mothercare, said: “The recent financial performance has been resilient as we look to FY27, acknowledging the ongoing situation in the Middle East and the end of our arrangement with Boots in the UK alongside our progress in other markets. We remain in discussions to restore critical mass, a process greatly assisted by our successful refinancing and better alignment of the first-charge debt instrument with our equity.”

UK fashion's run of growth came to an end last week, but the fall was concentrated entirely in one channel: in-store sales kept rising, while a sharp online decline dragged the category into the red. Fashion total like-for-like (LFL) sales slipped -0.84%, according to the latest BDO High Street Sales Tracker, against a broadly flat -0.57% base a year earlier — ending seven consecutive weeks of growth.

The store channel remained healthy. Store fashion rose +5.64% against a positive +5.05% base, sustaining the in-store strength that has anchored the category all summer. The category's dip, in other words, was not a store problem.

Online was. Non-store fashion fell -4.37%, its sharpest drop of the run and a fourth consecutive week of decline. The online retreat that began in July has now deepened enough to outweigh continued store growth and pull the whole category negative.

Across the wider high street, total LFL sales rose +3.18%, an eighth straight week of growth from a +4.23% base — though BDO again noted the gain was largely driven by homewares rather than fashion. Total store sales stayed strong at +4.27%, a sixth consecutive week of growth, while total non-store sales rose +4.76%.

Springboard footfall increased +2.1% overall, led by retail parks at +4.1% and shopping centres at +2.7%, with the high street positive at +0.8% — so weaker visitor numbers were not behind the fashion dip.

Cooler, wetter weather hit Scotland and the north-east, while southern England stayed drier in the low-to-mid 20s. With stores still growing and footfall firm, fashion's first fall in two months looks like an online story rather than a broad-based downturn.

South Korean apparel group Misto Holdings has reported its financial results for the second quarter of 2026, recording consolidated revenue of 1.4 trillion South Korean won (approximately 988 million dollars), representing a 16.6 percent increase year-over-year (YoY). Consolidated operating profit for the period rose 62.3 percent YoY to 295.2 billion South Korean won.

The overall performance was primarily driven by strong product demand within the Acushnet segment and improved profitability across the core Misto segment, alongside a one-time tariff refund.

Misto Holdings chief financial officer Ho Yeon Lee said: “Our second-quarter results reflect continued progress in strengthening the competitiveness and profitability of our core businesses. In the second half of the year, we will remain focused on enhancing Fila’s product competitiveness in Korea, expanding our brand portfolio in Greater China, and driving greater operational efficiency to build a stronger foundation for sustainable growth.”

Misto segment restructuring and product performance

The Misto segment generated second-quarter revenue of 200.4 billion South Korean won, reflecting a 7.4 percent decline YoY due to the ongoing restructuring of its US operations. Excluding the US business, revenue within the division rose 4 percent YoY. Operating profit for the segment reached 36.4 billion South Korean won, up 6.6 percent YoY, supported by improved profitability in South Korea, growth in Greater China, and cost efficiency initiatives.

Under the group’s core brand Fila, footwear and apparel lines both delivered growth during the quarter. The Glio footwear model maintained sales momentum following its release for the spring/summer 2026 season and the My T-Shirt apparel line recorded a 20 percent increase in sales alongside a fivefold YoY surge in search volume.

In Southeast Asia, Fila continued expanding its physical store network, opening locations in commercial districts across Malaysia and launching the region’s first Fila 1911 Store.

In Greater China, Misto Holdings expanded its brand portfolio, commencing the rollout of South Korean brand Juun.J, licensed from Samsung C&T Fashion Division. The company opened retail locations at Chengdu Taikoo Li in July and Beijing Sanlitun in August, with additional brand launches planned for the spring/summer 2027 season.

Acushnet segment gains from product launches and tariff refund

The Acushnet segment recorded revenue of 1.23 trillion South Korean won in the second quarter, up 21.7 percent YoY. Operating profit for the division surged 75.2 percent YoY to 258.8 billion South Korean won.

Equipment performance across the Titleist portfolio, including golf balls, clubs, and gear, supported top-line results, bolstered by new driver and fairway wood launches timed ahead of the peak golf season. Growth in equipment sales and higher average selling prices expanded revenues, while a one-time tariff refund significantly boosted operating profit.

Misto Holdings completed the 10 billion South Korean won share repurchase program approved in May and approved an additional 5 billion South Korean won share buyback to support its shareholder return policy.

Austrian jewellery and crystal specialist Swarovski has reported continued growth in the first half of 2026, with organic sales up 6 percent year-on-year and like-for-like growth reaching 8 percent.

Jewellery remained the strongest-performing area of the business, seeing 11 percent organic growth as the brand continued to benefit from product development, creativity and its “Pop Luxury” positioning.

Across key regions, growth was broad-based. Like-for-like sales increased 11 percent in Asia, including the Middle East, while the Americas rose 10 percent and Europe grew 5 percent.

Swarovski recorded positive like-for-like growth in eight of its 10 largest markets, contrasting a 2 percent decline in Greater China. Japan was a standout market, with like-for-like sales increasing 32 percent, followed by the US at 12 percent. Italy and Iberica both saw 9 percent growth.

The results come as Swarovski continues to position jewellery as a key driver of growth, with the company pointing to brand desirability, creativity and operating discipline as supporting its performance.

Japanese sportswear brand Asics’ European division, Netherlands-based Asics EMEA, has reported its financial results for the second quarter of 2026, recording a revenue increase of 32.9 percent compared to the second quarter of 2025. Excluding Onitsuka Tiger, the performance was driven by profitable growth across all categories.

The regional arm reported wholesale channel expansion across all operating markets, delivering a year-over-year (YoY) increase of 44.1 percent.

The company also expanded its market share across multiple key product segments. According to data from market research firm Circana, Asics held the leading position in performance running footwear across five key European markets, comprising France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK, for the 12-month period ending June 2026. The brand also recorded market share gains in its SportStyle division and maintained its top market position in core performance sports, which includes tennis, indoor sports, and padel.

Asics EMEA chief executive officer Carsten Unbehaun said: “I am incredibly proud of what our teams across EMEA have achieved together in the second quarter. These strong results reflect their dedication, the trust of our retail partners and the growing connection consumers have with the ASICS brand.”

Unbehaun added: “While our performance across all categories gives us great confidence, what matters most is that our growth enables us to inspire more people to experience the positive impact of movement on both body and mind.”

The British Fashion Council (BFC) is taking London Fashion Week beyond the capital this September, launching Fashion Britain, a nationwide programme of more than 1,000 events across London, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, Bristol, Dundee and Edinburgh.

The initiative builds on the BFC’s efforts to “decentralise British fashion” and extend the reach of the industry beyond London. It will bring together designers, retailers and cultural institutions through free panel talks, exhibitions, live performances, retail activations and other public events.

Fashion Britain forms part of the BFC’s wider Strategy 2030, a four-year plan focused on increasing access to British fashion while supporting creativity and long-term industry growth. It also builds on the organisation’s City Wide Celebration programme, which expanded from Manchester and Newcastle into Liverpool last year.

BFC chief executive Laura Weir said: “It’s vital that we recognise, celebrate and invest in talent wherever it exists across the UK. Fashion Britain is about decentralising fashion, by creating stronger pathways for creativity, opportunity and growth in every part of the country.”

The programme will see designers including Nicholas Daley, Charles Jeffrey, Saul Nash, Clio Peppiatt, Luke Derrick, Patrick McDowell and Talia Byre take part in designer panels and events, alongside activations from retailers and brands.

Weir added that the BFC is collaborating with “leading cultural institutions alongside over 100 of our designer members” to build “a stronger, more connected future for British fashion”.

The initiative also aims to support high street activity, with participating retailers including Westfield, Liverpool One, Fenwick, Ebay and Marks & Spencer, which will stage its first ‘see now, buy now’ LFW show.

Finnish materials technology company Spinnova is preparing for a potential US stock market debut, as it looks to raise at least 15 million dollars to support the commercialisation and scale-up of its wood-based textile fibre technology.

The company has confidentially submitted a draft registration statement to the US SEC for a proposed initial public officer. Spinnova said it hasn’t yet determined the price range, nor the number or type of securities to be offered, and the offering remains subject to market conditions and other regulatory requirements.

If completed, the IPO would give Spinnova a dual listing, with its shares continuing to trade on Nasdaq First North Growth Market Finland while also being listed on a US exchange. The company intends to use the proceeds to accelerate its Eteläportti demonstration facility, advance commercialisation and for general corporate purposes.

The move comes after a challenging period for Spinnova. Production at its Woodspin demonstration factory came to a halt in 2025 after Brazilian pulp producer Suzano withdrew further investment from their joint venture. Spinnova went on to acquire full ownership of Woodspin and Suzano Finland, taking control of the facilities and its fibre production.

In April, Spinnova relaunched test runs at the Jyväskylä facility as evidence of its technology running at larger scale, with the goal of improving production efficiency and fibre quality. It has further been building an industry consortium to support commercialisation, including engineering company Sulzer, which joined in February to help improve the technology’s industrial readiness and cost competitiveness.

Spinnova has established interest and offtake agreements from fashion names including H&M Group, Marimekko, The North Face, Armedangels and Tommy Hilfiger. These partnerships have yet to translate into significant sales.

The company reported revenue of just 344,000 euros in 2025, down 54 percent year-on-year, while its operating loss more than doubled to 41.3 million euros.

An International Business Platform for the Global Fashion Industry

From August 19 to 21, 2026, Istanbul Fashion Connection (IFCO) will celebrate its 10th edition at the Istanbul Expo Center, once again bringing together export-oriented manufacturers, established brands and international sourcing companies from Türkiye's apparel industry with buyers from around the world.

More than 300 exhibitors will showcase a comprehensive fashion ecosystem across 35,000 square metres, covering womenswear, menswear, kidswear, denim, activewear, eveningwear, bridalwear, underwear, hosiery, leather and fur garments, and footwear. The exhibition is complemented by dedicated product worlds including IFCO Woman, IFCO Man, IFCO Kids and LineExpo, creating clearly defined sourcing destinations for every major market segment.

One of IFCO's greatest strengths is the unique combination of design expertise, manufacturing excellence and speed. The close integration of every stage of the production process, short decision-making paths, exceptional flexibility and Türkiye's strategic logistical advantages enable international brands to develop and produce collections quickly, efficiently and to the highest quality standards.

Through its dedicated Hosted Buyer Programme, international buying delegations and close cooperation with trade fairs and industry organisations around the world, IFCO creates outstanding opportunities for new business relationships and long-term partnerships. Particular emphasis is placed on attracting buyers from the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States and other key international sourcing markets, further reinforcing IFCO's position as one of the leading international business and sourcing platforms for the global apparel industry and as a gateway to Türkiye's export-oriented fashion sector.

THE CORE – Creativity Takes Centre Stage

With THE CORE, IFCO places the creative diversity of Türkiye's fashion industry firmly in the spotlight. For 2026, the established design platform has been completely reimagined. Replacing the traditional exhibition stand concept, visitors are welcomed by a curated fashion installation at the entrance of the fair, showcasing design, craftsmanship and innovation in an inspiring new format.

Under the theme "ROOTED FORMS, SS27", 20 renowned designers interpret organic shapes, weathered surfaces, mineral textures and the resilience of nature through expressive total looks. Participating designers include Belma Özdemir, Emre Erdemoğlu, Erkan Demiroğlu, Bianco e Nero, TAGG, Gökhan Yavaş, Hatice Gökçe, Meltem Özbek, Mert Erkan, Niyazi Erdoğan, Özlem Erkan, Sudi Etuz, Tuba Ergin and Y PLUS by Yakup.

THE CORE is complemented by a Trend Area, curated by the Istanbul Fashion Academy, highlighting the key directions for the Spring/Summer 2027 season, as well as a dedicated B2B Area that connects designers, brands, buyers and manufacturers.

As design continues to evolve into one of the Turkish apparel industry's key competitive advantages, the close integration of creativity, material innovation and manufacturing expertise enables collections that stand out internationally not only for their quality but also for their distinctive design identity.

Denim Reimagined

For decades, denim has been one of Türkiye's strongest export categories, representing the country's innovation, manufacturing expertise and uncompromising quality standards like few other products. Thanks to its almost fully integrated supply chain—from fabric development and advanced finishing technologies to garment production—Türkiye has established itself as one of the world's leading destinations for premium denim manufacturing.

Reflecting this strength, IFCO introduces an expanded Denim Area, where international buyers can explore the latest collections from leading manufacturers including Catch, Koza Denim, and 2Ypremium-Riches Paris, alongside innovative washing and finishing technologies, sustainable production solutions and the latest market trends. It is a showcase that perfectly combines tradition, creativity and technological innovation.

LINEXPO – A Global Meeting Point for the Lingerie and Hosiery Industry

Held under the umbrella of IFCO and located in Hall 8, LINEXPO continues to be one of the leading events bringing together Türkiye’s lingerie and hosiery manufacturers. First introduced at the February 2026 edition of IFCO, LINEXPO returns to the fair for the August 2026 edition with a distinguished group of exhibitors.

Menswear – A New Stage for One of Türkiye's Core Strengths

Menswear has long been one of the cornerstones of Türkiye's apparel industry. Whether classic tailoring, smart casual, knitwear, sportswear or contemporary tailoring concepts, Turkish manufacturers have earned an outstanding international reputation for product quality, flexibility and short lead times.

At IFCO, this key segment is presented in an entirely new setting. A newly designed Menswear Area in Hall 4, featuring a contemporary stand concept, places the diversity and innovative strength of exhibitors firmly in the spotlight while creating an inspiring environment for international business.

Buyers will discover both established manufacturers such as Kiğılı, Jakamen, NCS, İmza, Kadir Büyükkaya and Terzi Adem,, presenting creative collections, outstanding manufacturing expertise and an attractive balance between quality and price—bringing fresh momentum to the international menswear market.

Sustainability as a Driving Force

Sustainability is not simply a trend at IFCO — it is a driver of innovation, presenting forward-looking solutions for the textile value chain of tomorrow.

Dedicated Sustainability Areas showcase innovative materials, resource-efficient manufacturing processes and companies actively shaping the transition towards a more sustainable textile and apparel industry. Expert talks and panel discussions explore the latest developments surrounding the European Green Deal, the Digital Product Passport (DPP), the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), as well as certification, traceability and green finance.

For international buyers, IFCO offers a comprehensive overview of sustainable solutions—from recycled and certified material collections to future-oriented manufacturing and transparency concepts. At the same time, the fair serves as a platform for dialogue between manufacturers, brands and retailers, recognising that the green transformation of the fashion industry can only succeed through shared responsibility, long-term partnerships and joint investment across the entire value chain.

Seminars & Panels – Shaping the Future of Fashion

Complementing the exhibition, IFCO will once again feature a high-calibre conference programme of keynote speeches, expert panels and industry discussions, offering valuable insights into the key developments shaping the international fashion and apparel industry.

The programme will explore topics including the digital transformation of the apparel sector, the growing impact of artificial intelligence, sustainable manufacturing and denim innovations, as well as the key trends for the Autumn/Winter 2027/28 season.

Additional sessions will examine the evolving role of design, storytelling and brand building, while also addressing how fashion's visual language is changing across runways, digital platforms and retail. Leading industry representatives, business executives and creative professionals will share their expertise alongside renowned designers including Dilek Hanif, Özlem Süer, Gül Ağış, and Şansım Adalı.

Inspiration, Networking and Business

Fashion Shows and dedicated networking formats complement the exhibition programme, creating the perfect setting for inspiration, international networking and new business opportunities.

Spectacular IFCO Fashion Shows will showcase the latest collections and seasonal trends, highlighting the creativity, craftsmanship and design strength of Türkiye's fashion industry.

At the heart of the networking programme is the purpose-built B2B Area, a dedicated meeting hub designed to bring together brands, buyers, retailers and manufacturers in a professional and comfortable environment. It provides the ideal setting for face-to-face meetings, new business connections and the development of long-term commercial partnerships.

By combining inspiring fashion presentations with efficient business networking, IFCO once again reinforces its position as a leading international platform where meaningful business relationships are created and future collaborations begin.

Few cities connect markets, cultures and business opportunities as naturally as Istanbul. This unique international dynamism makes IFCO one of the most important meeting points for the global fashion industry.

Next Dates

• IFCO – Istanbul Fashion Connection: February 3-6, 2027
• IFCO – Istanbul Fashion Connection: September 8-11, 2027
• Texhibition Istanbul: September 9-11, 2026
• Texhibition Istanbul: March 3-5, 2027

Chinese fast fashion giant Shein has lost a copyright battle against its rival Temu in a case centred on thousands of product photographs that Shein alleged had been used on Temu’s UK platform to promote copies of its own-brand clothing.

At the start of the trial in May, Shein accused Temu of breaching its copyright “on an industrial scale” and using its images to “piggy-back” on a more established competitor. Temu denied the allegations and argued that Shein was using litigation to stifle competition.

Judge Kelyn Bacon of the UK’s High Court rejected Shein’s copyright claims, finding that Temu had not authorised infringement by merchants using the photographs in question. She also found that Temu did not know, or have reason to believe, that the photographs infringed Shein’s copyright.

The judge said Temu would have been able to rely on the “hosting defence” if infringement had been established as it was only an intermediary.

Reviewing the case, Elise Cant, associate and trademark attorney at Marks & Clerk, said the decision “provides greater legal certainty for online marketplaces” where third-party sellers upload content.

"However, the decision may make it more difficult for traditional retailers and rights holders to pursue infringement claims against marketplace operators where infringing product listings are uploaded by independent sellers, potentially shifting the focus of enforcement efforts towards the sellers themselves rather than the platforms that host their listings," Cant added.

Cassandra Hill, partner in Mishcon de Reya’s IP Disputes group, said the “key takeaway” was that platform liability depends on “what the marketplace actually did in relation to the specific content in dispute”. Temu’s success was because it had not selected, edited, endorsed or promoted the photographs.

The court also upheld Temu’s counterclaim for damages after Shein obtained an injunction requiring listings to be removed, including images for which Shein did not ultimately own the copyright. The amount of damages will be determined in due course.

In response to the ruling, a Shein spokesperson told Reuters: “We do not believe that is the right outcome for brands and rights holders seeking to protect their copyright online.” The spokesperson also argued that Temu had avoided liability because its UK website was supported by servers in Ireland.

The ruling is the first phase of a broader legal battle between the two fast fashion platforms, with Temu’s counterclaim alleging that Shein breached competition law by tying suppliers to exclusive agreements is due to go to trial next year.

Swedish sports and fashion group Björn Borg AB (Björn Borg) has reported its interim financial results for the second quarter (Q2) and first six months ending June 30, 2026, delivering improved profitability and gross margin expansion despite top-line headwinds.

H1 net profit rises by 30.9 percent

First-half operating profit grew 30.9 percent to 58.6 million Swedish kronor, marking the highest H1 operating profit in the company's history. Operating margin reached 11.7 percent, compared to 8.9 percent in H1 2025, while H1 gross margin reached 54.8 percent, up from 50.2 percent. Profit after tax for the six-month period rose 14.1 percent to 45.5 million Swedish kronor.

In an executive statement accompanying the report, Henrik Bunge, chief executive officer of Björn Borg, said: “This is the highest operating profit we have ever delivered after a first half of the year, while sales are basically unchanged compared to the previous year. For me, it is a clear acknowledgement that we are building a stronger and more profitable Björn Borg.”

For the first half (H1) of 2026, group net sales slipped 1.4 percent to 499.0 million Swedish kronor, compared to 505.9 million Swedish kronor in H1 2025. Adjusted for currency effects, H1 net sales edged up 0.2 percent.

For the second quarter, group net sales fell 12.2 percent to 198.4 million Swedish kronor (20.79 million dollars), down from 225.9 million Swedish kronor in the corresponding period last year. On a currency-neutral basis, net sales decreased 13.1 percent. Management noted that the primary driver behind the Q2 sales decline was wholesale delivery timing, as summer season shipments were concentrated in the first quarter of 2026, whereas in 2025 they fell within Q2.

Despite lower revenue, Q2 operating profit increased 11 percent to 11.8 million Swedish kronor, compared to 10.6 million Swedish kronor in Q2 2025. Operating margin expanded to 5.9 percent from 4.7 percent. Q2 gross profit margin reached 56.2 percent, up 5.6 percentage points from 50.6 percent in the prior-year period, supported by lower discount levels, positive currency effects, and an increased share of direct-to-consumer (D2C) sales through proprietary e-commerce. Profit after tax for the quarter rose 118.3 percent to 8.6 million Swedish kronor.

E-commerce performance offsets wholesale drop

Across its distribution channels, Björn Borg experienced divergent performance during Q2. Direct e-commerce net sales increased 16.5 percent to 60.1 million Swedish kronor, with sales of sports apparel via e-commerce expanding 28% and underwear increasing 19 percent. Combined sales across proprietary e-commerce and external e-tailers totaled 89.8 million Swedish kronor, down 7.8 percent YoY.

Bunge added: “The highlight of the quarter was the continued strong performance of our own e-commerce, which grew by 17%. Our apparel collection continued to be the main growth driver. One of the quarter's greatest strengths was profitability. Our gross margin improved to 56.2%. The improvement was driven by a more favourable channel mix with a larger share of sales through our own e-commerce, lower discount levels and positive currency effects.”

Wholesale revenue in Q2 decreased 26 percent to 110.2 million Swedish kronor. Within wholesale, sales to digital e-tailers dropped 35 percent, while physical wholesale accounts fell 21 percent, primarily due to the aforementioned shift in summer delivery schedules.

Revenue from company-owned physical stores fell 19 percent to 19.1 million Swedish kronor, impacted by store closures. On a like-for-like (LFL) basis, store sales dropped 5 percent in Q2. As of June 30, 2026, the group operated 11 physical stores, down from 12 locations a year earlier.

Sales to external distributors grew 3 percent to 13 million Swedish kronor, while licensing income rose 29 percent to 0.5 million Swedish kronor.

Category and regional overview

By product area, underwear sales in Q2 declined 18 percent to 88.8 million Swedish kronor, driven by a 30 percent reduction in wholesale orders. Sports apparel sales fell 9 percent to 66.9 million Swedish kronor due to distribution timing, despite a 28 percent increase in e-commerce turnover.

Footwear sales contracted 6 percent to 12.7 million Swedish kronor, remaining below management's internal targets. Bags generated 14.7 million Swedish kronor, up 1 percent, while other product lines, including swimwear and socks, dropped 24 percent to 19.8 million Swedish kronor.

Geographically, Sweden, the group's largest market, recorded a 15 percent drop in Q2 sales to 77.6 million Swedish kronor, with wholesale revenue declining 24 percent and proprietary e-commerce expanding 23 percent. Sales in the Netherlands fell 21 percent to 43.7 million Swedish kronor, while Germany dropped 38 percent to 15.9 million Swedish kronor due to weaker e-tailer demand. Finland delivered a 9 percent increase in Q2 sales to 24.2 million Swedish kronor. Sales in Denmark and Belgium both declined 14 percent.

Björn Borg reiterated its long-term financial targets, which include annual sales growth of at least 10 percent, an operating margin of at least 10 percent, an annual dividend payout ratio of at least 50 percent of net profit, and an equity ratio above 35 percent.

Madrid – Following the path already taken by other fashion and footwear brands that began by championing a 'fluid' and genderless product model, the Barcelona-based brand Alohas, which specialises in footwear and accessories, is segmenting its offering with the creation of 'For Him'. This new section on its e-commerce platform will now feature all its men's-sized styles.

Founded in Barcelona around 2016 by entrepreneur Alejandro Porras, founder and chief executive officer of Alohas, the Spanish brand began its journey with two fundamental objectives. The first was to promote a production model tailored to demand. This allows for the efficient use of resources and raw materials, preventing waste and dead stock. The second objective was to simultaneously challenge traditional product categories by designing, producing and marketing feminine models with distinctly 'genderless' lines. These two identifying variables of the Alohas business model, being so unique and disruptive in the market, have proven to be a clear challenge in the brand's ongoing development and scaling efforts as it has grown and attracted an increasingly global customer base.

Regarding the promotion of its on-demand production model, the brand has evolved to adopt a more dynamic system. Today, Alohas continues to sell its designs on-demand through its online store and its growing network of physical points-of-sale, both its own and multi-brand, but now also offers a base of models in stock for immediate availability. This is reserved only for its most popular designs, for which it has continued to prioritise fluid and genderless lines. However, concerning the second issue, it has become evident that maintaining a profile outside traditional product categories was a significant challenge for the brand. This hindered its ability to unlock its full growth potential and connect more intimately with its male audience. The company has now decided to resolve these tensions by segmenting its offering and launching a new 'For Him' section in its online store.

To grow in men's footwear and accessories

While originally created with a fluid commercial offering, its designs were primarily aimed at a female audience. Alohas emphasises that the new division of its commercial range is a natural evolution of the brand. It reflects its intention to better meet the needs of its growing community of male customers. This increasingly significant part of its audience will not have a separate collection. Instead, the brand has decided to create a dedicated section to feature all its models suitable for men. Alohas also notes its intention to expand this selection with more new trainer and loafer styles, which are expected to drive the brand's growth in men's footwear.

“Born as a brand primarily focused on women, Alohas now incorporates a selection of designs for men and presents 'For Him', a new section on its website that brings together its styles available in men's sizes,” states the Barcelona-based footwear brand. With this segmentation, however, Alohas “is not creating a separate men's collection, but rather expanding its universe so that an ever-growing selection of its designs can also reach a male audience,” defends the Spanish company. It describes this segmentation as “a natural evolution of the brand,” through which Alohas will continue to demonstrate “how its aesthetic codes and footwear proposal transcend traditional categories.”

With diversification and retail as levers for growth

According to the latest known financial data on the brand's market performance, Alohas closed its 2025 financial year with a +32 percent increase in turnover, reaching 45 million euros. The Barcelona-based company is working to replicate this outstanding performance year after year, focusing on diversification and retail expansion as its main growth drivers.

In this regard, the brand has already discontinued its clothing line. This was a strategic decision to emphasise its nature as a specialist in footwear and accessories. In 2026, they are aiming to highlight this profile not only through the segmentation of their footwear offering to unlock growth in men's footwear, but also with the launch of a new handbag line and the creation of a separate new section for 'barefoot' models. These three initiatives currently represent the main diversification strategies that Alohas has decided to implement. It now remains to be seen how they will evolve and contribute to its future growth.

To support this growth, the Barcelona-based brand is determined to continue expanding its retail network. These points-of-sale are primarily conceived by Alohas as experiential locations to support its on-demand production model. They are spaces where customers can try on different styles and then have their chosen product delivered to their address once it is produced. This experience is complemented, in some cases, by a very limited stock available in-store. The brand currently offers this in its stores in Madrid; Barcelona; Milan; Amsterdam; New York (Elizabeth St. and Bleecker St.); Paris; London; Copenhagen; and Los Angeles, where it has had a pop-up store since May with no official closing date yet. Alohas is scheduled to add its first store in Austria, in the capital Vienna, to these 'experiential' points-of-sale this August.

CEO interview

Closed has moved past its insolvency and is realigning, though without breaking from its past. The Hamburg-based denim label is focusing on continuity over a complete restart under the leadership of CEO and shareholder Dieter Holzer, who was CEO at Marc O’Polo until mid-2021. The brand's DNA remains intact. Simultaneously, Closed is developing a more focused collection, new structures, and its international expansion.

During the Düsseldorf Fashion Days, FashionUnited spoke with him about the brand's relaunch, retailer confidence, international growth, and why he believes courage and common sense are not mutually exclusive.

You have had an exceptionally challenging year behind you; looking at Closed today, what has changed the most?

The most important thing is that the company can operate freely again. We have re-established the conditions to do what an international brand with a strong DNA can and must do.

What does that mean specifically?

Developing innovative products. We have reorganised the company to some extent. The period before was not easy and was very difficult at times. Now we are back at full speed, showing what we are capable of.

Did you have to win back the trust of retailers first?

Honestly, no. Our partners have remained very loyal to Closed. They love the brand and appreciate the team and the people behind it. They stayed true to the brand and supported us during that time. We have only had positive experiences since we joined.

Previously, US expansion was a major topic. Has the insolvency changed that, and which markets are now the main focus?

We want to be everywhere. The insolvency gave us the opportunity to review all our markets and activities, and to scale back where necessary. In the end, however, we kept all the markets. We still have showrooms in Milan; Paris; Amsterdam; Antwerp; New York; Los Angeles; and Copenhagen.

The US market continues to be a good market for us. We work with very strong partners there, are excellently positioned, and the market is profitable for us. We are very satisfied with that.

How much growth potential is there today?

The potential is very large. We are not running a race, however. We are developing the brand step by step. I believe that brands with a clear identity and strong DNA have excellent international opportunities. In my view, Closed is one of them.

We have a fashion sensibility that resonates internationally. Furthermore, our history is recognised and our corporate culture is respected. We want to seize these opportunities.

Let's talk about the collection. I have heard it is slightly larger with more colour. closed has a very clear identity. are you broadening it, or is this a cautious rebrand?

A rebrand is not necessary at all. We are very strongly and clearly positioned as a brand. Our heritage; our DNA; our trousers; our styles; our X-Pocket; and the way we have been developing trousers for decades form a very strong backbone for Closed.

We have instead consistently translated relevant market themes and product groups into our collection, always with a clear Closed signature. The collection has not actually become significantly larger. We are simply offering individual styles in more colours now because we are convinced that is what will be in demand going forward.

A lot is happening in denim right now. Where does your greatest strength lie?

We are among the most renowned suppliers in the denim and trouser sector. We position ourselves in the affordable luxury segment. Our trousers are predominantly priced between 200 and 350 euros and are made in Italy. These are very special products.

The denim market is constantly evolving and now offers almost everything. Our products, however, remain clearly recognisable as Closed denim. That is exactly what our customers are looking for. We are particularly strong when it comes to innovations, new shapes, and new fits.

Consumers are spending more consciously and selectively. Jeans are an emotional product. In your view, is the investment still worthwhile for customers?

Yes. Denim is a very durable product. A pair of jeans becomes more beautiful as it ages. A good pair of denim trousers is therefore timeless and, for that very reason, a good investment.

Do you currently see any differences between menswear and womenswear?

No. Both areas have great potential. While we started from a smaller base in menswear, we have significantly expanded our offering. The men's collection has grown, and from autumn/winter 2026 we will even be working with two collections per season. We believe there is still a lot of potential there.

You are not only CEO but also a shareholder at Closed. Does that change your decisions?

Not really. I have always acted with an entrepreneurial mindset, even as a managing director. Entrepreneurial responsibility does not depend on owning shares. It is always about protecting the company, developing it further, and ensuring it is profitable.

I am fascinated by the combination of creativity and financial responsibility in your role. Where do you find the balance?

Analytical thinking is the foundation. One must look very closely at collections, pricing architecture, and structures. That forms the framework.

This must not restrict the creative work, however. At Closed, we thrive on experimenting with new qualities, new materials, and new techniques. We deliberately avoid setting strict limits for ourselves in that area.

The German market is often considered quite cautious, yet new impetus requires courage. What is your perspective?

I often hear that assessment. My experience, however, is different. We work with many innovative companies and the leading players in the German market. These are courageous companies that still act very deliberately.

Fashion is generally very structured and planned. At the same time, there is always a willingness to take the next step. This balance is crucial.

Speaking of balance, bad news often gets more attention than good news. How do you assess the market sentiment?

Bad news is often more exciting than good news. When I look at our conversations with partners and customers, I see a lot of positivity overall.

Looking to the future, where do you see Closed in the medium to long term?

We will consistently follow the path Closed has been on for many years. We want to enhance the brand's quality, continue to grow internationally, and strengthen our position as a relevant player in this market segment. Our goal is to become even more relevant. I am convinced that we will achieve this.

What should buyers take away with them when they leave the Closed showroom?

I want them to recognise the opportunities within this collection. They should see how much passion, courage, and consideration goes into every product.

Closed is a brand that appeals to an incredible number of people. What makes it special is that it works across generations, from daughter to mother and from son to father. There is an enormous opportunity for retailers if they select the right products and present them compellingly.

In the wet spring of 2024, Roua Alhalabi of Roua Atelier came to the Fashion Farm in the Netherlands with a glass jar full of woad seeds. A simple idea emerged from conversations about plants, pigments and textile knowledge lost over the centuries: what if we sowed this historic dye plant together here on our farm? Just among the vegetables in the organic garden, next to the beans and spinach.

At that time, we could not have suspected this modest plant would greatly influence one of the most unique and talked-about experiments at the Fashion Farm.

Transformation before your eyes

Standing in front of a field of woad, you see not blue, but dark green leaves. Nothing about the plant reveals that for centuries it was responsible for one of the most beloved colours in textile history: indigo.

For hundreds of years, woad was the main source of blue in Europe. Long before synthetic dyes existed, dye houses used the leaves of this plant to give fabrics their characteristic blue colour. The special pigment appeared everywhere, from workwear to precious textiles.

What makes the woad plant so special is that the colour is not visible in the leaf. The blue is hidden. It is only released through a careful process of harvesting, fermenting, oxidation and preparing a dye bath. Something that looks so ordinary carries something extraordinary within it.

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From plant to pigment

As with flax, I learned that a world of knowledge lies between the raw material and the final result. The woad was sown, cared for and finally harvested by the Fashion Farm team. Not every plant made it. Some were eaten by the caterpillars of the large cabbage white butterfly, while others disappeared during a major slug infestation in the wet spring of 2024.

Under Roua's guidance, the remaining plants were harvested in the summer. She then demonstrated how to extract pigment from the leaves, a process that was common knowledge for centuries but is now practised by very few people. The leaves are processed, the pigment is extracted and prepared in a dye bath that will eventually turn blue. The dye bath must then be stirred daily to keep the colour "alive", which proved to be quite a challenge. The most wonderful moment, however, comes afterwards.

When a fabric is dipped into the dye bath and removed, it is not immediately blue. The colour only begins to develop slowly when the material comes into contact with oxygen. Greenish hues turn blue before your very eyes.

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Renewed collaborations

The Fashion Farm is not just about plants and animals; it is also about people. It is about bringing together knowledge that has often become scattered across different disciplines or lost over time. A special garment came to life in 2024 thanks to a collaboration with Roua Atelier and Reina Ovinge of The Knitwit Stable.

Ovinge has been committed to Dutch wool for years. It is a raw material that is barely used in the Netherlands anymore and is often destroyed as a waste product, despite being a beautiful, strong and characterful material.

This gave rise to a question that perfectly matched our ambition at the Fashion Farm: what happens if we join forces and combine Dutch wool with colour grown on Dutch soil?

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First garment from the Fashion Farm

In the summer of 2024, a design was developed that would later be named Gertrude, after my favourite chicken on the farm. The jumpers were knitted in a limited edition in The Knitwit Stable's mini-factory in Baambrugge, from Dutch wool.

When the knitted jumpers arrived in Welsum in the autumn, a new chapter began. The homemade Dutch indigo was ready. One by one, the jumpers were dipped into the dye bath. The aim was to create a subtle colour gradient that would reveal the different shades of the pigment. What had felt like a calm, artisanal process beforehand turned out to be intensive and hard manual labour. Each jumper required attention, time and repetition. It was precisely in this that something emerged that went beyond making a garment. The process brought a deeper connection with the raw materials, the landscape and the people who had contributed to it.

Gertrude: more than a jumper

When Gertrude was launched in October 2024, many people saw a warm woolly jumper with a special blue colour gradient. This design, however, represented something much bigger. It showed what becomes possible when knowledge, craftsmanship, agriculture and design come closer together. It is valuable to understand again where our materials and colours come from. Its beauty has a different depth, one that is truly moving.

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Colour that knows where it comes from

For centuries, it was self-evident that colour had an origin. That blue began in a leaf. That pigment came from plants, time, knowledge and attention. At the Fashion Farm, we are re-examining what happens when colour is not created in a factory, but in the soil beneath our feet. Here it grows among the crops. It is harvested, processed, dyed and worn.

Just like with so many processes at the Fashion Farm, it all starts with something small enough to fit in the palm of your hand: a seed.

Joline

PS: would you like to follow my journey from seed to garment and all the stages in between? Sign up for our newsletter.

Primark has completed a full refurbishment of its anchor store at Queensgate Peterborough, spanning 59,000 square feet across two trading floors. The investment brings the retailer's latest store concept to the centre, with a modernised store environment, an improved layout and 18 new self-checkouts across both trading floors, creating a more efficient customer journey for shoppers.

The refreshed store showcases Primark's latest fashion, beauty and home collections, keeping the retailer's offer aligned with evolving customer expectations and the strong demand from Queensgate visitors.

The refurbishment forms part of a wider wave of investment at Queensgate, which has seen more than three million pounds committed by tenants across more than 100,000 square feet of retail space. Boots and Vision Express have also completed significant store refurbishments at the centre, reflecting strong brand performance at Queensgate and reinforcing its position as the region's leading retail destination.

Queensgate's ability to attract leading brands and deliver what its visitors want reflects the strength of its active asset management strategy.

With its refurbishment now complete, Primark's anchor store stands at the centre of a scheme that continues to draw sustained investment from leading retail brands.

US footwear group Wolverine Worldwide (WWW) has raised its full-year outlook after a stronger-than-expected second quarter, with growth led by its Merrell and Saucony brands.

The footwear group reported revenue of 506.4 million dollars for the three months to July 4, up 6.8 percent year-on-year and 6.1 percent on a constant-currency basis. Merrell sales rose 11.1 percent to 175.5 million dollars, while Saucony increased 9.9 percent to 158.6 million dollars. Wolverine brand sales were also up 6.6 percent, contrasting Sweaty Betty, where sales declined 2.4 percent.

Operating margin improved to 9.3 percent, from 8.6 percent a year earlier, while diluted earnings per share rose 15.6 percent to 0.37 dollars. Inventory fell 17 percent to 269 million dollars and net debt was reduced by 22 percent to 443 million dollars.

The company said higher US tariffs continued to impact margins, with gross margin falling 70 basis points to 46.5 percent, despite price increases and other measures partly offseting the results.

Speaking on the report, CEO Chris Hufnagel said: “We’re executing our strategies, elevating our brands, and driving consistent, profitable growth. Based on our strong start to the year and the progress we’re seeing across the business, we’re raising our outlook for 2026.”

WWW now expects 2026 revenue to be between 1.98 billion and two billion dollars, up from its previous forecast of 1.96 billion to 1.985 billion dollars, alongside higher expectations for operating margin and earnings per share.

Depop and Spotify announced an exclusive partnership on Monday, marrying the worlds of music and secondhand fashion through a collaboration with six artists: Eve, Amira Elfeky, Estevie, Frost Children, House of Protection and Lily Meola. The tie-up, first of its kind, debuted on Tuesday with the launch of an artist-curated Spotify playlist, followed by curated edits that arrived Wednesday on Depop.

"This partnership brings together two brands that are deeply embedded in culture and united by a shared belief in the power of creativity and self-expression," said Steve Dool, senior director, brand and creative at Depop, in a statement. "Fashion and music have always gone hand in hand, with communities shaping what's next through their individual style and taste. Together with Spotify, we're creating new ways for our community to discover artists, explore personal style and connect through the cultural moments that inspire them."

On Thursday, both brands will host a two-day activation in Los Angeles featuring live performances and curated fashion edits to celebrate the partnership.

“We’re excited to spotlight six incredible artists through this partnership with Depop. We hope to give fans a deeper look at the styles and sounds that shape their perspective as artists,” said Matt Luhks, senior director, global marketing at Spotify. “Many of the artists contributed to an exclusive playlist on Spotify, which is an audio companion to their Depop closets. It lets fans trace the thread between what these artists wear, what they listen to, and how they create.”

This is the first big marketing campaign of Depop since its ownership was fully transferred to eBay in July, after the e-commerce group paid Etsy 1.4 billion dollars in cash for the transaction, as FashionUnited previously reported.

The European textile and clothing industry is at a a pivotal moment and continues to serve as an economic pillar with 166 billion euros in annual turnover according to Euratex’s Facts & Figures 2026 report. Despite sustaining nearly 200,000 companies and 1.2 million jobs, the sector is grappling with contraction. Structural macroeconomic pressures, rising operational expenses within Europe, and cooling global demand have triggered a notable 2.8 percent decline in employment, forcing the industry to adapt rapidly to survive.

International trade dynamics reveal widening imbalances as European manufacturers face intense external headwinds. EU textile and clothing exports dropped by 2.9 percent, settling at 61 billion euros as traditional foreign markets tightened. In stark contrast, imports into the single market reached a staggering 122 billion euros, effectively doubling the value of Europe's outbound trade. This massive inflow underscores the growing reliance on foreign production and the steep cost competitiveness gap between domestic and overseas manufacturers.

Digital retail alters market dynamics

A major driver of this import surge is the explosive growth of digital retail channels, which has fundamentally altered market dynamics. Low-value e-commerce parcels entering the European Union have quadrupled since 2022, creating an unprecedented influx of ultra-fast fashion products. Chinese manufacturers now command roughly one-third of all textile and apparel products sold across Europe. This digital onslaught bypasses traditional supply chains, putting immense pressure on local retailers and domestic brands.

To counter these pressures, the European textile sector is accelerating its dual green and digital transition. Companies are heavily prioritising sustainability, resulting in measurable declines in CO₂ emission intensity across production lines. At the same time, industrial productivity is rising through advanced automation and digital supply chain tools. Growth is increasingly anchored in high-value technical textiles designed for specialised fields like healthcare, mobility, construction, and agriculture, shifting the industry focus away from basic apparel.

The path toward a circular economy remains a core strategic objective, though it faces scaling challenges. European manufacturers are investing in advanced recycling systems to process textile waste into new, high-quality circular fibres. However, these green initiatives require significant capital investment and predictable regulatory frameworks. The industry is actively calling for stricter enforcement of single-market standards to ensure that cheap, non-compliant imports do not undermine Europe's strict environmental benchmarks.

Looking ahead, the outlook for the next few years hinges on balancing structural evolution with robust market defence. While technical innovations and circular business models offer a viable path toward long-term resilience, the near-term environment will likely remain highly competitive and volatile. The sector's stability will ultimately depend on effective EU policy enforcement, level-playing-field trade mechanisms and the industry’s capacity to scale high-tech, sustainable textile solutions.

In Pictures

Alo has launched a new campaign fronted by Kylie Jenner on Thursday, nine days after the brand released its pre-fall campaign with Bella Hadid — the second major celebrity activation from the Los Angeles activewear label inside a fortnight.

Both were shot in Los Angeles by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, the pairing Alo has used for its highest-profile fashion imagery. According to the brand, Jenner’s campaign celebrates the everyday moments we keep for ourselves.

“Some of the most meaningful parts of my life happen when no one’s watching. Those moments of stillness are what help me feel grounded and present, and I’ve learned to protect them. That’s what I love about this campaign — it reminds us that taking care of yourself starts with making space for the things that are yours alone,” said Jenner.

The campaign also introduces Pink Marshmallow, a colour drop landing on existing core styles. In the photos released by the brand, Jenner wears the Alosoft Intuition Bra and High-Waist Intuition Capri in Pink Marshmallow Heather. She also appears in the Sunset Sneaker, Prismatic Jacket and High-Waist Prismatic Short, Splendor Bra, Aspire Tank, Alosoft Better Together Bra and High-Waist 7/8 Better Together Legging, Sway Full Zip Hoodie, Airlift Intrigue Bra and High-Waist Airlift Short.

“Kylie has been part of the ALO community for years, and we’ve always admired her distinctive sense of confidence and individuality,” said Summer Nacewicz, Alo’s EVP of marketing and creative. “What makes this campaign so meaningful is that it reveals a side of Kylie beyond the public image. Together, we wanted to celebrate the everyday moments where wellness begins—the ones that allow us to reconnect with ourselves.”

Jenner’s own commercial interests span Khy, Kylie Cosmetics and Sprinter, and the release describes her as an entrepreneur rather than a model or ambassador.

British retail platform Designer Exchange, which specialises in buying and selling second-hand luxury fashion, is strengthening its roots in Spain with the opening of a store in Barcelona. This marks the company's second permanent point-of-sale in the country, where it first launched over 10 years ago.

Founded in 2013 as the independent second-hand fashion resale chain of Computer Exchange (CeX), a company specialising in the resale of electronic products, Designer Exchange opened its first store that same year in the exclusive London neighbourhood of Knightsbridge. This is one of the most affluent areas of the British capital. From there, the newly launched resale platform, driven by entrepreneur Dominic Durante, began its journey. Its objective was to democratise and make accessories and fashion from the most coveted brands and designers more accessible through its unique resale model. The system currently operates through both physical and online channels. Its main unique feature, unlike other platforms, is that it buys products directly from sellers upfront before making them available to its customers. A second key differentiator is that its curated selection of products is available not only online but also through its growing network of physical stores.

Based on this model, by November 2015, Designer Exchange embarked on an initial international expansion strategy, opening its first international store outside the UK. The point-of-sale opened in Madrid at 39 Calle de Lagasca, in the heart of the Salamanca district and the city's so-called 'Golden Mile'. Dominic Durante, co-founder and chief executive officer of Designer Exchange, has acknowledged that Spain was not the platform's initial preference for its international expansion. However, it ultimately prevailed over options like Paris or Milan. This was due to CeX's existing presence and knowledge of the Spanish market, which gave Designer Exchange an advantage in Spain that it would have lacked in France or Italy.

New store in Barcelona

A decade after making that choice, far from regretting it or even trying to explore new markets for physical expansion, Designer Exchange professes to be more than satisfied with the performance of its Spanish store over the past decade. Spain is the only market where they continue to operate offline, alongside the UK, of course. In 2026, the company has decided to accelerate its pace again in these two countries with new store openings.

In the UK, the resale platform added a new point-of-sale in the country early last June with a store opening in Newcastle. This latest addition brings its network to five stores, allowing Designer Exchange to complement its online operations in the British market with offline channels in Manchester; Birmingham; Cheshire; Newcastle; and London, where it has a store in the same Knightsbridge neighbourhood where the platform opened its first establishment in 2013.

Meanwhile in Spain, the platform has just opened its second store in the country, in Barcelona. The company has launched in the city with the aim of replicating the commercial success it claims to have enjoyed for 10 years at its Madrid store, opening a point-of-sale at 230 Carrer del Rosselló. The retail space is strategically located in one of Barcelona's most sought-after shopping districts. Situated on the perpendicular stretch between Rambla de Catalunya and Passeig de Gràcia, Designer Exchange's second-hand offering now shares a retail stage with fashion houses such as Balenciaga, Valentino, Fendi, Louis Vuitton, Dior, Chanel and Gucci. These labels represent many of the items in Designer Exchange's product base. The company offers clothing, bags, footwear, accessories and jewellery from brands including Hermès, Loewe, Prada and Celine, and promises to rigorously authenticate all products before purchase and sale.

“The response to our Madrid store has been incredibly encouraging, and in response, Barcelona was the natural next step for us,” said Dominic Durante, founder of Designer Exchange, in a statement shared by the resale platform's management. With this opening, “we are delighted to bring the Designer Exchange experience to one of Europe's great fashion cities,” he added. He referred to Barcelona as “the perfect place to continue growing our community” and to advance the goal and commitment of “bringing authentic second-hand luxury to a wider audience.” Following this second store in Spain, Designer Exchange leaves the door open to expanding into new European countries, although no concrete plans have been defined.

Frasers Group, the British retail giant owned by Mike Ashley, has confirmed its acquisition of luxury department store Harvey Nichols following weeks of rumours surrounding the potential deal.

The transaction includes the retailer’s six stores, including its locations in Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Edinburgh, and its newly furnished London flagship, with over 1,000 jobs to be retained alongside its online business and existing inventory.

International franchise agreements and stores will also continue trading under existing licensing arrangements, which include sites in Dubai, Riyadh, Kuwait, Doha and Hong Kong. The group has also confirmed that international franchise locations will continue operating as normal under their existing licensing arrangements.

UK stores and international licensing retained, future of Dublin flagship remains uncertain

In Dublin, however, only certain assets of the city’s flagship have been secured, including stock and store fixtures. Frasers said it is continuing to support the trading operations of the location while discussions related to the business remain ongoing.

The acquisition follows the appointment of FTI Consulting as administrators and brings an end to 35 years of ownership by billionaire entrepreneur Dickson Poon, who acquired Harvey Nichols in 1991 for £53 million. Poon remained chairman of the business after appointing Julia Goddard as chief executive two years ago.

Frasers was among several parties to express interest in the retailer, after initially demanding access to the sale process. It ultimately beat fellow bidders including Next and Gordon Brothers to secure the business.

In a press release announcing the acquisition, Frasers acknowledged that the retailer will require significant restructuring, with a review of Harvey Nichols’ store portfolio, organisational structure, operating model and cost base planned.

In a statement, Michael Murray, chief executive of Frasers Group, said: “Harvey Nichols is an iconic British institution with significant potential, but it is clear meaningful change is needed. The turnaround will require tough choices, and we are prepared to make those decisions, even if that means a smaller business in the near term, to create a stronger and more sustainable Harvey Nichols for the long term.”

He added that integrating the department store into Frasers’ existing luxury ecosystem would give it the “expertise, infrastructure and commitment” needed to support its long-term future.

Frasers boosts Elevation Strategy

The acquisition serves as part of Frasers’ wider Elevation Strategy, which has seen the group expand beyond its traditional Sports Direct roots and build a broader luxury portfolio. Harvey Nichols will sit alongside businesses including Flannels and The Webster, while the group said the deal would further strengthen its relationships with global luxury brands including Gucci, Moncler, Burberry, Prada and Dior.

Frasers also said it would work with Harvey Nichols’ brand partners throughout the transition, as the business is reshaped for a more sustainable future.

For Goddard, the acquisition marks the next stage of a repositioning programme that has already included investment in the London flagship and changes to the retailer’s customer proposition. “Today marks an important milestone for Harvey Nichols and provides a strong platform for the next phase of the business's evolution under the ownership of Frasers Group,” she said.

Goddard added that she would work with Frasers to build on the progress made over the past year, focusing on operational efficiency, improved infrastructure and continued investment in customer experience.

60 million pound funding reportedly required for continued transformation

While financial details of the transaction were not immediately disclosed, prior reporting suggested that Harvey Nichols was seeking a valuation between 50 million and 60 million pounds. Ashley, however, had told The Times that Frasers had instead valued the business at around 40 million pounds, noting that an operational turnaround of the business would be a “huge challenge”.

For the 12 months to March 29, 2025, Harvey Nichols entered its fifth consecutive year of losses, with net loss after tax widening from 12.92 million pounds in 2023 to 177.63 million pounds. Its turnover, meanwhile, fell 11 percent to 69.46 million pounds.

Auditors at KPMG warned that a potential transaction could require the retail group to enter formal administration prior to a final sale if additional funding was not secured. According to sources for Sky News, Harvey Nichols had told potential buyers that a commitment of 60 million pounds in funding would be needed for its ongoing transformation, yet analysts predicted a higher figure may be more realistic.

US luxury group Tapestry, Inc. (Tapestry), the parent company of Coach and Kate Spade New York achieved double-digit top- and bottom-line growth across fourth quarter and full year. The performance for the period ending June 27, 2026, was driven by strong handbag demand at flagship brand Coach and international expansion across Asia and Europe.

For the full fiscal year 2026, net sales reached 8 billion dollars, representing a 14 percent increase on a reported basis and 13 percent in constant currency. Excluding Stuart Weitzman, which was divested during the fiscal year, pro forma net sales rose 18 percent on a reported basis and 17 percent in constant currency.

Joanne Crevoiserat, chief executive officer of Tapestry, stated: “Our fourth quarter outperformance capped a year of strong growth, as we meaningfully exceeded expectations and achieved key financial commitments we established at our Investor Day two years ahead of plan. Our success is by design, demonstrating the power of our Amplify strategy.”

Direct-to-consumer expansion and regional momentum

During the fiscal year, Tapestry added approximately 11 million new customers, with approximately 35 percent belonging to Gen Z. Direct-to-consumer (D2C) revenue increased 16 percent on a pro forma constant currency basis for the full year and 11 percent in the fourth quarter. Digital sales grew at a high-teens rate over the 52-week period, while physical store sales recorded mid-teens growth.

Leather goods performance was led by Coach, where handbag average unit retail (AUR) increased at a mid-teens percentage rate in both the fourth quarter and full year. Coach delivered double-digit revenue growth in every quarter of fiscal 2026, expanding 14 percent in the fourth quarter and 23 percent for the full year.

Geographically, on a pro forma constant currency basis, full year sales grew 15 percent in North America, 23 percent in Europe, and 19 percent across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. Within APAC, Greater China net sales expanded 35 percent for the full year and 28 percent in the fourth quarter.

Gross profit for the full year reached 6.23 billion dollars on a GAAP basis, compared to 5.29 billion dollars in the prior fiscal year. On a non-GAAP basis, full year gross profit stood at 6.12 billion dollars, while gross margin expanded 120 basis points to 76.6 percent. Full year operating income totaled 1.91 billion dollars on a GAAP basis. On a non-GAAP basis, operating income rose 33 percent to 1.87 billion dollars, with operating margin expanding approximately 340 basis points to 23.4 percent.

Full year GAAP earnings per diluted share stood at 7.27 dollars, compared to 0.82 dollars in fiscal year 2025. Non-GAAP earnings per diluted share reached 7.05 dollars, marking a 38 percent year-over-year (YoY) increase.

Fourth quarter operational review

In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, net sales totaled 1.88 billion dollars, representing an 9 percent increase on a reported basis and 8 percent in constant currency. Excluding Stuart Weitzman, pro forma net sales rose 12 percent on a reported basis and 11 percent in constant currency.

Fourth quarter GAAP gross profit reached 1.56 billion dollars. On a non-GAAP basis, gross profit reached 1.47 billion dollars, yielding a gross margin of 78.1 percent, up 180 basis points YoY. Operating income for the quarter stood at 442 million dollars on a GAAP basis, recovering from an operating loss of 583 million dollars in the prior-year quarter. Non-GAAP operating income rose 25% to 362 million dollars, with operating margin reaching 19.3 percent. GAAP diluted earnings per share for the quarter were 1.68 dollars, while non-GAAP diluted earnings per share reached 1.32 dollars, up 28 percent YoY.

Fiscal 2027 outlook

Initiating its outlook for fiscal year 2027, Tapestry projects revenue to be in the range of 8.4 billion dollars to 8.5 billion dollars, representing mid-single-digit growth on a nominal and constant currency basis; operating margin expansion of approximately 50 basis points YoY; and earnings per diluted share in the range of 7.80 dollars to 7.90 dollars, representing low-double-digit growth YoY.

For the first quarter of fiscal 2027, the group anticipates high-single-digit revenue growth on a nominal and constant currency basis against prior-year pro forma revenue, alongside diluted earnings per share of approximately 1.55 dollars.

The board of directors approved a 16 percent increase to the quarterly dividend to 0.4625 dollars per share, payable on September 21, 2026, bringing the anticipated annual dividend rate to 1.85 dollars per share. Tapestry also plans to repurchase 1.35 billion dollars of common stock under its existing authorization during fiscal 2027.

Circular textiles NGO Ellen MacArthur Foundation has said it will be working with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on developing and delivering a national textiles circularity policy framework.

The project forms part of the UAE’s wider Naseej initiative, a Presidential-level programme focused on supporting the country’s transition towards a circular economy for fashion and textiles.

The initiative intends to move the sector away from a linear model based on consumption and disposal, and instead support approaches that preserve resources, retain economic value and contribute to the UAE’s longer-term development goals.

As part of the collaboration, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation will work with stakeholders in the UAE to identify policy instruments that can support circular economy outcomes for textiles. The Foundation said the project will also generate practical insights into the opportunities and challenges of implementing circularity across the sector.

As a blueprint, the organisation will use its prior work forming the EU Textile Strategy and supporting extended producer responsibility (EPR) design across multiple jurisdictions, alongside expertise from its wider network.

Jocelyn Bleriot, Policy and Institutions Executive Lead at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, said: “The UAE occupies an important place in global textile flows, notably as a re-export and trade hub. Such a position offers a significant opportunity to put the country's circular economy ambitions into practice.”

“A successful policy framework in the UAE has the potential to serve as a replicable model for other countries in the Gulf and the wider Global South, where circular economy policy potential for textiles remains untapped.”

Launched in June 2026, Naseej aims to address the UAE's estimated 220,000 tonnes of annual textile waste by moving the sector away from a traditional disposal model towards recycling, reuse and longer-term resource value.

The initiative brings together government, businesses, recyclers, researchers and local communities, with measures including retail take-back schemes, uniform recycling programmes and public education campaigns.

Upon its launch, 14 strategic partnerships were established between the UAE and businesses spanning spanning retail, energy, healthcare, logistics and circular-economy businesses, including Fabricaid, Thrift for Good and Re-Up, each intended to support the expansion of circularity programmes.

German footwear manufacturer Birkenstock increased its revenue in the third quarter of the current 2026 financial year, subsequently raising its forecast.

In the three months to June 30, the company achieved a revenue increase of 13 percent (plus 15 percent on a currency-neutral basis) to 719.5 million euros (830 million dollars). After nine months, growth stands at 11 percent to 1.74 billion euros. The London-based parent company, Birkenstock Holding plc, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, announced this in a quarterly statement on Thursday.

“We performed exceptionally well in the third quarter and once again demonstrated the strength of our brand,” said chief executive officer Oliver Reichert.

The direct-to-consumer business grew by 14 percent to 277.7 million euros, growing faster than the business-to-business segment, which increased by 13 percent to 441.7 million euros. During the reporting period, Birkenstock opened 13 of its own stores, reaching 124 locations worldwide by June 30.

The Americas remains the strongest region with 347.4 million euros (plus 11 percent, plus 14 percent on a currency-neutral basis). In Europe, the Middle East and Africa, revenue increased by 15 percent to 297.2 million euros. The impact of conflicts in the Middle East was less than expected. Asia-Pacific grew by 18 percent to 74.7 million euros, or 23 percent on a currency-neutral basis and almost 30 percent excluding Australia.

Tariffs and currency effects weigh on margin

The gross margin decreased by 140 basis points to 59.1 percent. According to the company, this was due to unfavourable currency translation, additional US tariffs and the product mix. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 11 percent to 242.5 million euros. The corresponding margin decreased by 70 basis points to 33.7 percent.

Profit decreased by 15 percent to 109.6 million euros, as financial expenses more than doubled from 18.3 to 43.0 million euros. This was driven by one-off, non-cash expenses of 22 million euros for the share buyback and the refinancing of bonds. Earnings per share fell by 13 percent to 0.60 euros, while adjusted earnings per share rose by 19 percent to 0.74 euros.

At the end of the quarter, Birkenstock completed an accelerated share buyback of 230 million euros, reducing the number of outstanding shares by six million. In mid-June, the company issued senior notes worth 900 million euros at 4.50 percent, using the proceeds to redeem 428.5 million euros of notes at 5.25 percent. The remaining proceeds will facilitate further buybacks of up to 500 million US dollars. Cash and cash equivalents stood at 693.6 million euros on June 30. The net leverage ratio increased to 1.8 times adjusted EBITDA due to the buyback, up from 1.5 times at the end of September.

Higher forecast

For the 2026 financial year, Birkenstock now expects currency-neutral revenue growth of 15 percent, up from the previously forecast 13 to 15 percent. Reported revenue is expected to be at the upper end of the 2.3 to 2.35 billion euro range. Adjusted EBITDA is projected to be at least 710 million euros, instead of 700 million euros, corresponding to a margin of 30.2 to 30.5 percent.

The adjusted gross margin forecast remains unchanged at 57.0 to 57.5 percent. The investment forecast also remains at 110 to 130 million euros. The adjusted earnings per share forecast is still 1.90 to 2.05 euros, which includes impacts from tariffs, currency effects, the tax rate and the buyback.

This article was created with the help of AI.

British womenswear brand Karen Millen is making its return to the high street through a new wholesale partnership with The Foschini Group (TFG), the parent company of Hobbs, Phase Eight and Whistles.

The brand will first be stocked in TFG’s Fosse Park store in Leicester from August 14, before rolling out into locations at Aberdeen Union Square and Liverpool One. Additional concessions will follow at a later date.

Each site will offer a curated selection of Karen Millen’s occasionwear and bestsellers, including its ‘Forever Collection’, a lineup of garments designed to draw on the brand’s 45 years of existence.

The relaunch, which responds to customer demand a press release said, comes seven years after Karen Millen closed its bricks-and-mortar stores after falling into administration.

The company, alongside its sister label Coast, was rescued by Debenhams Group – formerly Boohoo Group – in an 18.2 million pound deal that only included the online business and name, resulting in the closures of 117 department store concessions and 32 stores.

Now, things are looking up for Karen Millen. In Debenhams’ most recent financial report, the brand was reported to be performing as a premium asset, maintaining significant global market potential.

Group CEO Dan Finley said bringing Karen Millen back to the high street was a “significant moment”, with physical retail providing an opportunity for customers to experience the brand in different ways.

“Working with TFG allows us to bring Karen Millen signature craftsmanship and occasionwear to a new generation of customers, while building on the strength of a brand that has been part of British fashion for more than four decades,” he added.

South Korean eyewear label Blue Elephant has made its physical debut in the US with the opening of its first regional flagship store in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles.

Located at 300 N. Beverly Drive, the 7,000 square foot space marks a milestone in an ongoing global expansion for the brand, which plans to use the site as a strategic hub for the US.

The store extends Blue Elephant’s retail philosophy already established in South Korea and Japan, where its retail environments respond to the architectural and cultural identity of the base city.

In Los Angeles, this is reflected in the space through a sculptural installation reminiscent of the letters L and A, while tunnel-like forms guide customers through a sunset-tinged experience.

Its opening coincides with the launch of the LA Exclusive Collection, offering 10 models exclusively available at the store that draw inspiration from the city’s landscape and culture.

While Blue Elephant has steadily grown its presence across South Korea, Japan and the US since its inception in 2019, now operating 36 stores, the brand hasn’t escaped controversy.

In 2024, the label found itself at the centre of a long-spanning legal dispute with fellow Korean eyewear brand Gentle Monster, which accused its domestic competitor of deliberate imitation of products.

Blue Elephant denied the allegations, calling the claims a “typical intellectual property dispute”.

After the brand’s former CEO, Choi Jin-woo, was arrested and charged with importing and selling products that copied Gentle Monster's products, Blue Elephant has unveiled a new product lineup and rebranding strategy.

Berlin-based eyewear retailer Mister Spex SE has concluded the first half of 2026 with a decline in revenue.

In the first six months, the company generated revenue of 87.9 million euros (101.4 million dollars), according to the half-year report published on Thursday. This was 10 percent below the previous year's figure of 97.6 million euros. In the second quarter alone, revenue fell by 11 percent to 47.1 million euros. The eyewear specialist cited the weak market environment; more targeted management of promotional activities; and the loss of revenue from five international online shops, which the company closed in the second half of 2025.

The overall market is also weakening. According to an analysis by the Central Association of Opticians and Optometrists, the revenue of participating businesses from January to May was 7.4 percent below the previous year's level, and sales volumes decreased by 11.3 percent.

The online business in particular declined. Revenue in the segment, which currently includes webshops in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Norway (contact lenses only) and Sweden, fell by 20 percent to 52.8 million euros. In contrast, the company's own stores achieved a revenue increase of 10 percent to 35.1 million euros, and 9 percent to 18.9 million euros in the second quarter. On a like-for-like basis, the store business grew by 3 percent in the half-year. Six acquired optical stores and new openings in Berlin and Hamburg contributed to the growth.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) was minus 2.4 million euros in the first half-year, compared to minus 650,000 euros in the same period last year. Adjusted for one-off expenses related to strategic, organisational and system-related measures, EBITDA reached 3.8 million euros, 65 percent above the previous year's figure of 2.3 million euros. In the second quarter, adjusted EBITDA increased by 55 percent to 2.6 million euros. In the online segment, the figure climbed from 900,000 euros to 3.8 million euros.

“The improvement in earnings shows that our stronger focus on revenue quality, gross margin and cost base is having an effect. At the same time, stabilising revenue remains a key task for the second half of the year,” said Benjamin von Schenck, CFO of Mister Spex.

Production and logistics outsourced to Rodenstock and Arvato

In the second quarter, Mister Spex initiated the outsourcing of production and logistics to specialised partners. Rodenstock will take over the production of ready-to-sell prescription glasses and prescription sunglasses, while Arvato will be responsible for key logistics services. The production and logistics site in Berlin-Spandau will be closed at the end of the 2026 financial year. The severance agreements from this closure are among the special expenses excluded from the adjusted EBITDA, as are measures in the areas of IT infrastructure and supply chain.

“We are aligning Mister Spex towards a data-driven omnichannel model with an asset-light structure,” said Tobias Krauss, CEO of Mister Spex. “The continuous improvement process forms the permanent framework for making our business model more scalable and resilient, and enabling sustainable profitable growth with lower capital commitment.”

The bottom line for the first half of 2026 was a loss of 13.6 million euros. In the same period last year, it was 11.6 million euros, meaning the loss grew by 17 percent.

Mister Spex has confirmed its forecast for the 2026 financial year. The company continues to expect revenue development of between zero and minus 10 percent compared to the previous year, and an adjusted EBITDA margin in the range of break-even to a mid-single-digit percentage.

In Pictures Fashion and automotive collaborations are nothing new, but brands today are driving a new partnership model. This week, both Louis Vuitton and Kith unveiled luxury car designs created to offer a complete consumer experience.

Louis Vuitton collaborated with Singer on the restorations of classic Porsche 911s, revealing two luxury cars on Wednesday: the Porsche 911 Reimagined by Singer - Classic and the Porsche 911 Reimagined by Singer – Classic Turbo designed by Nicolas Ghesquière, the French house’s artistic director of women's collections. Both designs were inspired by Louis Vuitton's philosophy around the Art of Travel.

Ghesquière described the collaboration as “a chance to reconnect with this fascinating world – a magnificent opportunity to explore truly exceptional automobiles.”

The Louis Vuitton x Singer partnership includes a full wardrobe, with a racing jacket, a made-to-measure suit, jeans, driving gloves, driving shoes, sunglasses, and helmets. Plus, an extensive list of travel goods, including bespoke trunks, document cases, helmet bags, front-trunk luggage, a brand-new wristwatch, a surfboard, custom keys, and key holders, among other pieces.

Louis Vuitton’s connection with the automotive world dates back to 1897, when Georges Vuitton was offering trunks designed specifically for cars. In 1909, Louis Vuitton’s grandsons Pierre and Jean Vuitton also designed their own car, built on a sports chassis produced by the manufacturer Stabilia. More recently, in 2020, Virgil Abloh, then Louis Vuitton's menswear artistic director, teamed up with Mercedes-Benz chief design officer Gorden Wagener to reimagine the G-Class as a one-off racing-inspired concept. The collaboration with Singer, however, shows how fashion brands are now creating projects that feel more integrated and content-driven.

Following a similar script is Kith. The brand began its partnership with BMW in 2020. On Monday, they released the fourth chapter of their ongoing collaboration, unveiling the 1972 BMW 3.0 CSi and the 1987 M6 E24 by Ronnie Fieg. The release marks Kith’s 15th anniversary and serves as inspiration for an apparel collection, which will be launched on August 17.

The combination of fashion and automotive brands is the perfect match when it comes to heritage. It lets both sides express their craftsmanship while creating a cultural moment. When BMW announced its first collaboration with Kith, Markus Flasch, CEO of BMW M GmbH, said the partnership would allow them to "spread the word to an exciting new target group, as the lifestyle fashion scene transforms from a cultural phenomenon to a global way of life, bringing a new and very distinct brand of exclusivity to many different areas.”

As Flasch's comment suggests, the appeal for automakers is less about selling cars than about borrowing an audience. For fashion houses, the reverse is true: the car lends credibility that a handbag or sneaker can't.

In the last decade, German automobile manufacturer Porsche has collaborated with Aimé Leon Dore, Tag Heuer, Rimowa, and Puma, among other labels. Mercedes-Benz also has an extensive list of fashion partners, which includes Sacai, Moncler, and Off-White. What separates this cycle from earlier fashion-automotive tie-ins is scope. Earlier fashion-automotive collaborations centered on the vehicle, while the current projects build a full commercial ecosystem around it.

UK-based lifestyle brand Mulberry has appointed Sara Dickinson and Kenny Wilson to its board as independent non-executive directors, effective September 9, 2026. The appointments follow an earlier announcement made by the company on August 7, 2026. Dickinson will also serve as chair of the audit committee, while Wilson will join the remuneration and nominations committee.

Dickinson brings over 30 years of experience in finance, with expertise in financial governance, digital finance processes and transformation. She currently serves as group chief financial officer at telecoms infrastructure business Boldyn Group Limited. Her previous leadership roles include chief finance officer at business improvements firm BSI, senior vice president at Expedia Inc and commercial finance director at Costa Coffee.

Wilson has extensive executive experience building and growing global consumer brands. Most recently, he served as chief executive officer at footwear brand Dr. Martens between 2018 and 2025. He also held prior executive roles including chief executive officer at Cath Kidston Limited, president for Europe at Claire's Accessories and senior vice president at Levi Strauss & Co.

Currently, Wilson holds roles as interim chief executive officer at outdoor clothing brand K-Way and chairman of luxury streetwear label Represent.

“Following an extensive process, I am delighted to welcome Sara and Kenny to Mulberry,” said Chris Roberts, chair of Mulberry. “Sara's deep financial governance experience and Kenny's global consumer brands expertise bring greater breadth and perspective to the Board. We look forward to working with them as we continue to deliver on the Mulberry strategy, creating value for all shareholders.”

World Collective, Denim Deal and Green Story have announced the joint launch of a Digital Product Passport (DPP) pilot project, which is now operational for three denim fabrics.

Currently, a fabric supplier may have to provide the same information to each of its client brands: composition, origin, environmental data, certifications, and so on.

World Collective, Denim Deal and Green Story are testing a system where this information is structured once at the fabric level. It can then accompany the material as it is used by different brands and in different garments.

This implementation addresses what industry observers are beginning to call an “intermediate DPP”. The product passport data is integrated at the component or material level, rather than waiting until the finished product stage.

The project is led by World Collective, a digital sourcing platform for the fashion industry; Denim Deal, a global public-private collaboration bringing together partners from across the denim value chain; and Green Story, a technology provider that handles environmental data.

For now, their pilot focuses on three types of denim – Renewed Eco, Earthbound Eco and Bluecanopy Eco – from Indian manufacturer and Denim Deal member, Bhaskar Savitt Industries.

Anticipating regulation: a market opportunity for responsible suppliers

Each fabric has a DPP that provides access to its composition, sustainability indicators and supplier information. The idea is to create a data block upstream in the chain. This avoids rebuilding a passport from scratch for each finished pair of jeans.

This new structure is a way for suppliers to prepare for future European regulation and turn it into a commercial advantage.

“Today, suppliers have to communicate the same information separately to dozens of brands,” summarised Jeanine Ballone, co-founder and CEO of World Collective. “Our pilot project shows that when suppliers invest in structuring their data once, in a standardised format, this information becomes infinitely more valuable. It is not just a matter of efficiency; it is a competitive advantage. Suppliers with complete DPP data can directly present their practices and capabilities to the market.”

In September, during Texhibition Istanbul, World Collective, in partnership with Denim Deal and Green Story, will host an event at its stand. The aim is to engage Turkish denim suppliers and prepare them for the adoption of the DPP.

The UK government has estimated that reforms to zero hours and similar contracts could cost employers between 350 million pounds and 2.9 billion pounds a year, with retailers among the sectors expected to feel the greatest impact.

The analysis, published to support a consultation on the reforms, explores proposals that would give eligible workers a right to guaranteed hours, reasonable notice of shifts and payments when shifts are cancelled, moved or curtailed at short notice.

The government says the measures are intended to address “one-sided flexibility”, counteracting the risk of unpredictable hours and income that workers may face. Retail was cited as a sector likely to be impacted due to its reliance on variable demand and flexible staffing models.

Under the government’s central scenario, the reforms would cost businesses around 1.1 billion pounds a year. Of this, 270 million pounds would come from guaranteed hours, 640 million pounds from reasonable notice requirements and 160 million pounds from payments for shifts cancelled, moved or curtailed at short notice.

The government stresses that the figures depend on the final policy, with costs subject to change in line with the rules.

Retailers could turn to agency workers for flexible resources

RSM UK’s latest Workforce research suggests retailers are already considering how they will respond. It found that 88 percent of retailers are making changes to their use of zero hours contracts, while 28 percent plan to offer guaranteed hours, 21 percent will stop using zero hours contracts and 16 percent will reduce their use.

Almost half of retailers (48 percent) said they will look to agency workers to provide flexible resources. RSM said, however, that this may not remove their obligations under the new rules, with the right to guaranteed hours still potentially applying to agency workers in certain circumstances.

In a statement, Charlie Barnes, head of employment legal services at RSM UK, said: “The new legislation is leading retailers to essentially stop using zero hours contracts by either offering guaranteed hours, reducing the use or not using them at all.”

Barnes noted that the complexity of the rules could increase administration and costs, while pushing retailers towards alternative ways of filling labour gaps. He added, however, that potential exemptions for seasonal workers or particular events outlined in the consultation would be “welcome news for retailers”.

Jacqui Baker, partner and head of retail at RSM UK, said that the changes could also reduce opportunities for people who value flexible casual work, particularly young people. She said retail, leisure and hospitality businesses already facing higher employment and business costs would “bear the heaviest burden”.

Scale of costs raises questions over value of reforms

Responding to the analysis, Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC, said the scale of the costs raises “serious questions” over whether the reforms will deliver value for workers.

She said retailers would also face “hundreds of millions of pounds” in additional costs to update HR and payroll systems, while arguing that the measures come as retailers are already dealing with 6.5 billion pounds of higher employment costs from increased National Insurance Contributions and the National Living Wage.

Dickinson warned that adding further costs while youth unemployment is rising could damage young people’s job prospects, and called on the government to tackle insecure work “without punishing responsible businesses” or reducing access to flexible jobs.

Seville-based fashion group and brand Scalpers has taken a stake in Yuxus, a Madrid-based youth fashion brand founded in 2018. Both companies have presented the deal as a strategic alliance in a statement.

Guillermo and Álvaro Ferre, founders of Yuxus, will continue to lead the business. Scalpers Company joins as a strategic partner to support the development of the Ferre brothers' company, which enters the agreement with over half a million social media followers, 14 points-of-sale and nearly 100 employees.

The size of the stake and the financial terms of the agreement have not been disclosed. Through this deal, the two brands are launching a joint expansion plan that aims to consolidate Yuxus in its current markets and expand it into new countries.

A new stage for a brand that grew without investors

Yuxus was founded in 2018 by three 16-year-old friends from Madrid, Fernando Carrillo and brothers Álvaro and Guillermo Ferre, who raised 1,000 euros to launch their first batch of T-shirts, according to its founders in an interview with FashionUnited. For over five years, it operated exclusively as a digital brand. As they explained at the time, it grew without external investors, prioritising turnover over profit and reinvesting resources into its own expansion.

The move follows a period of transformation for the brand. In March 2025, Fernando Carrillo left the management, leaving the Ferre brothers in charge. In September, the firm appointed Víctor Ariza as its first creative and design director, with whom it launched “Hongdae”, its first signature collection, and began to establish itself as a fashion house. Months later, it expanded its audience with “For Her”, its first line designed for women, having previously offered only unisex styles.

This shift is supported by rapid commercial growth. Yuxus entered the physical retail channel in September 2023 with its first store on Fuencarral Street in Madrid. This was followed by its own stores in Valencia and Seville, corners in El Corte Inglés and a presence in multi-brand spaces.

The company's turnover increased from one million euros (1.15 million dollars) in 2022 to three million in 2023, and it set a target of exceeding ten million in 2024. The company has the ambition to double sales in 2025 and is eyeing international markets such as the US.

The Scalpers ecosystem

For Scalpers, the deal extends its strategy of building a group of brands with their own distinct identities. Founded in Seville in 2007 as a menswear brand recognisable by its skull logo, the company has diversified its offering with lines such as Scalpers Kids in 2012; Scalpers Woman in 2018; and a girls' line in 2019. Today, the Scalpers group also includes Vicky Martín Berrocal's guest-wear fashion firm, Victoria, footwear brand Mim Shoes and surf sportswear brand Deeply.

The investment in Yuxus now gives it a foothold in the streetwear segment and a direct connection to younger audiences, an area where Spanish brands are excelling. The Seville-based company enters this alliance from a strong position. It closed 2024 with a turnover of 220 million euros, a 10 percent increase on the previous year, and 370 points-of-sale across 11 countries. It also has around 1,500 employees and a stated goal of reaching 300 million euros in sales this financial year.

West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker has launched a 10 million pound programme with the goal of bringing more life back to the region’s high streets. Funding associated with the programme is set to help empty shops, local businesses and town and city centre spaces.

The High Streets and Growth Incubator will initially support several locations across the region, with the areas receiving funding to be announced in due course. The programme will target the West Midlands’ high shop vacancy rate and help businesses compete as consumers increasingly shop online.

Funding will be used to bring boarded-up units back into use, improve tired public spaces and attract more visitors through events, new market stalls and street food venues. The programme further intends to support the businesses that help give local high streets a stronger identity.

The funding comes alongside the announcement of government planning changes designed to give councils more control over the growth of vape and betting shops. The initiative will also complement wider regeneration projects already under way in Coventry, Wolverhampton and Solihull, as well as investment in transport, markets and the region’s night-time economy.

Parker said: “It’s been a bruising few years for our high streets and sadly, many have become tired and run down. Today’s announcement by the Prime Minister finally gives councils the power to say no to the vape shops and betting shops that have taken over too many town centres.

"That’s a step forward. But taking back control of the high street is only half the job. We also need the investment to fill it with something better. That’s what this 10 million pounds is for. It will bring boarded-up shops back into use, get new market stalls and street food venues onto our high streets, and back the businesses that give people a reason to visit, not just pass through.”

The West Midlands Combined Authority is working with the West Midlands Growth Company and councils across Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton to initiate the programme.

The 10 million pound forms part of the region’s first four-year Integrated Settlement, a wider 2.5 billion pound funding agreement intended to support job creation, housebuilding and improved public transport.

Samsonite Group has agreed to acquire Béis, the lifestyle and travel brand founded by actress and entrepreneur Shay Mitchell, in a deal valuing the business at approximately 210 million dollars.

The acquisition will see Samsonite acquire 85 percent of Béis for 178.5 million dollars, funded through cash and available borrowing capacity. Mitchell will retain a 15 percent stake and continue as founder and head of creative and design, while Béis will operate as a standalone brand under CEO Adeela Hussain Johnson and its existing management team.

Founded in 2018, Béis accumulated around 210 million dollars in revenue in 2025 and has built a strong digital following, with more than 1.4 million Instagram followers and 619,000 on TikTok. Lifestyle bags account for around 50 percent of sales.

In a statement, Samsonite CEO Kyle Gendreau said the deal would support its priorities of "strengthening our digital capabilities to further support multi-channel growth" and "expanding our presence in lifestyle bags", while creating opportunities to accelerate Béis' long-term growth.

Mitchell added: "We've always dreamed big, and joining the Samsonite Group gives us the chance to dream even bigger. They're truly the perfect partner - our strengths complement each other so well, together we can take Béis places we couldn't have on our own."

The acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory and customary conditions. Samsonite said it plans to use its global distribution, sourcing and logistics infrastructure to introduce Béis to new markets and consumers.

US-based performance footwear and apparel brand Brooks Running (Brooks) has posted a record second quarter, delivering 14 percent year-to-date revenue growth as demand for its products remained strong across all regions and channels.

During the first half of 2026, the brand grew 9 percent year-over-year (YoY) in the Americas. International expansion accelerated rapidly, with revenue up 39 percent across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) and 10 percent in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region.

“Around the globe, running continues to play an increasingly important role for people prioritizing health and wellness in their lives,” said Dan Sheridan, chief executive officer of Brooks. “At Brooks, we aim to give runners the very best product and experiences to pursue that. Our first-half results reflect that focus and the incredible work of our teams globally.”

Brooks running footwear maintain top position

In Europe, Brooks outpaced the performance running footwear market in France, which grew 11 percent in the second quarter. The label also maintained its top position in Germany for adult performance running footwear priced above 90 euros, holding the top three selling styles in the category.

In the US run specialty channel, the company maintained its position as the top running footwear brand for the sixth consecutive month. Retailer Fleet Feet also named Brooks its number one vendor for the 11th consecutive year.

Franchise expansion and lifestyle category gains

Product growth during the second quarter was driven by core running franchises, trail products, and accessories. Celebrating its 25th year, the Adrenaline GTS line grew 19 percent YoY in the second quarter. The business also launched the Ghost 18, the latest edition of its core road-running shoe.

Trail running remained a high-performing category, with sales increasing 71 percent YoY during the quarter. This was supported by demand for the Ghost Trail and the Cascadia franchise, which grew 58 percent.

In apparel, the brand built momentum through its Movement and PR Elite collections, alongside established lines like Luxe and Chaser. Accessories sales increased 29 percent YoY, with sports bras maintaining strong sell-through rates.

Brooks also expanded its presence in the lifestyle footwear market through its RE: Innovation Studio showroom at Paris Fashion Week in June. The brand presented updated iterations of its Glycerin 12 and Vanguard models, combining heritage designs with modern cushioning technologies. The brand’s lifestyle category recorded near triple-digit growth during the quarter.

In an unprecedented document published at the end of July, China directly contests Western accusations of industrial 'overcapacity'.

While the text primarily targets electric vehicles, batteries and advanced technologies, its reasoning also applies to the textile industry. Beijing rejects the idea that a trade surplus or high production capacity is sufficient to prove market distortion.

This position comes as China's textile and apparel manufacturers remain among the most powerful in the world. Their Asian competitors are already feeling the pressure from Chinese exports. The word has become one of the most sensitive in global trade: overcapacity.

For several years, the US and, to a lesser extent, Europe have accused China of producing more than its domestic market can absorb in several sectors. They claim China then sells this surplus abroad at prices that could undermine local producers.

The issue has long concerned steel and solar panels. It has gradually extended to electric vehicles, batteries, industrial equipment and technologies related to the energy transition. Now, Beijing is seeking to address this accusation on a matter of principle.

On July 28, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce published a document entitled “China’s Position on the So-called Excess Capacity Issue”. The text asserts that the concept lacks a single international definition and is not included, as such, in World Trade Organization agreements.

EcoTextile News decrypts this new doctrine in an article published on August 10 by Stephen Frost, titled 'China rejects excess capacity textile claims'. The publication highlights that although the Chinese document focuses on industrial sectors currently at the heart of trade tensions, its reasoning has direct implications for textiles and fashion. These implications are far from secondary.

Beijing first contests very definition of 'overcapacity'

For Beijing, the primary argument is that there is no universal threshold for declaring an industry has 'too much' production capacity. The balance between supply and demand shifts with economic cycles, technological advancements and the geography of value chains.

The Chinese document presents global capacity as a dynamic system: balance, imbalance and then rebalancing. Excess capacity at one point may become necessary a few years later if demand grows or new markets emerge.

This reasoning is particularly important for the textile industry. A Chinese factory producing for a Vietnamese, Bangladeshi or Pakistani client is not necessarily meeting 'Chinese' demand. It is participating in a globalised value chain.

This is precisely one of the arguments put forward by Beijing. China points out that its exports of textile machinery and industrial equipment have contributed to the development of several major apparel-producing countries. According to the document, Chinese exports of textile machinery to developing countries exceeded 30 billion dollars between 2012 and 2024, notably contributing to the development of the textile industries in Vietnam, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

In other words, Beijing wants to shift the debate. What appears to be excess Chinese capacity can also be seen as productive capacity integrated into an international value chain.

Textile is a particularly interesting case

This is where the analysis by EcoTextile News deserves further exploration. The Chinese textile sector is not just another supplier. It remains one of the main production hubs in the global chain, from fibres and yarns to fabrics, machinery and a portion of garment manufacturing.

Chinese figures show that there is indeed a capacity margin. According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, the capacity utilisation rate of the textile industry stood at 77.5 percent in 2025, compared to 78.5 percent a year earlier. In the fourth quarter, it reached 77.1 percent.

To be precise, a 77.5 percent utilisation rate does not automatically mean there is an 'overcapacity' of 22.5 percent. A factory does not necessarily operate at 100 percent capacity at all times. Maintenance shutdowns, production line changes, seasonality, product diversity and commercial constraints make this calculation much more complex.

The figure is nevertheless interesting. It shows that the Chinese textile industry has a significant capacity reserve, even as the utilisation rate has decreased by one percentage point in a year.

The debate cannot be dismissed by simply stating that the concept of overcapacity does not exist. The real question is whether this available capacity constitutes an economic problem, a normal productive reserve or a potential source of pressure on international markets.

Beijing primarily rejects 'exports = overcapacity' equation

China directly challenges the idea that a large trade surplus is proof of excessive production capacity.

Its argument is that a country can be highly competitive in certain sectors and export massively without producing 'excessively'.

The Chinese ministry cites several European sectors as examples: automotive, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. It points out that in 2025, the European Union had respective surpluses of 92.2 billion, 214.6 billion and 11.6 billion dollars in these sectors.

The argument is politically effective. Economically, however, it is not enough to close the debate. A trade surplus is not synonymous with overcapacity. However, overcapacity can contribute to generating significant exports when insufficient domestic demand forces producers to seek foreign markets.

The two phenomena are therefore not equivalent. It is precisely this distinction that is likely to shape the next trade battle.

Real issue: what happens when supply outpaces demand?

This is where the debate becomes much more concrete for the textile industry. If an industry has significant capacity, but global demand grows at the same pace, the problem is limited.

If, on the other hand, capacity increases faster than demand, manufacturers must find other outlets. They can lower their prices; export more; gain market share abroad; or they can relocate part of their production.

These are the mechanisms that are currently worrying several economies. Southeast Asia already provides examples of this.

The Financial Times recently noted that several countries in the region are under increasing pressure from Chinese exports, including in the industrial and textile chains. In Indonesia, the textile and apparel industry has reportedly lost around 250,000 jobs since 2022, with competition from Chinese products being one of the contributing factors.

The phenomenon is therefore more complex than a simple opposition between China and Western economies. The issue of Chinese capacity also affects emerging countries that have built their industrial development by integrating into global value chains.

Chinese dilemma: developing its neighbours while competing with them

This is probably one of the most interesting takeaways from the document. Beijing presents its industry as an accelerator for the development of emerging countries.

China supplies the machinery, components, raw materials and equipment that enable Vietnam, Bangladesh and Pakistan to produce and export more.

This integration also creates a dependency. Manufacturers in these countries can gain a competitive edge with Chinese equipment while also becoming more exposed to competition from Chinese companies in international markets.

The case of textiles is particularly revealing. China is no longer necessarily content with just selling clothes. It also provides the industrial infrastructure that allows other countries to manufacture them. This is a much more powerful model than a simple supplier-client relationship.

This industrial power remains difficult to bypass

Recent news surrounding Shein provides a particularly telling illustration.

According to Reuters, Shein has scaled back its industrial expansion project in Vietnam after a disappointing experience. The company had initially planned to significantly develop its logistics and production capabilities in the country to reduce its exposure to China.

By mid-2026, however, its Vietnamese presence had been significantly reduced. A portion of its suppliers had returned to China, where costs, flexibility and speed of production remain particularly competitive.

The Shein case is obviously not representative of the entire textile industry, but it illustrates an important reality. The geographical diversification of production chains is more difficult when it involves replacing an entire industrial ecosystem.

China does not just have factories; it has suppliers, machinery, materials, subcontractors, logisticians, skills and the ability to produce quickly on a large scale. This industrial depth is its main advantage.

Response to rising protectionism

The Chinese document must also be read in its political context. Beijing explicitly accuses certain countries of turning the 'overcapacity' issue into a protectionist tool.

The Chinese ministry claims that some governments use this concept to justify trade restrictions and protect their domestic industries.

This position comes as the US has launched a Section 301 investigation into Chinese industrial capacity. The European Union is also considering new trade instruments to address imbalances related to Chinese production. The Chinese ministry warned in May that European measures based on 'overcapacity' could lead Beijing to take countermeasures.

The battle is therefore no longer just economic. It is gradually becoming a battle over the rules that determine what constitutes acceptable competition.

For European textiles, stakes are considerable

For the European fashion and textile industry, the issue deserves close attention.

The European Union remains extremely dependent on Chinese imports. In 2025, it imported 559.4 billion euros worth of Chinese goods, compared to 199.6 billion euros in exports to China, resulting in a deficit of 359.8 billion euros. European imports from China increased by 6.4 percent year-over-year.

These figures cover all goods, not just textiles. Nevertheless, they give an indication of the depth of the trade relationship.

In fashion, this dependency is particularly complex to reduce. European brands can move certain manufacturing stages to Vietnam, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan or Turkey. Many of these countries, however, remain tied to China for materials, yarns, fabrics, machinery or certain components.

Reducing dependency on China is therefore not just about moving a factory. It sometimes requires moving an entire ecosystem.

Risk of a new fragmentation of value chains

This is where the Chinese position takes on a broader dimension. Beijing defends a vision in which globalisation allows industrial capacities to be distributed among several countries according to their respective advantages.

Its detractors argue that such an organisation can also lead to an excessive concentration of capacity. This creates unsustainable competition for producers who do not have the same scale. Both interpretations can be true simultaneously. China may have contributed to the industrial development of some countries while also putting increasing pressure on their own manufacturers.

This is what makes the subject particularly delicate for the textile industry. A policy aimed at limiting Chinese imports may protect some local industries. However, it can also increase costs for brands and consumers and disrupt highly integrated supply chains.

Conversely, a lack of response could accelerate the disappearance of local industrial capacity. The choice is therefore not between 'free trade' and 'protectionism' in the simple sense. It concerns the level of industrial dependency an economy is willing to maintain.

China is also changing its position in global textile chain

Finally, it would be wrong to view China as an economy that simply specialises in low-cost products.

The Ministry of Commerce's document itself highlights that the share of labour-intensive products in Chinese exports has decreased, falling from 20.7 percent in 2012 to 15.1 percent in 2025. This is an interesting indicator, showing that China is seeking to move upmarket while maintaining an extremely broad industrial base.

In textiles, this means its influence may gradually shift: less towards the finished product and more towards machinery, materials, production technologies and industrial infrastructure. This movement is much harder to compete with.

Chinese document does not resolve overcapacity question

This is ultimately the main conclusion to be drawn from the publication analysed by EcoTextile News.

Beijing provides a coherent political and economic response to an accusation it considers to be instrumentalised. It rightly points out, on a conceptual level, that a trade surplus is not in itself proof of overcapacity and that there is no single international definition of the term.

This is not enough to prove that all of China's industrial capacity is economically sustainable. Official Chinese data itself shows a capacity utilisation rate of 77.5 percent in the textile industry in 2025, down year-over-year.

The relevant question, therefore, may not be: “Does China have too much capacity?” Instead, it is: “Where is the productive capacity needed for global demand today, who is financing it, at what price and with what consequences for other producers?”

This is a far more complex debate. For the textile industry, it could become decisive. Behind the semantic quarrel over 'overcapacity' lies the future geography of the global fashion industry: who will produce; who will supply the machinery and materials; who will capture the value; and above all, which countries will still have a sufficiently solid industrial base tomorrow to decide their own textile future.

Finnish lifestyle design company Marimekko has released its half-year financial report for January to June 2026. The Helsinki-based company recorded second-quarter (Q2) net sales of 43.9 million euros (50.57 million dollars), nearly matching the record comparison period of 44.5 million euros. The performance was supported by strong international retail growth, particularly in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, which offset a retail decline in its domestic market.

For the first half (H1) of 2026, Marimekko's net sales increased by 2 percent to 85.3 million euros, compared to 84.1 million euros in H1 2025.

Tiina Alahuhta-Kasko, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Marimekko, stated: “Marimekko’s net sales were nearly at the previous year’s record level, with international sales continuing growth in the second quarter, driven by the Asia-Pacific region. The challenging market situation affected retail sales in Finland.

International sales expansion counters domestic softness

During Q2, international net sales grew by 7 percent, led by strong retail performance across all overseas markets. The APAC region delivered the highest growth rate. In contrast, net sales in Finland fell by 7 percent, as domestic retail performance was impacted by a price-sensitive operating environment and lower-than-expected campaign yields. Rainy weather in Helsinki during Q2 also affected traffic for major events, including the annual Esplanade Park fashion shows. However, domestic wholesale sales grew, supported by non-recurring promotional deliveries.

In H1 2026, total international sales rose 8 percent, with APAC remaining the primary growth engine. Domestic sales in Finland declined by 4 percent overall during the six-month period.

Q2 operating profit stood at 4.7 million euros, down from 6.3 million euros in Q2 2025. Comparable operating profit for the quarter reached 5.1 million euros, or 11.7 percent of net sales, compared to 6.5 million euros or 14.6 percent in the prior-year period.

For the January-to-June period, operating profit totalled 9.9 million euros, compared to 10.6 million euros in H1 2025. H1 comparable operating profit reached 10.4 million euros, representing 12.2 percent of net sales, down from 10.9 million euros in the previous year.

Retail network expansion and strategic collaborations

Marimekko continued to expand its global physical footprint during Q2, opening six new stores across Asia and converting three pop-up locations into permanent units. The brand now operates over 100 stores and shop-in-shops in the APAC region. Additionally, the company entered two new markets in Southeast Asia, opening its first shop-in-shops in Manila, the Philippines, during May, followed by store openings in Indonesia after the end of the reporting period.

Brand awareness was further supported by three major collaboration launches in Q2: a jewellery collection with Finnish manufacturer Kalevala Jewelry, a tech accessory capsule with CASETiFY, and a home decor collection with US-based rug brand Ruggable.

“Our original lifestyle brand, which resonates with a broad customer base, paired with our strong financial position provide us an excellent foundation to continue our consistent work and investments in growth – both in Finland and in international markets,” added Tiina Alahuhta-Kasko.

Medium-term financial targets set amid steady 2026 guidance

Following the review period, Marimekko's board of directors established new medium-term (three to five years) financial targets to navigate current global market volatility. The company aims to achieve annual net sales growth of 10 percent and maintain a comparable operating profit margin of 20 percent. The company's long-term targets, set in 2022, remain unchanged.

For the full year 2026, Marimekko reaffirmed its financial guidance. Full-year net sales are expected to exceed the 189.6 million euros recorded in 2025, while the comparable operating profit margin is estimated to land between 16 percent and 19 percent.

Management noted that consumer confidence in Finland remains weak despite early economic indicators, and domestic net sales for 2026 are expected to remain flat or decrease slightly. Conversely, international sales and APAC turnover are projected to grow, supported by 10 to 15 planned store openings across Asia in 2026 and an anticipated increase in licensing income.

In Pictures Marc Jacobs is adding another chapter to its bag campaigns. On Thursday, the brand launched “The Swap,” a micro-drama starring Rowan Blanchard and Jemima Kirke that continues the storytelling series started in April with “The Scene.”

As the title suggests, “The Swap” is about an unexpected Scene Bag exchange that happens after two guests attended Marc Jacobs’ latest runway show in New York City, which “evolves into an exploration of identity, perception, and the ways we interpret one another,” the brand described.

“This project is imaginative, character-driven and fun. That’s what makes it feel so Marc Jacobs – it doesn’t take itself too seriously,” Blanchard said in a statement.

“A woman doesn’t carry her entire life in her bag, only the things she needs on the off chance that something happens. Just in case she falls into a hole, feels inspired or meets the love of her life. And for a New York woman, ‘just in case’is a regular occurrence. This campaign is a storybook homage to a New York woman and the ways she lives her day to day, about two opposite women looking for one another in a massive city. As native New Yorkers they’re able to find the common ground by paying attention to the details,” says Jemima Kirke.

The micro-drama, created by Question Marc, also features a cameo appearance by playwright and actor Jeremy O. Harris. According to Marc Jacobs, additional episodes of “The Swap” will be released throughout fall on social platforms.

US-based watch and lifestyle company Fossil Group (Fossil) has updated its full year guidance following performance above expectations in its second quarter ending July 4, 2026.

Net sales reached 209.7 million dollars, representing a 4.9 percent decline on a reported basis and a 4.4 percent drop in constant currency compared to 220.4 million dollars in the second quarter of 2025. Direct-to-consumer (D2C) channels drove the decrease, with store rationalisation initiatives accounting for approximately 220 basis points of the drop.

Fossil chief executive officer Franco Fogliato stated: “We delivered another quarter ahead of our expectations, driven by broad-based strength across our core brands, channels and many of our key geographies. Top line performance, gross margin expansion and disciplined cost management fueled a doubling of constant currency adjusted operating income compared to the second quarter of last year.”

Highlights of Q2 results

The company's direct-to-consumer sales, which include e-commerce and retail stores, fell 14.6 percent, while comparable retail sales dropped 8 percent. Wholesale sales increased 0.9 percent in constant currency.

Regionally, net sales in Europe fell 18.2 percent in constant currency, while Asia increased 3.7 percent and the Americas edged up 0.2 percent. By product category, traditional watch sales decreased 0.9 percent in constant currency. Leather goods dropped 31.4 percent and jewellery sales declined 11.3 percent in constant currency.

Gross profit rose to 130.8 million dollars, up from 126.7 million dollars in the second quarter of 2025. Gross margin expanded 490 basis points to 62.4 percent, supported by improved product margins from full price selling, sourcing initiatives and reduced tariffs.

Operating income stood at 3.2 million dollars compared to 8.5 million dollars in the second quarter of 2025, yielding an operating margin of 1.5 percent. Adjusted operating income in constant currency doubled to 8.6 million dollars, with an adjusted operating margin of 4.1 percent. Adjusted EBITDA reached 8.6 million dollars, or 4.1 percent of net sales.

Net loss for the quarter reached 10.6 million dollars, resulting in a net loss per diluted share of 0.18 dollars, compared to a net loss of 2.3 million dollars in the second quarter of 2025. Adjusted net loss reached 7.9 million dollars.

Outlook raised

Fogliato added: “Strong business performance in the first half of 2026 and ongoing business momentum are enabling us to confidently raise our full year financial outlook, which is highlighted by an expected return to top line growth in the fourth quarter, improved profitability and positive free cash flow generation.”

For the full year 2026, Fossil now expects worldwide net sales to decline between 3 percent and 5 percent, with a return to top line growth in the fourth quarter. Adjusted operating margin is projected to reach between 4 percent and 6 percent, alongside positive free cash flow.

Pandora, a Danish jewelry company, Thursday reported higher operating profit on higher revenue for the second quarter compared to the same period last year.

Further, the company raised its outlook for fiscal 2026.

Quarterly operating earnings increased to 1.46 billion Danish krone (0.22 billion dollars) from 1.29 billion of last year with EBIT margin rising to 20.3 percent from 18.2 percent of previous year, benefitting by 250bp from above-mentioned one-off tariff impact.

Revenue grew to 7.22 billion Danish krone from 7.08 billion prior year.

The like for like growth in the second quarter was 1 percent and organic growth was 3 percent.

Looking forward to the full year, the jewelry brand now expects 0-3 percent organic growth versus its previous outlook of -1 percent to 2 percent with an EBIT margin of 22-23 percent compared to prior guidance of 21-22 percent.

The new EBIT margin guidance reflects the expected one-off income from the IEEPA tariff claim, Pandora said in a statement.

On Wednesday, shares closed at 771.40 Danish krone, down 0.92 percent on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange.

UK-based Frasers Group, led by retail billionaire Mike Ashley, is reportedly putting the finishing touches on a rescue deal to acquire luxury department store operator Harvey Nichols.

According to a report by Sky News, Frasers Group is expected to announce the acquisition through a pre-packaged insolvency process, following several weeks of negotiations.

Citing industry sources, the report added that Ashley’s team has been engaged in detailed discussions with FTI Consulting, Harvey Nichols’ adviser and standby administrator. The talks are understood to include potential commitments aimed at preserving jobs across the business. Frasers Group had considered providing a 12-month guarantee to retain Harvey Nichols’ London head office, although it remains unclear whether such a commitment would extend to all of the group’s approximately 1,200 UK-based employees.

Frasers reportedly reaches acquisition deal

Frasers Group is also reportedly prepared to settle outstanding payments owed to the department store’s brand partners. The move comes amid scrutiny following the group’s acquisition of luxury online retailer Matchesfashion in 2024.

Unlike rival bidder Next, Frasers Group is understood to be seeking to acquire Harvey Nichols’ entire UK store portfolio, with the possible exception of its Dublin outlet. Discussions over the future of the Irish store have continued in recent days.

If approved by the courts, the transaction would bring an end to 35 years of ownership by Hong Kong-based businessman Sir Dickson Poon.

Declining Revenue and Significant Impairment Charges

The potential pre-pack administration follows a recent filing by Harvey Nichols, which said the loss-making retailer had been put up for sale by Poon amid mounting financial pressures. Auditors KPMG had previously warned that Harvey Nichols could need to enter formal administration before a sale could be completed if additional funding was not secured.

In its most recent financial period, Harvey Nichols reported an 11 percent decline in turnover to 69.46 million pounds, compared with 78.17 million pounds for the 52-week period ended March 30, 2024.

The retailer recorded a net loss after tax of 177.63 million pounds, compared with a loss of 12.92 million pounds in the previous financial year. The sharp increase in losses was primarily attributed to a non-cash impairment charge of 169.07 million pounds relating to intercompany loans within its parent company, Broad Gain (UK) Limited.

Headquartered in London, Harvey Nichols operates its flagship Knightsbridge store, along with regional UK outlets in Bristol, Leeds and Manchester.

US-based apparel and e-commerce business Digital Brands Group (DBG) has announced a major financial turnaround, forecasting positive cash flow starting in September.

The Texas-based company stated that the operational shift is primarily being driven by the expansion of its collegiate programme, alongside growing momentum from its government contracts.

In a press release, chief executive officer Hil Davis said: “September marks a major financial turning point for us. Our collegiate program is leading the way, and the expanding government contracts will build on that momentum.”

DBG operates a curated portfolio of luxury and lifestyle fashion labels. The company utilizes a digitally native e-commerce infrastructure combined with selective wholesale distribution channels to scale direct-to-consumer (D2C) operations, lower customer acquisition costs, and build long-term brand equity.

Four months after their appointment, Thomas Hézard, chief product officer, and Rémi Bouchez, chief technology officer, met with FashionUnited to detail the initial changes made at Vestiaire Collective.

Fewer projects running in parallel; more decisions left to the teams; targeted use of artificial intelligence; and lower fees. Behind these measures, a new way of deciding, developing and growing the French unicorn is taking shape. The objective is now clearly stated: to return to double-digit growth.

The first leads product, the second tech. Behind the decisions on AI, app design or user experience, the two executives carry another message: Vestiaire Collective is changing its pace. A new chapter has begun with significant fanfare, and its repercussions could permanently reshape the future of Vestiaire Collective.

Last spring, the French second-hand fashion platform saw the departure of its historic co-founder, Fanny Moizant. An emblematic figure of French Tech, she had helped make Vestiaire Collective the first French unicorn founded by women in 2021. Her departure marks a new cycle for the company.

After years of expansion, followed by a focus on returning to profitability, Vestiaire Collective is entering a different phase: scaling up. This is a classic moment in the life of a mature technology company. The organisation must now absorb its own growth with more processes, without losing the ability to make quick decisions.

It is precisely in this area that the new management intends to act.

An investment banker's eye

To steer this new phase, Vestiaire Collective is relying on Bernard Osta. Having worked at Lazard in New York, then Goldman Sachs and Vivendi, the new CEO is already familiar with the company. He previously held the position of chief strategy officer at Vestiaire Collective.

Rather than overhauling the organisation and bringing in a new management team, he chose to promote two profiles from within the company's ranks.

Hézard, former chief strategy and people officer and previously at BCG, now heads up product. Alongside him, Bouchez, an engineer by training who joined Vestiaire Collective seven years ago, becomes chief technology officer after gradually rising through the technical organisation's ranks.

This is a duo of insiders, but more importantly, two executives who are already familiar with the teams, products and workings of the platform.

The choice is telling. It is not about starting from a blank slate, but about making an existing organisation function differently.

Four months after they took up their posts, FashionUnited met with them. Throughout the interview, one word came up repeatedly: speed.

This is not just about the speed of coding or developing a new feature. It is about the speed of the organisation itself. The time it takes to make a decision, move from an idea to a product, test a hypothesis and, if it works, deploy it on a large scale.

This is likely at the heart of Vestiaire Collective's new project.

Speed as the company's new engine

According to Hézard, the diagnosis upon their arrival was blunt. “We were too slow until now.” This slowness did not just concern technical development, but more broadly the way decisions were made.

Even before launching new features, the two executives began by reviewing their working methods. “We have defined a three-year strategy, which we have broken down into a 12-month operational plan. We then empowered the teams to make their own decisions, especially those that are easily reversible,” he explains. The goal is to eliminate the approvals that slow down innovation.

At the same time, Vestiaire Collective is drastically reducing the number of projects running simultaneously. “We have halved the number of initiatives the teams were working on. This really allows us to speed up delivery. Today, we have also halved the time it takes to release a new feature,” continues Bouchez.

This approach contrasts with that of many companies during a change of leadership, where new teams often start by restructuring the organisation. At Vestiaire Collective, the choice is the opposite.

Why team stability has become a performance lever

To our great surprise, the duo's first emergency measure was... to change almost nothing. “We didn't want to completely change the organisation. Our diagnosis was that we needed to speed up the deployment of new features. We couldn't disrupt the teams and ask them to go faster at the same time.”

The choice may be surprising, especially for a company emerging from several years of financial consolidation and now seeking to return to double-digit growth. Where one might have expected a new rationalisation of resources or massive team changes, Vestiaire Collective is betting on continuity first.

This stability is surprising at first glance. It can be explained, however. Hézard brings with him several years of experience leading the group's human resources. This experience directly informs his vision of transformation, guided by the idea that internal stability serves the speed of execution.

“The engineers keep their managers and stay within their areas of expertise. This is something Rémi and I strongly believe in. It helps to build trust within the teams.”

The tone is set. After several years dedicated to reaching financial break-even, a period often synonymous with cost control, constant prioritisation and organisational tensions in tech companies, Vestiaire Collective seems to favour continuity over disruption.

In a sector where tech profiles are in high demand, retaining talent is as key as recruiting new engineers. Managerial stability thus emerges as a factor for engagement as much as a lever for execution.

A company learning to delegate

This new culture also translates into a 180-degree shift in decision-making. “Four months ago, I spent my days making decisions,” recounts Hézard.

Today, the situation is completely different. “I make one or two important decisions a week. Everything else is decided directly by the teams, who simply inform us.” This shift is crucial. For a long time, many scale-ups operated on a highly centralised model, where every decision gradually made its way up to a few executives. This was an effective system in the early years, but it quickly becomes a hindrance as organisations grow.

At Vestiaire Collective, this evolution is primarily a response to feedback from the employees themselves. “The teams told us: ‘We are always waiting for you to make the decisions.’ So we chose to operate differently.”

This autonomy should also allow teams to take more risks. By reducing the number of approvals and bringing decision-making closer to those leading the projects, Vestiaire Collective aims to create a framework where it is possible to test faster, even at the risk of making mistakes.

This empowerment is undoubtedly one of the most significant cultural changes made in recent months.

Artificial intelligence in the service of simplicity

This new organisation is already reflected in the products. One of the first projects concerns the item listing experience, the entry point for any marketplace.

The objective is ambitious: to reduce the time it takes to list a product for sale from five minutes to one minute. To achieve this, Vestiaire Collective is gradually rolling out a new tool called Smart Listing. From a single photograph, artificial intelligence automatically identifies the brand, material, colour and model of the product and generates an initial description.

“We are still in the beta phase, but the initial results are very promising,” explains Hézard. The goal here goes beyond simply saving time. By automating essential information, Vestiaire also improves the quality of listings, limits errors and enriches the data available to buyers.

For the executives, the purpose of artificial intelligence is therefore to remove the friction that slows down transactions.

Power of a better photograph

Another less spectacular but already measurable project is the quality of the visuals. “The first thing buyers see on Vestiaire are the photos. However, they are taken by individuals and their quality is very variable.”

The teams have therefore integrated a system capable of automatically improving images while maintaining perfect fidelity to the product. “We rework the background removal, lighting and shadows, without ever altering the actual condition of the product. There is obviously no question of making a defect disappear,” details Bouchez.

Initial tests show an immediate impact. “We are seeing an increase of more than 5 percent in the liquidity of products whose photos have been improved.” For a marketplace, where each conversion point represents several thousand additional transactions, such a gain is far from marginal.

Facing ChatGPT, learning before investing

Artificial intelligence is also transforming customer acquisition methods. As ChatGPT, Perplexity and Claude become new entry points to commerce platforms, Vestiaire Collective prefers to proceed with caution. “We are convinced that this will become an important acquisition channel in the future,” explains Hézard. However, the volumes remain marginal today.

“We are primarily in a learning phase. We are currently developing an application for ChatGPT to understand how users interact with this new environment.”

Bouchez nevertheless believes that the disruption is real. “The fundamentals of SEO remain important, but large language models also change the way a brand is perceived. A company's promises, elements of trust or specific features become much more visible.”

This is a pragmatic approach, true to the philosophy displayed by the two executives: test quickly, measure, then invest.

A return to offensive growth

This acceleration comes in a new context for Vestiaire Collective. For the first time in several years, the company is sustainably profitable. “We have been profitable for several months,” recalls Bouchez. This milestone profoundly changes priorities. “Our goal now is to return to strong, double-digit growth.”

The return to growth is based on several levers. Vestiaire Collective recently lowered the fees charged to buyers to streamline transactions. “We noticed that a significant portion of users were adding products to their favourites without completing their purchase. Since this fee reduction, we have seen a significant improvement in conversion.”

Other investments are expected to follow. The teams are working to further simplify the listing of items to increase the daily volume of new ads. Meanwhile, marketing expenses, which were significantly reduced in recent years, are gradually starting to increase again. “We consider ourselves much more on the offensive today than in the past,” summarises Hézard.

A new phase for the French unicorn

According to the two executives, Vestiaire Collective is not trying to reinvent its model. The platform remains true to its DNA of trust, authenticity, selection and expertise.

However, it is profoundly changing its way of executing. In four months, the new management teams have neither launched a new organisational structure nor announced a major strategic break. They have chosen a more moderate, but perhaps more decisive, path: reducing the number of projects, speeding up decisions, empowering teams and putting execution back at the heart of performance.

At Vestiaire Collective, scaling up will not come from a change in narrative.

It comes, first and foremost, from a change of pace.

In a statement sent to the market and shareholders last Monday, August 10, Grendene, one of the largest footwear manufacturers in the Brazilian and international markets, announced the sale of its US subsidiary, Grendene Global Brands USA, to Pajar USA inc. Upon completion of the transaction, Pajar will control 100 percent of the capital of GGB USA. The agreement was signed on August 7 for 3.6 million dollars.

Commercial operations will continue in the US under Pajar's control. The company will distribute the Brazilian firm's footwear in the American market, as per a previously established partnership, according to a note on the Uol website. Grendene will now focus on managing its brands and products.

“The transaction is aligned with Grendene's strategy to strengthen its brands' presence in the North American market through local partners with market knowledge and commercial execution capabilities. The company is seeking greater operational efficiency, optimisation of its organisational structure and a focus on brand and product management,” the statement said.

“The company reinforces its international operating model and contributes to the sustainable expansion of its brands in the United States market, reaffirming its commitment to transparency and creating value for its shareholders,” concluded the statement signed by investor relations director, Alceu Demartini de Albuquerque.

Grendene was founded in 1971 in Farroupilha (RS) by twin brothers Alexandre and Pedro Grendene Bartelle. It initially focused on manufacturing injected plastic screens and protectors. In 1978, they began producing plastic straps for clogs and in 1979, they launched the Melissa Aranha, inspired by the footwear of French fishermen. The model was a great success and from then on the company grew exponentially. Today, it owns the brands Melissa, Ipanema, Rider, Cartago, Zaxy and Grendha.

CEO profile

On April 21, the British food and retail group Associated British Foods (ABF) confirmed what investors had been circling for months: Primark, the Dublin-headquartered value fashion chain trading as Penneys in Ireland, would be split from the group's food, sugar and grocery businesses and listed as its own FTSE 100 company. The separation, expected to complete by the end of 2027, hands Eoin Tonge, confirmed as Primark's permanent chief executive in March, a company that must justify its own existence to public markets for the first time — at a moment when like-for-like sales were falling and price perception had slipped. "95 percent of what we've got to do here doesn't change if we're public [company] or not," Tonge told the Irish Times days before the announcement. The other 5 percent is the part investors will be watching.

An engineer's read on risk

Tonge grew up around Clonskeagh and Mount Merrion in Dublin, one of five children of an electrical contractor who repaired transformers from his own factory. "He was a hard worker and I worked with him all my youth. I'm pretty sure I got my work ethic from him, and from my mother," Tonge said. He attended Catholic University School on Leeson Street and took a first-class honours engineering degree at University College Dublin, then joined Goldman Sachs in 1994 at 21. "It's the one decision I still can't really fathom," he recalled of the move into banking. "My final year project was on AI in 1994. It was called artificial neural networks at the time and I think Goldmans thought I had some way of predicting the future and were quite excited." He spent the next decade in finance, treasury and capital markets roles across London, Hong Kong and New York.

From Greencore's sugar exit to Primark's top job

Tonge joined Irish food group Greencore in 2006 as group capital markets director, becoming, in his words, chief executive Patrick Coveney's "first hire" as the business pivoted out of sugar refining and into convenience food. Fourteen years and several roles later — managing director of the grocery division, chief strategy officer, chief financial officer — he left for the British retailer Marks & Spencer as chief financial officer in June 2020, joining a business mid-turnaround under chairman Archie Norman. Norman later credited him with restoring "financial controls, reporting, and financial discipline" during the retailer's recovery. Two and a half years on, ABF recruited him as group finance director, a post he took up in April 2023. When Primark's long-serving chief executive, Paul Marchant, resigned in March 2025 following an investigation into alleged inappropriate behaviour toward a woman — conduct he himself acknowledged had "fallen below the standards expected" — Tonge stepped in as interim boss. He was confirmed permanently on March 5, 2026. ABF chairman Michael McLintock said Tonge's "financial acumen and strategic clarity" gave him "the right breadth of qualities and experience to develop and grow Primark."

Bringing Penneys back to what Penneys was

Tonge's strategy rests on a contested premise: that Primark's problem is not its absence from e-commerce but a dilution of its value message. "We were the value disrupter on the high street and in town centres," he told the Irish Times. "People copied us and we've got to remind people who the original was." In July 2026, Primark launched "Iconic Value," cutting prices by up to 29% across hundreds of lines. "Value is about more than price," Tonge wrote on LinkedIn at the launch. "It's about giving customers confidence that the products they buy look great, fit well and last. At Primark, we believe customers shouldn't have to compromise." Writing separately in Retail Week, he argued that "the most disruptive retailers of the future won't simply be those offering the lowest prices. They'll be the ones that fundamentally change what customers can expect to get for those prices." On the absence of home delivery, he is unapologetic: "The economics of online are something you have to go in with your eyes wide open... it's expensive to deliver and to fulfil the order, and you've got the cannibalisation of your bricks and mortar."

A record still being written

In the 24 weeks to February 28, 2026, Primark’s sales rose 2 percent to 4.7 billion pounds, driven by new stores, while like-for-like sales fell 2.7 percent and the adjusted operating margin slipped to 10.1 percent from 12.1 percent. Trading firmed slightly by the third quarter: sales grew 3 percent (constant currency), though like-for-like sales were still down 2.2 percent. Against that backdrop, Tonge has pushed international expansion — new stores in Kuwait, Dubai, Bahrain and Qatar, and a flagship opening on Manhattan’s Herald Square in May 2026 — and created a new chief commercial officer role, hiring former H&M Group executive Filip Ekvall to unify product, retail, digital and customer functions from September 1, 2026. ABF chief executive George Weston said Tonge’s early changes were “already having a tangible benefit in a challenging environment,” though ABF’s own market value had fallen almost 12 percent since the profit warning in January 2026 (with further declines tied to demerger speculation), and analysts remain unconvinced the turnaround is secure.

Cautious coverage, no scandal attached

Tonge himself generates modest, largely trade-press coverage — profile interviews in the Irish Times, financial reporting in Drapers and WWD, and analyst commentary around the demerger — rather than tabloid attention. The controversy in the file belongs to the company and the deal rather than to him personally: Deutsche Bank's Adam Cochrane warned that "any excitement of the Primark demerger will remain subdued until the like-for-like sales improve," while eToro's Adam Vettese called the timing the "worst possible moment" given competition from Shein and Temu. Robyn Duffy of RSM UK noted that once independent, Primark will be "fully exposed to shifts in consumer discretionary spending" without ABF's food business to cushion it.

Marathon man, in his own clothes

Tonge is married with three children — one born in Dublin, one in New York, one in Hong Kong, a legacy of his Goldman Sachs years. He lives in Leeds despite running a Dublin-headquartered company, and describes his pastimes simply: "Love rugby. And running," he told the Irish Times. He has completed 11 marathons, five of them in Dublin. He wears Primark clothing head to toe, at work and at home: "I always wear Penneys, at home as well. It's part of the culture, our people want to wear Penneys, nobody's forced to wear them." On his own management style, he is blunt: "I want to be clear and quite direct but apply common sense to all decisions I have to make... everyone knows I'm switched and won't beat around the bush. But I'll do it nicely."

In five years

Asked to picture Primark five years out, Tonge does not hedge: "I think it will be a lot bigger. It will be in more countries. We will be a little more bespoke in each country. It will still feel like a Primark whether you're in Romania or El Paso but it will feel more local." Whether that confidence survives Primark's first year as a public company, answerable to shareholders without ABF's groceries to lean on, is the question his tenure will actually be judged on.

This article was written with the assistance of AI.

Activewear giant Fabletics has revealed plans to triple its international store estate. The activewear brand is plotting 20 new locations over the next year, looking to its “proven US retail model” as the blueprint.

Over the cited period, the label will venture into several new markets, including India, the UAE, Colombia, Peru, and Central America. The strategy builds on an ongoing expansion in the US, where over the next 12 months the company plans to open 25 new stores.

In a statement, Fabletics president Meera Bhatia said: “Our international growth is driven by a disciplined approach to market expansion and a commitment to delivering a consistent brand experience for customers around the world.

“As we enter new countries and scale our business globally, we’re focused on entering the right markets, leveraging local expertise and tailoring our approach to meet the unique needs of each region, while staying true to the Fabletics brand.”

The announcement comes amid a solid period of growth for Fabletics, which has also accelerated its approach in Europe, where the UK and Germany serve as its strongest markets, as shared by Mark Ralea, general manager of Fabletics Europe in an interview with FashionUnited last year.

More broadly, the company surpassed one billion dollars in net revenue in 2025, with its US retail portfolio also delivering three consecutive years of double-digit same-store sales growth. Fabletics is now aiming to double revenue and quadruple EBITDA over the next five years.

Fabletics co-founder and CEO, Adam Goldenberg, added: "Retail has become an increasingly important growth driver for our business. As our retail model continues to deliver strong results in the US, we're confident it can scale globally. This expansion will allow us to reach more customers, grow the Fabletics brand and create long-term value."

Australian fashion brand Peter Alexander has announced the closure of its stores in the UK in response to the “continued negative outlook” of the region and “sustained difficult trading conditions”.

The news was confirmed by its parent company Premier Retail, which said the brand’s three existing bricks-and-mortar stores in Bluewater, Stratford and White City would shutter. Peter Alexander will continue to operate in the region through an online presence, while future wholesale partnerships may be explored at a later stage.

In a statement, Premier chairman Solomon Lew said: “Our entry to the UK market was phased to allow us to test market response. Premier has strict store profitability and return hurdles and we allocate capital prudently on behalf of our shareholders.

“We have decided to channel our growth capital for Peter Alexander into our Australia and New Zealand markets, online and potentially capital-light wholesale which we continue to explore with global partners.”

Closer to home, Premier confirmed plans to open at least five new Peter Alexander stores across Australia and New Zealand in the first half of 2027, including a larger flagship store in Sydney expected in October 2026.

The announcement comes as Premier reported a 2 percent decline in sales for the FY26 period, amounting to 795.5 million Australian dollars. The company also lowered its underlying EBIT guidance, narrowing its forecast from 183 million dollars to 176 million dollars.

Circular fashion charity Ellen MacArthur Foundation has joined the American Circular Textiles (AMCIRC) coalition as an Insights Partner.

The title represents a new participation category for the AMCIRC that allows partnered organisations to work together on shared goals advancing circular textiles systems in North America and beyond.

The foundation will take part in membership meetings, events, and activities, exchanging information and insights to support policy and circular economy initiatives.

AMCIRC’s founder and chief executive officer, Rachel Kibbe, said the organisation was pleased to welcome the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, whose “research and systems-level thinking on circularity have shaped this field for over a decade”.

Meanwhile, the foundation’s executive lead for North America, Danielle Holly, acknowledged the coalition’s work to educate companies and US stakeholders on textile policy.

“We’re glad to be collaborating with them to drive circularity in fashion and textiles at a national level,” Holly added.

The first half of the year was defined by revivals and football, according to StockX’s annual report, Big Facts: Brands Making Moves. The culture and resale marketplace has once again outlined the fastest-growing brands on its platform, tracking sales data from January to June 2026 and comparing it with the same period last year.

The overarching theme, as noted by StockX CEO Greg Schwartz, was that of a diversified market, which this time was further driven by the inclusion of data from the company’s recently launched marketplace StockX Listings, showing demand across both new and used products.

“Consumers today aren’t only chasing the next drop – they want the archive as much as the new release. With StockX Listings, and our most recent addition, StockX Live, we’ve given them a way to do that under one roof with the same protections and trust that has always been core to our experience,” Schwartz added.

In the first week after StockX Listings launch on June 24, products like the Louis Vuitton Keepall Bandouliere Monogram Macassar 55, which sold for 2,100 dollars, and the Nike SB Dunk Low Black Pigeon, which sold for 2,000 dollars, served as early standout performers among thousands of sales made across almost 3,000 products.

Bravest Studios and Godspeed top rankings of shoes and apparel

Looking at StockX’s report more broadly, the leaders of the half year period were clear. Saucony took over Asics as the fastest-growing sneaker brand on StockX, ending its counterpart’s two-year streak with a 239 percent increase in sales. Vans followed in second place, with sales up 238 percent driven by an increase in average resale price, which jumped from 102 dollars to 180 dollars.

Akin to Vans’ revival, both Jordan and Supreme also enjoyed a return to favour. Jordan, which sits at ninth place in the sneaker ranking, saw sales grow 6 percent, equating to “tens of thousands of additional trades”, StockX noted. Average prices for the brand rose 5 percent, with retro silhouettes driving growth. Supreme’s apparel sales, meanwhile, rose 19 percent year-over-year, with average price premiums growing from 11 to 41 percent. The brand further boasts six of the top 10 apparel releases.

After debuting last year at number five, Bravest Studios moved into the top spot of the Shoes category, boasting a growth of 1,120 percent while its average sale price fell to 91 dollars from 111 dollars. Jordan came second with a sales growth of 727 percent, followed by Burberry at 171 percent and Nike at 138 percent growth.

Unsurprisingly, football led in popularity this year, ultimately boosting performance among apparel brands. Adidas snapped up the number two spot in the category, with sales increasing 687 percent, while Palace saw trades up 47 percent, with its average price premium expanding from 9 percent to 81 percent. Football-centric brands were only outpaced by Godspeed, which rose to the top of the apparel list with a trade growth of 1,603 percent. The brand’s average resale price remained flat at 142 dollars.

US-based apparel group Kontoor Brands has released its financial results for the second quarter ended July 4, 2026, reporting a 19 percent increase in revenue to 584 million dollars. The performance was supported by sustained growth from Wrangler, expanded direct-to-consumer (D2C) channels, and an above-expectation contribution from Helly Hansen, which was acquired during the second quarter of 2025.

Driven by first-half operational momentum, the company raised its full-year 2026 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) forecast to a range of 5.25 dollars to 5.35 dollars, up from its previous guidance of 5.15 dollars to 5.25 dollars.

Chief executive officer and chairman of the board of directors Scott Baxter commented: “Our second quarter results were driven by growth from Wrangler, a stronger-than-expected contribution from Helly Hansen and robust gross margin expansion. Wrangler delivered another quarter of diversified growth led by strong performance in female, direct-to-consumer and international, coupled with exceptional profitability and cash generation.”

Revenue and operational performance

Wrangler brand global turnover rose 2 percent year-over-year (YoY) to 469 million dollars during the quarter. In the US market, Wrangler revenue edged up 1 percent, propelled by a 9 percent increase in D2C sales, while US wholesale remained flat. International performance for Wrangler delivered a 10 percent revenue increase, led by a 31 percent expansion in D2C and a 7 percent gain in wholesale turnover.

Helly Hansen generated 114 million dollars in global turnover during the second quarter. Within the brand's division, sport and workwear segments generated 70 million dollars and 37 million dollars, respectively. Technical sailing brand Musto contributed 7 million dollars to total revenue.

On a reported basis, gross margin expanded by 970 basis points to 56.2 percent. Adjusted gross margin rose 710 basis points to 53.8 percent, supported by operational gains under Project Jeanius, favorable channel and product mix, disciplined pricing, and the incorporation of Helly Hansen.

Reported operating income reached 91 million dollars. Adjusted operating income rose 19 percent YoY to 94 million dollars, with the adjusted operating margin expanding 10 basis points to 16 percent. Diluted EPS stood at 1.03 dollars on a reported basis and 1.06 dollars on an adjusted basis, marking a 13% increase YoY.

Capital allocation and Lee divestiture

During the second quarter, Kontoor Brands returned 80 million dollars to shareholders through cash dividends and share buybacks. The business repurchased 50 million dollars of common stock at an average price of 74 dollars per share, bringing year-to-date share repurchases to 75 million dollars. A regular quarterly cash dividend of 0.53 dollars per share was declared, payable on September 18, 2026, to shareholders of record as of September 8, 2026.

The planned divestiture of Lee remains on track to close in the fourth quarter of 2026. Kontoor Brands expects the transaction to be neutral to EPS over a 12-to-18-month period, as overheads previously allocated to Lee are mitigated through restructuring and cost actions.

Following the completion of the sale, the group intends to deploy 400 million dollars of the transaction proceeds into an Accelerated Share Repurchase agreement. As of the end of the second quarter, 700 million dollars remained under the company’s existing share repurchase authorization.

Raises full-year 2026 guidance

Kontoor Brands reaffirmed its full-year 2026 revenue projections while updating profitability targets:

Revenue: 2.66 billion dollars to 2.71 billion dollars, representing growth of 12 percent to 13 percent YoY.

Adjusted gross margin: 49.8 percent to 50 percent, reflecting an expansion of 330 to 350 basis points YoY (raised from 48.3 percent to 48.5 percent).

Adjusted operating income: 413 million dollars to 420 million dollars, reflecting an increase of 15 percent to 17 percent YoY.

Adjusted EPS: 5.25 dollars to 5.35 dollars, incorporating approximately 0.55 dollars per share of unmitigated Lee overhead expenses and 0.36 dollars per share in incremental strategic investments (raised from 5.15 dollars to 5.25 dollars).

For the second half of fiscal 2026, turnover for both Wrangler and Helly Hansen is expected to grow in the mid-single digit range, excluding the impact of the 53rd week in fiscal 2025.

De Montfort University (DMU) has become the first higher education institution to publicly partner with fashion technology platform CircKit, embedding its industry-grade circular design and compliance software directly into its curricula starting September 2026. The initiative, delivered through the "CircKit for Universities" academic licensing programme, aims to address a growing skills gap by shifting sustainability instruction away from theoretical lectures toward active, tool-based practice.

As legislative measures such as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and Digital Product Passports (DPPs) redefine operational standards across global supply chains, fashion brands are prioritizing candidates with practical fluency in eco-design and regulatory compliance. By integrating CircKit across multiple courses, DMU will allow students to conduct Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs), analyze material impacts, and simulate real-world commercial scenarios during the initial design phase, long before products reach production.

The platform’s methodology centres on balancing commercial viability, regulatory compliance, and climate performance. According to Stuart Lawson, Deputy Head at DMU’s School of Design Innovation, the adoption aligns with the Design Council’s Skills for Planet framework, embedding LCAs directly into teaching to help students understand and act on sustainability metrics. CircKit Founder and CEO Joe Darwen noted that DMU’s early adoption establishes a new benchmark for higher education by treating circularity as a core business driver rather than a creative limitation.

The partnership highlights a broader movement among fashion institutions seeking to update their academic models in response to tightening global regulations and evolving market demands. With applications now open for the September 2026 academic term, CircKit is currently onboarding additional fashion schools and universities, signaling a sector-wide transition toward software-driven, compliance-ready fashion education.

Two Asos executives are reportedly stepping down from their respective positions as the British e-tailer continues to execute a long-standing turnaround strategy.

According to Drapers, executive vice president of customer and commercial Ben Blake and executive vice president of technology Przemek Czarnecki will exit the company from August 31, 2026.

The news was confirmed to the media outlet by Asos, which said: “The team changes do not impact on Asos’ overall direction. Our priorities remain unchanged, with a clear focus on accelerating execution, driving growth and delivering for customers.”

While the search for successors of both roles is ongoing, chief financial officer Aaron Izzard will oversee Blake’s responsibilities and EVP of people, communications and strategy Rad Vaghjiani will take up Czarnecki’s.

The executives’ times at the company were short-lived, both having arrived last year: Blake in September and Czarnecki in February. Their departures comes as Asos moves into a new phase of its transformation focusing on growth, it told Drapers.

US-based apparel company Kontoor Brands has appointed Joseph Alkire to the role of president and chief financial officer, effective immediately.

In his expanded role, Alkire will maintain global responsibilities for the Helly Hansen brand and will expand his oversight to include the Wrangler brand. In addition, he will continue in his role as chief financial officer and maintain oversight over the company’s global operations.

“Joe has been an exceptional partner in driving Kontoor's growth and transformation, and this expanded role reflects both what he's already delivered and the confidence the Board and I have in his ability to build on that success,” said chief executive officer and chairman of the board of directors, Scott Baxter. “We've reached an important inflection point in our value creation journey, and we're aligning our portfolio under one leader with the operational and financial expertise to deliver on our ambitions.”

Alkire has served as a key member of the executive leadership team since joining US-based Kontoor Brands in 2023, playing an instrumental role in shaping strategic and financial direction. Alkire will continue to report directly to Baxter.

Alkire added: “I am energized by the opportunity ahead and deeply grateful to the talented people across this organization whose commitment to excellence has positioned Kontoor to compete and win. I look forward to continuing to partner closely with Scott and the executive leadership team as we build on that foundation and pursue this next horizon of growth.”

The final text of law no. 2026-602, aimed at reducing the environmental impact of the textile industry, known as the “anti-fast fashion law”, was enacted on July eight, 2026, and published in the Official Journal on July nine.

Beyond the penalty and advertising ban targeting ultra-fast fashion, the final text includes other provisions likely to change the obligations for all fashion businesses. While this law targets ultra-fast fashion, it extends certain obligations to the entire industry. Here is a closer look at these measures, although some application details are yet to be specified.

Law does not only concern ultra-fast fashion players

According to article two, “the manufacturing locations of the product mentioned in 11° of article L. 541-10-1 sold online must be brought to the consumer's attention clearly and legibly on the digital platform, in characters of a size equal to that of the price indication and near it.”

This provision concerns new clothing, footwear and household linen intended for individuals and is therefore not limited to companies falling under “ultra-fast fashion”.

Foreign companies will have to have a representative in France

According to article five, when a person not established in France is subject to the principle of extended producer responsibility (EPR), they must designate, by written mandate, a natural or legal person established in France as a representative responsible for ensuring compliance with their related obligations.

This measure aims in particular to facilitate the application of EPR obligations to businesses established abroad.

Law facilitates information sharing between control authorities

The law does not just create penalties; it also strengthens the tools for monitoring their application. The text of article four facilitates checks by authorising information sharing between agents responsible for risk prevention, customs, and the General Directorate for Competition Policy, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF). The DGCCRF will also be able to exchange information and documents with the National Commission on Informatics and Liberty (CNIL).

Data from sales sites can be collected automatically

The eco-organisation for the textile sector, such as Refashion, will be able to use automated systems to collect publicly accessible data and information on online sales sites and platforms. This can be done even when their general terms of use oppose it. The objective is to verify compliance with obligations related to extended producer responsibility (EPR) and the payment of corresponding financial contributions.

Donations of clothing from ultra-fast fashion lose their tax advantage

FashionUnited raised this question in November 2025. Article three now stipulates that donations of products from ultra-fast fashion do not qualify for the tax reduction provided for by article 238 bis of the General Tax Code (CGI).

Ultra-fast fashion: application details still awaited

Several application details remain to be specified by regulation, starting with the criteria for identifying “ultra-fast fashion” players. The law uses two parameters: a high number of new references and a low incentive to repair. However, their thresholds and modalities must still be set by decree in the Council of State.

The law requires their sites and interfaces to display messages encouraging restraint, reuse, and repair. They must also provide information on environmental, social, and health impacts. The application details for these requirements must be specified by decree.

The principle of an advertising ban for ultra-fast fashion is enshrined in the law, with its entry into force set for January first, 2027. A decree in the Council of State must specify the application details of this ban.

Regarding the textile penalty, the law already sets the maximum penalty amounts, with a gradual increase until 2030 and an entry into force on September first, 2026. Its application details must, however, still be specified by regulation.

The Indian apparel group, which still generates 65 percent of its exports in the US, intends to increase Europe's share from 17 percent to 20–25 percent within two years.

Is India looking to leverage its new agreements with London and Brussels to strengthen its position in European supply chains?

The new international trade rules have taken a few months to start impacting the strategies of fashion manufacturers.

Raymond Lifestyle to increase Europe's share of exports

At Raymond Lifestyle, this shift is now clearly acknowledged. The Indian group plans to increase Europe's share of its exports to 20–25 percent over the next two years, up from approximately 17 percent. Simultaneously, the US share, which currently stands at 65 percent, is expected to fall to between 55 and 60 percent.

“Europe will grow faster for us,” CEO Satyaki Ghosh told Reuters, estimating that India's new trade agreements with the UK and the European Union could produce a “double boom” for the business. European demand has seen double-digit growth since the announcement of these agreements. Approximately 30 percent of this is already converting into orders, mainly in the UK, but also in Poland, Germany and France.

The shift is significant enough that Raymond is already adapting its industrial facilities. Production at its Ethiopian site is ramping up. Its factory in Andhra Pradesh is set to expand to ten production lines within the next two years, more than tripling its current capacity.

Raymond, a more significant player in western fashion than it appears

The Raymond name is particularly well-known in India, where the group owns brands such as Park Avenue and ColorPlus. Its business, however, extends far beyond its own labels. Raymond Lifestyle generated revenues of 6.36 billion rupees in its 2024-2025 financial year, according to the group's published results.

A significant part of this business is based on 'garmenting', the manufacturing of clothing for third-party brands. This activity generated approximately 1.1 billion rupees in revenue in 2024-2025 and is one of the main pillars of the group's business-to-business (B2B) activity. Raymond manufactures items such as jackets, trousers, shirts and other garments for international players.

The group already works with western companies. Reuters cites JCPenney and Charles Tyrwhitt among its international clients, while CEO Satyaki Ghosh states that Raymond has recently acquired new clients in Poland, Germany and France.

This existing presence gives another dimension to the group's announced European shift. Exports accounted for approximately 20 percent of Raymond Lifestyle's revenue in the 2025-2026 financial year, according to Satyaki Ghosh. Before the change in US tariff policy, the US absorbed about 65 percent of the group's exports, compared to 17 percent for Europe. Raymond is now targeting 20 to 25 percent for Europe within the next two years, while the US share is expected to fall to between 55 and 60 percent.

Europe is therefore not a new market for Raymond. The group already has clients, business relationships and an initial industrial base there. What is changing today is the potential weight these markets could have in its portfolio. For a manufacturer whose primary export market is still the US, shifting several points of volume to Europe is a significant move. It necessarily involves reassessing production capacities, order allocation and exposure to tariff risks.

This is precisely what Raymond is beginning to do: production at its Ethiopian site is ramping up, and the Andhra Pradesh factory is set to expand to ten production lines within the next two years, more than tripling its current capacity.

London has already opened the door

The trade calendar plays a decisive role here. Since July 15, 2026, the free trade agreement between India and the UK has been officially in effect. The Indian government states that nearly 99 percent of Indian exports now benefit from duty-free access to the British market. Textiles and apparel are among the sectors expected to benefit directly from this liberalisation.

For Indian manufacturers, customs duties are a direct component of the price charged to the customer. Eliminating them allows for a reduction in the final price, an improvement in the manufacturer's margin, or a sharing of the benefit between the manufacturer and its client. In a sector where buyers constantly choose between several production countries, a few cost points can be enough to shift an order.

The new agreement does not, of course, guarantee that India will gain market share. Rules of origin remain crucial for benefiting from tariff preferences. It does, however, change the competitive balance between suppliers.

Raymond already has a British presence. The UK accounts for approximately 7 percent of the company's jacket and blazer sales, which equates to around 1.2 billion rupees in exports.

The UK therefore represents the most immediately exploitable territory for Raymond.

Continental Europe: a larger market, but gains are yet to come

The situation is different on the continent. The free trade agreement between India and the European Union was concluded on January 27, 2026, after several years of negotiations. It still needs to be signed and follow the necessary internal procedures to come into force.

Its content, however, already indicates its potential. According to the Indian government, 70.4 percent of tariff lines, covering 90.7 percent of Indian exports to the EU, will benefit from the immediate elimination of duties upon entry into force. Textiles, apparel, leather and footwear are among the sectors explicitly identified as beneficiaries.

The potential for Raymond is therefore greater than that of the UK market alone. France, Germany and Poland are already mentioned as countries where the group has gained new clients. France, Italy and Germany are also among its priority markets.

The European market is therefore not only larger: it offers Raymond a diverse clientele of brands, specialised distributors and accessible premium players.

Why not simply stay in the US?

This question is key to understanding the group's choice. The US remains, by far, Raymond's largest market.

The company does not plan to leave the US market. Instead, it seeks to reduce its dependency. When 65 percent of a manufacturer's exports depend on a single market, any tariff or regulatory change in that market has an immediate impact on the income statement. The strategy is therefore less about replacing the US and more about reducing the weight of a risk that has become too concentrated.

This logic is also reflected in India's trade figures. During the 2025-2026 financial year, Indian textile and apparel exports to major European markets increased by 9 percent to 694.45 billion rupees. At the same time, exports to the US fell by 7 percent after reciprocal customs duties came into effect.

For a manufacturer like Raymond, the calculation becomes quite concrete: continue to serve the US market, but invest marginal capacity where trade conditions are becoming progressively more favourable.

The real trade-off: price, margin, capacity and visibility

The choice between the US and Europe is not, however, simply a matter of customs duties. A manufacturer must weigh several variables: the price obtained from the client; production costs; transport; import duties; volumes; lead times; regulatory requirements; and demand stability.

This is where Raymond's strategy becomes interesting. The group is not just seeking more European orders. It is adapting its industrial facilities to be able to absorb them.

The expansion in Andhra Pradesh and the ramp-up in Ethiopia address this need. Ethiopia can serve as a complementary production base in a geographical diversification strategy, while India retains the advantage of its integrated textile ecosystem and industrial expertise.

India wants to move from textiles to higher-value clothing

For Raymond, Europe also offers something more than just an additional market: the opportunity to move upmarket.

The group is already working on shifting its mix towards finished and semi-finished garments with higher added value, rather than remaining confined to exporting fabrics. Its annual report highlights the rise in European demand for premium clothing made from Indian fabrics.

Indian competitiveness is not based solely on labour costs. It also relies on the depth of its textile industry, its ability to produce fabrics, transform them and progressively move up the value chain.

For Raymond, selling more finished jackets, trousers or shirts to a European brand potentially allows it to capture more value than simply supplying raw materials. Free trade then becomes an accelerator, but not the core of the strategy.

A reconfiguration of supply flows

Raymond's decision comes at a time when major western clients are also reconsidering their industrial geography.

For years, the main issue was cost: producing where the total cost was lowest.

Today, the logic is more complex. Brands want to simultaneously preserve their margins, secure their supply chains, reduce their exposure to trade tensions and have multiple production hubs.

In this new environment, India has an additional advantage. The UK now offers it much more favourable trade access. The European Union has concluded an agreement that provides for significant liberalisation of textiles and apparel, although it has not yet come into force. Tariff tensions with the US automatically make diversification more attractive. For Raymond, the calculation is therefore less 'US versus Europe' and more 'US plus Europe'.

A barometer of a new trade balance

This is precisely what makes the Raymond case interesting beyond the company itself. The group is not leaving the US market; it is seeking to reduce its dependence on it at the very moment when access conditions to the European market are becoming more favourable for Indian exporters. Its goal of increasing Europe's share of its exports from 17 percent to 20–25 percent in two years is a concrete indicator of how trade agreements are beginning to influence industrial decisions.

In London, the agreement with India has already come into force. In Brussels, the agreement concluded with New Delhi still has to go through the final stages before it can be applied. Manufacturers, however, are already beginning to incorporate these prospects into their decision-making.

The Raymond case can therefore be read as a barometer of future trade flows between India and Europe. If European orders continue to grow and if the EU–India agreement does indeed come into force under the announced conditions, the movement could extend beyond the apparel sector alone.

Conversely, the persistence of a strong US dependency is a reminder of a more prosaic reality. A trade agreement alone does not shift supply chains. It still requires clients, industrial capacity and sufficiently competitive prices.

One thing is already clear. As the US toughens its trade policy, Europe and India have a growing interest in strengthening their trade. Raymond, with its portfolio of western clients and its expanding industrial facilities, could well be one of the first thermometers of this rebalancing.

The planned sale of a 15 percent stake in the Giorgio Armani group may not be completed by the March 2027 deadline set out in founder Giorgio Armani's will. This is according to a report by Corriere della Sera today, which cited internal sources at the group.

The newspaper adds that conditions in the luxury market remain difficult and that negotiations could take longer than expected.

The entrepreneur had stipulated that the Giorgio Armani Foundation, which controls the fashion house, should proceed with the sale of an initial 15 percent stake within 18 months of the succession opening, giving priority to potential strategic partners such as LVMH, L'Oréal and EssilorLuxottica.

According to Corriere della Sera, documents from the Giorgio Armani Foundation indicate that the process of selling the minority stake is still in its initial stages.

On July 23, the Unified Conference approved the draft regulation that will establish the extended producer responsibility (EPR) scheme for textile and footwear products in Italy.

The minister of environment and energy security, Gilberto Pichetto, commenting on the approval of the draft regulation prepared by the ministry, emphasised: “With this measure, we are making those who first place textile products on the national market responsible, calling on them to contribute concretely to the end-of-life management of goods. This is a long-awaited reform. It implements one of the key instruments of the National Strategy for the Circular Economy and introduces clear rules, promoting a more efficient, transparent and sustainability-oriented supply chain.”

“The regulation adopts a broad definition of 'producer', including not only manufacturers but also large distributors who place products on the Italian market for the first time. This choice considers the evolution of international trade. It also helps to promote higher product quality, countering consumption models based on rapid obsolescence,” Pichetto added in a note.

The decree can now proceed to its final two formal stages: review by the Council of State and registration with the Court of Auditors, with final approval expected by the end of 2026.

ReDress explains how foreign producers selling in Italy can prepare for new regulatory requirements

Following the approval by the Italian Unified Conference, ReDress is explaining how foreign producers selling in Italy can prepare for the new regulatory requirements. ReDress is the non-profit consortium for textile EPR management, founded in 2024 and promoted by the British multinational Reconomy.

“With the ministerial decree expected shortly, Italy is making its national EPR scheme operational ahead of the June 17, 2027 deadline set by Directive (EU) 2025/1892. For businesses, this means that compliance obligations will apply as soon as the Italian legislation comes into force. The obligation applies to any company that first places a textile product on the Italian market, regardless of the company's location. This includes business-to-consumer e-commerce and sales through marketplaces like Amazon.it. Company size is not an exemption: obligations begin from the first kilogram placed on the market, with the only exception being a one-year extension granted to micro-enterprises,” ReDress explained in a note. Producers must join one of the accredited Producer Responsibility Organisations (PROs).

“For international brands, preparing now means safeguarding sales continuity, managing costs and building a consistent compliance strategy across multiple countries. ReDress was created specifically to support this transition by combining the expertise of the Italian supply chain with Reconomy's global network,” added Sara Faccioli, chair of the board of directors at ReDress and managing director of Rlg Systems Italia. In Italy, ReDress is supported by Rlg Systems Italia, which has been active for over 15 years in managing EPR systems and 25 years in special waste management.

Under the draft law, the producer is defined as the entity that first places products on the Italian market, including through distance selling. Foreign brands should therefore identify who assumes this role within their commercial structure; identify the products falling within the scope of application; organise market placement data by category and weight; select an individual compliance system or a recognised consortium; register with the National Register; and prepare the required declarations and payments of the environmental contribution.

Companies that sell directly online to Italian consumers without a legal entity in Italy must appoint an authorised representative based in Italy. Furthermore, among the obligations for businesses is the payment of an environmental contribution based on the volume of products placed on the Italian market, intended to finance collection, sorting and recycling operations.

Italian reporting obligations require declarations to be submitted in kilograms

Italian reporting obligations require declarations to be submitted in kilograms rather than by individual item or SKU (stock keeping unit), as is the case in some European EPR systems. Adjusting the internal data architecture typically takes between 12 and 18 months, making timely preparation essential, ReDress experts emphasised.

Failure to comply with these regulations carries tangible commercial as well as administrative risks. Customs authorities can block shipments lacking a valid registration code, while online marketplaces are increasingly adopting zero-tolerance policies, suspending or removing listings from sellers unable to demonstrate their compliance.

Drawing on Italy's experience with compliance schemes for WEEE and batteries, Italy is establishing Corit (Textile Recycling Coordination Centre), a central body responsible for coordinating producer consortia. Corit will oversee the operation of the EPR system, define common operating standards and coordinate collection agreements with municipalities through the National Association of Italian Municipalities.

Danish outerwear brand Rains has appointed Tom Bettinson as its new group chief executive officer, after co-founder, Daniel Brix Hesselager, stepped back from the helm.

Hesselager, who founded Rains in 2012 alongside Philip Lotko, took up the role of CEO in 2025 with the goal of leading a “comprehensive transformation” of the company and preparing it for a new phase of growth.

Rains said that initiatives associated with this strategy have now been implemented, with Hesselager to move into a business development role and focus on realising the commercial potential of these investments.

Since embarking on a transformation, which has spanned company structure to go-to-market experiences, Rains has pivoted towards a consumer-oriented business model.

Much of its focus has also been on product, reflected in a product calendar now made up for four seasons and a more lifestyle-based offering, seen in expansions into ready-to-wear, footwear, skiwear, activewear and home decor.

Now under Bettinson, Rains is hoping to build on this foundation “with a distinct brand identity, an extended product universe, and an ambitious global strategy”, the executive said in a statement.

Bettinson has already played a significant role in establishing this foundation. After joining the company in 2017, he launched Rains’ UK organisation and showroom, which was mirrored in a broader international market integration strategy. The UK wholesale division has now recorded seven consecutive years of growth.

He also played a role in the establishment of Rains’ retail expansion, overseeing the launch of three London stores. After briefly leaving the business, he returned in October 2025 as chief strategy officer and has aided in restructuring the sales organisation and boosting growth across established markets and APAC.

In this episode of The Debrief segment on The Business of Fashion Podcast, correspondents Sheena Butler-Young and Shayeza Walid unpack a critical shift in consumer behavior: the migration away from synthetic textiles like polyester toward natural fibers. While textile composition historically sat firmly within supply chain and sustainability departments, it has rapidly transformed into a core marketing and consumer health topic. The discussion centers on how ingredient transparency—a long-standing norm in beauty and food—is now driving purchasing decisions in apparel.

The hosts analyze recent industry cautionary tales where premium price points failed to align with high synthetic content (such as heavy polyester blends), triggering swift consumer pushback. For B2B fashion professionals, the episode explores the complex operational realities behind this demand shift: the lobby-subsidized cost efficiency of synthetic polyesters, the scalability hurdles of bio-based elastanes, and the nuanced environmental footprint of natural fiber production. It offers essential commercial intelligence for brands re-evaluating their fabric sourcing strategies, bill of materials (BOM), and value proposition in an increasingly vigilant retail market.

Supermarket giant Tesco has confirmed plans to relaunch a website dedicated to its in-house clothing brand, F&F.

The new site, due to go live in September, intends to serve as an improved digital shopping experience, offering the brand’s latest collections via a refreshed and enhanced platform. Further details on the new site are expected to roll out in the coming weeks.

In a statement to FashionUnited, a company spokesperson said: “F&F has become a go-to destination for stylish, affordable fashion that keeps pace with customers’ ever-changing needs. As our range continues to grow and inspire customers, we want the online experience to reflect that excitement.

“The new F&F website will offer a more modern, intuitive and inspiring way to shop, making it easier than ever for Tesco customers to discover our latest collections and find the styles they love.”

Tesco already partially reinstated F&F’s digital presence last year, launching a selection of the brand’s collections via its own website. This extended availability was said to be a significant driver in Tesco’s broader like-for-like sales growth, which was up 5.1 percent in 2025.

Now, the planned relaunch of a dedicated site marks a “significant step” for F&F on the back of robust performance for Tesco’s clothing category. For the 53 weeks ended February 28, 2026, F&F clothing sales rose 5.1 percent to over 1.2 billion pounds, with growth supported by an uptick in womenswear, activewear and curated ‘F&F Edit’ ranges.

UK department store chain Fenwick, has reported a significant reduction in its operating loss for the full year 2025 ended January 30, 2026. The retailer achieved a 40 percent year-over-year (YoY) improvement in operational performance, cutting its operating loss by 15.7 million pounds to 23.4 million pounds.

The figures mark the successful completion of the first year of the group's three-year transformation strategy, aimed at returning the business to sustainable profitability.

Like-for-like (LFL) gross sales grew by 2.5 percent, supported by steady momentum across the group's estate of eight brick and mortar stores and its e-commerce channel. Total gross sales reached 287.4 million pounds, compared to a restated 52-week baseline of 280.4 million pounds in the previous fiscal period. Consolidated turnover rose to 179.2 million pounds, up from 177 million pounds.

Fenwick chair Sian Westerman noted: “These results demonstrate that our strategy is delivering. Achieving a 40% reduction in operating loss in what remains a challenging retail environment is a significant milestone. Fenwick is now in a stronger position than it has been for many years, and I am confident our three-year strategy will return the business to sustainable profitability.”

Digital investments and omnichannel progression

The performance improvement was supported by several core operational initiatives. Key developments included:

The full migration of the retailer's e-commerce operations to the Shopify platform, establishing a unified customer interface across digital touchpoints and physical stores;

The rollout of advanced data tools and business reporting systems to enhance analytics and customer insights;

The integration of a centralized customer relationship management (CRM) database via Klaviyo, alongside the launch of the MyFenwick Loyalty programme powered by Yotpo in September 2025.

Capital expenditure yielded strong commercial returns at the group's flagship Newcastle location. Following these gains, Fenwick plans to direct additional physical store investments toward its Kingston and Brent Cross locations during the upcoming financial period.

Executive deputy chair Mia Fenwick added: “The first year of our three-year plan has delivered strong progress and demonstrates that our strategy is gaining real momentum. We have built stronger foundations for the business, invested in the customer experience and continued to evolve Fenwick as a truly omnichannel retailer.”

Outdoor retailer Mountain Warehouse has appointed a new chief executive officer after its founder, Mark Neale, stepped down from the helm after 29 years.

According to The Times, Neale will instead take up the role of executive chairman, with Marcus Ward to step in as CEO from September 1.

Ward first joined Mountain Warehouse almost 20 years ago as finance director. He has since held several senior positions before becoming chief operating and financial officer in 2018.

In his new position, Ward will take over responsibility for the day-to-day operations of the business. Neale, meanwhile, will focus on driving international expansion and growing its broader portfolio, including US retailer Eastern Mountain Sports and surfwear label Animal.

Neale told The Times that Ward’s experience and understanding of Mountain Warehouse’s customers and operations made him the ideal candidate.

The shift in leadership comes as the company preps for international expansion, with plans to open 60 stores set out for the current financial year, including new locations in the UK, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

London-based luxury department store operator Harrods has filed its annual report and consolidated financial statements for the 52-week period ended January 31, 2026. The company achieved a return to profitability, recording a pre-tax profit of 84.9 million pounds, recovering from a loss after tax of 34 million pounds in the previous year. Group turnover grew 1.2 percent year-over-year (YoY) to 1.2 billion pounds.

Chief financial officer Geoff Weaver stated: “In 2025, Harrods delivered further stabilisation and modest growth, achieving a turnover of £1,095.2m, a 1.2% increase year-on-year. Despite ongoing headwinds across the global luxury sector, Harrods once again outperformed the broader market.”

Operating profit and exceptional charges

Operating profit before exceptional items stood at 172.3 million pounds, compared to 177.7 million pounds in the prior period. According to the company, this minor decrease reflected ongoing investments in workforce remuneration and higher distribution expenses.

Including exceptional items, operating profit rose to 133.9 million pounds, up from 77.5 million pounds. The exceptional expenses comprised:27.9 million pounds for the strategic digital transformation of the enterprise resource planning (ERP) system; 6.1 million pounds in professional fees and expenses associated with employee welfare redress; 4.4 million pounds in one-off costs relating to the exit from Harrods Estates, dry bars, H Beauty Bristol, and the Harrods Shanghai department store.

The Harrods Redress Scheme, established to compensate survivors of historic abuse perpetrated by former owner Mohamed Fayed, was launched on March 31, 2025, and officially closed to new applications on March 31, 2026.

During FY25, the business also reported impact of two separate and unconnected cyber incidents; in May 2025 and September 2025. Both were promptly contained with no material impact on business operations, systems, or long-term financial performance.

By activity, retail concessions contributed 362.1 million pounds to total turnover, up from 344.3 million pounds in the previous 52 weeks.

Financial position and capital investment

Capital expenditure for the 52-week period was 72.3 million pounds, down from 76.5 million pounds. Investments were directed toward the redevelopment of the womenswear department, upgrades to the Knightsbridge store façade lighting, and digital infrastructure.

Entering the new financial period, Harrods is progressing with planned renovations of its central escalators and the redevelopment of its Fine Jewellery and Watches departments.

The Japanese owner of Joseph is believed to be mulling a sale of the British brand, with reports suggesting that advisors have been appointed to review options.

According to Sky News, Onward Kashiyama has tasked PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to weigh interest among potential buyers.

The media outlet said an improvement in financial performance, triggered by a brand revival overseen by creative director Mario Arena, has sparked sale interest.

Since joining the company in 2024, Arena has sought to refresh Joseph’s image while also returning to its roots in power dressing and tactile luxury materials.

In an interview with The Times earlier this year, Arena expressed further ambitions to scale the brand back into an “all-encompassing” lifestyle experience spanning eyewear, footwear, handbags, and menswear.

Onward Kashiyama has owned Joseph since 2005, when it snapped the brand up in a 140 million pound deal.

FashionUnited has contacted Onward Kashiyama and PwC with a request to comment.

The CEO of Boden has confirmed that the British fashion brand has set its sights on Canada for a possible expansion.

Ben Dreyer told Drapers that Canada was determined to be the next market to venture into after the US, where Boden is currently building “a bit of muscle” to “understand how we can make [bricks and mortar] work”.

Once the company gains more experience in North America, it will then roll out more broadly.

Boden recently opened stores in Georgia and Tennessee, and has another location planned for Alabama, due to open in autumn, Drapers reported.

The US has become Boden’s largest market, raking in 161.7 million pounds in the year to December 28. 2024, accounting for half of total sales.

In the same year, the company returned to profitability after a turbulent period, with profit before tax amounting to 34.6 million pounds, up from a prior loss of 12.3 million pounds. Turnover rose 19 percent to 362.8 million pounds.

In an investigative report from Bloomberg Originals, market analysts evaluate the strategic missteps that led Italian fashion house Gucci from peak industry performance into retail markdown territory. Once the primary growth engine for parent conglomerate Kering, the iconic luxury house faces mounting challenges stemming from over-saturation, changing consumer sentiment, and brand dilution across secondary channels.

The video analysis provides industry professionals and fashion business scholars with a close look at how heavy reliance on signature logocentric motifs and high-volume seasonal aesthetics eroded perceived exclusivity over time. Furthermore, the report examines the operational impact of inventory overhang and off-price distribution channels on high-end luxury equity. As Kering seeks to stabilize market share, Bloomberg Originals outlines potential restructuring avenues, creative pivots, and merchandising strategies required to restore the brand's premier luxury positioning.

The 2026 Macao Student Fashion Creativity Competitions are bringing together 54 young participants from 22 schools to compete across fashion design, visual merchandising technology, beauty and makeup technology, and fashion illustration.

Held under the theme “Green City”, the competition is designed to develop creative and cross-disciplinary skills while giving participants experience in applying ideas within a professional-style setting.

Fashion design contestant Vong Mei Nei said her interest in the discipline began with anime before developing through formal training. After participating in the competition for the first time last year, she returned with a stronger understanding of the process, including pattern drafting, garment construction and colour theory.

The practical focus extends beyond making garments. Participants are also asked to translate design concepts into customised proposals for clients, combining creative development with problem-solving and technical decision-making.

That emphasis reflects the increasingly broad skill set required across the fashion industry, where design development intersects with communication, production, commercial considerations and client needs.

The competition also provides a pathway towards international exposure. Victoria Alexa Kuan Chan, president of the Macau Productivity and Technology Transfer Centre (CPTTM), said Macao contestants have collectively achieved international results including one gold, two silver and two bronze medals, as well as 15 medallions for excellence.

The CPTTM has positioned local training and competitions as an important foundation for young people progressing to international events. Vong also pointed to opportunities beyond Macau, noting demand for bespoke tailoring and fashion design locally while recognising the global nature of the wider industry.

The 2026 competition runs through August 14, with awards presented across all four categories. Alongside recognising individual achievement, the event offers a snapshot of how vocational training and creative competitions are being used to develop technical confidence, industry awareness and emerging fashion talent.

Alexa Chung continues to be a prominent figure in the fashion industry, maintaining her influence over two decades into her career. In the Season 3 premiere of "The Good Buy," the model, designer, and presenter joined Harper's Bazaar to provide insight into her personal aesthetic and her ongoing partnership with Mulberry. The discussion covered a range of topics, including her appreciation for contemporary muses such as Addison Rae and Olivia Dean, as well as her approach to fashion, from high-end Prada runway collections to vintage Levi's. Chung also reflected on her purchase history, identifying both her most defining acquisitions and those she considers mistakes. From her custom Met Gala appearances to her daily use of functional items like the L.L. Bean Boat and Tote, Chung emphasized that her approach to style is driven by personal instinct rather than status.

For generations, Indian students considering higher education were often encouraged towards fields such as engineering, medicine, law and commerce, while creative subjects were sometimes viewed as less conventional career choices. According to an article published on The Pioneer, that landscape is changing as technology, artificial intelligence and the wider creative economy reshape opportunities for graduates.

For fashion students the shift is particularly significant. A fashion career today extends well beyond traditional roles in design. Opportunities increasingly span fashion communication, styling, photography, merchandising, buying, retail, fashion technology, UX, branding, marketing, sustainability, luxury business and creative entrepreneurship.

Fashion education is consequently becoming more interdisciplinary. Students may combine creative practice with business, digital technologies, communication and research, developing skills that can be applied across a rapidly changing industry.

The growing influence of artificial intelligence is another factor reshaping fashion education. Rather than removing the need for creative skills, AI is changing how designers and other fashion professionals research, develop, communicate and produce ideas. This makes critical thinking and the ability to assess technology-generated outputs increasingly relevant alongside traditional design and technical skills.

Exposure to emerging technologies

For educators, this presents an opportunity to reconsider how fashion programmes prepare students for professional life. Studio practice, portfolio development, industry projects, internships and exposure to emerging technologies can complement technical and theoretical learning.

Students choosing a fashion programme, the degree itself is only one part of the decision. The learning environment, opportunities to collaborate, access to industry, development of a professional portfolio and exposure to new technologies can all influence how effectively a programme prepares graduates for an evolving sector.

The wider expansion of India's creative economy also suggests that the boundaries between fashion, technology and business will continue to become less distinct. For the next generation of fashion professionals, creative education may therefore provide not just preparation for a specific role, but a foundation for adapting as those roles change.

Madrid – Noize Design Studio (NDS9), a Barcelona-based company specialising in the design and sourcing of apparel for third parties, and India's RSWM Limited, the textile company and flagship of the Indian LNJ Bhilwara group, have announced the creation of a joint venture for the manufacturing and marketing of eco-friendly designer garments from India. They will contribute their respective expertise to this venture. The companies also claim it will strengthen India's position as a global textile production hub, elevating its industrial ecosystem to new and higher standards.

Both companies have pointed out their respective strengths. NDS9, a company specialising in garment design, product development and global marketing, is based in Barcelona with offices in New York, Hong Kong, Delhi and Dhaka. It has joined forces with the Indian company RSWM Limited, the flagship of the Indian holding company LNJ Bhilwara.

RSWM Limited is one of the leading manufacturers and exporters of yarns, knitted fabrics and denim in India. Together they have formed “LNJ NDS9 Global Private Limited”. This is a joint venture in which NDS9 holds a 26 percent stake and RSWM holds the remaining 74 percent. Under this partnership, they will drive the construction and launch of what they call “India's first new-generation textile plant based on the Industry 5.0 concept”. This integrated, design-focused platform will specialise in producing next-generation eco-friendly denim and high-end sportswear for international brands.

“This joint venture marks a significant milestone in RSWM's journey to become an integrated, value-added textile company,” said Riju Jhunjhunwala, chairman and managing director of the Indian textile company. “By combining our manufacturing expertise with NDS9's design innovation and international market capabilities, we are creating a future-ready manufacturing platform based on the principles of Industry 5.0, innovation and sustainability,” he added. “This platform reflects our ongoing commitment to green manufacturing, and we expect it to generate significant value for the country and the world at large.”

“NDS9 has always been characterised by prioritising design, helping global brands transform emerging fashion trends into commercially successful products with speed and precision,” noted Anurag Chauhan, founder and chairman of the Barcelona-based company NDS9. “With this expertise, and now in partnership with RSWM in India, we will offer our clients a fully integrated solution—from concept and design to large-scale sustainable production—thus boosting India's consolidation as a preferred destination for sourcing high-end garments.”

With an estimated initial capacity of 1.5 million garments per month

As its base and operations centre, the new joint venture will have a state-of-the-art design and manufacturing plant in India, designed under the principles of “Industry 5.0”. The platform will integrate advanced automation systems; state-of-the-art technology; digital technologies for textile manufacturing; artificial intelligence; and sustainable, people-oriented production processes. Both parties claim this combination of technologies and standards will help make the facility “one of the most advanced and future-ready apparel manufacturing campuses in India”.

With an initial investment of 186 million Indian rupees, these funds will be used to build the first phase of the plant. This will give the platform an installed capacity to produce 500,000 denim garments per month. This capacity is planned to be increased with the development of a second phase of the facility. This will provide the plant with an additional production capacity of one million denim and sportswear garments, bringing the factory's total production capacity to approximately 1.5 million garments per month.

According to the terms of the agreement, RSWM Limited will lead the manufacturing processes, plant operations, raw material purchasing, quality systems and management of the entire supply chain related to the joint venture's operations. For these tasks, they will draw on their established track record as a group specialising in textile and garment manufacturing. They will be supported by the parallel and complementary work of NDS9. NDS9 will be in charge of design processes; trend analysis and forecasting; sales and marketing processes; product development; merchandising; and the development of international business and client relationships. For these dynamics, they will use their expertise as an international design and marketing studio with experience working with leading fashion companies in Europe, North America and Asia.

“This alliance brings together NDS9's global design expertise with RSWM's manufacturing excellence to create an integrated and globally competitive platform for high-end garments,” added Chauhan. “Together, we will offer innovative, sustainable and technologically advanced solutions for leading international fashion brands.”

“This project reflects our vision of building a state-of-the-art apparel manufacturing ecosystem,” said Rajeev Gupta, deputy managing director of RSWM Limited. He noted that the company “will lead the manufacturing, plant operations, purchasing and supply chain” for the new joint venture. It will start in two phases, first with “denim production” and then with “knitted fabrics”. The plant will have “rooftop solar panels integrated from day one”, an example of the standards that will also be maintained inside. “Through this alliance,” he added, “our goal is to offer world-class quality, innovation and sustainable manufacturing, while also strengthening India's position as a preferred global destination for apparel sourcing.”

The perfume chain Douglas continued to feel the effects of customer price sensitivity in its third business quarter of 2025/26.

The quarter's business performance was significantly impacted by weak market dynamics in Germany, France and the Netherlands. It was also affected by continued strong price competition in the European beauty retail sector, the SDax listed company announced on Wednesday in Düsseldorf. Douglas confirmed the forecast, which was lowered again in mid-June.

Revenue for the three months to the end of June fell by 2.0 percent to approximately 988 million euros (1,140 million dollars). Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell significantly by 19.4 percent to 127.5 million euros. Industry experts had anticipated slightly higher figures for both metrics.

The bottom line showed a loss of 2.6 million euros for Douglas. This compares to a profit of 17.3 million euros recorded in the previous year. Analysts had anticipated a slight loss.

After two years of a slowdown in the luxury market, Chanel has reportedly recorded a 16 percent growth in its like-for-like revenue for the first half of 2026. This result was notably driven by the first collections from Matthieu Blazy.

Beyond the case of Chanel, this performance prompts the question: what if, after years of price hikes, upscaling and network expansion, the product once again became the main driver of growth?

In luxury, there is a rule that recent years had almost made us forget. To sell more, you must first create the desire to buy.

Chanel has just provided particularly compelling proof of this.

According to information reported by Bloomberg on August 4 and picked up by Reuters, the house reportedly recorded a 16 percent increase in its like-for-like revenue in the first half of 2026. The figure comes from a source close to Chanel's accounts. It has not been detailed by the house, which remains a private company and publishes little financial information. Nevertheless, it represents a level of growth that places it above several major competitors in the sector.

The performance is all the more interesting as it comes after a proven period of slowdown in luxury. It also occurs at a time when major groups are trying to understand how to recreate desirability without simply relying on new price hikes.

At Chanel, part of the answer has a name: Matthieu Blazy.

First commercial test of the Blazy era

The new artistic director presented his first Chanel collection for spring/summer 2026 in October 2025, before its arrival in stores at the beginning of March 2026. The launch did not go unnoticed.

From the very first weeks, Chanel boutiques experienced unusual footfall.

In Paris, the historic boutique at 31 rue Cambon saw a flood of customers for the new pieces. In New York, the situation was spectacular enough for Vogue to speak of a real “Matthieu-mania”, reporting queues outside the 57th Street store.

FashionUnited also documented this excitement from March, with products quickly selling out in several stores.

This phenomenon is important as it allows for a distinction between two concepts often confused in luxury strategies: visibility and desirability.

A campaign can increase a house's visibility. A new collection can recreate desire. The transition from one to the other is precisely what investors are looking to observe today.

What Blazy changes in the offering

The appointment of Matthieu Blazy obviously does not mean that Chanel is abandoning its fundamentals. On the contrary, the designer plays with the house's historical markers; tweed; the camellia; chains; pearls; and the suit. He reworks them with a more fluid, more contemporary and often more functional approach.

During his first show in October 2025, Le Monde noted how Blazy had reinterpreted Chanel's traditional codes while introducing his own textile language, particularly through materials and volumes.

This is probably where part of the commercial explanation lies. The renewal is not radical enough to alienate the historical clientele. It is, however, visible enough to give this clientele a reason to return and a younger clientele a reason to look at Chanel differently. In other words, the product evolves without the brand ceasing to be Chanel. For a house whose value rests precisely on the power of its codes, this equation is far from secondary.

Bag as an economic accelerator

It is also necessary to look beyond the clothing. In luxury, prêt-à-porter collections contribute to a brand's desirability, but accessories often play a much more direct role in monetising this desirability.

Blazy's first collections have significantly renewed the handbag offering.

As early as March, Bloomberg noted the enthusiasm for the new creations, with customers queuing to access the products. The article particularly highlighted the role of handbags in Chanel's ability to convert attention into sales.

This mechanism is interesting. A house can invest heavily in a show, a campaign or a new artistic direction. However, if the product presented does not trigger a purchase, the marketing spend remains essentially a communication expense.

Conversely, when a new product becomes immediately desirable, the show becomes a commercial machine. Traffic increases, in-store appointments increase, waiting lists appear, customers return and social media amplifies the phenomenon.

The handbag, being much more financially accessible than a complete prêt-à-porter look, often becomes the first point of entry.

Chanel is not the only example

The case of Miu Miu is probably the most remarkable example of recent years. In the first half of 2025, the Prada group brand posted 49 percent growth in its retail sales, while the Prada group's turnover grew by 9 percent. The group attributed this performance to the brand's creativity, its collections, its product launches and its ability to maintain a strong cultural resonance.

For the full 2025 financial year, Miu Miu recorded a further 35 percent increase in retail sales, despite an already very high basis for comparison. Prada particularly highlights the brand's creativity, its launches, its shows and the balanced growth across product categories and regions.

The comparison with Chanel is therefore instructive. The two houses obviously do not have the same positioning or the same brand architecture. They do, however, illustrate the same mechanism: when the offering becomes desirable enough, it can create its own commercial momentum.

Burberry makes another bet: selling fewer, but better, items

Another particularly interesting example for understanding the importance of assortment is Burberry. In its 2025/26 annual report, the British house explicitly states that it is rebalancing its assortment, with seasonal buying more focused on key styles.

The group also states its intention to strengthen its heritage categories, notably coats and scarves, increase their in-store density and better align the assortment with different customer profiles. This move is very different from Chanel's.

Burberry is seeking to rationalise and refocus its offering. Chanel, on the other hand, seems to be benefiting from the opposite effect: a new creative proposition strong enough to reactivate the entire assortment.

In both cases, however, the question is the same: what is actually being put in front of the customer?

Return of 'product-led growth' in luxury?

This is perhaps the real lesson from this sequence. For much of the last decade, luxury growth has relied on several levers: store openings; geographical expansion; price increases; upscaling; category development; and winning new customers.

The model worked, then the mechanism seized up. As price tags soared, consumers began to demand accountability. The question was no longer just “how much does this bag cost?”, but “what justifies this price today?”. This is a phenomenon of blindness that we recently questioned with industry expert Alessandro Maria Ferreri in “Has luxury despised the lucidity of its customers? The uncompromising autopsy”. By relying solely on pricing power, the houses ended up underestimating their clientele's discernment.

In this context, the product is returning to the forefront. The phenomenon is particularly visible in brands that manage to create identifiable “objects of desire”: a bag, a shoe, a jacket, a coat, a silhouette.

The consumer is no longer just buying a price increase. They are buying something new.

Good collection can also improve stock economics

Behind the artistic direction, an operational mechanism is at play: a more efficient assortment simultaneously improves stock turnover, the full-price sell-through rate, network productivity and profitability per square metre.

This is where the question of assortment becomes much more interesting than a simple question of artistic direction. A bad product costs twice. It uses materials, production time, transport, storage and retail space before, possibly, having to be sold at a discount.

A good product has the opposite effect. It can sell quickly at full price, while attracting customers to the store who are likely to buy from other categories.

Academic research on assortment optimisation also confirms the economic importance of product selection, particularly in environments where capacity and stock are limited.

In luxury, this equation is even more sensitive since scarcity management is an integral part of the model.

Chanel's 16 percent increase should be viewed with caution

We must avoid turning this performance into proof that “luxury is back”. That would be jumping the gun.

First, the 16 percent figure is a like-for-like figure reported by Bloomberg and Reuters, not a detailed half-year account published by Chanel. Chanel is a private company and communicates far less financial information than listed groups.

Second, the Blazy effect is still recent. The first collection only arrived in stores in March. It is therefore difficult at this stage to know what part of the performance is due to a genuine structural shift in demand and what part corresponds to the novelty effect associated with a highly anticipated artistic succession.

Finally, Chanel remains an atypical house due to its brand power, its control over distribution and its clientele.

What works at Chanel cannot, therefore, be mechanically replicated at all brands.

Signal sent to the market is difficult to ignore

Nevertheless, the contrast is striking. While several major listed houses are still struggling to find clear growth, Chanel has reportedly grown by 16 percent in the first half of the year.

Reuters points out that this performance comes as LVMH and Hermès have only shown much more modest growth in their relevant business areas, in an environment that remains challenging for the luxury sector. The message, therefore, is less “Matthieu Blazy saves Chanel” and more “the product can still make a considerable difference”.

This is an important nuance. Fashion is not an industry where simply optimising costs, improving distribution or increasing prices can guarantee growth. It retains an almost industrial characteristic: demand must be regularly recreated by the offering.

When this offering becomes desirable enough, it can bring the entire commercial machine along with it.

Illusion of pricing power is over

The Chanel case could thus herald a new phase for luxury. After the race for price, followed by the race for network and visibility, the battle could now revert to being about the product.

Not necessarily more products.

Instead, better products that are more clearly identified and better distributed, with more new items capable of creating a commercial event without diluting the house's historic codes.

Miu Miu has proven this with its own style. Burberry is attempting to rebuild its offering around its flagship categories. With Matthieu Blazy, Chanel seems to have found the balance between heritage and novelty.

The coming quarters will therefore not determine if the “Blazy phenomenon” is real, as the initial figures already confirm it, but whether it will be sustainable in the long term.

Voo Store is discontinuing its online shop.

The Berlin-based fashion retailer announced this change in a temporary social media post, which has been seen by FashionUnited. Ozan Akcay, chief executive officer of Voo Store, confirmed the decision upon request.

Too expensive and no longer contemporary

The reason for discontinuing the online shop is partly economic, explained Ozan Akcay, chief executive officer of Voo Store. He noted that the e-commerce boom following the Covid-19 pandemic has subsided in recent years. For an independent retailer, it has become almost impossible to operate an online shop with its own team due to the costs involved.

There is also a more fundamental stance. According to Akcay, we are moving further away every day from a world heading towards complete techno-feudalism. The need to connect with people physically and emotionally is therefore stronger than ever. It is the shop, our unique selection, the team and the people in Berlin that make Voo what it is. “We want to expand on this, rather than competing with the algorithm and fighting in a world where the big eat the small,” said Akcay.

Website remains online

Orders can no longer be placed via the online shop, but the website will remain online. It will continue to showcase new products that have just arrived in the brick and mortar store or will be available soon. It is also possible to get in touch via email and WhatsApp to enquire about products.

On the social media platform Instagram and on its website, the retailer tells its community that it wants to spend more time with them. It highlights the special experience of “seeing a collection up close, trying on pieces and discovering something you weren't even looking for”.

As FashionUnited reported earlier this month, major European houses no longer relegate men's bags to a secondary role. On the contrary, they have become a strategic segment. They feature lower price points than ready-to-wear but still guarantee the status, artisanal excellence and statement appeal that luxury followers seek. The prestige they confer is undeniable, as evidenced by top football stars at this year's World Cup. Carrying designer bags can project as much masculine confidence as arriving in a Lamborghini Urus.

This evolution was evident at the spring/summer 2027 men's shows. During the Paris and Milan presentations, bags transcended their traditional function as accessories to truly define the collections. From totes and cross-body bags to briefcases, designers unveiled an incredible variety of silhouettes. Here are the key bag trends that defined the SS27 show season.

Summer totes

The XXL tote bag maintains its supremacy in the men's wardrobe, confirming its hybrid status as both a practical ally and a luxury emblem. For the SS27 season, designers favoured ample proportions and sensual materials. They struck the right balance between practicality and artisanal skill through woven details, raffia, canvas and refined leather inserts.

Dior Homme by Jonathan Anderson

An oversized woven tote in natural tones, adorned with the emblematic graphic 'macrocannage' motif in black all over. It features structured top handles and the Dior logo integrated into the woven pattern.

Dolce & Gabbana SS27

An oversized trapeze tote combining a textured, washed powder-pink canvas with crocodile-effect burgundy leather trims, corner reinforcements and straps.

Ralph Lauren SS27

A textured natural raffia straw tote, paired with dark brown smooth leather straps and trims. It has elongated top handles, a hanging leather key fob and stylised leather anchors securing the straps.

Soft silhouettes

Soft, plush and unstructured silhouettes brought a relaxed touch to men's bags for the SS27 season. Designers showcased supple leathers, nonchalant shapes and oversized proportions.

Giorgio Armani by Leo Dell’Orco

An oversized hobo-style duffle bag in ultra-soft taupe nappa leather. It features a top zip closure, two integrated gusseted utility pockets on the front and a wide, adjustable shoulder strap.

Mihara Yasuhiro SS27

A voluminous, plush and extra-supple bag in light grey nappa leather that collapses into organic folds.

Taakk SS27 by Takuya Morikawa

An oversized, relaxed hobo bag in mustard yellow leather, with visible panel stitching along the bottom curve and the brand's logo in black.

Drawstring closures

Drawstring bags made a strong comeback for spring/summer 2027. Like the soft bags, they offered a more flexible alternative to structured silhouettes. Designers reinvented this casual closure with luxurious materials and sculptural forms, giving the style a high-end appeal.

Setchu SS27 by Satoshi Kuwata

A cross-body pouch in soft olive green leather, combining a gathered drawstring top with angular, structured geometric panels secured by metal press studs.

Louis Vuitton SS27 by Pharrell Williams

A 'conch' shaped exterior in matte, spiralled leather with a snakeskin pattern. It has an inner drawstring pouch printed with the classic monogram, a thin, removable monogram canvas strap and gold-tone clasps.

Ami SS27 by Alexandre Mattiussi

A soft, relaxed and unstructured pouch in smooth taupe leather, gathered at the top with a thin strap.

Reimagined briefcases

The briefcase continues its evolution beyond the traditional professional wardrobe. For spring/summer 2027, designers refined this classic silhouette to suit modern lifestyles. Streamlined proportions, premium leathers and versatile carrying options gave this iconic accessory a contemporary touch.

Hed Mayner SS27

A flat briefcase in tan leather with layered modular elements. It includes a dark brown suede zipped pouch, a rigid rectangular pouch underneath and a smaller pouch with a wrist strap.

Thom Browne SS27

A briefcase in smooth tan calfskin leather, featuring a brass push-lock clasp and an adjustable leather shoulder strap.

Junya Watanabe SS27

A slim, structured briefcase crafted from premium black smooth leather, with robust metal hardware.

Folded clutches

Oversized fold-over clutches remained a key accessory for spring/summer 2027. They reinforced the growing confidence of men carrying bags traditionally associated with womenswear. Designers played with exaggerated proportions, tactile materials and soft constructions.

Maison Kitsune SS27 by Abigail Smiley-Smith

An oversized woven clutch, handcrafted from natural paper raffia, featuring a highly textured open-weave crochet structure in an envelope shape. It was designed with a seamless top flap.

Ralph Lauren SS27

Crafted from premium thick-grained leather, it featured a prominent front zip with a silver puller. This was accented by an integrated leather strap, a utility buckle detail and a bold, industrial silver zip.

Dries Van Noten by Julian Klausner

An oversized clutch in caramel leather designed to be crumpled, with a thick leather wrist strap sewn into the bag's structure.

Top-handle totes

While maintaining generous proportions, designers elevated top-handle totes with artisanal craftsmanship, sculptural construction and refined details. This reinforced the silhouette as a sophisticated everyday carry-all.

Giorgio Armani by Leo Dell’Orco

A hand-woven soft bag paired with contrasting dark leather top handles. It was accessorised with a miniature matching woven pouch charm, a rustic stone bead ornament and a leather luggage tag.

Taakk SS27 by Takuya Morikawa

Made from high-density charcoal nylon, it features a reinforced leather handle and a distinctive vertical zipped pocket framed in leather on the side panel. Inspired by furoshiki, the traditional Japanese wrapping cloth, the bag transforms from a completely flat 2D circle when laid down to a sculptural 3D crescent silhouette when lifted.

Ziggy Chen SS27

Composed of soft vertical panels of textured leather and suede in earthy tones, reflecting the designer's signature aesthetic. It has a worn look with raw edges, bronze chain links and heavy metal eyelets. The design is completed with thick, tightly braided leather top handles.

The campaign brings together two emerging talents from music and film to promote GapDenim and also features Todd’s original rendition of Robyn’s 2010 hit “Dancing on My Own,” reinterpreted specifically for the campaign.

Directed by Tanu Muiño, the campaign follows Todd and Navarrette through a series of distinct spaces as they express their individual style and energy. The campaign was created with creative direction from Calvin Leung, head of Gap brand creative, fashion and image by Alastair McKimm, and photography by Bjorn Loos.

“Gap has always been at the intersection of music, style, and culture — partnering with artists who bring a unique point of view and inspire people to express themselves,” said Mark Breitbard, president and chief executive officer of Gap brand.

Breitbard said the brand was continuing its history of creative collaborations while working with emerging voices and using original storytelling to connect with culture.

Todd, who is known for his playful approach to songwriting and production, has had multiple songs reach platinum status. His latest album, "Do That Again," debuted in the top five of the Billboard charts. He is also set to begin a 38-date North American tour on September 2. Navarrette stars in "Obsession," a breakout film that has brought her wider attention.

“For this campaign, we didn’t simply ask Malcolm to cover ‘Dancing on My Own,’ we asked him to reinterpret the song through his own perspective,” said Fabiola Torres, chief marketing officer of Gap brand. “That same spirit of making something your own defines GapDenim.”

The Fall 2026 denim collection includes refreshed washes, utility-inspired colourways, updated silhouettes and modern versions of the brand’s denim styles. Key pieces include the mid-rise straight taper jean, worn by Navarrette, and the ’90s loose jean, worn by Todd.

“Denim on your own” launches across Gap’s digital and social channels, email, stores and out-of-home advertising. The campaign will also appear on billboards in New York City’s Times Square and Los Angeles’ Sunset Boulevard, alongside paid media on YouTube, TikTok, Meta and Pinterest and partnerships with creators.

Shares in Adidas, Puma and Nike fell noticeably on Tuesday afternoon. The market cited the weak revenue performance of Swiss trainer manufacturer On Holding.

On Holding's shares plummeted by 16.4 percent to 32.41 US dollars in pre-market US trading. Nike's share price was also affected, falling by 1.1 percent to 41.64 dollars. In Germany, Adidas shares dropped by 3.1 percent to 162.25 euros at the bottom of the Dax. Puma shares lost 2.1 percent to 26.60 euros on the MDax.

This brings Adidas's year-to-date loss to 4 percent. Meanwhile, Puma's share price gain narrowed to 19 percent. Nike's annual loss is now expected to increase to almost 36 percent, and On's to 30 percent.

The US-listed company On Holding had previously reported lower-than-expected revenue for the second quarter. The running shoe manufacturer also cut its annual revenue forecast.

“The global wholesale business, particularly in the US, weakened in the second quarter,” commented analyst Randal Konik from the investment bank Jefferies on On's figures. He added that sales and administrative costs increased simultaneously to steer new customers towards direct-to-consumer channels as customer loyalty is declining.

UK retail sales growth slowed in July as prolonged hot weather kept shoppers away from physical stores and weakened demand for non-food products, the British Retail Consortium says.

According to the latest BRC and KPMG retail sales monitor, total retail sales increased by 1.3 percent year on year during the four weeks from 5 July to 1 August, but it was still below the 2.5 percent growth recorded in July 2025 and the 12-month average of 1.8 percent.

Food sales were the strongest performer, rising by 3.8 percent year on year. The increase was supported by warm weather, home entertaining and the final week of the World Cup, which encouraged consumers to spend on food and drinks.

Non-food sales, however, fell by 0.7 percent compared with the same period last year. In-store non-food sales declined by 1.9 percent as high temperatures discouraged shoppers from visiting retail locations. Online non-food sales rose by 1.3 percent, while the proportion of non-food purchases made online increased to 35.9 percent from 35.4 percent in July 2025.

“July saw modest sales growth, with food sales boosted by the final week of the World Cup,” said Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium. “Non-food sales were hit by the decline in footfall as shoppers avoided the heat,” she added. “Clothing was a bright spot, driven by demand for affordable summer essentials, while footwear struggled to keep up.”

Demand remained focused on seasonal, affordable products, while shoppers showed greater caution over more expensive purchases. According to Linda Ellett, UK head of consumer, retail and leisure at KPMG, despite summer season getting started as early as May, the upturn for clothes, shoes and accessories has continued right through to August.

“Shoppers also prioritised smaller indulgences such as beauty products and fashion jewellery, while delaying bigger-ticket purchases including furniture and computing,” Dickinson said. “Consumer demand has struggled in the heat, leaving retailers facing a challenging start to the second half of the year,” Dickinson said.

Madrid – Completing one of Inditex's major strategic moves for the 2026 financial year, Bershka has finally opened its first brick and mortar store in the US. The brand is its leading youth fashion label and the Spanish company's second-largest by turnover, behind only Zara. The US market continues to play a key role in the growth strategies for the company, which is chaired by Marta Ortega.

As previously highlighted by FashionUnited regarding the reopening of the flagship Bershka store in La Coruña as the brand finalised its move into the US, it was Óscar García Maceiras, chief executive officer of Inditex, who announced in late 2025 that Bershka would enter the US physical retail channel in 2026. For this financial year, the Spanish fashion multinational was preparing to take another leap forward in its conquest of the strategic US market. The major new development was leveraging its leading youth fashion brand. The Inditex CEO contextualised the decision, explaining it was made following the particularly strong performance Bershka had already seen in the US market via its online channel.

In this regard, during the December presentation of Inditex's third-quarter 2025 results, Maceiras highlighted that the Spanish fashion multinational had “exciting new projects” in the pipeline for each of its brands. The group's CEO elaborated on this, pointing directly to Zara and “the opening of our flagship store on Union Square in San Francisco,” as well as “a major refurbishment of our iconic Zara store on Fifth Avenue in New York,” and to Bershka. Regarding the latter, the Inditex CEO announced, “we can also confirm that, after an excellent online performance in the United States, it will open its first two stores in Miami in 2026”.

First store in Miami's Aventura Mall

Following that initial announcement, Inditex confirmed the decision regarding Bershka during the presentation of its 2025 annual accounts this past March 2026. At that time, just as Maceiras had done at the end of the year, the Spanish fashion multinational highlighted the opening of the first two Bershka stores in the US as part of its main initiatives for the new year. These stores will be located within the metropolitan area of Miami, Florida. This is the same retail environment the Spanish company chose for the return of Massimo Dutti to the North American physical retail scene during the 2024 financial year.

The parallels did not end there. It was soon confirmed that at least one of the two Bershka stores planned for 2026 would open in the same Aventura Mall in Miami where Massimo Dutti opened its first new store in the US in late 2024. This opening has become the first of the two planned, after Bershka's first physical store in the US opened its doors inside Miami's Aventura Mall this past Friday, August 7. The inauguration is doubly strategic for the company chaired by Marta Ortega. On one hand, it provides a decisive boost to Inditex's youth fashion brand in the US market. On the other hand, it benefits Inditex itself. The group is not only continuing to expand its commercial footprint in the strategic North American market but is also boosting its diversification in the country. This opening marks its third brand with a physical commercial presence in the US.

In this same vein, regarding the chosen location, Bershka is making its first move in its US physical retail offensive by adding its offering to the Aventura Mall, one of the most iconic shopping destinations in the entire Miami metropolitan area. The shopping centre first opened to the public in 1983 and has since undergone various major expansions and refurbishments to become the commercial complex it is today. In 2026, for the second consecutive year, the centre was recognised by the USA Today newspaper as the best shopping centre in the US. Amid a curated mix of retail operators, dining spaces, and art installations, companies and brands with their own spaces include Adidas; Aesop; Alo; Ami; Anthropologie; Balmain; Boss; Burberry; Bulgari; Cartier; CH Carolina Herrera; Chanel; Charlotte Tilbury; Chloe; Louboutin; Coach; Dior; Dolce&Gabbana; Fendi; Ferragamo; Givenchy; Golden Goose; Hermès; Hollister; H&M; Louis Vuitton; and many other US and international firms. Among these are fellow Spanish brands Flabelus, Tous, UnoDe50 and Mango, and the other Inditex brands, Massimo Dutti and Zara. Bershka now joins these names as the latest addition to the Aventura Mall's commercial offering, where brands such as Uniqlo, Celine, On and Rimowa are also scheduled to arrive “soon”.

“With its opening in Miami, the brand's debut in the United States takes place in one of the country's most renowned shopping centres and in an influential fashion epicentre, with a strong ability to connect commercially with Gen Z, millennial youth and the influx of tourists in Miami,” highlighted Bershka's management. The brand also stressed how its arrival in this shopping complex “is also an opportunity to take advantage of the good momentum of this location, which already has Zara and Massimo Dutti stores, reinforcing the Group's integrated model.”

A first store to “unlock” Bershka's full growth potential in the US, both physically and online

As for the store itself, Bershka's first physical point-of-sale in the US has been designed not only as its entry into the country's physical retail landscape, but also as an opening that will amplify the firm's online presence. The brand therefore receives a dual boost with this latest milestone in the North American market. This also reflects the omnichannel model adopted by the different fashion brands of the Inditex group.

To this end, and starting with the new physical reality that Bershka now has in the US, the brand will dedicate this first store to selling collections from its three main product lines: Bershka, the womenswear line; BSK, its line for an early teenage audience; and Man, the firm's menswear line. This commercial offering is displayed in a carefully designed atmosphere built around a restrained colour palette of three key shades: stone grey, sand brown, and bubblegum pink. These three tones are in keeping with those used by the brand for recent openings in Brazil and Sweden, the most direct references for this first store in the US. This point-of-sale highlights Bershka's clear commitment to fluid, yet more encapsulated and sensory, commercial environments. This aspect is enhanced through the use of a combination of materials capable of generating different impressions and sensations, such as wood, stone and ceramic.

Meanwhile, focusing not only on the store but also on how its opening will boost the firm's online growth, Bershka has deployed the full capacity of its omnichannel commercial model in the US with this inauguration. The integrated nature of its physical and online channels will be demonstrated by expanding the collections available on the Bershka US e-commerce site. It will also be evident through dedicated areas inside the Miami store for online order returns and collections. Additionally, customers will have access to new services, from checking in-store product availability online to click and collect for online orders.

Accompanying and celebrating this inauguration is a campaign starring American actress and singer Meg Donnelly, which can now be seen on the official Bershka website. “The careful architecture and design of the new store,” which also features a self-checkout area, “create a unified shopping experience where the architecture and product design reinforce the brand's identity,” stated Bershka. With this opening, the brand aims to continue building a community in the US, building on its “online presence” to “offer customers a fully integrated shopping experience” aligned “with Inditex's omnichannel strategy,” designed to “promote the efficiency” of its operations and “customer convenience.” This first new store will help to “promote the brand's connectivity” with its current and potential audience, “through exclusive benefits and future events for members of the Bershka customer community.”

Bershka, Inditex's largest brand after Zara

From a broader business perspective, this inauguration for Inditex as a group further expands its commercial presence, which reached 103 operational stores in the US (+4 net openings) at the close of its last full financial year in 2025. At that time, the retail network consisted solely of physical stores for Zara, with 102 stores in the US (+4 net openings), and Massimo Dutti, which ended the year with a single store opened in Aventura Mall in late 2024. The Spanish group has continuously sought to consolidate and expand its operations in the market since the US became its second-largest market at the close of the 2021 financial year, behind only Spain. The company plans to continue expanding and optimising the retail networks of its three brands already present in the country throughout 2026. This includes Zara, with the refurbishment of its Fifth Avenue flagship store; Massimo Dutti, with new stores in Miami's Brickell district and New York's Soho; and Bershka, with a second store also in Miami. This follows a 2025 financial year in which Inditex's pre-tax profit in the US contracted by 4.58 percent, from 415 to 396 million euros. This represents a 6.60 percent decrease from the 424 million euros recorded in 2022, the company's all-time high in the country to date.

Meanwhile, regarding the youth fashion brand itself, and pending the detailed performance of Inditex's brands, which the Spanish company will report on September 9 when it releases its accounts for the first half of the 2026 financial year, Bershka closed the full 2025 financial year with total sales of 3.29 billion euros (+12.15 percent). This figure not only consolidated its position as Inditex's second-largest brand by turnover, behind only Zara and its 28.05 billion euros in sales (+0.98 percent), but also as one of its fastest-growing brands. It was behind only Oysho, with 960 million euros in sales (+15.52 percent), and Stradivarius, with its 3.00 billion euros in annual turnover (+12.69 percent).

Launched in 1998 as part of Inditex's strategic diversification plan, Bershka's retail network, now including this first store in the US, currently comprises some 855 operational stores across approximately 70 markets. This follows its entry into Brazil and now the US as part of its key growth strategies for 2026. During this financial year, the brand continues to boost its retail network, which at the close of the 2025 financial year reached 852 stores (-2 net stores), 680 directly managed (-6 net stores) and 172 operated under franchise (+4 net stores). This figure positioned it at the close of Inditex's last full financial year as the group's second-largest brand by number of stores, behind Zara (1,500 stores), and ahead of Stradivarius (834 stores), Pull&Bear (791 stores), Massimo Dutti (511 stores), Oysho (383 stores), Zara Home (374 stores) and Lefties (215 stores).

On Holding AG has finished the second quarter of the 2026 financial year with an increase in sales. The Swiss sporting goods company also returned to profit after a loss in the same period last year.

The Zurich-based company achieved sales of 850.3 million Swiss francs in the three months to June 30, On announced on Tuesday. This represents a 13.5 percent increase in revenue for the second quarter of 2026 compared to the same period last year, or a 21.6 percent increase on a currency-neutral basis. The growth was primarily driven by the sports shoe specialist's direct-to-consumer channel.

Sales in the direct-to-consumer (D2C) channel rose by 26.0 percent to 388.4 million Swiss francs, a 34.3 percent increase on a currency-neutral basis. Its share of total sales thus reached 45.7 percent, the highest figure On has ever recorded in a second quarter. In the wholesale channel, sales amounted to 461.9 million Swiss francs, up 4.8 percent on the prior-year period, or 12.7 percent on a currency-neutral basis. The company's own stores continue to improve key metrics from an already high level as the company expands its global network of highly profitable premium locations. On recently opened its first stores in São Paulo and Copenhagen.

The company recorded growth in all regions. In Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), sales increased by 15.4 percent to 228.2 million Swiss francs. In the Americas, they rose by 4.5 percent to 451.6 million Swiss francs, and in Asia-Pacific, they grew by 43.1 percent to 170.5 million Swiss francs. The Asia-Pacific region once again accounted for more than 20 percent of global revenue.

Gross margin increases despite higher US tariffs

The gross margin increased from 61.5 percent to 65.4 percent year-over-year. Higher US import tariffs are fully accounted for in this figure, while any potential customs duty refunds are not. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 23.5 percent to 168.1 million Swiss francs. Ultimately, On achieved a profit of 105 million Swiss francs, after reporting a loss of 40.9 million Swiss francs in the same period last year.

“A currency-neutral growth of 21.6 percent, combined with an industry-leading gross margin of 65.4 percent, demonstrates the structural advantages of an approach focused on innovation and brand desirability,” said chief financial officer Frank Sluis, for whom this was his first quarter at On. “We do not sacrifice our full-price integrity for volume, even in the highly discount-driven environment we have seen in some markets this quarter.”

For the first half of the year, sales reached approximately 1.7 billion Swiss francs. This corresponded to an increase of 14 percent, or 24 percent on a currency-neutral basis. Net profit rose from 15.8 million to 208.3 million Swiss francs.

For the full year, On expects currency-neutral sales growth in the low 20 percent range. At current exchange rates, this would correspond to sales of 3.47 to 3.56 billion Swiss francs. The D2C channel is expected to grow significantly more than wholesale in the second half of the year. The company is deliberately managing wholesale pre-orders to ensure a clean slate for upcoming product launches. On raised its gross margin expectation to at least 65 percent and confirmed its forecast for the adjusted EBITDA margin of 19.5 to 20 percent.

In Pictures Betsey Johnson has launched a collection created with Paris Hilton, drawing on the label's runway history and archive, with the socialite-turned-DJ applying her own point of view to a selection of the brand's recognisable silhouettes.

Aptly named Betsey Johnson by Paris Hilton, the collection was released on Tuesday. The brand described it as a tribute to two women who have continuously championed authenticity, optimism, and the freedom to express yourself through fashion.

"Paris has always been my girl," Betsey Johnson said in a statement. "I've been inspired by her for years-I even named dresses after her! Working together feels like something that was always meant to happen. We both believe in doing the most. Honestly, why do anything less?"

Hilton, who also stars in the campaign, said the collaboration follows a long association with the label. "I've loved Betsey forever - from going to her runway shows to wearing her iconic designs. She's always been one of my favorite designers, so creating Betsey Johnson by Paris Hilton is such a full-circle moment. I hope everyone has as much fun wearing this collection as we had creating it and gets to Sliv every time they wear Betsey."

For every purchase from the collection on betseyjohnson.com, Betsey Johnson will donate one dollar to the Elton John AIDS Foundation through its partnership with ShoppingGives.

Genesco Inc. has announced that Parag D. Desai, the company’s senior vice president, chief strategy and digital officer, will retire effective October 31. His responsibilities will transition to other experienced members of Genesco’s senior leadership team.

Desai joined Genesco in 2014 as senior vice president, strategy and shared services. In April 2021, he was appointed senior vice president, chief strategy and digital officer.

During his tenure, Desai played a key role in shaping Genesco’s strategic direction and leading several of the company’s most significant initiatives. He also oversaw the transformation of Genesco’s technology platforms and data insights capabilities, helping establish a next-generation technology operating model.

“Parag has been an exceptional leader, trusted advisor and valued member of our executive team,” said Mimi E. Vaughn, Genesco’s board chair, president and chief executive officer. “His remarkable ability to connect strategy with execution and people across functional areas has helped shape Genesco’s evolution over the past decade.”

Vaughn added that Desai’s contributions to critical strategic initiatives and the company’s technology transformation had helped strengthen Genesco’s business and support the execution of its Footwear First strategy. She also expressed the company’s gratitude for his leadership and commitment to a thoughtful transition.

“It has been a privilege to work alongside the talented people of Genesco during a period of tremendous transformation,” said Desai. “Together, we strengthened the Company’s strategic foundation and built capabilities that position Genesco well for the future.”

Desai said he was leaving with confidence in Genesco’s team, strategy and future opportunities, adding that he looked forward to seeing the company build on its momentum.

Italian brand Stone Island has presented the Q100045 Mineral Dyed Cotton Gabardine-TC, a piece from its autumn/winter 2026–2027 collection, as part of its 'Community as a Form of Research' project, according to a press release. The hooded jacket is worn by Simjae, a photographer and the founder of Hugan Books.

The jacket is made partly from regenerated cotton gabardine and has vertical snap pockets. It is garment-dyed with inorganic pigments based on iron oxides derived from industrial processes, blended to produce soft, natural tones. An elbow patch referencing the early days of Stone Island is printed using the same dye recipe.

According to the brand, the mineral dyeing gives the garment a powdery, "dusted" look inspired by the chalky surface of a sandstorm, and reflects the collection segment's focus on the element of soil. The heavy, densely woven fabric reinforces the resulting vintage effect.

The fabric is composed of 60 percent recycled cotton yarn and 40 percent conventional cotton. According to Stone Island, cotton scraps from its production chain are selected and reprocessed into new blended yarns containing at least 50 percent recovered material, which are then used to make new garments.