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Talia Olson, Dublin (2026)

20/05/2024

The latest Spring Summer 2025 trends and need-to-know news about that season can be found on the free and special section dedicated to SS25. Starting next month, the fast-evolving industry continues with fashion weeks and events back in full swing. Brands introducing their SS25 collections, the buying season quickly approaching, and digitisation playing an increasingly important role; fashion professionals need to react quickly to remain competitive.

The dedicated section on FashionUnited’s site provides buyers with a unique and crucial overview of trend insights and news for the upcoming buying season, including information on the latest fabrics, colours, patterns, and styles.

The platform includes insights from world-renowned trend forecasters who outline their visions for the season, as well as nuanced looks into categories, such as denim, sustainability, and digital fashion. The section comprehensively spans womenswear, menswear, childrenswear, footwear, and accessories.

With many brands adding new collections every day during the SS25 buying period, the platform is the go-to place for buyers to be as prepared, and thus as competitive as possible, ahead of the upcoming season. As an independent international B2B fashion network, FashionUnited connects over one million fashion professionals monthly with the goal to make the fashion industry more efficient and transparent.

08/05/2024

TikTok, the main sponsor of this year's Met gala, is fighting back against a potential ban in the United States by filing a lawsuit against the government. In a court filing on Tuesday, TikTok's parent company, Bytedance, contends that the U.S. Congress has crossed a constitutional line by singling out and aiming to prohibit the app.

The complaint lodged by Bytedance argues that the a sale of TikTok is unfeasible and would inevitably lead to the platform's shutdown by January 19th, 2025. It challenges assertions made by individual lawmakers and a congressional committee report, which it claims lack specific evidence of TikTok's potential misuse.

TikTok's fate hinges on whether American officials can be convinced that its Chinese ties no longer pose a security threat. However, with over 170 million subscribers in the U.S., any move to ban the app may prove unpopular, particularly among younger voters in upcoming elections.

TikTok rebuffs the idea of selling its app, deeming it neither commercially, technologically, nor legally viable. The platform asserts that it has taken steps to address security concerns, such as segregating U.S. user data and implementing third-party oversight of content recommendations. Yet, a ban would undoubtedly erode TikTok's user base and advertising revenue, posing significant financial challenges for Bytedance and potentially damaging its reputation and growth prospects.

24/04/2024

Primark sales were up 7.5 percent for the 24 weeks to March 2, 2024 marked by a slow start for many cold weather categories due to unseasonal warm weather, followed by strong Christmas trading with seasonal ranges selling through well.

However, the company, part of the diversified Associated British Foods (ABF), said in a release that adjusted operating profit improved 46 percent to 508 million pounds with margin recovery to 11.3 percent, significantly higher than the same period last year, reflecting an increase in all countries. ABF announced significant increase in interim dividend, to 20.7p, reflecting growth in earnings.

The company added that sales of womenswear and menswear were strong, particularly in performance wear, leisure, knitwear as well as Rita Ora collection. In the 8 weeks period, sales increased by 6.3 percent.

Sales of home were also strong, but cold and wet weather slowed sales of luggage, beach and swimwear. Overall, new stores contributed 5.4 percent of sales growth, due to both increased selling space and higher sales densities. Like-for-like sales growth was 2.1 percent in the period.

In the UK, sales grew by 4.3 percent, driven by like-for-like sales growth of 3.6 percent and a contribution from new space of 0.7 percent. In Europe excluding the UK, sales grew by 7.9 percent. New selling space contributed 6.4 percent to that growth, with like-for-like sales up 1.5 percent. Sales growth in the US was 38.4 percent, driven by new store openings which performed well.

Primark opened three new stores in the period including Woodfield Mall in Chicago, Smith Haven Long Island, and Charlotte North Carolina. The company also opened a new distribution centre in Jacksonville, Florida, to serve expansion in southern states and at the same time, announced lease agreements for stores in Tennessee, Maryland and Texas.

On March 2, 2024, Primark operated 440 stores. Nine new stores opened in the period: three in the US, three in France, two in Spain, and one in Poland. One store in Germany was closed in the period and seven stores are now right sized. Four stores in the Netherlands were also right-sized in the period. Towards the end of the period Primark opened a store at La Vaguada in Madrid, the first of four openings in the city this year. Primark will open its first store in Hungary in the second half of the financial year and continues to target 530 stores by the end of 2026.

16/04/2024

Swiss watchmakers are increasingly turning their sights towards India thanks to a new free trade agreement that is due to gradually open the doors for luxury timepiece exports.

While some brands are already in the starting blocks, others are waiting to see whether India will become a new land of plenty.

"India represents enormous potential," Yves Bugmann, president of the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry, told AFP at Watches and Wonders, the Geneva watch fair that closed on Monday.

Despite its 1.4 billion population, India was in 22nd place for Swiss watch exports in 2023, just ahead of Switzerland's Alpine neighbour Austria.

The value of Swiss watch exports to India was just 218.8 million Swiss francs (239.4 million dollars) -- way behind front-runners the United States (4.2 billion francs), mainland China (2.8 billion francs) and Hong Kong (2.4 billion francs).

High taxes have long discouraged watch brands, particularly the most expensive labels.

Although the calculation is complex, it includes customs duties of around 20 percent for watches, a goods and services tax of 18 percent, plus an additional surcharge.

16/04/2024

Sports fashion retailer JD Sports Fashion has opened a global flagship store in the heart of Paris.

Located at 118 Avenue des Champs-Élysées, the store has been designed to create an immersive shopping experience, showcasing the brand’s latest innovations in digital technology and merchandising offering the “hottest brands and latest launches”.

The store showcases the latest collections from the likes of Nike, Adidas, New Balance, Asics, Under Armour, The North Face and On Running.

To celebrate the opening, JD Sports is offering exclusive services at the store, such as sneaker customisation and clothing embroidery, which will be available during the weekends of April and May, along with various interactive activations offering the chance to win a range of prizes.

05/04/2024

Since its debut in 2008, the Peekaboo bag has emerged as a symbol of Roman craftsmanship for the house of Fendi. Designed by Silvia Venturini Fendi and unveiled during the brand’s spring summer 2009 catwalk show, the Peekaboo emerged as a response from a desire to redefine contemporary accessories at a time when demand for it-bags were fading.

Characterised by its clean lines, geometric yet curvilinear design, the Peekaboo stands as a testament to both aesthetic allure and practical utility. Its original trapezium silhouette draws inspiration from vintage frame bags of the mid-20th century, reimagined in leather by the Fendi workshops. This season a campaign featuring Kate Moss and daughter Lila Grace aims to depict the bag’s multitudes of versatility.

Fendi in a statement said the Peekaboo transcends mere form to become a versatile accessory, anchored by a double turnlock upper frame, its gusseted pocket construction and weighted keyhole hardware orchestrate a graceful unfolding, unveiling the bag's distinctive curved 'smile' that unveils its opulent interior craftsmanship.

Silvia Venturini Fendi reflects on the genesis of the Peekaboo, stating, "There was an inundation of bags on the runway at the time, so I was determined to create a bag that only a venerable leather goods house like Fendi could conceive." She adds, "It was a moment to establish a new classic. I aimed to evoke the charm of a vintage bag with a lock, yet infuse it with a sense of movement. Lightness has always been integral to Fendi’s ethos. Just as with our coats, where the interior often rivals the exterior in precision, our designs are reversible. You recognize Fendi by how it moves—how it effortlessly follows the body. With the Peekaboo, I sought to encapsulate that concept in a bag. That's why I opted for a supremely soft leather, showcasing a contrasting hue of exquisite glove leather when opened. It's a bag meant to be experienced: when you delve your hands into a Peekaboo, you encounter some of the most luxuriously soft leather in the world."

20/03/2024

British retailer Marks & Spencer has added premium womenswear brand LK Bennett to its roster on its ‘Brands at M&S’ online platform.

LK Bennett launches at M&S with its spring/summer 2024 collection, including some of the brand’s bestselling items, from casual daywear to eventwear, such as jumpsuits, dresses, trousers and blazers, as well as shoes and bags.

Darren Topp, chief executive at LK Bennett, said in a statement: “We are thrilled to be launching LK Bennett with M&S, one of the leaders of the British retail landscape, and are in great company as one of their many premium third-party brand partners.

“We look forward to working with M&S and offering their customers another way to shop with us.”

The launch means that M&S now offers more than 90 curated brands on its third-party brand platform. It recently added sportswear brands Puma and Reebok, as well as London-based womenswear brand Ro&Zo, and expanded its offering with lingerie brand Pour Moi to include swimwear.

Nishi Mahajan, director of third-party brands at M&S, added: “We’re delighted to welcome LK Bennett to our ‘Brands at M&S’ platform – which is now home to over 90 carefully curated partners.

“Their spring/summer 24 collection builds on our premium branded product offer, whilst complementing and completing the strength we hold in our core womenswear range.”

20/03/2024

British retailer Ted Baker has called in administrators for its UK operations after struggling to deal with the damage caused by a partnership with former collaborator AARC.

As such, independent director Russell Downs and No Ordinary Designer Label (NODL), a subsidiary of the brand’s parent company Authentic Brands Group which trades under the Ted Baker name, have filed an intention to appoint joint administrators.

The move comes just weeks after NODL terminated its agreement with AARC after reporting “consistent failures” by the Dutch firm to “meet agreed financial obligations and inject promised funding into the business”.

While Authentic set about providing additional funding to allow the company to explore other options, including to support the search for a replacement, AARC’s failure to deliver combined with a difficult trading environment has forced the company to require the protection of a moratorium to go ahead with trading.

As the process begins, Ted Baker said it would continue to trade and customer orders were to still be fulfilled. Authentic noted that it remained in “advanced discussions” with several potential operating partners.

11/03/2024

Prada Group increases annual profit by 44 percent

The Italian fashion group Prada SpA can look back on another successful financial year thanks to the unbroken popularity of its Prada and Miu Miu brands. On Thursday, the company announced that it was also able to achieve significant growth in sales and earnings during 2023.

Accordingly, the Prada Group's consolidated turnover last year totalled just under 4.73 billion euros. This corresponds to an increase of 13 percent compared to 2022. Adjusted for exchange rate changes, the growth rate was 17 percent.

In the group's own retail business, revenue increased by 12 percent (currency-adjusted +17 percent) to 4.19 billion euros, not least thanks to good business from the Miu Miu label (+58 percent); in the wholesale business, revenue grew by 12 percent (currency-adjusted +13 percent) to 433 million euros. Licence income rose by 36 percent to 104 million euros.

20/02/2024

Smashing the fashion world's rigid conventions, UK modelling agency Zebedee has been filling catwalks with a diverse array of models for seven years.

On the catwalks at London Fashion Week, which started on Friday, it is now common to see models from all ethnic backgrounds, with minorities now making up around half of shows, compared to 14 percent just 10 years ago, according to a report published in January.

Zebedee also works to find greater exposure for models with visible disabilities or who are transgender.

"It's still incredibly rare to see anybody with a disability feature. London, Paris, Milan, New York, it's still very, very rare," Zebedee's co-founder Laura Winson told AFP.

A former social worker who often worked with disabled people, Winson founded the agency in 2017 with her sister-in-law Zoe Proctor, a former model.

"We launched it because we felt that there was a lack of representation and fashion and media," she explained.

Zebedee works like any other agency, except that all of its models have a "visible difference".

Some are in wheelchairs, have atrophy of limbs or albinism, while others have Down syndrome.

Around 15 percent of the world's population, or one billion people, live with some form of disability, according to UN figures.

"Yet figures show that maybe around one percent of people featured in advertising have a disability", with catwalk representation even worse, pointed out Winson.

Talia Olson

20/05/2024

08/05/2024

24/04/2024

16/04/2024

16/04/2024

05/04/2024

20/03/2024

20/03/2024

11/03/2024

20/02/2024

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