Daily LInks
1. The 17 Fashion Items That Defined 2020: Forget the runways; what did people actually buy and wear? From Telfar’s “it” Shopping Bag and Michelle Obama’s “Vote” necklace to Hill House Home’s nap dress (which reportedly raked in $1 million in sales in a matter of hours) and Marine Serre’s moon prints. – Read More on Vogue
2. Female founders under fire: Are women in the startup world being unfairly targeted? Tyler Haney of activewear startup Outdoor Voices; Steph Korey of luggage company Away; Christene Barberich of women’s digital publication Refinery29; Yael Aflalo of fashion brand Reformation; Jen Gotch of retailer Ban.do; Shannon Spanhake of workplace-benefits platform Cleo; and co-working space The Wing’s Audrey Gelman were all ousted from their companies in 2020. – Read More on Fortune
3. Bankrupt Ann Taylor Owner Gets Green Light for Sale Despite DOJ Objection: The approval of the sale came despite the Justice Department’s Office of the U.S. Trustee, the federal government’s bankruptcy watchdog, raising objections during the hearing about the quick sale to Sycamore without a bidding process or bankruptcy auction. – Read More on the WSJ
4. RELATED READ: Chapter 11, Liquidation & Individuals’ Cases: A Fashion/Retail Bankruptcy Primer. While Chapter 11 is one of the most commonly-utilized forms of bankruptcy, it is not the only type of proceeding, and it is not necessarily clear to most brands and retailers what the process actually entails. – Read More on TFL
5. The five most influential fashion designers you’ve never heard of: For much of history, making clothes was one of the few socially acceptable professions for women. But female workers were often doing the most dangerous, back-breaking work. – Read More on Fast Co.
6. The handbag proves fashion’s great survivor: “Even during lockdown when people aren’t using bags every day, the market for vintage handbags was booming.” At the same time, while store closures and economic uncertainty have hit the fashion industry hard – net profits at luxury giant LVMH fell by 84% during the first half of 2020 – demand for classic handbags has proved resilient. – Read More on the Guardian
7. Burberry will be donating leftover fabrics to fashion students: Those colleges will be able to select the fabric they would like to receive. Crucially, the fabric is all non-IP, meaning that there is nothing to identify it as Burberry cloth: no checks, no logo. It means the students receiving the fabric won’t be making an identifiably Burberry garment, they’ll be making their own garment. – Read More on i-D
1. The Super-Rich Are Buying Luxury Online Like Never Before: Buyers’ price thresholds have shot far beyond anyone’s expectations. At 1stDibs, the gross merchandise value for sales of objects over $100,000 are up 60% year over year. “Demand has risen for everything we sell.” – Read More on Bloomberg
2. David’s Bridal CEO says wedding dress demand is resilient even as Covid forces smaller celebrations: Brides have shifted from poofy gowns and matching bridesmaid dresses as they opt for laid-back celebrations and destination weddings. And there’s more competition from online retailers and nontraditional ones like Reformation and Urban Outfitters-owned Anthropologie. – Read More on CNBC
3. Fashion in 2021: Major luxury fashion markets that used to depend on shoppers from overseas will lavish attention on local customers as they wait for Chinese clients to return. Loungewear’s rise will accelerate, more will consider rented or second-hand luxury, and Dior’s competition with Chanel will only deepen. – Read More on SCMP
4. How buy now pay later became an important part of holiday marketing: Companies big and small have begun adding the functionality. Neiman Marcus, for example, just announced it will begin accepting Affirm on purchases, in time for its annual Christmas Book release. Afterpay recently added Forever 21 and Levi’s. And all of these companies are featuring these new payment options as they market their holiday sales. – Read More on Modern Retail
5. U.S. bans cotton imports from China producer XPCC citing Xinjiang “slave labor.” The Trump administration expanded economic pressure on China’s western region of Xinjiang, banning cotton imports from a powerful Chinese quasi-military organization that it says uses the forced labor of detained Uighur Muslims. – Read More on Reuters
1. Luxury Sneaker Markets Are a Preview of Capitalist Dystopia: The burgeoning sneaker resale industry is a vast economic machine generating buyers and sellers, investors and authenticators, culture and journalism. Sneaker markets show us the current state of capitalism in microcosm — and give us an excellent idea of where it’s headed. – Read More on Jacobin
2. Video games are the new runway: The video game business is small compared to the apparel market. Data research firm Statista said that with a projected decline of nearly 29% from last year, U.S. apparel revenue will total almost $256 billion in 2020. However, the U.S. games industry is one of the strongest sectors in the pandemic economy. – Read More on LA Times
3. RETRO READ: With the Video Game Market on Track to Reach $300 Billion, Luxury Brands Want to Make Real Money from Virtual Clothes. Given the ever-escalating growth rate, and the high levels of engagement that come hand-in-hand with these popular games and the related real-life events, it is not terribly surprising that brands are looking to video games. – Read More on TFL
4. Sustainability Must Mean Decolonization: Conscious consumerism is important. However, the onus of ethics shouldn’t be solely on the individual, but rather on the industry. We must question the systems and structures that set the conditions for the fateful day of the Rana Plaza tragedy. – Read More on State of Fashion
5. Why Amazon is failing to sell luxury fashion but Alibaba is succeeding: Amazon – with its bland interface and focus on the mass shifting of products – has made money from being practical and reliable, but it has never been in the business of making dreams come true. “That’s mostly because Amazon is a transactional marketplace, where the product brand is less important than the marketplace brand.” – Read More on SCMP
6. Reality TV engagement becomes more real amid pandemic innovation: The pandemic is also advancing production technology. News and reality shows that were once filmed and produced in-person are now seeing highly virtualized workflows. And capital expenditures are being funneled away from physical assets to the virtual. – Read More on S&P Global
1. Sorry, Millennials. Over-40s Are In at Gucci: “They are going after the largest, yet most neglected, segment of luxury buyers—baby boomers.” The Italian brand is both working to retain the huge numbers of customers it attracted in recent years—particularly older millennials who are now turning 40—and court less trend-focused wealthy buyers among Generation X and the Baby Boomers. – Read More on the WSJ
2. Covid startled luxury brands. What comes next could be worse: Deep pocketed conglomerates that tightly control their production and sales and, therefore price, and can leverage economies of scale, will thrive. But Luca Solca, an analyst at Bernstein, warns that some medium-sized, privately-owned brands might get squeezed. “Do Tod’s and Ferragamo have the money they’ll need to invest to take on Louis Vuitton?” – Read More on Wired
3. Christopher Wylie: “Amazon is one of the biggest threats to the fashion industry.” Amazon “has a good track record for blowing up industries, and fashion needs to look at what has happened to music, publishing and media.” – Read More on the Guardian
4. Barneys New York to Return in 2021 After Pandemic Delays Revival: The first two stores are set to open in the first quarter, more than a year after Barneys declared bankruptcy and began shuttering its locations. One will be inside Saks Fifth Avenue’s flagship in Manhattan, and the other will be a small standalone shop in Greenwich, Connecticut. – Read More on Bloomberg
5. RETRO READ: From Addresses to Purchase Histories, Customer Data is Driving Retail Bankruptcy Acquisitions. “Lists are not hard to get, but lists that are connected to a brand that I own, I can’t go buy that as easily. You gain tremendous value by … knowing what they bought and knowing when and why they bought it. [That] puts me in a better position to sell them more products.” – Read More on TFL
6. Miuccia Prada on breaking the luxury machine: In 1984, Prada introduced her breakthrough design: a black, lightweight, minimally branded backpack in military-grade nylon. Such a material — plain, industrial, but in fact more expensive than leather — defied the long-held belief that luxury must be precious and timeless, something that would become a life-long theme in her work. Read More in the FT
7. $2 million T-shirt collection goes on sale at Christie’s to promote Supreme auction: The most complete collection of Supreme T-shirts is being offered for sale at Christie’s for about $2 million, highlighting the soaring value of the luxury streetwear brand and the growing importance of a new generation in the collectibles world. – Read More on CNBC
1. McKinsey: There has been a 93 percent decline in profit in the fashion industry. “One of the traits and characteristics of resilience has been digital participation. So, the players that were born online – digital pure players – or those that invested ahead in digital have really been able to build on their e-commerce infrastructure capabilities, and drive and capital on this huge digital change that we have seen.” – See More on Bloomberg
2. An investor behind Goop (and Farfetch, Business of Fashion, Moda Operandi, Glossier, Everlane, etc.) predicts the wild future of retail: “The first thing you need is a great product. That’s absolutely essential. The second skill you need is an ability to tell stories. And you need some operational excellence, but to varying degrees.” – Read More on Fast Co.
3. Online sales reach $10.8 billion on Cyber Monday, the biggest U.S. e-commerce day ever, Adobe says: Cyber Monday spending rose 15.1% year over year, according to Adobe, which analyzes website transactions from 80 of the top 100 U.S. online retailers. – Read More on CNBC
4. Former Saks CEO Sadove Says Physical Retail Will Transform to Survive: The consumer desire to be able to buy what they want anytime, anywhere and have it delivered to their doors or picked up in-store were all already on the rise. Retailers being able to share inventory across channels or build a single view of the customer across channels to better serve them was already on the rise pre-pandemic. – Read More on PYMNTS
5. UPS Slaps Shipping Limits on Gap, Nike to Manage E-Commerce Surge: The delivery giant on Cyber Monday notified drivers across the U.S. to stop picking up packages at six retailers, including L.L. Bean Inc., Hot Topic Inc., Newegg Inc. and Macy’s according to an internal message and confirmed by UPS workers in different regions. “No exceptions,” the message said. – Read More on the WSJ
6. Is shopping in stores safe during the pandemic? Retailers have been doing all kinds of things to make shoppers feel safe, but they don’t eliminate the risk. Some check shoppers’ temperatures at the entrance, for example, but an infected person may not have a fever and can still spread the virus. – Read More on the AP
1. LVMH revamps digital approach as star hire leaves for start-up: During Ian Rogers’ time at LVMH, the group’s main brands, which also include Christian Dior, have made big investments in digital marketing and social media and shifted more sales online, although the group does not break out details. – Read More on Reuters
2. In a Pandemic, We Buy What We Know: While innovation is generally a good thing, right now might not the best time to start getting creative with consumer products. While you may be excited about advertising your newest goods, you might be better off waiting for a time when consumers are feeling a little less fearful. – Read More on HBR
3. Retailers Seize on Pandemic Fallout to Become Property Owners: In a recent example, Swiss high-end clothing retailer Akris purchased three buildings on New York City’s Madison Ave. for $45 million—a decade-low price for the ritzy neighborhood on a per square foot basis—including the building that accommodates its Manhattan store. – Read More on the WSJ
4. From Crocs to Uggs, ugly shoes have won: In its third quarter,Crocs reported revenues increased 15.7% year over year, with e-commerce growing 35.5%, representing the company’s 14th consecutive quarter of double-digit e-commerce revenue growth, according to Crocs CEO Andrew Rees. Additionally, comparable sales increased by over 16% and wholesale grew more than 12% year over year. – Read More on Retail Dive
5. Dior sticks by Johnny Depp in defiance of ‘wife beater’ ruling: Since the ruling, which dismissed Depp’s claim that the Sun had libelled him by calling him a “wife beater”, internet searches for Sauvage have increased by 23%, according to the beauty website Cosmetify. In terms of potential fall out, “Brands hope for short-term memory loss and long-term amnesia.” – Read More on the Guardian
6. RETRO READ: From Celebrity Spokesmen to Big-Name Designers, Brands’ Endorsers Can Cause Real Damage. Morals clauses are typically worded in a way as to allow a brand to immediately terminate a contract, without any penalty, should the individual behave in a certain manner that would tarnish the reputation of the brand. Beyond enabling a company to back out of a deal, these contract provisions also tend to enable the brand at issue to seek any number of potential remedies for its star’s violation. – Read More on TFL
1. Covid-19 cases are spiking again in the U.S., and so is consumer stockpiling. There’s an important difference from the first round back in March, however: This time the makers of packaged food and household items have had time to prepare. – Read More on Bloomberg
2. Sotheby’s and Christie’s look to luxury as a coronavirus antidote: Owned by French billionaire art collector François Pinault, who also founded luxury goods group Kering, Christie’s introduced online-only sales of designer handbags in 2012, and these particularly appealed to Asian buyers. – Read More on Business Times
3. Spending with buy-now, pay-later options has surged in US: Think of it like a reverse layaway. Consumers get their purchase instantly, even if they elect to pay it off over time. Klarna said one million people in the U.S. have tried its services in the last three weeks alone, bringing its total for the region to 11 million customers. Afterpay has said more than half its 11.2 million active customers are in the U.S. – Read More on Bloomberg
4. RELATED READ: As Buy Now, Pay Later Services Gain Steam, Regulators Are Paying Attention. Technically speaking, Afterpay (and other similar companies) “skirt the definition of a loan under some U.S. laws,” meaning that it is not subject to the same regulation. However, regardless of how it defines its operations, “the more successful Afterpay becomes, the more likely it will attract regulatory scrutiny.” – Read More on TFL
5. How Harry Styles Became 2020’s Biggest Style Icon: A muse to Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele, he consistently wears the label’s rather unisex wares such as tapestry print trousers, lithe loafers and pussy-bow blouses. Thanks in part to the internet and social media, which have given him an arguably wider sphere of influence than earlier gender-bending-fashion icons like Bowie or Cobain, Mr. Styles is turning receptive fans onto novel ways of dressing. – Read More on the WSJ
6. The death of the department store and the American middle class: Department stores are also facing the reality that they are no longer the main way most shoppers discover or access new brands — which was once perhaps their main appeal as onetime innovators. Consumer brands have increasingly become focused on building connections with customers through their own stores, websites, social media platforms, and other online-only marketplaces. – Read More on Recode
7. RETRO READ: Why Discount Retailers and Luxury Titans are Thriving While “Balanced” Entities are Closing Up Shop. “Revenue growth is diverging, with sales growing at faster rates for discount and premium retailers at the opposite ends of the spectrum, while balanced retailers” – ones that deliver value through a combination of price and promotion, and many offer widely available products or experiences – “are lagging.” – Read More on TFL
1. How Fashion Brands Can Achieve Inclusion Through Design: The reality is that these underserved communities are growing and stand to get only bigger as the years progress. The brands that authentically connect by offering fashion that tackles the needs of these groups will stand to win while the others will be running to catch up. – Read More on AdWeek
2. The athleisure market is expected to see sales in the U.S. total $105.1 billion in 2020. Old Navy said it offered 55% more activewear during Q3, clearly helping to drive overall sales for the brand, which increased 15%. Meantime, Athleta reported record, quarterly same-store sales gains, driven by a surge in demand for its yoga bottoms, pullover sweaters and sports bras. – Read More on CNBC
3. At the same time, jewelry sales are also staging a comeback as shoppers look to add sparkle to challenging year. Marshal Cohen, senior chief retail analyst at The NPD Group says that shoppers may look to jewelry as an alternative to experiential gifting, which has fallen from favor as people can’t go to a Broadway show or spend a day at the spa. – Read More on CNBC
4. Fendi’s magic touch: the woman behind one of the world’s most famous handbags, the Baguette: “In fashion, time is very short. I don’t think it’s possible to have a long view to something that is so distant,” she says, adding that the brand will always pursue the “interesting and new.” – Read More on the Guardian
5. The Luxury E-Commerce Wars Heat Up: Luxury brands were late to embrace e-commerce. When they did, many depended on either Farfetch or Yoox, rejecting the overtures of giants like Amazon. Partly, this was because of Amazon’s reputation as “the everything store,” which clashed with the luxury industry’s emphasis on exclusivity. – Read More on the New York Times
6. RELATED READ: How Amazon Turned its Long-Rumored Luxury Venture Into a Reality. Its public-facing campaign – which is not all that different from the PR push enacted by Chinese e-commerce conglomerate Alibaba several years ago when it sought to overcome its reputation as a counterfeit-haven and move upmarket – has aimed at bolstering consumer and brand confidence in the $1 trillion company. Specifically, it has seen Amazon introduce new anti-counterfeiting efforts like Project Zero, and team up with brands, such as Italian fashion house Valentino and buzzy beauty brand KF Beauty, to initiate counterfeit litigation. – Read More on TFL
1. Meet the French Designer Who is Thriving in the Pandemic: Celebrities adopted wares featuring Marine Serre’s signature crescent moon print, making it the most wanted logo on fashion discovery platform Lyst this year. “Do you want the moon top to be everywhere, or is the aim to keep a balance? I’m trying to find a balance,” Serre says. – Read More on WWD
2. RELATED READ: Marine Serre is Looking to Amass Rights in its Moon Logo & Might Build the Next Big Luxury Brand in the Process. With such rising brand awareness and trademark rights in mind, Marine Serre has been looking to secure trademark registrations across the globe. To date, this has largely seen legal counsel for the brand file – and receive – trademark applications for the crescent moon along with the brand name for use on clothing and accessories in the U.S., Canada, France, Singapore, and Australia, among other jurisdictions. – Read More on TFL
3. Will 2020 mark the end of Black Friday? “You still have a lot of people that are interested in shopping on Black Friday.” It counts as “a social event that individuals like to be part of,” and a holiday traditional for some. – Read More on Quartz
4. With tourist traffic dwindling, Abercrombie & Fitch is accelerating plans to close expensive flagship stores: By closing expensive flagships in London, Paris and Munich that mostly targeted out-of-towners, Abercrombie is shifting its focus to rolling out services at existing stores that are more designed for its local customers, like curbside pickup. The idea is to use these new programs to better serve local customers. – Read More on Modern Retail
5. And speaking of tourists … U.K. Tax-Refund Repeal is a New Headache for Retail Property Owners: Starting in January, foreign visitors will no longer be able to reclaim a sales tax of 20% for items bought in the U.K. for 30 British pounds—equivalent to about $40—or more. Business leaders worry that tourists could abandon London for other European shopping destinations such as Paris and Milan. – Read More on the WSJ
6. ‘We’re seeing a dichotomy in retail recovery’: J.P. Morgan analyst. There will be a three-wave recovery for retail with the first wave a sentiment shift towards fashion-oriented clothes as mobility increases outside the home. The second wave will be clothes tied to returning to the office and the new normal, while the third wave will be more on focused on tourism and travel. – See More on CNBC
1. Former Gucci Creative Director Frida Giannini Opens Up About Today’s Fashion: Reflecting on brands that only succeed in selling T-shirts, sneakers and bags, she says, “When your customers have bought your T-shirts, your sneakers, your duffel bag, what else can they buy?,” adding that she is noticing an excessive use of logos. “Now, there is this overexposure of logos.” – Read More on WWD
2. Trucker Hats: A Questionable 2000s Fashion Trend Returns. This fetishization of all things 2000s has manifested prominently on the popular clothing resale market Depop, which attracts sellers dedicated to selling airbrushed tees, Juicy tracksuits and, yes, Von Dutch hats—trends that enjoyed currency during the newly relevant decade. – Read More on the WSJ
3. RETRO READ: Why Mom Jeans & Fashion-Focused Nostalgia Reigns Supreme in a Time of Global Uncertainty. Every season, the fashion industry reaches into the archives with cyclical predictability, echoing historical trends and stimulating nostalgic feelings through marketing that makes the consumer “miss things that never were,” as Arjun Appadurai put it in “Modernity at Large.” Even while mining the past for inspiration, fashion designers – or at least, good fashion designers – tend to reflect present culture with their work. – Read More on TFL
4. Australian fashion is taking notice of the country’s oldest design traditions – and we’re only just scratching the surface” Being left out of the fashion industry – not only the narrative, but the whole industry – has hampered the expression of what fashion looks like, and impacted Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people economically. – Read More on the Guardian
5. How Gen Z And Millennial Needs Have Radically Changed Post-COVID-19: Young consumers differ dramatically from prior generations in that they perceive themselves as personal brands. Social media has led to curated lifestyles, within which brands become extensions, expressions, and affirmations of a young person’s identity, which is why sustainable practices, diversity or inclusivity, transparency, and corporate social responsibility are more critical value drivers to them than they are for any generation before. – Read More on Jing
6. German online retailer Mytheresa confidentially files for U.S. IPO: The firm, which sells clothes from 250 of the world’s biggest fashion brands including Prada, Gucci, Burberry and Dolce & Gabbana, may seek a valuation of $1 billion to $1.5 billion, according to a Bloomberg report earlier this month, though the target could change based on the busy holiday season. – Read More on Reuters