1. Shoppers Used to Have Endless Options, Then Came Covid-19: Thanks to a global pandemic on top of a trade war, American consumers are finding their once-endless array of apparel choices are quickly disappearing. Chains are ordering less merchandise and cutting slower selling products from their aisles and websites in order to avoid accumulating piles of hard-to-sell items. – Read More on Bloomberg
2. Cartier’s Wake-Up Call for Luxury Dreamers: Luxury consumption is likely to be depressed for several years in other big luxury markets such as the U.S. and Europe, leaving brands more dependent than ever on well-heeled Chinese shoppers. Much of the industry’s future demand is expected to come from China’s growing upper-middle class, currently around 65 million individuals, who earn between $30,000 and $45,000 a year. – Read More on the WSJ
3. Alexander Taylor launches online clothing platform to tackle fashion industry waste: “The idea of seasons within fashion generates huge amounts of waste, due to deadlines and ‘consumer’ demands, unsold inventory and the endless creation of new textiles. “Fashion as it is now and sustainability does not work together – the idea of sustainability has to be questioned because there are such huge volumes of waste generated every day.” – Read More on Denzeen
4. RETRO READ: Can the Fashion Industry Ever Really Be Sustainable? Can ethical consumption really exist in the mainstream fashion market? Psychology and behavioral science may suggest that ethical fashion consumption is a pipe dream. – Read More on TFL
5. Perils of the catwalk: African models warn of trafficking threat. While data is scant, models and anti-trafficking activists say abuse in the sector is rife for African hopefuls – due to a lack of oversight and guidance both on the continent and abroad. – Read More on Reuters
6. Why These Black Designers Are the Future of Fashion: Black designers have never been in short supply, although few have enjoyed lasting mainstream success. “There’s just this structural racism that has not allowed us and our talents to be embraced at any scale.” – Read More on the WSJ