Welcome back to another blog on the interesting and varied activities in the fashion world. This week, I'm trying this out as a direction for this newsletter, and I am interested in seeing how it works and how much you, as an audience, appreciate it.
New Luxury Trends
The luxury world has seen some recent changes and some new beginnings. We saw the return of the phenomenal Phoebe Philo in the luxury world. The highlights of that are: it was launched quietly, with no social media, just a link to a website, and within hours, it was sold out. The stand-outs were that this is an aesthetic and a level of luxury that people have really wanted, with many of her former fans saying they would only buy something after the launch. The netizens had varied complaints and discussions regarding the high price point, but clearly, there is an audience for that kind of intelligent women's fashion and the welcome return of an industry favourite.
In a similar vein, "The Row" has seemed to grow and grow due to its association with quiet luxury and definitely not the celebrity status of its owners (the Olsen twins). This brand has been a "slow fashion" version of high-end luxury with quiet branding, an absolute wild card focusing on quality, and a sense of "if you know, you know" branding and anti-social media. This is very interesting and very reassuring.
These three women are at the pinnacle of luxury goods, independently owned brands not part of one of the mega luxury goods companies. However, sadly, one of our favourite female designers, Sarah Burton, stepped down as Creative Director of Alexander McQueen, ending a long-established connection with the extraordinary founder. Let's see what happens at McQueen and what the future looks like now that his protégé is no longer a part of its creative vision.
Louis Vuitton Men’s Show in Hong Kong
Talking of luxury and those big mega-luxury groups, Louis Vuitton is collaborating with Hong Kong group K11 and the billionaire Cheng family. They had a Harbourfront Louis Vuitton men's Pre-Fall fashion show with the relatively newly appointed Pharrell at the end of November. Hong Kong has long been associated with luxury goods and luxury tourism. Sadly, the harsh COVID-19 curbs have been a huge deterrent for tourists and travellers from overseas. Clearly, the city is trying to claw back some of its earlier fame. I'm sure the city will be awash with celebrities, and it would be good to see that vibe being present once more in the city.
Fast Fashion M&A
From luxury goods to fast fashion, recently, there have been a lot of mergers and acquisitions of fast fashion players; as the "Business of Fashion" called it, "fast fashion's M&A frenzy". Shein has acquired Misguided from Frasers Group, and ASOS has, apparently, been looking to sell Top Shop. ASOS and Boohoo Group are facing a lot of investor pressure. ASOS has seen a fall of 10% year on year with $39 million in losses, and its stock price has been trading a 14-year loan. These challenges have also been faced by the Boohoo Group. Shein is basically taking over with the mega-low prices and speed to market and making other fast fashion brands obsolete. Oh dear! TikTok and Shein are a lethal combination for any competitor to them.
The Future of Sustainable Fashion
This brings me to my final topic, the future of fast fashion. Sadly, last month, there was a rather depressing article from the Guardian, "Fashion’s efforts to go green cancelled out by shopaholics" - stating that a WRAP report notes that the 12% reduction in carbon impact was negated by a 13% rise in textiles produced and sold. Companies that have reduced the carbon impact of their textiles have basically been overwhelmed by the increase of fast fashion, including our friends from the previous point. Shein, among others, but not just them.
So, there's a lot in this newsletter; it covers the significant topics currently at play in the industry. Where does that leave you? Are you uplifted, inspired, depressed or wondering what's next? Nevertheless, fashion is a global expression for all of us, including those who say they opt out of every communication. Every action is communication, and whatever happens, adds another dimension to life on this planet.
Thank you for reading.
And as always, have fun and enjoy fashion.
Kate x