Amidst various socio-political reforms and rebukes, like Article 377, movements such as the #MeToo and #TimesUp, fashion industry saw itself amid a tornado in 2018. Other things that kept the industry going were re-branding of luxury giants such as Burberry, Celine, Balenciaga, Balmain, among others, shunning of a few to the grounds in lieu of racist comments (à la Stefano Gabbana); buying out of legacy fashion houses such as Versace and abrupt demise of the founder of one of the most jovial fashion house’s. Kate Spade, among others.
Relive the moments that shook up Apparel Resources’ Fashion Newsroom in 2018.
Article 377 verdict: How it impacted the fashion industry
The Supreme Court of India passed a verdict abdicating Section 377 that decriminalizes homosexuality in India. This opens up a plethora of new opportunities for Indian designers and brands who can leverage the verdict to drive sales.
Read full story here: https://apparelresources.com/fashion-news/features/section-377-struck-means-fashion/
Balmain returns to Couture after 16 years under Olivier Rousteing’s realm
Balmain’s Creative Director Olivier Rousteing revealed his plans “to bring back the Parisian DNA,” by the revival of the couture division. The haute couture shows slated for January will see Rousteing’s inaugural couture show, where he has “set sights set on accessories, fragrance and cosmetics too”.
After buying Versace for US $ 2.1 billion, Michael Kors renames itself to Capri Holdings
In a bold move to establish itself as one of the biggest fashion conglomerates in the Western Fashion Industry, Michael Kors Holdings acquired Versace in a whopping US $ 2.1 billion deal. The Versace family will continue to keep its stake in the company.
Additionally, Michael Kors Holdings is renamed to Capri Holdings.
Read full story here: https://apparelresources.com/fashion-news/features/buying-versace-michael-kors-now-capri-holdings-consumers-share-mixed-views/
Burberry rebrands itself for the first time in 20 years
The new logo flaunts stark capital letters spelling ‘Burberry London England’, replacing the previous softer, rounder font. The new monogram features an interlocked ‘TB’ print, a homage to the brand’s founder Thomas Burberry. The new visual identity will appear across all of Burberry’s channels and in its advertising campaigns.
Read full story here: https://apparelresources.com/fashion-news/features/burberry-rebrands-first-time-20-years-unveils-new-logo-monogram/
CÉLINE drops its “É”, rebrands itself to Celine
Under the helm of its new Creative Director, Hedi Slimane, Céline, goes back to its roots and rebrands itself by dropping the accent over its ‘é’- the way it was originally branded way back in the 60s.
Dolce & Gabbana China show cancelled amidst racist comments by Stefano Gabbana
After headlining the season, the much-awaited Dolce & Gabbana multimillion-dollar runway show was abruptly cancelled amidst racist complaints. The guests, designers, models and top fashion bloggers quietly announced their absence due to racist insults made against the Chinese community by the brand’s designer Stefano Gabbana.
Read full story here: https://apparelresources.com/fashion-news/features/dolce-stefano-gabbana-blames-hacked-instagram-account-racist-comments/
H&M becomes the most searched brand globally
H&M has topped the global list of the most searched brand with a whopping number of 30 million searches on an average in a month via Google. Zara, with almost 25 million searches and Zalando, with 20.4 million searches were on the second and third position respectively, whilst Macy’s bagged the seventh position with 13.6 million searches.
Read full story here: https://apparelresources.com/fashion-news/features/hm-becomes-searched-brand-globally-macys-tops-list-us/
Virgil Abloh named Designer of the Year by Ebay shopping report
Off-White founder and Louis Vuitton menswear director, Virgil Abloh, topped the report for his sneakers for Off-White with about 38,500 pieces selling in 2018. This number sounds even more impressive seeing it averages to about five pairs sold in an hour at about $289 each.
Read full story here: https://apparelresources.com/fashion-news/features/virgil-abloh-named-designer-year-ebay-shopping-report-2018/
Alibaba and Hong Kong PolyU team up on ‘Fashion Artificial Intelligence’
The collaborative initiative will see a first of its kind ‘FashionAI Dataset’ that will auto-analyse fashion pictures based on a set database of characteristics and keyed in values. The project aims to combine machine learning and our pre-existing know-how of fashion to create a new level of technological intervention in fashion retail through AI application.
Read full story here: https://apparelresources.com/fashion-news/innovation/alibaba-hong-kong-polyu-team-fashion-artificial-intelligence/
FDCI’s India Fashion Week gets a new sponsor with Lotus Make-up
The fashion week has been rechristened as the Lotus Make-Up India Fashion Week beginning Spring Summer 2019, announced The Fashion Design Council of India, FDCI. The runway shows will now include a B2C event where all consumers can buy designers’ and brands’ creations.
Christopher Kane to buy back its brand from Kering
Back in 2013, Kering acquired a majority stake of 51 percent in Kane’s seven year old brand. However, the parent firm announced on Thursday that it is discussing terms with Kane to sell the shares back, in order to focus on developing its bigger entities like Gucci, Balenciaga and Saint Laurent which are currently driving most of the profits for the company.
Read full story here: https://apparelresources.com/fashion-news/features/christopher-kane-buy-back-brand-kering/
Ivanka Trump’s namesake fashion brand shuts down
Launched in 2007, Ivanka’s brand was said to be valued at US $ 100 million before the Trump family set foot in the White House. The brand did exceedingly well till 2016 when wholesale revenue was soaring at 61 per cent growth. However, soon after the mixed response to her father’s policies, the label continued to garner distaste amongst shoppers due to reasons like production outside of America, and the label was kicked out of prominent stores like Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus and Hudson’s Bay.
Read full story here: https://apparelresources.com/fashion-news/features/ivanka-trump-fashion-brand-finally-closed/
