Hilary P.

Hermès just hired South London’s finest to rewrite the rules of French luxury. Grace Wales Bonner, who started her label from her bedroom a decade ago, is now Creative Director of Menswear at Hermès. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗮 𝗺𝗮𝗷𝗼𝗿 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗵 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲. After years of the same names being recycled across luxury, a new kind of creative leadership is finally being recognised. It took Hermès 187 years to make a move this modern. Grace will show her first collection in January 2027, after Véronique Nichanian steps down from the role she’s held for nearly 40 years. An era ending and a new one beginning. Designers like Martine Rose, Bianca Saunders, and Priya Ahluwalia have long proven that innovation in menswear lives in London. They’ve been redefining masculinity, heritage, and race through tailoring, sport, and subculture. Hermès putting Grace in charge feels like the industry finally seeing what’s been in front of them the whole time. And as we know, once one of the old guard makes a move, others follow. Independent designers with cultural credibility. That’s the shift. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗽 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀.

4,827

126 Comments

Activewear brand Rhone has hired Kepler as its first media agency of record as it looks to expand its womenswear line, double down on its mental health focus, and bolster e-commerce and retail sales. Read Audrey Kemp's coverage of the news. https://lnkd.in/euNU3Hmy

63

I spent time in the Northwest of England last week, stepping inside Zara’s new 32,000 sqft flagship at the Trafford Centre – billed as one of its most technologically advanced stores yet. On paper, the scale could feel overwhelming. In practice, Zara created a more intimate environment with a series of 600 sqft rooms, each curated around a different product focus: denim, casualwear, tailoring, or occasionwear. The result is a clear, digestible journey that reflects the breadth and agility of Zara’s product strategy. To me, it says something bigger about the state of UK retail. For decades, Britain prided itself on being a global leader in fashion retail. Today, however, the collapse of businesses like Arcadia, BHS, and, more recently, the decline of River Island, tells a different story: one of underinvestment and missed opportunities. By contrast, European giants like Zara continue to double down on physical retail, digital integration, and brand experience. The message is clear: in a world where stagnation quickly leads to irrelevance, Zara’s commitment to constant innovation, investment, and reinvention keeps it firmly ahead. Viva Zara.  Viva Trafford Centre.  Viva Industrial Heartlands. 

96

12 Comments

FOOTWEAR FRIDAY 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 Tom Rushbrook founder of sko-lab “…Design without Borders” “…From day one, sko-lab was built to flex-a studio without borders, designed around talent, not geography. Rather than anchoring everything to one location, we've grown a global network of designers, innovators, engineers and thinkers who bring a world of perspective to the table. It's shaped not only what we create, but how we think, collaborate, and evolve…” Why It Works “…Designers embedded in different geos bring more than aesthetic taste-they bring local nuance, behavioural insight, and cultural relevance. This keeps our work grounded in context, not assumption and desktop research. With a global team, the clock never really stops. One team signs off, another picks up-momentum flows 24/7, allowing us to move fast without burning out…” What We're Still Figuring Out “…Global means someone's always up early or staying late. It takes effort, planning, and a bit of flexibility-but we make it work because the outcome's worth it…” “…Virtual collab tools (MIRO etc) get us close, but they can't fully replicate scribbles on a notepad, prototypes on the table, or the energy of in-person exchange. We're intentional about creating those moments when we can…” Culture takes work “…Building a shared vibe when you're not in the same room every day? That takes effort. We're still learning how to stay connected, stay human, and build a studio culture across screens…” Why We'll Keep Doing It “…We're designing for a global audience-our team should reflect that. Yes, there are challenges, but the upside is huge. More relevance. More adaptability. More reach. For us, this is what the future of design looks like: borderless, agile, and grounded in real perspective…” sko-lab is a purpose driven Footwear Design Studio. #footwear #sneakers #innovation

175

5 Comments

Another strategically brilliant move from eBay in shifting the narrative around preloved fashion by becoming the "official pre-loved partner" of Condé Nast. From sponsoring Love Island and showcasing second-hand style to a massive Gen Z audience, to launching the successful Endless Runway events that put pre-loved pieces alongside high-fashion shows, they've been chipping away at the 'fast fashion first' mentality. This collaboration is a giant step forward for the circular economy but also a very astute move from Conde Nast who can't not have seen the statistics around the rapid growth of this category. 🚀 What's the impact? Redefining Luxury: This move legitimizes pre-loved as a high-fashion choice, positioning it within the same aspirational pages as luxury brands. Massive Cultural Shift: It guarantees the circular economy a permanent, prominent seat at the table of global style and culture. Driving Authenticity: The collaboration will focus on promoting trustworthy resale, connecting consumers with authenticated, quality treasures on eBay. It does make me wonder what the reaction from their large advertisers (aka the main Maisons) has been to this news given the largest players are yet to embrace this space. #PreLovedFashion #CircularEconomy #FashionIndustry #Sustainability #eBay #CondéNast #Vogue #MarketingStrategy

145

2 Comments

The brilliant Akhil Sivanandan from Green Story and I were at the UKFT Sustainability conference last week imagineering what we can do to accelerate the systemic shift our industry needs. Thanks to the UK Fashion and Textile Association (UKFT) for bringing together some of the smartest minds and most promising ideas, including novel fibres like Solena Materials Limited, lower impact dyes like SwitchDye and lower impact enzymatic nylon recycling from Epoch Biodesign. All of which show what is possible. But the sobering reality is we aren't moving fast enough. Other high emission industries are decarbonising way faster than we are, and if we're not careful fashion and textiles will become responsible for the lions share of total global carbon emissions. On our watch we will overtake Aviation, Cement, Transportation and energy as the world biggest polluters. DPPs are a strong step forward as brands take responsibility for where their products come from, but traceability in only the first step. Unless everyone starts accurately measuring impacts throughout the entire supply chain and focussing on reducing the most significant ones, we will be stuck in a constant loop of marginal gains offset by increases in production. Green Story are the masters of accurate measurement and Akhil Sivanandan and I are imagineering what we can do to accelerate change. Watch this space. Thanks to Ben Broomfield for taking some great shots and to Brooke Roberts-Islam for sharing this one.

125

7 Comments

As Style3D begins its takeover of the Knitwear Virtual Sampling space from CLO3D, I’ve been asked by a few people about why this is happening, and what the future looks like. Those of you familiar with both platforms will have a pretty good idea, but FWIW, here are the fundamentals that I’ve applied to all my work around Virtual Sampling since 2016… Technology/software will only be successfully adopted if there’s an understanding that: * It’s a tool to help speed up product development, not to make the product for you. * Fashion AI mines or harvests data. It then uses that harvested data to reconstitute or ‘create’ the best match according to your query. AI does not ‘make’ products! * Humans are inherently lazy, we’ll always find the quickest, easiest route. If technology slows us down, adoption will fail. Tech must simplify, not complicate. * If your wage bill stays the same, or goes up, you’re not doing it right. Sorry, but technology is meant to reduce wage bills! * If the cost or time spent developing a product stays the same or goes up, you don’t have a technology problem. You have a structural problem. Your internal processes and management are broken. Fix those before you ditch the horse for a car. It’s important to be able to see through all the hype and noise. Many of you will only get one chance to do this!

174

25 Comments

High performance outerwear brand ThruDark, which was co-founded by former UK Special Forces soldiers Anthony 'Staz' Stazicker CGC and Louis Tinsley in 2018, has launched its own marketplace for buying and selling pre-owned ThruDark garments. #thrudark #resale #sustainability #retail #fashion #fashionnews https://lnkd.in/ezvayqPJ

59

1 Comment