For fashion brands, Chinese New Year can be a lucrative period; it is considered a lucky time for the Chinese to buy new clothing. The likes of Burberry and Marni regularly release capsules celebrating the new cycle of the Chinese zodiac. Red coloured fashions and accessories (the colour beckons luck) are everywhere in luxury stores and street markets, as are cute animations of the animal we’re...

France’s upcoming Hyères International Fashion, Photography and Accessories Festival  (April 23-27) turns thirty-five this year. Like the stylish world it celebrates, the finalists are making their mark with diversity, original materials, artisanal expertise and personal vision. Half of the shortlisted designers, five out of ten, are from France, which shows a marked increase. The rest,...

In 1986, a then young Jean-Pierre Blanc imagined the Hyères Festival while studying. Thirty-five editions later, the fashion design and photography event which traditionally takes place on the French Riviera can be considered one of the fashion industry's leading events for the discovery of up-and-coming talents. This year, the Festival will take place from April 23rd to 27th. Jonathan Anderson...

The reputed French historian has gained in freedom of expression since he no longer runs the Galliera Museum, and is also not resting on his laurels and multiplying projects. During Pitti Uomo in Florence, he spoke at the 75th anniversary of Brioni, and later this year, he will publish a book about the Italian menswear brand. We caught up with Olivier...

In a highly competitive retail terrain and amid an environmentally conscious era of “less is more,” retailers and luxury goods are taking cues from tech and captivating young consumers with services that make them feel included.From live shopping to product insurance to circular solutions like second-hand appraisals, brands old and new, are forging partnerships and buying up startups to...

In a day and age where the number of independent retailers, both online and brick-mortar, are increasingly emerging, how can one stand out today?Italians, have of late, been struggling to outmatch their foreign counterparts, whom over the years, have picked up a few tricks up their sleeve turning into true masters of the independent trade. Take, for example, Maryam Nassir Zadeh’s boutique in...

There’s no doubt that social media has changed the way we communicate and conduct business. In fact, in today's world, it can skyrocket one's career, and/or make or break a business. Julia Haart, who was appointed World Group chief executive of Elite World in March, is very much aware of this and is planning to expand Elite’s reach by venturing into media and content production.According to...

For centuries, fashion has been used to symbolically convey or challenge power. Whether signifying social class, economic status, and moral standards, or simply communicating meanings from pop culture trite to seriously political, fashion has played a key role in forming, questioning, and reinforcing the power of social dynamics. From baroquely decorated garments worn by 17th Century European...

With the Prada Group as one of its main sponsors, Startupbootcamp, the leading European network of corporate-backed accelerators, pinpointed 10 startups  as the next “disruptors” of the industry as we know it, the organization said Friday.Startupbootcamp has selected the ten international teams aspiring to disrupt the fashion industry: Aoiship, Bigthinx, Gfaive, Namek, Obsess, Renoon, SKMMP,...

London-based designer Edeline Lee hosted a panel discussion on Tuesday titled Dressed for the Art World.Co-hosted by the Association of Women in the Arts, the event was held at Fenwick, a London department store.The talks were moderated by Harper’s Bazaar UK features director Helena Lee. No stranger to the art world, Lee also edits the annual magazine Bazaar Art which celebrates women in the...

At a time when there is constant talk of a looming recession, e-commerce seems to be defying the idea that retail is broken. According to statistics published by Internet Retailer last month, retail e-commerce sales worldwide amounted to $3.53 trillion in 2019 – up from $2.93 trillion in 2018 – and revenues are projected to grow to $6.54 trillion by 2022.This continued growth is, in part, due...

Pitti Uomo has announced they will be including luxury sex toys in their Unconventional section of their fair.The Unconventional section aims at offering a selection of fashion forward brands that range from gritty to hyper-tech, from athletic-minded to gender-free. The selection is hosted in the Archivi section of the fair and will feature set design by Milanese architecture firm, Storage...

Rei Kawakubo’s “Transformation and Liberation” project will finally come to life at Vienna's State Opera in all its majestic, abstract splendour, Sunday, Dec. 8, in the world premiere of Virginia Woolf's Orlando.This modern-day portrayal of Orlando is a marriage of great minds: Woolf, Kawakubo and composer Olga Neuwirth, one of the most forward-thinking figures in opera today and the first...

The way brands connect with their customers — established and potential ones — has changed drastically over the years and has redefined the way luxury and fashion brands interact with society as a whole.“Cultural cred is intangible. It transcends geography and demographics and isn’t created by one group alone. It’s ambiguous and imbued with nuance, making it hard to define and put into...

Getting the first human to Mars in the 2030s hinges more on the relationship between science and the textiles industry than one might think.“We will have people on the moon, hopefully by the mid 2020s. I hope we don’t get stuck on the Moon. I hope we can push further and get people to Mars. That’s my job,” said Dr. Dava Newman, the former Deputy Administrator of NASA and a leading MIT Professor...