Posts in fashion
HIGHSNOBIETY AND MONOCLE - TRANSFORMING A PUBLISHING BUSINESS AND BLOG INTO A CONTENT COMMERCE EMPIRE

Every major publisher has been through some kind of transformation in recent years – whether a print-to-digital transformation or vice versa, a revenue-model transformation, or horizontal as well as vertical expansion of the business model. While Highsnobiety’s origins sit in the digital world, Monocle is deliberately not developing a dedicated digital format for the iconic Monocle magazine.

Read More
FARFETCH ACQUIRED NEW GUARDS GROUP

Farfetch has acquired New Guards Group for a Total Enterprise Value of USD 675 million. Farfetch said the move “advances its strategy to be the global technology platform for the luxury fashion industry”. By adding a “Brand Platform” layer to Farfetch’s existing Technology, Data and Logistics Platform, New Guard will extend the company’s capabilities beyond technology solutions and global distribution into design, production and brand development

Read More
REFORMATION SELLS MAJORITY STAKE TO PERMIRA

In 2009 Yael Aflalo, a model turned fashion entrepreneur, opened a vintage clothing resale business she ran part time from the back room of a Los Angeles retail store. Called Reformation, it sold stylish secondhand items or garments made from re-purposed materials. In 2013, the brand was scaled into an e-commerce business with a downtown factory and three boutiques — a vision honed by Ms. Aflalo’s experience, gained earlier in her career, of the environmental and human toll the global fashion industry was taking.

Read More
STREETWEAR CULTURE FUELS BILLION DOLAR SECONDARY MARKET

The online clothing resale market has expanded 21 times faster than regular retail since 2016 and it is expected to more than double in size reaching USD 41 billion in the next three years, according to a report by online reseller ThredUp. With revenue increasing, brands and retailers that previously disliked resellers profiting from their wares are forced to act and acquire these up and coming players, in order to play a role in this market.

Read More
FARFETCH ACQUIRED STADIUM GOODS FOR USD 250 MILLION

Farfetch announced that it is acquiring sneaker and streetwear marketplace Stadium Goods in a deal that values the business at USD 250 million. The London-based fashion e-commerce platform is aiming to extend its reach in the growing luxury sneakers and streetwear market, as millennials account for a growing percentage of luxury sales and competitors are engaged in a digital land grab.

Read More
AMAZON'S ZAPPOS PARTNERS WITH CONCEPTS

The world of streetwear was previously based on authenticity and reputation, but since its unprecedented growth in popularity, the scene has grown used to see new players entering the market. Earlier this month, Massachusetts-based footwear and streetwear retailer Concepts quietly confirmed “a relationship” with Amazon’s Zappos subsidiary. “We have been engaged with our friends at Zappos and finalized a relationship that will help Concepts achieve our mission to elevate the customer experience within the boutique industry,” said Tarek Hassan, CEO of Concepts International, in a statement.

Read More
THE BILLION-DOLLAR GREY MARKET IN WATCHES UPSETS BIG BRANDS

No one is immune to a bargain — not even those who can spend GBP 30,000 on a watch. At Watches of Switzerland, an authorised dealer, an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak automatic in rose gold sells for GBP 42,600, but the same watch is on offer at "grey market" website Chrono24 from US dealer Watch My Diamonds for USD 34,850 (GBP 27,227). It is impossible to ignore that the grey market is becoming a powerful force in the watch industry, which is worth USD 62.5bn, according to Euromonitor.

Read More
SNEAKER RESALE HEATS UP

After the announcement of LVMH Luxury Ventures investing into Stadium GoodsGOAT, the world’s leading digital sneaker marketplace, today released a public statement revealing a merger with sneaker consignment pioneer Flight Club. The merger brings together two leading brands in the sneaker space that combined, will deliver unparalleled mobile, web and retail shopping experiences. 

Read More
THE BIG BUSINESS OF SECOND-HAND CLOTHES

Depop was launched in 2011 when Simon Beckerman, an Italian entrepreneur, decided to make a new, hip online marketplace by creating an app that merged editorial and sales. He realised most of the decision-making in buying fashion was based on social references. So, his team designed the app with Instagram-style features, with “follow” and “like” buttons, comments and chat, already familiar to social media users.

Read More
WHAT DREW AMAZON, ALIBABA & CO. TO BRICKS-AND-MORTAR

The world’s online shopping giants are following smaller web retailers into what might appear to be the merchandising past. Amazon, Alibaba and most recently JD.com, are operating brick-and-mortar stores, joining companies such as the formerly web-only Warby Parker and Outdoor Voices and reoccurring pop-up events by the likes of Gymshark and Aday. Even Tencent, the Chinese games and social media giant, is doing deals in retail.

Read More
SWEDE SUCCESS

Acne Studios is a thoroughly modern fashion brand that is based in Stockholm, where it was launched in 1997 by a media agency who made 100 pairs of jeans to gift to friends. Since then it has moved from a denim label to become a high-fashion brand that shows collections in Paris and has shops that look like art galleries.

Read More
BOOKSTORES MAY BE DYING BUT FASHION BRANDS ARE GIVING THEM NEW LIFE

The future of brick-and-mortar bookstores has been in peril for at least a decade. But whether you are actually shopping for a book or not, you might actually find yourself wandering into a bookstore by accident. Fashion brands, from French icon Sonia Rykiel to New York City-based Warby Parker, or concept stores like Colette and 10 Corso Como are curating books not as objects to read but as objects of décor.

Read More
SUPREME CONFIRMS INVESTMENT FROM THE CARLYLE GROUP

Supreme founder James Jebbia has confirmed that the labe has sold a stake in the company to private equity firm The Carlyle Group. “We are a growing brand, and to sustain that growth we have chosen to work with Carlyle, who has the operational expertise needed to keep us on the steady path we’ve been on since 1994,” said Jebbia in an exclusive statement to The Business of Fashion

Read More
HOW MASSIMO OSTI RE-ENGINEERED MENSWEAR

From 1971 to the early 2000s, Osti was responsible for a catalogue of brands including from C.P. Company to Stone Island and Supreme to NikeLab. His work remains embraced by industry fixtures. For many, sporting a Stone Island badge on their left arm or wearing a C.P. goggle jacket still symbolizes a commitment to substance over hype. “I design clothes for a man who travels across the planet, through different environments; nature, traffic, pollution, the urban adventure,” said Osti. “I’ve always thought that my clothes had to respond to real needs.”

Read More
TO DO ANYTHING WELL IS A STRUGGLE

"To do anything well is a struggle. You need to give it everything," says Rapha’s founder, Simon Mottram. In fact, this man has certainly thrown it all into creating an one-of-a-kind company that has made him cycle around the the world and gotten to know and work with the likes of Dave Brailsford, Paul Smith, Bradley Wiggins and Norman Foster. Mottram says that the key to Rapha's success was shaped by a three core principles namely: commerce, content and community.

Read More