January proved to be a better month for the handful of US apparel retailers still reporting comparable sales figures but it wasn’t all good news, with one big upside offsetting two huge declines – one of which represents the largest monthly comp store sales decline in 19 years.
France’s leather industry is calling on the country’s presidential election candidates to consider proposals to ensure the security of the sector, that it remains competitive, and continues to create jobs.
Swedish fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) has teamed up with yarn maker Bionic, whose products are created from upcycled plastic found in coastal communities and marine environments, on the latest offering from its Conscious line.
US clothing and footwear business Wolverine Worldwide has named former The North Face brand president, Todd Spaletto, as president of its Wolverine outdoor and lifestyle group.
US outdoor clothing brand Patagonia has joined forces with Swiss speciality textile effects company HeiQ on a strategic research partnership, designed to explore new ways for a sustainable textile finishing technology to achieve breathable and durable water repellence (DWR) with best-in-class performances.
Christina Economou winked to Seventies vintage for fall, her latest lineup a study in contrasts. Done in an earthy palette, Economou’s retro silhouettes leaned demure this season — a brown grandpa plaid wool midiskirt, for example — but she smartly offered sheer lace blouses and cutout shoulder tops to offset the geek-chic vibe with glimpses of skin. She also played with texture, offering cashmere-and-wool-blend coats alongside lighter-weight cotton and silks, the latter rendered in a geometric-printed chiffon minidress with a flirty, ruffled hem. Outerwear was the strongest, particularly a series of shaggy statement coats decorated with bubblegum pink wool fringe that injected the lineup with a youthful spunk.
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It’s back to not-so-basics for Ji Oh. The designer showed her focused fall collection via private appointments, trimming what used to be an open presentation format of about 100 pieces to fewer than half of that.
“It’s a lot more edited. I am not doing so many bottoms and jackets, as shirting is the strength and core of my collection,” Oh explained.
So for fall, she offered numerous novelty shirts ranging from asymmetric buttons, cropped styles with slits on the sleeves or ties at the arms and an off-the-shoulder longer version, all in either solid white or blue-and-white stripes. And although Oh admitted the story is about shirting, she could not help but show some great options of her other forte: oversized go-to knits with special details. Case in point: an oversized cashmere-blend ribbed V-neck sweater dress that could be worn backwards for a higher neckline. “Several pieces can be worn different ways,” she said, pointing to a reversible shearling jacket that’s white on one side, blue on the other. For a fun fashion moment, Oh went for a red faux-leather jacket and mini-skirt. “It’s just all the stuff that I want to wear.”
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“Why not celebrate glamorous women?” said Rachel Zoe, electing to show her fall collection — devoted almost entirely to cocktail and evening looks — in her hometown of 13 years, Los Angeles.
The 22 looks Zoe sent out at Sunset Tower on Monday night remained true to her monochromatic, Seventies-inspired aesthetic and the statement dressing that has become her calling card in the contemporary market. Some of the strongest pieces included a rose gold sequined culottes jumpsuit and a silver fringed gown.
The show also included six see-now-buy-now dresses, ranging from $295 to $495 and immediately available for purchase on her e-commerce site.
“Rodger [Berman, her husband] named it social dressing. My customers want to dress up and they want to do it with ease. They care what they look like and they’re doing a million things and I want to make it easier for them,” Zoe said backstage at the venue’s two-story Townhouse Suite.
Proving her point that her clothes were made for social events, Zoe turned her presentation into a dinner party, with models parading between three long dinner tables where her celebrity friends Eva Longoria, Nicole Richie, Jaime King, Rebecca Gayheart, Sara and Erin Foster and Rainey Qualley were seated. Also
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BERLIN — Aeance has taken the next step in its mission to merge the fashion-forward and the functional.
The German premium activewear brand is transitioning from strictly direct-to-consumer to wholesale, and has revealed its upcoming collection, a collaboration with Canadian-born, London-based designer Steven Tai.
Tai’s women’s wear label, which he shows at London Fashion Week, leans heavily in the direction of quirky girl, including ruffles and pleats formed in unconventional ways. For his Aeance designs, he streamlined and simplified to create active basics with special touches, such as intricate seaming and interesting collars and cuffs. The 19-piece collection for men and women comes in a color palette of butter yellow, coral, petrol, black and white; all in all, there are 82 pieces.
“Sportswear has always been an element in my own label, but this project gave me the chance to really explore the point where performance, luxury and comfort meet,” said Tai.
“Each seam, finishing and stitch is considered both visually and functionally. Being a bit of a geek, I loved learning about these technical finishings and to have the chance to obsess over all the details of this beautiful collection together with the Aeance team, who are just as passionate about these details as
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Madewell is hopping on the bralette train.
The retailer is moving into the intimate apparel category with a line of bralettes and underwear.
“I feel like we’ve always been trying to find ways to get further into our girls’ lives and it just made sense for us to be able to dress her inside and out,” said Joyce Lee, Madewell’s head of design. “We saw a gap in the market to offer her something that fell in line with our brand and what’s going on out there. The line is really minimal, very comfortable and functional but also really beautiful.”
The collection, which will be available starting today, will include 16 bralettes and 26 bottoms that will come in three different fabrics: cotton Modal, lace and mesh trimmed. The underwear silhouettes will range from the classic bikini brief to a boy short to a thong. There’s also a high-waisted style as well.
The line, which retails from $12.50 to $32 will be sold on Madewell’s e-commerce site, select Nordstrom locations and within all of its 112 retail locations. Lee said that within Madewell stores, the merchandise will have its own dedicated fixture that will be displayed next to the brand’s sleep and lounge collection.
Bralettes
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