The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
THE CHEAT SHEET
Fashion Heads to Davos
The World Economic Forum's annual gathering in Davos, Switzerland | Source: Shutterstock
If 2019 was the year fashion came to terms with its negative environmental and social impact, 2020 must be the year it starts to act. For many chief executives, that's a daunting prospect. Fashion's problems are myriad and complex, and range across its entire convoluted and opaque supply chain. Enter the Global Fashion Agenda. Since 2018, the group has published a playbook for industry executives, laying out key focus areas and strategies for improvement. It will launch an update to its annual CEO Agenda in Davos this week. Backed by major brands, including French luxury conglomerate Kering and fast-fashion giant H&M group, it will lay out priorities for the industry to act on sustainability. Near-term, it emphasises the need to improve traceability, environmental impact and working conditions, while also highlighting longer-term transformational opportunities for digital and material innovation, greater circularity and a shift toward better wages.
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Sarah Kent contributed this item.
Couture Amid the Chaos in Paris
Valentino Autumn/ Winter 2019 | Source: Indigital
The Bottom Line: The real news out of Paris this week is likely to come on Jan. 22, when Louis Vuitton hosts an event to mark the start of a partnership with the NBA. Though details are scarce, the commercial potential is huge. Basketball players are style icons, with their influence extending well beyond sneakers and jerseys. Think what LeBron James has done for Thom Browne suits, only with LVMH's marketing muscle behind it.
Goop Makes a Play for the Mainstream
Gwyneth Paltrow's docuseries The Goop Lab debuts on Netflix on Jan. 24 | Source: Twitter/@seewhatsnext
The Bottom Line: Goop's aggressive move into wholesale demonstrates the limit to how big even the hottest DTC brand can grow on its own; even Glossier has dipped a toe in those waters with Nordstrom fragrance pop-up.
STAT OF THE WEEK
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Increase in the number of Chinese New Year-themed fashion items available for purchase in the US and UK, compared with a year earlier, according to Edited. Luxury brands, including Gucci, Bottega Veneta and Burberry, are most active in marketing around the holiday.
SUNDAY READING
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Traces of cotton from Xinjiang were found in nearly a fifth of samples from American and global retailers, highlighting the challenges of complying with a US law aimed at blocking imports that could be linked to forced labour in China.
The fashion industry continues to advance voluntary and unlikely solutions to its plastic problem. Only higher prices will flip the script, writes Kenneth P. Pucker.
The outerwear company is set to start selling wetsuits made in part by harvesting materials from old ones.
Companies like Hermès, Kering and LVMH say they have spent millions to ensure they are sourcing crocodile and snakeskin leathers responsibly. But critics say incidents like the recent smuggling conviction of designer Nancy Gonzalez show loopholes persist despite tightening controls.