🇮🇳 Lakme Fashion Week features global brand collaborations for India market. US footwear and apparel brand Skechers debuted a streetwear capsule collection designed by Indian designer Kanika Goyal at the latest edition of the biannual Lakme Fashion week, held between March 13-17 at the Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai. The collection will be available at Skechers stores in India. Meanwhile, Argentine fashion brand La Martina presented a polo-inspired capsule collection in collaboration with Indian designer Rajesh Pratap Singh at Mumbai’s iconic Mahalaxmi Racecourse as part of the event. The biannual event, organised by Hindustan Unilever-owned cosmetics brand and title sponsor Lakme, Reliance Brands, a unit of Mukesh Ambani’s telecoms-to-energy conglomerate Reliance Industries, and the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI), featured leading Indian designers, including Anamika Khanna, Shantanu and Nikhil, Gauri & Nainika, and Rahul Mishra. Multiple Bollywood stars, including Kriti Sanon, Ananya Pandey, Taapsee Pannu, Madhuri Dixit, and Aditi Rao Hydari marked their presence at the five-day event too. [Arnika Thakur for BoF]

🇨🇳 Supreme to open long-awaited Shanghai flagship. Supreme will launch its first standalone store in China, as well as a WeChat Mini Program, on March 23. The news marks a key milestone in the streetwear juggernaut’s global expansion plan following an early foray into the country via a shop-in-shop at Dover Street Market’s Beijing outpost in 2022. [BoF]

🇨🇳 Anta Sports launches in US with Kyrie Irving Kai 1s. The Chinese sports conglomerate and American basketball player Kyrie Irvin launched their first pair of sneakers, which retail for around RMB 899 ($125) across Chinese e-commerce sites. At the start of 2024, Anta announced its plans to officially enter the US market on the same day as the Kai 1 launch. [Jing Daily]

🇨🇳 Li Ning considers taking company private, sources say. Li is considering leading a consortium to buy out Li Ning Co Ltd, which had a market capitalisation of HK$52.85 billion ($6.8 billion) as of Monday, people have knowledge of the matter told Reuters. The discussions to take Li Ning Co private are in the early stages and details have not been finalised, said the sources, who declined to be identified as the information was confidential. Li Ning made its Hong Kong debut in 2004. [BoF]

🇹🇷 A fight for union choice at Turkish supplier puts Levi’s in hot seat. For 80 days, around 500 employees from Özak Tekstil, a major clothing manufacturer in Turkey, protested in Urfa, Şanlıurfa Province, initially demanding the right to choose their union, and subsequently, their employment rights. Protestors reported facing verbal and physical threats, assaults from law enforcement and arrests. A preliminary report by the Worker Rights Consortium accuses Özak Tekstil of infringing upon the legal rights of its workers in Urfa, thereby breaching Levi’s supplier code of conduct. [Sourcing Journal]

🇨🇳 Diamonds lose sparkle in China amid property woes and marriage drought. Diamond sales recovery has stalled in China after a property sector crisis sapped consumer confidence and Covid-19 restrictions led to a drought of engagements in the world’s second-largest consumer market for the gemstones. Sales of diamond jewellery dropped 3 percent last year to $12.8 billion in the Greater China region, which also includes Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan but is dominated by mainland Chinese demand, according to data from Paul Zimnisky, an independent diamond analyst. [Financial Times]

🇮🇳 India imposes MIP on undervalued imports of synthetic knitted fabric. The Indian government has set a minimum import price (MIP) of $3.50 per kilogram for five specific HS codes related to synthetic knitted fabric, effective immediately. This move comes in response to the domestic industry’s persistent calls for the implementation of an MIP to curb the entry of lower-priced synthetic fabric. [Fibre2Fashion]

🇨🇳 Tiffany expands in Zhengzhou. Tiffany & Co. opened a boutique in Zhengzhou’s David Mall. Maxence Kinget, president of Tiffany Greater China, Bao Tao, general manager of Denis Department Store Division, along with actress Ma Yili and actor Feng Shaofeng, attended the opening ceremony. [Jing Daily]

🇨🇳 Moschino opens Shanghai flagship. Moschino opened a new flagship store in Shanghai’s Jing’an Kerry Center selling womenswear, menswear, childrenswear and accessory collections, all displayed within architect Andrea Tognon’s new interior design concept. [Jing Daily]

🇱🇰 Striking Sri Lankan workers continue to protest as negotiations break down. One month after protests began at the Sumithra Group factory at Hasalaka, support has been amplified by over 200 workers from different factories joining the protest. The Sumithra Group, which has a total of four factories in the country, manufacturers for brands including Superdry. [Sourcing Journal]

🇯🇵 Gentle Monster opens new store in Tokyo at Aoyama. The luxury eyewear brand has opened a new store in Tokyo at Aoyama. Sitting across two-level space on the premises of The Jewels of Aoyama, which is right next to Prada’s futuristic glass tower, the Gentle Monster flagship store is infused with the brand’s signature retail aesthetic. [CPP Luxury]