LONDON, United Kingdom — Today, we bring you our most controversial and candid Opinion articles of 2013, which explored some of the industry's more troubling practices, from top-tier retailers who persistently fail to pay young designers on time to the little-known (but very large) "shadow market" for second-hand clothing.

It's Time to Talk About Fashion's Poor Payors
A number of prestigious retailers have been squeezing young London designers on payment terms and, in some cases, failing to pay on time, which can be debilitating for emerging fashion businesses. These practices must be stopped.

Cannes, Capitalism, the Red Carpet and India
BoF columnist Bandana Tewari examines Indian fashion, identity and the representation of women through the prism of Cannes' red carpet.

The Trouble with Second-Hand Clothes
As the Christmas season approaches, millions of Westerners will flock to charity shops to donate their second-hand clothes. But the multi-billion dollar global market for used clothing is not what it seems, posing difficult questions for those hoping to do good by donating, argues Tansy Hoskins.

Remembering Isabella Blow
With a major exhibition showcasing over a hundred pieces from her personal clothing collection soon set to open at London's Somerset House, accompanied by a catalogue edited by Alistair O'Neill with photography by Nick Knight, Colin McDowell remembers the remarkable Isabella Blow.

Why Are We Ruining Our Best Young Fashion Companies?
Lawrence Lenihan, managing director of FirstMark Capital, argues that the Internet provides a new model for building fashion businesses based on passionate and intimate relationships with consumers, but the maximum market size for these companies is inherently capped, something that overcapitalised entrepreneurs, and the investors who fund them, too often fail to recognise.

Is Church and State Obsolete?
With the rise of shopable magazines and a new hybrid business model built around retail, advertising and newsstand sales, Jeremy Langmead, former editor-in-chief of Mr Porter, argues that it's time to dispense with the pretense of 'church and state' divisions between the commercial and editorial sides of a fashion media business.

Fashion's Democratic Disease
The needs, desires and intentions of consumers have become important pieces of legislation in the false democracy of fashion, evolving at dizzying speeds and enlisting an army of fools.

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