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.
LONDON, United Kingdom — This week, the BoF team has been busy exploring the ever-changing business of fashion, from New York to Kazakhstan, which, as our roving global reporter Robb Young learned, is fast-emerging as the undisputed goliath of luxury retail in Central Asia. In his latest Market GPS report, he describes the Kazhakhstani capital as a thriving hotspot with its fair share of hungry new fashion consumers. This is really one of those fascinating new frontier markets for a luxury industry in search of growth opportunities.
Another new opportunity for business development is the virtual frontier of technology and digital media. Olapic, which aims to drive sales by integrating user-generated photos — posted to Instagram, Twitter and Facebook — directly into e-commerce sites, is an interesting attempt to monetise the on-going surge of consumer-driven social media activity that is one of the most powerful forces in fashion today.
But there are also growth opportunities in building new fashion businesses, something that we examined in an in-depth report on Damir Doma, the emerging Paris-based fashion brand which defies the prevailing wisdom that the French capital is no home for fast-expanding young fashion labels. We spoke to Bernd Beetz, former chief executive of Coty and investor in Paper Rain, parent company of Damir Doma, on why he believes Mr Doma's business represents a unique growth opportunity. But as I read the piece, I couldn't help wondering: just how big a business can Damir Doma's edgy aesthetic support? That remains to be seen.
In our latest Creative Class feature, we sat down with Linda Wells, the esteemed editor of Allure magazine to learn about the business and editorial strategies that are driving the magazine's impressive growth in the midst of a period of digital disruption. Ms Wells says, "I'm not wedded to paper. I care about the message. It doesn't matter to me what form it takes." A great read.
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Finally, this week, we also brought you the exclusive on the newest prestige fashion investor in The Fancy, the social commerce start-up founded by Joseph Einhorn. Richard C. Perry, who owns a controlling stake in Barneys New York, participated in a recent $7 million cash injection, bringing the total amount of capital raised in the company's latest round of funding to $60 million.
Imran Amed
Founder and Editor-in-Chief
Links:
Kazakhstan, More than Just a Klondike (Global Currents)
Olapic Brings The Persuasive Power of User-Generated Imagery to E-Commerce (Fashion 2.0)
Building Damir Doma (Intelligence)
The Creative Class | Linda Wells, Editor (People)
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BoF Exclusive | The Fancy Raises Additional Funding From Owner of Barneys New York (News & Analysis)
Op-Ed | Mining the Goth Aesthetic, Fashion Pivots to Darkness (Opinion)
From analysis of the global fashion and beauty industries to career and personal advice, BoF’s founder and CEO, Imran Amed, will be answering your questions on Sunday, February 18, 2024 during London Fashion Week.
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