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.
Creative Artists Agency (CAA), one of the biggest talent agencies in the US, teamed up with e-commerce investment firm Clearco, formerly known as Clearbanc, to finance an entity called Caravan that will connect brands to potential celebrity partners.
“The fund will enable strategic partnerships between celebrities/talent and founders looking to build transformational companies, accelerate the awareness and growth of these brands and businesses, and provide access to capital,” Clearco said in a statement Wednesday, June 23.
Caravan has already invested in a company called Fit52, an exercise and wellness app launched in partnership with Carrie Underwood last year.
In recent years, investors and entrepreneurs alike have found that star power is an extremely effective tool for growing a brand. Multiple companies in the past year have recruited not only the endorsement of celebrities but also their labour and employment: Jennifer Aniston became the chief creative officer of supplement brand Vital Proteins late last year. In February, Tracee Ellis Ross joined Ulta Beauty as diversity and inclusion adviser. Meanwhile, new tech platforms like Pietra are vying to connect influencers with manufacturers and monetise that joint venture.
Zero10 offers digital solutions through AR mirrors, leveraged in-store and in window displays, to brands like Tommy Hilfiger and Coach. Co-founder and CEO George Yashin discusses the latest advancements in AR and how fashion companies can leverage the technology to boost consumer experiences via retail touchpoints and brand experiences.
Four years ago, when the Trump administration threatened to ban TikTok in the US, its Chinese parent company ByteDance Ltd. worked out a preliminary deal to sell the short video app’s business. Not this time.
Brands are using them for design tasks, in their marketing, on their e-commerce sites and in augmented-reality experiences such as virtual try-on, with more applications still emerging.
Brands including LVMH’s Fred, TAG Heuer and Prada, whose lab-grown diamond supplier Snow speaks for the first time, have all unveiled products with man-made stones as they look to technology for new creative possibilities.