Brands and buyers are turning to digital platforms to sell upcoming collections. But success will require a blend of new and old-fashioned strategies.

As businesses pivot to remote working and e-commerce, specialist digital platforms catering to the fashion industry seem set to grow.

The sale of luxury goods on the grey market is a lucrative and largely unspoken practice in the fashion industry. Why are brands so hush-hush about it and do they really want it to end?

Ordre, a digital platform for wholesaling fashion, has attracted investment from China’s largest e-commerce platform, which plans to put some of the start-up’s technology to use to sell directly to consumers.

Hong Kong has long been a key player in the global fashion business, but as the creative industries become ever stronger on the Chinese Mainland, the city is losing its influence.

Fashion businesses in markets like Australia, Brazil and Georgia face the tyranny of distance, but some turn remote geography into a competitive advantage.

This season, all four fashion capitals will see brands from Givenchy and Pucci to Chloé and The Row moving their slots. Why the big change around?

Rethinking the parameters of fashion week could unlock huge economic potential, argues Simon Lock, a member of the recently launched BoF 500, a dynamic index of the people shaping the global fashion industry.