What menswear’s stalled momentum means for its future Brands like Prabal Gurung, Madewell and Tibi are traditionally womenswear brands, but they've all launched menswear since 2018 and were part of the wave that was driving menswear’s growth. But now, many of those brands may find themselves pulling away from men’s altogether.
Things keep getting worse for fashion rental platforms While formalwear, swimwear and workwear are all areas that have seen their use cases reduced due to coronavirus, rental is in the unfortunate position where much of its value is made obsolete by quarantine, social distancing and the cancellation of events.
Lafayette 148’s Deirdre Quinn: Luxury brands should be cautious with re-openings and inventory The luxury industry was already undergoing massive change even before the coronavirus kicked in. The trends that were in place, like luxury brands experimenting with e-commerce and direct-to-consumer, have been accelerated to the point that many are shying away from traditional luxury stalwarts like department stores.
How keeping employees on the payroll primed Fabletics for store re-openings Fabletics is one of the rare fashion companies with a large physical footprint that’s managed to survive to this point without laying off or furloughing any of its retail employees. Instead, it quickly launched a restructuring and training program for its 700 store employees, which involved shifting them to other...
‘Desperate people do desperate things’: Amazon is now a lifeline for luxury brands Common Threads, Amazon’s new platform with the CFDA for luxury designers to sell online, doesn’t address any of the issues that luxury brands have stated they have with selling on Amazon. In the past, brands have told Glossy that having their product lumped in with lots of other brands, having little...
From a solution to a risk: What the fall of department stores means for luxury brands Coronavirus-related issues at big department stores, including store closures, canceled orders and bankruptcies, along with issues that preceded coronavirus, have made brands question the ongoing importance of department stores to luxury fashion. Luxury has typically shied away from direct sales and e-commerce while boutiques and department stores have been the...
‘Model husbands’ are fashion brands’ new secret weapon When U.K. brand Boden began working on its next lookbook, it was clear that getting models out to a studio for a photoshoot wouldn’t be possible. On the other hand, sending product to models, with fingers crossed that they'd shoot images worth featuring, was high-risk. Instead, Boden sought out model Julia...
Why resale companies continue to attract investors Fashion resale often gets lumped in with fashion rental in discussions of how the market is changing, particularly since they both represent departures from the standard models of fashion consumption. But as the coronavirus pandemic has worn on, the two are becoming increasingly delineated. While rental is suffering resale is...
DTC footwear brands are pivoting to slippers At the beginning of the year, Birdies co-founder and CEO Bianca Gates had a thorough plan for the year focusing on outdoor shoes and the slogan “Travel boldly.” Birdies, like many fashion brands, has had to shift priorities.