Audemars Piguet to Certify Its Pre-Owned Watches Following Rolex
Whereas Rolex is both a buyer and seller of its second-hand watches through official retail partners, Audemars is setting up a marketplace where sellers set prices.
materials
Global Markets
Russian Fur Retailer Kalyaev to Close Factory Following Sales Decline
One of Russia’s biggest fur-retailers announced it would close its factory and sell its remaining stock, due to a decline in the country's fur trade.
Sustainability
Next-Gen Materials Start-Up MycoWorks Raises $125 Million
The company is already working with Hermès and will use the funds to help scale up production of its mushroom-based leather alternative.
Partner Content
At Sorona, Expanding Use Cases for Innovative Fibres
Sorona is a high-performance fibre, with 37 percent of the polymer made up of renewable plant-based ingredients, and its potential applications are expanding. BoF learns more.
Retail
PVH’s Stefan Larsson on Harnessing Creativity to Energise Engagement
The chief executive of the company that owns Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger says creativity will be even more of a differentiator in 2022 as fashion players better align merchandise planning with demand and continue their quest for greater market share.
Sustainability
Novetex’s Ronna Chao on Winning the Circularity Game
As fashion brands pursue closed-loop recycling, they increasingly need to engage with suppliers who can help them source 'circular' materials and scale these efforts. However, the chairman of Novetex Textiles says meaningful mass adoption is a chicken-and-egg conundrum.
Technology
Aura Blockchain’s Daniela Ott on Persuading Luxury Rivals to Join Forces on Product Passports
As leader of the Aura Blockchain Consortium, Daniela Ott is tasked with persuading brands to join brands such as LVMH, Prada and Richemont-owned Cartier on the shared digital platform which creates ‘product passports’ for luxury goods.
Sustainability
How Fashion Can Deliver on COP26 Ambitions
Amid mounting evidence of fashion’s dramatically negative climate impact, countries, communities and companies are mobilising around protecting the planet. However, a new era of climate action will be required if fashion is to meet ambitious targets to reverse the damage being done.
Sustainability
The Year Ahead: Paving the Way for Closed-Loop Recycling
The scaling of closed-loop recycling could help reduce fashion’s environmental impact at the materials level. The technologies to make this happen are maturing, creating an opportunity for companies to embed them in a product’s design phase while adopting processes to enable scaling.
Technology
The Year Ahead: What Product Passports Will Do for Brands
Brands are adopting new technologies that store and share product information to improve authentication, provide transparency and boost consumer trust. However, for “product passports” to truly gain traction, businesses must coalesce around common standards and engage with pilot projects at scale.
Technology
VOICES 2021: Innovations Changing Fashion
In the third session of BoF’s annual gathering, Merlin Sheldrake, Ian Rogers, Wayne McGregor and others examined mycelium-based leather, virtual clothing, cyber threats and AI.
Sustainability
Vivienne Westwood’s Climate SOS
In the first session of BoF’s VOICES 2021 gathering, speakers including Vivienne Westwood and Janaya Future Khan addressed the climate crisis, stakeholder capitalism, what activism really means and more.
Sustainability
Elle to Go Fur-Free
The fashion magazine will no longer promote fur in any of its 45 international editions, Elle senior vice president and editorial director Valéria Bessolo Llopiz announced Thursday at The Business of Fashion’s annual VOICES gathering.
The News in Brief
Mike Ashley’s Frasers Says It’s Taken Control of Hugo Boss
The British retail group has pushed its stake in the German apparel brand above 50 percent in a move that will turn Hugo Boss into a subsidiary of Frasers.
Shein Agrees to Pay $100 Million to Settle US FTC Probe
The settlement, equivalent to 44 percent of the ultra fast-fashion company’s second-quarter profit, is the latest blow amid regulatory and tax crackdowns in Europe and the US that have hampered Shein’s growth.
Kering Drops 12% as Luxury Braces for Tough Winter
The recovery long promised by luxury brands seems nowhere in sight, as the expansion of war in the Middle East, along with China’s tax crackdown on the wealthy, piled further pressure on the world’s biggest luxury conglomerates in the third quarter, and executives buckled in for a tough winter.
UK Retail Sales Fall 0.4% in September, More Than Forecast
Sales fell in September as above-average temperatures hit demand for autumn clothing.
Elle Launches Moroccan Edition
Hitting newsstands in October, the magazine marks Elle’s 51st international edition, published under licence by the Geomedia group.
David’s Bridal Plans Spinoff and IPO of AI Wedding Planning Platform Pearl
Pearl, a subsidiary of David’s Bridal, will own David’s Bridal and license its intellectual property back to the bridalwear brand. David’s Bridal CEO Kelly Cook will serve as Pearl’s CEO.
L’Oréal Sales Beat Expectations as Premium Products Surge
The French giant handily beat expectations on strong demand for hair products at salons and premium skincare from its dermatological division.