Police say UK entrepreneur Quentin Griffiths fell from 17th floor of an 18-floor condominium on 9 February
Quentin Griffiths, the co-founder of the online fashion retailer Asos, has died after falling from an apartment building in the Thai seaside resort city of Pattaya.
Police told Reuters that the 58-year-old had fallen from the 17th floor of an 18-storey condominium on 9 February.
Continue reading...Fast-fashion retailer faces political anger, fury from workers and warnings it will damage city’s progressive image
The online fast-fashion retailer Shein will open its first permanent bricks-and-mortar store in the world in Paris this week amid political outrage, fury from workers and warnings from city hall that it will damage the French capital’s progressive image.
The Singapore-based clothing company, which was founded in China, has built a massive online business despite criticism over its factory working conditions and the environmental impact of low-cost, throwaway fashion.
Continue reading...Fast-fashion retailer records 20% growth in sales and fees to $37bn but big hit is expected from US changes to import tax rules
Shein has reported a 20% rise in global revenues to $37bn (£27.7bn) but profits have fallen as the fast-fashion retailer faced increased costs, even before it felt the impact of recent changes to US tax laws.
The Singaporean parent company of the rapidly growing retailer said pre-tax profits had fallen by 13% to $1.3bn last year from $1.5bn in 2023 after an increase in selling and marketing costs, according to new accounts.
Continue reading...Show at Milan fashion week saw use of adjustable elastics and pull-tapes to unexpectedly sophisticated effect
At Fendi, where Silvia Venturini Fendi is leading the house founded by her grandparents through its centenary year, family is as much part of the sales pitch as the Baguette bag. “I have been thinking about childrenswear, because I have a big family, and my daughter is pregnant with twins,” she said backstage. Two grandsons made a cameo appearance on the catwalk earlier this year while her 18-year-old granddaughter is her “fiercest critic”, the 64-year-old creative director says. (“When she calls after my show, I tremble.”)
This season, Fendi adapted the adjustable elastics that feature in clothes made for growing bodies, making a feature of elegant grosgrain pull-tapes to add gentle definition at the hem of the jacket or the waist of a dress. The result was unexpectedly sophisticated. The casting, featuring men and women of all ages and sizes, was a triumphant showcase for how beautifully the shapes worked on different bodies.
Continue reading...Funeral chamber to be set up at Teatro Armani where people can view casket before a private service on Monday
Twice a year, the usually calm Via Bergognone in Milan shuts down due to excited fashion week crowds descending on Teatro Armani. Home to the Giorgio Armani headquarters since 2000, the sprawling space includes a purpose-built theatre where each show season a catwalk is constructed.
On Friday, crowds again began to gather outside, but this time the mood was much more sombre. They had come to pay their final respects to the visionary Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani, who died on Thursday at the age of 91.
Continue reading...Struggling brand sold by Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos, which is to take ‘strategic investment’ in Castore’s holding company
Belstaff, the struggling British fashion brand known for its heritage motorcycle gear, has been bought by the sportswear group Castore from the billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos.
Under the deal, the terms of which have not been disclosed, Ineos will make a “significant strategic investment” in Castore’s holding company.
Continue reading...Calls for boycott after Swiss watchmaker becomes latest western brand accused of racist imagery
The Swiss watchmaker Swatch has apologised and removed an advert featuring a model pulling the corners of his eyes, after the image prompted accusations of racism and calls for a boycott on Chinese social media.
Internet users heavily criticised the “slanted eye” gesture made by the Asian male model as racist.
Continue reading...Restructure by family-owned fashion chain involves 33 store closures but leaves more than 1,000 jobs at risk
River Island has got the green light for a rescue restructure that saves more than 4,000 jobs but will shut 33 of the clothing chain’s 230 stores as people shift to buying online.
The plan to reduce costs, which still puts more than 1,000 jobs and a further 70 sites at risk, won approval from a high court judge on Friday after a majority of creditors gave their backing earlier in the week.
Continue reading...Daniel Ervér cites ‘fast-moving situation’ as US administration has changed rules on several occasions
Clothing prices are beginning to rise in the US as Donald Trump’s tariffs on imported goods start to have an effect, according to the boss of H&M, one of the world’s biggest fashion retailers.
Daniel Ervér, the chief executive of the Swedish retailer, said: “In the US, we are starting to see some competitors increasing prices. Different competitors are acting in different ways. Some more aggressively and some more cautiously.”
Continue reading...Company says consumer confidence could deteriorate further as countries face risk of recession
Shares in the owner of Primark fell after the budget clothing chain posted a sharp drop in UK sales and lost market share, as the company warned that consumer confidence was likely to worsen further amid Donald Trump’s trade wars.
Associated British Foods (ABF), which also owns a sugar business and food brands such as Ryvita and Kingsmill, said several countries could slide into recession as a result of US trade policy.
Continue reading...Company had strong first quarter but says it cannot raise outlook for this year owing to tariffs uncertainty
Adidas has said the price of its popular trainers, including the Samba and Campus models, is likely to rise as a result of Donald Trump’s tariffs.
The German group said the uncertainty around US import tariffs had prevented it from raising its outlook for sales and profit this year despite reporting strong first-quarter results.
Continue reading...Prada has secured Versace at a €180m discount amid market turmoil and after months of speculation
Prada has agreed to buy the Versace fashion brand for €1.25bn ($1.38bn) from the fashion conglomerate Capri Holdings.
It comes after months of speculation about a potential deal to combine the two Italian fashion houses and, more recently, rumours that the acquisition was set to collapse after market upheaval in response to President Trump’s tariff policies.
Continue reading...Eco-concerns upturn moral battle over fur as quiet luxury gives way to ‘boom boom’ looks at Paris fashion week
Gabriela Hearst is an ethical fashion designer, with sustainability at the heart of her brand. And she wants to sell you a mink coat.
Hearst’s Paris fashion week show included a coat, jacket and stole made from vintage real fur. “We bought all these old mink coats in Italy, and pieced them together,” she said after her show.
Continue reading...End of ‘de minimis’ policy for Chinese goods also expected to hit bigger fashion retailers such as Asos and Boohoo
Many UK-based independent sellers on marketplaces such as eBay and Amazon could suffer a significant hit to US sales from planned changes to import rules under Donald Trump, with experts comparing the impact to a second Brexit.
The new rules, which mean all parcels originating or made in China and being sold into the US must pay import duty – of as much as 15% on fashion items – and an additional 10% tariff, are also expected to impact bigger online clothing retailers such as Asos and Boohoo.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Independent investigation in 2023 upheld five allegations against Carlo D’Amario, the Guardian understands
From her 1975 “gay cowboys” T-shirt to pioneering catwalk collections that challenged gender norms, the late Vivienne Westwood has long been heralded as an LGBT+ icon.
But the fashion house she built over five decades faces serious questions about whether the late designer’s values have endured, after allegations about homophobic bullying by its chief executive, Carlo D’Amario, were upheld by an independent investigation, the Guardian understands.
Continue reading...Watchdog upholds complaint about advert that digitally altered clothing and used low angle to accentuate long legs
The UK advertising watchdog has banned an advert from high street retailer Next for featuring an “unhealthily thin” model in digitally altered clothing.
The advertisement, which ran on its website, featured a model marketing Next’s “power stretch denim leggings”.
Continue reading...Lab-grown diamonds sell for one-quarter of the price of traditional ones and an Australian wholesale broker says he can’t tell the difference
When Steve Richards, a gemologist trained to identify grades of precious jewels, was considering a Christmas present for his wife, he settled on a pair of diamond earrings.
These diamonds, however, were not formed deep in the Earth over millions or billions of years and brought to the surface through volcanic eruptions. They were grown in a lab over a matter of weeks and bought for a fraction of the price.
Continue reading...German maker of fashionable cork-based footwear files three lawsuits alleging copyright infringement
Once sneered at as the preserve of muesli-loving, Guardian-reading hippies, Birkenstocks have more recently been promoted to the status of fashion item, not least since they took a starring role in the Barbie movie. But now cork-soled sandals are facing their day in court as their German makers call for them to be protected in perpetuity – and to be recognised as nothing less than a unique work of art.
Germany’s federal court of justice is to decide on the future of the ergonomic sandal after three lawsuits against alleged copycat competitors were lodged on Thursday by the footwear manufacturer.
Continue reading...Thousands of traders face ruin after blaze razes two-thirds of Accra’s Kantamanto, which receives an estimated 15m used clothes from global north each week
A huge cleanup operation is taking place after a fire devastated one of the world’s biggest secondhand clothes markets.
Thousands of traders’ stalls were destroyed in the blaze that started at about 10pm on 1 January and consumed large sections of Kantamanto market in Accra, Ghana’s capital.
Continue reading...Shares in LVMH, which also owns Dior, Tiffany and Moët & Chandon, fell by as much as 7%, briefly hitting two-year low
Shares in luxury goods brands slumped after Louis Vuitton’s LVMH reported an unexpected fall in third-quarter sales amid China’s economic slowdown.
Shares in LVMH, which also owns Dior, Tiffany and Moët & Chandon, fell by as much as 7% in early trading, briefly hitting a two-year low, before regaining slightly, after it warned of an “uncertain economic and geopolitical environment”,with falling sales in Asia.
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