Fashion in Five

Epizode

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  Nike Warns of 2027 Layoffs, Tariffs Stay Unsettled 02.10.2026 4min

  WWD reports Nike's chief executive has warned of fresh layoffs tied to a new operating model, with decisions on impacted roles beginning in 2027, and that fashion's sourcing outlook remains in flux as new tariff powers and North American trade tensions leave 2027 pricing plans provisional. Drapers reports retailers and analysts still describing GLP-1 weight-loss drugs reshaping size curves, fit expectations and returns, with practitioners pointing to wardrobe turnover as the larger shift. Also moving: WWD reports OpenAI has added virtual try-on and saved looks to ChatGPT, Samsonite completed its BÉIS acquisition, Beige Plus closed after 24 years, and Landsec bought the Metrocentre for 516 million pounds.
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  Shein's Stalled Engine, Prada's Top 100 01.10.2026 4min

  Bloomberg argues the pandemic-era mix of ultra-low prices and paid social reach that built Shein is now its constraint as acquisition and tariff costs climb. The Wall Street Journal reports Prada is concentrating on top-spending clients, with CEO Andrea Guerra saying every euro spent on top-client events returns about seven euros, while a profile in The Cut places Pantaleo Dell'Orco at the centre of Giorgio Armani and details a will instructing heirs toward a listing or a sale. Also: Levi Strauss names Skechers finance chief John Vandemore as CFO, Delvaux appoints Yanina Novitskaya, Dune London explores new ownership, and Primark signs a recycled-polyester deal with Circ.
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  Armani Opens the Door, Shein's First Public Numbers 30.09.2026 5min

  Retail Gazette reports Armani will meet LVMH, L'Oréal and EssilorLuxottica in the coming weeks over a minority stake, with the will directing an initial 15 per cent sale 12 to 18 months after Giorgio Armani's death and analysts valuing the house at five to seven billion euros. Drapers reports Shein's profits plunged and sales fell in its first quarterly update as a public company, while WWD puts Selfridges at a 13 million pound pre-tax profit for fiscal 2025 against a near 16 million pound loss, with chief executive André Maeder calling for tax-free shopping to return. The Observer frames Versace as the hard test for Lorenzo Bertelli at Prada, after a 54 million dollar operating loss on revenue down 20 per cent.
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  Luxury Loses Its Safe Haven Label 28.09.2026 5min

  {"title": "Luxury Loses Its Safe Haven Label", "description": "Market Screener reads European luxury rediscovering its cyclicality as the S&P Europe Luxury index fades, with LVMH ceding CAC 40 leadership to L'Oreal. FashionNetwork marks Chanel the standout a year into the creative director reshuffle while Gucci lags, and CNN frames Burberry's London Fashion Week closer as heritage tested against nostalgia. UK retail sales rose half a percent in August per ONS data reported by Drapers, with part of the lift attributed to the so-called Burnham bounce."}
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  Deadly Factory Fires, JD Sports Profit Down 20.5% 24.09.2026 4min

  WWD reports eight people were killed in a fire at a denim-washing facility in Foshan, China, the same day two factory incidents in Bangladesh left at least ten workers dead and more than 135 injured, with causes still being established. JD Sports Fashion's operating profit fell 20.5 percent to 294 million pounds in the 26 weeks to August 1, per Drapers, as its chief executive publicly weighed the sneaker market's future, and Luxury Daily columnist Daniel Langer argues 80 percent of recent luxury growth came from price increases rather than volume. Also: Stitch Fix guides to a slowdown, Harrods reopens its Designer Collections room, Asos names Law Roach stylist in residence, and the Natural Diamond Council rebrands as The Diamond Collective.
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  Runway Spend Meets a Slowdown 23.09.2026 5min

  Reuters reports that show season spend in Milan and Paris is masking a worsening slowdown, with LVMH down 37 percent this year and Kering giving back a year of share gains, while a Boston Consulting Group and Altagamma survey projects global luxury growth of 2 to 5 percent and finds about 70 percent of even the wealthiest shoppers have abandoned a purchase over price. Drapers reports Donatella Versace has teamed with Revolve on a fashion and beauty venture aimed at younger consumers, and WWD reports On will launch golf days after its move into soccer, pacing toward 7 billion dollars in annual revenue by 2029. Also moving: the Puech claim against LVMH, Prada's Milan opener and reopened Galleria flagship, and Bloomberg's read on rising clothing prices.
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  CFDA Chief Exits, Martens Leaves Diesel 22.09.2026 4min

  Drapers reports Steven Kolb has stepped down as chief executive of the Council of Fashion Designers of America after an altercation with animal rights activists during New York Fashion Week, with no successor named, and that Glenn Martens is leaving Diesel after his final spring summer 2027 show in Milan. JD Sports enters Mexico through a franchise partnership with Grupo Axo covering 140 stores, per WWD, with the store build out staged from 2027. Bloomberg argues LVMH shares are cheap for a reason, with the stock at its lowest since 2020, and Mothercare has warned on its future after its Middle East franchise partner set plans to close stores.
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  Armani Names Vitale, LVMH-Hermès Rift Reopens 18.09.2026 5min

  Armani names Versace's Dario Vitale creative director of Emporio Armani and Giorgio Armani Accessories, the first outsider in the role, per Luxury Daily, as the trade debates the timing against the stake sale in the founder's will. Reuters documents cited by Modaes show LVMH signed a 2002 agreement to buy Hermès shares from heir Nicolas Puech, who is seeking 14 billion euros in damages over his vanished stake. Next's Lord Wolfson moderates growth expectations, per Drapers, and Mytheresa parent LuxExperience posts a third straight positive EBITDA quarter, with Givenchy on Farfetch, M&S and H&M at London Fashion Week in the quick hits.
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  Primark goes online in Britain, licenses into Mexico 11.09.2026 5min

  Primark is adding home delivery in Great Britain, announced alongside its fourth-quarter trading update, and will enter Mexico through a licensing partnership with El Puerto de Liverpool, per Drapers and WWD. John Lewis Partnership's first-half loss widened to 124 million pounds, which the group attributes to the rising cost of doing business, and Bloomberg reports Louis Vuitton's China sales fell double digits in July and August after its trademark case against Molly Tea drew a patriotic backlash. Also moving: Debenhams sells its Sheffield distribution centre to Primark for 90 million pounds, the British Fashion Council names Pavita Cooper chair, LK Bennett signs a global licensing deal with IMG, Whistles relaunches for its fiftieth anniversary, and DSW pilots an affordable-luxury concept called The Edit.
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  HSBC Cuts LVMH and Burberry to Hold 10.09.2026 4min

  HSBC downgraded LVMH and Burberry to hold from buy, cutting target prices to 490 euros and 1,200 pence on weaker second-half visibility, while keeping buys on Richemont, Kering, Moncler and Prada. WWD counts new luxury store openings down 46 percent in the first half, Inditex gross profit up 8.3 percent to 11.6 billion euros alongside Lefties expansion, and American Eagle's Aerie up 19 percent on comparable sales with a 179 million dollar tariff refund benefit in the quarter. Also: Julie Kegels won the 2026 LVMH Prize, Victoria Beckham opened her first permanent US store in SoHo, and Champion and Ted Baker are launching Netflix tied capsules.
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  China Demands France Halt Its Ultra Fast Fashion Law 09.09.2026 5min

  China's Commerce Ministry has called on France to immediately stop applying its new ultra-fast fashion law, calling it discriminatory and suspecting it breaches WTO rules, per WWD. Also: WWD's Sourcing Journal argues Vietnam's new forced-labor import ban could reshape sourcing through the country, Nike CEO Elliott Hill told shareholders the turnaround will not be a straight line, and H and M named Aneta Pokucinska US managing director alongside an Elie Saab collaboration. Plus UK footfall down 1.7 percent in August, Sabato de Sarno joining Icicle, and outdoor brands topping Kearney's circularity index.
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  Icicle hires Sabato De Sarno, Lululemon cuts guidance again 08.09.2026 5min

  WWD reports Chinese brand Icicle has named former Gucci designer Sabato De Sarno creative director, five months after Kering took a minority stake, with his first collection due for fall 2027. Drapers reports Lululemon's second-quarter operating profit fell 13 percent to 453.7 million dollars alongside a second full-year guidance cut, and Next has overturned a 2024 equal-pay ruling covering shop and warehouse staff. Euratex president Mario Jorge Machado told FashionNetwork.com the EU's three-euro small-parcel tax is not enough, plus Castore's reported sale exploration, a Kering downgrade from Rothschild and Co Redburn, and John Lewis hiring 10,400 Christmas staff.
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  Luxury's China Bet Shifts to American Shoppers 07.09.2026 5min

  Bloomberg Business reports the promised Chinese luxury recovery has not materialized, leaving US demand to carry brands whose assortment and store investment were weighted to China, with industry reaction reading the slump as structural rather than cyclical. RTE frames Shein's listing valuation gap as a bet on future growth, citing revenue above 41.8 billion dollars against slowing growth and falling US sales, while China's Commerce Ministry threatens unspecified measures over France's ultra fast fashion levy. Drapers reports Harvey Nichols suppliers owed 270 million pounds before the Frasers Group acquisition are expected to recover less than 15 pence in the pound.
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  LVMH Hits a Six-Year Low 04.09.2026 5min

  LVMH shares fell to their weakest level since 2020, per Morningstar and Reuters, with Hermès, Kering and Richemont selling off alongside and the STOXX Europe Luxury 10 down 19 percent this year. WWD reports Lululemon's Americas comparable sales fell 12 percent days before Heidi O'Neill takes over as CEO, and Drapers reports Hugo Boss terminated its buyback after Frasers Group flagged a stake above 50 percent. Also covered: France's per-item levy on ultra fast fashion, now in force, and British Vogue's read on whether it will actually curb cheap clothing.
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  PVH's Split Quarter, Marc Jacobs Sold, Hot Topic Changes Hands 03.09.2026 4min

  PVH beat adjusted second-quarter earnings estimates on falling sales while carrying heavy impairment charges, per WWD, and LVMH signed a definitive agreement to sell Marc Jacobs to WHP Global and G-III Apparel Group, per Drapers. Spencer Spirit Holdings completed its purchase of Hot Topic, BoxLunch and Her Universe from Sycamore Partners, and Senate Democrats moved to repeal the Trump tariffs as Canada prepares retaliation, per WWD's Sourcing Journal. Also: UK shop price inflation hit a two-year high at 1.5 percent, Boden's pre-tax profit rose 7.5 percent, France's per-item fast fashion levy took effect, and fine jewelry is outpacing the rest of luxury.
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  Shein Opens Below Its Price 02.09.2026 4min

  Shein's Hong Kong debut closed below its offer price, with the Associated Press via Mail Online putting the drop at about ten percent on a raise of roughly 1.7 billion dollars. France began charging a per item levy on ultra fast fashion, running from 50 euro cents to 12 euros this year, the BBC reports, and China's commerce ministry has called the law discriminatory. LVMH completed the sale of Marc Jacobs to WHP Global and G-III per WWD, and Frasers Group flagged its intention to pursue a stake above fifty percent of Hugo Boss after reaching 47.89 percent, Drapers reports.
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  France Starts Charging Shein, and Italy's Empty CEO Chairs 01.09.2026 5min

  France's ultra fast fashion levy begins charging today, with per item fees running from 50 cents on underwear to 12 euros on a jacket and climbing to 19.50 euros by 2030, per The Straits Times and France 24. Bloomberg argues Shein's founding playbook is now its hard part, as AFP reports the company was valued at 26.3 billion dollars in Monday's Hong Kong listing. Also: WWD on Versace, Prada and Ferragamo running without chief executives, Kohl's hiring Ryan Waymire as chief merchandising officer, and Target pulling a Halloween costume that evoked blackface.
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  Gap's New Old Navy Chief, and Shein's Second Act 31.08.2026 4min

  Drapers reports Gap's net sales fell 2 percent year on year to 3.7 billion dollars in the second quarter, as the retailer named Michael Francis president and chief executive of Old Navy. The New York Times reports Shein is selling other brands access to its supply chain system, a pilot that has signed about 20 brands and generated less than 1 percent of net revenue last year, while the Mail on Sunday reports clothing brands are wary of dealing with Harvey Nichols under Frasers Group ownership over late payment risk. The Business of Fashion reports the RealReal's chief executive says more than 80 percent of its Gen Z and Millennial buyers check the resale market before buying new from luxury brands.
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  Old Navy's New Chief, Typhoon Shuts China's Biggest Ports 28.08.2026 5min

  Gap names former Target and Walmart executive Michael Francis chief executive of Old Navy from November 2, per The Business of Fashion, as WWD reports the retailer trimmed its full-year sales forecast while raising its earnings-per-share outlook. Typhoon Saudel has closed Ningbo-Zhoushan and suspended Shanghai terminal operations on top of berthing delays running since July, WWD reports, and Bloomberg reports Shein founder Sky Xu put discounting at the center of his pitch to Hong Kong listing investors after a roughly 70 billion dollar valuation fall. Also: analysts read Nike and Dick's results as a legacy footwear glut, Vince and Authentic Brands buy Drake's OVO, Nike hires Jane Ewing as chief commercial officer, and Lululemon's top communications officer departs.
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  Canada Matches US Tariffs, Shein's Governance Question 26.08.2026 5min

  Canada will match Washington's new tariffs dollar for dollar, with American apparel among the goods hit, per WWD's Sourcing Journal citing Prime Minister Mark Carney. Reuters reports Shein heads to a September 1 listing with EU and FTC investigations active and four co-founders holding 59.6 percent of shares but 90 percent of voting rights. Dick's Sporting Goods cut its full-year sales and profit forecasts on a cautious consumer, per The Business of Fashion, and The RealReal reports vintage demand up 432 percent since 2020.