The Business of Fashion

We are crossing over into a new era where competitive advantage for major retailers which will come, not through further extraction of value from society, but through contribution of value to society, argues futurist Doug Stephens. Read more.

The “no-makeup” look sounds like a simple concept, but it’s proven to be a minefield, at least for celebrities. Just ask Olivia Culpo, whose offhand remark to Vogue about eschewing mascara and lip liner at her wedding touched off round after round of backlash, and backlash to the backlash on social media. At its heart, the discourse around makeup and “no makeup” is about the endless quest to look good without appearing to try too hard to look good. “The whole ‘no makeup makeup’ thing is always a bit tongue in cheek,” said Lisa Payne, head of beauty at trends agency Stylus. “One could argue that if you’ve made any steps towards making yourself look better, even if you’ve put a moisturiser on, you’ve cosmetically altered yourself.” Culpo has stepped into a fiery section of internet discourse. Wearing too much makeup can attract cries of fakery. But making a show of wearing no makeup at all can draw accusations of being a “pick me girl” (a woman who is deemed to be rejecting feminine traits to impress men) and allegations of being anti-feminist, or trying too hard to be relatable. Read the full story by BoF's Daniela Morosini.

C.P. Company will become the new fashion partner of eight-time Premier League champions Manchester City Football Club for the 2024/25 season onwards, the company told BoF. City players will wear reworked versions of the Italian outerwear label’s clothing ahead of away games in the Champions League from next season onwards, as attention on football players’ pre-game “tunnel ‘fits” continues to increase. The partnership, rumours of which began circulating in March, is somewhat of a full-circle moment for the Italian outerwear label. Its military-style clothing — such as its “goggle” jacket — was adopted en masse by the notorious English football fans of the 1980s and 1990s and became ingrained in British terrace subculture. This association with British football fandom saw its popularity spread to the extent that to this day, the UK remains the brand’s largest market, said chief executive Lorenzo Osti, son of C.P Company founder Massimo Osti. Decades later, this aesthetic has become coveted by fashion consumers and proponents of trends such as “blokecore” which merges the aesthetic of ‘80s and '90s football fans (predominantly working-class British “blokes”) — clothing such as adidas terrace shoes and football jerseys — with fashion-friendly clothing techniques like tailoring. In Manchester City, C.P. Company will benefit from an association with one of the most high-profile teams in world football. It's also a strategic move to help grow sales in Asia, where City already has a large fanbase, Osti said. Get the full details on the partnership from BoF's Sports Correspondent Daniel-Yaw Miller. https://lnkd.in/dZftQHna

C.P. Company will become the new fashion partner of eight-time Premier League champions Manchester City Football Club for the 2024/25 season onwards, the company told BoF. City players will wear reworked versions of the Italian outerwear label’s clothing ahead of away games in the Champions League from next season onwards, as attention on football players’ pre-game “tunnel ‘fits” continues to increase. The partnership, rumours of which began circulating in March, is somewhat of a full-circle moment for the Italian outerwear label. Its military-style clothing — such as its “goggle” jacket — was adopted en masse by the notorious English football fans of the 1980s and 1990s and became ingrained in British terrace subculture. This association with British football fandom saw its popularity spread to the extent that to this day, the UK remains the brand’s largest market, said chief executive Lorenzo Osti, son of C.P Company founder Massimo Osti. Decades later, this aesthetic has become coveted by fashion consumers and proponents of trends such as “blokecore” which merges the aesthetic of ‘80s and '90s football fans (predominantly working-class British “blokes”) — clothing such as adidas terrace shoes and football jerseys — with fashion-friendly clothing techniques like tailoring. In Manchester City, C.P. Company will benefit from an association with one of the most high-profile teams in world football. It's also a strategic move to help grow sales in Asia, where City already has a large fanbase, Osti said. Get the full details on the partnership from BoF's Sports Correspondent Daniel-Yaw Miller. https://lnkd.in/dZftQHna

A consortium led by British tycoon Mike Jatania is nearing a deal to buy struggling UK cosmetics retailer The Body Shop out of administration, people with knowledge of the matter said. Read more.

At a recent Singapore retail convention, an Australian financier recounted how his wife spent her time on a trip to Tokyo. Speaking privately on the sidelines of the event, he revealed that she didn’t spend a single minute sightseeing in the city because she was laser-focused on buying a haul of luxury goods. By taking advantage of highly favourable exchange rates, she found that it was cheaper to purchase a plane ticket from Melbourne to Tokyo and buy the items from major French houses in Japan than it was to shop at the brands’ Australian boutiques. With the Japanese yen continuing to plummet against major currencies — last week it dropped to its lowest level since 1986 against the US dollar — shopping sprees like this have become increasingly common. Wealthy and aspirational consumers from around the world have been flocking to the Japanese capital as the yen hit multi-year lows against the euro, the Australian dollar and the Chinese yuan. Read more.

The fashion industry’s approach to DEI is at a crossroads. Several companies have quietly wound down or renamed their DEI departments; where the role still exists, diversity chiefs are featured less prominently on corporate websites. Kohl’s and GameStop are among the firms that have removed DEI language from annual reports, The Wall Street Journal reported in April. In June, Tractor Supply Co. told customers it was shutting down all of its DEI efforts. Few fashion companies are likely to follow the lead of Tractor Supply Co., which has an overwhelmingly rural, conservative customer base. The best-in-class DEI programmes are evolving quickly, tweaking the language they use to stay off the radar of conservative activists. They’re also moving beyond the box-checking approach that centred on numerical diversity targets, instead putting an emphasis on areas like management training, communication and hiring practices. Diversity specialists are also making the case that they should be considered part of companies’ commercial efforts, rather than an offshoot of charitable giving or human resources. “We are in the repercussions part of the journey,” said Amber Cabral, a DEI strategist who runs her own consultancy. “We’re in the part where you have to decide how you want to show up, and [there’s] a lot more uncomfortable, difficult things happening.” Read the full story by BoF's Sheena Butler-Young.

From sunscreen to bronzer, classic beauty staples see a seasonal boost each summer. But thanks to product format innovations like sticks and sprays, as well as the impact of influencers such as Alix Earle and Katie Fang, summer-oriented products are evolving. With so many different brands competing in sunscreen, search results are yielding clear trends for SPF in terms of active ingredients. The same can be said of bronzer and tanning products, which are seeing growth this summer. And fragrance continues to be a strong spot not just for brands, but also for consumers, thanks to the ongoing popularity of sweet and tropical scents. In Liz Flora’s latest, she dives into what trends are driving beauty purchases this season. https://lnkd.in/eSteeePs

Looking for a new role in fashion? Primark, House of CB, Couverture & The Garbstore and more are hiring: Men’s Footwear Buyer at Primark: https://lnkd.in/gQx-Sryz Senior Graphic Designer at House of CB: https://lnkd.in/gGPUa89X Womenswear and Homeware PR Coordinator at Couverture & The Garbstore: https://lnkd.in/gvKXMBhv #Careers

Dyson Ltd. is set to cut about 1,000 jobs in the UK, almost a third of its workforce there, as part of a broader restructuring at the home and beauty appliances manufacturer. Dyson informed workers on Tuesday and plans to maintain its research and development hub in the country, a person familiar with the announcement said, asking not to be identified because talks with employees are ongoing. The company has 3,500 employees in the UK and reported 14,000 globally as of the end of last year. Read more.