Net-A-Porter expands personal shopping within Luxury Division

Yoox Net-A-Porter Group will be doubling up on personal shopping and client relations within its Luxury Division. The company, which owns Net-A-Porter and Mr Porter, announced that it will be hiring more than 100 new personal shoppers and client relations managers to tend to its most loyal customers, who the company refers to as Extremely Important People (EIP). According to the announcement, this is the largest client relations recruitment the company has done in its 19-year history.
In addition to expanding its Luxury Division’s client relations services, Yoox Net-A-Porter Group will also be opening Personal Shopping and Client Relations hubs in San Francisco and Dallas, which were recognized for “their growing customer base and increasing levels of demand for the enhanced service.”
“The role of personal shopper has evolved hugely in recent years and today our team fulfills a variety of different roles. Not only do they anticipate our customers’ ever-changing luxury needs and solve their wardrobe dilemmas before they even arise, they become part of their daily lives,” said Alison Loehnis, Yoox Net-A-Porter’s president of the Luxury Division, in a statement. “Local knowledge and an understanding of lifestyle has never been more important. We’re therefore delighted to be expanding the team in terms of scale as well as introducing new locations, to give even more of our most engaged and loyal customers around the world access to this fantastic market-leading service.”


* This article was originally published here

Fall Winter 2020-21 Key Women's Theme Direction

Trendstop brings FashionUnited readers an early preview of one of the key thematic influences for Fall Winter 2020-21 womenswear.
The Trendstop team give FashionUnited readers an exclusive look at an essential FW20-21 Macro Theme that will be inspiring your next women's ready-to-wear collections. Global Heritage taps into the growing consumer desire for authentic experiences and adventure travel, offering an outward looking vision that celebrates world cultures and puts a contemporary spin on artisanal traditions that can be applied across apparel, footwear and accessories categories. Our curated seasonal Macro Themes evaluate each trend's commercial value and longevity, giving you the best possible basis for your decision making.
This week Trendstop present three aspects of Global Heritage. A multi-destination approach sees a fusion of cultural aesthetics applied to fashion product. Modern updates of traditional processes elevate print and surface treatments while textural handles create dimensional interest.

Apparel

Hand crafted knits introduce the artisanal effect to apparel via rustic, open weaves, expressive statement fringing and bold patterning that mix and match a variety of global influences. Long lines and layering are key with maxi lengths and elongating, tunic-style co-ords creating a relaxed wanderer vibe.

Images courtesy of Trendstop, left to right: M Missoni Pre Fall 2019, JW Anderson Fall Winter 2019-20, Tory Burch Fall Winter 2019-20.

Print & Materials

The classic stripe reflects the global perspective, referencing traditional weaving techniques and introducing a crafted quality to heavy weight materials while etched surfaces lend a linen-look rusticity to raw indigo denims. Undone yarns and fringed effects bring a softly deconstructed look to hand knits.

Images courtesy of Trendstop, left to right: Anteprima, Di Ve, Shanghai Domore Import & Export, all Fall Winter 2019-20.

Footwear & Accessories

Authentic craftsmanship comes to the fore as footwear and accessories reference global making techniques. Woven constructions, whip-stitched leather worked uppers and DIY yarn-wrapped pieces bring a uniquely personal quality and a youthful appeal to statement products.

Images courtesy of Trendstop, left to right: Christian Dior, Roksanda, Stella McCartney, all Fall Winter 2019-20

Exclusive Offer

FashionUnited readers can get free access to Trendstop's Fall Winter 2019-20 Key Themes Directions report, featuring all the essential catwalk themes for the season. Simply click here to receive your free report.

Trendstop.com is one of the world's leading trend forecasting agencies for fashion and creative professionals, renowned for its insightful trend analysis and forecasts. Clients include H&M, Primark, Forever 21, Zalando, Geox, Evisu, Hugo Boss, L'Oreal and MTV.


* This article was originally published here

Lenzing presents new blockchain technology in Hong Kong

The Lenzing Group has made a huge leap forward in introducing blockchain technology, allowing for a new level of transparency and traceability in the textile industry. After joining the platform of the technology company TextileGenesis(TM) earlier this year, the world market leader in specialty fibers made from the renewable raw material wood presented the first pilot at this year's Fashion Summit in Hong Kong on September 05, 2019. This pioneering pilot project was conducted in close cooperation with TextileGenesis(TM), WWF and Hong Kong based brand Chicks.
A baseline survey on EU consumer attitudes to sustainability and supply chain transparency in the fashion industry conducted by Ipsos MORI in October 2018 shows that a large majority of consumers (80 %) wants brands to disclose their supply chain. The blockchain technology enables brands and consumers to identify TENCEL(TM) branded fibers across each production and distribution step from fiber-to-retail of the finished garment or home textiles. The technology also allows consumers to verify the garment composition and the underlying textile supply chain at the point of sale, simply by scanning the barcode with a mobile device.
"Together with TextileGenesis(TM) we pursue the ambitious goal to achieve an unparalleled level of transparency for fashion brands and consumers. We will use blockchain technology to maximize the digital traceability of fibers, thus making an important contribution to green up the fashion industry", says Stefan Doboczky, Chief Executive Officer of the Lenzing Group. "This strong belief in and commitment to sustainability will support the business with TENCEL(TM) fibers."
In an industry's first, Lenzing issued blockchain based TENCEL(TM) fibercoins to its supply chain partners in direct relation to physical shipments. These digital tokens serve as an authentication mechanism, against any adulteration, and provides secure digital chain-of-custody across the entire textile value chain. Recognizing that data integrity and ease of use are critical, the supply chain players conducted transactions through the data upload mechanism on the platform. To ensure real-world complexity, a total of 49 distinct garment stock- keeping unit (~25000 pieces), of Chicks, were tracked on the digital platform from fibers up to retail.
"This is an important milestone for the apparel industry. Our focus is to drive meaningful step-change in an industry where less than 5 percent of top 250 apparel brands can track their garments back to the fiber origin", says Amit Gautam, CEO & Founder of TextileGenesis(TM).
Lenzing is carrying out further pilot tests over the next few months involving partners along the entire value chain and expects the platform to be fully operational as of 2020.(DPA)


* This article was originally published here

100 Hot Girls Beby & Baba Dresses in USA

Poland Dresses - Brand Tuszyte

100 Hot Girls Beby Dresses in Poland

Colorful short-sleeved dress made of high quality cotton decorated with Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certificate. Trustworthy textiles.Model with a round neckline and a flared bottom.Impressive sleeves have been finished with wide frills.

Producer :	Lalabubu
Color :	multicolour
Material :	95% cotton, 5% elastane
Certificate :	Oeko-Tex Standard 100 Trustworthy textiles
Country :	Poland Visit The Brand Website in Poland

Visit The Brand Website in Poland

Visit The Brand Website in Poland

Visit The Brand Website in Poland

Visit The Brand Website in Poland

Visit The Brand Website in Poland

Visit The Brand Website in Poland

Will casting diversity rule the SS20 fashion weeks?

European fashion designers have often been accused of conservative casting practices, favouring young Caucasian models in their campaigns and on their catwalks.
When official figures from the Runway Diversity Report by The Fashion Spot were released in March, New York proved to the most racially diverse of all the main fashion weeks, with nearly half of all models cast, 45.8 percent were of colour.
London, a champion of directional fashion, lacks catwalk diversity
In London, fashion week saw a decrease in racial diversity where non-white models made up 35.7 percent of runways castings. Milan saw an increase of 1.0 percent to 31.8 percent models of colour. Paris fashion week came in second place as the most racially diverse, casting a total of 39 percent models of colour, the largest increase of all fashion weeks of 6.6 percent.
According to the European shows that were examined in the report, only six featured size diversity. For Fall 2019, Paris, which had one non-straight-size model appearance in Spring 2019 and only three the season prior, had the most castings in this category of any European city (nine, an all-time high). Tommy Hilfiger’s show cast featured 7 plus-size models. The London catwalks featured the most plus-size castings (four, a record for the city) than any other European city. Two plus-size models — Daniel Lismore and Emma Breschi — walked at Vivienne Westwood.
In Milan there was not a single plus-size model seen on the official catwalk schedule.
In Spring 2019, casting of models who openly identify as transgender or non-binary reached an all-time high with 91 (1.23 percent) models in either category (83 trans women, eight non-binary models) walking in a total of 52 shows.
By contrast, Fall 2019 marks the first time that the number of trans and non-binary castings has shrunk. Only 56 (0.77 percent) openly transgender women and non-binary models walked in all of fashion month.
In terms of age diversity, London fell to the bottom of the pile with five over-50 castings: three at Vivienne Westwood, two at Simone Rocha — both longtime advocates for older model visibility.
In Milan, which last season had the most over-50 model appearances of any city outside of New York — and the most in its history — only six models age 50 or over walked the runway. That is three less than in Spring 2019, but considerably better than Fall 2018’s two. Donatella Versace and Daniela Gregis continued their practice of hiring over-50 models (Stephanie Seymour and Benedetta Barzini, respectively). Pat Cleveland, the season’s most-booked over-50 model, walked at Laura Biagiotti.
Of the 221 shows surveyed last season, Milan’s Daniela Gregis featured zero models of colour.
Image: courtesy of Fashion Scout

* This article was originally published here

Zara accused of coalition with Hong Kong demonstrators

While the city of Hong Kong hopes to celebrate with optimism the next edition of the Centrestage fashion event, the riots hanging over the region for 13 weeks have placed the Spanish Zara in the center of all eyes. After the harsh protests of this weekend and the day of student strikes last Monday.
It all began after the Hong Kong newspaper Ming Pao asked through a headline whether Monday's closure of four of Zara's stores in central Hong Kong responded to a demonstration of support for the protests and the day of strike called by different student organizations. A question that was quickly reproduced by Chinese media and users of social networks like Weibo. Under the hashtag "Zara statement" they invited the Spanish company, the main firm of the giant Inditex, to pronounce itself-at the same time they turned the mentioned hashtag into one of the most popular topics of the Chinese network, with more than 170 million interactions.
Finally, and in a very unusual movement within the Spanish company, Zara was pushed to issue a statement through the Weibo network itself, in which it claimed to support the policy of "one country, two systems" under which China currently governs Hong Kong. As well as "never" having been related to the protests, nor having made any statement about the demonstrations and strikes.

The Cause: Employee Mobility Problems

Sources close to the Spanish group would have assured, as reported by media such as Reuters, that some Zara stores in Hong Kong had been forced to delay the opening of establishments last Monday. Because of the problems of mobility and public transport that their employees would have suffered as a result of the protests. But all Zara stores in the region finally opened their doors that day.
This is not the first time the Beijing government has used social networks and the media to pressure its people against certain international firms and groups. A measure by which it seeks a public declaration of support for its sovereignty over the Hong Kong region.
Just a few weeks ago, firms and groups such as Versace, Givenchy and Coach were accused of violating China's territorial sovereignty because of T-shirts that included Taiwan. Another territory of the regions claimed by Beijing that is not an independent country from China. This fact also splashed over Zara last year, after the territory appeared independently in a country drop-down on its China website.
Inditex currently has 31 stores in Hong Kong, 14 Zara stores, 6 Pull&Bear, 5 Bershka, 2 Massimo Dutti, 2 Oysho stores and 2 Zara Home stores. Meanwhile, in mainland China, the Spanish group has 580 stores, of which 178 are from its Zara chain, 88 from Oysho, 87 from Massimo Dutti, 67 from Pull&Bear, 85 from Bershka, 44 from Stradivarius, 1 store from Uterqüe and 50 Zara Home stores.
This article was originally written for FashionUnited.ES, edited and translated.
Photos: Inditex, official Facebook page


* This article was originally published here

Preview: What to expect for the spring / summer 2020 fashion weeks

INTERACTIVE The new ready-to-wear catwalk season is upon us with New York Fashion Week kicking off the spring / summer 2020 collection presentations a few days from now. After New York the fashion circus will move to London Fashion Week, then Milan Fashion Week and finish up early october with Paris Fashion Week. FashionUnited has compiled a comprehensive overview of the most highly anticipated shows and presentations coming up.

Scroll down to navigate through the interactive map

Hit the button
'Start Exploring' and use the arrows to explore the map
Photo: Burberry SS19, Credit: © Catwalkpictures.com


* This article was originally published here

Fashion goes fur free: is France falling behind the times?

Faced with increasing opposition to fur from the general public, more and more brands are withdrawing it from their collections, the most recent of these being Olivier Rousteing, artistic director at Balmain, who announced the brand was scrapping the animal product. But has France fallen behind its European neighbours on the subject?
According to a survey carried out in February 2019 by European research firm IFOP (Institut français d'opinion publique), 91 percent of French people said they were against selling fur. While fur it is still considered by many as being warm, luxurious and one of the most durable materials on earth, on the catwalk the question appears to be reaching a point of no-return with the withdrawal of fur from increasingly more collections.

The non-fur movement in the fashion industry

In particular, this new commitment for the fashion world echoes the increasing opposition by the general public to fur and to the cruel practices from which it often comes: the capture and gassing, electrocution or clubbing to death of animals on breeding farms. Some animals are also killed using metal clamp traps - a method that Canada Goose has been accused of using to trap coyotes for their fur used to embellish the collars of the parka coats of the Canada Goose brand. Many animals killed in this way day slowly of blood loss.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) of the United States recently told the association People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) in the United States that, further to a complaint by the association relating to the advertising practices of Canada Goose, the latter had ceased to claim that its standards “ensure” that its suppliers do not mistreat the animals. At the heart of the design process, traceability is in fact not always possible.
Shocking images and videos, petitions, demonstrations by PETA, have been like electric shocks that for around three years have created a tidal wave movement in favour of the protection of animals in the fashion industry. As a result, Burberry, Chanel, Gucci, Versace, Maison Margela, Giorgio Armani among others, have all stated that they have stopped using fur.

A further addition to this long list is Olivier Rousteing, artistic director of Balmain, who recently announced in Vogue that the brand had put an end to the use of animal fur in its collections. “I took this decision about eighteen months ago. I had seen so many documentaries and reached a point at which I could no longer pretend that I did not know,” Rousteing said in a statement. “Now, suppliers are trying to ensure that false fur resembles real fur, and it’s crazy what they can create.”

French brands struggle to give up fur

In France, however, there are still very few big luxury brands that have taken a position on the subject. Synonymous with luxury, know-how and craftsmanship, in Paris fur still had a strong presence on catwalks in the Autumn-Winter 2019 collections. The following brands used fur:
Chanel, Dior, Guy Laroche, Hermès, Isabel Marant, Lanvin, Leonard Paris, Louis Vuitton and Saint Laurent (according to the list released by the Centre National d’Information sur la Fourrure, the National Centre for Information on Fur).
With regard to animals being bred for their fur, no real figures seem to be available. “In France, there are a dozen mink-breeding farms as well as 25 rabbit fur breeding farms,” said PETA France. According to the Fourrure Française (French fur) website, certain furs, such as rabbit or lamb, come directly from animals that are consumed for their meat.

The powerful voice of French luxury fashion

Aimed at the luxury industry and supported by high fashion houses in France, the French fur sector is still important and has earned “300 million euros in revenue, a figure that remains stable,” according to Pierre-Philippe Frieh, spokesman for the Fédération Française des Métiers de la Fourrure (FFMF, French Federation for the Fur Profession), contacted by BFMTV.com in April 2019. “Exports alone represent 100 million euros, a figure that has been constantly increasing for 5 years,” he added. Although France is not a large producer of fur in the global scene, it nevertheless remains a leading light in the luxury world.
And what if the country, following the example of Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, the Republic of Macedonia, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Serbia and Slovenia, ended the production of fur? The message to the fashion world would certainly have an impact.
There still remains the matter of false fur. Is it a sustainable alternative? Produced from petrochemicals, it is still a big pollutant and is already posing some serious problems relating to biodegradability. And what if the wearing of fur in any form whatsoever was simply banned?
This article was originally published on FashionUnited.FR. Translated and edited by Huw Hughes.
Photos: Lanvin Silhouette, AH Collection 2019 (website) - "Wearefur" communication campaign, Fur Now 2019.


* This article was originally published here