Anna Wintour teaches online course on business leadership

If you could receive career advice from anyone in the world, who would you choose? In the fashion industry, Vogue’s editor-in-chief Anna Wintour would definitely be among the most cited names. At the helm of the influential magazine for over 30 years, Wintour has established herself as an icon of business leadership (2003 novel The Devil Wears Prada, which generated the high-grossing film launched in 2006, is said to be inspired by her).

Now such a mentorship is possible. Wintour has partnered up with e-learning platform MasterClass to launch an online course on ‘how to be a boss’. “I know many people are curious about who I am and how I approach my work. This class is for those who want to understand my leadership style,” she says in a video posted on the platform’s website.

The course includes 12 lessons covering topics such as developing a creative vision, recognizing talent, investing in your team, making tough decisions, evolving a brand, and finding a voice. Students can follow the lessons at their own pace for 16.67 US dollars a month, paid annually, or 100 US dollars for each class. The package also offers an inside look at the Vogue meetings following fashion week season and the Met Gala.

Those under the impression Wintour runs a tight ship, based on her authoritative image in popular culture, may be surprised by her words in the introductory video. “I don’t believe in micromanaging. It’s important to empower those who are working with you because you are nothing without a good team. It’s important to surround yourself with a team whose opinions you trust, who are not in any way frightened of disagreeing with you. And you have to listen”.

Wintour has recently taken an additional role within Vogue’s publisher Condé Nast. Since August, she also serves as global content advisor for the Vogue brand, advising the executive leadership team on global content opportunities and acting as a resource to editors-in-chief and editorial talent worldwide.

* This article was originally published here

Guess introduces sustainability initiative with Guess Eco collection

As sustainability becomes a more prominent movement in the fashion industry, brands are beginning to take initiatives for a more environmentally friendly production output. Case in point: Guess’s Guess Eco collection. The collection, which includes clothing for both men and women, is made up of environmentally conscious manufacturing materials.

According to the brand, the Guess Eco collection is a part of the brand’s goal to develop 25 percent of its denim and source 20 percent o its materials according to the Guess Eco by 2021. Though Guess Eco initially started in 2016 in Europe, the collection is now available globally each season, beginning with the Fall 2019 collection.

The Guess Eco collection uses water-saving techniques and environmentally friendly methods to procue all of its denim for this season. In addition, non-denim styles are made with Tencel lyocell from Lenzing, an eco-friendly alternative to traditional cotton.

“The evolution of the Guess Eco denim to include Tencel x Refibra brings circularity to denim by utilizing cotton scraps without compromising quality or aesthetics,” said Tricia Carey, the director of global business development at Lenzing. “With the technology in fiber developments, Guess is on a path to reduce its environmental footprint. We are pleased to partner with Guess as they raise customer awareness with educational messages across digital and retail platforms.”

The Guess Eco collection is available online at Guess’s website as well as the company’s retail locations.

Images: Courtesy of Guess

* This article was originally published here

The Titans of New York Fashion Week

Equal parts mad-hatters ball, girls on the prairie and crazy cat lady, Marc Jacobs closed New York Fashion Week with the jazziest of shows. “So much fun and joy,” Jacobs cried on Instagram, who took his bow in patent red platform heels and a matching Chanel tweed blazer.

Jacobs has brazenly come out of his (Fabergé) shell since exiting Louis Vuitton, publicly surviving postpartum Paris depression, store closures, commercial setbacks and the nagging existential question of his brand’s relevance. The answer, it appears, is to not GAF and have fun. Jacobs is finding a renewed success with his mandate of rebel fabulousness, changing the course of corporate fashion one floral prairie gown at a time.

Tom Ford

Tom Ford took a subterranean route this season, showcasing his SS20 collection on a disused subway platform backlit in electric pink, a nod to Andy Warhol and Edie Sedgwick coming to surface out of one of Manhattan’s ubiquitous manholes. Perhaps it was a reference to NYFW, which has been stuck at fashion's shallow end for countless seasons, but since this week began making waves.

Ford, the newly appointed Chairman of the CFDA, said in his show notes it “was a time for ease and return to the kind of luxurious sportswear that America has become known for all over the world.” He cemented the notion with the first five looks which focused on wearable daywear, proposing jersey t-shirts tucked into sporty satin skirts. Elsewhere, bralets, worn under jackets and cut-away dresses, exuded the kind of glamour he once showed at Gucci. In this iteration they were sporty rather than high octane, coming in Ford’s signature jewel tones, like metallic green and purple.

Tommy Hilfiger

Tommy Hilfiger has created a unique fashion week niche for himself, continuing his see-now-buy-now calendar, forging successful celebrity collabs and staging public inclusive events around the globe. All of which deliver parent company PVH healthy dividends.

Hilfiger is neither a fixture beholden to show during New York Fashion Week each season, see recent outings in Paris, London, Los Angeles, Milan and Shanghai, yet neither is he the pariah who left and isn’t welcome back. After a three year hiatus, Hilfiger showed what America does best, luxe sportswear with a twist.

Ralph Lauren

American fashion veteran Ralph Lauren took his collection to Wall Street for his in-season show, where press and buyers were treated to a performance by Janelle Monae at a one-night-only jazz extravaganza. Harking back to the 20s and 30s, the tuxedo reigned supreme, from Gigi Hadid in the opening look to dresses, jackets, halter tops and skirts with cummerbunds. Beyond Hollywood and the cinematic Art Deco surroundings, Lauren does a classic silhouette unlike any other American designer.

Images: Homepage Ralph Lauren SS20 and Tom Ford SS20, via Catwalkpictures. Tommy Hilfiger counrtesy of the brand.

* This article was originally published here

9 sustainability efforts announced in August 2019

Sustainability has finally become more than just a buzzword with brands, retailers and innovative companies following through and taking responsibility. August saw brands especially becoming ambitious and setting sustainable targets for themselves in terms of water consumption, materials used and carbon emissions. Thirty-two even came together to form the Fashion Pact that wants to tackle the fashion industry’s impact on the environment. FashionUnited has put together nine such efforts that were announced in the month of August alone.

Kappahl celebrates sustainability milestone with autumn denim ranges

Swedish fashion retailer Kappahl announced that with the launch of its autumn collections, it has achieved its 2020 target of manufacturing 100 percent of its denim range in more sustainable fabrics and using more sustainable production processes. According to the company the “key milestone” means all denim in the new collections is produced using less water, energy and chemicals.

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Primark targets 100 percent sustainable cotton

Irish fast fashion retailer Primark has announced a fivefold increase to its Sustainable Cotton Programme, which trains cotton farmers in environmentally-friendly farming methods, as it strives to use 100 percent sustainable cotton across all its product categories. Primark plans to train cotton farmers across three of its key sourcing countries - India, Pakistan and China by the end of 2022.

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Fashion industry leaders present sustainability initiatives to G7

A new sustainability initiative called the Fashion Pact saw 32 of the world’s leading brands and textile companies sign up to work together to mitigate the impact of the fashion industry on the environment. The Fashion Pact coalition includes luxury, fashion, sports and lifestyle groups and brands along with suppliers and retailers, all of whom are already involved in separate environmental strategies. François-Henri Pinault, chairman and CEO of luxury fashion group Kering, unveiled the Fashion Pact to the heads of the G7.

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Levi's announces a new global water action strategy

American clothing company Levi Strauss & Co. has announced a new water action strategy. Highlights include: working with key suppliers to set and achieve specific water use targets for factories, collaborating with suppliers and other brands at the local level to develop programs that improve the long-term health of watersheds in key sourcing locations and reducing the amount of water required for cotton cultivation by partnering with the Better Cotton Initiative. The company has set a goal to reduce its cumulative water use for manufacturing by 50 percent in water-stressed areas by 2025.

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Abercrombie & Fitch announces new sustainability targets

American lifestyle retailer Abercrombie & Fitch announced new sustainability targets it aims to accomplish in the next few years. These goals include responsibly sourcing its materials by using either recycled fibers or fibers made with a sustainable process by 2025, reducing water use in denim by 30 percent by 2022 and instituting training programs for its vendor partners to educate about health and wellness by 2022.

More sustainable initiatives:

• 11 sustainability efforts announced in July 2019
• 13 Sustainability efforts announced in June 2019
• 10 Sustainability efforts announced in May 2019

Stay tuned for our update on new sustainable initiatives in the fashion world next month.

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P.E. Nation launches first athleisure set made from recycled materials

Australian activewear brand P.E. Nation took steps further into the sustainability world as it launched its first athleisure set, the Strike Set, which is made using a sustainable tech fabric called Vita Power by Carvico. This material not only provides recovery power and muscular compression but aims to reduce the amount of lactic acid produced for a faster recovery.

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Volcom launches ‘Water Aware’ denim collection

American fashion and lifestyle brand Volcom has launched its ‘Water Aware’ denim collection as part of its ongoing journey to sustainability, which will see the brand reducing its water consumption by 40 percent - an estimated 4 million litres - by the end of the year. This collection is also ‘stoneless,’ which means the production process for denim no longer uses pumice stone in the wash process, resulting in less energy consumption overall.

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Gap signs new renewable energy agreement to slash carbon emissions

American clothing and accessories retailer Gap has announced a new renewable energy agreement that the retailer says will help it meet its 2020 emissions-reduction target, as well as a new goal to use only 100 percent clean energy by 2030. Gap said the agreement is one of the largest off-site renewable energy contracts by an apparel retailer.

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Aldo and Call it Spring to eliminate single use shopping bags

Canadian-based footwear and accessories company The Aldo Group has announced that both Aldo and Call It Spring will phase out all single-use shopping bags from corporate stores globally, as part of the company's continued efforts toward sustainability. The new initiative encourages customers to opt for an eco-designed shoebox made from recycled material and with a built-in handle that makes single-use bags obsolete.

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Also read:

• Nordstrom introduces "Sustainable Style" category to e-commerce site
• Can the fast fashion business model embrace sustainability?
• Forget G7, slow fashion is the fast track to a bright future
• France to prohibit the destruction of unsold stock: who is going to pay for that?
• The second hand clothing market is thriving
• Meet Frances Austen, the brand creating conscious cashmere
• Three quarters of fashion and retail bosses say more sustainability regulations needed
• “Sustainability and alpaca are synonyms,” says Director of Trade Commission of Peru in New York
• True sustainability will take three years, predict UK retailers

Photos: courtesy of P.E. Nation, Primark, Abercrombie & Fitch, Volcom

* This article was originally published here

Fashion resale company Vestiaire Collective to allow customers to buy directly from vendors

As the resale market continues to grow, fashion resale company Vestiaire Collective—which provides a platform for its members to list and sell clothes to potential buyers—is introducing a new option for its customers, which will allow them to buy products directly from approved vendors. As a result, the French company will not be putting these products through its authentication process and buyers will save 10 EUR per purchase.
According to Fashion Network, Vestiaire Collective will have two new certifications, Recommended Vendor and Expert Vendor, as part of its new service in order to help buyers identify which sellers have a reliable history with authentic products. The new option, noted as Direct Delivery, will only apply to products that are available for 200 EUR and under among a selection of 2,000 labels.
The new service is currently available to all EU customers, with plans to extend to all Vestiaire Collective markets in 2020.


* This article was originally published here

C&A adds two new members to its board of directors

Global fashion retail business C&A AG has appointed Allan Leighton as Chairman and Alexander Birken as board director. The company said, Leighton and Birken are both highly experienced business leaders with a strong track record in the retail sector, both in executive and non-executive roles and together with the current board members, they will oversee the ongoing development and execution of C&A’s global business strategy.
“With these appointments we are adding two highly experienced retail professionals to C&A AG. Allan Leighton has a strong track record of guiding businesses to adapt rapidly to evolving market and consumer behaviour, which will complement Alexander Birken’s experience in retail and his knowledge of running ecommerce businesses,” said Boudewijn Beerkens, CEO of COFRA Holding, parent company of C&A in a statement.
Leighton, who replaces Martijn Brenninkmeijer at C&A, is currently Chair of the Co-op Group, and was previously chairman of the Royal Mail, CEO of Asda PLC, and president of Walmart Europe. He has been chair or CEO of several retailers, including deputy chair of Selfridges, president of Loblaw companies and chairman and CEO of Pandora AS.
Birken is currently Chairman and CEO of the Otto Group and before that was chief operating officer of US direct marketing and catalogue company, Spiegel.
Picture credit:C&A Ag


* This article was originally published here

Tom Ford aimes to kick New York Fashion Week into gear

Tom Ford, Rihanna, and the return of big names including Tommy Hilfiger herald a promised new era for New York Fashion Week which kicked off Friday September 6 after a run of underwhelming seasons. American designer Tom Ford is credited with reviving Gucci in the 1990s and has quickly set about trying to do the same for Fashion Week, shortening its length and strengthening its diversity.
"I want global exposure to the creativity that is in New York," said Ford, who in June became chairman of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) which runs Fashion Week.
"Everything is too inward-looking in this country. So American star designers, they leave. Virgil Abloh, where is he? He's at Vuitton. "You go to Paris and you become global. You stay in New York, and you're in New York," he added in the interview with Vogue, published in August. Ford drove the CFDA's decision to cut this year's Fashion Week from seven to five days, a move insiders have been calling for years to strengthen the event.
The women's shows -- which traditionally kicked off on a Wednesday night -- began on Friday evening and will run through the evening of Wednesday, September 11. Ford's background is a significant departure from that of his predecessor Diane Von Furstenberg, who chaired the CFDA for 13 years. Her house "DVF" has called New York home for half a century, while Ford, a Texan by birth, worked in Italy and England for a time before settling in Los Angeles.
New York is the first of the season's four big fashion weeks and tightening the schedule makes it more attractive to buyers and foreign media scoping out talented new designers.

Ford ushers in a new era of diversity

"A shortened week is more economical and expeditious for attendees, especially those coming to New York from abroad," said Steven Kolb, president and chief executive officer of the CFDA. New York has struggled in recent years with several leading designers opting to showcase their collections elsewhere, including in Paris and even Los Angeles.
Abloh, Rodarte, Altuzarra, Thom Browne and Alexander Wang have been among high-profile names to skip the event recently, leading some commentators to speculate whether New York Fashion Week was over. There are early signs that its revival has already begun under Ford with several famous designers returning to the event, such as Tommy Hilfiger who is back for the first time in almost three years.

Rihanna returns to New York Fashion Week

Pop icon Rihanna will present her bestselling lingerie line Savage X Fenty after it premiered in September 2018.
Before the official kickoff by Ford, several collections were presented Friday, including Rag & Bone and Jeremy Scott. Rag & Bone returned to the runway after a three-year absence, but with a new conceptual show that included dancers, an orchestra and an artificial intelligence camera that loomed over participants.
The collection was in keeping with the cosmopolitan spirit of the label, and was characterized by light and breadth, in an ode to mobility. Far from the sobriety of Rag & Bone, Jeremy Scott lived up to his reputation as a troublemaker, with florescent prints and a retro-futuristic look.
This year's line-up also includes the latest from acclaimed Haitian-American designer Kerby Jean-Raymond's Pyer Moss line. Telfar, Tomo Koizumi and Khaite are also high on the hot list. Diversity will again be a major theme. The CFDA is committed to having a greater range of models from different ethnic groups and representing varied body shapes.
The council recently appointed Jean-Raymond, Abloh and British designer Carly Cushnie, who are all black, to its board. Chilean-born designer Maria Cornejo also joined. "Diversity, inclusion, and model well-being are key to our efforts, as is showcasing young talent, which is core to our work," said Kolb.(AFP)
Photo courtesy of CFDA


* This article was originally published here