True Religion establishes accessory licensing deal with GMA Group

Image: True Religion True Religion has announced it has made an exclusive licensing agreement with Concept One Accessories and Capelli/Ballet, divisions of multi-business firm GMA Group. The deal covers men’s, women’s and children’s cold weather accessories, fashion headwear and jewellery, as well as handbags, small leather goods and hair accessories. “This is the first time we are bringing the full power of our group to a brand licence opportunity, and represents our new go to market strategy that we will be adopting as we approach new brands and licences,” said Sam Hafif, president and CEO of Concept One, in a release. Hafif continued: “With True Religion, we see an opportunity to drive 50 million to 75 million dollars in retail sales across all of our product categories. We are very excited about this partnership and the power of the True Religion brand.” As part of the agreement, design and creative execution for accessories will be led by the American brand’s creative director Zihaad Wells, with the first collection to launch in stores by August 2022. “This strategic partnership builds on our commitment to elevate and nurture the True Religion customer experience, affording all genders to enjoy our brand across more categories,” said Paul Rosengard, EVP of wholesale and licensing.
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Puma joins the Roblox platform with immersive sports experience

Image: Puma x Roblox Puma has revealed a new sports-based experience within Roblox, an online platform that allows users to explore a virtual world and play games. Made in partnership with Wonder Works studio, ‘Puma and the Land of Games’ is an explorable experience where players can unlock new zones, as well as gain access to virtual Puma sportswear pieces to dress their in-game avatars. Items utilise a new technology recently launched by Roblox, Layered Clothing, which enables users to sport virtual garments on any type of avatar. “We’re excited to bring an engaging and fun sports experience to the Roblox community,” said Adam Petrick, Puma’s chief brand officer, in a release. Petrick continued: “The new Layered Clothing technology allows players to express their creativity and style, enabling our brand to create greater synergies between the physical and digital world.” Additionally, visitors to the online world can take part in immersive mini games and training activities all designed to mirror an athlete’s training lifestyle. Puma is the latest in a string of brands joining Roblox’s metaverse, which mostly caters to younger Gen Z audiences. Most recently, footwear brand Clarks also opened an immersive sports experience through the platform, following the footsteps of Nike, Tommy Hilfiger and Ralph Lauren which each launched a Roblox experience towards the end of 2021.
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Converse unveils playful collaboration with Peanuts

Image: Converse In Pictures Comic strip Peanuts is continuing its fashion collaborations with a limited-edition playful footwear Converse collection for adults and kids launching globally on May 24. Converse celebrates humour and positivity with its Peanut collection that includes Converse sneakers, clothing, accessories, and customisable Chucks. The collaboration aims to bring the memorable stories of Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Woodstock and the rest of the Peanuts gang to life by translating the comic’s playful spirit to classic Converse styles. Highlights include the Chuck 70 with a unique all-over Woodstock camo print, Chuck Taylor All Star for adults and kids featuring a memorable Snoopy and Woodstock moment, and One Star highlighting Snoopy and Woodstock. The collection also includes graphic T-shirts, a crew, a polo, shorts, a bucket hat and a backpack. Image: Converse In addition, as part of Converse By You, the digital customisation experience from the brand, Peanuts fans can also craft their own unique Chuck Taylor All Star and Chuck Taylor All Star DG Slip-on styles, choosing from comic strip panel uppers to Peanuts characters to adorn their shoes. The Converse x Peanuts collection launches May 24 at Converse.com and select retailers. Image: Converse Image: Converse Image: Converse Image: Converse Image: Converse
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Macy’s makes number of sustainable commitments through new partnerships

Image: Macy's Off-price retailer Macy’s Inc. has announced it is joining a number of initiatives and partnerships with the aim of advancing its sustainability and community-centred priorities. The retailer has revealed that it has joined the Better Cotton organisation in support of its goal to use 100 percent “preferred materials” in its exclusive brands by 2030. “Macy’s is proud to join Better Cotton as we continue to take concrete steps towards achieving sustainability production goals with our private brands,” said Keelin Evans, vice president of sustainability at Macy’s Inc. in a release. Evans continued: “As we build on the public commitments outlined in our social purpose platform, we are leveraging key partnerships like Better Cotton to help us attain our sustainability goals throughout our value chain.” Additionally, the company also announced it has donated nearly 1.5 million dollars to the Trust for Public Land (TPL) initiative following a partnership with the organisation that saw it ask customers if they wanted to round-up their in-store purchases for the donation. The funds will go towards the initiative’s Community Schoolyards projects which aid in the transformation of barren public parks. Next to these commitments, Macy’s has also partnered with HERproject’s Business for Social Responsibility to empower women in global factories, as well as the Give Back Box Clothing Recycling Programme, which will see the retailer allow customers to donate unwanted clothing throughout June.
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Whistles collaborates with Hai for SS22

Image: Whistles In Pictures For spring/summer 2022, Whistles has collaborated with Hai, the cult handbag brand born out of silk, for a limited-edition collection. The Whistles x Hai capsule collection features 13 signature Hai styles in 100 percent silk, all reworked to echo the vibrant tones of the Whistles spring/summer 2022 colour palette. The collaboration includes playful handbags, scrunchies, and ready-to-wear styles, such as a lilac bias-cut skirt and coordinating ruffle blouse, as well as two classic slip dresses in bold shades of lime green and hot pink. Image: Whistles Commenting on collaborating with Whistles, Tessa Vermeulen, founder and creative director of Hai, said in a statement: “It’s been such an organic and wonderful process to work together with Whistles. We really wanted to create a capsule of silk staples in opulent, bold and bright tones. These are clothes for day and night, but there’s a celebratory, party feeling to them too.” Gemma Hyde, head of design at Whistles, added: “We are so excited to collaborate with Hai; we have been huge fans of the brand since they launched their signature silk bags. “At Whistles, we are always looking for emerging brands whose ethos aligns with ours, and Hai feels like a perfect pairing for us - lending their attention to timeless styles rather than chasing trends.” The Whistles x Hai collection is available exclusively online at whistles.com and in selected Whistles stores. Prices range from 22 to 198 pounds. Image: Whistles Image: Whistles Image: Whistles Image: Whistles Image: Whistles
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Designer Brands appoints new president of DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse

Image: Designer Brands Footwear retailer Designer Brands has announced the appointment of Doug Howe to president of DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse, one of its retail concepts, as well as to the role of executive vice president of Designer Brands. At DSW, Howe will be responsible for day-to-day leadership of the company, overseeing its direct-to-consumer channels while reporting directly to the group CEO, Roger Rawlins. Howe brings over 30 years of retail experience to the positions, most recently serving as chief merchandising officer at Kohl’s. He has also held leadership roles across merchandising, design, product development and planning at the likes of Old Navy, Walmark and May Department Stores. “Designer Brands and DSW are hyper-focused on maintaining our edge across the competitive landscape,” said Rawlins, in a release. He continued: “I have the highest confidence in Doug's leadership to guide us in our stores and e-commerce operations to benefit our owned brands, while focusing on the athletic and fashion brands that our 28 million loyal customers love. DSW has a bright future ahead with Doug's proven retail experience helping advance our business priorities of customers, brands and speed."
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“Women in Balance” exhibition features Wanda Ferragamo, fashion and post-war years

Image: “Women in Balance” / Ferragamo Museum Since Friday, 20th May, a new exhibition entitled “Women in Balance” is on display at the Ferragamo Museum in Florence. Using the example of Wanda Ferragamo, wife of Salvatore Ferragamo and founder of the eponymous brand, the exhibition traces the social changes experienced by women on their way to emancipation between the end of the 1950s and the early 1960s The exhibition, on view for a year, is a tribute to Wanda Miletti Ferragamo, who led the Salvatore Ferragamo brand from 1960 until her death on 19th October 2018. As the head of the luxury fashion brand, she constantly sought a balance between her work and family. In August 1960, when her husband died, instead of closing the business, she decided to transform an artisanal workshop for women’s shoes into a fashion house, where her children could continue the tradition of innovation and creativity that Salvatore had begun. “Wanda's story shows a woman who masterfully combined the traditional role of a woman devoted to her home, husband and children with her professional duties and responsibilities to the company,” states a press release about the exhibition. “A reserved woman, Wanda Ferragamo did not like to talk about herself or boast of her success. This is why we have decided to honour her memory with an exhibition that examines the complexities of what it was to be a woman in Italy between the fifties and sixties, when Wanda changed the course of her life,” explains a description on the exhibition website. Image: “Women in Balance” / Ferragamo Museum Accordingly, the exhibition is divided into various sections, showing women in their chosen (and often male-dominated) professions, the arts and culture, politics and the workforce, and at home. While the first section is specifically dedicated to Wanda Ferragamo, others examine the lives of Italian women from 1955 to 1965 through the themes of “Family,” “Women's Professions,” “Artists' Studios,” “Domestic Environment, Consumption and Advertising,” “Female Role Models in Cinema,” “Young Women in Focus,” and “Fashion as an Expression of Female Identity.” In doing so, the exhibition is based on the theory that history develops through the actions of a multitude of creative, productive people and not as the result of an absolute principle. Thus, new lifestyles, consumption models, and gender and labour relations emerge. All these factors converged in post-war Italy, during the years that came to be known as the “economic miracle”, a time of profound change for the country, when women were entering different sectors of Italian society, helping to build the Italian republic but also triggering profound cultural and social changes that must be viewed in a long-term perspective in order to grasp their full impact. The exhibition aims to create this perspective. Image: “Women in Balance” / Ferragamo Museum
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The power of data for digital fashion design

Image: Digital assets created by TDFG collaborative partner giz'mo lab As much as we think of fashion as something intuitive, it has always required a great deal of knowledge and information. From the trickle-down and bubble up of fashion trends, to market statistics, and customers sizing details, it is all data which needs to be ethically and fairly processed to adhere to issues concerning privacy. What is the role of the designer in this process? How should we handle this data for creative purposes, not only marketing and sales? Are there possibilities for co-creation using data, or utilizing this technology to engage with the consumer's real time feedback? Is data a friend or foe for the fashion designer? We invited an expert group to answer these and other questions concerning how data can be employed by the fashion designer and the fashion system to optimize and streamline every part of the fashion supply chain. ABOUTThis article is a collaboration between The Digital Fashion Group Academy and FashionUnited, written by Dr Lívia Pinent, Digital Professor for Research at The Digital Fashion Group Academy. Trust your instincts and your data "You can say my gut feeling is backed-up by very early signals data", said Julie Pont, Fashion & Creative Director at Heuritech. The Paris-based startup is a trend forecasting solution for fashion and luxury powered by Artificial Intelligence. Heuritech uses machine learning algorithms to trawl millions of social media images and analyze, with the help of their fashion team, early trend signals and how they are operating in different markets. Traditionally trained as a fashion designer, Pont commented on how it wasn't easy to trust data at first. "I was a bit scared, to be honest, due to my creative background. Could this replace my job? I was intimidated by what could be the added value of data. I was operating on gut feeling, like we do in fashion. As a designer, you know that your instincts and your creativity are the reasons why you've been hired. But I soon realized data is not here to replace designers but to help with the uncertainties." adds the Parisian fashion designer. Pont sees data as a time saver for fashion designers. "As a creative person there are many sources of inspiration you can research but you have so much demand from your customers, from the brand, and your market. Technologies such as AI powered trend research can optimize the time and quality of the designer’s research and improve the decision-making processes. To me, as a fashion designer, I rely on data to secure my creative decisions. It validates my ideas” states Pont. Data analysis and consumer behaviour If from the designer's perspective data can help to make better decisions, from the consumer side, this is not always the case. For Jonathan Chippindale, Founder & CEO of Holition, a creative technology agency in London that creates immersive experiences for retail, the secret to analyse data correctly is to look at consumer behaviour and understand that it can always change. "There is a massive sense of irony with algorithms. We have infinite information and data that we have access to, but algorithms are funneling it down into areas where it thinks we might be more interested and removing areas that are less interesting to us. In some ways, it is pushing us into the middle of the bell curve where you take all the colors, mix them all together, and you end up with grey. It's the average. But that's not human, is it? That's not the way we are. We all dress differently. We will behave differently. We'll talk differently. We all like different things," says Chippindale. And he adds: "If we can recognize where the emotion comes in, if we can recognize behaviour, but also the causes of behaviour and feed all of that into it, that's interesting to me. Recognize a propensity to take risk and a propensity to discover. ‘I want to go on to that mountain top that because the view is going to be great. No one's been up there before, but I'm going to go up there.' That's what digital is all about." For Chippindale, the impact of digital in the fashion industry today is particularly focused on how brands deal with the consumer: "brands have had to let go of control. When I was a marketing director, brands used to tell women what to wear, how to wear it and when to wear it. That behaviour just seems crass today, someone telling you what to wear, that just feels wrong." More data, better products? If telling the consumer what to wear feels wrong, how can brands position themselves when they have access to consumer data and can influence purchasing decisions? The question is about consent, and if I as a consumer, agree to the brand gathering my data and developing better products for my use, the control is with me. But how can a company make consumer consent related to data viable and scalable? For Beth Esponnette, Co-Founder, Chief of Product and Executive Chairman at Unspun, a robotics and digital apparel company building custom-made jeans, the answer is an on-demand system. "The more data, the more information you can get on that person, the more intentional the product is going to be." This is a key concept for Unspun, as Esponnette adds: "We are attempting to flip and start with the customer and then produce a product for them. The customer takes a body scan, chooses the design they want, and then we make the product for them." And does the customer always know exactly what they want? "We have to sift through that", says Esponnette, "If they tell us, 'No, I like to wear my jeans like this', they don't always know exactly how, but this is something that we collected over time and we put into our algorithms. But that leads to two issues: are we working bias? Is there bias in this based on how we've categorized people?" questions Esponnette. The more we research how data can impact the fashion system, the more complex the issue presents itself, making it even more important to know with whom we are sharing our data. Data can be used by fashion designers to better know their customers, to help them in their creative process, to make smarter decisions based on real-time trends, and/or even choosing a different aesthetic option. The opportunities are endless if we respect data and where it comes from. Data is generated by our behaviour as consumers online and offline. All we do, everyday generates data that can help us, or be used against us. The issue is to use it and share it wisely. As Jonathan Chippindale added at end of his interview, "the algorithm is not an oracle, we are the ones who should be questioning.” This article is based on the webinar "Digital Design & Sustainable Futures: The Data" hosted by The Digital Fashion Group Academy. You can watch a sneak peak of the discussion below and the full webinar at TDFGA's website.
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