The Debrief

As the economy weakens and funding dries up, digital brands may face pressure to sell from investors. To do so, they’ll need to prove they’re more than just another money-losing start-up. Background: Over the past few years, investors have been bullish on fast-growing digital brands — rewarding their rapid sales growth with sky-high valuations. More recently, physical retail has rebounded and e-co...

The BoF Insights team shares details from their recent report on why these young consumers are so crucial to the success of the fashion industry — and what brands can do to woo them.  Background:   Gen-Z, or those born between 1997 and 2010, accounts for 25 percent of the world’s population. With the oldest of the generation turning 25 this year, the group has already come into its...

A panel of experts, including BoF’s Lauren Sherman and Diana Pearl, detail how the business of influencing has evolved — and where it's all going. Things move fast on the internet. In just the past few years, there have been a number of changes in the social media space and the influencer economy built around it. For one, brands are betting on influencers with day jobs, working with creators like...

Background:  After years of build up, from its origins in cultural movements like New York’s hip-hop scene and LA’s skating community to early commercialisation in the early 2000s from brands like Fubu and Stussy and Japanese designers Nigo and Hiroshi Fujiwara, by the late 2010s, streetwear found itself at the centre of luxury fashion. The breaking point came in 2018, when, after success at...

Simon Porte Jacquemus is one of fashion’s hottest independent designers — and his namesake label is one of its most impressive businesses. The company, known for its tiny bags and minimalist playfulness, is on track to double annual revenues to over €200 million ($199 million) by year-end, with plans to reach €500 million by 2025. The designer has been able to build buzz with his clear brand visio...

BoF editor-at-large Tim Blanks describes the designer and businessman’s life, continuing impact on fashion, mysterious succession plans and newfound vulnerability. Background Over his decades-long career, Giorgio Armani has built one of fashion’s most successful businesses. Known for his signature tailoring and functional glamour, at 88, he’s retained his dominance in an ever-changing, hyper-compe...

How the 75-year-old luxury house tripled its revenue in just four years, according to BoF luxury editor Robert Williams.  Background:  In 1947, months after being founded, Christian Dior Couture revolutionised dressing with its “New Look,” an exaggerated hourglass-shaped silhouette. In the ’80s, the then-withering brand was bought by entrepreneur Bernard Arnault, who would eventually tra...

Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard’s is giving away his billion-dollar company. BoF chief sustainability correspondent Sarah Kent explains why — and what influence the change could have on the culture of business.   Background:  Patagonia has long been the standard bearer for responsible capitalism: the jackets and fleece maker has donated 1 percent of all sales — which top $1 bi...

After years of speculation, designer e-tailers are finally consolidating in an effort to increase profits and gain market share. BoF’s Robert Williams and Tamison O’Connor unpack what’s in store for major players including Farfetch, YNAP and MatchesFashion.  Background:  The launch of Net-a-Porter in 2000 changed fashion forever, heralding the first phase of luxury e-commerce, and inspir...

BoF’s retail correspondent Cathaleen Chen joins The Debrief to discuss how the mall brand plotted a turnaround that’s starting to pay off. Background: Gap Inc. has had a hard year, accented last week by a dramatic Ye break-up following an anticlimactic retail roll-out of Yeezy Gap, which it staked its comeback on a year ago. Old Navy sales sank, and its once fast-growing sportswear label Athleta h...

Louis Vuitton is expected to name its Virgil Abloh successor within weeks. BoF’s Imran Amed joins Lauren Sherman to discuss what luxury labels think about when recruiting top designers. Background: Louis Vuitton has spent almost a year searching for a Virgil Abloh successor after the designer died in November 2021. According to sources, Martine Rose, Grace Wales Bonner and Telfar Clemens are among...

BoF’s workplace and talent correspondent Sheena Butler-Young unpacks how fashion’s labour market has evolved in the past year, and what positions brands are hiring for now.    Background:    As companies confront a potential recession, they’re making changes to the way they hire, and who they hire. During the pandemic, the number of fashion jobs requiring expertise in web3 or t...

BoF technology correspondent Marc Bain and contributor Chantal Fernandez join Lauren Sherman to discuss how TikTok took over fashion conversation — and what brands need to know to get the most out of the platform.     Background:      It seems Instagram’s autonomous rule over fashion is finished. While the Meta-owned app still has more users, a growing number of brands and creators are turning to...

BoF’s Sheena Butler-Young and Tamison O’Connor join Lauren Sherman to discuss how a new generation of entrepreneurs are driving growth in this underdeveloped category.   Background:    Monique Rodriguez turned a series of Instagram tutorials — where she made hair care concoctions out of ingredients found in her kitchen — into one of the most recognisable multicultural hair care bran...

Mounting customer acquisition costs and a pressure to grow fast have made it hard to build a profitable DTC business. BoF deputy editor Brian Baskin and retail correspondent Cathaleen Chen join Lauren Sherman to analyse the past, present and future of the market.      Background:    About a decade ago, a number of flashy direct-to-consumer brands peddling premium products...

BoF’s Cathaleen Chen and Marc Bain join Lauren Sherman to talk about retailers’ big hires, hopes and plans for bringing their brands back to life.   Background:    J.Crew and Gap defined how Americans dressed for much of the ’90s and 2000s, until their clothes grew stale, malls emptied out and fast fashion took retail’s reins. Then, during the pandemic, J.Crew filed for bankruptcy a...

In an effort to reignite consumer fire, the Italian megabrand has done some restructuring. Bernstein luxury analyst Luca Solca breaks down what it all means.    Background:    In the late 2010s, Gucci pulled off a successful turnaround by aligning creative director Alessandro Michele’s unique, baroque aesthetic and Jacopo Venturini’s expert merchandising under the leadership of...

Kim Kardashian’s ‘solution wear’ line was recently valued at $3.2 billion. BoF correspondent Alexandra Mondalek charts the rise of the brand, and details what challenges lie ahead.   Background:    Founded in 2019 by Kim Kardashian and retail veteran Jens Grede, ‘solution wear’ line Skims has taken the fashion industry by storm, disrupting the sleepy shapewear category and fetching...

BoF’s Daniel-Yaw Miller unpacks why — and how — sports stars including Russell Westbrook and Megan Rapinoe are running their own labels, with full financial and creative control.  Background:   Athletes have long been part of the fashion conversation. In the past, they’ve capitalised on their influence by inking brand endorsements with the likes of Nike and Adidas. Now, stars like the NB...

After a pandemic pivot to e-commerce, many brands are back to working with third-party retailers, this time, with better terms.   Background:   The wholesale model, while offering exposure and some upfront revenue, did not always have the best terms for vendors. Department store bankruptcies, pandemic-induced store closures and the boom in online shopping pushed brands further towards th...

BoF correspondents Chavie Lieber and Daniel-Yaw Miller discuss why fashion brands are making products for sports like pickleball, padel, rugby, boxing and skiing.    Background:    Two decades ago, Lululemon built its brand around yoga — then considered counter culture. Today, it’s a $6 billion behemoth that makes products for everything from running to swimming and tennis...

The vice president of fashion and shopping partnerships at Meta and BoF technology correspondent Marc Bain join Lauren Sherman to discuss the company’s new marketplace — which sells digital items from Thom Browne, Balenciaga and Prada — and the future of fashion on the platform.      Background:    Social-media company Meta has launched a virtual clothing store , and...

BoF’s workplace and talent correspondent Sheena Butler-Young explains why managers in the fashion and beauty industries are struggling to balance their youngest employees’ expectations against the needs of their businesses.   Background: The youth-obsessed fashion and beauty industries can’t get enough of Gen-Z talent: they believe they need to recruit more entry-level employees in order to m...

BoF’s luxury editor Robert Williams offers insight into the surprising news that the mega-label plans to open stores dedicated to serving top customers.   Background:    As traffic to stores soars, Chanel’s chief financial officer Philippe Blondiaux said the brand plans to open dedicated boutiques for top-spending clients starting in key Asian cities. It's a strategy that emphasises...

Brands including Stella McCartney, Balenciaga and Hermès are making products from mushroom-based material. BoF’s chief sustainability correspondent Sarah Kent details the forces pushing next-gen fabrics like mycelium leather forward — and whether the much-hyped sustainability solution has a future in fashion. Background:  After years of experimentation and development, handbags, shoes and coa...