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Important articles and insights for today’s fashion designers to know:
1. Chanel designer Virginie Viard is leaving the brand.
Virginie Viard leaves Chanel (Getty Images)
Creative director Virginie Viard is leaving Chanel, the company confirmed to BoF. A new creative structure will be “announced in due course,” Chanel said. Viard, who first joined Chanel in 1987 and was Karl Lagerfeld’s longtime assistant, became artistic director of fashion collections after the German designer’s death in 2019. Chanel said ready-to-wear sales have grown 2.5 times since 2018, and the designer has continued Lagerfeld’s legacy while subtly reworking signature pieces like a $20,000 tweed jacket into lighter, more fluid silhouettes.
But even as the brand maintained its status as the go-to uniform for well-heeled women, from birthday dinners to the boardroom, the prestige of its runway shows and the glitz and glamour of its marketing seem to have both faded. Once unbeatable, Chanel has become the target of online complaints about both its runway and red carpet styling and the quality of its products, while prices have soared. Either way, Viard’s departure is sure to intensify speculation about who might replace her.
Related jobs:
Paul Smith, Freelance Women’s Leather Goods Designer — London, UK
Senior Designer, Holzweiler — Oslo, Norway
Women’s RTW Designer, Coach — New York, USA
2. Bridal is completely revamped for Gen-Z
SSense launched its second “Anti-Bridal” collection last month. (Adam Powell)
Millennial and Gen Z brides are no longer just buying wedding dresses but entire wedding wardrobes for pre- and post-wedding events. This breadth is driving the global bridal wear market, which is expected to grow at 3.5% annually to reach $83.5 billion by 2030, according to the Global Bridal Wear Market Industry Report.
Emerging brands and designers like Jacquemus, Collina Strada and Sandy Liang, as well as retailers like ESSENS and ASOS, are hoping to cash in by offering unexpected wedding attire, like suit dresses and loose trousers, as part of their core offerings. “The bridal industry is very much an old boys’ club. They live by the idea of ’if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,’ and they’re very happy offering limited options,” said bridal stylist and designer Caroline Crawford Patterson. “What they don’t realise is that their consumer is diverse and there’s a huge opportunity to shake things up.”
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Design Administrative Assistant, House of CB — London, UK
Gucci Designer — Milan, Italy
Junior Womenswear Evening Designer, Mac Duggal — Chicago, USA
3. Calvin Klein returns to the runway
Veronica Leoni has been appointed creative director of Calvin Klein Collection. (Collier Scholl)
Calvin Klein is bringing back runway collections with former The Row design director and Quilla founder Veronica Leoni as creative director, the latest in a series of moves to revitalize the American brand. Leoni’s first collection for Calvin Klein, which has been without a creative director and no runway show since Raf Simons left in 2018, is scheduled to be shown in fall 2025.
In a statement, owner PVH said reviving Calvin Klein’s premium “Collection” line under Leoni was “a major milestone for the brand.” [in its] The company has taken a “series of strategic steps” to revive the brand’s popularity. After all, it has long struggled to maintain momentum outside of its flagship underwear line. A long-running effort to refocus on direct-to-consumer channels has inched up revenue, but the brand has had to navigate the decline of many U.S. department stores and outlet malls, as well as challenges in the premium denim segment around the world.
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Men’s RTW Designer, Amiri — Milan, Italy
Designer, Vetements — Zurich, Switzerland
Camilla, Design Studio Manager — Sydney, Australia
4. Will Dover Street Market’s big bet on independent fashion pay off?
A Paolo Roversi x Comme des Garçons installation greets visitors at Dover Street Market’s new Paris store. (Supplied)
In a city already saturated with luxury boutiques and department store corners, Dover Street Market (DSM) is moving away from the concession model and focusing more than ever on the risky business of selling ready-to-wear clothes sourced from independent labels. With only a small amount of space taken up by global luxury brands and sports-style sneakers, DSM’s Paris store is focusing more than ever on niche fashion as the outlook for independent labels and the multi-brand shops that sell them becomes increasingly bleak.
” [independent fashion] “Yes, the brands are out there, that’s how we feel,” says Adrian Joffe, president of DSM. The biggest challenge facing small designer brands, he adds, is “the lack of a platform, it’s as simple as that.” “Stores and showrooms are expensive, so where do brands show their products apart from social media? How do they gain position in a very busy world?”
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Designer, Sahara — London, UK
Senior Designer, Christian Wijnants — Antwerp, Belgium
Associate Technical Designer, Staud — Los Angeles, USA
5. The rise of sportswear challenger brands, seen in four charts
On is one of the fastest growing sportswear brands, taking significant market share from brands like Nike, Adidas and Puma. (Courtesy)
The sportswear market is increasingly splitting into two camps: on the one hand, the incumbents – well-known brands such as Nike, Adidas, Puma and Under Armour that have built up a global reputation over decades and have the sales to match. On the other hand, the challengers – a collection of sportswear brands aiming to take their place alongside or instead of the incumbents. This group includes upstarts such as On and Hoka, but also more recently established brands such as Salomon that trace their roots back to the mid-20th century.
From 2021 to 2023, revenue for the 13 challenger brands tracked by the bank grew an average of 29% annually, compared with 8% for incumbents. RBC projects challenger brands will continue to outpace more established rivals, growing an average of 11% annually from 2023 to 2026, compared with 5% growth for incumbents. Brands such as On, Hoka, Salomon and Arc’teryx have found underserved niches, such as new sneaker styles or niche sports, where they can capture consumers’ imaginations with new technology and hyper-focused marketing.
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Designer Specialist, AWWG — London, UK
Lead Color & Materials Designer, On — Zurich, Switzerland
Associate Designer, Calvin Klein — New York, USA
6. Existential threat to independent brands
Dion Lee called the admins this week. (Spotlight/Launchmetrics.com)
In May, The Vampire’s Wife, makers of gothic-glam prairie dresses beloved by Kate Middleton and Florence Welch, announced it was closing after 10 years in business. The same week, Dion Lee, the 15-year-old Australian label that’s dressed Taylor Swift and Dua Lipa, filed for bankruptcy. The news came just days after New York-based designer Mara Hoffman announced she was closing after 24 years in business, and London designer Roksanda Ilincic’s namesake label narrowly avoided bankruptcy after finding “white knight” investor The Brand Group.
The slowdown in the luxury market has put huge pressure on the fashion industry, big and small. Even companies like LVMH have been hit hard. But independent brands that rely on third-party retailers for distribution are also facing turmoil in the wholesale market. Smaller brands have been particularly shaken by the recent collapse of major wholesaler Matchesfashion, which was placed into administration by new owner Frasers Group in March. Many brands still need to pay for orders that were already dispatched before the online retailer went into administration. According to filings, The Vampire’s Wife and Roksanda are owed £32,000 and £9,000 respectively.
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Senior Print Designer, Erdem — London, UK
Handbag designer Kate Spade — New York, USA
Senior Fashion Designer, Nagnata — Byron Bay/Sydney, Australia
7. How to grow a fashion brand without polluting the planet
Puma has succeeded in reducing global warming emissions while increasing sales. (Puma, Instagram)
To achieve its hard-won emissions reductions, Puma has rolled out a comprehensive set of initiatives. Nearly all of the company’s cotton and leather now carries some form of sustainability certification, and nearly two-thirds of its polyester is recycled. As a result, raw material emissions have been halved since 2017. Fast but polluting air freight is now used for less than 1% of transportation, a move that helps offset the impact of increased e-commerce shipping. The company is also working closely with its suppliers to support their decarbonization goals.
More specifically, Puma has set goals that are measurable, specific, transparent and time-bound. These are based on science and set in consultation with various stakeholders. The company has strong sourcing policies in place that reflect current best practices, including a commitment to pay suppliers on time and in full. Unlike most competitors, Puma provides public updates on how well it adheres to these standards. For example, it canceled less than 1% of its orders last year and paid all associated liabilities. Nearly half of the company’s suppliers have been with the brand for more than 10 years.
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Fred Perry Footwear Designer — London, UK
Product Development Merchandiser, Carhartt WIP — Basel, Switzerland
Tommy Hilfiger Assistant Handbag Designer — New York, USA
8. UK clothing sales to EU plummet as Brexit red tape reduces exporters
Illustration by BoF Small and medium-sized enterprises were the hardest hit, with the relative burden of bureaucracy being greater than that of multinationals. (Illustration by BoF)
UK clothing and footwear exports to EU countries will fall to £2.7 billion ($3.4 billion) in 2023 from £7.4 billion ($9.7 billion) in 2019, contributing to an 18% drop in the value of all non-food exports to EU single market member states, according to a report from consultancy Retail Economics and online marketplace Tradebyte. The decline means that for British brands and retailers, sales to the EU have plummeted since Brexit, despite Europe’s booming e-commerce market, according to the report.
Small businesses were hit hardest, with the relative burden of bureaucracy greater than multinationals. Bureaucracy has forced many manufacturers making clothing in the UK to move production to EU member states at the expense of UK skills and jobs. In one example, Lim said, a Leicester-based hosiery manufacturer (who he declined to name) moved production to Italy, bringing an end to over 100 years of manufacturing in the East Midlands. The authors also suggest that the UK has not benefited from the boom in online sales of goods in the EU since 2019.
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Head of Design at Rat & Boa — Hybrid/London, UK
Footwear & Accessories Designer, Tempe – Alicante, Spain
Hugo Boss Senior Outerwear Designer — Metzingen, Germany
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