Hand picked makes its return to Pitti Immagine Uomo with a new collection that features many new styles. New cuts of pants are added to their offer of iconic denim styles – the trademark of the brand – together with other pieces, for a man that wants to stand out for the quality and sophistication of its wardrobe.

High-quality denim is the starting point: it is produced with a particular cotton that is grown using
traditional techniques with great attention to water consumption, creating a fiber that guarantees unparalleled performances. The resulting fiber is spun in Japan, a land with a millennial tradition in textile industry and a worldwide reference point for denim.

The new collection that will be presented at Pitti Immagine Uomo is made of iconic elements of the men’s wardrobe for the Hand Picked man.
The classic five-pocket denim pants with buttons and rivets in hand-worked copper and grosgrain in the closure will be enriched by five new colors of back tags combined with grosgrain ribbon. Four new pant shapes, from chino to five-pockets, will be coordinated with matching vests made of soft fabrics in warm colors, and knitwear, jackets and classic-cut coats with an urban feel. Technical pieces too will be featured, such as brand-new denim windbreakers and comfortable cotton sweatshirts.

Pure London has confirmed that it will be launching a new floorpan for its February edition taking place in London. Visitors to February’s fashion trade show Pure London will be treated to a re-edited layout and a surge of new British and international brands who have signed up to showcase their AW19/20 collections.

Julie Driscoll, Managing Director of leading festival of fashion Pure London says; “The show must go on. We are at a crossroads in terms of Brexit uncertainty and in the way the fashion industry works but Pure London is demonstrating that not only can we make a stand for better practices in fashion, we can provide a space for the most inspirational, creative and exciting brands and designers to showcase their wares. The February show will offer visitors a host of new brands and we are really looking forward to revealing our floorplan re-edit which will freshen the show, offer new discoveries, and give the space new life.”

Effective immediately, Raf Simons has departed his role as Creative Director at Calvin Klein. The Calvin Klein brand will not be showing a collection for the upcoming season this coming February. Simons was appointed Creative Director at the brand in 2016, after departing his role at Dior.

Pitti Uomo is an extraordinary Surprise Box, a container of ideas and news to open and change from season to season. At the Fortezza da Basso, in a set design curated by the lifestyler Sergio Colantuoni, the new theme THE PITTI BOX presents a multi-sensory journey “in-and-out of the box”. As a welcome, the Infinity Box, a special video-art gallery with high energy potential curated by Visual Fodder; the Park Box dedicated to sharing food and relax with the Soup Bar, the Pasta Bar, a large central fire and much more; the Recharge Box to recharge the batteries, the Silence Box to allow 5 minutes of unmissable “switch-off”; and again Out of the Box, ten large nature photo-windows from the Reda archive, inviting us to look beyond and listen to a message of responsibility towards nature.

The Pitti Box is a tribute to a feature common to all the Pitti Immagine fairs: that they are “Surprise Boxes”, extraordinary receptacles of ideas and innovation to be opened up every season in order to present the latest vibrations between fashion and lifestyles.

The WeAr team wishes their readers, clients and visitors a very happy holiday season! May these days bring you happiness, love and joy.

Best Wishes,

The WeAr team

Zalando, the German online retailer, who just announced its cancellation of the Bread && Butter event in Berlin has further bad news.
On Monday, Dec. 17th 2018 Zalando slipped 18% on the stock market. This is almost the lowest level, since its stock market debut 2014. Bad numbers in fashion retail are given as a reason. ASOS, the UK competition to Zalando was equally shocking the market with a turnover and profit warnings.
ASOS made a significant decrease in the fashion environment responsible. Its shares lost around 38% in London. In light of ASOS problems, also shares of Hugo Boss, adidas and PUMA lost. Since months bad news from the fashion retail segment are making the round. Last week Sportsdirect and Superdry published bad news and so did in Germany Tom Taylor.
We got used to bad news by classic brick-and-mortar retailers, but now even online retailers like Zalando and ASOS are getting under pressure.

By February 2019 Dondup will launch its first D/Zero sustainable jeans capsule as part of a project aimed at redefining its own identity as premium forward-thinking denim brand. The project was developed as a collaboration with premium denim manufacturer Candiani Denim and Chicco Barina, head of design, Dondup, a longtime insider of the jeanswear industry as well as the owner of creative consulting agency Black Studio.

“The new D/Zero capsule collection offers 100% Made in Italy organic cotton T-shirts and a selection of six jeans treated with sustainable, traceable and certified washes and carrying water-printed graphics on their inner surface. The jeans are made with Candiani Denim fabrics produced according to eco-friendly manufacturing processes that employ Kitotex and Indigo Juice, exclusive treatments using 50% less water and 70% less chemicals than the production of standard fabrics. By adding special certified treatments and finishing on this special selection of denim garments, Dondup can save an average of 75% water, 20% chemicals and 58% energy, as verified by E.I.M. software by Jeanologia.”

The retail-program ‘Altogether to Munich’ supports starting immediately sport-retailer from the UK, Italy, Spain, Austria, Poland, Switzerland and Scandinavia with their planning for ISPO Munich.
This ‘no trouble’ package includes registration and hotel booking to setting of appointments and trade-show walks in their own language and everything that retailers need in order to gain a good market-overview.
This program is an extension of the ‘Club ISPO France’.
ISPO will be taking place in Munich February 3rd-6th.

German company Handstich, known for its high-quality outerwear collection, has signed a new distribution agreement. Ben Botas and his agency BEN&. based in Düsseldorf and Munich will take over its distribution for Germany and Austria starting Autumn/Winter 2019.

Handstich will start its wholesale season with Pitti Uomo 8th of January in Florence and will focus on its expansion in the international market. It will further present its collection at Premium during Berlin Fashion Week. “Handstich is already positioned as an important brand, thanks to our efforts and that of our distribution partners. Today we start a new level which is stamped with our values and our ever newly interpreted own brand DNA.”, says André Berger, owner of Handstich.

Star of the new FW 18/19 collection, the exclusive cashmere-lined denim by Richard J. Brown offers new contemporary style for a warm, sophisticated Christmas. Entirely lined in cashmere and silk, the RJB 5-pocket wraps the wearer in precious softness. The elegant, distinguished Richard J. Brown denim was created for those who won’t give up a personal, dynamic look even in the coldest winter weather.

Not just jeans, but true trousers created with quality fabrics and embellished with unique details combined in an original way. Unlimited colours and materials chosen for tags, labels, buttons, rivets and lining at the centre of a versatile scheme that favours the utmost personalisation like the Tokyo model created for the contemporary, spirited man who favours a slim fit or the Jacklyn model for women who want the latest trends and prefer a closer fit.

Available in landmarks of style like La Rinascente in Milan and Rome, Lodenfrey in Munich, Boon the shop in Seoul, Salon le Chic Select – Takashimaya in Tokyo, Cavour in Oslo, Pauw in Amsterdam, and Cashmere and Silk and Bosco dei Ciliegi in Moscow and Sanahunt in Kiev.

The January edition of Top Drawer has announced the launch of MR.—
a dedicated area designed as a concept store, showcasing an exclusive edit of the hottest, out of the ordinary men’s fashion accessories and jewellery.

With the menswear market set to outperform womenswear globally by 2020, MR. has been developed in response to industry demand and will present the UK’s most dynamic display of design-led accessories, jewellery, grooming and lifestyle products for gents.

As the first lifestyle buying show of the year, Top Drawer’s MR. is committed to bringing the latest offerings and newest brands to the most influential buyers with its impactful and enticing curation of what customers will be seeking next. Arne Jacobsen Watches, Mr ELK, Il Bussetto, Anchor & Crew, Thomas Clipper, Double00, Orbitkey, Mahi Leather and Secrid are amongst the brands on display.

Only a few more months to go until the next MICAM, the international footwear show coming up at Fiera Milano (Rho) February 10 through 13 next year. Following a number of initiatives around the world intended to establish contact between Italian footwear makers and the world’s biggest markets, MICAM prepares to come back to Italy in an event-packed show with a bold personality.

There are plenty of preparations underway for this important event, and a number of strategies are being put in place behind the scenes which – just like a pair of top quality shoes – combine a knack for understanding the demands of the market with plenty of imagination and creativity, indispensable traits for anticipating trends in consumption with an innovative charge.

In order to offer the best possible response to the demands of the companies and professional dealers, MICAM has organised an in-depth analysis of its exhibitor database, in line with its visitor profiling initiative, comparing the figures collected over the past six editions of the event (from February 2016 to September 2018).

The analysis had four key goals: mapping exhibitors’ categories, origins, interest, and frequency of participation in the event (identifying faithful returning exhibitors and new exhibitors); coming up with actions for promoting the event (such as new marketing, promotion and retention programmes focusing on the various different exhibitor clusters identified); improving a number of organisational aspects (the layout of the pavilions and stands); and comparing analysis of the MICAM exhibitor dashboard with the results of customer satisfaction surveys.

Art, the creativity that will be the key to MICAM 87, shifts the focus from the conflicting “sinful” sentiments associated with the covetous desire to possess a pair of quality shoes to the object itself. The slogan “Be inspired by Art, ye who enter” underlines the discovery of the object as work of art, a template for joy and completeness for all those capable of appreciating it, bringing new life to everything around it.

PROJECT TOKYO, previously MAGIC Japan, will take place on March 27-28, 2019 at Tokyo International Forum. The Tokyo International Forum is highly regarded for its architecture and sits between Marunouchi, Tokyo’s central business area and the Ginza shopping and entertainment district.

Unlike MAGIC Japan, which encompassed a broad mix of categories from men’s, women’s, children’s, footwear, accessories and sourcing, PROJECT TOKYO will serve as a highly curated event focusing on men’s and women’s advanced contemporary, denim and accessories, including Japanese, European and American brands.

“We have continued to generate momentum from the Asian market through MAGIC Japan and look forward to delivering a more focused, curated event that our customers have been asking for and that best serves the industry,” states Christopher Griffin, President, International Business Development for UBM Fashion.

Additionally, PROJECT New York, which takes place at the Jacob Javits Center in midtown Manhattan and serves as the leading men’s fashion trade event in the U.S. will host and introduce 5 Japanese menswear designers to the U.S. market. PROJECT Las Vegas which houses both men’s and women’s contemporary brands will also host 5 womenswear designers during MAGIC which is held at Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.

ReMode’s inaugural edition brought together over 1,000 participants, both days, representing all sectors of the fashion industry including thought leaders, top brands, retailers, technology providers, finance partners, and NGOs. Partnering with schools and educational institutions around the world, ReMode’s content reached a global audience with an additional 1,000 participants viewing ReMode’s sessions via live stream. Attended by 115sponsors and exhibitors, and 100 press and journalists, ReMode’s debut served as an innovative platform for collaboration, network building, and opportunities for growth and partnerships across the industry. 80% of ReMode attendees actively used the AI-powered ReMode networking app to make over 2,700 connections and 1,600 meeting requests. 

After two days of panel discussions, workshops, and sessions, recurring themes around how to scale sustainable supply chains, adopt new technologies, authentically connect with customers, and create engaging retail experiences consistently emerged. Over the course of ReMode, sessions were scribed in real-time by a visual graphic artist allowing attendees to reflect and make connections throughout the sessions and experiences happening simultaneously at ReMode.

Closing out day one of the event, ReMode presented the ReMode Fashion Awards, a celebration of the solution providers and brands at the forefront of innovative platforms, disruptive technologies, and sustainable practices in the industry. Winners were selected across ten categories by an elite jury selected for their expertise in fashion, technology, and sustainability. Entries in each category were judged based on creativity, sustainability, and consumer experience. The 2018 ReModeFashion Awards winners include:

 Best AI Solution: Heuritech

Best Blockchain Technology: Arianee

Best Cross-Border Ecommerce Solution: Flow

Best Customer Experience Solution: EverThread

Best Design Technology: Euveka

Best Digital Wholesale Solution: INTURN

Best Financing Solution: Affirm

Best Sustainable Manufacturing Solution: Nineteenth Amendment Smart PLM

Best Virtual and Augmented Reality Solution: Allure Systems

Sustainable Brand of the Year: Reformation

German retailer Manufactum celebrated the opening of its 11th store in Hannover, Germany.

The retail space stretches over 600m2 and through three levels. Once entered customers can find groceries and kitchenware, whereas the lower floor shows garden and office articles as well as furniture. The first floor then displays fashion and beauty and on the top floor is a restaurant.

Manufactum started being a catalogue and developed from there its retail houses, it aims to invest into high-quality and sustainable products since 30 years.

The store wants to host in the future regular events and seminars as well as workshops with the aim to elevate the store to a destination, adding to a growing number of successful brick-and-mortar stores that aim to deliver experience and quality to an established and growing customer base.

Amongst others it carries brands like Armor Lux, Ecoalf, Lanius, Haikure and Engel Sports

Manufactum Warenhaus Hannover
Georgstraße 34
30159 Hannover
Opening: Mon-Sat 10am – 7pm

For the first time in Russia, the Moscow Kremlin Museums presents a retrospective exhibition with pieces of high jewellery art by world-known Italian Maison BVLGARI, which history dates back more than a hundred and thirty years. Over four hundred unique pieces of high-end jewellery from the Bulgari Heritage Collection, as well as pieces from the private collections from around the globe, will be on display at two exhibition halls of the Kremlin museums — the Exhibition Hall of the Assumption Belfry and the Exhibition Hall of the Patriarch’s Palace.

The formation of such an original style of BVLGARI in all its variety is represented by works created during many decades, beginning with the earliest silver items, accomplished in Neo-Grec tradition by the founder of the family business Sotirio Bulgari in the 1870s and 1890s, including luxury pieces of the 1950s and 1960s —La dolce vita epoch, as well as extraordinary works of the 1970s and 1990s. The exhibition is on until 13th January 2019.

Menswear trade show Jacket Required has announced that it is adding two new sections to its line-up for its upcoming edition taking place in January 2019. ‘Introduces’ and ‘Living’ are the sections where visitors will find new talent and homeware products alike. 

Taking place at The Old Truman Brewery in London on January 23rd and 24th, the new ‘Introduces’ platform will showcase Jacket Required’s breakthrough talents of the new season and future contemporary classics. These emerging designers will sit alongside its international line-up of contemporary menswear, selected womenswear, footwear, accessories and lifestyle products.

The ‘Living’ section will offer a selection of contemporary products and accessories from some of the most progressive interior design brands.

At the recent Denim Days in New York City, a panel of experts solidified the notion that denim is entering a new era of sustainability—one that prides minimizing water use just as much as ushering in the latest trend.

Speaking on a panel moderated by Lenzing director of global business development for denim, Tricia Carey, industry experts including, “The Godfather of Denim” Adriano Goldschmied, 3×1 founder Scott Morrison and Reformation director of denim and special projects Jordan Nodarse spoke about denim’s shift and what to expect from a greener blue-rooted industry.

Putting it plainly, Goldschmied said, “We’ve realized that our industry doesn’t have any future at all if we’re not seriously thinking about sustainability.” Carved in Blue caught up with some bluebloods in the audience to hear their insights into the discussion.

Beyond just the discussion of sustainability, innovative concepts emerged from the talk, too. “What struck me as new from this discussion was Adriano‘s point that there should be a Silicon Valley-esque global innovation hub for our industry…and it should be in Los Angeles because California is arguably the birthplace of the jean,” said Michelle Branch of Markt & Twigs. “The indigo culture certainly exists. And there’s loads (pardon the pun) of talent there. Not to mention that it would help to keep the existing denim economy in LA alive. It’s an intriguing idea!”

For Denimology managing editor Lisette Geller, the panel took things even one step further for her. “The most impressive and probably the most important issue for the whole world is and should always be sustainability. Especially with denim that used to go through a lot of chemical processing,” Geller said. “But the most impressive mind-changing thing happened after the ‘official’ talk. When I spoke with Jordan about connecting and asked for his card, he said he’s ‘paperless.’ What an amazing flash—I never had thought about this in terms of business cards. Just bank statements and recycling newspapers and boxes. No more printed business cards for me.”

“ What a highlight to New York Denim Days to have three generations of denim designers explain their design philosophy.  With so much passion for the blue world, I enjoyed hearing their responses to the question ‘ If you were not in denim industry, what would you be doing?’.  For Scott it was an architect; Adriano said something in technology; and Jordan quickly responded the music industry.  I am pleased they are blue-bloods!, “ stated Tricia Carey from Lenzing.

ISKO hits ReMode, the LA-based platform promoting growth and sustainability, to foster networking and knowledge sharing by showcasing its active commitment towards responsibility. The leading denim ingredient brand set the agenda with several activities: 

• Impressive sculptures made of ISKO Earth Fit denim by the artist and fashion designer Lucy James showcased at the ISKO booth.
• The new Eyether capsule collection, created in collaboration with François Girbaud, was unveiled at the ISKO booth.
• Garments made of ISKO Arquas innovative fabrics were on display at the Trend Gallery special section.
• ISKO took part in the “The Future of Denim” panel. Denim with a Conscience – Responsible innovation and ISKO Earth Fit
  Nature, beauty, and responsibility turned into inspiring denim art. ISKO innovative fabrics are the ideal materials to shape into life the mindful creativity of Lucy James, artist and fashion designer: with an experience designing and developing menswear collections, Lucy combines conceptual fashion with art and music and is now creating projects related to sustainability in the fashion and textiles industry.The collaboration with ISKO sparked three nature-inspired denim sculptures – a coral, a wood, and a feathery wing –, which have become the focus of the new ISKO’s “Denim with a Conscience” campaign. These are made entirely of denim fabrics from ISKO Earth Fit, the top-end ISKO collection when it comes to a fully integrated responsible approach and the only one worldwide to have been awarded both the Nordic Swan Ecolabel and EU Ecolabel certifications. The ISKO Earth FitTM line, which embraces articles from all the ISKO collections, uses innovative and responsible fibers such as organic cotton, recycled cotton and recycled polyester from PET bottles.

  Responsibility for ISKO goes beyond just using low impact materials, extending to its entire culture and systems. ISKO is the first denim manufacturer in the world to obtain pre-certified Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for the Life Cycle Assessment (LCAs) of all its 25,000+ denim fabrics, meaning there is full transparency about the environmental impact of all fabrics in the collection. These EPDs have been used to create independently developed Product Category Rules (PCR), which will help, for the first time ever, to have standardized assessments for denim across the industry. 

In May 2018, COMME des GARÇONS announced “a new brand using the CDG symbolic logo signifying Forty Years of COMME des GARÇONS creation”. The brand launched with a preview capsule, ‘CDG BREAKING NEWS’. A dedicated CDG e-shop shipping exclusively to Japan followed in July.

From 27^th October, physical CDG retail spaces launched within DSM Beijing, London, Los Angeles, New York and Singapore as well as COMME des GARÇONS Hong Kong and Seoul. Also opening are two standalone brick-and-mortar CDG stores in Tokyo and Osaka.

The Denim Window is a showcase of denim innovation where denim connects companies to brands and promote the denim industry through events and showcases.

When you walk into The Denim Window you will have the opportunity to learn about all the steps involved in creating a final garment. In this one place, you will find fabric mills, garment makers, chemical suppliers, fibre producers, trims.

Each company showing at The Denim Window will be the only one for a particular product category and geographic area so as not to create competition but rather stimulate great collaborations. Silvia Rancani, the curator of the showroom, both coordinates a collection’s calendar and presents rend directions for the participating companies in order to make a cohesive environment for events and one-to-one meetings.

“I would like to create a casual and cozy environment where people of denim hangout, either producers or designers will get in touch and share knowledge” – Silvia Rancani

Sophisticated streetwear is the essence of the new Man Spring/Summer 2019 Collection by DROMe. Taking further concepts that started with F/W 2018, it continues to portray a man that looks for his own style and not fading trends. Everything from hooded sweatshirts, sporty jacket, raincoats and bombers: essential shapes are revised with unexpected details and flashes of strong colours such as orange, electric blue and yellow. Modern manufacturing techniques are employed to redefine the classic elegance that recalls the heritage of the made in Italy: the contemporary taste meets the traditional handcrafting. 

The Fashion for Good Experience is now open in Amsterdam, and is the world’s first interactive, technology-driven museum dedicated to sustainable and circular fashion innovation created by experience design studio, Local Projects.

Supported by founding partner C&A Foundation and corporate partners adidas, C&A and PVH Corp, the museum aims to change the hearts and minds of visitors by helping them discover the stories behind their clothes, learn how they can take action and explore how they can have an impact on both an industry and international level. Through a personalized journey towards transformation, visitors will learn about the history of good fashion, discover more sustainable products and explore future fashion innovations. 

Designed by Local Projects, the space incorporates a personalised digital journey with an RFID-bracelet you can learn about the history of good fashion, discover sustainable products and explore fashion innovations of the future.

Fondazione Prada presents the exhibition “Sanguine – Luc Tuymans on Baroque”, curated by Luc Tuymans, in its Milan venue taking place from 18 October 2018 to 25 February 2019.

Organized with M KHA (Museum of Contemporary Art of Antwerp) and KMSKA (Museum of Fine Arts of Antwerp) and the City of Antwerp, the project will be featured in Milan in a new and more extensive version, following its first presentation in the Belgian city from June to September 2018. Luc Tuymans conceived an intense visual experience presenting more than 80 works by 62 international artists, including 25 exhibited exclusively at Fondazione Prada.

“Sanguine” is a personal interpretation of the Baroque based on innovative juxtapositions and unexpected associations of works by contemporary artists and Old Masters. Avoiding a rigid chronological order or a strictly historiographical approach, Tuymans evades the traditional notion of the Baroque and invites viewers to reconsider 17th century art, as well as the contemporary research, by placing artists and their role in society at the center of the exhibition narrative.

Inspired by Calik Denim’s ‘Ever Evolving’ motto, the first in their unique new series of annual events, ‘Ever Evolving Talks’ took place on the 23rd of October in Amsterdam to great acclaim. Leaders from the fashion world shared the stage with influential figures from a variety of global disciplines and sectors to delight international audiences from the industry and beyond with their pioneering experiences and contrasting views about the future. This dynamic new event platform will take place every October, a day before the Kingpins Show Amsterdam.

Guests saw into the future through an array of talks discussing fashion industry insights while experts and disrupters from outside the sector revealed the latest thinking on wider themes such as simplicity and innovation, wearable technology and Millennials’ consumer behaviour.

Speaking from the event Calik Denim CEO Hamit Yenici further explains: ‘Our ‘Ever Evolving’ motto reflects our vision to continually progress. But it’s not just our brand that we aim to move forward; we created Ever Evolving Talks by Calik Denim to move our sector into a more sustainable future, breathe new life into existing events and fulfilling our promise to be truly ‘Ever Evolving.’ Today is about making our promise tangible. Thank you all for believing in our beliefs’.

This past week, WeAr has visited Brazil in order to check creativity and possibilities in one of the biggest countries in the world counting roughly 200 million inhabitants.

The local currency, the Brazilian Real, is at an interesting level for foreign buyers, which makes it worthwhile to look into possibilities. In terms of fashion, creativity and quality are at a high standard throughout the brands and designers as well as in manufacturing.

Despite a poorly coordinated timing between São Paulo Fashion Week and Veste Rio, the latter emerged into a well-visited event. Veste Rio happened one week ahead of São Paulo Fashion Week. We would like to encourage all fair organisers to better coordinate their dates in order to make it easier and more rewarding for international buyers, as it is almost impossible for international buyers to see both and at the same time decreases the number of visitors for both events. At Veste Rio, buyers were seen amongst others from Mexico, the U.S., France, Uruguay and other Brazilian states. None of those buyers we talked to were able to extend their trip to São Paulo. They prefer to visit Rio de Janeiro as an event attracts not only with the venue itself but also with its surroundings. Rio de Janeiro has a lot of emerging creativity and is a great place to find Brazilian brands and discover how they present themselves.

To experience fashion in Rio de Janeiro, visit areas: Ipanema, the adjoining Leblon and Jardim Botânico. There one can see noteworthy mono-brand stores like Osklen, Farm, A. Niemeyer for ready to wear, Havaianas for Brazil’s famous sandals or Salinas for swimwear, but also Dona Coisa, one of the best Brazilian multi-brand stores and a treasure chest to discover Brazilian designers that will function as a jewel in every retailer’s portfolio.

The fair itself was well organised and hosted in a wonderful location near the brand new Museo Amanhã in the harbour area. The views to the sea are incredible and the renovated industrial halls are professional and iconic at the same time.

Exhibiting designers presented a mix of jewellery, swimwear, accessories and ready to wear. The exhibitor list was not very large, but well selected.

Interesting was the set-up of the fair: it combined the trade event with an outlet show in an adjoining building starting on the second day of the event and open to end-consumers. This attracted a lot of public interest and encouraged the consumer to buy more designer brands.

WeAr advises combining such a trip with São Paulo. Rua Harmonia in Vila Madalena and Rua Oscar Freire in Jardins have many creative stores, designers and brands to check and get inspired by. Brazil is not only a Mecca for swimwear but for fashion in general and worth the time to be discovered.

WeAr has covered Veste Rio on our Instagram page for further insights and was invited by renowned Texbrasil, a government organisation helping to strengthen the Brazilian fashion industry.

Fashion for Good has just opened its brand new Fashion for Good Experience in Amsterdam. The Experience is an interactive technology-driven museum focusing on sustainable and circular fashion and innovation. The museum aims to change the hearts and minds of visitors by helping them discover the stories behind their clothes, learn how they can take action and explore how they can have an impact on both an industry and international level. The museum challenges guests to not only appreciate the aesthetics of fashion, but to actively contribute to making fashion good. Through a digital and personalised journey, visitors can learn about the history of good fashion, discover more sustainable products and explore future fashion innovations.

One of the key exhibits in the museum is an Innovation Lounge where guests can discover over 50 amazing innovators who are about to disrupt the fashion industry. This space answers questions like: How is biodegradable glitter made? Can a dress be made from mushroom roots? How can blockchain technology make the garment production process more transparent?

Following 20 years of commitment in Paris, Tranoi is starting a new chapter in China in April 2019 with the same mantra: curation; but also with adapted support to the brands. To celebrate this, a launch event will be held during which an experiential fashion exhibition will be presented, organised in collaboration with international fashion experts Nelly Rodi, describing 6 profiles of fashion consumers in China as well as immersive fashion shows featuring European brands.

An online fashion manufacturing marketplace, Sewport has secured £650,000 investment from a venture capital fund, after launching at the end of 2017. The fully-automated marketplace seeks to ‘matchmake’ budding and established fashion designers and brands with manufacturers around the world. It currently has more than 500 manufacturers on board, as well as more than 4,000 brands.

The company connects small to medium sized fashion brands and budding designers with manufacturers at all stages of development, enabling them to bring their designs to life in an easy and cost-effective way. Boris started the company after working with luxury high fashion brands and realising there was a gap in the market for a ‘one-stop-shop’ manufacturing marketplace for both established brands and new designers.

Lacoste has announced the appointment of Louise Trotter as Creative Director. 

The very first female to lead the creative direction of the brand with the Crocodile, the British designer will present her first collection during the next fashion week in Paris. 

“We are very happy to welcome Louise. Her visionary approach on lines and materials, as well as her expertise in creating highly technical pieces will be real assets to strengthen the positioning of our collections.” Says Thierry Guibert, President of the Lacoste Group. 

“I am delighted to join this French brand with such a unique heritage. For 85 years, the modernity of the Lacoste style lies in this singular fusion of sport and fashion. I am proud to contribute to the writing of a new chapter in its history.” Says Louise Trotter. 

Belgian designer Glenn Martens, creative director of Y/PROJECT mens and womenswear Paris-based label will present the new Y/PROJECT FW 2019/2020 mens collection in Florence with a special event. Winner of last year’s prestigious Andam Grand Prize Award, Y/PROJECT is considered one of the most original voices on the contemporary fashion scene.

“Glenn Martens has created with Y/PROJECT a new aesthetic language that is driven by contradictions”, says Lapo Cianchi, Pitti Immagine Director of Communications and Special Events,” in which chic is combined with extravagance and eclectic references, while streetwear elements are enriched by historical and couture touches sometimes out of scale. A conceptual design, which has already entered into sync with the most advanced parts of the market. A designer who expresses an acute sense of humor, with a vision of fashion that is extremely personal, where there is room for the freedom to dress as you like, experiment and have fun – without raising barriers of any kind”.

“Florence’s exquisite heritage has been a never-ending source of fascination to me. I am extremely honoured to have been asked to show Y/Project at Pitti Uomo, in the core of this mythical city”, says Glenn Martens, designer of Y/Project.

LD Luxury Distribution is a concrete example of female entrepreneurship that takes hold of the market, confronting it with professionality and seriousness. 

It is not just a simple showroom, even if it is located in the prestigious location of Via Della Spiga, 15 in the heart of the Fashion District and houses quality brands. It engages a sui generis concept, unlike any other. The background of the two founders, Angelika Kelch and Sydney Haley, speaks for itself: both have a rich and varied career path, devoted more to 360 degrees consultancy than to mere distribution. 

If Angelika boasts a resume that spans precisely the distribution of fashion brands in the premium and luxury sector (especially in Europe and China), marketing, brand development, sourcing and building line, Sydney is her perfect counterpart: born in America, with 25 years’ experience in the luxury goods sector and international promotion of Italian brands. Thanks to the collaboration with important private equity groups, she has refined the ability to select the right brands, those that know how to “pierce” the market. 

“We rely on four mantras,” explains Angelika…

“The first, which is very close to our heart, is support for the female entrepreneurial world. As foreign women we have chosen to live in Italy for more than 20 years. Every day we touch firsthand a reality. 

The second is democratic luxury. “In response to the specific needs of international buyers, looking for quality brands, but with affordable prices (and in this the Italians are second to none). 

The third being a focus on Italian creativity and innovation. “In our showroom we prefer projects that are research driven and that are committed to using particular production techniques. All with a common thread, the real “Made in Italy.

“And the fourth mantra? “It can only be sustainability,” concludes Sydney, “Aware of the fact that fashion can also help save the planet we pay special attention to all the biologically correct materials and processes, always and in any case, companies managed by female entrepreneurs”. 

Calvin Klein has teamed up with Amazon Fashion to bring an immersive brand experience mixing physical and digital retail to NYC’s Flatiron Plaza this October. Visitors to the Calvin Klein x Amazon Fashion NYC Market will be able to try on Calvin Klein Jeans apparel at the event and shop it through the Amazon App, with SmileCodes placed throughout the space directing shoppers to the dedicated Calvin Klein e-commerce storefront on Amazon Fashion.

The three-day event will also feature a number of installations seeking to bring the Calvin Klein Jeans fall advertising campaign to life, including a “Together in Denim” billboard similar to the one that appears in the campaign shoot, where visitors can have their photo taken by an on-site photographer.

The Calvin Klein x Amazon Fashion NYC Market will be open to the public from Friday, October 5th through Sunday, October 7th at the Flatiron Plaza, New York City.

Fossil Group is collaborating with Japanese watchmaker Citizen to launch a collection of hybrid smartwatches, watches that look analog but include a number of digital functionalities. The partnership leverages Citizen’s globally-respected watch movement expertise while providing Citizen’s access to Fossil Group’s hybrid smartwatch technology. 

“Given the size and growth of the smartwatch market, Citizen is going seriously into the smartwatch market,” said Mr. Tokura, president and chief executive officer of Citizen. “It is with strong determination that we trigger this partnership and enter this category. We, Citizen and Fossil Group, will maximize our combined strengths to become leading companies in the smartwatch category.” 

Entering its 9th year, the Redress Design Award is the world’s largest global fashion design competition focused on environmental sustainability and zero-waste in the fashion industry. For the upcoming edition, Eastman will be the gold sponsor of the 2019 Redress Design Award. This exclusive sponsorship includes an opportunity to introduce fabrics made from Naia cellulosic yarn and their benefits to fashion designers around the world. 

“By sponsoring the Redress Design Award, Eastman’s goal is to help educate the fashion and design community on the importance of sustainable yarns,” said Ruth Farrell, Eastman global marketing director of Textiles. “We want to build awareness of the Naia brand within the design community and support young designers on their journey towards building the fashion brands of the future.” 

The Redress Design Award 2019 will open in January to emerging designers and students. Designers will be challenged to transform textile waste into creative, scalable and commercially viable collections that will inspire and redress the world. For the womenswear category, participants will be using waste fabrics with Naia to fit in with the competition’s strong focus on waste reduction. The finalists will incorporate fabrics made with Naia into their runway collections for the Grand Final fashion show at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in September 2019. 

The Isetan Mitsukoshi Group welcomes about one million international shoppers annually at its twenty-four department stores in Japan. At the Isetan Shinjuku Main Store, sales to international shoppers in fiscal 2017 increased by about 30% from fiscal 2016, breaking past records. The sales to international shopper’s share reached over 10% of total store sales. 

Given the fact, The Isetan Mitsukoshi Group enhances Inbound marketing as one of an important corporate strategy. In order to provide the same level of hospitality and convenience to international customers as already provided to Japanese customers, and to make the shopping experience more enjoyable, the store will enhance tax-free support and will provide better service to international customers.

In addition to the Tax-Free Counter on the sixth floor of the Main Building, a new Tax-Free Counter will be installed on the second basement floor of the Main Building, thereby raising the number of tax-free counter location in the building to two. A new counter for issuing Guest Cards will also be installed on the second basement floor, expanding the scope of services.

To promote multilingual digitalization and enhance in-store language support, the number of handy type automatic translation devices will be doubled to fifty with support available for 74 languages (English, Chinese, Korean, Thai, etc.) 

CORDURA has launched its redesigned website, which features several new interactive tools designed to make sourcing CORDURA fabrics easier than ever before. A fabric technology explorer allows users to search for CORDURA fabrics to meet their specific needs, and a mill locator helps identify relevant fabric suppliers and sources for fabric samples.

In addition to the fabric technology explorer and mill locator, the new site also offers focus pages with technical fabric information curated to help educate designers of military/tactical equipment, workwear, footwear, bags/packs, motorcycle gear, and active/outdoor apparel about relevant CORDURA® fabric options by end-use. 

“One of our biggest goals for the design of the new website was to create a seamless and intuitive user experience that promotes both inspiration and education for our value chain partners and prospective customers about how to integrate head-to-toe CORDURA fabrics into their offerings,” said Mallory Faust, digital marketing manager at CORDURA brand. “The development of these tools was heavily influenced by conversations with our customers about what inspires their fabric sourcing decisions.”

Stone Island has launched its new Iridescent Coating Tela gear. The garments will be on sale from this Thursday and are made using iridescent nylon canvas that’s been bonded to a golden pink polyurethane film to create strong aesthetics of military details and functionality. The outerwear, fleece and knitwear contain Reflex Mat, a reflective nylon canvas with a matte coating which is made with thousands of glass microspheres. 

Coterie, the New York-held premiere women’s fashion event, is partnering with the Australian Fashion Council to introduce Australian brands to the U.S. market.

On October 9th, Coterie will host a seminar in Sydney in the Central Business District to present a detailed overview of how to successfully enter the U.S. market as an Australian brand and give information as to how to exhibit at Coterie.

Brands will be invited out of the fashion, beauty and skincare market for Coterie and Beauty@Coterie. The letter being a growing market as reported in the latest WeAr #56.

Danielle Licata, Women’s Fashion Director and VP of Coterie states: “Australian brands have been increasing in popularity over the last 5 years and Coterie has helped to grow their footprint in the North American market.”

Coterie already had a range of Australian brands exhibiting at the shows amongst others Bec and Bridge, Camilla, One Teaspoon and Alice McCall. The partnership with the Australian Fashion Council will enable brands to receive even further support in their venture to enlarge their distribution.

Additionally, the February 2019 edition of Project Women’s, taking place in Las Vegas during MAGIC, will have a focus on Australian brands in its OASIS section.

Avant Toi has collaborated with Araike Severino Da Silva, a young Italo-Brazilian artist, photographer and Capoeira teacher on a capsule collection. Each garment is like a participant in a roda de Capoeira, in which personalities encounter and collide, participating in the pleasure of sharing. Where rules are the basis on which to build your own game, involving others.

The theme is a series of faces which depict different expressions and moods: complex studies of the human being, realized with the hand-painted technique of single-stroke drawing. Masterpieces of the ability to examine the depths of human emotions, summarizing them in an apparent confusion which is also a comprehensive picture that always remains true to itself.

These drawings have been digitalized and printed on the snow white of cotton jersey t-shirts and on fleece sweaters and pants fused with knitted fabrics through needle-punching. All the portrayed faces have also been combined in one print on candid garments in stretch silk; jacket, pants, shorts and t-shirt, and on the fresh t-shirt dress in cotton jersey; a texture that reveals itself unexpectedly light even while maintaining its suggestive emotionality thanks to its soft touch.

Araike also offers a variation on the theme, a portrait made with a thick brush for a three-dimensional effect on cotton jersey tank tops and t-shirts. The colours of the collection are are absolute: black and white.

From the 15th till 17th of January PREMIUM will return with implemented changes and strong focus on the following: Each PREMIUM brand will define its key looks and key stories in order to attract buyers, to inspire them and initiate a mutual dialogue.

In order to create the ideal conditions for this communicative approach as operators, PREMIUM will implement cross-segments and establish new brand realms based upon core criteria such as pricing, image and market relevance. Consequently, the floor plan will be restructured. There will be a specific PREMIUM Sophisticated Contemporary hall for brands in the upper price range. All other halls will be adjusted according to stylistic genre for PREMIUM Contemporary brands. This way PREMIUM is aiming to actively steer buyers and brands in their respectively relevant directions again, providing orientation and guidance.

The PREMIUM business shows further on emphasize Commerce, Content & Community as pivotal topics with a cross-segment mix of contemporary fashion and lifestyle brands.

With the acquisition of a minority stake in Liberty Fairs Fashion Group, the aim is to further boost existing events, create competitive market segments and develop new formats in Europe and the US. As of February 2019 the Liberty Fairs event will take place in downtown Las Vegas, which is where the first PREMIUM GROUP show will take place. As for New York City the team is working on a new concept for the womenswear segment.

The implemented concept strategy starting in January as well the internationalization in cooperation with the Liberty Fairs Fashion Group underlines the forward-thinking development process and the continuous innovation activities of the PREMIUM GROUP.

As of January, the hall plans will be redefined and the segments mixed. New brand realms will be created and arranged in a fresh way within the eight halls at STATION-Berlin based upon pricing, image, positioning and distribution strategy.

The focus will be on the key look of each collection. Each brand has to present its key style, a key item or story on its booth accordingly. The aim is to capture and retain attention, to inspire and actively initiate a dialogue. It is critical and absolutely essential to include an appropriate presentation on what the brand stands for, the story it wants to tell and what makes it unique. Booths should look inviting and appealing in order to promote a dialogue at the stand itself and to encourage visitors to stay for a longer period of time. Conversations should take place where the brand stories are told and where trends are displayed.

Ghost Pieces are totally monochromatic. Even the STONE ISLAND badge has been created in a special monochromatic version to blend with the garment.                                     

Within the AW ‘018 ‘019 Collection the concept is explored on jackets, knits, sweatshirts, bermudas and trousers, made for the first time also in beige. 

Outerwear is in Nylon Cotton 3L, an exclusive 3 layers stretch performance fabric, or in Tank Shield featuring Multi Layer Fusion technology, material made through a revolutionary lamination process, implemented this season with a new coupling technique that adds elasticity to the garments.

Digitalization, eco-responsibility, technical and high-performance developments, transversal know- hows … Première Vision Paris put innovation at the heart of its latest edition, which took place from 19 to 21 September. An edition dedicated to the autumn-winter 2019-20 collections marked by new developments to help guide professionals facing the industry’s new challenges including

• The successful launch of the Première Vision Marketplace

• With a successful launch, the new SPORT & TECH resource, dedicated
to exhibitors’ sport and technical offer, 

• The various initiatives put in place to enrich the manufacturing sourcing
offer: The Sourcing Connection 

• Developed across 1,000 m2 and praised for the unique character of its complete scope of materials, finished products, services and conferences, the Smart Square, dedicated to eco-friendly production and creation

This edition welcomed 55,497 visitors from 124 countries – an attendance at the same level as that of September 2016, but down 8.3% versus September 2017, which had experienced exceptional growth in terms of visitorship. 

The British Fashion Council’s Ambassadorial President David Beckham has launched the organisation’s China Partnerships Strategy. The latter was launched at a lunch attended by existing and potential new key partners, invited by the BFC and Mr Beckham. Guests included Xia Ding, President of JD International Fashion; Paul David Haouzi, President & Executive Director Trinity Group; Claire Chung, China General Manager Yoox Net-A-Porter, Patrick Tsang, Chairman Tsang Group and Judy Liu, Managing Director China Farfetch. 

The lunch, hosted at The Middle House Shanghai confirmed £500,000 worth of deals including JD.com and Ruyi’s co-sponsorship of the BFC/GQ Designer Menswear Fund, JD.com’s support for the BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund and support from Britain’s Department of International Trade. In addition to deals done, the BFC continue to explore the next stage of their innovative partnership with VIP.com and their long-term partnership with Fung Retailing Group. 

The development of the BFC’s China Fashion Business Network is a key pillar of development for the next 12 months, and many attendees at the lunch pledged their support to assist the BFC create a network of credible partners across investment, licensing, manufacturing, property, communications and retail in China. 

London – After British online luxury fashion retailer Farfetch was listed on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday, PETA US became one of its first shareholders – a move that will allow the animal rights organisation to attend the company’s annual meetings and officially urge it to end the sale of fur garments on its website.

“The fur industry is headed for the history books, as modern, high-end designers are saying no to pelts and yes to beautiful and innovative vegan fabrics,” says PETA Director of Corporate Projects Yvonne Taylor. “PETA US is taking the campaign against Farfetch’s website of horrors – which includes vile products made from foxes, coyotes, chinchillas, and badgers and even fur garments for children – straight to its boardroom and demanding a ban on fur sales.”

PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to wear” – notes that on fur farms in Europe, in China, and elsewhere, animals are confined to tiny wire cages, denied the opportunity to do anything that’s natural and important to them, and killed by electrocution, neck-breaking, or drowning. Some are even skinned alive. In the wild, animals are caught in steel-jaw traps that slam shut on their limbs, often cutting to the bone, and can suffer for days from blood loss, gangrene, and attacks by predators before being shot or bludgeoned to death.

Opinion polls show that 95 per cent of Britons would never wear real fur, and as top designers including Vivienne Westwood, Versace, Gucci, Stella McCartney, and, most recently, Burberry all have policies against using it in their collections, there’s no excuse for Farfetch to continue to allow unscrupulous labels to peddle cruelty on its site. Last year, PETA commended rival luxury retailer YOOX NET-A-PORTER GROUP for banning the sale of fur across all of its websites in response to calls from customers. Although PETA has met with Farfetch executives, the company has yet to make the same compassionate and business-savvy decision.

“AristoPop” is a new concept of fashion that combines the essence fashion, art and lifestyle. A collaboration between Filippo Bruno Tornaforte (the designer who has worked with Ralph Lauren, Luve, Saint Laurent) and Tommaso Zorzi, young and talented Italian TV star that carry at the brand his unconventional and pop touch. 

A concentration of timeless sophistication with creative elements extracted from pop art and beyond. AristoPop is, in fact, a lifestyle. To be AristoPop means to unite tradition with the culture of the innovation of style “in a unique way”. Carefree luxury living; being “vaguely avant-garde”. A mix of London High Society and seventies New York SoHo. In a time when fashion trends offer us colors and extreme representations of wealth and details AristoPop wants to lead to a more aristocratic level. It intends to unite these concepts with real artistic and cultural research carried out into the usability of “spoiled rich people”
who like to have items that may represent a level of upper-class “belonging”, almost creating a “Brand Inner Circle”. 

Every season the brand launches iconic items that is in line with the newest international trends. Furthermore they collaborate with freelance young designers on capsule collections. For the SS19 AristoPop will launch a new iconic bag AMANDA, a big size clutch printed with Matisse, Purdy, paint inspired design. 

Calik Denim launches a new platform called “The Ever Evolving Talks”, this should reflect the brand’s desire to inspire and support those involved in the denim and fashion industry. The event will be hosted during Amsterdam Denim Days: Tuesday October 23rd, 2018 and is invitation-only.

The goal is to unite industry leaders and inspire conversation, share Calik Denim’s future vision and continuing to develop, progress, educate and evolve the industry.

The Ever Evolving Talks gather notable keynote speakers including former Apple creative director Ken Segall, Matthew Drinkwater, head of London College of Fashion’s Fashion Innovation Agency, Thimon de Jong, founder of think-tank Whetston along side others discussing topics like innovation, future of wearable technology, the millennial consumer and sustanability.

Part of the audience will be key global denim brands, emerging designers, garment makers, suppliers, fashion schools and – press.

Naveena Denim Mills teamed up with the repurposed denim brand Noorism to create a sustainable collection for the New York Denim Days Festival. Repurposed from the most sustainable denim fabric ever, HORIZON of Naveena Denim Mills , the collection gives half of the proceeds to charity:water.

The collaboration targets both brands’ common focus for change – water. While HORIZON fabric saves 81% water usage in production, repurposing eliminate the concept of waste and reduces consumption, ensuring endless reuse, repair and recycling.

Furthermore, half of the proceeds from the collection will go to charity:water, a non-profit organization bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing countries.

Committed to create an ethical, sustainable and eco-friendly textile and apparel industry, Naveena Denim Mills recently introduced its new product line, the most sustainable ever. HORIZON, an innovative and cutting-edge combination of eco-friendly dyeing and finishing processes, provides the cleanest and most sustainable denim fabric possible.