Mark Ritson: Burberry’s tumbling profits show Christopher Bailey is overstretched
At first sight one might assume that any CEO that can deliver £421m in profit from annual sales of £2.5bn is about to get a pretty juicy bonus. Nothing could be further from the truth at Burberry where current CEO Christopher Bailey has seen his 2015 package cut by 75% after the British luxury brand posted lacklustre results by its standards. Part of the problem for Bailey is one of expectation. Not anymore. More declines may be imminent. Recent protests for more democratic rights in Hong Kong may well have helped the local Cantonese population to send a message to Beijing. But overexposure to China is not the biggest issue right now for Burberry. Perhaps more surprising was just how talented and successful Bailey’s eye for product would turn out to be. The modern world of luxury brand success has been built on partnerships usually between a creator and a manager. In 2013 Bailey became the first creative director at a major luxury brand to step up and become its CEO. Perhaps.
Watch Victoria Beckham talk through her SS17 collection on Facebook
Your first look at Gigi Hadid’s line for Tommy Hilfiger
Just last week former One Direction member and Dazed cover star Zayn Malik made his fashion design debut, unveiling a footwear range he’d created in collaboration with Italian designer Giuseppe Zanotti. Today his girlfriend, model Gigi Hadid has done the same – revealing a capsule collection she’s worked on with American brand Tommy Hilfiger. Modelling in the lookbook herself (see above), Hadid’s collection includes clothing, footwear, accessories and fragrance and sees the California native put “a West Coast stamp on Hilfiger’s signature East Coast classics.” However isn‘t the first time Hadid has worked with Hilfiger, she’s actually an ambassador for the brand, has starred in its AW16 and The Girl fragrance campaigns, and has walked in its three most recent runway shows. Modelling itself can be a collaborative process and in a way, designing just takes this concept one step further.
People and Politics at Prada | Fashion Show Review, Ready-to-Wear - Autumn 2016 | BoF
MILAN, Italy — For all that it was a triumphant return to form, Miuccia Prada's menswear show in January turned out to be a mere appetiser for the deeper, richer women's collection she showed tonight. That was partly a reflection of her own feelings: "A woman is so much more complex than a man. She has to be a mother, a lover, a worker, a beauty..." But it was the way the clothes mirrored those multi-facets — and the emotional states that accompany them — that made the show a tour de force. Longtime collaborator Frederic Sanchez’s soundtrack of female singers ran a full drenching gamut, from the fierceness of PJ Harvey, to the pain of Piaf to the chill anomie of Nico, by way of sterling accompaniment. Her men were mariners, drifters. Some had tiny, padlocked books slung round their necks like pendants. Why? On her catwalk, Mrs P. offered her own vision of a polarised world: the powerful and the weak, the rich and the poor. For full coverage, visit BoF Fashion Week.
What will Alexa Chung's fashion line look like? | Fashion
Alexa Chung will launch a fashion line called Alexachung in May 2017. In a statement, the 32-year-old – with typical kook – commented: “With this first collection, I aim not only to delight your eyeballs but to furnish your wardrobe with all of your soon-to-be favourite pieces.” The truth is, she’s probably on to something. Chung has, arguably, become one of the biggest influencers on what young women wear over the past decade. Her own line follows a series of collaborations with other brands including Madewell and Eyeko, drawing on her own personal style. Based on those collabs and staples in the Chung wardrobe, here are six things we predict you’ll be lusting after come in May next year. Denim cut-offs Chung has a particular treasured pair of cut-offs that she has worn time and time again. Piecrust collar The piecrust in Chung’s M&S collection was the breakout star, and no wonder. Waxed jacket Loafers Sure, Chung had a hand in the ballet flat craze of the midnoughties. Dungarees
Influencers Are People, Not Media Outlets | DigitalNext - AdAge
Twelve years ago I started an influencer agency. I was told I was out of my mind. Leaving a lucrative on-camera position at MTV to move behind-the-scenes seemed mad to most. To me, it was the opportunity of a lifetime. It was abundantly clear that, in a rapidly splintering communications ecosystem, marketers were going to need to wield the power of alpha-consumers if they wanted their messages to resonate. Brands would no longer influence people, people would. It took about a decade, but influencer marketing has finally graduated to the big leagues -- endorsed from the CPG industry to automotive, from tremendous PR shops to historically digital agencies, from the streets to corporate boardrooms and everywhere in between. And this is bad for brands, consumers and influencers alike. Earlier this summer, two media and PR behemoths announced a new joint venture designed to ignite "global influencer and brand partnerships that are authentic, measurable and built for long-term engagement."
Victoria's Secret Photoshop 'Fail'? Or Just Plain Body-Shaming
