There’s been quite a few end-of-year updates from shopping centres and all of them are upbeat after a busy 2025.
Image: British Land
Sheffield’s Meadowhall is one of them, noting it has been a strong year of exchanges on new leases covering 300,000 sq ft of the destination, 80% retail and 20% hospitality, including renewals from 19 tenants.
It said visitor numbers “have also remained consistently high”, headlined by its busiest Black Friday weekend in six years (262,981 visitors across the three days), while October’s school half-term was also the strongest in six years (457,000 visitors representing a 9.7% year-on-year increase).
Meanwhile, commercial brand activations continued to “perform effectively” throughout 2025, including standout initiatives from Trinny London and Jo Malone.
And, of course, new openings and expansions are the lifeblood of any centre with Meadowhall announcing fast-expanding novelty retailer Miniso has just joined its roster while fashion lifestyle brand TK Maxx has extended its presence there, “concluding a strong year of leasing activity and retail performance”.
TK Maxx has added an adjacent unit to create a 19,000 sq ft space, complete with a 173-ft fully-glazed frontage on the Upper Level The Gallery, showcasing its mix of branded fashion, beauty, homeware, and accessories.
Miniso, meanwhile, has opened a 1,759 sq ft store on Lower Level High Street, introducing its range of lifestyle, homeware, and technology products, alongside the brand’s character collections.
These additions follow several major openings in 2025, including beauty majors Sephora and Superdrug.
These introductions round off a period in which several tenants have invested significantly in upgrading and expanding their stores. More than £47 million has been spent by brands alone across 2024 and 2025, with more than a third of Meadowhall’s operators undertaking new fitouts and refurbishments in that time.
Looking ahead to 2026, operator British Land said more than 25 brands have already committed, and will be bringing a further £8 million of investment to the centre.
Louisa Holmes, Asset Director at operator British Land, said: “This year’s level of investment, from new arrivals and long-standing tenants, reflects the confidence brands have in Meadowhall as a critical part of their national portfolio. In addition to that, the centre’s success means our brands are effectively competing to bring the best and latest shop fits and concepts here, elevating the experience for our visitors.”
At Chopard, Caroline Scheufele has opened the first Caroline’s Couture pop-up boutique in Geneva. The opening marks a new chapter for Chopard’s couture line. Located in the heart of the city, on Rue Robert Céard II, the boutique showcases a selection of Caroline’s Couture creations alongside Chopard Haute Joaillerie pieces. This initiative brings 2025 to a close, shining a spotlight on the maison’s savoir-faire.
Caroline’s Couture pop-up on Rue Robert Céard II – DR
Founded in 1860, Chopard is a Swiss house renowned worldwide for its luxury jewellery and timepieces. The house has three boutiques in France and is available through around 30 retailers. Caroline Scheufele, the house’s co-president and artistic director, is behind many of its collections and oversees all artistic creation.
Caroline’s Couture is Chopard’s couture line, created in 2023 by Caroline Scheufele. The pieces are made to measure and are available by appointment only, or at private, invitation-only presentations around the world. No online sales are offered. The line follows the codes of haute couture. Each creation is crafted by specialised artisans: embroidery is carried out in India, guipure lace is made in Switzerland, and fabrics are produced in Italy.
The year 2025 was punctuated by several presentations for Caroline’s Couture. It began with the Insofu capsule collection, presented at the Hôtel Chopard Place Vendôme in Paris. Five silhouettes were then unveiled, inspired by the Insofu emerald, along with 18 Haute Joaillerie pieces.
The collection was then presented at the Cannes Film Festival, on the Chopard rooftop at the Hôtel Martinez. The silhouettes were inspired by the cosmos and the stars. In September, at New York Fashion Week, new creations inspired by the Ice Cube collection were unveiled. For the occasion, Swiss artisans from St. Gallen developed a bespoke guipure technique.
This 90-square-metre pop-up space offers an opportunity to discover Caroline’s Couture creations in a setting dedicated to Chopard’s savoir-faire.
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The next edition of Who’s Next will take place from January 17 to 19, 2026 in Paris, in a format reinvented by WSN. Hall 7 at Porte de Versailles now hosts Room 0126, a new concept bringing together five trade shows: Who’s Next, Bijorhca, Shoppe Object Paris, Salon International de la Lingerie, and Interfilière Paris.
Who’s Next January 2026 floor plan – DR
For Who’s Next, this winter edition aims to meet the immediate needs of multi-brand retailers by organising a clearer separation between ready-to-wear and accessories. “For over 30 years, WSN has been committed to supporting independent retailers. Once again, we are offering them far more than a trade show: a place for exchange, learning, inspiration, and the creation of a business model that fully suits them,” explains Frédéric Maus, CEO of WSN. Who’s Next sits at the heart of the group’s approach; over the past ten years, WSN has gone from organising two events a year to 12.
The organisers explain that the new allocation of space responds to the way retailers now build their assortments around complete silhouettes combining statement pieces with high-volume products. Several players are consolidating their presence, including DK Company with Ichi and B Young, La Fée Maraboutée and Shaft, which is expanding its premium denim offer. Save The Duck is using the show to introduce its womenswear line, while new entrants from retail, such as I Am Active Studios, illustrate the growing shift of consumer-facing concepts towards wholesale. In the Brut Icon space, Outré presents a wardrobe designed for clients seeking distinctive brand universes, confirming the market’s appetite for more assertive identities.
A multi-level show
To accompany these developments, the show’s layout at Porte de Versailles has been reimagined around a Hall 7 transformed into an imaginary hotel, structured by thematic floors. The visitor journey begins with a lobby, then continues into suites devoted to materials, jewellery, design, and accessories, before culminating in a rooftoparea dedicated to fashion and beauty. This scenography clearly delineates the different worlds and makes it easier for buyers to navigate the expanded offering.
The Impact and Neonyt Paris hub affirms its role as a platform dedicated to responsible initiatives. For three days, committed designers, researchers, associations, upcycling experts, and materials-innovation studios present their work in a space structured as a professional hub. Fashion Green Hub showcases its support tools, while the podcast La Seconde Vintage records discussions on second-hand. Biofluff and the Quatre Pattes association address issues linked to textile innovation and the impact on animals. Studio Griffé demonstrates how leveraging archives can be integrated into product strategy, and the HURIYA association organises an upcycling workshop enabling pieces to be transformed on site.
Bijorhca, owned by the BOCI federation and operated by WSN, dedicates this edition to a theme centred on love, which shapes the entire scenography and editorial line. Independent designers, manufacturers, established houses, and stone suppliers present their collections, offering a seasonal overview of jewellery.
Shoppe Object Paris confirms the evolution of fashion retail towards a broader lifestyle proposition. The newcomer brings together an international selection spanning decoration, ceramics, stationery, lifestyle, textiles, and fragrances, meeting the needs of concept stores that now curate their universes beyond apparel.
This year, Salon International de la Lingerie and Interfilière Paris strengthen their connection. Interfilière remains the focal point for materials, bringing together lace, embroidery, technical jerseys, innovative fibres, and textile solutions. The expanded “Sourcing & Solutions” pathway supports brands across categories- ready-to-wear, lingerie, accessories- in structuring their product projects. This continuity between upstream and downstream offers a complete view of the value chain, from raw material to finished product.
WSN is also showcasing its WSN Academy. In a space designed as a bar-library, the WSN Academy offers a programme of 30-minute masterclasses and individual meetings. Speakers come from across the ecosystem: experts from the French Women’s Ready-to-Wear Federation, Fashion Ecosystem specialists, retail consultants, data analysts, fashion lawyers, experts in marketplaces, branding, and AI applied to commerce and creation. This support addresses the needs of retailers who are simultaneously dealing with purchasing, merchandising, digital communication, financial management, and new regulations.
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The website of ultra-fast-fashion giant Shein won’t be closed down in France during the year-end festivities. In the early afternoon of Friday December 19, a French court has rejected the government’s request for a three-month suspension of Shein, following the discovery of illicit products on the Singapore-based marketplace.
Shein
The public prosecutor’s statements during the hearing of December 5, indicating that a total ban on the site would be disproportionate in terms of EU jurisprudence, did suggest that the court’s decision would go in that direction. But it remains a setback for the French government which, two weeks ago, in a post-hearing statement, reiterated it expected Shein to be heavily sanctioned.
The Paris court has turned down the government’s request for tough measures, pursuant to article 6-3 of the law safeguarding trust in the digital economy, to be taken against Shein.
The government had asked for the marketplace to be blocked or, at the very least, temporarily suspended, following the discovery on its digital aisles of some products like sex dolls looking like very young girls, category A arms, and banned pharmaceuticals.
At the December 5 hearing, the defence attorneys for Shein condemned what they termed a political “conspiracy.”
Shein admitted the products in question had been on sale, but defended itself by stating that they had been immediately withdrawn following the alert, and that it had then taken appropriate action. Shein, which was founded in China but is now based in Singapore, reckon it had responded adequately, even suspending its French site of its own accord.
After November 5, the only products sold by Shein in France are the clothes in its ultra-low-cost, constantly changing collections, made in China mostly using synthetic fabrics. While the site is carrying out a “complete audit” and is working to correct any “flaws.”
However, so long as the site remains accessible, the regulatory and judicial tussle is far from over. France has also asked the EU to impose sanctions on Shein.
Politics8 years ago