UK-based global fashion retailer END. has promised a breathless celebration for its 20th anniversary and core to its mission is maintaining collaborations with long-standing brand partners. One of its biggest associations is with sportswear giant Adidas so the pair are now exclusively ‘Tying the Knot’ as part of those anniversary celebrations.

As an ode to the “essence of love and partnership”, both END. and Adidas “merge classic Adidas silhouettes with refined co-branded details in their latest execution of the Superstar Vintage and Japan OG”. 

With minimal exteriors (in sleek black leather and white lace uppers), a “subtle yet meaningful touch” is embossed on the underside of the tongue with the classic phrase of ’something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue’.

For the campaign, the pair have embarked on a journey to Berlin documenting five couples from diverse backgrounds to frame the collaboration “in a modern context of love and understanding of beauty within each relationship”. 

The couples “navigate and redefine sneaker culture through storytelling and innovation, with a shared commitment to quality, heritage and progressive design”.

The END. x adidas ‘Tying the Knot’ collection launches Friday (7 March) at END. stores and online priced from £125 to £150/€139 to €175.

Applications have been opened for round two of ScaleUP, the incubator programme for ‘global majority’-owned brands that’s run by the (Fashion) Minority Report (FMR) in partnership with ASOS.

Global majority refers to people of African, Asian, indigenous, Latin American, or mixed-heritage backgrounds who comprise 85% of the world’s population. And ScaleUP is designed to help bridge the gap between the fashion industry and those brands that “continue to face barriers in accessing the fashion market and scaling up their business operations”.

The programme provides successful candidates with support including insight and guidance from industry experts, mentorship, wholesale opportunities, the opportunity to pitch for funding help in developing a long-term strategy.

Applications for ScaleUP will be open until 3 April. They’ll be reviewed and shortlisted by a panel of judges including  Daniel Peters, FMR founder; ASOS’s creative EVP Vanessa Spence, and its partner brand director Shazmeen Malik; plus the BFC’s Head of designer initiatives and education, Katie Rawle, with more judges to be announced soon.

The inaugural programme debuted in 2023 and FMR and ASOS have learnt from that experience saying that this year “every brand selected as a finalist will be supported in scaling up their business through masterclasses in marketing, finance and wholesale”. 

Meanwhile the overall winning brand will receive an investment of £20,000 and their collection will be sold on ASOS.com, with a second place winner receiving £10,000 to scale up their brand. 

The 2023 launch programme saw 100 applications with11 applicants being shortlisted and six brands receiving expert guidance and mentoring. 

The two final winners of the first programme were womenswear specialists Isabelle Pennington Edmead and Taideux. The latter has already launched on ASOS.com, while Isabelle Pennington Edmead will launch this spring.