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UK Manufacturing Health Index shows negative trend for fashion, but bumper Q3 skews comparisons

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UK fashion manufacturers began 2025 against a backdrop of “shaky” demand, a new report shows, with it saying that sales and purchasing dipped and lead times started to creep up. 

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That said, some of the bad news comes from the fact that the third quarter of 2024 was a particularly strong period so any quarter-on-quarter comparison will look weak. But the current performance, while nearer ‘normal’ is still weaker than usual.

And recent American announcements about import tariffs are only likely to pile on more pressure and create more uncertainty, potentially denting manufacturing activity. Whether that dent is catastrophic or not remains to be seen, however.

Unleashed, an inventory management and software specialist, said that its figures show small and mid-sized firms saw their average sales revenue drop by a third in the final quarter of last year, from nearly £524,000 in Q3 to £352,000. And the number of purchase orders (POs) placed also fell by half from 790 to 399, while lead times were slightly up – from 23 days to 25 compared to Q3.  

The research also shows that sales revenues were down by almost 3% compared to the same period last year, and POs by over 8%.

The company works across multiple industries but looking specifically at clothing and fashion it said that while profitability/return on investment improved in Q4 both year on year (YoY) and quarter on quarter (QoQ), sales revenue was down against both comparison periods. That almost 3% YoY decline referred to above looked tame compared to the nearly 33% QoQ plunge. Meanwhile POs declining by the aforementioned more-than-8% YoY also seemed relatively stable compared to almost a massive 50% QoQ drop.

That said, while lead times expanded, as mentioned, from 23 days to 25 days QoQ, they were down from 38 days in Q4 2024.

As we said, Unleashed works across industries and has data for 12 different industrial sectors. It said that clothing and fashion wasn’t the hardest hit with suppliers in the energy and chemicals market seeing an even bigger decline.

“Low consumer confidence and newly-volatile international trading conditions seem to be taking their toll on manufacturers across almost every category we looked at – which made it a tough start to the year for many businesses,” it explained. 

But it added: “While many will be rightly concerned about this drop-off, it’s worth bearing in mind that Q3 2024 was a bumper quarter, when we saw both sales revenue and POs surge. That suggests performance is returning to more normal levels, albeit a little more subdued than we’d all like to see.”

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Italian label Calzedonia partners again with Laetitia Casta for the 2025 swimwear campaign

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Translated by

Nazia BIBI KEENOO

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April 21, 2025

After a successful collaboration in 2023, Italian fashion label Calzedonia has once again partnered with Laetitia Casta to front its 2025 swimwear campaign. The 46-year-old French actress and model reprises her role as the face of the brand’s latest summer line, reinforcing Calzedonia’s focus on timeless elegance and Mediterranean style.

Laetitia Casta slips back into swimwear for Italian label Calzedonia. – Calzedonia

Known internationally for its hosiery, socks, leggings, and swimwear, Calzedonia designed a dedicated capsule collection for this year’s relaunch. To mark the renewed collaboration—coinciding with Casta’s appearance in Balmain’s Spring/Summer 2025 campaign—the brand unveiled a mini-line of one-piece swimsuits tailored to the French market.

The collection highlights refined details such as ruching and jewelry-inspired embellishments. It is available in a palette that includes blue, burgundy, glitter, and more. Released in mid-April, the capsule is available online and in Calzedonia’s nearly 230 retail locations throughout France.

Calzedonia is part of Oniverse, an Italian fashion group that also owns the brands Intimissimi, Tezenis, and Falconeri. In 2024, Oniverse reported a 13.5% rise in global sales compared to the previous year, surpassing €3.5 billion in revenue.

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Chanel appoints Kendrick Lamar as brand ambassador for eyewear

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Chanel has tapped Grammy-winning rapper and entrepreneur Kendrick Lamar as the face of its upcoming eyewear campaign, set to launch on April 22, 2025. The appointment marks a bold move by the French luxury house to deepen its cultural footprint through collaborations that blend fashion, music and storytelling.

Kendrick Lamar fronts Chanel’s latest eyewear campaign as the brand’s new ambassador. – Photo: Karim Sadli

 
The Spring 2025 campaign highlights Chanel’s latest eyewear collection and features Lamar alongside actors Margaret Qualley, Lily-Rose Depp and Nana Komatsu. With this move, Chanel aims to engage younger, culturally connected consumers in key global markets.
 
Chanel first began building ties with Lamar in 2023, when he wore a custom look by the house to the Met Gala. In early 2024, his creative company pgLang collaborated with Chanel on “The Button,” a fashion short film that premiered during the brand’s haute couture presentation in Paris.

“Chanel has a timeless legacy, and that is always something I can get behind,” said Lamar. “Since they don’t make clothes for men, I knew it would have to be glasses.”

Kendrick Lamar attends the 2023 Met Gala celebrating “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty.”
Kendrick Lamar attends the 2023 Met Gala celebrating “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty.” – Photo: Getty Images / Arturo Holmes

Eyewear remains one of Chanel’s most dynamic commercial categories, serving as an entry point for new customers. The brand has continued to grow its presence in this segment with expanded retail efforts and seasonal storytelling. According to Bruno Pavlovsky, president of Chanel’s fashion division, eyewear is more than a functional accessory—it plays a strategic role in the house’s business model and overall brand strategy.
 
With this appointment, Lamar joins a select group of male ambassadors at Chanel, including G-Dragon and Timothée Chalamet. The partnership is expected to evolve beyond the eyewear campaign, with additional creative projects led by pgLang. The collaboration bridges Chanel’s heritage fashion codes with contemporary cultural storytelling.
 
As the campaign rolls out this week, Chanel’s move reflects a growing shift in luxury marketing, where cultural credibility and cross-industry partnerships are essential to maintaining global relevance in a competitive landscape.

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Seen expands into all Ulta Beauty stores nationwide

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Hair and skin brand Seen has announced its retail expansion with Ulta Beauty. 

Seen expands into all Ulta Beauty stores nationwide. – Seen

Following a successful debut in 2023 through Ulta Beauty’s Sparked platform for emerging brands, Seen will expand into over 1,400 Ulta Beauty stores nationwide as of this month.

“We are truly grateful for the partnership with Ulta Beauty and thrilled to expand Seen’s presence into all stores nationwide,” said Iris Rubin MD, Harvard-trained dermatologist and co-founder of Seen. 

“Ulta Beauty has been an incredible partner, and this milestone represents a pivotal moment for our brand. Ulta Beauty guests deserve products that deliver stronger, smoother, healthier-looking hair, and are safe for all skin types, including sensitive, acne-prone, and eczema-prone skin. With Ulta Beauty’s nationwide reach, we are excited to offer Seen to even more consumers who are looking for haircare solutions that deliver proven results for their hair, skin, and scalp.”

Seen has established itself as a leader in the “skinification” of haircare, bringing advanced dermatological science to a category traditionally focused on aesthetics alone. The brand’s patented, award-winning formulas are clean, vegan, cruelty-free, and clinically proven to support both hair and skin health. 

“We are thrilled to expand on our existing partnership with Seen, offering the brand exclusively in all stores nationwide,” added Penny Coy, senior vice president of merchandising, Ulta Beauty. 

“Our engaged hair care and skin care loving guests are more informed than ever before, actively seeking Seen’s products because they not only deliver results but also address their specific hair and skin concerns with dermatologist-developed solutions. We are so proud of the brand’s growth over the years, from launching in select doors through Sparked, to being an exemplary Conscious Beauty brand, certified across all five pillars including vegan, clean ingredients, cruelty-free, sustainable packaging and give back, and now launching in all stores nationwide. We are looking forward to having new and existing guests discover and incorporate the brand’s efficacious formulas in their beauty routine’s this year and beyond.”

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