Altuzarra, Norma Kamali and Theory are among the key designers who will join Calvin Klein in returning to New York Fashion Week, whose February schedule was released on Tuesday.
There will also be homecomings to New York for Veronica Leoni, Christopher John Rogers, Fforme and Lapointe for America’s key catwalk season, scheduled to run from Thursday, February 6 to Tuesday, February 11.
According to the preliminary schedule just made available by the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) its Official Schedule for the fall-winter 2025 runway season will formally kick off with a show by Brandon Maxwell.
The preliminary Official NYFW Schedule features more than 54 runway shows and designer presentations, with additional collections being presented digitally and by appointment. Thom Browne, who also happens to be the Chairman of the CFDA, will close out the season with a 5pm show on February 11.
The season will also include first-time additions such as Alexis Bittar, Gabe Gordon, LEBLANCSTUDIOS by Yamil Arbaje and Angelo Beato, and Zoe Gustavia Anna Whalen.
Meanwhile at the GQ Bowl, a livestream red carpet event taking place in New Orleans, GQ and Emily Adams Bode Aujla will debut the 2025 BODE REC collection, featuring men’s and women’s looks worn by models, athletes, and notable friends of GQ and Bode, the CFDA revealed.
Other highlights will include Anna Sui, Carolina Herrera, Coach, Colleen Allen, Diotima, Eckhaus Latta, Khait, LaQuan Smith, Luar, Michael Kors, Monse, Sergio Hudson, Simkhai, Todd Snyder, Tory Burch, Ulla Johnson and Zankov.
Since acquiring the Fashion Calendar in October 2014, the CFDA has served as the sole organizer of the Official NYFW Schedule. Originally founded in 1945 by publisher Ruth Finley, the now-digital Fashion Calendar serves as the foremost year-round events scheduling and planning tool for fashion designers, press, retailers, public relation firms, and the industry at large.
Starting in 2022, the CFDA created an NYFW Travel Fund to raise awareness of the importance of NYFW’s cultural, artistic, and economic impact. Now in its sixth season, the fund has supported nearly 44 international editors to date with financial and in-kind support made possible through brand contributions and strategic partnerships.
“NYFW serves as the premier opportunity for designers and brands to tell their story and share their work in the ways that speak to their communities and business needs. This upcoming season represents themes we see across the industry: calibration and innovation,” Joseph Maglieri, CFDA’s Director of Fashion Week Initiatives, said.
The CFDA is a not-for-profit trade association founded in 1962 with a membership of more than 350 of America’s foremost womenswear, menswear, jewelry, and accessory designers.
German retail sales rose in 2024, but growth should be more modest this year due to the high level of uncertainty, according to retail association HDE.
Last year, retail sales rose 1.1% compared to the previous year in inflation-adjusted terms, official data showed on Friday. The HDE forecasts 0.5% growth in real terms this year.
“Consumption and the retail sector in Germany will not really gain momentum in 2025 either,” said HDE managing director Stefan Genth. “There is simply too much uncertainty,” he said. “Wars, high energy costs and overall economic stagnation are a toxic cocktail for consumption.”
In nominal terms, retail sales rose by 2.5% in 2024 and are expected to grow by 2.0% in 2025, according to HDE’s forecast.
The latest HDE survey with 700 retailers shows that 22% of respondents expect sales to increase this year, while almost half of them expect results to be below the previous year’s level.
In December, retail sales fell by 1.6% compared with the previous month, official data showed. Analysts had predicted a 0.2% increase.
Many big names in UK retail had a good Christmas season — despite the sector being generally sluggish — but it seems John Lewis Partnership (JLP) may not have been one of them.
The retailer — which operates its eponymous department stores and webstore, plus Waitrose supermarkets — has missed its profit target after a disappointing festive season.
It hasn’t shared any info officially but internal documents seen by The Telegraph suggest bad news to come when it does release its results.
Those internal documents have only been shared with staff so far with the company saying that sales have fallen short of expectations and it’s unlikely to achieve its hoped-for £131 million full-year profit.
The company is said to have blamed “lower consumer confidence and weaker than expected market confidence” for the sales miss in the month to 21 December, although also the fact that key trading days fell outside the period.
Sales targets were missed at both of the firm’s chains, although the newspaper said it still claimed it outperformed rivals and staff should be “proud of our performance”.
It will be interesting therefore to see exactly what its figures were as a number of rivals have actually reported a good Christmas. If its stores have beaten other supermarkets and chains like M&S, perhaps its targets were too ambitious in the first place.
We won’t know for a while, but we do know that with M&S resurgent, JLP’s supermarkets and department stores have lost some of their lustre as the destination of choice for Britain’s middle classes.
So what were the firm’s benchmarks? Back in September it had said it was seeing strong demand and expected a significant rise in profits for the year to January. The prior year’s pre-tax profit had been £56 million and the year before that it made a loss.
It had also talked about its turnaround efforts paying off and that it was seeing a “considerable improvement” in performance, with the John Lewis chain in particular expected to benefit from a buoyant second half.
Christian Dior Couture announced on Friday that Kim Jones, its Dior Homme artistic director, is leaving the post after seven years.
It’s been rumoured for some time that he would exit the label but it’s not yet known what his next step will be.
Jones has been widely praised for his work at Dior with his latest men’s collection shown this month being hailed as a success.
He’s been a key creative at LVMH having also designed its Fendi women’s collections. And he helmed Louis Vuitton’s menswear before he joined Dior.
The company said it “wishes to express its deepest gratitude” to the designer “who has accelerated the development of Men’s collections internationally and has greatly contributed to the worldwide influence of the House by creating an inspiring wardrobe that is both classic and contemporary, and connected to some artists of our time”.
And Delphine Arnault, who’s chairman and CEO of Christian Dior Couture,added: “I am extremely grateful for the remarkable work done by Kim Jones, his studio, and the ateliers. With all his talent and creativity, he has constantly reinterpreted the House’s heritage with genuine freedom of tone and surprising, highly desirable artistic collaborations.”
Jones meanwhile called it a “true honour to have been able to create my collections within the House of Dior, a symbol of absolute excellence. I express my deep gratitude to my studio and the ateliers who have accompanied me on this wonderful journey. They have brought my creations to life. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the artists and friends I have met through my collaborations. Lastly, I feel sincere gratitude towards Bernard and Delphine Arnault, who have given me their full support.”