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David Koma unveils cool, glam vision for Blumarine

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Nicola Mira

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January 23, 2025

T-shirts featuring cats with studded collars, piercing rings alongside silvery sequins on a silk wrap skirt, denim briefs bordered with rings and metal charms, and even a printed kitten superciliously staring from the front of a skinny pair of panties: Blumarine has undergone quite a reboot, refreshed by the iconoclastic hand of new creative director David Koma.

A look from Blumarine’s fall 2025 pre-collection – Blumarine

Koma, Georgia-born and London-based, took charge of style last summer at the Italian luxury label, owned since 2019 by the Exelite (ex-Eccellenze Italiane) holding company of Liu Jo’s founder and boss, Marco Marchi. Koma was a last-minute replacement for Walter Chiapponi, who left hastily after just one season. Ahead of his first show with Blumarine, scheduled on February 27 in Milan, Koma has provided a taste of the direction he intends to give the label, by unveiling the fall 2025 pre-collection.

The first impression is that Blumarine, renowned for its opulent romanticism, has been given an energy boost. A series of slinky, sexy long dresses in silk and chiffon, lace nighties and ruffled crepe dresses sporting Blumarine’s typical floral and animal-print motifs, featured alongside zesty items with a younger vibe, ideal for everyday wear like the jeans, plain or distressed, the black leather jacket-and-trousers set, and the sleek white suit, for that businesswoman look.

“It’s a first glimpse of my work, a pre-collection in which I focused on the product. For me, it’s important to elevate product quality. Blumarine stands for affordable but quality luxury. Everything is made in Italy. We want to remain in a high-end luxury segment with all our categories, including our everyday wardrobe,” said Koma, speaking to FashionNetwork.com at Blumarine’s Milanese showroom.

“I’ve tapped the label’s signature elements, reinterpreting them in a contemporary way. I thought about a multi-generational wardrobe, targeting both mothers and daughters, and I blended everything with my own style,” said Koma, who now lives and works between London and Milan, where he has been visiting all sorts of neighbourhoods, gradually discovering the city’s many facets. “The more you live in this city, the more you fall in love with it,” he added.

A look from Blumarine’s fall 2025 pre-collection – Blumarine

Koma owns a small Pinscher dog named Ruby, and was surprised at how welcoming Milan is to pets and their owners. This gave him the idea of introducing an animal theme in the collection, especially since one of Helmut Newton’s most striking campaigns for Blumarine, dating back to the 1990s, depicted several women with their dogs.

He has sprinkled meows and woofs with abandon across the collection, in prints with the same lettering of the label’s logo, and did the same on the jewellery, while the T-shirts sported silhouettes of giant cats. Koma even created a crystal-studded leather sleeve bracelet to hold the pets’ poo bags. An item both attractive and practical. “I thought it was fun to play with this image. Generally speaking, Blumarine girls don’t take themselves too seriously, though they can be very stylish. There’s always an element of cheerful amusement,” said Koma.

His sometimes rather provocative humour runs through this collection, where East London meets Milan. For example, the khaki trousers with a utilitarian vibe, yet bordered with lace garlands. The openwork bra embroidered at chest height on sensible little turtle-neck sweaters. And the candy pink fur enhancing the collar of a denim jacket or the edges of a shearling handbag.

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Fashion

German retailers see slower sales growth over consumer uncertainty

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Reuters

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January 31, 2025

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.

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John Lewis had disappointing festive season

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January 31, 2025

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.

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Kim Jones steps down from Dior menswear creative helm

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January 31, 2025

Christian Dior Couture announced on Friday that Kim Jones, its Dior Homme artistic director, is leaving the post after seven years.

Dior Men – Spring-Summer2025 – Menswear – France – Paris – ©Launchmetrics/spotlight

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.”

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