Belgian designer Walter Van Beirendonck said Wednesday that the fashion world was “afraid” of US President Donald Trump and failing to speak out against him for commercial reasons.
AFP
Talking to AFP after his menswear show at Paris Fashion Week, Van Beirendonck said he hoped more creative people and leaders in fashion would take a stand on Trump’s “disgusting” rhetoric.
Van Beirendonck show featured models with jackets bearing “peace, not war” badges and concluded with “Give Peace a Chance” by John Lennon and Yoko Ono.
“I think it’s on everyone’s mind. It’s horrible what is happening in the world right now,” he said. “Too much war, too much extreme right.”
The 67-year-old said he wanted to react to Trump’s inauguration on Monday “and I also hope that more creative people will react”.
“They should talk more,” he told AFP. “They are all afraid of selling less, the money is an issue, that’s why we see the most incredible things happening and nobody is reacting.”
The comments by the outspoken Antwerp-based independent designer come two days after Trump’s inauguration in Washington, which was attended by French fashion tycoon Bernard Arnault and two of his children.
LVMH boss Arnault and his daughter Delphine, who runs Dior, were given prominent seats behind outgoing president Joe Biden and other past American leaders.
The European corporate fashion business, which is dominated by LVMH and Kering, is known to be worried about the possible impact of a trade war between the United States and Europe under Trump.
If Trump slapped tariffs on high-end European clothing and leather goods, American consumers would need to pay higher prices at a time when the luxury market is facing a global slowdown.
Van Beirendonck’s show on Wednesday featured smatterings of his usual bright, clashing colours along with more classic loose-fitting suits in brown and navy Scottish tweeds.
He returned to his regular theme of encountering alien life, which he has used in the past as a symbol for diversity and outsiders.
Paris Men’s Fashion Week kicked off on Tuesday with Louis Vuitton artistic director Pharrell Williams presenting his fifth collection for the brand at the Louvre museum.
In a collaboration with his friend and Japanese designer Nigo, the show featured softly tailored suits in on-trend browns and tweeds, along with streetwear-inspired baseball jackets and long bermuda shorts.
Paul Smith and French brand 3.Paradis presented their autumn-winter 2025-2026 collections on Wednesday.
A number of top labels are bedding in new designers or looking for fresh inspiration in a market facing weaker-than-usual demand in China in particular.
Lanvin is set to return after a two-year hiatus on Sunday, presenting Peter Copping‘s debut collection as the artistic director of France’s oldest couture house.
Notably absences include Givenchy, whose new chief designer Sarah Burton has reserved her first collection for Women’s Fashion Week in March, as well as Loewe, whose artistic director Jonathan Anderson is rumoured to be on the way out.
Burberry announced a key appointment on Friday with the luxury business saying it will soon have a new chief information officer.
Charlotte Baldwin
It has appointed Charlotte Baldwin to the role and she’ll join the business at the end of March. Baldwin will be responsible for leading Burberry’s global technology team and will join the executive committee. She’ll report directly to Burberry CEO Joshua Schulman.
He described her as “a highly experienced technology and digital leader with a track record of leading large-scale digital transformation”.
She hasn’t previously worked in the luxury fashion sector but has wide-ranging experience across some major-name businesses in Britain.
She’s currently the global chief digital and information officer at coffee chain Costa Coffee where she oversees the company’s technology, digital and data organisation.
Prior to joining that firm, she was the chief information, digital and transformation officer at private healthcare giant Bupa’s Bupa Insurance unit. She’s also held senior roles at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Pearson and Thomson Reuters.
Burberry has been navigating a tough period of late and Schulman joined in the top job last year, tweaking the firm’s strategy. His approach seems to be paying off with the company last week porting improved results, although the turnaround is still undeniable a work in progress.
Another day, another shopping centre delivering a “record-breaking” performance in 2024. This time it’s Gloucester Quays “capping off another year of considerable growth”, for the owner/operator Peel Retail & Leisure.
That included record Christmas trading at the key Gloucester mall, which helped overall sales for the year finish 6.7% ahead of the national average. Across November and December, retail sales grew 3.6% compared with 2023.
Looking at 2024 in total, an overall 7.4% year-on-year sales increase across its tenants was split between 6.1% for retail, and 8.5% for F&B.
But there was also double-digit growth from leading fashion, homewares, and outerwear brands including Next, Skechers, All Saints, Mountain Warehouse, Puma, Crew Clothing and Suit Direct.
It said sustained growth was seen across all categories “points to the increasing relevance of the Gloucester Quays experience”.
Paul Carter, asset director at Peel Retail & Leisure, added: “There have been various headlines this month about how challenged retail was around Christmas, so to have Gloucester Quays performing so well is a real credit to our team and our brands.
“These results also serve as a reminder of how relevant and in demand this outlet is. We have experienced consistent growth for several years, and that success can be put down to the quality of our offer and waterside environment. There is no doubt our catchment is responding to how we have evolved Gloucester Quays, as an urban outlet that combines a compelling shopping environment with dining and leisure to fit all tastes and needs, benefitting from a heritage waterside setting that few regionally can match.”
Italy’s Give Back Beauty, which makes perfumes for luxury brands such as Chopard and Zegna, on Friday said it had agreed to buy domestic rival AB Parfums to grow its distribution operations and add licensing deals.
Corrado Brondi, founder and president of Give Back Beauty
Fragrances have been outperforming the broader beauty sector and Give Back Beauty founder and Chairman Corrado Brondi told Reuters his company did not rule a possible bourse listing in the future, adding it had no financial need for it at present.
Brondi said AB Parfumes had sales of around €100 million, which would add to Give Back Beauty’s net revenues that totalled around €300 million in 2024.
Give Back Beauty, which was founded in 2019 and has a distribution deal with Dolce & Gabbana and a beauty license with Tommy Hilfiger, has a core profit margin currently a little over 15%, it said.
AB Parfums is being sold by Italy’s Angelini Industries, a family-owned group that is mostly active in the pharmaceutical sector.
Give Back Beauty’s business is currently focused on fragrances, which represent roughly 70% of its revenues, but it aims to grow its skincare, make-up and haircare product lines, Brondi said.
Entertainment8 years ago