Skiwear collections have become regular occurrences for designers on the luxury end of the spectrum each fall. More drops of technical and fashion-forward ski apparel, including many collaborations, are introduced each year, and past partners tend to reprise their efforts with new designs annually. Examples for 2023 involve a variety of labels: Dior is offering […]
Archive | Fashion
Raising a Glass to Whiskey Collaborations
Brands of whiskey are long-time and still growing participants in the world of fashion. The collaborative collections of apparel and lifestyle goods typically incorporate design elements tied to the properties’ brand heritage and the distilling process. The marketing messages supporting the initiatives often call out the quality and craftsmanship of the jointly developed pieces, reflecting […]
Worked Up About Workwear
Fashion watchers keeping an eye on what’s happening on the runways have highlighted workwear as a notable trend in this year’s fall and winter collections. The segment long ago expanded beyond traditional workwear purchasers. Starting in the late 1980s, workwear became associated with rap, street, and skate culture. Celebrities began wearing workwear and posting the […]
Augmenting Adaptive Apparel Assortments
By Karen Raugust on October 30, 2023 in Celebrity, Demographic groups, Diversity/Inclusion, Fashion, Licensing
The fashion industry has been slowly putting more focus on consumers with disabilities since the mid-2010s, when it began picking up the pace of adaptive apparel releases. The technique has been flourishing in the last 18 months, as the business has seen several launches of adaptive clothing lines from retailers and brands, not to mention […]
Apparel in the Picture for Photographers
Photographers are less frequent participants in apparel collaborations than artists, in part because photographs offer less flexibility in design than is possible with art imagery and in part because the pool of high-profile photographers is smaller than the pool of artists, among other factors. But there are opportunities, not just for graphic t-shirts but for […]
Grabbing the World by the Lapels
A handful of womenswear designers known for very feminine styles have been bringing their sensibilities into the menswear space of late. The move makes sense as the lines between womenswear and menswear are increasingly blurring, as illustrated by the rise of gender-neutral collections and gender-neutral pieces within womenswear and menswear lines. Some recent examples: Laura […]
M&A À La Mode
This year has seen significant numbers of mergers and acquisitions in the global fashion industry, with much of the action centered in the luxury and/or direct-to-consumer spaces. Some of the reasons given for the high level of activity include consolidation in the digital-first DTC space; the need to strengthen omnichannel distribution capabilities; a wish to […]
Better Together
Licensors have over the years become more flexible in how their IP is integrated into licensed merchandise, as they look for ways to keep their properties and products fresh and embrace ideas from their licensees on how to do so. A relatively new manifestation of this trend is some licensors’ openness to redesigning their corporate […]
Clear and Compliant
A fashion trend was born when operators of sports contests, music festivals, concerts, and other big gatherings, due to security concerns, began requiring ticket holders to carry bags that were clear and limited in size, in lieu of traditional backpacks and purses, in order to gain entry. Enterprising designers, seeing sports and music fans replace […]
Tour de Collaboration
The pairing of cycling gear with fashion, art, and lifestyle labels—a trend that fashion industry watchers trace back to Rapha’s first collaboration with designer Paul Smith in 2007—continues to flourish in 2023, with a number of high-end cycling apparel brands announcing capsules with notable names in the fashion and lifestyle segments. Here is a look […]