The seasonal, handmade clothing item that used to be the most awkward gift of a few years back has morphed into a year round industry potentially worth millions of dollars.The ugly sweater, as they are so called, is no longer a fashion item your mother would force you to put on to be polite, but a huge business opportunity. National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day in the US, ugly sweater themed parties and competitions have gained popularity, leading to the widespread availability of the clothing item. Every holiday season major retailers bring out new and uglier-than-before designs of this garment that used to only be available if a knitted by a…
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A glance of Christmas campaigns
Christmas is coming once again. Gifts from family are always a undeniably huge part of this holiday. As usual, fashion brands are fighting hard to earn a spot in this competition trying to win the heart of customers. Let’s see some impressive fashion campaigns that have been launched this year. H&M This year H&M shot a fairytale film called “A Magical Holiday”, speaking about a little girl who tracks down “the evil brother of Santa Claus to save the Christmas season from his selfishness.” Minaj stars as the mother of the young girl before turning into a fairy named ‘the Wisest Thingy’. Jesse Williams and John Turturro also star in…
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On Style
Yes, style. The magic word for magazine editors straight out of The Devil Wears Prada, Man Repellers with millions of Instagram followers and the entire fashion sphere. Showcasing your personality? Hot trends fresh off the runway? Timeless or Ephemeral? The concept of style today is largely democratic and we’re in love with it. Who said you can’t wear sweatpants with stilettos? Hi there vintage 80s suit and futuristic Les Specs. You can incorporate patches of different styles and eras that you identify with: you create your own look, your own personality. To a certain extent we have to thank the ascent of street style as a trendsetting tool as it…
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The Magnitude of Winter Holiday Shopping
In many parts of the world, the conclusion of Halloween celebrations signifies not an ending, but the start of an even more exciting holiday season: Christmas! The merriment that accompanies the holiday is not reserved for children and families, because for most retailers, the winter holidays represent a significant proportion of their sales. It’s a period of joy for everyone involved, and since its inception around 1808, the gift-giving ritual has evolved into a massive retail opportunity that has significant implications for businesses. The National Retail Federation (NRF), an American retail trade association, considers the ‘winter holidays’ as the period between November 1st and December 31st. In the United States,…
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The Ultimate Discussion of Fashion: Fur
On October 12th, the fashion world woke up to huge news: Gucci announced they are going fur-free. The chief executive’s own words were “It’s not modern, it’s a little outdated”. So how did Gucci take this huge U-turn and decided to leave their infamous fur-lined loafers behind? The fur discussion in the fashion world has been present for years. Gucci is not the first to sign up to Fur Free Alliance; Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, Armani are all fur free brands. However there is no doubt that Gucci’s surprising action will have some effects on their sales regarding the fact that their best selling models all contain fur. The topic…
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Are wearables taking over the fashion industry?
Since the blast of Apple Watch launch in the market, wearables, as kinds of avant-garde intriguing devices, have caught the world’s attention. Gartner, Inc. forecasts an increase of additional 16.7% sales from 2016 in the wearables market in 2017, meaning 310.4 million be sold worldwide. Sales will generate revenue of $30.5 billion in 2017, within which $9.3 billion will be from smartwatches. Business Insider also predicts a continuous growth in wearables market, both for smartwatches, fitness bands and other activity trackers, and rest of wearables market. Having seen this growing market, new initiatives just can’t stop coming out with the fact that fashion companies rack their brain’s out and strive…
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Eyewear: a vision with vision
Report from the event “Eyewear: la montatura perfetta” that was held on November 8th in Università Bocconi. Iconic, timeless, the ultimate accessory, a must-have. Eyewear is a thriving business of 82 billion dollars with incredible growth potential and the world of fashion has its eye on its changing dynamics at the dawn of a new era, a new frame. Roberto Vedovotto, Chairman and CEO of Kering Eyewear and Giovanni Zoppas, CEO of Thelios discussed the mechanisms and changes of the world of eyewear in a unique talk at Bocconi University. ‘Empowering imagination’ is the motto of Kering Eyewear launched in 2014, a fully integrated start-up which operates within the powerful…
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Creative Director: Instagram
Instagram. The first app you open after pressing snooze and the last one after throwing yourself in bed. It’s a reality, we’re all addicted to the magic of Instagram and its continuous thread of satisfactory images. However, Instagram is not merely a guilty pleasure we indulge on a daily basis by posting ego-boosting pictures and stalking our favourite celebrities. It is a business tool with a total of 3.5 billion likes a day, the central social media application for all fashion brands regardless of size and target audience. And with its inception, a new era for advertising has begun. The ‘gram’ is the new showroom for fashion brands, their builder…
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Turmoil for Glossies
Is this the End of the Print Magazine Era? It is no secret that the past couple of years have been increasingly rocky for publishing companies. Any statistics aside, the individual consumer can likely attest to gradually purchase fewer and fewer print magazines over the past 10 years, as digital access has increased exponentially. While the impacts may not have been immediately manifest, recent unsettling events plaguing the publishing world have made it impossible to deny the struggles presenting themselves; the cracks are showing. In the first weeks of September, two editors in chief at international publishing giant Condé Nast resigned, Graydon Carter of Vanity Fair, and Cindi Leive of…
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The rise of the mobile retail
Over the years, with the non-stop advancement of technology, firms in different industries have been doing their best to keep up. Almost every brand has an online store now, but that’s just scratching the surface since the main focus has shifted from desktop to mobile. But when it comes to the fashion industry, especially luxury giants have been rather reluctant and slow to progress on mobile retail. The rise of m-commerce is quite relevant to the industry, yet most brands are still far behind on technological advances and are doing less than they could to facilitate shopping through apps and other mobile means. Courtesy of Keep Shopping The fashion industry…
