“He who fights with monsters should be careful lest he thereby becomes a monster”, Friedrich Nietzsche famously observed. Some might argue that the only monsters in the glamorous world of fashion are it-girls’ favorite ‘ugly’ sneakers, but growing concern about how aggressive public condemnation of plagiarism, cultural insensitivity and various misbehaviours of market players affects the industry dynamics is an important question that many find themselves asking. After all, are we witnessing growing social consciousness that drives a more transparent and inclusive society, or are we simply entertaining ourselves with a new breed of cyberbullying? Take the recent downfall of Dolce & Gabbana that caused the brand to be banned…

Does the surname Arnault ring a bell for you?  If you were ever, at some point in your life, interested in fashion, then most likely the answer to this question is going to be yes. However, should I ask you to give me both the name and surname of the person that I have in mind, then your answer is most likely going to be: Bernard Arnault. Wrong. Now substitute Bernard with Alexandre and here you have it, the main character of this article. It’s a tale as old as time: someone in the family finds himself in a position of power and suddenly half of the family becomes employed…

On the 18th of March a headline: “Prada Loses $864 Million in Value as China Slump Hits Profit” was published on Bloomberg.  For many it might seem as a mere piece of everyday financial news, but in fact it is a signal of changes in the luxury industry, in particular personal luxury goods, or fashion.  Fifteen, or even ten years ago the effects of shocks in spending habits of Asian customers could in no way be compared to what we see now. Although Europe still holds the leading position in terms of sales, it is the Chinese consumer that drives the positive growth trends in terms of sales. As can…

In the last months, since the unexpected appointment of Givenchy’s Riccardo Tisci as Burberry’s new Artistic Director, the latter often found itself in the media spotlight. Ironically, shortly after the international scandal revolving around the news that Burberry would rather burn unsold pieces than mark them down, all in hopes of not risking brand devaluation, the company received considerable backlash on the execution of not only the operational side but also the artistic one. Burberry, whose brand assets (hence, the infamous Burberry check) are among the most recognized in the fashion world, has found itself in a strange position of not having a clear and consistent brand identity and ending…

“Fashion is everything. Art, music, furniture design, graphic design, hair, makeup, architecture, the way cars look – all those things go together to make a moment in time…” – Tom Ford. The fashion and automotive sectors’ creative synchronicity goes way back to the start of the 20th century. The invention of the first car inspiring our modern-day handbag is a key point, as it was first intended to be an accessory to store driving gloves and then was transformed into a portable sac-a-main. Cars have been a muse for fashion designers all throughout history, from Dior’s S/S01 vintage car prints, Prada’s S/S12 candy-infused, cartoon car collection and Céline’s auto-inspirations in A/W11. Gucci’s…