Pharrell Williams Kicks Off Paris Fashion Week with Louis Vuitton Show

A model presents a creation for the Spring/Summer 2025 Menswear Collection by the US designer Pharrell Williams for Louis Vuitton fashion house during the Paris Men's Fashion Week, in Paris, France, 18 June 2024. EPA/ANDRE PAIN
A model presents a creation for the Spring/Summer 2025 Menswear Collection by the US designer Pharrell Williams for Louis Vuitton fashion house during the Paris Men's Fashion Week, in Paris, France, 18 June 2024. EPA/ANDRE PAIN
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Pharrell Williams Kicks Off Paris Fashion Week with Louis Vuitton Show

A model presents a creation for the Spring/Summer 2025 Menswear Collection by the US designer Pharrell Williams for Louis Vuitton fashion house during the Paris Men's Fashion Week, in Paris, France, 18 June 2024. EPA/ANDRE PAIN
A model presents a creation for the Spring/Summer 2025 Menswear Collection by the US designer Pharrell Williams for Louis Vuitton fashion house during the Paris Men's Fashion Week, in Paris, France, 18 June 2024. EPA/ANDRE PAIN

Louis Vuitton men's creative director Pharrell Williams took to an outdoor, turf-lined runway at UNESCO headquarters on Tuesday, opening Paris Fashion week with an evening show.

The world's biggest fashion label, known for its checked damier patterns and monogrammed trunks, drew on a travel theme for the spring summer 2025 men's collection, with a towering globe sculpture, rows of international flags and -- in the distance -- the Eiffel Tower as a backdrop, Reuters reported.

Models strode down the grass catwalk in crisply-tailored suits, slick bomber jackets and fur coats, with rhinestone-encrusted sunglasses and chunky, airplane-wing brooches, while an orchestra and choir performed music produced by Williams.

The LVMH-owned label drew an audience of 1,500, as well as screaming crowds on the street outside, angling to catch arrivals of celebrity guests, who included NBA basketball player Victor Wembanyama, actor Michael Fassbender and K-pop star Jackson Wang.

The Paris men's fashion shows, which will be followed by Haute Couture week, come as France gears up for the summer Olympics, as well as two rounds of elections in the coming weeks, which have thrown the country into political disarray.

Globally, high end labels face waning appetite for fashion and accessories, with the key Chinese market a particular source of concern.



Puma Announces Cost-Cutting after 2024 Net Profit Misses Expectations

A handbag with the logo of German sports goods firm Puma is pictured in a shop after the company's annual news conference in Herzogenaurach, Germany February 20, 2014. (Reuters)
A handbag with the logo of German sports goods firm Puma is pictured in a shop after the company's annual news conference in Herzogenaurach, Germany February 20, 2014. (Reuters)
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Puma Announces Cost-Cutting after 2024 Net Profit Misses Expectations

A handbag with the logo of German sports goods firm Puma is pictured in a shop after the company's annual news conference in Herzogenaurach, Germany February 20, 2014. (Reuters)
A handbag with the logo of German sports goods firm Puma is pictured in a shop after the company's annual news conference in Herzogenaurach, Germany February 20, 2014. (Reuters)

Sportswear brand Puma announced a cost-cutting program on Wednesday after reporting 2024 net profit below the prior year's level, missing its expectations.

Net profit was 282 million euros ($294 million) for the year, compared to 305 million euros in 2023, Puma said in preliminary results released after markets closed.

"While we achieved solid sales growth in 2024 and made meaningful progress on our strategic initiatives, we are not satisfied with our profitability," said Arne Freundt, CEO of PUMA, without saying what its expectations were.

The cost-cutting program aims to get Puma back to earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margin of 8.5% by 2027. The EBIT margin for 2024 was 7.1%.

For the fourth quarter, a key shopping period, Puma reported sales grew by 9.8% in currency-adjusted terms, to 2.289 billion euros ($2.38 billion).

Over 2024 as a whole, sales were up by 4.4% in currency-adjusted terms, to 8.817 billion euros.