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Dress to Impress: Ted Baker Says Formal Wear Back in Demand

Shoppers walk past a Ted Baker store on Regents Street in London, Britain December 17, 2018. (Reuters)
Shoppers walk past a Ted Baker store on Regents Street in London, Britain December 17, 2018. (Reuters)
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Dress to Impress: Ted Baker Says Formal Wear Back in Demand

Shoppers walk past a Ted Baker store on Regents Street in London, Britain December 17, 2018. (Reuters)
Shoppers walk past a Ted Baker store on Regents Street in London, Britain December 17, 2018. (Reuters)

Upmarket retailer Ted Baker said on Monday dresses and suits were back in demand, with Britons rediscovering a taste for formal wear as months of COVID-19 curbs on social life were slowly relaxed.

A lockdown-driven shift to casual wear hammered the fashion retailer's earnings last year, but its new boss said the performance of Ted Baker stores since their reopening in April was "very pleasing".

"Most recently we are seeing dresses back to the same level (in the) mix of our business as it was two years ago," Rachel Osborne told Reuters. "(We) are seeing people coming in for suits, the wedding season is hopefully starting."

Ted Baker shares were up 1.2% at 0754 GMT after the group reported a 59.2 million pound ($83.53 million) pretax loss for the 12 months to Jan. 30, narrower than the 76-million-pound loss forecast by analysts, according to Refinitiv Eikon data.

Osborne, who took over last year, has been working on winning back customers and investor trust after a string of setbacks that followed the departure of previous chief executive and founder Ray Kelvin following misconduct allegations.

Kelvin has denied any wrongdoing.

The company, which cut nearly 1,000 jobs and raised money through a stock issue to get through the crisis, is undergoing a three-year turnaround plan focused on saving 31 million pounds a year.

It also plans to strengthen its online presence, with 11 million pounds earmarked for its e-commerce site's revamp.

"Ted Baker needs to find a way to sustainably improve its online business, or it won't bode well for trading patterns in the post-pandemic, digital-centric world," Hargreaves analyst Sophie Lund-Yates said.

While overall sales slumped by 44% to 352 million pounds in fiscal 2021, online sales leapt 22%, though growth slowed to 4.5% in the first quarter of the current year with fewer discounts and other promotions.

Osborne said the company had also introduced more casual wear, such as joggers and sleepwear, for lockdown times. "All those really took off as a percentage mix of our business that we hadn't seen pre-COVID."

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Fashion

Dolce & Gabbana Debut in Paris, Showing Italian Artistry on French Soil

The logo of Italian designers Dolce & Gabbana is seen at a branch office at Bahnhofstrasse shopping street in Zurich, Switzerland September 9, 2020. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann
The logo of Italian designers Dolce & Gabbana is seen at a branch office at Bahnhofstrasse shopping street in Zurich, Switzerland September 9, 2020. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann
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Dolce & Gabbana Debut in Paris, Showing Italian Artistry on French Soil

The logo of Italian designers Dolce & Gabbana is seen at a branch office at Bahnhofstrasse shopping street in Zurich, Switzerland September 9, 2020. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann
The logo of Italian designers Dolce & Gabbana is seen at a branch office at Bahnhofstrasse shopping street in Zurich, Switzerland September 9, 2020. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

For the first time in their 40-year history, the Italian design duo Dolce & Gabbana are showcasing their work in the French fashion capital. Paris, the birthplace of haute couture, now finds itself hosting a powerful Italian counterpoint to French luxury fashion.
The message, as curator Florence Müller puts it, is direct: “Yes, Italy does it too.”
The landmark exhibition, Du Coeur a la Main (From the Heart to the Hand) running from Jan. 10 to March 31, is not only a love letter to Italian craftsmanship, but to the interconnectedness of fashion. “The story of couture is global,” Müller explained. “Embroidery, lace, brocade — they existed long before Parisian couture, in Italy, in India, and beyond.”
Spread across 1,200 square meters (1,400 square yards) of the newly refurbished Grand Palais, the exhibit showcases over 200 looks from the company's Alta Moda and Alta Sartoria collections and 300 handmade accessories, as well as objects like Sicilian ceramics. It includes 10 themed rooms that delve into the artistic roots of Dolce & Gabbana’s work.
Baroque grandeur defines the collection, unapologetically maximalist and layered with embellishments. Among the highlights is a gown inspired by Venice's Murano glass, encrusted with glass mosaics from Orsoni Venezia 1888, the glassmakers behind the golden mosaics of St. Mark's Basilica. Müller described it as “a sculpture on textile — pure craftsmanship elevated to art.”
Opera takes center stage. A black velvet gown softened by gold embellishments captures the drama of Bellini’s Norma, while a romantic blue dress for Verdi’s La Traviata flows like an aria, its tulle layers whispering love and loss. Meanwhile, icons of the brand, such as Sophia Loren and Naomi Campbell, are immortalized in giant paintings. Classical Italian opera and traditional Sicilian folk melodies provide the soundtrack, adding layers of drama.
But Du Coeur a la Main is not just about finished pieces. Five real seamstresses from Dolce & Gabbana’s Milan atelier work live during the exhibition, crafting bodices, bustiers and corsets before visitors’ eyes. “This seamstress is sewing lace to form a dress, while another is draping fabric by hand,” Müller said. “It’s extraordinary. This is not just fashion — it’s art.”
Sicily, Domenico Dolce’s birthplace, lies at the heart of the collection. Traditional Sicilian hand-painted carts, ceramics and lace-making techniques are woven into couture. Yet the exhibit also underscores fashion's often-ignored global influences.
“Luxury goods and artisans traveled more than we think,” Müller said. “The silk and brocades used at Versailles Palace came from India, and Italian artisans were hired to craft the Hall of Mirrors ... (Fashion) is constant exchanges and inspirations — this exhibit reveals what time forgot.”
Italian and French fashion have long been framed as rivals, with French conglomerates such as LVMH and Kering and Paris Fashion Week sometimes viewed as the pinnacle of the industry. But this exhibition challenges that hierarchy, showing that the two traditions are more interconnected than they are opposed. Both rely on les petites mains — "the little hands" — the artisans whose precision and passion elevate couture to art.
“The techniques may differ — Sicily’s lace traditions versus Paris’s tailoring — but the soul of couture remains the same: the human touch,” Müller said. The exhibit reveals the shared ingenuity of French and Italian ateliers, whether in a Sicilian workshop or a Parisian salon.
Even beyond couture, the exhibit highlights the breadth of “Made in Italy.” Everyday items like Smeg refrigerators and coffee presses given a D&G reworking reflect the ethos of Italian craftsmanship, transforming functional objects into canvases for artistry.
“Fashion is art. It’s meant to inspire, to dazzle, to make us dream. Whether you wear it once or never, its value is in its beauty, not its practicality,” Müller said.
When asked about hyperbole of the dazzling gowns — many of which seem impossible to wear on the street — she replies with a smile: “So what?”