Met Gala: Kardashian as Monroe, a Gilded Blake Lively

Blake Lively attends The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the "In America: An Anthology of Fashion" exhibition on Monday, May 2, 2022, in New York. (AP)
Blake Lively attends The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the "In America: An Anthology of Fashion" exhibition on Monday, May 2, 2022, in New York. (AP)
TT

Met Gala: Kardashian as Monroe, a Gilded Blake Lively

Blake Lively attends The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the "In America: An Anthology of Fashion" exhibition on Monday, May 2, 2022, in New York. (AP)
Blake Lively attends The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the "In America: An Anthology of Fashion" exhibition on Monday, May 2, 2022, in New York. (AP)

Kim Kardashian shut down the Met Gala red carpet Monday in one of Marilyn Monroe's most iconic dresses, a gold-beaded body hugger Monroe wore when she sang happy birthday to President John F. Kennedy 60 years ago.

Kardashian had to lose 16 pounds to fit into the dress, designed by Jean Louis and purchased in 2016 by the Ripley's Believe or Not! museum in Orlando, Florida, for a whopping $4.81 million.

"It was such a challenge," she said. "I was determined to fit it."

The dress originally cost $12,000. It was so tight Monroe had to be sewn into it when she purred "Happy birthday, Mr. president" on May 19, 1962, at a Madison Square Garden fundraiser. She died three months later. It has been known as the "Happy Birthday, Mr. President" dress ever since.

Kardashian, with boyfriend Pete Davidson at her side, paired the dress with Cartier white gold drop diamond earrings and a furry white jacket she kept strategically low to cover her backside. Her hair was platinum and pulled tightly into a bun. But she only wore the fragile original dress for her walk up the Grand Staircase at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, changing into a replica after that, according to Vogue.

Earlier, Blake Lively smiled for the cameras in a grand Atelier Versace gown, with husband Ryan Reynolds in brown velvet, Billie Eilish went with an upcycled green lace-trim dress from Gucci and Cynthia Erivo wore sheer white Louis Vuitton with a matching head piece as the Met Gala returned to its berth on the first Monday in May after years of pandemic upheaval.

The celebration of American design was themed to gilded glamour, sprouting classic black tailed tuxedoes for many of the men and lots of dresses in black and white for the women. Others paid literal homage to New York City, home base for the Gilded Age, and still more shimmered in metallic golds and silver.

"Black and white are THE colors for the evening," said Holly Katz, a stylist and host of the Fashion Crimes podcast.

Lively, one of the evening's co-hosts, wore a bronze and rose gold look that transformed into a shimmery layer of baby blue as a large bow was pulled. Her look drew inspiration from the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building and the blue ceiling of Grand Central Station.

"Instead of looking to fashion to influence the dress, I looked to New York City architecture," Lively said.

Cardi B, accompanied by Donatella Versace, was an over-the-top golden goddess in a dress of mesh and chains, a fitting birthday for the designer.

Gigi Hadid was more redefined cat woman than golden girl. She wore a tight-as-skin, blood red Latex catsuit with a corseted bodice and huge, heavy quilted coat from Versace. She walked gingerly up the steps.

Lizzo, meanwhile, got the crowd cheering when she played her gold flute for fans watching the parade of fashion outside. She wore a black dress under a stunning gold-embroidered black coat, all by Thom Browne.

Camila Cabello worked a huge white gown with a midriff top, from Prabal Gurung, while Jordan Roth, the theater producer, provided a reveal of his own, removing a black, egg-like shell to a matching bulbous suit, all by Thom Browne. Janelle Monáe offered a royal wave in a black and white bedazzled helmet piece and slinky gown with head piece.

"Amazing. I’m proud to be American. I’m proud to be wearing Ralph Lauren. This is gilded glamour from the future," Monáe told The Associated Press.

New York Mayor Eric Adams put politics front and center in a tux emblazoned with "End Gun Violence" on the back. Former presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton was in a Bordeaux-colored gown designed by Joseph Altuzarra with the names of historic women sewn into the hem and neckline. They include Abigail Adams, Shirley Chisolm and Madeleine Albright.

Clinton's last Met Gala was a while ago.

"I told Anna I would come every 20 years," she said.

Vogue livestream co-host Vanessa Hudgens made her way up the steps in a vaguely Victorian black sheer lace gown with a long train by Moschino. She was joined by La La Anthony, her fellow Vogue host who wore a deep red look with cut out shoulders from LaQuan Smith.

Anthony said: "Those stairs are intimidating."

And if the Met Gala's return feels like one of those what, already moments, it is.

It's been just under eight months since the last gala, an annual fundraiser that raises eight-figure sums for the Met's Costume Institute. More than $16.4 million was raised last year. The starry event is the institute's primary budget feeder.

This year's gala coincides with the opening of the second part of a two-part exhibit at the Costume Institute focused on American fashion and style. The evening's dress code was gilded glamour and white tie, a la the Gilded Age, that tumultuous period between the Civil War and the turn of the 20th century known for its robber barons, drama and grandeur.

Some of the stars included extra touches. Gabrielle Union said the red jewels in her hair to go with her silver Versace dress represented the blood shed by people of color during the Gilded Age. The dress included a large red flower embellishment at the waist.

Vogue's Anna Wintour, who has run the gala since 1995, wore feathery Chanel and a jeweled tiara that has been in her family since 1910. She continues as one of the night's honorary co-chairs, along with designer Tom Ford and Instagram's Adam Mosseri. The other official co-chairs for 2022 are Regina King and Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Eilish wore a custom Gucci corset look of ivory and duchesse satin with green lace and a padded bustle. Erivo’s look came with a large train as she held hands with Sarah Jessica Parker, who wore custom Christopher John Rogers, a white and black striped Cinderella ballgown with a towering pink and black feather head piece by Philip Treacy.

Parker's dress was inspired by the work of Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley, the first Black female fashion designer in the White House, a confidante of first lady Mary Todd Lincoln.

Alicia Keys’ Ralph Lauren dress was inspired by her native New York City, with a cape evoking the New York City skyline outlined in small hand-placed crystals. Her husband, Swizz Beatz, also a native New Yorker, donned a New York sports jacket.

Twitter’s new owner, Elon Musk, showed up with his mother, Maye Musk a former model adorned in Chopard pearls and other jewels. Her son went with a classic tux with tails.

Ariana DeBose was resplendent in golden Moschino by Jeremy Scott.

"This guy turned me into a fashion Oscar," she said.

And the gala included a marriage proposal. Former state Assembly candidate Bobby Digi Olisa got down on one knee to pop the question to a stunned Laurie Cumbo, the city’s commissioner of cultural affairs.

What's a Met Gala without more than one Kardashian, or six. The entire family showed up, including Kylie Jenner in a white ballgown with a matching hat and big sister Kourtney Kardashian in deconstructed Thom Browne to go with beaux Travis Barker's Thom Browne suit. Kendall Jenner was in black Prada as she played "devil and angel" with Kylie. Sister Khloe Kardashian was in gold Moschino and matriarch Kris Jenner wore canary yellow from Oscar de la Renta, an ode to Jackie Kennedy Onassis - her hair in a ’60s flip.

Megan Thee Stallion was also a golden goddess. Her Moschino shiner had wings at the shoulders. Quannah Chasinghorse wore a beaded blue strapless gown created in partnership with Indigenous designer Lenise Omeasoo.

Sans husband Justin Bieber, Hailey Bieber walked in an elegant Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello slip dress with a feather-trimmed coat in white.

Katy Perry, usually a showstopper as a cheeseburger and other wacky looks over the years, donned understated Oscar de la Renta this time around.

Teyana Taylor wasn't quite on theme but her dramatic Iris Van Herpen gown certainly made a statement, said Claire Sulmers, a fashion writer and pop culture observer who writes The State of Fashion column on Meta's publishing platform Bulletin. It was a breathtaking purple worn with a metal, cage-like piece around her head and face.

"The drama and metallic adornment certainly made her one of the best dressed of the night," Sulmers said.

While many wore European brands, the American vibe remained, said Rachel Tashjian, fashion news director for Harper’s Bazaar.

"Many of the best looks were the most straightforward ones. Kate Moss in a velvet Le Smoking Tuxedo gown, Hailey Bieber in slinky ice-colored silk and marabou feathers, for example. They were both in Saint Laurent, which is of course not an American brand, but the simplicity and directness of their beauty and allure was extraordinarily, well, patriotic," she said.

Todd Snyder, the New York-based designer, appreciated many of the night's interpretations on the white tie dress code.

"Seeing how people pushed beyond the expected interpretation was refreshing this year. I loved Austin Butler in custom Prada swapping the classic bow tie for a silk scarf over a cropped tux jacket. Ryan Reynolds and Rege Jean Page reminded us of the elegance of velvet in a tux. While the era from the outside was opulent, Riz Ahmed’s statement of wearing a workwear inspired outfit to represent the immigrant workers that kept the Gilded Age going is a statement that must not be forgotten."



UK Fashion Retailer ASOS Expects Profit at Low End of Guidance as Overhaul Falters 

 Smartphone with ASOS app, a keyboard and a shopping cart are seen in front of a displayed ASOS logo in this illustration picture taken October 13, 2020. (Reuters)
Smartphone with ASOS app, a keyboard and a shopping cart are seen in front of a displayed ASOS logo in this illustration picture taken October 13, 2020. (Reuters)
TT

UK Fashion Retailer ASOS Expects Profit at Low End of Guidance as Overhaul Falters 

 Smartphone with ASOS app, a keyboard and a shopping cart are seen in front of a displayed ASOS logo in this illustration picture taken October 13, 2020. (Reuters)
Smartphone with ASOS app, a keyboard and a shopping cart are seen in front of a displayed ASOS logo in this illustration picture taken October 13, 2020. (Reuters)

British online fashion retailer ASOS reported a 15% fall in fourth quarter sales and forecast earnings around the bottom of its guided range but said it was making progress with its turnaround plan.

The group, led by CEO José Antonio Ramos Calamonte, announced an overhaul of its business model last October after the economic downturn and operational problems hammered its profits and its shares.

Already down by 38% over the last year, they fell another 1% in early trading on Tuesday.

Rivals Primark, Next and JD Sports Fashion have all reported positive updates this month, while official data showed UK retail sales rose in August.

Ramos Calamonte's strategy is to prioritize profit over top-line growth by reducing the amount of stock ASOS carries, cutting costs and improving its cash position.

ASOS said the fourth quarter sales decline was in line with guidance, with a stronger start to the period followed by a weaker performance in July and August.

But its second half adjusted gross margin fell 50 basis points short of its guidance of a 200 basis points improvement as it increased promotions.

Consequently second half earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) were expected to be towards the bottom of the previously guided 40 million to 60 million pounds ($49-$73 million) range with free cash inflow 90 million pounds below expectations, due to what it said were timing effects that would soon reverse.

"We have reduced our stock balance by circa 30%, significantly improved the core profitability of the business and generated cash against a very challenging market backdrop," Ramos Calamonte said.

Prior to the update, analysts on average forecast a full year to Sept. 3 adjusted loss before interest and tax of 24 million pounds, versus earnings of 44.1 million pounds in 2021/22.

ASOS's fourth quarter sales were down 16% in the UK, down 7% in the European Union and down 19% in the United States.

Mike Ashley's Frasers Group has built an 18.3% stake in ASOS.


Giorgio Armani Offers Soft, Fluid Looks at Milan Fashion Week

A model walks the runway of the Giorgio Armani show during the Milan Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2024 on September 24, 2023 in Milan. (Photo by GABRIEL BOUYS / AFP)
A model walks the runway of the Giorgio Armani show during the Milan Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2024 on September 24, 2023 in Milan. (Photo by GABRIEL BOUYS / AFP)
TT

Giorgio Armani Offers Soft, Fluid Looks at Milan Fashion Week

A model walks the runway of the Giorgio Armani show during the Milan Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2024 on September 24, 2023 in Milan. (Photo by GABRIEL BOUYS / AFP)
A model walks the runway of the Giorgio Armani show during the Milan Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2024 on September 24, 2023 in Milan. (Photo by GABRIEL BOUYS / AFP)

Italian designer Giorgio Armani presented soft, fluid looks at Milan Fashion Week on Sunday, offering plenty of lightness and shimmer for women's wardrobes next summer.
The 89-year-old fashion veteran opened the show, called "Vibes", with a champagne satin jacket and satin grey trousers. Several outfits with the same color combination followed - cropped shirts, jackets and strapless dresses over trousers, Reuters reported.
Satin trousers featured heavily in the Spring/Summer 2024 line, often paired with sheer blouses, light jackets and sparkling tops.
Wave patterns adorned jackets, belts and shaped crop tops as well as buttons.
"Vibrations - that means colors, movement, a structure that moves on the body, that's the inspiration,″ Armani told reporters backstage.
For the evening, there were plenty of shimmering looks - sparkling tops, skirts and trousers, the last of which were white.
Models, whose hair was styled wavy, clutched small sparkling bags and wore flat shoes.
The colors shifted from champagne and grey to blues, greens and pale pinks.


All Black and White Looks Rule Dolce & Gabbana Catwalk in Milan

 A model walks the runway of the Dolce & Gabbana fashion show during the Milan Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2024 on September 23, 2023 in Milan. (AFP)
A model walks the runway of the Dolce & Gabbana fashion show during the Milan Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2024 on September 23, 2023 in Milan. (AFP)
TT

All Black and White Looks Rule Dolce & Gabbana Catwalk in Milan

 A model walks the runway of the Dolce & Gabbana fashion show during the Milan Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2024 on September 23, 2023 in Milan. (AFP)
A model walks the runway of the Dolce & Gabbana fashion show during the Milan Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2024 on September 23, 2023 in Milan. (AFP)

Italian luxury label Dolce & Gabbana presented a mainly black and white collection at Milan Fashion Week on Saturday, deconstructing tuxedos to present an array of dresses and suits for women next spring.

The show, simply called "Woman", opened with a dark pinstripe jacket and hot pants worn with stockings. Asymmetrical black chiffon polka dot dresses followed, with many designs bearing bows tied at the neck.

Designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana dressed models in see-through black lace dresses and black jackets worn with micro shorts. Trouser suits were slim and cropped at the ankle.

The designer duo played with tuxedo styles, cropping jackets or turning them into one-shouldered dresses.

Some outfits bore white collars or details from white tuxedo shirts. A selection of all white suits, jackets and lace dresses also featured in the spring/summer 2024 collection, as did dabs of leopard print on shiny macs and dresses.

Dolce and Gabbana embellished their outfits with bows, ruffles and floral embroidery.

Models carried small handbags and wore stilettos or flat thigh-high black boots.

Milan Fashion Week, where the likes of industry heavyweights Giorgio Armani, Versace, Gucci and Prada present their collections, ends on Monday.


Checkerboard Reigns on Versace Catwalk at Milan Fashion Week

A model wears a creation as part of the Versace women's Spring Summer 2024 collection presented in Milan, Italy, Friday, Sept. 22, 2023. (AP)
A model wears a creation as part of the Versace women's Spring Summer 2024 collection presented in Milan, Italy, Friday, Sept. 22, 2023. (AP)
TT

Checkerboard Reigns on Versace Catwalk at Milan Fashion Week

A model wears a creation as part of the Versace women's Spring Summer 2024 collection presented in Milan, Italy, Friday, Sept. 22, 2023. (AP)
A model wears a creation as part of the Versace women's Spring Summer 2024 collection presented in Milan, Italy, Friday, Sept. 22, 2023. (AP)

Checkerboard dominated Versace's catwalk at Milan Fashion Week, with designer Donatella Versace serving up the print on dresses and suits for women's wardrobes next spring.

Models wore collarless jackets and short feminine dresses in pastel colors, as well as boxy satin jackets paired with billowy shorts in Friday night's show.

There were also denim outfits, skirt suits in darker black and white tones as well as shiny evening dresses.

Accessories consisted of flat ballerina shoes and hair bows.

In show notes, the designer described her Spring/Summer 2024 line as “fresh and graphic".

"This is a Versace summer with color and shine, tailoring and soft draping," she said. "This collection is joyful and sharp."

Famous fashion faces including models Kendall Jenner, Gigi Hadid and Claudia Schiffer featured in the show. Milan Fashion Week runs until Monday.


New Designer De Sarno Showcases Minimalist Glamour for Gucci Debut

 A model walks the runway of the Gucci fashion show during the Milan Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2024 on September 22, 2023 in Milan. (AFP)
A model walks the runway of the Gucci fashion show during the Milan Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2024 on September 22, 2023 in Milan. (AFP)
TT

New Designer De Sarno Showcases Minimalist Glamour for Gucci Debut

 A model walks the runway of the Gucci fashion show during the Milan Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2024 on September 22, 2023 in Milan. (AFP)
A model walks the runway of the Gucci fashion show during the Milan Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2024 on September 22, 2023 in Milan. (AFP)

Gucci's new creative director Sabato De Sarno sent out a glamorous, skin-baring lineup of minimalist designs for his first fashion show on Friday, a highly anticipated debut which owner Kering hopes will help revive sales at its flagship brand.

Models filed down a darkened, concrete runway at the label's Milan headquarters, a former aircraft factory, parading short shorts paired with suit jackets, jewel-encrusted garments and tank tops with plunging neck lines.

Friday's catwalk presentation serves as the aesthetic foundation of a broad reset of the French group's prized label -- key to creating buzz and reigniting sales, even if the new designs won't hit stores until early next year. "Gucci is the opportunity to fall in love with fashion, ancora," De Sarno said in a post on Instagram in the run-up to the show, using the Italian word for "again."

The brand plastered the word "ancora" on huge advertisements that marked the date of the show, alongside the Gucci logo -- in white lettering, on a burgundy backdrop -- covering buildings around the world, including New York, Chengdu, Bangkok and London.

Adding to the drama of De Sarno's debut on Friday, a forecast of rain prompted a last-minute shift of the show venue to the Milan headquarters rather than outdoors, on the street in the swanky Brera district.

Debut collections can generate mixed reactions, and even positive press reviews are not always a proxy for their future commercial success. However, the fashion show will "definitely impact investors' perception of De Sarno's capacity to trigger an inflexion in Gucci's aesthetics," said Antoine Belge, analyst with Exane BNP Paribas.

"The climax is not for right away -- it's sometimes the second or third shows that are the most important," Kering CEO and Chairman Francois-Henri Pinault told reporters before the event began, before greeting front-row guest Ryan Gosling.

One of fashion's biggest success stories in recent years, Gucci has fallen behind rivals like LVMH-owned Louis Vuitton and Dior that capitalized on strong post-pandemic appetite for luxury goods.

Since parting ways in November with its previous creative director Alessandro Michele, whose eclectic, gender neutral styles were credited with soaring sales and profits in the 2015-2019 period, the group has been laying the groundwork for the brand reset with more elevated and timeless looks.

Gucci's long-time CEO Marco Bizzarri is due to leave the company after the show, as announced in July, to be replaced by managing director Jean-Francois Palus - Pinault's right-hand man - for a transitional period.

Kering shares were up 3.9% after the show.

At their current price, Kering shares are trading at the equivalent of around 14 times expected earnings over the next 12 months, according to LSEG data. That forward PE compares to 42 for Hermes and 22 for Moncler.


Prada Explores Lightness with Windswept Translucent Chiffon for Next Summer 

A model presents a creation of Prada collection during the Milan Fashion Week, in Milan, Italy, 21 September 2023.
A model presents a creation of Prada collection during the Milan Fashion Week, in Milan, Italy, 21 September 2023.
TT

Prada Explores Lightness with Windswept Translucent Chiffon for Next Summer 

A model presents a creation of Prada collection during the Milan Fashion Week, in Milan, Italy, 21 September 2023.
A model presents a creation of Prada collection during the Milan Fashion Week, in Milan, Italy, 21 September 2023.

Prada achieved a state of unbearable lightness in a series of translucent chiffon dresses that gently cosseted the form, trailed by wispy strands of the finest organza.

Designers Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons aptly dubbed the series of ethereal, windswept dresses previewed during Milan Fashion Week on Thursday as “Haze.” They never altered shape, only the shades of muted pastels shifted. They were paired with bright satin mules, either flats or with small triangular heels.

As they did during menswear in June, models walked past a wall of clear, oozing slime, which pooled, then drained down an industrial grate runway, this season in peach. Miuccia Prada said there was a thematic link.

“The whole thing started from lightness,” Prada told reporters backstage. “We wanted to do a really light, light, light show. Usually, we ... tend to do heavy. It was a challenge to do light.”

Simons said it took the pair the full three years of their collaboration to date to figure out a “light and fluid” approach as a counterpoint to their exploration of weightier topics, like uniforms and decoration.

“The collection is about fluidity, and movement and material that you maybe can’t really grasp easily as solid,” Simons said.

Not that uniforms and decoration were ignored. Chiffon capes gave diaphanous elegance to high-waist belted shorts and a worker’s shirt. A leather utility vest was decorated with swirls of crystals, and there were jumpsuits with notched lapels. As in menswear, long fringe created a curtain over prints. Crushed velvet dresses were decorated with crystals, studs and metal eyelets.

“They are beautiful clothes for today,” Prada said.

Belts were the accessory of the season, especially with long trailing fringe: tinsel silver, coppery gold, leather with eyelets or silky strands.

The new collection featured a reissued bag originally made by Miuccia Prada’s grandfather, Mario Prada, in 1913, a link back to the brand’s lineage as a leather goods company. The gathered handbag features a clasp closure shaped like the mythological face with bulging eyes and tongue stuck out — just as it did in Mario’s day. “He was very eccentric, even back then,” Prada said.

The updated versions are made in leather or the brand’s trademark recycled nylon, Re-nylon.

The backstage surge included Scarlett Johansson and Benedict Cumberbatch, as the writers strike in Hollywood may have left the stars with time to fill fashion’s front rows.


Tom Ford Relaunches Under Peter Hawkings and Moschino Celebrates 40 Years 

A model walks the runway at the Tom Ford fashion show during the Milan Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2024 on September 21, 2023 in Milan. (AFP)
A model walks the runway at the Tom Ford fashion show during the Milan Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2024 on September 21, 2023 in Milan. (AFP)
TT

Tom Ford Relaunches Under Peter Hawkings and Moschino Celebrates 40 Years 

A model walks the runway at the Tom Ford fashion show during the Milan Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2024 on September 21, 2023 in Milan. (AFP)
A model walks the runway at the Tom Ford fashion show during the Milan Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2024 on September 21, 2023 in Milan. (AFP)

Milan Fashion Week continued Thursday for the second day with mostly womenswear previews for next spring and summer under a steady rain.

Here are some scenes as Milan designers try to keep the focus on warm weather:

TOM FORD RETURNS TO MILAN ROOTS Peter Hawkings has come full circle, making his runway debut as creative director of the Tom Ford brand Thursday in Milan, where he started working with Ford at Gucci 25 years ago.

Fashionistas entered the Tom Ford world through plush, champagne-colored carpet, beckoning luxury.

Models trod comfortably on stiletto heels, showing leg in shorts worn with tailored jackets, revealing their form in clingy, floor sweeping dresses, and fully inhabiting velvet suits with silken shirts with the trademark Tom Ford plunging neckline.

Hawkings freely acknowledged that his design codes owe a lot to the 25 years he worked alongside Ford, who passed the torch last April. "The design ethos is ingrained in me," he said backstage.

The collection was inspired by Donyale Luna, a Detroit-born Black supermodel who was a muse to Andy Warhol and Richard Avedon.

But Hawkings said his wife, Whitney, equally embodies the Tom Ford woman, one with strong opinions. The pair met at Gucci back in the day.

"I run everything by her. She will tell me whether she loves something, hates something, how it fits, how comfortable it is. I can't try the clothes on, but she can. And she can give me constant feedback," he said.

Whitney wiped tears after the show. "I feel hugely emotional about the whole thing," she said. "It is like going back, but it is a huge step forward. It’s a lot going on. It’s family after all."

MOSCHINO EMPOWERS WOMEN AS IT MARKS 40TH ANNIVERSARY Moschino briefly passed the torch to four top female stylists as the brand marked its 40th anniversary with an homage to founder, the late Franco Moschino.

Fashion designer Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele created a high-low, mix-match collection that can go anywhere and suit any woman. Gabriella Karefa-Johnson tapped a rap vein with high-energy hip looks featuring ruffled, tiered skirts, denim and granny squares that were size-inclusive.

Lucia Liu tapped Moschino's romantic vision, capping her collection with a cake-topper dresser with layers of pink bows, rosettes and boas, fit for the Barbie-moment. And Katie Grand let loose with dancewear from leotards with humorous graphic references and cutouts, exaggerated tutus and ironic slogans like Loud Luxury. Her models — professional dancers — brought the runway to life with a writhing, grinding, irreverent routine.

"We found the codes that we thought would be the most visually dissonant from one another," Karefa-Johnson said. "The challenge was creating cohesive looks within that, which is what I love as a stylist."

A successor to Jeremy Scott, who stepped down in March after a decade as creative director, is pending. But the spirit of Franco Moschino lives on.

BENETTON REACHES ACROSS GENERATIONS There’s a lot of floral-on-floral action in Benetton’s new co-ed, generation-spanning collection for Spring-Summer 2024, unveiled Thursday on the second day of Milan Fashion Week.

The Italian brand known as much for its consciousness-raising ad campaigns as for its bright knitwear is not looking to nudge into the luxury space, but rather into the every-day rotation of colorful dressers looking for elevated basics.

Andrea Incontri, in his third collection for the brand, reimagined Benetton’s mainstays and injected fun with bright monochromes that segued into the season’s upbeat strawberry and banana motifs, closing with tight floral prints that the designer treats as a wildflower patch: mix and match at will.

Denim looks punctuated the color, in two sweet miniskirt-jacket combos for her and shorts for him. The collection was mirrored across generations, underlined by babies and children accompanied by model parents.

Incontri said backstage that his aim is not to create iconic pieces so much as make the wearer feel that "you are iconic. You are expressing yourself with style."


Shein Shifts Shipping Strategy to Bring China-Made Goods Closer to US Shoppers 

A Shein logo is pictured at the company's office in the central business district of Singapore, October 18, 2022. (Reuters)
A Shein logo is pictured at the company's office in the central business district of Singapore, October 18, 2022. (Reuters)
TT

Shein Shifts Shipping Strategy to Bring China-Made Goods Closer to US Shoppers 

A Shein logo is pictured at the company's office in the central business district of Singapore, October 18, 2022. (Reuters)
A Shein logo is pictured at the company's office in the central business district of Singapore, October 18, 2022. (Reuters)

E-commerce giant Shein is sending more low-priced apparel and home goods to US warehouses from China to speed up shipping times for shoppers, according to data from global trade analysis firm ImportGenius provided exclusively to Reuters.

Shein, known for its $10 tops and $5 biker shorts, until recently has made many American purchasers face wait times of up to two weeks or more to receive their goods. This, say analysts, has put the fast-fashion e-tailer at a competitive disadvantage to bigger rivals such as Target, Walmart and Amazon.com, particularly during the holiday shopping season.

Analysts told Reuters that Shein would likely continue to expand its bulk shipments to the US in a bid to compete with established retailers on delivery times as it eyes an initial public offering.

The import data seen by Reuters shows Shein's efforts to narrow the speed gap with retailers such as Amazon, which has made a push to offer next-day or two-day shipping to shoppers who pay $139 per year for its Prime membership service.

The move also marks a strategy shift for Shein, which has traditionally flown goods directly from China to shoppers. Shein lacks any physical stores in the US.

According to the import data seen by Reuters, Shein's ocean shipments of apparel have increased more than 2,000 times over the last two years, soaring from 312,385 pounds (141,695 kg) imported in bulk on container ships in 2021 to over 6.8 million so far this year. Virtually all came from China, where Shein relies on a network of suppliers to produce its expansive assortment of low-priced merchandise.

In 2022, Shein opened a warehouse in Whitestown, Indiana, where it generally stores that inventory to then be shipped to shoppers within four to seven business days.

Anchors aweigh

Shein had already launched a faster delivery option for goods stored in the US, called "QuickShip," in 2022. The same year, the retailer's bulk imports brought to the US by ocean freight increased by nearly 790%, from over 312,000 pounds to more than 2.7 million, according to the ImportGenius data.

Goods eligible for QuickShip are delivered significantly faster than Shein's standard shipping times, which can range from nine to 14 days, according to estimates on its website.

Facing long waits, shoppers will likely make "infrequent" purchases from Shein, particularly during the key holiday shopping season, analysts at UBS said on Tuesday.

The ImportGenius data did not provide detailed descriptions for Shein products imported in bulk on container ships. Importing high-demand products in bulk helps Shein save money, a person familiar with Shein's strategy said, as ocean shipping is significantly less costly than air freight.

Shein still sends the majority of its merchandise by air in individually addressed packages - most of which enter the US under the "de minimis" trade provision that exempts them from tariffs.

A June report by a US House of Representatives committee estimated that Shein and China-founded e-tailer Temu, owned by PDD Holdings, bring in nearly 600,000 packages a day under the exemption. Shein declined to comment on the estimate.

Shipping goods by air directly from China is a strategy that helps the e-tailer avoid unsold inventory piling up in warehouses, according to Juozas Kaziukenas, founder of e-commerce analytics firm Marketplace Pulse. Prior to 2020, Shein imported no clothing by ocean freight, according to the ImportGenius data.

Shein has said it plans to increase its US storage space with an expansion of its Indiana facility and a new warehouse in Cherry Valley, California, expected to open within months.


UK Retailer Next Raises Profit Outlook Again

The Next logo is seen at a store of the clothing retailer in London, Britain, November 23, 2021. REUTERS/May James
The Next logo is seen at a store of the clothing retailer in London, Britain, November 23, 2021. REUTERS/May James
TT

UK Retailer Next Raises Profit Outlook Again

The Next logo is seen at a store of the clothing retailer in London, Britain, November 23, 2021. REUTERS/May James
The Next logo is seen at a store of the clothing retailer in London, Britain, November 23, 2021. REUTERS/May James

British clothing retailer Next raised its full-year profit outlook for the third time in four months as it reported a 4.8% rise in the first half.

The group, which trades from about 500 stores and online and is often considered a gauge of how British consumers are faring, also said on Thursday it was likely that inflationary pressures on selling prices and operating costs will continue to ease in its 2024/25 year.

For the full 2023/24 year it said it now expected to report pretax profit of 875 million pounds ($1.08 billion), versus a previous expectation of 845 million pounds and 870.4 million pounds made in the previous year.

It also raised its guidance for full price sales growth to 2.6% from 1.8% previously.
For the six months to July 29, Next made a pretax profit of 420 million pounds, on full price sales up 3.2%.


Saudi Fashion Commission Hosts EMERGE Pop-up in Milan

The Saudi Fashion Commission
The Saudi Fashion Commission
TT

Saudi Fashion Commission Hosts EMERGE Pop-up in Milan

The Saudi Fashion Commission
The Saudi Fashion Commission

The Saudi Fashion Commission has opened the second pop-up event EMERGE, a global undertaking through which the commission highlights the creative and emerging talents in Saudi fashion.

The pop-up will be open from 10:30 am to 8:30 pm at 10 Corso Como in Milan.

"The first EMERGE pop-up that we held in Paris was a huge success and received visitors from different cultures who had an authentic Saudi shopping experience and discovered what Saudi creative talent has to offer,” Fashion Commission CEO Burak Cakmak said in a statement on Wednesday.

He added: "I look forward to welcoming visitors to Milan Fashion Week to introduce them to the Saudi fashion world."

Thirteen designers participating in the Saudi 100 Brands program take part in the event to showcase a wide assortment of ready-to-wear pieces of clothing and elegant accessories, inspired by the rich and diverse layers of Saudi culture and heritage, offering visitors a global shopping experience.

The Saudi 100 Brands initiative, launched by the Saudi Fashion Commission in 2021, is a professional development program that helps emerging local talent reach maximum potential by giving those participating in the program international exposure.

The pop-up was hosted for the first time by the Fashion Commission in Paris Fashion Week and achieved great success, attracting over 2,000 visitors from 30 countries.