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Zalando Posts Higher Quarterly Growth on AI-driven Efficiency Gains

05 May 2026, Hamburg: Co-CEO of Zalando David Schroeder speaks during the OMR digital trade show at the Hamburg Messe exhibition halls. Photo: Daniel Bockwoldt/dpa
05 May 2026, Hamburg: Co-CEO of Zalando David Schroeder speaks during the OMR digital trade show at the Hamburg Messe exhibition halls. Photo: Daniel Bockwoldt/dpa
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Zalando Posts Higher Quarterly Growth on AI-driven Efficiency Gains

05 May 2026, Hamburg: Co-CEO of Zalando David Schroeder speaks during the OMR digital trade show at the Hamburg Messe exhibition halls. Photo: Daniel Bockwoldt/dpa
05 May 2026, Hamburg: Co-CEO of Zalando David Schroeder speaks during the OMR digital trade show at the Hamburg Messe exhibition halls. Photo: Daniel Bockwoldt/dpa

European online fashion retailer Zalando on Wednesday reported stronger quarterly growth, citing investments in artificial intelligence that were improving its efficiency.

Gross merchandise volume (GMV), a key revenue metric measuring the value of all goods sold, rose 21.7% to 4.3 billion euros ($5.03 billion) in the first quarter, compared to 3.5 billion euros a year earlier, Reuters quoted the company as saying.

Zalando highlighted the impact of its "Zalando Assistant", a chat-based AI tool that acts like a fashion stylist, providing beauty advice ⁠and allowing customers ⁠to receive personalized product suggestions through conversations.

The company added that AI-generated images were also helping it bring new partner items online faster and improve quality, allowing it to publish about 85% more content.

"Our strong first quarter demonstrates the strength of our strategy. We are very ⁠satisfied with the progress we’re making in strategically scaling AI innovations and integrating ABOUT YOU,” Co-CEO Robert Gentz said in a statement.

Zalando is investing heavily in refining its offer to customers and strengthening its European logistics network, which it has also opened up to partners, as it seeks to drive growth amid faltering consumer spend and competition from fast-fashion retailers with cheaper offerings such as Shein.

It concluded its acquisition of About You last year, in ⁠a deal ⁠valuing its smaller rival at 1.13 billion euros.

Shares in Zalando were flat by mid-morning, after initially rising as much as 4.6% in early trading.

The company confirmed its full-year guidance for 2026.

"Given the relatively high short interest, we would expect the stock to move higher, although the lack of implied upgrades and ongoing concerns on the mid-term outlook from the development of agentic commerce, mean that any material move up is unlikely to be sustained in our view," analysts at J.P. Morgan said.

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Fashion

Stars Shine at Met Gala, Fashion’s Biggest Night

US musician Beyonce arrives for the 2026 Met Gala celebrating "Costume Art" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York, on May 4, 2026. (AFP)
US musician Beyonce arrives for the 2026 Met Gala celebrating "Costume Art" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York, on May 4, 2026. (AFP)
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Stars Shine at Met Gala, Fashion’s Biggest Night

US musician Beyonce arrives for the 2026 Met Gala celebrating "Costume Art" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York, on May 4, 2026. (AFP)
US musician Beyonce arrives for the 2026 Met Gala celebrating "Costume Art" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York, on May 4, 2026. (AFP)

The brightest stars in Hollywood, music, sports and style -- led by Beyonce, Madonna and Nicole Kidman -- hit the red carpet Monday for the Met Gala, the Manhattan charity ball that doubles as fashion's biggest night.

The A-listers were asked to dress for the theme "Fashion is Art," which dovetails with the exhibit "Costume Art" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute.

And while not everyone followed the guidelines to the letter, the gala -- traditionally held on the first Monday in May -- certainly delivered as one of the world's top red carpets, with blinding star power.

Beyonce, one of the event's co-chairs who was making her first appearance in a decade, was one of the last to arrive, but she did not disappoint, stunning the crowd in a bejeweled skeleton gown topped with a dramatic feather coat and a headpiece.

Her rap mogul husband Jay-Z -- in a tuxedo with tails -- and daughter Blue Ivy Carter, in a white strapless gown and sparkling heels -- joined her.

Earlier, the singer's fellow co-chairs, tennis legend Venus Williams and Oscar-winning actress Nicole Kidman, kicked off the proceedings.

Kidman stunned in a shimmering red long-sleeved Chanel column dress with wide feather cuffs, while Williams glistened in a black crystal Swarovski gown with an elaborate neck plate.

From there, the stars kept on coming. Rock royalty Madonna, Cher and Stevie Nicks joined music's new generation of stars in Sabrina Carpenter, Doja Cat and Tyla.

Rihanna and A$AP Rocky were hours late, as per usual, making a grand entrance.

Bad Bunny, who is having a blockbuster 2026 with major Grammy wins and the Super Bowl halftime show under his belt, wore prosthetics and a white wig to explore how he would look as an old man, according to Vogue.

Rapper Doja Cat, one of several members of a gala "host committee," wore a draped latex Saint Laurent gown with a demure neckline -- but slit up to her waist.

Donatella Versace, Tom Ford, Stella McCartney, Anthony Vaccarello and Haider Ackermann were among the many fashion designers on hand for the evening.

Olympic gold medalists Alysa Liu and Eileen Gu -- whose dress had a built-in bubble maker -- led a strong contingent of athletes to the red carpet, along with NFL superstar Russell Wilson and several men's and women's basketball stars.

And actress Blake Lively made a surprise appearance at the gala, just hours after she settled a major court case over her film "It Ends with Us" with her co-star and director Justin Baldoni.

Of course, the entire evening is overseen by Vogue's global editorial director Anna Wintour -- the ultimate tastemaker in US fashion who has helmed the event for 30 years.

The gala is a fundraiser for the Met's Costume Institute, and this year has raised a record $42 million (after $31 million in 2025), the museum's CEO Max Hollein told reporters early Monday.

This year's exhibit juxtaposes elegant fashion looks with paintings and sculpture: think a Saint Laurent design next to Van Gogh's "Irises", or a John Galliano gown for Maison Margiela paired with an antique statue.

"When I think about the show, if there's one word to describe it, I suppose it would be equitability or equivalency, equivalency between artworks," the Costume Institute's curator Andrew Bolton told AFP.

"So there's no hierarchy between sculpture, painting, fashion, photography and no hierarchy between bodies, between the classical body or the disabled body."

The Met Gala was first organized in 1948 and for decades was reserved for New York high society -- until Wintour transformed the party into a high-profile catwalk for the rich and famous in the 1990s.

The "Costume Art" exhibit, which opens on May 10 at the venerable museum in Manhattan, will seek to explore the "dressed body" in artworks across the centuries.

Fashion

Hugo Boss Tops Quarterly Profit Estimates Despite Geopolitical Uncertainty

An employee displays suits at the Hugo Boss section of the Central Universal Department Store (TsUM), in Kyiv, Ukraine January 25, 2021. (Reuters)
An employee displays suits at the Hugo Boss section of the Central Universal Department Store (TsUM), in Kyiv, Ukraine January 25, 2021. (Reuters)
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Hugo Boss Tops Quarterly Profit Estimates Despite Geopolitical Uncertainty

An employee displays suits at the Hugo Boss section of the Central Universal Department Store (TsUM), in Kyiv, Ukraine January 25, 2021. (Reuters)
An employee displays suits at the Hugo Boss section of the Central Universal Department Store (TsUM), in Kyiv, Ukraine January 25, 2021. (Reuters)

German fashion group Hugo Boss reported quarterly operating profit above expectations on Tuesday, despite a challenging market environment.

The company posted first-quarter earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of 35 million euros, down from 61 million euros a year earlier, but above analyst's forecast of 30 million euros in a company-provided poll.

The German firm reported ‌revenue of ‌905 million euros for the period, exceeding ‌analysts' ⁠forecast of 887 ⁠million euros.

"Following our successful finish to 2025, we entered the year with a clear roadmap. However, the market environment has become more challenging over the course of the first quarter, caused by recent developments in the Middle East," CEO Daniel Grieder ⁠said in a statement.

The war in ‌the Middle East has ‌roiled global markets, driving oil prices higher and re-igniting concerns ‌over global inflation and growth, with the vital ‌Strait of Hormuz remaining closed.

The company said the conflict in the region led to a notable decline in store traffic in the region from March onwards, while global ‌consumer sentiment stayed muted throughout the quarter, having a negative impact of around 1% ⁠on ⁠group sales in the first quarter.

However, Grieder said the firm had made progress streamlining product assortments and refining its global distribution footprint despite the geopolitical uncertainty.

"Against an increasingly challenging external backdrop, we remain firmly focused on executing our strategy, actively managing the business with flexibility and discipline," he added.

Hugo Boss has sought to boost the popularity of its brand through selected marketing investments, while increasing profits by limiting costs, despite weakening consumer demand.

The company confirmed its full-year guidance for 2026.

Fashion

Met Gala Guests from Beyonce to Nicole Kidman Set to Flaunt Fashion as Art

Tulips bloom outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art during preparations for the Met Gala, an annual fundraising gala held for the benefit of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute, along 5th Avenue in New York City, US, May 3, 2026. (Reuters)
Tulips bloom outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art during preparations for the Met Gala, an annual fundraising gala held for the benefit of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute, along 5th Avenue in New York City, US, May 3, 2026. (Reuters)
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Met Gala Guests from Beyonce to Nicole Kidman Set to Flaunt Fashion as Art

Tulips bloom outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art during preparations for the Met Gala, an annual fundraising gala held for the benefit of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute, along 5th Avenue in New York City, US, May 3, 2026. (Reuters)
Tulips bloom outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art during preparations for the Met Gala, an annual fundraising gala held for the benefit of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute, along 5th Avenue in New York City, US, May 3, 2026. (Reuters)

From beyond the museum walls Monday, works of art will move and take shape as the glitterati of guests from Beyonce, Nicole Kidman to Venus Williams will fashionably ascend the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s steps and exhibit their creative interpretations of this year's dress code, “Fashion is art.”

The question of whether fashion is art has long been topic of conversation for fashion insiders, and this first Monday in May the dress code is leaving nothing up for debate.

The dress code for the starry fundraising event calls for guests to “express their relationship to fashion as an embodied art form."

Fashion has long drawn inspiration from works of art, leaving guests with no shortage of artistic references to show off.

But will guests pull from the fashion archives on Monday or wear custom artistic creations from fashion houses?

Archival fashion looks have become a red carpet phenomenon with fashion savvy stars wanting to get their hands on some of the rarer pieces of fashion history.

Designer Elsa Schiaparelli famously collaborated in 1937 with Spanish artist Salvador Dalí to design a white silk dress with a lobster printed on the front. Years later, Yves Saint Laurent would design shift dresses filled with Piet Mondrian’s blocks of color in 1965, and more recently, Marc Jacobs collaborated with artist Takashi Murakami in 2002 to add his designs to Louis Vuitton.

Monday’s carpet is also a chance for celebrities to deliver their own performance art.

The late designer Alexander McQueen was heavily regarded by fashion insiders as an artist. He closed his Spring 1999 show with a piece of performance art when machines sprayed Shalom Harlow’s white dress with black and yellow spray paint as she posed on a rotating turntable.

Past Gala dress codes have honored designers and pulled from literature. Last year, the art of tailoring was center stage with the dress code “Tailored for you.” The high-profile event raises money for the museum's Costume Institute, and each year the dress code for the gala takes cues from the Costume Institute’s spring exhibition.

On display this Spring, the “Costume Art” exhibit will “examine the centrality of the dressed body.”

The relationship between fashion and art has not always been embraced. Art historian and author Nancy Hall-Duncan writes in her book, “Art X Fashion: Fashion Inspired by Art” that in the 19th century, art was perceived as classical and fashion was frivolous.

When Yves Saint Laurent held the Met’s first fashion exhibit in 1983, the exhibit was met with heavy criticism. Since then, the museum has held countless fashion exhibits throughout the years with museums around the world following suit. The Louvre put on its first fashion exhibition “Louvre couture” last year.

The dress code set by Wintour and the Met's Costume Institute curator, Andrew Bolton, is the final seal of approval that fashion is art, Hall-Duncan told The Associated Press.

“Isn’t that a giant step?” she said. “It will indeed change perceptions.”

The red carpet spectacle is available for all to watch online with the Vogue livestream. Ashley Graham, La La Anthony and Cara Delevingne will be hosting the livestream with Emma Chamberlain interviewing guests throughout the night.

The Associated Press will have a livestream of celebrities leaving a pair of New York hotels on their way to the gala on APNews.com and YouTube. It's the first chance to see what attendees will be wearing before they hit the gala's carpet.