Vogue Business

Six months after Virginie Viard’s abrupt exit, Chanel has announced Matthieu Blazy as its artistic director. This was an impossible job to hire, José Criales-Unzueta writes. It had to be someone with tried and true commercial success, someone well-liked within the industry who would start off with enough goodwill to propel them forward and whose appointment would be cause for celebration as opposed to an eyebrow-raiser. Someone who gives a good interview and who industry people — critics, editors, and power players alike — actually like to speak to. Someone who is known as a talent but who is not known to be led by their ego. Someone whose main priority would be designing for the house of Chanel and everything that comes with it, as opposed to looking to the outside for opportunities. Above all, this had to be someone with the creative and, frankly, mental and physical stamina to produce two ready-to-wear collections, a cruise collection, two couture collections, and one Métiers d’Art collection every year for the next decade or two (or three or four). Here, José Criales-Unzueta breaks down why Blazy is the man for the job. https://lnkd.in/emVbssDd

From the #ParisOlympics and the Venice Biennale to Brat, 2024 has seen no end of causes for fans of sport, film, music, art, architecture and more to flock together. This past year, the footprints of #luxury players at art fairs, film festivals, niche sporting tournaments and the like have felt especially pronounced. Looking to the year ahead, it should come as no surprise that they will expand. Still, there is a legion of cultural moments around the globe that remain relatively untapped. Here, Mahoro Seward runs through the global market events that luxury #marketing departments would be foolish to skip, with some tips on what to consider when trying to make a mark. https://lnkd.in/eywjdPsa

Gen Zs want ‘chaotic customisation’ in 2025. In an era where minimalism and cookie-cutter micro-trends have shaped fashion’s landscape, ‘chaotic customisation’, has entered the chat. The phrase was coined by trend forecaster WGSN that means pushing personalisation to an extreme: layering embellishments, celebrating uniqueness and embracing self-expression in its wildest, most-unrestrained forms. From the “Jane Birkin-ification” of bags earlier this year to shoe charms, this maximalist spirit has spilled into all aspects of our wardrobes. Football shirts are being shirred into fitted crop tops and bows or spikes are being DIY-ed onto shoe laces Here, Amy Francombe unpacks this new aesthetic of excess that brands are scrambling to tap into. https://lnkd.in/eWPAbieG

The carnivore diet. Beef tallow. Sticks of butter and raw milk. Why are consumers pivoting to animal products? “The rise of simplicity, naturalism and conservatism is a result of consumers, on the one hand, feeling overwhelmed and exhausted about their personal and ethical choices, and on the other, increasingly distrusting institutions like modern medicine, the media and the government,” says Jessica Defino, beauty critic and author of The Review of Beauty Substack. As such, consumers are becoming increasingly sceptical of marketing products as “sustainable” or “vegan”, Defino adds. It’s not just influencers behind the trend; it has been popularised by alternative medicine advocates such as Gwyneth Paltrow, and even right-wing US congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene and Trump’s newly appointed health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr — all of whom have met with widespread criticism. Animal products have re-entered the zeitgeist. What does it mean for #fashion and #beauty? Here, Nateisha Scott and Maliha Shoaib break it down. https://lnkd.in/e-rEfPyi

Retro tech? That’s hot. At the dawn of the 2000s, there was no status symbol glitzier than a rhinestone-encrusted Sidekick. Two decades on, the gadgets that Apple made obsolete are having an unexpected renaissance. Devices popular at the turn of the millennium are in extremely high demand, according to Retrospekt, which refurbishes and restores outdated tech. The American company’s sales of digital video cameras have surged by 700% in 2024 over last year, with iPods jumping 637% and portable CD players 130%. Sales of 2000s-era digital cameras increased 150% year-on-year. Brands are paying attention. “It makes sense,” says Elad Yam, co-founder and creative director of phone case and apparel brand Urban Sophistication. “For so many designers working today, that period is their nostalgia — it’s where they’re pulling references from.” That nostalgia crosses over to their consumers, who are either reminiscing on a period they lived through or pining for one they missed. Here, Jamie Clifton breaks down how retro tech is now the new fashion statement. https://lnkd.in/eeDfa_jw

2024 was a bad year for independent #designers. Since June 2023, multiple cult brands have entered administration or filed for bankruptcy – from Christopher Kane and Dion Lee to The Vampire’s Wife, Interior and Calvin Luo, to name just a few. They have had a lot to contend with. Bricks-and-mortar wholesalers were already struggling pre-pandemic, but the e-commerce bubble then burst, leaving independent brands with unpaid invoices and a decimated retail presence. In the meantime, geopolitical tensions and macroeconomic headwinds wreaked havoc on shipping routes and pushed up prices. Brands have had to navigate raw material shortages, inflation, a cost of living crisis and an energy crisis — all at once. In the face of these challenges, designers are exploring new business models and new concepts of creativity. Here, Bella Webb and Maliha Shoaib look at how to survive as an independent brand today. https://lnkd.in/eTaNRr-C

How can fashion graduates get a job in fashion? Within the world of high luxury, there are limited mechanisms to recognise artisans, and gestures aside, design teams remain widely unrecognised. With too many design graduates and not enough roles, could championing behind-the-scenes jobs solve the problem? Here, Maliha Shoaib and Bella Webb unpack the advice of experts. https://lnkd.in/eyXWPPkn

How are Gen Z’s shopping habits shaping the future of #retail? We’ve become obsessed with the impact of algorithms on personal style. For many, the broad consensus is that it’s for the worse: the sheer amount — and similarity — of product and content makes discovering unique items harder than ever. But Gen Z isn’t convinced. “My algorithm is just too good,” says 25-year-old content creator Tora Northman. In a survey by Vogue Business, 48% of Gen Z respondents agreed that fashion product recommendations from algorithms have positively impacted their shopping experience. They’re the most likely generation to report a positive impact. Younger audiences also say they’re more likely to purchase items recommended by algorithms. Madeleine Schulz outlines the key findings, plus additional insights from fashion-conscious Gen Zs on how they shop today, to help brands future-proof for tomorrow: https://lnkd.in/gam5WYws

An overcrowded market and the cost of living crisis have made it harder than ever to capture the attention of consumers. Despite this, a handful of UK-based independent and primarily direct-to-consumer (DTC) womenswear brands are grabbing market share and scaling fast. They’re catching not only the aspirational luxury shopper who has downgraded their spending, but also the would-be fast fashion customer who is now looking for a longer-lasting product that delivers more value. Here, Maliha Shoaib breaks down the lessons to be learnt from three of these emerging labels: Odd Muse, AYM, and Peachy Den. https://lnkd.in/eKhW7JAY

Fashion has an inventory management problem, and it’s only intensified in recent years. Solving these challenges has proven elusive, leaving the #fashionindustry with billions in unsold stock annually and fuelling a system running on baked-in excess where margin-killing markdowns are the norm. Can #AI help? Here, Jessica Binns explores the crop of new AI startups that aim to solve one of fashion’s biggest headaches: inventory and demand planning. https://lnkd.in/g9istXFY