Latest from Fashion United
Fashion United
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Fashion United
The devil is in the details: the street style of Pitti Uomo
Pitti Uomo has long served not only as the unofficial kickoff to the menswear season, but also as a masterclass in sartorial excellence, particularly in the art of tailoring. In recent years, however, the once-celebrated and occasionally mocked figure of the 'Pitti Peacock' has, while not entirely vanished, become something of an endangered species. This season, too, the most compelling interpretations of street style weren't necessarily from the suited and booted gentlemen – though they were, as ever, reliably hatted and often dressed in terracotta tones that echoed the city's famed golden hour. Rather, it was the attendees whose ensembles featured the most intricate details who stood out amid the crowds, braving the Florentine heat at the fair's longtime home, the Fortezza da Basso. FashionUnited has rounded up some of the best street style trends spotted so far at Pitti Uomo Paint by numbers Street style at Pitti Uomo thrives on detail – and this season, it was the playful use of what looked like hand-drawn doodles and paint that truly stood out. Rather than relying on classic patterns or logos, many looks were adorned with elements that evoked finger painting, hand-drawn illustrations, and seemingly random scribbles, reminiscent of sketchbooks or children's drawings. Street Style at Pitti Uomo Credits: ©Launchmetrics/spotlight From painterly spirals and wine glasses on wide-legged trousers to a cream workwear jacket covered in cartoonish ducks, scribbled words, and stitched-on graphics, wearers treated their clothing as a medium for storytelling. Embroidery Street Style at Pitti Uomo Credits: ©Launchmetrics/spotlight It wasn't just paint that made a mark on the season—embroidery also took center stage as a tactile counterpoint to the playful brushstrokes seen elsewhere. Threads replaced ink, lending garments a sense of craft and permanence. From botanical flourishes stitched across jackets to folkloric motifs quietly blooming on backs and sleeves, embroidery became a language of texture and tradition. Sport-inspired silhouettes Another notable shift, one that already started a hold in previous years, was the unabashed embrace of sport-inspired silhouettes, a genre often overlooked at such a tailoring-centric event. Whether through retro soccer jerseys, oversized mesh layers, or baseball-style shirts, attendees leaned into athletic aesthetics with a knowing, almost ironic sophistication. Street Style at Pitti Uomo Credits: ©Launchmetrics/spotlight One example was a vintage green Adidas football shirt styled with wide-legged trousers and loafers, blending pitch-side nostalgia with Italian polish. Another was a powder-blue mesh training vest over a button-down, complete with a baseball cap and wraparound sunglasses, nodding to early 2000's skater cool and a third look was composed of a classic white and blue 'Cougar' baseball jersey, paired with slouchy olive chinos and a leopard-print cap. Ties as canvases Street Style at Pitti Uomo Credits: (left and middle) ©Launchmetrics/spotlight, (right) Enrico Labriola Art wasn't only present in the form of doodles on clothing but also made a bold appearance on ties, transforming a once-conservative accessory into a vibrant medium of self-expression. At Pitti Uomo, ties became walking canvases, splashed with sunflowers, peppered with miniature birds, or woven with lush, tapestry-like florals. These weren't just playful prints but rather painterly statements that stood out against relaxed tailoring and oversized shirts. Camouflage made to stand out Street Style at Pitti Uomo Credits: (left) ©Launchmetrics/spotlight, (middle and right) ChillaxingROAD In a season where artistry and intention were paramount, even camouflage – long associated with utilitarianism and anonymity – took on new meaning. Rather than blending in, it stood out. Worn across a spectrum of silhouettes and contexts, from tailored jungle jackets layered over crisp shirts and ties to slouchy cargo pants paired with denim and trucker caps, camo didn't feel like military cosplay but rather its own sartorial statement.
Fashion United
2 hours ago
- Business
- Fashion United
Better Cotton to become regenerative standard
Cotton sustainability initiative Better Cotton announced at its annual conference that it would become a regenerative standard within the next twelve months. 'While Better Cotton's field level standard is already recognised to cover many of the core tenets of regenerative agriculture, this move will further ensure that farmers who meet our standard are adopting the most commonly agreed regenerative practices,' said Eva Benavidez Clayton, senior director of demand and engagement at Better Cotton, at the 2025 Better Cotton Conference in Izmir, Turkey. 'It is increasingly clear that we need approaches that don't simply mitigate or reduce harm, but that actively restore the environment. I am therefore pleased to share that over the next twelve months, Better Cotton will complete the remaining steps to become a regenerative standard,' added Benavidez Clayton. A regenerative standard that actively supports restoring the environment That means updating the standard's principles and criteria, which lay out the global definition of Better Cotton through six guiding principles, and provide training to approved certification bodies to ensure that they are equipped to assess farmers against the revised principles and criteria. The initiative will also work toward strengthening the capacity of the Better Cotton programme partners to implement the standard and develop an outcome-based reporting framework. For the remainder of the year, Better Cotton will thus conduct pilots to advance this work. Next year, the initiative will collaborate with its in-country partners to provide tailored support for farmers as they adopt more regenerative practices. 'Better Cotton showing an interest in owning regenerative agriculture is very positive,' commented Muzaffer Turgut Kayhan, president at IPUD, Better Cotton partner in Turkey.
Fashion United
2 hours ago
- Business
- Fashion United
Why Kering founder Pinault chose Luca de Meo as CEO
French luxury group Kering appointed Luca de Meo as its new chief executive officer. François-Henri Pinault stepped down after more than 20 years. Why did the Kering founder consider the Renault boss the best candidate to lead the company into a new phase of growth after the disappointing business performance of recent quarters? Long process "The group's performance over the past two years has not met our expectations, nor the immense potential of our houses," Pinault admitted during a conference call with analysts on Tuesday, April 10, 2024. The appointment of a group CEO marked the conclusion of a long process that began in early 2023. After 2022 – according to the founder, the best year in Kering's history – it became clear to him that the company had reached a phase that required a new organisational structure. Therefore, in 2023, Pinault appointed Francesca Bellettini and Jean-Marc Duplaix as deputy CEOs to make "significant changes" to the group. Duplaix assumed the new role in addition to his existing management of operations and finance. Bellettini was previously head of fashion house Yves Saint Laurent. Since then, there have been hectic times at the top of the fashion houses belonging to Kering. At Gucci, former Balenciaga creative director Demna Gvasalia followed Sabato de Sarno. Pierpaolo Piccioli took over the creative direction at Balenciaga. The top positions at the maisons were not spared either; at Gucci, Stefano Cantino was recently appointed CEO, and at Saint Laurent, former Balenciaga boss Cédric Charbit holds the top job. These are just a few of the recent management changes. Pinault considered these personnel changes and organisational measures already underway to be the absolutely necessary foundations that had to be laid before de Meo took office. De Meo would now have to deal with the measures already initiated on cost structure and refinancing in the short term in his new position. More importantly, however, de Meo needed to look to the future and think about the long-term perspective. What might Kering's profile look like in the next 10 to 15 years? This is a question Pinault hoped his new CEO would answer. De Meo was therefore expected to present a strategy for the group after taking office. Why an industry outsider? But why was this task given to a manager who could look back on a more than 30-year career in the automotive industry but had no experience in fashion? Initially, the candidate profile Pinault was looking for was not surprising in many respects. It was to be an experienced manager with in-depth knowledge of brand management and international experience; managing a global listed company was an additional criterion. Given the significant changes in the fashion industry, the candidate should have already demonstrated agility and the ability to deal with change. Most importantly, however, Pinault wants the future CEO to bring a fresh perspective to the luxury market: "The ability to bring a new vision to the sector and to our group was a key requirement." It was precisely the structural changes that went beyond the previous cyclical developments in the luxury industry that required a new way of looking at things, Pinault said. The former head of Kering seemed to be hoping for similar success from de Meo's appointment to the one he had with the group's transformation from 2010 and the repositioning of Gucci. As a newcomer to the fashion industry, he had been in a "strong position" to navigate phases of new structural change in the industry. Can Pinault let go? Pinault was also keen to stress that he was not hiring a "fireman" but someone to lead the group's "next chapter of growth". "He will have all the power and authority I had as CEO when I ran the group. So he will set his own priorities, keeping in mind the organisation of the group and the key position of the group," the Kering founder said. With de Meo taking office on September 15, the roles of chairman of the supervisory board and CEO would be separated. Both roles had previously been held by Pinault. He now wants to be "fully involved in the strategic direction of the group" as chairman of the supervisory board. Nevertheless, he vowed not to interfere in the new CEO's decisions on the business model and key personnel. However, it appears that the previous co-CEOs, Duplaix and Bellettini, could remain in their positions for the time being to help the CEO, who is new to the industry. When asked by an analyst whether the previous structure with the two could be maintained, Pinault replied: "He doesn't know the luxury industry, so we need strong support and a lot of expertise around him. And we have that within the group, starting with Jean-Marc and Francesca." Open points De Meo's salary is not yet known but will be discussed at a supervisory board meeting on July 29 before the annual general meeting voted on it on September 9. It will also be interesting to see what long-term vision de Meo will present after Pinault had already initiated many changes in the past two years – starting with the key positions at many fashion houses, such as those of former flagship Gucci. "Having the right people in the right place in the group so that when a new CEO comes in, everything works and runs," Pinault explained his approach. Until de Meo took office, there would be no slowdown in the action plans already initiated at the brands. Was still-Kering-boss Pinault really concerned with putting everything in order in the group before his successor arrived, or was it an attempt to quickly get involved himself? Given this already laid foundation, the question also remains as to what extent the new group CEO, de Meo, could still get involved. This article was translated to English using an AI tool. FashionUnited uses AI language tools to speed up translating (news) articles and proofread the translations to improve the end result. This saves our human journalists time they can spend doing research and writing original articles. Articles translated with the help of AI are checked and edited by a human desk editor prior to going online. If you have questions or comments about this process email us at info@
Fashion United
2 hours ago
- Business
- Fashion United
UK: Retail sales take a hit in May as consumers cut back spending
New figures by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have shown a drop of 2.7 percent in retail sales volumes during May, representing the largest monthly fall since December 2023. The decrease comes after a more promising April, in which volumes rose 1.2 percent. Sales were also down by 2.7 percent compared with pre-Covid levels in February 2020, and thus reached their lowest level since December 2024. In contrast, over the three months to May, volumes increased marginally by 0.8 percent when compared with the three months to February 2025. When compared to the same period last year, sales were up 1.7 percent. While food sales took the largest hit at 5 percent, non-food stores saw sales volumes drop by 1.4 percent over the month, mainly due to a decline in clothing and household goods sales. Textile clothing and footwear stores reported a decrease in sales volumes of almost 2 percent. This was even more significant online, where monthly sales dropped by just over 3 percent for such stores. This was compared to an overall 1 percent drop in online spending values over the month to May 2025. In a statement to FashionUnited, Matt Jeffers, MD, retail strategy and consulting at Accenture, said 'retail sales suffered as consumers continued to feel the squeeze from rising household bills and an extended period of cost-of-living pressure'. Jeffers continued: 'While improving consumer confidence offered a glimmer of hope, that sentiment didn't translate into spending and sales were the lowest in months, with food hit particularly hard. Fashion, household goods and big-ticket purchases all saw weaker performance, with many households opting to cut back or trade down. 'Some of May's softness likely reflects summer purchases brought forward into April, when Easter and spring bank holidays coincided with exceptionally sunny weather. But recent cybersecurity issues faced by a number of retailers will also have had an impact, disrupting stock availability.'
Fashion United
17 hours ago
- Business
- Fashion United
French fashion retail in transition: overview of a reinvented sector
This year, in France, of over 2,000 shop openings recorded by Newmark, only 13 percent concerned the fashion sector. This figure, far from anecdotal, reflected the major shift currently shaping fashion retail and redrawing the landscape of our shopping streets. The turning point began in late 2019. Progressively, more and more mid-range fashion brands closed their shops. While the total number of points of sale for fashion brands with at least 30 shops in France still progressed slightly (2 percent) between 2015 and 2019, a recent survey by Newmark indicated a decrease of 16 percent between 2019 and 2024. Fashion remained one of the most present sectors in the commercial landscape, but its weight weakened in favour of the catering and food sectors. In Paris, at the beginning of 2024, the clothing and footwear sectors were among those closing more than they opened. Conversely, the catering and food sectors opened more locations than they closed. This decrease was not only due to the liquidations and receiverships that have hit brands (Camaieu, Naf Naf, André, etc.) hard in recent years; it also occurred due to optimisation plans by fashion leaders whose financial health remained good. Boosted by the growth of their online sales, the heavyweights of clothing chose to close several of their shops. The Inditex group, parent company of Zara, was an excellent example. Since 2019, the Spanish giant reduced the number of its shops worldwide by 26 percent while increasing their average surface area by 24 percent. In France, the group notably closed shops in several shopping centres and, in parallel, carried out flagship extension projects in major Parisian thoroughfares as well as in regional shopping centres. Parisian retail and its newcomers In Paris, things were not going too badly: the vacancy rate stabilised, high-end beauty and sportswear concepts multiplied, and the number of luxury boutique openings increased (although still far from the 2022 peak). In 2025, the Golden Triangle (rue François 1er in particular) continued to attract high-end and cutting-edge fashion brands, as did rue Saint-Honoré and the Marais. In addition to these areas, the most popular thoroughfares in the capital remained the avenue des Champs-Élysées, rue de la Paix and place Vendôme, rue de Passy, rue de Rivoli and avenue de l'Opéra, particularly for the restaurant sector. The arrival of many foreign brands (all sectors combined) was also noted. 103 new entrants were recorded in France in 2024, while for the current year, 75 projects had already been identified. In 2025 (as in 2024), catering (35 percent) and fashion (28 percent) were the two sectors most affected by these newcomers, followed by leather goods and accessories (8 percent), beauty and well-being (4 percent). In Paris, new foreign fashion, streetwear and sportswear brands favoured the Marais district, while outside the capital, new entrants preferred commercial areas and major shopping centres such as Val d'Europe, Westfield, La Part-Dieu. Among the foreign fashion brands to have opened their own shops in 2025 were Alysi (Paris 7e), Name It (Roubaix), Reformation (Paris 4e), and Unfeigned (Paris 3e). Twinset Milano, boutique in the Marais district, Paris. Credits: Twinset Milano Fashion in shopping centres While fashion accounted for only 13 percent of the 2,000 potential shop openings identified by Newmark in 2025, catering represented 28 percent and food 17 percent. These two sectors, along with leisure and discount, formed the main drivers of new developments, particularly in shopping centres. As FashionUnited noted in 2023, the clothing and accessories segment, which once attracted crowds in the aisles of shopping malls, lost ground to brands from other sectors such as Action, Boulanger, and Gifi. However, it should be remembered that some fashion brands continued to develop in suburban commercial areas. Besson, Chaussea, Zeeman, Takko Fashion, Vib's, Naomy, We Are Select and Size Factory were the main examples.(AFP)
