Each week LCF News brings you a round up of the most interesting stories impacting the fashion industry.
Celebrities warned…
WWD reported that Victoria Beckham and Naomi Campbell were among a number of celebrities contacted by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) this week to educate them on social media endorsement guidelines. 90 letters were sent to 45 celebrities, and the brands they were promoting, including Chanel, Adidas and Saint Laurent. The FTC states that if there is a ‘material connection’ between the endorser and the marketer of a product then that connection should be clearly and conspicuously disclosed. It is hoped that with initiatives such as this the FTC and other trade bodies can address the increasing issue of social media influencers and the lack of impartiality and responsibility when it comes to endorsing products.
Handbag rulers…
US accessories giant Coach bought brand Kate Spade for $2.4billion this week. Experts estimate that the acquisition will see them dominate the global handbag market, taking share from Michael Kors. Read more about it on The Industry.
High Street hit…
Recent figures from the British Retail Consortium show that the UK high street is being further squeezed as consumers spend more on essential household items than consumer goods. The Guardian reports that ‘life is set to get more difficult in the high street.’
The next big digital shopping experience…
LVMH has announced plans for their multibrand luxury e-commerce site Now 24 Sèvres. Named after the Paris address of their department store Le Bon Marché, responses to Now 24 Sèvres have been mixed. Time will tell whether the luxury site will shake up the already crowded sector or arrive a just a little too late to the party. Read the New York Times’ piece with LVMH’s chief digital officer Ian Rogers.
$50million fashion tech investment…
BoF exclusively announced today that digital entrepreneur and publishing mogul Miroslava Duma is launching Fashion Tech Lab, new venture that funds, connects and develops cutting-edge technologies and sustainable innovation with the aim of transforming the fashion industry. Duma said “What we are doing, first of all, is socially responsible investing. Then we are connecting technologies with the fashion industry, and third we have an experimental lab, which develops the technology [and applies it to] products or garments that will be innovative and solve customers’ problems – but at the same time will have modern design.”
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