Articles by AFP
Uruguay's national team to wear Gabriela Hearst designs at the World Cup
Montevideo - The Uruguayan national team will attend the 2026 World Cup in bespoke uniforms crafted from merino wool by designer Gabriela Hearst, one of fashion's ambassadors for sustainable luxury. The Uruguayan Football Association (AUF) announced on its social media the partnership with Hearst, one of the most renowned Latin American...
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Uniqlo parent Fast Retailing raises its forecast again and sets its sights on the US
Tokyo - Japanese ready-to-wear giant Fast Retailing (Uniqlo) on Thursday again raised its forecast for its 2025/26 fiscal year. This follows robust first-half profits. The company intends to accelerate its international expansion, particularly in the US, where it is partnering with the leading baseball team, the Dodgers. The Japanese apparel...
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H&M plans to close & Other Stories' French design studio
Paris, France - Swedish ready-to-wear group H&M plans to close the French design studio of its brand & Other Stories. A representative for the brand confirmed this to AFP after the trade union Force Ouvrière raised concerns about the elimination of just under 30 positions. "We must continue to strengthen our business for the long term and ensure...
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Galeries Lafayette aims to become world leader in department stores by 2030
Paris - Building on “solid performance” in a “complex environment”, the Galeries Lafayette group announced on Wednesday an investment plan of 260 million euros by 2030. The company has the ambition of making its Parisian flagship on Boulevard Haussmann the “world's leading department store”. The historic brand has an international presence with...
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Substack, fashion journalism's new eldorado
Can fashion journalism reinvent itself? As traditional media faces a crisis, journalists are turning to the paid newsletter platform Substack. The platform promises editorial independence and substantial revenue for the most astute writers. Founded in the US in 2017, Substack is not a media outlet but a website. It allows users to subscribe to...
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French Shoe brand Minelli enters administration again
Shoe brand Minelli has once again been placed into administration, two and a half years after a similar procedure led to the brand's acquisition, according to a court document seen by AFP, confirming a report by L'Informé. Minelli had been in a safeguarding procedure since September, which was converted into administration in March by a ruling...
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Free Fashion initiative shakes up wedding industry in Netherlands
Utrecht, Netherlands - "After about 30 minutes, I knew it was the one," confides Lara Peters, looking at her sleek, second-hand wedding dress. She had just said "I do" to her partner amidst the hustle and bustle of Utrecht station in the Netherlands. Two days earlier, the bride found her dress in a pop-up shop at the station. The shop is run by...
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Kering sells majority stake in Milan building for over one billion euros
French luxury group Kering announced on Wednesday it has sold a majority stake in a building in Milan to the Qatari Al Mirqab Group for over 1 billion euros (1.15 billion dollars). Kering announced the acquisition of the building for approximately 1.3 billion euros in April 2024. In a press release on Wednesday, the group stated it is “...
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War in the Middle East: Dubai, a luxury capital on borrowed time
Dubai – Louis Vuitton, Dior, Louboutin... In Dubai's Mall of the Emirates, one luxury boutique follows another. A month into the regional war, their teams of unoccupied salespeople watch for customers or scroll through their phones out of boredom. Having just left Chanel, a rare customer who wishes to remain anonymous is adamant that people “...
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South African mohair: production, traceability and industry challenges
Graaff-Reinet (South Africa) - The Karoo, a vast South African semi-desert, is criss-crossed by dirt tracks. These paths lead to several centuries-old farms where angora goats graze, raised for their mohair. The country accounts for over half of the world's production of this natural fibre. Steel blades of pumping windmills are the only things...
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