Fashion & style
fromwww.theguardian.com
22 hours agoLuxury to high street jeans: can you tell the difference?
Denim fashion is thriving, with luxury and affordable brands gaining popularity, highlighting differences in quality and sustainability.
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With the slow death of the search bar, brands can no longer rely on SEO to help how they rank on a search results page, as every interaction, from discovery to purchase, is increasingly filtered through algorithms, making brand story a strategic asset. The shift reflects "a generational change" in consumer behavior, said John Harmon, senior retail and tech analyst at Coresight Research.
Not just any algorithm, mind you, but the most devilish metric devised to date. Because it finally translates the old publicity strategy of fame once governed by unquantifiable guesswork into money. No, it isn't (black) magic, just computerized math: by analyzing and comparing quantitative and qualitative data, the program in question calculates and assigns an economic value to these star appearances based on their public performance.
I did an internal crowdsource to invite everyone to submit their ideas about how they would like to celebrate 170 years. We've played around with a lot of cinematic narratives, but this time, I felt we should probably do something a little bit more institutional to reflect the anniversary year. The trench offered a way to celebrate a cornerstone of Burberry's past, while showing its relevance across generations and geographies.
The J.Crew Barbour barn jacket has been around for a minute, but the pair just released an exclusive to J.Crew color combination. The waxed cotton is navy, and the corduroy collar is black. It's a city-ready take on Barbour's country look.
Fifteen years after the death of Lee McQueen, the brand is struggling to maintain momentum. The founder is a hallowed name in the fashion industry, and one of the few modern designers to whose character and story the wider public feel a connection. But the generation who wore McQueen's original bumsters have aged out of shock-value fashion, and the name has less power over younger consumers.
Last year, traditional luxury brands struggled to keep the attention of aspirational shoppers, and it was their lower-priced counterparts that swooped in to fill the gap. The formerly squeezed middle of the market - sitting below pure luxury labels but above mass-market brands - was able to capitalise on luxury's ever-growing prices and perceived lack of innovation. Tightening consumer budgets also played a part.
Choosing a particular model does not necessarily mean focusing on excessive colour, but rather knowing how to identify the lines and volumes that communicate a precise aesthetic vision that breaks with convention. This process requires a certain awareness of materials and proportions, as a shoe with a strong design has the ability to transform even the simplest outfit into a sophisticated and modern style statement.
Gucci previously commissioned digital artists to produce visuals, including AI-generated images, auctioned as non-fungible tokens by Christie's. In December, it released an AI-generated video of a model strutting down the runway while photographers behind her fall over themselves - literally - to capture her.
Regional performance remained uneven. Asia excluding Japan saw organic sales fall 4%, underperforming the group average as consumer spending in China remained subdued amid ongoing economic headwinds. Despite this, LVMH continued to invest heavily in the region, including the opening of a ship-shaped Louis Vuitton flagship in Shanghai in June 2025 and a new Dior store in Beijing in December, both of which have begun to gain traction.
It's not a multi-thousand pound handbag from Hermes that best captures the new era of It bags, but a 149 tote from John Lewis. Launched this season, it's deeper (45cm) and taller (33cm) than your average handbag, and comes loaded with good intentions. It's able to hold your packed lunch, flask and book, as well at a push as your gym kit.
When Regalia, 52, pushes the Ferrari out of a storage facility into the Monterey sunlight, the metallic paint ignites with a pale opalescent fire, shimmering in shades of honey and oxblood. Imagine a Ferrari-shaped pool filled with ancient brandy. The Lusso, designed by the famed Italian coachworks Pininfarina, is regarded as one of the loveliest of Ferrari's touring cars, but no Lusso ever left the factory with half the hand-rubbed luster this car has.
The end of the show did not mark the end of the trip. Back at the Le Grand Bellevue the group divided between fireside hot chocolates and the hotel's spa. The hotel's Le Grand Spa is over 3,000 square metres and has eight different types of saunas, several ice showers, foot baths and an outdoor bubble pool (named thus as it's bigger than your standard jacuzzi).
"This is a great opportunity to reach new audiences by harnessing the power of Instagram to help fashion-forward women tell their stories through this inspirational platform. Our audience is one of career women, whose networking is mobile and on-the-move. It's important for them to keep up with the brands that inspire their ambition for life and this campaign firmly places Radley as a leader in this category."
Everybody thought I would make oversized bomber jackets with monograms, said the mononymous king-of-the-hoodie designer after the show. That's what ChatGPT said, apparently. But that's not why I came to Gucci. Instead, he said, his Gucci will be energy, passion, fun and sex.