Fashion & Shopping
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Marc Jacobs Returns to the Runway | BoF Professional, News & Analysis

Holly B. Martin

American fashion’s greatest showman returned to the runway on Monday, an optimistic sign not only for a weakened New York fashion industry but also for his business, which is turning around after years of struggles.

A mostly maskless crowd of about 100 guests (proof of vaccination was required) were in attendance for Marc Jacobs’ first runway show since February 2020, which took place inside the New York Public Library on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.

“While the world continues to change with unimaginable speed, my love for fashion, the desire to create and share collections through this delivery system — the runway — endures,” wrote Jacobs in the show notes.

Last May, the designer told BoF’s Tim Blanks that he was unsure whether he would go back to runway shows at all, remarking that he was one of the only major designers still left on the schedule. The Council of

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Fashion & Shopping
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Does Chanel’s Stance on E-Commerce Make Sense? | This Week in Fashion, BoF Professional

Holly B. Martin

The pandemic hit fashion’s biggest luxury players hard. But it hit Chanel worst of all, according to figures released by the French luxury giant this week.

The company’s sales sagged 18 percent last year, slightly under-performing LVMH and Kering and significantly lagging accessories powerhouse Hermès. It’s the first time the privately held Chanel has failed to record double-digit growth since it started publishing financial results four years ago. Operating profit plummeted 41 percent.

Like its luxury rivals, the company suffered as stores closed in key markets and normally high-spending international tourists were grounded. Chanel was particularly vulnerable because a comparatively large proportion of its business is driven by sales of cosmetics and perfume that were hard hit by the decline in travel retail.

But the company faced another handicap: unlike brands such as Dior, Louis Vuitton and Gucci, Chanel doesn’t sell its core fashion and accessories products online, so when

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Fashion & Shopping
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In a year of lows for luxury, Chanel’s spending on itself reached new highs.

Holly B. Martin

Chanel, the French fashion house known for its No. 5 perfumes and quilted leather handbags, spent record amounts maintaining its stores, supply chain, advertising and fashion shows in 2020, despite the strain of pandemic lockdowns and sales volatility in one of the most tumultuous years in retail history.

The company said Tuesday that revenue for 2020 was $10.1 billion, down 18 percent compared with the previous year. Operating profit fell 41.4 percent in the same period, to just over $2 billion. But unlike some industry rivals that were forced to slash costs last year, Chanel spent $1.36 billion on “brand support activities” like advertising and runway shows, and $1.12 billion on capital expenditure investments such as the acquisition and renovation of its boutiques network, new offices and the ecosystem of small artisanal workshops that produce its luxury wares.

“One of the luxuries of being a privately owned luxury company is

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Fashion & Shopping
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Halston: The 10 Best Characters On The Netflix Show

Holly B. Martin

The highs and lows of the fashion industry are accurately documented in the new Netflix miniseries Halston. The show follows fashion designer Roy Halston as he creates his fashion dynasty but it also has a cast of dynamic characters that truly encapsulate the struggles of fame in the ’70s.

RELATED: 10 Best Shows Like Netflix’s Halston

The show has taken the streaming platform by storm and fans are blown away that such a powerful story is told in so few episodes. The show embodies the ups and downs of the fashion industry and created some truly dynamic characters. A few of them leave a lasting impression in only one episode and some take fans on a journey through each installment.

9 David Mahoney

David Mahoney talking to someone

David Mahoney’s character appears on and off throughout the series, but still makes a prominent name for himself in Halston’s career. David is a philanthropist

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