#DESIGN

British heritage brand Barbour is introducing a new luxury premium for women designed for “high-low dressing” for autumn/winter 2021.

The ‘Modern Heritage’ collection will see Barbour venturing into new categories, including dresses and recycled knitwear, as it looks to target premium womenswear with its mix of smart and casual clothing.

The collection it notes has been designed for women to wear “around the home or when spending time outdoors” and embraces Barbour’s archive which goes back to 1910 and explores the brand’s Scottish heritage and roots with a contemporary take on its signature tartans.

#DESIGN

When people hear 'elegant ladies bag' they do not immediately think of technology. Still, without sacrificing style, there are leather bags that can charge tablets and phones, and that automatically turn on a light as soon as the bag opens. Meet the Dutch brand Minois. "Bags have been around for a very long time, but if you look at what has been innovated in terms of use, it's quite disappointing," says Minois founder Simone Tertoolen.

Tertoolen has always had the idea of designing a bag. “Out of her own frustration, but also because using a bag is often very clumsy," she says to FashionUnited. To put it to the test, she took to the streets and asked women if they had a pen that she could borrow. What followed was ‘a lot of twists and turns to get into the bag and often without the result of a pen.’ Tertoolen herself has a background as a designer and worked for TomTom in the field of the user interface, among others.

#DIGITAL

Diageo has outlined a series of 25 commitments it aims to achieve over the next decade around the promotion of positive drinking, sustainability and diversity in its ‘Society 2030: Spirit of Progress’ action plan.

As part of the plan, the drinks giant aims to reach more than 1 billion people with messages of moderation from its brands, educate 10 million people on the dangers of underage drinking, and change the attitudes of 5 million drivers on drink-driving.

Meanwhile, Diageo aims to have 45% representation of leaders from ethnically diverse backgrounds by 2030 and it states 50% of all leaders will be women. It will also provide skills and training to more than 1.7 million people within the sector.

#PR

JD Sports is reportedly holding exclusive talks with Debenhams about a rescue plan to acquire the department store chain.

The FTSE 100 sportwear retailer is interested in buying the whole of the Debenhams business, which could secure thousands of jobs ahead of Christmas.

It is understood JD Sports entered exclusive talks with Debenhams’ advisor Lazard and administrators at FRP yesterday.

Debenhams has 12,000 staff and 124 shops. Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley had shown interest in acquiring the business but dropped out of the sale earlier this month.

#ADS

The ad industry and retailers have welcomed the fact shops and the hospitality sector will be allowed to reopen when the second lockdown ends on 2 December. However, they have urged government to provide more clarity to help businesses plan effectively in the run-up to Christmas, particularly as the tier system means there will be differences between regions.

Advertising Association chief executive Stephen Woodford says: “The final month of the year is a crucial one, particularly for the retail and hospitality industries, both of which depend heavily on advertising to reach consumers, drive sales and support jobs.

#DESIGN

The European Union is funding a new project to harness fashion industry collaborations and technology to create circular fashion. Under the ‘New Cotton Project,’ a consortium of brands, manufacturers, suppliers, innovators and research institutes will be tasked with proving that circular, sustainable fashion “is not only an ambition, but can be achieved today”.

The twelve participating fashion companies and brands include Adidas and the H&M Group, alongside Finnish biotechnology group Infinited Fiber Company, Aalto University, Fashion for Good, Frankenhuis, Inovafil, Kipas Textiles, REvolve Waste, Rise, Tekstina, and Xamk.

#PR

Accessories brand By Far is teaming up with pre-owned fashion platform Vestiaire Collective in a new circular collaboration. The Bulgarian label will offer a collection of upcycled and archive pieces as it looks to “give new life to pre-loved pieces, by creating something new from something old and extending the lifecycle of By Far products”.

The collaboration will encompass two parts - an upcycled edit and an archive sale. For the upcycled edit the By Far design team will create six new ‘Mini Rachel’ bags made entirely out of pre-loved Bt Far bags bought from the Vestiaire Collective website, as well as the brand’s old stock of damaged products.

#DIGITAL

The chief marketing officer of GoCompare, Zoe Harris, is joining On the Beach Group.

Harris joins the holiday company as its CMO on 1 January and will be its first CMO in two years replacing marketing director Alan Harding who left earlier this year.

She says: “There is no doubt that the travel industry has had a tough 2020 and, with the prospect of vaccines on the horizon, I believe now is a very exciting time to be moving into this sector. The disruptive nature of the Group’s business model, alongside incredibly strong performance marketing and a distinctive brand tone of voice is a heady combination.”

#ADS

From cafes to solicitors to florists, small businesses make up 99.9% of the UK’s private sector and, over the past 20 years, the exponential growth of this market has run in parallel to that of digital advertising – reflecting a close, mutually beneficial tie between the two.
So, as we collectively navigate the economic fallout of Covid-19, how can digital advertising help small businesses weather the storm? IAB UK’s ‘Powering Up’ research shows that while the majority of SMEs use and value digital advertising, 40% aren’t using it at all and small business owners want help with how to get the most out of digital channels.

#MEDIA

With its vibrant and engaged global community, TikTok is proving the perfect platform for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) 
to reach new customers in 2020. The backbone of the global economy, it’s been an extremely tough year for SMBs everywhere, and 
these businesses are now relying on digital advertising more than ever before.  


Recent third-party holiday research commissioned by TikTok revealed that people come to the platform to discover new products and 
are also inspired to purchase them. With a 100 million-plus EU community, it doesn’t matter whether a brand sells dog collars, candles, 
clothing, art, virtual cookery lessons, or mindfulness coaching; SMBs of every kind are discovering there’s an audience for them on the platform.

#DIGITAL

Victoria’s Secret parent company L Brands has named Martin Waters the brand's CEO. Waters will step into his role effective immediately. Waters will report to Stuart Burgdoerfer, interim CEO of Victoria’s Secret and CFO of L Brands. In Addition, Laura Miller has been named chief human resources officer of Victoria’s Secret, Becky Behringer has been promoted to executive vice president of North America store sales and operations, and Janie Schaffer has been named chief design officer of Victoria’s Secret Lingerie.

“The board and I are thrilled by the appointments of these talented leaders with demonstrated records of execution,” said Sarah Nash, chair of L Brands’ board of directors, in a statement. “Martin Waters is an experienced retail executive who has led our international business for the past 12 years. He is an exceptional leader and is widely respected both within and outside of our business.”

#DIGITAL

Covid-19 has accelerated many brands’ digital plans but for L’Oréal it achieved in eight weeks what had previously had taken three years.
The beauty giant has been working for some time on reimagining its marketing to be digital-first, but during coronavirus it has doubled ecommerce from 18% of its business to 34% at the peak in April.
This has since dropped slightly but the point still stands that the pandemic has managed to speed up an overhaul that has been in the works for half a decade.
L’Oréal’s success is a testament to its previous digital plans with the wheels in motion long before the forced changes in consumer habits.

#ADs

BrewDog is serious about tackling climate change. The beer giant is aiming to create a “carbon negative collective”, with promises to plant a tree for every new investor who signs up to its Equity for Punks crowdfunding scheme. 
However, not everyone agrees with the way BrewDog is going about it. This week the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) banned the brand’s climate action ad for being “likely to offend”.
The ad included large text reading “F**K You CO2. BrewDog Beer Is Now Carbon Negative” with the letters between F and K obscured by a can of BrewDog Punk IPA. The campaign ran in August across three billboards in London, including one near a school, as well as one in Newcastle and another in Glasgow. Full-page and double-page adverts identical to the poster were also published in the Metro, The Week and The Economist.

#ADS

The Advertising Association (AA) is pulling together the entire industry, including brands like Unilever, Sky and the Guardian, to help achieve net zero carbon emissions as a result of advertising by 2030.
Ad Net Zero is a great step in the right direction with the five-point strategy spanning development, production, media placement and events but arguably a more effective and larger statement could have been made.

#DIGITAL

Balenciaga is taking a very unconventional approach to its fall/winter 2021 collection. This time the Kering-owned brand will be showcasing their latest collection via video game. The video game will be called “Afterworld” and will be released on December 6.

The game will be set in the year 2031. The clothes will be futuristic inspired. Balenciaga continues to be one of the crown jewels of Kering’s portfolio alongside Gucci.

After the coronavirus pandemic, Balenciaga has been rethinking how it shows its collections on the fashion calendar. Typically, December is when brands debut pre-fall collections, but instead Balenciaga is opting to show fall/winter what would typically be two to three months ahead of schedule, as most fall/winter collections debut at Fashion Month from February to early March.

#PR

Netflix shows The Queen’s Gambit and The Crown have been driving fashion searches this month as viewers scramble to replicate the characters’ vintage looks, according to online search platform Stylight.

The Queen’s Gambit, a Cold War-era show chronicling the rise to fame of chess prodigy Beth Harmon as she battles drug addiction, has been a source of fashion inspiration for viewers thanks to its costume design inspired by 60s icons like Ann Margaret, Natalie Wood and Audrey Hepburn.

Clicks for checkered coats skyrocketed by 383 percent in November compared to the month before the show was released, while clicks for white wool coats grew by 131 percent and turtleneck sweaters by 56.74 percent.

#PR

Karl Lagerfeld is collaborating with supermodel, actress and activist Amber Valletta to co-develop an eco-friendly accessories collection for spring 2021.

Valletta, who was a muse of Karl Lagerfeld, will introduce conscious accessory styles, including a special edition K/Kushion bag, crafted with innovative, socially sustainable materials sourced with minimal ecological impact.

The K/Kushion was inspired by a tailor-made cushion that Karl Lagerfeld carried on his travels and the new designs as part of the Valletta collaboration will be available in two eco-friendly material options.

#DIGITAL

Primark is to extend trading hours in all of its stores when England exits lockdown on Wednesday, December 2, with some flagships opening for 24-hours to cater for “anticipated higher customer demand”.

Eleven stores including Trafford, Bluewater, Lakeside, Birmingham Fort and White City, will open for 24-hours from 7am on December 2 right through until closing time on December 3. The move it states will help “safely reduce queues” by spreading shopping hours over a longer period of time to cater for demand ahead of the festive season.

The other stores offering 24-hour trading is York Monks Cross, Leeds White Rose, Meadowhall, Stratford, Charlton and Gateshead Metrocentre.

#DIGITAL

Tesco is to repay the £585m it received in business rates relief due to the Covid-19 pandemic to the UK government, saying the business has proved more resilient than it expected and that the worst of the crisis appears to be behind it.
The retailer says it is “immensely grateful” for the financial and policy support provided by the government as it faced the impact of the pandemic, including panic buying, pressure on supply chains, safety concerns and mass absence from work. It says it used “every penny” of the relief to respond to the pandemic, with its impact costing Tesco around £725m this year, in excess of the relief it received.
However, Tesco and other retailers that were able to stay open during the crisis have been criticised for taking the rates relief and faced calls to pay it back. Tesco is the first retailer to do so.

#DIGITAL

The department store chain Debenhams as fallen into administration with the potential loss of 12,000 jobs. The move came after JD Sports ended discussions over a rescue deal, with administrators saying the sale process had “not resulted in a deliverable proposal”.
Administrators will continue to look for a buyer, and stores will remain open to sell of stock. One stock is sold stores will shut, with closures likely from the start of next year. That would mean Debenhams, which can trace its beginnings back to 1778, disappearing from the high street after more than two centuries.
Debenhams’ collapse comes just a day after Arcadia Group, which owns TopShop, Miss Selfridge and Dorothy Perkins, also fell into administration. Arcadia Group was one of Debenhams’ biggest suppliers and its collapse in part led to JD Sports pulling out of the deal.

#DIGITAL

Airbnb is aiming to raise as much as $2.5bn in its initial public offering as it moves ahead with plans to go public before Christmas.
The business is pricing its float at between $44 and $50 per share and could sell as many as 55 million shares. If it sells at the top range, that would give Airbnb a market value of $30bn despite a year in which it has struggled amid the Covid pandemic that caused bookings to slump.
Airbnb posted a loss of nearly $700m on revenues of $2.5bn in the first nine months of this year, up from a loss of $323m a year ago. However, it actually made a profit in the third quarter as people took domestic holidays in the summer and some remote workers relocated.