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The shift toward offering greater personalization doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. In fact, Edouard Macquin, president of Lectra Americas, said personalization and the on-demand economy is core to what’s driving fashion apparel and retail today. Here, Macquin shares his insights into this trend, and how Lectra is responding with new platforms to help brands gain a competitive edge. WWD: The fashion apparel industry has gone through some remarkable changes in the past decade. What’s driving this change? Edouard Macquin: The fashion industry is part of the greater seismic shift toward products tailored to individual tastes and preferences. We see this across media, for instance. What is unique to the fashion industry, though, as opposed to a streaming TV service, is that we are delivering a physical product to consumers. This is also where the challenge lies. The driver of this change is, as with any change in the retail market, partially consumer-driven, but what comes ...

Despite a looming trade war with China, a global report showed the U.S. economy growing faster in the third quarter, higher than its long-term trending pattern for the year. Released by Euromonitor International, the global economic forecast for the third quarter “focuses on quarterly macro changes for the world’s economies and what these mean to our view of the likely, optimistic and pessimistic scenarios for the global economy.” Overall, Euromonitor’s forecast showed downgrades to the global outlook in the first half of 2019, especially in emerging and developing economies. Global GDP growth is predicted to see a 3.1 percent gain in 2019 before rising 3.3 percent annually in 2020-21. “Rising trade tensions and a worsening slowdown in global trade and manufacturing” were predicted by Euromonitor International. “Together with more negative signals from financial markets [will] have increased global downturn and emerging markets slowdown risks.” As reported by WWD, the third quarter has...

Tom Ott has already found a new gig — relaunching the venerable Robert Talbott label. Ott left Saks Fifth Avenue at the end of August after 24 years, serving most recently as chief merchant of the Off 5th division. He had also been the head of men’s wear for Saks for many years and was instrumental in the creation of the Saks Fifth Avenue Men’s Collection private label. It’s that skill he’ll draw upon for Robert Talbott as a special adviser for strategic opportunities, he said. In an exclusive interview, Ott said the Robert Talbott brand was quietly purchased by Relevant Brands Holdings last year and went dormant after shipping the spring collection. “They’re taking a breather,” he said. It will be relaunched for holiday 2020 although a capsule targeted to resort communities may be offered for next fall. “There’s a big white space in my book,” Ott said. “It’s a really good collection and not tarnished. It’s a diamond in the rough.”  Ott said Robert Talbott can “go head to head” wit...

Like other fashion executives, China is top of mind for Brendan Hoffman, chief executive officer of Vince Holdings Corp. But his head is wrapped around developing Vince stores in China while also dealing with new tariffs. “We are in the later stages of identifying a partner and expect in 2020 to be opening our first stores there,” Hoffman said in an exclusive interview at the Vince showroom on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. “Brands that we sit with here in the United States — Kate Spade, Burberry, Sandro, Maje, others —  have upwards of 50 stand-alone locations there already. It feels very natural, as I walked the malls, to see Vince over there.” In late July, Hoffman visited the IFC, Jing An Kerry Centre, Pacific Place and Times Square shopping centers in Hong Kong and Shanghai, among others. “It was an eye-opener. The malls are beautiful. They’re pristine, with open spaces, lots of pop-ups and activations, and they’re busy all times of day. “It was the first time I’ve been to China i...

PARIS — The battle for fashion capital supremacy has turned into a race for the environment — and Paris, naturally, is going all-out. With consumers ratcheting up the pressure — seen in the climate marches that swept cities around the world last week, even spilling over into the weekend in Paris — a convergence of diverse players is backing efforts in the French capital to take a lead on sustainability issues. This ranges from powerful luxury groups to buzzy new designers and includes industry federations, tech entrepreneurs and government officials — starting at the top ranks with French President Emmanuel Macron. Paris got a head start on the battle for environmental credentials with a late August meeting at the presidential palace drawing together brands signing on to the Fashion Pact, a pledge to work toward environmental goals like phasing out single-use plastics and reducing greenhouse emissions. In the crowd of tanned executives cutting short their summer recess to gather around...

It’s time for any would-be buyers for Barneys New York to step forward. The bankrupt retailer faces a key deadline today — it must secure formal expressions of interest from potential buyers.  If no buyer comes forward with a “reasonably acceptable” indication and Barneys cannot work out a revised budget with its lenders, the company could face liquidation. Barneys’ chief restructuring officer Mohsin Meghji, managing partner at restructuring and financial advisory firm M-III Advisors LP, previously estimated a roughly $220 million “floor value” for a sale. That would include the costs of the retailer’s secured debt, as well as its administrative and priority claims.  There is a narrow two-day window, until the end of the day Friday, to address potential disputes, according to a filing in the case.  But there are also key questions that any buyer would want to consider while looking at a company that is rapidly losing money. A court filing detailing Barneys’ finances, from...

TAG TEAM?: Could Dries Van Noten be calling on another master of color and embellishment for his spring 2020 collection, to be paraded in Paris on Wednesday? Rumors are rife in Paris that the Belgian designer could unveil some sort of project with, or tribute to, Mr. Christian Lacroix, who has pursued a thriving career in stage costumes since his couture house was shuttered in 2009. The handwritten invitation to Van Noten’s show, while in uppercase block letters, certainly seems to bear the flourish of the designer, according to several people who worked closely with him for decades. Reached late Tuesday, a spokesman for Van Noten had no comment. Lacroix did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The acclaimed couturier does not own his name. Florida-based duty-free operator Falic Group does, and has built a sizeable business in home, gifts, men’s wear and accessories, and just this week revealed to WWD plans to bring the name back into women’s fashions via collaborations and...