WWD

The viral on TikTok?beauty?brand Kosas is betting big that the Middle East is ready for a cleaner beauty?routine. The company revealed it will be rolling out across 85 Sephora stores and online in the Middle East on Monday. Kosas founder Sheena Zadeh sees the Middle East as a natural next step for the brand, which bills itself as “makeup?for skin care freaks.” “Our products provide payoff, coverage, pigment, glow — all the things you need for makeup to be effective, while also being active skin care and clean,” Zadeh told WWD. Zadeh attributes the success in the U.S. to market readiness and drew parallels to the current Middle Eastern beauty landscape. “We went through this here in the U.S. in 2015 and 2016 when it was the end of the era of super Instagram makeup that was very heavy and multistep. In came Kosas, which was not the polar opposite, but an alternative,” she said. Keep reading on WWD.com: https://lnkd.in/e8sNji_k

KHAITE?has expanded its retail footprint with the opening Friday of a freestanding store in Highland Park Village, Dallas’ open-air shopping and dining destination. The store, which carries the women’s ready-to-wear, footwear, handbags and accessories, is designed in steel, glass and concrete. The store opens with the fall and pre-fall 2024 collections, offering the newly introduced Cate handbag, Marcy flat and Benny belt, in addition to an assortment of handbags, footwear and accessories. The ready-to-wear highlights signature silk gazar, leather and cashmere. Read more on WWD.com: https://lnkd.in/esQ883Cp

Michael Kors?once again came in first place in social media engagement during?New York Fashion Week, according to ListenFirst, the social analytics company. Rounding out the top five were Tommy Hilfiger, TORY BURCH, Coach, Carolina Herrera, respectively, according to ListenFirst. The next 10 in social engagement were COS, Off-White, SANDY LIANG, LoveShackFancy, COLLINA STRADA, WILLY CHAVARRIA, GRACE LING, LaQuan Smith, Anna Sui and AREA, respectively, according to ListenFirst. Kors came in first place last February and before that came in first place in February 2020. Continue reading on WWD.com: https://lnkd.in/eenqPGju

Against a weak macroeconomic environment and waves of geopolitical instability, the question on the minds of many jewelers at the five-day VicenzaOro?trade show?here Tuesday was whether hard luxury can stay resilient. There’s hardly a single answer, some executives among the 1,200 fair exhibitors opined, as the market’s volatility makes predictions harder and a cautious approach mandatory, even if jewelry?has been historically viewed as an investment asset. “Penchant for shopping is lacking a bit, there’s some contraction…but amid this complex moment for the market, I believe it is changing for the better, with renewed focus on what’s authentic and unique, which means artisanal,” said Gismondi 1754 spa’s chief operating offering Stefano Rocca. Continue reading: https://lnkd.in/e2-W7q8g

New York City’s newest multibrand retailer has set up shop in a less-trafficked pocket of Brooklyn than Williamsburg or Greenpoint. Ven Space is a luxury menswear store by Chris Green, formerly the general merchandise manager of Need Supply Co. and Totokaelo. The store opened Friday in Carroll Gardens, the Brooklyn neighborhood better known as a dining hot spot than a luxury shopping destination. It is located at 369 Court Street, across from Carroll Park. “Williamsburg has its own point of view, but this is the zone that I want to be in,” Green said, sitting in a wooden rocking chair inside Ven Space. A few feet away, a large Noguchi Akari lamp hangs from the ceiling with a string of oversized ceramic beads cascading through it. Dozens of terracotta pots and vases line the shelves on the wall farthest from the entrance, interrupted only by a vintage Braun Atelier record player designed by Dieter Rams in the late ’50s. Continue reading: https://lnkd.in/eDcYR9Vg

The LIM Fashion Foundation has welcomed two seasoned professionals — Frances Valentine's founder and leader Elyce Arons and GQ Magazine’s creative director at large Jim Moore to the board of directors. In 1993, Arons cofounded of?kate spade new york?with the late namesake designer and her husband Andy. She played a leading role in the brand’s international growth. More than a decade later, the trio started another venture: Frances Valentine. Both labels built followings for their bright and peppy style. Through Frances Valentine, Arons plays up positivity, having told Kate Doerge on The Safari podcast earlier this year, “Our mantra is where what makes you happy.” A graduate of Arizona State University, Arons heads up the company as chief executive officer. Read more here : https://lnkd.in/gET-nYAX

The Gentlewoman Magazine is putting on its birthday suit for its 30th issue with American performance artist Kembra Pfahler gracing the cover in the nude with blue body paint. The artist, who also leads the band The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black, has been photographed by Jamie Hawkesworth?in a 14-page spread wearing mostly nothing — in one image she’s wearing a dress made out of printed paper with a pair of black socks and white shoes. “I’m not naked, I’m wearing body paint,” she says in an interview with art journalist Cristina Ruiz. Read more here : https://lnkd.in/g3pis-rR

With the launch of TikTok Shop last year paving the way to sales growth for many brands, the platform’s click-to-buy feature isn’t for every brand. Instead, many of the top-performing, or “most popular,” fashion brands are looking to engage a new audience, including the coveted Gen Z, with this new era of marketing. Here, WWD looks at the top 10 fashion brands on TikTok using data insights from Trendalytics. The list is ranked by audience size, account growth, user-generated content and mentions organically or from influencers. Louis Vuitton topped the list with 14 million followers and an increase of 17 percent in TikTok mentions year-over-year. According to Trendalytics’ historical data, the brand has long held its rank as the most successful fashion brand on the platform and has “exemplified the paradigm shift in luxury fashion toward marketing, talent and social media spectacle, opposed to the design excellence, which used to characterize success within the industry.” Read more here : https://lnkd.in/gJispWSv

Despite the ongoing luxury slowdown,?Hermès?shows no sign of reining in its production. The maker of Birkin bags and silk squares on Friday inaugurated its latest?leather goods?factory. Chief executive officer Axel Dumas cut the ribbon on a facility spanning 79,000 square feet in Riom, a city of 19,000 residents in Auvergne, a region in central?France. Read more here : https://lnkd.in/eE22KATq

Daniel Kearns?is back at the creative helm of KENT&CURWEN and preparing to launch the brand’s first womenswear collection at the Royal Academy during?London Fashion Week. He’s sentimental about the venue. “It’s iconic in so many ways. I went to see the exhibition ‘Sensation’ when I first moved to London [in 1997]. It was so monumental at the time,” Kearns said referring to the early show of work by artists including Tracey Emin, Damien Hirst and Gary Hume, a group known as the YBAs, or Young British Artists. Read more here : https://lnkd.in/en4bXUJf