Once the unofficial uniform of Silicon Valley, the wool sneaker maker’s stock surged more than 37% Wednesday after the company completed its transformation from sustainable footwear brand to AI compute provider On Wednesday, Allbirds said it has rebranded as Smartbird, Inc., completing its shift toward AI infrastructure. The move caps a stunning corporate reinvention that…
The startup joins Yaga and Luxity in a growing digital resale ecosystem, highlighting rising consumer adoption and investor confidence in South Africa’s circular fashion economy. South African circular fashion startup Kloset Klub has secured seed funding from innovation firm Thinkroom and co-investor Frank Smit, marking a significant milestone for a company betting that the future…
For decades, the global diamond industry was dominated by mined diamonds supplied through powerful legacy players such as De Beers and other major mining groups. Natural diamonds were positioned not only as luxury items, but also as symbols of rarity, permanence, romance, and status. Their value came from more than beauty alone – it came…
Today marks the global launch of the highly anticipated collaboration between Stella McCartney and H&M – a partnership that is once again placing the future of sustainable fashion under the spotlight. More than two decades after their groundbreaking 2005 collaboration, the two brands have reunited at a moment when the fashion industry faces growing scrutiny…
As geopolitical tensions increasingly spill into trade policy, the fashion industry’s exposure to sudden disruption varies sharply by segment. While luxury brands often dominate headlines during tariff scares, mass-market and sportswear companies face their own, often less visible – vulnerabilities. Understanding where risk concentrates reveals not just who stands to lose most from trade volatility,…
Tems has entered one of Los Angeles’ most exclusive wellness economies. The Grammy-winning Nigerian artist is the latest celebrity to collaborate with Erewhon, the upscale organic grocery chain whose celebrity smoothies have evolved into cultural signifiers at the intersection of luxury, wellness and influence. What Erewhon Represents in Today’s Cultural Economy Founded in California in…
When Prada unveiled a flat leather sandal during its Spring/Summer 2026 men’s show in Milan, the silhouette felt familiar – unmistakably echoing the Kolhapuri chappal, a handcrafted Indian sandal with centuries of history. What followed was swift backlash, with critics accusing the Italian luxury house of cultural appropriation and failing to acknowledge the craft communities…
From Global Surge to Local Soil: The Resale Revolution The luxury industry is undergoing a silent upheaval. As traditional retail braces for uncertainty, the secondhand wave – once niche, called “pre-loved” – has morphed into a defining pillar of modern luxury. According to a 2025 report by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in partnership with Vestiaire…
Introduction The fashion world is in the midst of a quiet revolution — one powered not by more new drops, but by the reimagined life of garments. Around the globe, the secondhand apparel market is charging ahead, and it’s reshaping how we think about sustainability, value, and style. In South Africa, one homegrown platform is…
Belgian-born designer Glenn Martens (Bruges, 1983) launched into the fashion world after graduating from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, initially securing a junior designer role at Jean Paul Gaultier. He gained widespread recognition as the creative director of Y/Project from 2013 to 2024, where his experimental and deconstructivist aesthetic transformed the label…
