Country: USA

American fashion designer Nicole Miller has inked a licensing agreement with The Moret Group, which owns over 20 sportswear brands. The collaboration will enable the designer’s namesake label in venturing into the sportswear market.

Moret is also a part of fashion retail collaborations with activewear brands like Skechers, Jockey and Paul Frank. Under the partnership, Moret will help Miller in designing, distribution, and retail marketing of the collection.

The first instalment under the association will be a Spring/Summer 2018 collection, which comprises a wide variety of pieces ranging from outerwear, soft knits to feminine daywear pieces.

The sportswear line will take design cues from Miller’s romantic aesthetics where she has used details like applique, heritage floral motifs and gentle silhouettes. The collection will be sold under her pre-existing ‘Nicole Miller New York’ brand at stores across the US.

“Sportswear is a fast-growing part of our business at the Artelier level. We’ve had a lot of success with dresses in our Nicole Miller New York diffusion label, so adding sportswear is the perfect next step for that line. The price point also helps us get in touch with a younger audience that wants to step into the Nicole Miller world,” said Miller.

The official release of Miller’s maiden activewear line is expected next month. The sportswear line will retail in the price bracket of US $ 80 to US $ 100 for blouses, and US $ 130 to US $ 150 for outerwear.

Austrian fibre manufacturer Lenzing Group and Noble Biomaterials, a technology provider for odour elimination in fabrics, have joined hands to debut an innovative range of high-performance textiles.

The newly developed range incorporates Noble’s antimicrobial technology, XT2, into Lenzing’s ‘Green’ Lyocell fibres. The first fabric collection under the collaboration was introduced recently at Texworld USA.

The XT2 technology uses ‘silver’ in order to integrate odour control properties in the fabric. Additionally, silver is permanently inherent in yarns and does not wash away even after multiple washes which make the fabric even more durable. The technology also kills the natural bacteria that contribute heavily in creating odour by breaking down the sweat with the help of enzymes.

Not just the technology, the new range also incorporates sustainable solutions as silver is first recycled and then reused in the textile products, thereby addresses Lenzing’s commitment of offering ‘Technology with Sustainability’ in its products.

“The new textile range is an amalgamation of our textile expertise through progressive techniques and advanced manufacturing practices,” claims Noble Biomaterials. This blend of Noble’s technology and Lenzing’s fibres make a garment long-lasting one which needs the lesser frequency of washes while maintaining expected level of freshness.

Lenzing’s sustainable Lyocell fibres play a key role in the fabric collection as it provides fabrics, and then garments, with extreme moisture control characteristics and natural breathability. The Lyocell fibres absorb more moisture than cotton, thereby making the fabric collection a complete yet a unique collaboration between Lenzing and Noble Biomaterials.

Just when we were about to file away the lead colour of 2016, the Millennial Pink; NIKE pulled the trigger and made us re-evaluate our choices! The international activewear giant has released a collection inclusive of on-trend sportswear and accessories for women in a colour palette of millennial pink and rose gold hues balanced out by grey and black accents.

Dubbed as the ‘Chrome Blush Collection’, the latest fashion collection features 23 pieces of sweatshirts, sports bras, leggings, shorts, shoes and other sports luxe essentials. The line also remodels a few of NIKE’s popular trainer models in sync with the new neutral-based colour schemes.

Prices of the collection start from US $ 25 for their training shorts and go up to US $ 160 for NIKE Air Max 90 sneaker, which incorporates the brand’s signature Flyknit technology. 

Released recently, the tagline for the latest collection reads, “Where strength meets style”. It was heavily promoted via social media with a series of adverts that star a mix of international athletes such as Olympic swimmer Kapas Boglarka, yoga instructor Klara Pokorna, and dancer and choreographer Jana Vrána.

Despite the advent of the ‘GREENERY’ palette for 2017, the much-hyped millennial pink-cum-rose gold combination continues to enjoy a faithful audience, recently showing up at Rihanna’s Fenty x Puma collection, Glossier’s marketing and packaging design and more.
 
The Chrome Blush collection is available for purchase at NIKE stores and on the brand’s website.

National Retail Federation (NRF), the world’s largest retail trade association, is concerned over the future of Border Adjustment Tax (BAT) and its impact on the US’ retailers. To understand the same, the Federation has recently written a letter to the House Tax-Writing Committee of the US questioning ‘how the tax reform would benefit small businesses, grow the economy and create jobs’? In its letter, the NRF has also urged the Committee to consider the potential impacts of BAT on small retailers in the country.

NRF states that small businesses account for 98 per cent of the entire retail industry, providing 40 per cent of total 42 million retail jobs in the US. Adding on, it claims that 85 per cent of small business owners believes, to thrive in the market, it is essential to source material from overseas. Therefore, applying 20 per cent BAT on imported goods might force them to slash as many as 772,000 retail jobs as the proposed tax policy will increase the cost to the consumer. The Federation estimates that BAT implementation would cost a middle-class family in the country as much as US $ 1,700 on the yearly basis. It will further result in declining sales, which will lead to a contraction in the small businesses.

“Small retailers might witness the hardest hit by the potential impact of the BAT. They do not have the economies of scale to be able to reduce the higher costs of their merchandise with the BAT imposed and are most likely to lose sales to lower-priced competition,” said David French, Senior Vice President for Government Relations, NRF.

It’s worth recalling here that NRF recently conducted a survey to take opinions of small retailers about BAT and its probable effects on retail industry in the US. The survey found that three out of five retailers forecast a negative impact on their already running tight-margin businesses if BAT is implemented.

In response to the concerns raised by NRF, Peter Roskam, Chairman, House Ways and Means Tax Policy Subcommittee, explained, “In the Ways and Means Committee, we are proposing a simplified tax code that works with, instead of against, small businesses. First off, we drop the tax rate from 44.6 per cent to 25 per cent. This means more money to hire employees, and this means more money to grow your business.”

LA-based REVOLVE is a virtual home to collections of over 500 of the world’s most-coveted fashion brands. The latest to hop on the designers’ bandwagon is the Jenner sisters with their label ‘Kendall + Kylie’. The sister duo has launched a swimwear capsule that features 23 styles, from mix-and-match bikinis separates to one-pieces.

“REVOLVE has always been one of my go-to places to shop online, we can’t wait to see our Kendall + Kylie swimwear featured on the site. Our collection for REVOLVE has styles for all body types,” averred Kylie. The fashion collection draws its inspiration from their mother, Kris Jenner’s wardrobe and 1980’s style high cuts. The price of the products starts from US $ 45 for a coloured block bikini bottom and goes up to US $ 165 for a mesh one-piece swim suit.

A barely-there aesthetic follows suit throughout the collection with designs such as the one-piece featuring camouflage-prints, one with an American flag details and the neon pink bikini standing out as the ‘directional pieces’.

“The bathing suit styles we have designed for this collection are sexy and fun. No matter what your plans are for this summer, you will find a style in our ‘Kendall + Kylie REVOLVE’ collection that looks great!” said Kendall.

Kendall and Kylie have previous fashion collaborations with REVOLVE on a clothing and shoe collection. The latest capsule comes as a follow-up to the success enjoyed by their previous stint with the fashion apparel company.

Plunging sales and rising competition from online retailers have resulted in yet another fashion chain Gymboree Corporation to close its 350 stores, mainly under the Gymboree and Crazy 8 brands across the US.

The kidswear fashion retailer, in association with Great American Group and Tiger Group, will manage the closing sales at these stores starting July 18. According to Daniel Griesemer, President and CEO of Gymboree, the decision to close the stores has been taken in the best long-term interest of the fashion brand, its customers and employees.

“Today’s announcement represents the next step in the company’s court-supervised financial restructuring as we work to more strongly position the business for long-term growth and success,” added Daniel.

It is pertinent to mention here that Gymboree filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy last month with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

The Gymboree Corporation’s speciality retail brands are known for offering unique, high-quality products delivered with custom-made services. As of April 29, 2017, the company operated a total of 1,281 retail stores: 582 Gymboree stores (532 in the US, 49 in Canada and 1 in Puerto Rico), 172 Gymboree Outlet stores (171 in the US and 1 in Puerto Rico), 149 Janie and Jack shops (148 in the US and 1 in Puerto Rico) and 378 Crazy 8 stores in the US.