Posts by Kevin Harson
How Luxury Watches Suddenly Became More Fun Than Ever
This is an edition of the newsletter Box + Papers, Cam Wolf’s weekly deep dive into the world of watches. Sign up here. So, imagine you’re standing at a horse’s butt. That’s where the new Hermès Arceau Rocabar de Rire—one of 2025’s finest and most painstakingly constructed watches—places you. There’s a handsome steed depicted on…
Read MorePrada Acquires Versace: A New Chapter in Luxury Fashion?
The $1.4 billion acquisition of Versace marks a significant change in the industry as the Prada Group enters new territory by adding a designer label with a bold and flamboyant brand identity to its portfolio. The path leading to the deal has been complex. Capri Holdings, previously Michael Kors Holdings, initially intended to create a…
Read MoreValentino Revenues Dipped 3% in 2024
Underlining luxury’s current lull, Valentino said its 2024 revenues decreased 3 percent to 1.31 billion euros amidst “a challenging and complex landscape.” At constant exchange rates, the decrease stood at 2 percent, while the Roman fashion house trumpeted that its direct retail, including e-commerce, improved 5 percent last year and represented 70 percent of revenues.…
Read MoreVestiaire Collective Brings Clothing Waste Home in Latest Campaign
PARIS — Luxury resale platform Vestiaire Collective is wrapping up its three-year campaign to tackle textile waste, which has included a ban on fast-fashion brands. In November 2023, Vestiaire blacklisted 30 fashion brands including H&M, Mango, Uniqlo and Zara from being bought, sold or listed on its platform, and continued adding brands such ultra-fast-fashion players…
Read MoreEXCLUSIVE: Zendaya Looms Large in Louis Vuitton’s Resort Campaign
BIG TIME: Larger-than-life celebrity reaches a new zenith in Louis Vuitton‘s resort 2025 campaign, where a Godzilla-scale Zendaya lords over idyllic Italian beach scapes. The images break in select print titles on Sunday, and will be broadcast on Vuitton’s social-media channels from May 16. Photographers Inez Van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin captured Zendaya, who is…
Read MoreDermocosmetics: On Skin Care’s Final Frontier
Dermocosmetics is forging the future of skin care, as topicals, aesthetic services and medicine converge like never before. “That is the revolution happening within beauty,” said Myriam Cohen-Welgryn, president of L’Oréal Dermatological Beauty. A confluence of factors is driving the rise of dermocosmetics, most notably the realization that beauty is more than skin deep — literally.…
Read MoreBCEO Talks: Kecia Steelman, CEO of Ulta Beauty
She may only be three months into the top job at Ulta Beauty, but chief executive officer Kecia Steelman is quickly garnering a reputation in the industry as a fast, intentional and strategic decision maker, who has wasted no time making her mark on the retailer. Already, she has made sweeping changes to the C-suite…
Read MoreEXCLUSIVE: Capezio Brand Sold After 140 Years of Family Ownership
Capezio is changing hands after more than a century of family ownership. On Thursday, Argand Partners LP, a New York-based middle-market private equity firm, revealed its acquisition of Ballet Makers Inc., the parent company of the venerable dance brand. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Founded in 1887, Capezio designs and manufactures premium and…
Read More2024 Top 100: Growing Pains Hamper The Estée Lauder Cos.
With a C-suite shuffle, thousands of layoffs, an Amazon U-turn and a disappearing outlook, it was a wild ride in 2024 for the Estée Lauder Cos. Beginning with the C-suite, after months of speculation, the company announced during the summer that longtime CEO Fabrizio Freda would retire, setting off a succession race between then group…
Read MoreMiami Swim Week – The Shows Focuses on Fashion, Sustainability and Social Impact
Miami Swim Week – The Shows 2025 will take place in Miami Beach from May 28 through June 1 at the Mondrian South Beach. The exhibition features over 50 events spanning more than 20 satellite locations and a lineup of over 150 national and international designers, models and celebrities. The organization is also introducing a…
Read MoreEXCLUSIVE: Unpacking the Saks Global Plan to ‘Reset’ the Luxury Experience
In February, Saks Global said it had a master plan to “reset” the luxury experience, but offered few specifics. What it did lay out were a new policy to start paying vendors on a 90-day schedule and intentions to make good on past-due bills in monthly installments. While the payment plan didn’t go over well,…
Read MoreKhaite, Thom Browne, Jacquemus and More Opening in Melrose Area in L.A.
Khaite is coming to Los Angeles. And it’s not alone. The New York-based luxury fashion company, founded in 2016 by Catherine Holstein, is taking over the former Gucci Salon store on Melrose Place. And just next door, Thom Browne — replacing By Far — is marking a third location in California on Melrose Place after…
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