The Business of Fashion

This week on The BoF Careers Briefing, discover who international retailers hire to crack the US market and read an archive piece on career advice from Rajni Jacques, Snap Inc.’s Global Head of Fashion and Beauty Partnerships. Plus, find out what fashion designers need to know today and the latest jobs on BoF Careers. Sign up to the weekly newsletter now.

If SHEIN moves ahead with an initial public offering in the coming days, as it is reportedly preparing to file to do in London, it would be the largest ever for the UK financial capital, and by far the biggest in dollar terms for the fashion industry. The company reports it is growing faster, and is more profitable than Inditex, by way of justifying a $64 billion valuation, far more than the market capitalisations of even Kering or adidas. Yet there will be doubts about whether the deal of the decade will really happen, right up until the moment shares start trading. The UK government and the country’s financial sector have reportedly lobbied hard for Shein to list in London instead of the more robust New York. The company could certainly benefit from a less-hostile environment. US lawmakers take turns alleging the fast fashion giant’s mostly Chinese supply chain relies on forced labour (Shein denies this), and threatening to close a customs loophole that has helped fuel its growth. While it’s true that the UK is eager to draw a monster IPO to London’s struggling City, it’s unlikely Shein’s troubles can be contained on the other side of the Atlantic. UK politicians, consumers and investors are, if anything, more attuned to ESG issues — the conservative backlash against “woke” investing is mostly an American phenomenon. Even if Shein avoids any major blowback for labour or environmental reasons, it still needs to come up with an answer to the rise of rival Temu in order to draw investors. Shein may file its IPO paperwork this week. But whether the company can convince the market to overlook the risks to its business is the $64 billion question. Read more, including what's to come in the week ahead. #SHEIN #UKgovernment

Looking for a new role in fashion? Roland Mouret, KCD, Couverture & The Garbstore, Métier and more are hiring: Production Technologist at Roland Mouret: https://lnkd.in/eX2k69KF Freelance Publicist at KCD: https://lnkd.in/eQwgNy4a Fashion PR Coordinator at Couverture & The Garbstore: https://lnkd.in/eQwCWWQ4 Editor at Métier: https://lnkd.in/e6gBZC6K #Careers

Late Wednesday, BoF broke the news that Virginie Viard had exited CHANEL. A force for continuity who carried on Karl Lagerfeld’s legacy after his 2019 death, while bringing a lighter, more youthful touch to Chanel’s runway collections, Viard sat atop a storied fashion empire. The second-biggest luxury brand with revenues of nearly $20 billion last year, Chanel stages six fashion shows per year across ready-to-wear, haute couture and its annual “Métiers d’Art” craftsmanship showcase, not to mention its near-unparalleled brand prestige. While some fashion fans bristled at Viard’s increased focus on ultra-wearable silhouettes, her more approachable, contemporary take on flagship products like tweed jackets helped to fuel surging sales as the Covid-19 pandemic pushed luxury consumers toward blue-chip brands. During her tenure, sales of ready-to-wear increased by a factor of 2.5, Chanel recently reported. That’s to say, her successor will have big shoes to fill. At the same time, Chanel is currently in such a strong position that the house won’t need to rush Viard’s succession. The brand grew by 16 percent in 2023, outpacing key rivals, and has such clear codes and sufficient clout with consumers to weather a season or two without a creative director. (Chanel will rely on its studio team to designer its June couture outing). Read the full story by Robert Williams https://bit.ly/3RhsQwc #CHANEL #VirginieViard

In partnership with SEPHORA Eco-friendly label Conserving Beauty, skincare brand d'you and cosmetics seller Fara Homidi Collection INC are the winners of the inaugural The Business of Beauty Global Awards. The winners were carefully selected by our all-star jury. Jury members include Shana Randhava, The Estée Lauder Companies’ New Incubation Ventures senior vice president, Priya Venkatesh, global chief merchandising officer at Sephora, Heela Yang, co-founder and CEO of Sol de Janeiro and Robin Tsai, general partner at VMG Partners, alongside Imran Amed, BoF’s founder, CEO and editor-in-chief, and Priya Rao, executive editor of The Business of Beauty. For any hopeful entrants for next year’s edition, more information will follow in early 2025. Read more https://bit.ly/4earY6t 📷 Getty

In partnership with The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. Speakers and guests joined us for an intimate evening of dinner and dancing, to celebrate this year's Business of Beauty Global Forum. 📷 Getty

Day 2 of The Business of Beauty Global Forum 2024, hosted at Stanly Ranch, Auberge Resorts Collection, started with Session 2: Inside the Industry. The beauty business has never been more competitive than it is now. In order to succeed, leaders need to bring a combination of radical thinking, innovative product and breakthrough strategies to chart their own path. In this session, we took a tour around the industry to meet the creative and executive leaders we can learn from. 📷 Getty #BoFBeauty Thank you to Design Within Reach, our interior staging partner, including pieces from Herman Miller.

London-based menswear designer Bianca Saunders has been awarded this year’s BFC/GQ Fashion Fund, the British Fashion Council said in a statement Friday. Saunders, who launched her namesake label in 2017 after graduating from The Royal College of Art, will receive a £100,000 ($128,000) grant. Read the full story by BoF's Daniel-Yaw Miller.

“I resisted the idea at first because I design womenswear based on my own personality and have no masculine figure to refer to,” says Carolina Castiglioni, creative director of Plan C, on the brand’s decision to launch menswear. “But I switched my point of view, thinking how central menswear silhouettes are to the Plan C aesthetic.” Castiglioni herself is evidence: as she guides me through the new men’s offering in a whitewashed photographic studio, she looks effortlessly elegant in a slouchy blazer, slouchier pleated trousers and fussbett sandals, a signature — and indeed mannish — Plan C look, evolved directly from what Carolina’s mother, Consuelo Castiglioni, did at Marni. “These trousers have been developed in men’s sizes exactly as they are; so has the blazer,” she says. Read the full story at BoF.

Looking for a new role in fashion? Halfpenny London, Erdem, MyGemma and more are hiring: HR Manager at Halfpenny London: https://lnkd.in/eBj_c7xu Senior Print Designer at Erdem: https://lnkd.in/eDvVVzeH MyGemma: https://lnkd.in/e2s4Pxza #Careers