Interview news and archive

Vestiaire Collective: New management, returning to growth, AI and a culture of 'delivery'

Four months after their appointment, Thomas Hézard, chief product officer, and Rémi Bouchez, chief technology officer, met with FashionUnited to detail the initial changes made at Vestiaire Collective. Fewer projects running in parallel; more decisions left to the teams; targeted use of artificial intelligence; and lower fees. Behind these...

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Fashion |Interview

20 years of Marcel Ostertag: “The most creative collection is useless without business acumen”

Marcel Ostertag is celebrating his 20th anniversary as a fashion designer this year, drawing a line under one chapter. After almost a decade at Berlin Fashion Week, he will no longer be holding a runway show there. Instead, he kicked off his anniversary series in Munich and is already looking ahead to Paris, where he will present for the first...

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People|Interview

Christian Wijnants: ‘I hope to be recognised for creating beautiful, thoughtfully designed clothes'

Antwerp's Fashion Festival in June presented a cabinet of curiosities around Belgium's primary fashion capital, initially shaped by the Antwerp Six. Meanwhile, the city also hosts commercial brands with a strong design ethos, of which Christian Wijnants is a household name. Knitwear is your speciality, and one of the reasons your work is often...

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Fashion |Interview

A. A. Spectrum: When European design meets Chinese expertise

Challenging preconceived notions about Chinese fashion, premium brand A. A. Spectrum champions a collaborative creative process between Geneva and Beijing. Its design director, Kevin Tallon, tells FashionUnited how a Swiss team collaborates daily with a Chinese industrial partner. Born in Geneva to a Swiss mother and an English father, Tallon is...

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Business|Interview

Minerva Alonso, Gran Canaria Swim Week: “We have positioned the show at the ideal time of year”

Madrid – During the last edition of Gran Canaria Swim Week (GCSW), held on the island of Gran Canaria from June 24 to 27, FashionUnited had the opportunity for our traditional “tête-à-tête” with Minerva Alonso. Alonso is the minister for Economic Development of the Cabildo de Gran Canaria and the main political and organisational head of the...

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People|Interview

From buyer to lecturer: How Wolter Pot is passing on his passion for fashion to the next generation

After years as a buyer at retailer Four Amsterdam, Wolter Pot swapped the corporate world for the classroom. As a fashion design lecturer at Koning Willem I College, he guides students in their creative development, sharing his passion for fashion and craftsmanship. He speaks to FashionUnited about his transition into education, the lessons he...

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Fashion

Takashimaya buyer: “Berlin Fashion Week has a unique identity”

With more than 180 years of history, Takashimaya is one of Japan's most traditional and renowned premium department stores. The company is known for its carefully curated range of luxury fashion, international designer brands and high-quality lifestyle products. For Shuhei Iwasa, a womenswear buyer at Takashimaya, Berlin Fashion Week has become...

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Business

What the UK’s proposed under-16 social media ban could mean for fashion businesses

Earlier this year, the UK government revealed plans to prevent social media platforms from being accessible to people under 16. While the announcement sparked heightened debate, drawing both opposition and support, it aligns the UK with other countries considering similar restrictions on user-to-user platforms, including Australia, which...

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People|Interview

Why Kilian Kerner now loves himself more than his job as a designer

At the beginning of the year, Kilian Kerner had to take a weeks-long break for the first time in his career. It was not by choice, but because he had no other option. This happened during a phase the designer himself describes as one of the most successful of his career. In his personal life, however, this period became one of the darkest. It...

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Business|CEO interview

Pas Normal Studios: ‘Cycling is and will remain our main focus’

Pas Normal Studios (French for ‘not normal’) is a Danish cycling brand focused on ambitious cyclists. With its minimalist design, it is currently one of the most sought-after brands in the segment. The brand is currently opening stores from Munich to Beijing and collaborating with established brands like the hyped outdoor brand Salomon. Its...

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Business|CEO interview

Drykorn CEO Marco Götz on new markets, relaxed tailoring and the new dual leadership

Financial crises, pandemics, geopolitical turmoil – for Marco Götz, a state of emergency is the norm. The Drykorn founder is correspondingly calm when looking back on a first half-year that saw the Kitzingen-based label suffer a significant loss in menswear due to the Wormland insolvency. In an interview with FashionUnited, Götz discusses...

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Fairs|Interview

Exploring the strategic partnership between Scoop and the Italian Trade Agency

Scoop is due to return to its Olympia National home in Kensington, London, with an edition channelling an European flair. Spanning July 19 to 21, the British trade show is honing in on its growing reputation as a UK launchpad for international designers, continuing to emphasise its positioning as a premium destination for emerging talent and...