Here are some of this week’s news and features highlights handpicked by TheIndustry.fashion team.
The Interview: Chef Nobu and Designer Chris Stamp on creating ‘Sushi Club’ fashion line
Last month, I took a trip to Ibiza, in the name of fashion, of course. And now it’s safe to say that if there’s any club I want to be a part of… it’s Sushi Club.
Perched in the Nobu Ibiza Bay Hotel’s lounge, I was lucky enough to sit down with Chef Nobu Matsuhisa, the founder of Nobu restaurants and hotels, and Chris Stamp, the founder of fashion brand Stampd, to discuss how they fused the art of food with fashion and how the unlikely pairing came together over a shared love of LA culture and style. As the two bantered away, wearing their 1970s-inspired Sushi Club get-ups, it’s clear they formed not just a fashion business but a friendship.
To learn about the duo’s slow and steady business model, which ultimately solidified their path to success, read the full interview here.
Chloé Burney, Senior News & Features Writer.
Show Report: Scoop serves up new brands to keep buyer buoyed
Visiting the Scoop trade show at Olympia London this week gave real faith that the old trade show format still has so much life. It was refreshing to hear genuine positivity from exhibitors, happy that so many great retailers had come to see them – including the likes of Harvey Nichols, Browns, Net-a-Porter, The Mercantile, Ediit, Anna’s and Galeries Lafayette.
It’s a very well-curated show, and it has an upbeat feel to it, with a real mix of brands catering to those mid-to-higher end women’s boutiques, many of which are still thankfully going strong.
There were plenty of “Scoop firsts”, with brands such as Dream Catcher from Belgium, which had written at least 12 orders by halfway through day two, and Emin and Paul – showing for the first time under the guidance of Alex Radford, Director of Women’s at Palladio, who was previously a Senior Buyer herself for Anthropologie, adding further credibility if any was required.
Then there were two brands making Scoop debuts from Australia, Bohemian Traders and Spell, both under the umbrella of distributors Self Service, and sales agency Mirabel Edgedale brought Spanish brand Sophie + Lucie to the show for the first time. They all offered a bit of quality and something a bit different, and buyers couldn’t really ask for much more than that.
Tom Bottomley, Contributing Editor.
TALA secures £5m investment for international expansion
I’ve been following TALA since its inception, having followed its founder, Grace Beverley, on social media for even longer. The business was first launched in 2019 with a mission to bring consciously-made activewear pieces that deliver on performance, fit, quality and style without a hefty price tag. It has since experienced incredible growth, no doubt thanks to the hard work from Beverley and her team.
Now, to help amplify its growth even further, TALA has secured a £5 million investment to “support plans for international expansion” and “establish a physical retail presence”. Exciting news for many, I’m sure. Having already invested in the business in 2021, Pembroke VCT cemented its confidence in the brand by leading this new investment round with a £3 million investment, alongside existing investors Venrex and Active Partners. As the brand enters its next stage of growth, I look forward to hearing more about its store plans.
Sophie Smith, News Editor & Senior Writer.
Burberry has a new CEO but its creative director deserves more time
British luxury house Burberry, followed on from Mulberry, in initiating the exit of its CEO this week. Jonathan Akeroyd carried the can for Burberry’s falling sales in a very challenging market and stood down after just over two years in the role to be replaced by Joshua Schulman, formerly of Michael Kors, Coach and Jimmy Choo. Earlier this month Mulberry announced Thierry Andretti was leaving and replaced him with former Ganni CEO Andrea Baldo.
The arrival of Schulman at Burberry has prompted understandable speculation that he will ‘do a Coach’ on the brand and make it more of a ‘masstige’ than prestige, after Akeroyd’s attempts to take it upmarket. Burberry is denying this though the expectation is that the brand’s price architecture will be stretched downwards to allow more accessibility at the entry level. And Schulman has not intention of reversing Akeroyd’s bid to trade more on the brand’s quintessential Britishness, which had been somewhat lost when it was under the stewardship of former CEO Marco Gobbetti and creative director Riccardo Tisci.
As expected when Gobbetti left, Tisci followed him out of the door. The burning question now is whether Burberry’s current creative chief Daniel Lee will remain at the business or whether Schulman will want a new broom to execute his vision. Many have been arguing that Lee, too, should leave citing the fashion, which they say is too directional for the Burberry consumer and the lack of signature shoes and bags that we had hoped he would introduce (Lee was famous for reinvigorating Bottega Veneta with shoes and bags that brought modernity and edge to the brand’s intrecciato designs).
In his column for us this week, commentator Marcus Jaye argues that Lee needs more time to bed in and Schulman should stick with him for now. Not entirely sure I agree, though I understand the arguments. For what it’s worth, I think Schulman should be doing all he can to persuade Coach’s creative chief, the British designer Stuart Vevers, to come back to the UK and take the helm at Burberry. Vevers did a fantastic job at Mulberry back in the day before heading off to Spain to work on Loewe and then crossing the channel to Coach. He’s a mature and highly talented designer who knows how to appeal to a broad consumer base and understands prestige and ‘masstige’. But that decision will lie with Schulman. I’m optimistic about his arrival. I met him years ago when he headed up Jimmy Choo and he’s a bundle of energy and ideas and he’ll be a breath of fresh air at Burberry HQ where I understand the atmosphere has been strained lately. Let’s hope things are looking up for our flagship fashion brand.
Lauretta Roberts, Co-founder, CEO and Editor-in-Chief.
