Worldview | Riyadh Fashion Week’s Grand Ambitions

🇸🇦 Riyadh Fashion Week takes steps towards regional hub status. The second edition of Saudi Arabia’s annual fashion week event took place from Oct. 17-21 across three venues in the capital including the Tuwaiq Palace. Twenty-seven designer brands including Mona Al Shebil, Abadia, Razan Alazzouni, Kaf by Kaf, Waad Aloqaili, Yahya Albishri, Adnan Akbar, Tima Abid, 1886 and Honayda presented their collections on the runway. Regional celebrities and influencers like Lojain Omran, Ahmed Malek and Karen Wazen joined international names from further afield such as Thai actress Davika Hoorne and Sweden’s Elsa Hosk at shows, showrooms and gala events. Though Riyadh Fashion Week’s stated aim is to establish “Saudi Arabia as a leading global hub for fashion,” Gulf industry leaders suggest that the event’s near-term priority is to consolidate its position as a regional hub amid growing competition in the Middle East event space. This year, neighbouring Dubai Fashion Week moved its biannual showcase to early September, a move some saw as an attempt to put some distance between it and Riyadh, which is held toward the end of the global fashion week calendar. But Riyadh’s regional ambitions have so far been constrained by the scope of its entirely local designer roster whereas Dubai is far more diverse, attracting names from across the region. [BoF Inbox]

🇨🇳 Shanghai Fashion Week designers brush aside downbeat economy. The latest edition of the event took place between Oct. 9 and 17 in China’s financial hub. The biannual showcase kicked off with stalwart Comme Moi and saw labels like Samuel Gui Yang and Ao Yes take part alongside Angel Chen whose homecoming presentation was lauded by locals after a three-year absence. Brands including Short Sentence, Shushu/tong and Oude Waag One produced high-quality shows and collections despite the challenging economic environment. Other standout presentations included newcomer Office H and designer of the moment Ya Yi. Domestic and international brands alike could be found at trade shows and showrooms Mode, Tube, Not, Ontimeshow and Lab. [Gemma A. Williams for BoF]

🇰🇷 South Korean apparel giant Sae-A opens spinning mill in Costa Rica. The Seoul-based firm, one of the world’s largest vertically integrated clothing manufacturers supplying retailers like Target, Walmart and Gap, has opened a third spinning mill in the country. “With this expansion, we are optimising CAFTA tariff benefits for duty-free exports to the US, further strengthening the global textile supply chain,” said WK Kim, chairman of Sae-A Trading parent Global Sae-A Group, which has expanded its footprint beyond Asia to nearshore in Central America and Caribbean countries including Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Haiti. [Sourcing Journal]

🌍 Frasers Group invests in Hudson Malta to boost Africa expansion. The British retail group that controls Sports Direct, USC, Gieves & Hawkes and Flannels among others, said it has acquired an undisclosed but “significant” non-controlling shareholding in the Malta-based business with a distribution network across more than 25 African countries including Morocco, Algeria and Nigeria. Hudson, which also operates stores in Southern Europe markets Cyprus, Italy and soon Greece, manages 41 mostly monobrand stores on the African continent from its Malta logistics base for the likes of Nike, Converse, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger and Mango. Hudson CEO Chris Muscat said the investment will help both firms “accelerate our growth” in two key regions. [BoF Inbox]

🇧🇷 São Paulo Fashion Week sees the return of Alexandre Herchcovitch. The 58th edition of the biannual Brazilian showcase took place from Oct. 14 to 21, returning to Ibirapuera Park, with additional events at Iguatemi São Paulo mall and other locations across the city. The event featured 40 fashion shows, welcoming newcomers Normando and Dario Mittman alongside veterans like João Pimenta, Salinas and Lilly Sarti. It opened with the highly anticipated return of Alexandre Herchcovitch and Ponto Firme and concluded with Fernanda Yamamoto. The Cria Costura project, now in its sixth edition, continued its mission to provide training in sewing, design, and entrepreneurship in underprivileged areas. This edition also honoured journalist Regina Guerreiro with a special exhibit showcasing items from her personal archive. [Graciela Martin for BoF]

🇦🇺 Australian luxury department store Harrolds falls into administration. After 40 years in business, the landmark retailer with flagships in Sydney and Melbourne has collapsed, according to industry publication Ragtrader citing ASIC documents which show that the company owes more than 70 creditors including fashion brands Balmain, Thom Browne, Vetements, Victoria Beckham, Tom Ford, Burberry and others a total of 16.3 million Australian dollars and that Harrolds itself is owed 13.3 million. [Ragtrader]

🇮🇩 Temu is banned in Indonesia but expected to thrive in Vietnam. The China-founded ultra-fast fashion e-tailer owned by Pinduoduo parent PDD Holdings, has been targeted by the Indonesian government which called on Apple and Google to remove the Temu app from their mobile stores ostensibly to protect local producers in the Southeast Asian nation from competitors in China delivering through Temu. However, analysts don’t expect the move to dent Temu’s plans to open elsewhere in the region such as Vietnam and Brunei. [Reuters, South China Morning Post]

🇲🇽 Fashion Week Mexico focuses on menswear. Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Mexico held its latest edition from Oct. 15 to 18 at Mexico City’s Autocinema Coyote. With over 16 years of history, the showcase hosted 18 fashion shows and an industry-focused series of talks. This event put a spotlight on menswear this season, with collections from Boyfriend’s Shirt, Cristeros, Diego Zúñiga, Fábrica de Punto, Harris & Frank, Mancandy and Porfirio Leather. Opening with Julia y Renata and closing with Alfredo Martinez, other established names including Alexia Ulibarri, Daniela Villa, Kris Goyri and Sandra Weil presented their collections alongside newcomers Regina Guiot and Santosia. [Graciela Martin for BoF]

🇮🇳 India’s Reliance Retail Ventures reports 3.5% Q2 revenue dip. Operating revenue fell to 66,502 crore rupees ($7.9 billion) at the retail arm of oil-to-telecoms conglomerate Reliance Industries, a leading player in India’s fashion industry through various holdings including Ajio, Tira, Vimal, Reliance Jewels, Reliance Trends, The White Crow, local joint ventures with brands like Versace and Burberry, investments in Indian designer brands like Manish Malhotra and luxury mall Jio World Plaza. Profit after tax was up 1.28 percent to 2,836 crore rupees ($337 million) during the period. [Economic Times]

🌍 Jumia to shutter Zando in South Africa and Tunisia business. The troubled New York-listed firm, which sells everything from fashion and beauty to electronics and food, set a timeline of end of 2024 to cease operations of the two units. “Their contribution to our overall business has not aligned with expectations … [accounting] for a negligible portion of our overall operations,” said Francis Dufay, CEO of the pan-African e-commerce platform that continues to operate in Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal and Uganda.” [BoF Inbox]

🇮🇳 Aditya Birla Digital Fashion Ventures invests in Indian brand Wrogn. The company has invested 75 crore rupees (around $15 million) into the streetwear-inspired youth-focused fashion brand founded by siblings Anjana and Vikram Reddy. Backed by venture capital firm Accel and cricketer Virat Kohli, the brand raised 125 crore rupees in June from Tmrw. Both ABDFVL and Tmrw are units of Aditya Birla Group, a Mumbai-based diversified conglomerate whose portfolio includes local joint ventures with international retailers like Reebok and Galeries Lafayette and domestic holdings including Pantaloons, Sabyasachi and The Collective. [Economic Times]

🇦🇪 Dubai’s Gulf Islamic Investments backs Indian footwear brand Yoho. The shariah-compliant alternative investment firm with more than $4.5 billion of assets under management led a funding round with participation from Rukam Capital and angel investors Rajeev Misra, Vijay Shekhar Sharma and Pankaj Chaddah, which raised 27 crore rupees ($3.2 million) for the New Delhi-based brand founded in 2021 by Ahmad Hushsam and Singhal. [Economic Times]

🇮🇷 International Apparel Exhibition Iran Mode spotlights denim industry. Organised by the Iran Textile Exporters & Manufacturers Association (ITEMA), the 12th edition of the annual event was held in Tehran from Oct. 14-17, featuring 100 domestic producers and emphasising wholesale denim manufacturers like Royal Jean and Parmin Jean. According to the Textile and Clothing Production and Export Union, Iran’s denim factories produce 70 million square metres of denim annually, covering 90 percent of domestic demand. [Parastoo Nabati for BoF]

🇮🇳 Indian textile giant Alok Industries sees losses widen in Q2. The Mumbai-based textile manufacturing giant and supplier to major western fashion brands has reported a consolidated net loss of 262.10 crore rupees ($31 million) for the second quarter ended Sep. 2024, compared to losses of 174.83 crore rupees during the same period last year. The firm jointly owned by Reliance Industries and JM Financial Asset Reconstruction raised $845 million in March to expand and repay debt. [Economic Times]

🇮🇳 Indian jeweller Giva raises around $30 million in additional funding. The Bengaluru-based brand founded in 2019 by Ishendra Agarwal, Nikita Prasad, and Sachin Shetty has extended its series B funding round, raising a further 255 crore rupees, led by Premji Invest with new investors Epiq Capital and Edelweiss Discover Fund. The retailer with around 160 stores across the country raised 200 crore rupees in July as part of its series B round led by Premji Invest, with participation from Aditya Birla Ventures, Alteria Capital and A91 Partners. [Economic Times]

🇰🇼 Oud Fashion Talks holds its third edition in Kuwait. This year’s programme included speakers Joana Jamil, head of fashion and beauty at Meta for the MENA region, Aya and Mounaz Abdelraouf, founders of Egyptian brand Okhtein, Khalid Al Tayer, managing director the retail business of Al Tayer Group, and BoF’s editor-in-chief Imran Amed. Spearheaded by Zainab Alabdulrazzaq, founder of local fashion and beauty publication 3oud.com, the annual industry event launched in 2022. [BoF Inbox]

🇨🇳 Dewu’s growth highlights Chinese consumers’ growing price sensitivity. Also known by its English name Poizon, Dewu was valued at $10 billion last year, according to Hurun. The e-tailer founded in 2015 by Yang Bing as a platform to buy and resell sneakers has become a key player in the luxury goods grey market which has evolved from a network of daigou sellers to corporate resale platforms since the China market slowdown intensified. [Financial Times]

🇲🇺 Campaigners highlight migrant labour abuse in Mauritius supply chains. In relation to the US Department of Labor flagging forced labour risks in Mauritius, Transparentem called the African island nation’s 2023 Private Recruitment Agencies Act as a “step in the wrong direction”, according to Sheela Ahluwalia, director of policy and advocacy at the US-based human rights and environmental nonprofit. The treatment of foreign workers from Bangladesh, India, Madagascar, Sri Lanka and Nepal is one focus of the critique. [Sourcing Journal]

🇨🇳 Chinese cosmetics brand Maogeping is in the Hong Kong IPO pipeline. The Chinese beauty brand founded by its namesake make-up artist Mao Geping in 2000, has reportedly submitted another application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. According to an earlier report by FT Chinese, the move follows unsuccessful attempts by the brand in previous years to list on mainland markets where China’s A-share stocks are traded such as Shanghai and Shenzhen. [South China Morning Post, FT Chinese]

🇮🇳 Indian actor Rana Daggubati invests in Kingdom of White. The celebrity has invested an undisclosed amount in the menswear brand co-founded by Vineet Haralalka in 2021 which trades on an all-white clothing concept. [Entrepreneur India]

🇨🇳 Moncler stages mega-scale ‘Genius’ event in Shanghai. The Italian outerwear brand showcased its latest round of celebrity and designer collaborations in a series of pavilions in Shanghai as it aims to shrug off luxury sector malaise. [BoF]