🇯🇵 Tokyo Fashion Week designers generate buzz with unusual formats. The latest edition of the biannual event, which has been officially called Rakuten Fashion Week Tokyo since the Japanese e-commerce giant became title sponsor in 2019, took place from Mar. 17–22 in the capital. The runway featured established brands such as Mint Designs (by Hokuto Katsui and Nao Yagi), Yoshio Kubo and Ssstein (by Kiichiro Asakawa) as well as younger buzzy designer brands including Vivano (by Viviano Sue), Kamiya (by Koji Kamiya), Telma (by Terumasa Nakajima), Houga (by Moe Ishida), Fetico (by Emi Funayama) and Indonesia-born Heaven Tanudiredja. The event’s By R project, which aims to support the local industry by bringing international headliners to the city, saw British menswear veteran Paul Smith present a guest show. Though Smith was meant to be the centre of attention, young locals like Koji Kamiya outshone the septuagenarian with a show that swapped the runway for a racetrack filled with rowdy-looking young men speeding past the front row on pimped up street bikes. Several others experimented with the show format this season. [BoF Inbox]
🇧🇩 Bangladesh is unlikely to benefit from US tariffs on China, says expert. The Dhaka-based think tank CPD has warned that Bangladeshi export prospects may become “constrained” or even turn “stagnant,” citing little scope for Bangladesh’s largely cotton-based goods to cover any potential reduction in export volume from China’s largely man-made fibre goods. “After the US imposed a 25 percent tariff on China in 2016, our exports to the US initially declined, despite a rebound this year. So, I don’t believe there is a direct benefit for us,” said the CPD’s Mustafizur Rahman. Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s foreign affairs adviser touted a plan to help the country avoid additional US levies “by importing cotton from the US and exporting garments made from it.” [Fibre2Fashion]
🇪🇬 Egypt attracts more investment from global fashion manufacturers. Winway Global Apparel, an apparel and textile manufacturer with offices in the US and Europe and production facilities across Asia, the Middle East, Latin America and Africa, said it plans to expand further in Egypt in the coming months following the opening of its unit in the Ismailia Public Free Zone in August. Dubai-based Vogue Velocity, which has been in Egypt for decades, cited increased optimism about Egypt due to its free-trade access to the US and companies’ interest in diversifying their sourcing footprint following the escalation of the US-China tariff war. [Sourcing Journal]
🇹🇷 Turkish high-street giant LC Waikiki poaches Inditex executive. The Istanbul-based brand has appointed Javier Villar, a former sourcing executive who worked at Inditex for 16 years, to be its co-CEO alongside LC Waikiki majority shareholder Mustafa Kucuk. With a reported turnover of nearly €4 billion ($4.3 billion), the company operates stores in more than 57 countries across Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia and the Caucasus, Southeast Asia, Latin America and Africa. Co-founded in France by Georges Amouyal, LC Waikiki was acquired by its then Turkish license partner Tema Tekstil, affiliated with Taha Group, in 1997. [Modaes]
🇭🇳 Some Honduras manufacturers could benefit from US tariffs on China. Producers of man-made fibre (MMF) jerseys and pullovers in the Latin American sourcing hub are likely to indirectly benefit from the recent US tariff hike on China, according to TradeMap and Fibre2Fashion analysis of the RCA (revealed comparative advantage) of several countries exporting that category to the US. Honduras exports to the US tariff-free and has become increasingly popular for companies seeking to nearshore their supply chains in recent years. [Fibre2Fashion]
🇮🇳 Indian beauty and personal care brand Pilgrim raises $23.2 million. The Mumbai-based brand founded in 2019 by Gagandeep Makker and Anurag Kedia has raised 200 crore rupees ($23.2 million) in a round led by existing investor Narotam Sekhsaria Family Office with participation from Vertex Ventures SEA, Sattva Family Office and Mirabilis Investment Trust as well as new investors Vertex Growth Fund and Anicut Equity Continuum Fund. The latest funding brings the total capital raised to 421 crore rupees. [Economic Times]
🇨🇱 Chilean retailer Ripley stages a return to black in 2024. The Santiago-based department store and mall operator with stores in both Chile and Peru closed the year with net profits of 54,051.2 million Chilean pesos ($58.1 million) against revenue of 2,086,829 million Chilean pesos ($2.2 billion), following improved market conditions in Peru, high demand from tourists and strong performance in its banking unit. The previous year, the company recorded a loss of 49,860.1 million Chilean pesos. [Modaes]
🇮🇳 Indian fashion q-commerce firm Slikk Club raises $3.2 million. The Bengaluru-based 60-minute fashion delivery startup has raised approximately 27.7 crore rupees in a funding round led by global venture capital Lightspeed with participation from venture capital firm Multiply Ventures and other angel investors. Co-founder and CEO Akshay Gulati said the funds would be used to expand the firm’s dark stores and to extend its offering. Founded in 2024 by Gulati, Om Prakash Swami and Bipin Singh, the firm lists more than 80 brands on its platform. [Economic Times]
🌍 Labour groups renew campaign against Nike for fair wages in Asia. Asia Floor Wage Alliance and Global Labor Justice said they will bring their “Fight the Heist” campaign to the firm’s headquarters in Oregon. The campaign, which featured a video with female factory workers from countries in the sportswear giant’s global supply chain, calls for the repayment of pandemic-era arrears, an increase in wages and better conditions for workers in countries including Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. [Sourcing Journal]
🇨🇳 Tapestry files a trademark lawsuit against China-founded Shein. The American parent of Coach has filed a trademark infringement suit in a US court against the ultra-fast-fashion e-tailer founded in China and now based in Singapore. The suit alleges that Shein sells counterfeit products which use trademarks that are “identical, substantially indistinguishable or confusingly similar to” Coach trademarks. [The Fashion Law]
🇮🇳 Bestseller’s India unit appoints Sumit Dhingra as country director. The Danish value fashion giant has named Dhingra, a former Crocs executive who previously worked at Arvind Fashions, Benetton and Aditya Birla Group, to be its country head effective June 1, replacing Vineet Gautam who left last year. [Economic Times]
🇨🇳 Estée Lauder taps Chinese actress Lin Yun as brand ambassador. The American beauty brand has partnered with the actress, also known in English as Jelly Lin and best known for her role in the film “The Mermaid,” as its mainland China ambassador in the makeup category on a short-term basis. [BoF Inbox]
