fast fashion

On Karl Lagerfeld, consumption culture and owning influence



Karl lagerfeld by Takashi Murakami

“I find the joy of collecting, the fun of hunting for objects, the exciting thing. But once I [win] it, I lose interest. I don’t want to be a curator living in a museum.”
Karl Lagerfeld

It was fascinating looking through the lots of Karl Lagerfeld’s estate auction a couple of weeks ago. Among them were his 1980s scrapbooks, his Hedi Slimane for Dior Homme jacket, a Shu Uemura makeup box and his own Chanel croc-embossed tote bag (below, which sold for €94,500). “Collectors from the world over, snapping up Karl Lagerfeld’s objects and designs, have consecrated his status as a fashion icon. The ‘Kaiser’ would surely have been moved by this immense public success,” said Pierre Mothes, vice president of Sotheby’s France. (more…)



Positive fashion: Selected People



sustainable fashion by Selected People SS19

I spotted this on WWD. Selected People is a new higher price offering from Denmark-based fast fashion brand Bestseller. Its point of difference is an aim to be as sustainable as possible, using organic and recycled cottons, wools, poplins as well as Modal and Lyocell. (more…)



Guest post: H&M’s sustainability drive



Conscious Exclusive H&M 2015

Retail expert and DRG contributor ALISON BISHOP attends the launch of H&M’s latest sustainability report and its new Conscious Exclusive collection

H&M is really upping its sustainability messaging at the moment. Last Thursday the Swedish fashion giant held its first live-streamed press conference to launch its most recent sustainability report. (more…)



A VIP tour at ASOS HQ



1 asos-design-studio-stitching-academy-disneyrollergirl

Running a fast fashion empire is a tough old task! Aside from the sheer volume of product to be managed, there’s the competition to worry about, not to mention the cheap labour issues and carbon footprint headaches that entail from manufacturing overseas.

ASOS is one fast fashion company that’s tackling these issues in interesting and highly profitable ways. Last week I spent an insightful afternoon drinking in as much info as I could on a personal tour of its Stitching Academy, its brand new design studios, plus the infamous photo studios at ASOS HQ in Camden… (more…)