October 2021

Fashion
Art

After an encouraging launch in the Middle East, the cult Manchester-based label Refy is betting on the dominance of its core aesthetic by expanding its physical presence to a new [...]

Gymshark Founder in Talks to Buy Back Part of Stake Sold to Private Equity

Ben Francis is in discussions to buy back a portion of the 21 percent stake he sold in 2020 as he looks to increase his control of the activewear brand. [...]

How to Sell Americana in 2026

As demand for classic American styles — from cowboy boots to Ivy League prep — booms in the US and abroad, the nation’s 250th anniversary marks a shift in how [...]

Sephora Brings Beauty Leaders Together at The Business of Beauty Global Forum 2026

Founders and executives from brands including Rare Beauty, ILIA Beauty, Summer Fridays, Merit Beauty and Danessa Myricks Beauty gathered at Stanly Ranch to discuss the partnerships shaping the industry’s future. [...]

Inside Chanel’s Charvet Deal

In this week’s High Margin luxury newsletter: more from Robert’s interview with Charvet’s Anne-Marie and Jean-Claude Colban on the eve of their sale to Chanel. Also: fashion’s renewed focus on [...]

Coty Announces Leadership Changes

The beauty company revealed three executive departures and a new structure to its prestige division as it pursues its comeback strategy. [...]

Will the Niche Perfume Boom Ever End?

This week’s newsletter tracks fragrance’s hottest segment, featuring the new master perfumers at DSM-Firmenich and an interview with Artessence Group CEO Patrice Béliard. [...]

The Emerging Niche Fragrance Hotspots

From New York’s “Perfume Alley” to London’s Mayfair, the next generation of niche perfume brands are creating veritable fragrance districts across shopping destinations in major cities. [...]

Indian Textile Stocks Outperform on Trade Deal Optimism

Suppliers to retailers including Gap and Walmart are beating the broader market as investors bet India’s new trade agreements and shifting sourcing patterns will boost exports. [...]

Report: Boots Entertains $10 Billion Sale Amid IPO Talks

Private equity firm Sycamore Partners and Italian entrepreneur Stefano Pessina are exploring an initial public offering for the pharmacy chain, but are also in talks with the Canadian branch of [...]

The Festival Where Haircutting Is a Spectator Sport

At Sydney’s Hair festival, professionals from the hair industry put their locks on show — and jostle for a view of the live cutting competition. [...]

Spain’s MOP Foundation to Stage David Sims Exhibit

The British photographer’s work will be the subject of a major exhibition, ‘The Hamster Becomes The Problem,’ opening Nov. 21 in A Coruña. [...]

Icicle: Capturing Interest in Chinese Brands

Executive president Louise Xu explains how the Shanghai-based quiet luxury label is tapping rising interest in Chinese brands, its novel retail concept and the differences between Chinese and Western consumers. [...]

Why Chanel Is Acquiring Charvet

Following a runway collaboration with Matthieu Blazy, Chanel has bought France’s oldest shirtmaker as longtime owner-operators Anne-Marie and Jean-Claude Colban seek a succession plan. ‘Charvet is a beautiful jewel. Now [...]

The Chinese Photographers Global Brands Are Banking On

Once known primarily for local assignments, Chinese fashion photographers like Julian Song and Annie Lai are now landing global campaigns for brands from Hermès to Gucci on the strength of [...]

The Next Chapter for Founder-Led Beauty Brands

At The Business of Beauty Global Forum 2026, Unilever Prestige CEO Mary Carmen Gasco-Buisson joined K18 founder and CEO Suveen Sahib and Tatcha founder Vicky Tsai to discuss scaling founder-led [...]

The Debrief | How Nike Built the Biggest World Cup Campaign Ever

Nike’s VP of global brand management Helena Thornton joins The Debrief to explore the thinking behind Nike’s ‘Rip the Script’ campaign and the power of sport as culture. [...]

Marie Adam-Leenaerdt Wins Andam Grand Prize 2026

The designer will take home €300,000 to develop her label, as well as receive mentorship from Alexandre Mattiussi and support from Andam sponsors like Karla Otto. [...]

CFDA Releases Spring/Summer 2027 New York Fashion Week Schedule

Diane von Furstenberg returns with its first live show in a decade to kick off the schedule, a debut for new artistic director Henry Zankov. [...]

How a Veteran Beauty Founder Plans to Win Gen Z

Gregg Renfrew, who launched Counter after buying Beautycounter out of foreclosure, is back with a new brand aimed at getting young shoppers excited about “clean” beauty. [...]

Primark Sales Fall as AB Foods Prepares to Split Off Chain

Associated British Foods Plc said sales at the budget fashion chain dropped in the quarter as the war in Iran dented consumer confidence. [...]

Galderma Slumps After FDA Turns Down Botox Rival Relfydess

Galderma's shares slumped the most in more than a year after US regulators turned down the Swiss dermatology firm’s rival Botox treatment Relfydess. [...]

François-Henri Bennahmias to Launch New Luxury Swiss Watch Brand N3W5

The former Audemars Piguet chief secured a 30 million Swiss franc investment and involvement of enamelist Anita Porchet in a new luxury brand selling mechanical watches starting at 20,000 Swiss [...]

Camper Acquires a Majority Stake in Ancient Greek Sandals

In its first major acquisition, the family-owned Spanish footwear brand Camper has purchased a 60 percent stake in the Grecian sandal maker. [...]

Why Hollywood Executives Are Fashion’s New Power Hire

As content and entertainment become increasingly central to brands’ marketing strategies, companies from Gap to E.l.f. are broadening the talent pool, considering everyone from entertainment IP experts to filmmakers. [...]

The New Rules of Beauty Brand Loyalty

Onstage at The Business of Beauty Global Forum, Jamie Domenici, CMO of Klaviyo and Liz Cebron, CMO of Ilia, joined BoF’s Johanna Stout to explore how brands can navigate an [...]

Nike Edges Past Quarterly Revenue Estimates

The sportswear company reported fourth-quarter revenue of $10.97 billion, compared with analysts’ average estimate ⁠of $10.86 billion. [...]

FDA Staff Question Peptides Backed by Kennedy Ahead of Review

Reviewers at the agency said there was limited clinical evidence and human trials supporting peptides, sharply diverging with US health chief Robert F. Kennedy's plan to deregulate them. [...]

What Is ‘Shilajit’, MAHA’s New Favourite Supplement?

Touted by vaccine sceptics and podcasters like Joe Rogan, shilajit may have real health benefits, but the supply comes with a mountain of worrisome questions. [...]

US Retailers Frontload China Orders to Beat Tariffs for Holiday Season

Shipping executives say retailers are pulling forward orders by four to six weeks to secure holiday inventories before new tariffs take effect later this year. [...]

Nike’s Comeback Is Still Stuck in Slow Motion

Worldview | Argentina Lures Back Global Fashion Brands

This week’s round-up of global markets fashion business news also features forced labour in Chinese cotton, South African e-tailer Takealot and Venezuela’s earthquake-hit shopping malls. [...]

Armani Taps BCG as Fashion Group Adapts to Post-Founder Era

The Italian fashion group is considering expansion in handbags and hospitality, its overall price positioning and distribution model and a senior creative appointment at Emporio Armani, according to people familiar [...]

Marc Jacobs Approaches a New Era

Jacobs’ latest runway show offered clues as to how the brand’s new owners WHP Global and G-III will work with one of America’s most influential designers. [...]

Ralph Lauren Wins China Superfans by Selling the American Dream — At the Right Price

Collector Xiao Neng says he has spent at least $1 million on Ralph Lauren clothing over the past four to five years, building a wardrobe so large that he now [...]

Exclusive: Dakota Johnson and Alexander Skarsgård Named Valentino Beauty Ambassadors

The duo will front an upcoming global fragrance campaign for the L’Oréal-licensed brand, which is currently riding a wave of strong US sales growth. [...]

Can Wellness Take Thai Beauty Global?

Kosé-owned Pañpuri is set to open 16 new sensory-focused boutiques across North Asia as demand grows for beauty products from Thailand. [...]

Chanel’s Bruno Pavlovsky on Reengineering an Iconic Brand

Chanel’s president of fashion, Bruno Pavlovsky, explains in our latest report ‘Face to Face With Luxury Clients’ how the French megabrand has reignited customer excitement and sales growth since onboarding [...]

How Amazon Beauty Is Redefining Discovery

At The Business of Beauty Global Forum, Amazon Beauty’s Wendy Franks joined BoF’s Annabel Bolton onstage to discuss the online retailer’s evolution from lower-funnel shopping destination to discovery engine. [...]

French Parliament Passes Fast-Fashion Law to Curb Shein and Temu

The new legislation mandates per-product fines for ultra-fast-fashion companies and bans advertising, including influencer promotion. [...]

Saks, Exiting Bankruptcy, Bets on High-End Luxury to Revive Sales

The American department store conglomerate now faces its next battle: winning back customers in a strained luxury market and avoiding ending up back in court. [...]

EU Introduces €3 Customs Charge on Small Parcels to Curb Cheap Chinese Imports

Low-value parcels have more than quadrupled from 2022 to 2025, with competition from online platforms like Shein and Temu damaging European retailers. [...]

South African Drugstore Empire Faces Succession Reckoning

As Dis-Chem’s chairman prepares to retire and current management rolls out ‘Health Hub’ concepts, investors are uncertain about the $1.7 billion pharmacy chain’s future. [...]

Face to Face With Luxury Clients

After a prolonged slowdown, luxury is gradually returning to growth, led by the US and China. Drawing on a survey of more than 2,000 clients and dozens of interviews across [...]

Secret Alchemist, Sarelly and Borntostandout Are Among the Winners of The Business of Beauty Global Awards 2026

From emerging challengers to established disruptors, this year's Global Awards winners are setting a new benchmark for beauty entrepreneurship. [...]

Inside Hearts On Fire’s Plan For a New Era of Diamond Jewellery

As Hearts on Fire celebrates its 30th anniversary, global president Rita Maltez unpacks the brand’s multi-year transformation from a diamond wholesaler into a fine jewellery specialist with a clear strategy [...]

What Does Masculinity Mean in 2026?

From Dries Van Noten to Soshiotsuki, the Paris men’s shows proposed a variety of visions for what a man should look like today, while Celine offered up multiplicity of characters [...]

LVMH’s New Super Yacht Is Courting Tech Billionaires

In a joint venture with French hotelier Accor, LVMH launched its first yacht luxury experience under its luxury travel brand Orient Express. [...]

Amazon Prime Day Sales Rise 9%, Driven by Inflation

The four-day shopping event drove $26.4 billion in total spending, according to data firm Adobe Analytics. [...]

Nike Under Pressure Ahead of Earnings

The sporting goods giant faces a ‘show me’ moment as investors seek signs of stabilisation with sales down in seven of the past eight quarters. [...]

Etruscan frescoes worth €15m go on display in Rome as part of Italian acquisition strategy

The Francois Tomb fresco cycle, now on show at Rome's National Etruscan Museum, is the state's third major acquisition in two months [...]

British Museum to turn red for second fundraising ball

Tickets for this year's event will cost £3,500 a head to raise funds towards the museum's billion-pound transformation [...]

Pop star Jay Chou’s Matisse dream comes true with $20m purchase

The Taiwanese musician has fulfilled a long-held ambition to own a work by the French artist, buying a painting at Sotheby’s New York [...]

‘Even sewing a button can be subversive’: Ai Weiwei opens vast new show in Manchester

The Chinese activist-artist's exhibition, titled ‘Button Up!’, at Factory International’s Aviva Studios also features a reenactment of his incarceration in 2011 [...]

Epstein files reveal Leon Black as a key Van Gogh buyer

The New York collector acquired five of the artist’s works, including a landscape worth over $60m [...]

‘Chicano art is American art’: Cheech Marin on celebrating Latino art and the connections between art and activism

As he approaches his 80th birthday, the comedian and collector revels in watching people interact with the art at his namesake museum in Riverside, California [...]

New York exhibition fundraising for Venezuelan earthquake relief efforts

More than 200 works on view at Henrique Faria Fine Art are on offer to raise funds for emergency aid in Venezuela through the World Central Kitchen [...]

New York City’s 2027 budget includes record $323m for culture

Announced on the heels of the rent freeze, the money includes a new fund to help struggling arts organisations [...]

Bayeux Tapestry exhibition brings in £2.5m for the British Museum on first day of ticket sales

Tickets to view the fragile medieval tapestry, which is on rare loan from France, are now sold out through the end of 2026, with further releases to come [...]

Human rights museum’s Palestine exhibition sets off feud between Canadian politicians

The country’s heritage minister criticised curatorial choices in “Palestine Uprooted: Nakba Past and Present”, drawing widespread rebukes including from the leader of the New Democratic Party [...]

Artist Erna Rosenstein, whose work about memory and loss resonates today, celebrated with major Vienna exhibition

Rosenstein’s traumatic experiences during wartime run through her art, which fuses Surrealism, biomorphic abstraction and figuration [...]

Nicholas Cullinan portrait goes up at his former employer, London's National Portrait Gallery

Elizabeth Peyton's painting of Cullinan, now the director of the British Museum, is now on permanent display at the gallery [...]

Historic Tallinn Art Hall to reopen this November following €13m renovation

The kunsthalle in the Baltic capital will relaunch with a survey of modern and contemporary Estonian art after its five-year closure [...]

President and general manager of leading Marseille art institution Mucem suspended amid workplace allegations

Pierre-Olivier Costa and Véronique Haché have both been suspended after reports of rising staff discontent and harassment claims against Costa [...]

19th century bronze Laocoön leads London Old Master auctions, selling for £13.6m at Sotheby's

Work achieved the second highest price ever for a pre-Modern sculpture at auction, while Thomas Lawrence's portrait of the Duke of Wellington sold for an artist record £9.7m at Christie's [...]

Undisturbed ancient Maya city discovered in Mexican jungle

Minanbé, an intact site in the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, sheds new light on the Maya Lowlands [...]

León Ferrari exhibition cancelled in Chile amid cuts to culture budget

José Antonio Kast’s ultraconservative government nixed a show of the late Argentine artist’s overtly political work at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes [...]

The small Ohio town getting an Aboriginal art museum and a James Turrell 'Skyspace' installation

New Bremen is home to one of the world’s largest manufacturers of forklift trucks; the company’s chief executive wants to make it ‘the Marfa of the Midwest’ [...]

At New York’s Swiss Institute, SoiL Thornton ponders the role an art institution can play in the face of a housing crisis

The artist’s exhibition is based around their own experience of facing eviction [...]

Lévy Gorvy Dayan pioneers stand-alone strategy with sale of a single work

New York gallery responds to client needs by offering a $10m-plus de Kooning painting in attention-grabbing move [...]

A dinosaur called Gus and a dramatic Highland landscape by Landseer: our pick of the July auctions

Plus an early version of the Statue of Liberty derived from the original plaster model of the landmark and an intimate, moody landscape by Milton Avery [...]

A brush with… Pio Abad—podcast

Pio Abad talks to Ben Luke about his influences—from writers to musicians, and, of course, other artists—and the cultural experiences that have shaped his life and work [...]

National Museum Cardiff may temporarily close for renovation work, officials say

Any closure of the museum's building “will be subject to a full review and consultation”, according to Amgueddfa Cymru (Museum Wales) [...]

Former Nederlands Fotomuseum director awarded €400,000 after unfair dismissal ruling

A judge in Rotterdam has ruled that the institution must compensate Birgit Donker after failing to substantiate claims she created an "unsafe" working environment [...]

Lee Miller and Roland Penrose's Sussex home handed over to newly formed charity

The farmhouse, which was visited by artists including Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró and Dorothea Tanning, was previously run by the pair’s family as a private company [...]

UK charity Hospital Rooms to distribute artist posters to more than 1,000 mental health facilities for tenth anniversary

Designs by Grayson Perry and Yinka Shonibare will go on show across England and also be for sale to raise funds to support more artist commissions in psychiatric wards [...]

Even at time of the American Revolution, art trade between Britain and US was thriving and complex

A look back at the economic and aesthetic cross-pollination between mother country and colony 250 years after the US declared independence [...]

Comment | Why should artists stay in cities like London and New York when financial pressures are making it harder than ever?

Josh Kline’s viral essay highlights how creative people lose gumption in the face of financial burden, but we should all strive for community instead of competing for the wealthy’s attention [...]

Workers at the Guggenheim in New York vote to authorise a strike

The vote comes as museum administrators and members of UAW Local 2110 seek to reach a new collective bargaining agreement that addresses healthcare costs and inflation [...]

World Monuments Fund spotlights ten heritage sites for the US’s 250th

The organisation’s new Irreplaceable America programme nods to the importance of the Watts Towers, Black Mountain College and the entire city of New Orleans [...]

Latin American commercial art space to launch in London this October

Founded by the Brazilian collector Flavia Nespatti, Antesala in Fitzrovia will combine selling shows of Latin American artists with an advisory and public programme [...]

Hew Locke, Oscar Murillo among artists who will take part in Skulptur Projekte Münster 2027

The ten-yearly exhibition will include locations outside the city centre that are undergoing transformation [...]

London Library, a favourite haunt of the art and literary crowds, celebrates its 185th birthday

The historic lending library has an extensive collection, including a large selection of art books [...]

New York’s Cathedral of St John the Divine unveils delicate artistic tribute to city’s unhoused population

Nisha Bansil’s sculpture, made up of more than 50,000 glass ginkgo leaves, draws attention to the city’s more than 100,000 unhoused citizens [...]

Pre-Hispanic archaeological discovery in western Mexico features ‘unprecedented’ characteristics

Unique decorative and architectural elements may point to a previously unknown group in present-day Veracruz [...]

New York’s Swiss Institute buys permanent home on the Bowery

The nonprofit, which has moved around the Upper West Side, Tribeca and points in between since its founding 40 years ago, will open at 250 Bowery next spring [...]

Humans, hybrid creatures and ancient mythology: artist Koen Vanmechelen on the inspirations behind his Venice exhibition

The sculpture project at Palazzo Rota Ivancich aims to turn our notions of human supremacy on their head [...]

UK government leaving museums vulnerable with ‘hands-off approach’, parliamentary report says

The Public Accounts Committee scrutinises the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in its report, accusing the government department of a ‘lack of leadership’ [...]

Remembering Desmond Morris, the Surrealist painter and zoologist who explored the artistic abilities of apes

Morris's eight decades at the easel left him among the last of the original Surrealists [...]

Why one season of successful auctions won't transform the art market

While impressive results in New York and London suggest buoyancy at the very top end, further news of closures and downsizing illustrates the soaring costs facing bricks-and-mortar galleries [...]

At Mexico City’s Laboratorio Arte Alameda, restoration shapes artistic practice

A site-specific project emerges from the conservation of the museum’s 16th-century building [...]

Comment | Art Basel’s Zero 10 grows up and outgrows the digital community that led to its inception

The digital art showcase’s third edition, at Art Basel’s hometown fair, offered much-needed historical context while prompting a fundamental question: who is this for? [...]

Canadian Museum for Human Rights show on Palestinian displacement offers nuanced, empathetic perspective amid uproar

Met with opposition and outrage from the moment it was announced, the show gathers historical objects and images, poetry, contemporary art and video interviews [...]

Vatican begins restoration of Raphael Loggias, featuring celebrated fresco cycle by Renaissance master

More than 20 experts are expected to work on the decorative cycle over five years [...]

Frida Kahlo at Tate Modern, the Brexit effect, a Renaissance tarot deck—podcast

In this week's episode, Ben Luke learns about Frida Kahlo at Tate Modern in London, speaks to Alexander Herman of the Institute of Art and Law on the impact of [...]

What Andy Burnham’s achievements in Manchester tell us about his views on the arts

The UK prime-minister-in-waiting’s legacy is seen as not just about big-hitter projects such as Factory International but also the way culture has been threaded into the city’s infrastructure [...]

What sold at Christie's London auction of controversial Zabludowicz collection?

Consigned from the holdings of Anita and Poju Zabludowicz, the £15.4m sale fell within estimate [...]

Van Gogh and the Dutch old masters: latest research reveals the links

Vermeer with his yellows and blues; Rubens and “strokes of pure red”; and Rembrandt’s self-portraits [...]

Too hot to handle? European heatwave exposes museums' lack of preparedness for climate extremes

While some institutions are serving as "islands of freshness" during this week's scorching temperatures, others are having to reduce opening hours or shut their doors [...]

Outrageous and outsized musical tribute to Claes Oldenburg takes the stage in Los Angeles

In “Enormous Things: The Musical”, the beloved Pop artist confronts a creative block while Jeff Koons taunts him mercilessly and Calder, Kusama and Michelangelo offer advice [...]

Lazin Magazine – Art and Fashion – October 2021 (Digital PDF)

Lazin Magazine – Fashion Forever – October 2021 (Digital PDF)