Miss Tweed : Doubts surface over Gucci’s creative reboot

Doubts surface over Gucci’s creative reboot

MILAN – You don’t hear much about Gucci these days on social media or elsewhere. On Instagram, you can see a few images of celebrities posing with a handbag such as the classic “Horsebit 1955” or with some new luggage or sunglasses. But in Milan, Italy’s fashion capital and Gucci HQ, the brand is the talk of the town. What is going on – or rather not going on – at Gucci is a hot topic of discussion.

“I know that staff at Gucci are in a ‘wait and see’ mode, they are not super driven or motivated because they don’t know yet where the brand is going,” the former CEO of a major fashion brand said, having spoken to people at Gucci who were in the process of leaving or who had left recently.

“We hear that people are not very happy at Gucci,” one person who consults for several Italian fashion brands including Gucci told Miss Tweed on condition of anonymity. “They do not understand yet what direction the brand is taking.” And several other Milan-based fashion insiders echoed with similar comments.

Such a downbeat attitude is understandable. Gucci’s entire top management team has changed in the past two to three years – except for CEO Marco Bizzarri. The brand’s creative director Alessandro Michele left abruptly in November without an obvious replacement lined up. Gucci finally chose as its new creative director 40-year-old Sabato De Sarno, who was at Valentino and is not particularly well known. De Sarno started at Gucci mid-May. Since, nothing has been heard from him.

Gucci is in reset mode, but no one knows yet what it will be about. And the troubling thing is that industry insiders think that it’s not clear at Gucci either – yet.

NEW GUCCI
“Marco [Bizzarri] asked Sabato what his vision for Gucci was and he liked it, but we don’t know what it is,” the former CEO said. “We all expect Gucci to be more glamorous and chic, close to what Tom Ford did, but what will it look like? We don’t know.”

Some industry observers wondered if the job was not bigger than De Sarno. At Valentino, he was in charge of ready-to-wear yet the bulk of Gucci’s sales and profits come from handbags. Will he be up to the task?

Kering asks for patience. The French group controlled by the Pinault family tells investors and industry observers they will discover De Sarno’s work at the Gucci show in September and they will then understand where the Italian brand is going. Sure. However, one thing is clear: there is much less buzz and anticipation in the air about the new Gucci than during its last creative reboot in 2015. Back then, Bizzarri was busy telling journalists and industry specialists how amazing the new Gucci was going to be under the new creative director Alessandro Michele and how the brand was going to roll out fantastic new services and concepts for its stores.

Michele relatively quickly produced images of things to come such as furry slip-ons, giving clues of about his world and sensibility and creating excitement about what to expect. Likewise, in the months before his first show for Burberry earlier this year, creative director Daniel Lee released images to give a sense of what to expect such as advertising campaigns featuring the brand’s blue knight and a refreshed logo. But from Gucci not a peep, not even crumbs to feed the pigeons of fashion eager to find out what will come out of the brand.

Michele’s first show in 2015 was a success. Collection after collection, show after show, his geek chic, baroque transgender looks won customers over and everyone wanted to wear Gucci, particularly the fashion-hungry young Chinese. Bizzarri quickly and effectively rolled out the brand’s new store concept and sales skyrocketed.

Gucci grew into one of the industry’s biggest success stories. Revenue soared to €9.7 billion in 2019 from €3.9 billion in 2015. In 2022, it stood at €10.48 billion. Its sales have grown in single digits annually since the pandemic, while peers such as Dior, Louis Vuitton, Prada and others enjoyed sales growth of 10-20%. Gucci has been underperforming for more than three years now.

MAGIC TOUCH
Michele’s magic touch started to wane in 2020. His style looked somewhat repetitive and, most importantly, an exodus of talent began in earnest. In spite of their passion and dedication to Gucci, many top people left. Not because of Michele but because they were growing tired of working for Bizzarri, an intense executive who had grown into quite the authoritarian figure. “It’s his way or no way,” one former senior collaborator said. “Bizzarri is hugely talented and is a very good CEO, but he’s worn many people out. They just could not work for him anymore.”

The first major defection took place in 2019 when Michele lost his creative accomplice, chief merchandising officer Jacopo Venturini, who became CEO of Valentino the following year. Venturini took with him Alessio Vannetti who was in charge of communication at Gucci and became Valentino’s chief brand officer. With their departure, cracks started to appear in the beautiful castle Michele had built, as Miss Tweed reported earlier this year in a story about the make-or-break role of the chief merchandising officer.

Since then, there have been many other high-profile departures, some of them joining luxury jacket specialist Moncler, where there is a lot of creative energy and ambitious projects. Last year, Karim Fettous, who oversaw many Asian markets for Gucci, became President of Asia Pacific for Moncler. In May, Robert Triefus, Gucci’s former marketing maestro, became CEO of Moncler’s Stone Island outdoor brand. Piero Braga, who was in charge of Gucci’s retail strategy, left to run Slowear, an Italian brand that promotes a more durable consumption model. He’s one of several Gucci staff the brand has hired.

“There’s been a huge leakage of talent in the past three years,” one senior fashion executive in Milan said. “You can’t patch that by just hiring a new designer.” Today, few of those who took part in Gucci’s formidable ascent are still working for the brand. Gucci’s studio is also losing staff as it is in the process of moving to Milan from Rome where Michele was based. Not everyone is ready to follow, people close to the brand say.

For its part, Gucci says it’s putting in place a new dream team and promises they will do fantastic things. That’s great. But the recent wave of departures raises one logical question: what if the problem was not Michele but rather Bizzarri himself?

This theory is hardly new. Many investors have been asking Kering why the group did not appoint a new CEO after Michele left last year. “Some investors are clearly asking for a change of Gucci CEO even if that leads to a brand reset with margins being cut before any rebound is seen,” HSBC recently wrote in a note about Gucci.

If previously Michele was the omnipotent designer who was involved in many aspects of the brand’s operations, from image, ad campaigns to retail designs, today the role of his successor has been curtailed. “Bizzarri has taken quite a lot of the power away from the designer. But that’s also because he had probably given him too much power at some point,” one Milan-based executive said.

Bizzarri installed a new structure with several key people. There is Maria Cristina Lomanto, who was at Prada’s Miu Miu. She’s in charge of merchandising and retail. She works with Susan Chokachi, a Gucci veteran who used to lead the brand in the United States and is now looking after image and marketing. And there are many other new recent hires who replaced those who left. “Bizzarri has not given the keys of the house to Sarno. That’s pretty clear,” one Milan-based headhunter said.

Gucci is adamant that De Sarno will define the brand’s new creative vision and will inspire all of its teams. But such new structure makes you wonder whether it can work. De Sarno did not create the teams around him, Bizzarri did. If you look at who are the successful brands today, they are those with designers who have quite a lot of freedom and power. Think Hedi Slimane at Celine, Anthony Vaccarello at Saint Laurent, Maria Grazia Chiuri at Dior, Pierpaolo Piccioli at Valentino and the list goes on.

RESULTS
On July 27, Kering will publish its half-year results. Many analysts expect them to be a cold shower. Gucci generates the bulk of the group’s revenue and profit. “Q2 performance is unlikely to impress, with Gucci sales at constant foreign exchange rates still growing in the low single-digit territory despite an easing basis of comparison in China, whereas most sector peers could approach or even exceed 20% growth,” HSBC wrote in a note about Gucci published two weeks ago.

Concerns about Gucci’s vision, strategy and performance are reflected in Kering’s stock market price. Its shares stand now at around €500 – well below their August 2021 peak of €780.In early 2020, before the first series of lockdowns, they stood at around €600.

Comparatively, LVMH shares, which stood at €410 in early 2020 and at around €600 one year ago, are now trading much higher at €890. And Richemont shares, which stood at 70-80 Swiss francs in early 2020, have also been on the rise. In the past 12 months, the group’s share price has increased from 100 Swiss francs to more than 150 Swiss francs. Kering’s stock market performance in the past three years has been disappointing for investors.

“Despite the group announcing a new designer for Gucci, with Sabato De Sarno joining this May and his first products likely to be available in stores at the very back end of this year or early next year, some investors will question if this is going to be enough to reignite the Gucci brand,” HSBC wrote. “The low valuation of Kering shares is likely a function of doubts investors have about the equity story and notably some question marks about Gucci's roadmap,” said Erwan Rambourg, Global Head of Consumer and Retail Research at HSBC.

To that, add uncertainty about the timing of recovery of sales at Balenciaga, still reeling from its PR fiasco last year, and a marked slowdown at Bottega Veneta under designer Matthieu Blazy and the picture is far from rosy. The star is likely to be Saint Laurent, as in previous quarters. Kering management will say that its jewelry brands Pomellato and Boucheron are doing well,but they do not really move the needle in terms of sales and profits. It will also likely play up its ambitions in beauty having just bought high-end perfume brand Creed, its first major acquisition in the sector. But at questions and answers following the group’s trading update on July 27, investors will no doubt focus on Gucci – their top concern.

FT : Climate graphic of the week: Global warming is supercharging weather events

Climate graphic of the week: Global warming is supercharging weather events, say scientists
Flooding in US, South Korea, India and Japan and extreme heat in Europe raises concerns about pace of change


Climate change is driving ever more extreme weather events, scientists say, including changing rainfall patterns that caused fatal flooding in the US, South Korea, India and Japan over the past week at the same time as an extreme heatwave called Cerberus is forecast for southern Europe.

South Korean rescuers on Sunday pulled bodies from a flooded tunnel where around 15 vehicles were trapped in muddy water, agencies reported, as days of heavy rain triggered flash floods and landslides. An estimated 37 people had died and thousands since heavy rain started a week ago.

While India regularly witnesses severe floods over the summer monsoon season, scientists say the intensity and timing of monsoons are becoming more erratic due to climate change.

Schools in Delhi closed after monsoon rains caused landslides and flash floods on Monday. More than 50 people died across northern India, including in the Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand states. 

In Japan, torrential rain in the Kyushu and Chugoku regions caused mudslides, closed roads and disrupted trains. Nearly 2mn people were warned by the Japan Meteorological Agency to take shelter. 

In the US, more than 13cm of rain fell in Montpelier, Vermont, on Monday. On Thursday the National Weather Service warned that severe thunderstorms, flash floods and tornadoes could hit the state. Vermont governor Phil Scott warned people to “remain vigilant”. “Flash floods are expected, and they’re unpredictable,” said Scott. 

“The recent torrential rains and severe flooding occurring around the world are worrisome signs that climate changes are beginning to spin out of control even faster than climate scientists have warned,” said Dr Peter Gleick, a senior fellow of the Pacific Institute in California.

“These extreme weather events are another indication, together with stunningly hot ocean temperatures, dangerous heatwaves, and the rapid loss of polar ice sheets, that humans are massively disrupting the planet’s climate.”

Scientists at the US Environmental Protection Agency say climate change affects both the intensity and frequency of rain.

Warmer oceans increase the amount of water that is evaporated into the air, which can move overland and produce more intense precipitation.

Dr Jennifer Francis, a senior scientist at Woodwell Climate Research Center, said increasing greenhouse gases “continuing to accumulate” in the atmosphere caused more heat to be absorbed.

“Warmer oceans and air boost evaporation, and that additional moisture not only makes for juicier storms, but it also provides more fuel to make them stronger,” said Francis.

The 2021 landmark UN report signed off by 270 scientists from 67 countries around the world found that global warming would trigger changes to wetness and dryness, winds, snow and ice. 

Along with more intense rainfall and flooding in some areas, some regions would experience more intense drought, scientists found.

Precipitation is more likely to increase in high latitudes, while changes to monsoon precipitation are expected, the IPCC report said.


“What climate change is doing is supercharging weather events,” said Rachel Cleetus of the Union of Concerned Scientists. “Where there are dry periods, you are now getting megadroughts. This cycle is also very dangerous, because when you get very dry land that is denuded of vegetation, then when you get the rainfall you get mudslides.”

She added: “I want to emphasise that this is human-caused climate change and this is happening because of the burning of fossil fuels.”

Emissions must be cut by almost half by 2030 to limit the temperature rise to the 1.5C level at which irreversible planetary changes are expected. But they continue to rises annually instead.

The IPCC report said the world was likely to temporarily reach 1.5C of warming within 20 years, even in the best-case scenario of deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. The world has already warmed by about 1.1C since the pre-industrial period.

>>> Barron’s Weekend Summary

Barron’s Weekend Summary: Barron’s 10 Roundtable panelists—including some growth-stock gurus, and value-investing keeners—love to hunt for overlooked stocks attached to companies with temporary problems

Cover Story:
-Barron’s 10 Roundtable panelists—including some growth-stock gurus, and value-investing keeners—love to hunt for overlooked stocks attached to companies with temporary problems, savvy management, and demonstrable growth potential, some of it even fueled by AI. In a recent round of phone calls, they identified 40 promising investments to consider now, including a batch of fixed-income funds that finally live up to their name.
Some of the stocks that are mentioned include Target and 7 More Names That Can Beat Warner Brothers in the Second Half of 2023 such as Airbus and Biogen. The panelists also discuss the economic outlook, which some consider benign and others more dire. The wide range of opinions echoed those voiced on Jan. 9, when the group last met in person, in New York, with the editors of Barron’s. You’ll find their latest picks and prognostications in the edited conversations below.

Interview:
-No interview on this week’s edition

Tech Trader:
-Netflix will be kicking off second-quarter tech earnings on Wednesday, amid parallel strikes by Hollywood’s actors and writers, the first time both groups have hit the picket lines at the same time since 1960, when Ronald Reagan was head of the Screen Actors Guild. Both groups are focused not just on improved pay but on how streaming is changing the entertainment business. Meanwhile, TV and film production companies are grappling with the unraveling of cable and satellite TV—this year, the number of U.S. households subscribing to those services is likely to drop below 50% for the first time in decades, and the trend is accelerating. Meanwhile, Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger told CNBC that the traditional linear TV business—like its ABC broadcast unit—“may not be core” to Disney’s future. Meanwhile, FAST channels—free ad-supported linear channels—are taking a growing slice of TV ad dollars, posing a new challenge for subscription-based services. Netflix’s financial results for should begin to reflect the company’s restructured business model. It’s been 15 months since Netflix founder and former CEO Reed Hastings disclosed on an earnings conference call that the company was exploring the addition of an ad-backed subscription tier. Netflix has since launched a $6.99-a-month ad-supported plan, while also launching a crackdown on password sharing.

The Trader:
-The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.3% this past week, the S&P 500 added 2.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite jumped 3.3%. The two-year Treasury yield fell to 4.7% after topping 5% the previous week. These results occurred as inflation stood at 3.1% after peaking at 9.1% in June 2022, when prices were rising across nearly all categories of the CPI. These days, the decline is being driven by energy prices, which were down nearly 17% in June from a year earlier; prices of used cars and trucks, which fell 5.2%; and airline fares, appliances, health insurance, and footwear, all of which were cheaper than a year ago.
But the drop has really been about inflation lapping some big months. The CPI soared 1.2% in June 2022 alone. Replacing that with June 2023’s 0.2% month-over-month increase shaved a percentage point off the annual change.
-MasterCard and Visa are both buys. “It’s hard to overstate just how attractive the companies’ business is.” Visa and Mastercard operate competing networks that process hundreds of billions of credit, debit, and other transactions annually by connecting consumers, businesses, and financial institutions. They each take a percentage off the top of the trillions of dollars of payment volume that travels across their networks. It doesn’t cost them any more to process an additional swipe on a network that already exists—each marginal transaction is nearly all profit.
Put simply, there may be no greater big business out there than payment processing. The stocks have sought-after attributes for any investor and enjoy premium valuation multiples as a result.

Features:
-With a new management team and a refreshed balance sheet,Frontier Communications stock is looking attractive as it progresses toward its goal of 10M fiberoptic locations connected to its network. Life hasn’t been easy for Frontier shareholders. The company filed for bankruptcy just over three years ago, wiping out the equity and some $11B in debt. Armed with a new balance sheet, Frontier is upgrading its network to fiber from copper. That’s capital-intensive—a turnoff to growth investors—and requires burning cash—discouraging value seekers. Its shares, at a recent $14.31, have dropped 42% over the past 12 months. Extending fiber to millions of homes by digging up streets or climbing telephone poles won’t happen overnight, but it will happen. Frontier is more than halfway to its goal after adding 339,000 fiber locations in the first quarter. It’s getting more profitable with each fiber customer added, while pruning costs. Frontier might not be the most exciting story, but it does have a clear plan that should pan out.
-Eli Lilly is adding another molecule to an obesity drug pipeline that has seized the attention of investors and made Lilly the most valuable pharma company in the world. On Friday, Lilly announced it had reached a deal to buy Versanis Bio, a privately held biotech which is testing a monoclonal antibody drug called bimagrumab as a new treatment for obesity. Versanis is currently running a Phase 2b trial of bimagrumab in overweight and obese adults, both alone and in combination with Novo Nordisk’s obesity drug Wegovy. Lilly said that Versanis shareholders “could receive up to $1.925B,” a figure that includes both an upfront payment and potential future payments contingent on development and sales milestones.

Europe:
-Illumina got hit with a hefty fine after the European Commission said the gene-sequencing company completed its acquisition of Grail, a cancer test developer, before receiving the appropriate approvals. The European Commission fined Illumina €432M ($476M). The commission said in a statement Wednesday that the companies announced their merger one month after it opened an investigation of the acquisition in July 2021, citing competition concerns. “If companies merge before our clearance, they breach our rules. Illumina and Grail knowingly and deliberately did so by implementing their tie-up as we were still investigating. Today’s decision to fine both companies, for a total amount of €432 million, shows that this is a very serious infringement,” said Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s antitrust commissioner.

Emerging Markets:
-China is a behemoth accounts for 25%-30% of broad-based emerging market indexes. Investors wanting to limit their exposure to the Asian nation until now had only a few fund options. That’s changed. Since late 2022, at least five “ex-China” emerging market funds have hit the market from asset managers such as Goldman Sachs, Putnam, and WisdomTree, bringing the total to at least 10 exchange-traded funds and mutual funds that shun Chinese stocks. Investors have reasons to consider them. Persistent geopolitical tensions with the US grab headlines, and tepid post-Covid growth means China has underperformed other emerging market countries in 2023. Others may want to avoid investing in China because of its human-rights record.Marc Zeitoun, chief operating officer, North America, at Columbia Threadneedle Investments, cites increased advisor interest in its $231M Columbia EM Core ex-China ETF, with year-to-date net inflows the second-highest of its 12 ETFs. It’s the oldest ex-China ETF, launched in 2015, when investors worried that the inclusion of mainland China companies in emerging market indexes would diminish diversification, he says.

Commodities:
-Downgrades of Alcoa stock have been piling up. It’s becoming a headwind for shares. JP Morgan analyst Bill Peterson on Friday downgraded Alcoa shares to Hold from Buy. He reduced his price target to $36 a share from $54. The cut has shares down in early trading. Alcoa stock is off 2.3% at $35.86. S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are up 0.1% and 0.5% respectively. “Cautious on aluminum base metal near-term driven by planned China restarts and summertime demand lull,” wrote Peterson. China accounts for almost 60% of global aluminum production, so any changes in output over there impact aluminum prices everywhere. Prices have already started to slide. Benchmark aluminum prices are down roughly 10% over the past 12 months and are off about 20% from January highs. Commodity-related stocks typically don’t like it when commodity prices decline. Alcoa stock is down more than 35% since aluminum hit its 2023 high early in the year.

Streetwise:
-Jack Hough noticed that a major investment bank considers the resurgence of Meme stocks as a bad sign for the stock market, one investment bank says. Hough retorts that while this might be the case recent action doesn’t look especially meme-y, while the return of meme stocks appears to be a tactical trash bounce. “Return of the Memes Is a Red Flag,” read the title of a July 11 technical-strategy note from BTIG. It pointed out that an index of meme stocks was up 10% in three days, compared with a decline of close to 2% for consumer staples. Over the past 18 months, when the three-day spread between the two has grown that wide, the S&P 500 has lost an average of 1.5% over the following 20 days. A decline that small would perhaps be more interesting to day traders than long-term savers. But the note has a takeaway for everyone: A broadening out of this year’s rally is “encouraging,” but a surge among low-quality stocks “often is the tail end of the move.” The S&P 500 index is up 17% year to date. Seven stocks combining for $11T in market value contributed 73% of the index’s first-half gains, according to BofA Securities and they are: Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon.com, Meta Platforms, Nvidia, and Tesla.

Business Of Fashion : François-Henri Pinault Is in Talks to Buy CAA Talent Agenc

François-Henri Pinault Is in Talks to Buy CAA Talent Agency in $7 Billion Deal
Luxury tycoon is in advanced discussions to buy a majority stake in Creative Artists Agency, according to people familiar with the matter, potentially adding another international trophy asset to the portfolio of a French billionaire.

The talent agency, backed by private equity firm TPG, could fetch a valuation of at least $7 billion, said the people, who asked to not be identified because the information isn’t public. The talks, which have come to light just as Hollywood writers and actors go on strike together for the first time in six decades, could still end without an agreement, one of the people said.

If Pinault succeeds, the deal would show how French billionaires continue to broaden their reach beyond the businesses that made them wealthy in the first place. The Pinault family is the biggest shareholder in Kering SA, the owner of brands such as Gucci and Bottega Veneta. Via holding company Artemis, they also control a range of other prestigious assets such as auction house Christie’s and vineyards like Chateau Latour in Bordeaux.

Rival Paris-based luxury firm LVMH, controlled by the world’s second-wealthiest person, Bernard Arnault, owns labels ranging from Louis Vuitton to Christian Dior to Dom Perignon. LVMH, the world’s largest fashion conglomerate, had already made inroads into the entertainment world by signing up Pharrell Williams as men’s creative director at Louis Vuitton, following collaborations with the likes of Rihanna.

Meanwhile, Patrick Drahi, founder of French telecoms company Altice, acquired auctioneer Sotheby’s in 2019.

Representatives for CAA and TPG declined to comment, while a representative for Pinault didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

CAA, founded by Michael Ovitz, Ron Meyer and several partners in 1975, has long been one of the premier power brokers in Hollywood, though the so-called superagents later left for new ventures.

The Los Angeles-based firm offers talent management services and packaged content for Hollywood studios. The firm’s site offers information on how to book Salma Hayek, François-Henri Pinault’s wife, as a speaker.

CAA, like its rivals WME and United Talent Agency, is backed with funds managed by a private equity firm.

In 2010, TPG acquired a 35 percent stake in CAA. Headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, the asset manager in 2014 boosted its ownership share to 53 percent to take control of the business at a $1.1 billion valuation. TPG via CAA has made at least one major add-on deal since then. CAA agreed to buy a smaller companion agency in ICM Partners two years ago.

A potential sale of CAA comes at a critical time for show business. The industry has been trying to adjust to quickly evolving streaming trends in a quest to reach profitability. It’s also facing a potentially crippling strike, with Screen Actors Guild picketing set to begin Friday in New York and Los Angeles, according to the union’s Twitter account.

The guild, which represents some 160,000 performers, announced a walkout Thursday after failing to reach a new agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers, which represents studios including Walt Disney Co. and Netflix Inc.

Business Of Fashion : How Fashion Entered the Formula One Race

How Fashion Entered the Formula One Race
A new owner, media-friendly strategy and an upcoming Brad Pitt film have helped catapult Formula One into the cultural spotlight. For brands, there are untapped opportunities in the sport – “like a Super Bowl every weekend.”

KEY INSIGHTS
  • Formula One’s modernised media strategy and soaring Gen-Z fanbase have set off a sponsorship gold rush among fashion brands.
  • “The fashion world has now realised the potential that the sport has to reach global audiences,” seven-time championship winner Lewis Hamilton said.
  • Brands like Louis Vuitton and Chanel are benefitting from the sport’s cultural cachet through special design projects and F1-inspired collections.

SILVERSTONE, UNITED KINGDOM — With 10 minutes to go before the start of the British Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon, the sight of two familiar faces sent the crowd into a frenzy: actors Brad Pitt and Damson Idris marched down the track, stalked by cameras as they filmed a scene for the upcoming Formula One movie “Apex.”
Produced by Apple Original Films in partnership with Lewis Hamilton — a seven-time championship winner and the competition’s most bankable star — the film will tell the story of a retired American racer (Pitt) who returns to the track to aid an up-and-coming young driver (Idris).
The big-budget project, set to be released late next year, is the latest sign of Formula One’s newfound cultural relevance, fuelled by the Netflix series “Drive to Survive” and the swelling ranks of celebrity guests on the paddock.
Fashion wants in. PVH-owned Tommy Hilfiger’s logo appears on Pitt’s and Idris’ jumpsuits and racecars in the film. In the real world, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Hugo Boss and Palm Angels are among the brands that have entered the Formula One universe through special projects, team partnerships or racing-inspired collections.

Between “Drive to Survive”, “Apex” and the growing number of fashion deals, Formula One is on its way to joining the top tier of global sports, an elite group that includes football, basketball and tennis where matches are among the biggest marketing opportunities out there and the game’s biggest stars can drive fashion trends globally and command lucrative luxury brand ambassador deals.
While other sports like football and basketball are already saturated with fashion partnerships, there is still a considerable opportunity for brands to capitalise on exposure to new audiences through Formula One.
“With F1 becoming more popular around the world but particularly in the US, I also think the fashion world has realised the potential that the sport has to reach global audiences,” Hamilton told BoF.
F1′s Long Rise
Founded in 1950, Formula One spent most of its first seven decades as a niche competition with a mostly European fan base.
That began to change in 2017, when Liberty Media Corporation, which also owns the Atlanta Braves and SiriusXM satellite radio, acquired the competition. F1′s new owner has spent the past five years transforming the sport into an international spectacle with a booming Gen-Z fanbase.
Key to that project was changing the broadcasting strategy, abandoning a mostly pay-per-view model in favour of deals with mainstream sports networks like ESPN and Sky.
The group also relaxed its social media policy. Until 2017, drivers and teams were forbidden from using social media in the paddock area where they are based during race weekends.
Lewis Hamilton was censured from using Snapchat in the paddock in 2016. Now, he’s able to share behind the scenes content with his fans, like a series of images of him and his dog walking through the paddock ahead of the British Grand Prix, that fetched almost one million likes on Instagram.


Liberty Media also began courting the fashion industry. An unexpected apparel collaboration with Japanese streetwear giant A Bathing Ape in 2019 was a watershed moment.
But nothing turbocharged the sport’s appeal more than “Drive to Survive”. Netflix’s docuseries, which gained unprecedented access to the sport’s inner workings, gave fans a behind-the-scenes look at the life of drivers, team principals and even their family members for each of the last five Formula One seasons.
F1 races are now attended by A-list celebrities. Shakira went to last week’s British Grand Prix along with a host of actors and athletes. Michelle Obama and Michael Jordan were special guests at the Miami Grand Prix in May. The inaugural Las Vegas race in November is set to be the sport’s largest pop culture showcase to date. Liberty Media is reaping the rewards of investing in North America: the 2022 season grew US viewership by 28 percent year-on-year, recording 1 million viewers on average per race for the first time, per ESPN.
Fashion’s Big Opportunity
Formula One’s new approach has made the sport ripe for partnerships with fashion brands looking to ramp up so-called cultural strategies of meeting consumers wherever their interests lie.
“It’s like having a Super Bowl every weekend.”
Brands are taking advantage of the sport’s newfound cool factor in ways that go far beyond simple merch collaborations. Italian streetwear brand Palm Angels recently kicked off a partnership with American team Haas F1 as its art and entertainment curator, with dinners, parties and other events at key moments throughout the season. It also released a collection of Haas co-branded apparel, including jackets and sneakers.
Palm Angels recently began its role as the Haas F1 team's "entertainment curator" consulting on activations at key moments throughout the season and designing co-branded apparel. (Palm Angels)
“Formula One is getting bigger and bigger in the US, our brand’s primary market, so it’s yet another way we can serve our consumers there,” said Palm Angels founder Francesco Ragazzi. “It’s like having a Super Bowl every weekend.”
Since 2021, Louis Vuitton has designed a bespoke travel case for the Monaco Grand Prix trophy, and seated Alpine F1 driver Pierre Gasly, dressed head-to-toe in LV-logoed apparel, front row at Pharrell’s debut show for the brand in June. In May 2022, Chanel presented a Formula One-inspired cruise collection featuring a racing helmet-style handbag, as well as an embroidered T-shirt featuring a racing car, which sent TikTok into overdrive when fans tried to get their hands on the collectors’ items. LVMH-owned Berluti became the “elegance partner” of Alpine F1.
“Previously, the idea of getting fashion brands involved in the sport in this way wouldn’t have been considered by Formula One,” said Toni Cowan-Brown, a San Francisco-based content creator and founder of Sunday Fangirls, a project launched to combat stereotypes of female motorsports fans. Her playful merch — like $30 caps with slogans such as “not the plus one” — has become a symbol of Formula One’s new draw.

Now, fashion partnerships are less of a novelty and are becoming an important part of teams’ marketing strategies. The McLaren F1 team’s first major collaboration was in 2021, a sellout tie-up with Rhuigi Villaseñor’s LA luxury label Rhude, which included a $12,000 co-branded racing jacket inspired by the team’s vintage uniforms and a $7,000 collectors’ item helmet. Since then, the team has signed deals with fast-growing British sportswear brand Castore, iconic cap company New Era, heritage sneaker brand K-Swiss and sports merch giant Mitchell & Ness.
Boss’ partnership with Aston Martin F1, which kicked off in 2022, provides performance and casual apparel and footwear for the entire team, including drivers and support staff. It’s set to release co-branded apparel for fans in the next year, said Nadia Kokni, senior vice president of marketing at Hugo Boss.
A campaign image from McLaren's collaboration with sports apparel giant Mitchell & Ness, designed for the Miami Grand Prix in May. (Courtesy)
“The interesting thing is that the majority of F1 teams haven’t got into the partnership space yet when it comes to fashion,” said Emma Philpott, a veteran Formula One and motorsports consultant, who worked as Lewis Hamilton’s publicist between 2014 and 2018. “There’s a huge, huge space left for brands, I think, to come in and really begin to push boundaries in the sport.”
A New Generation
Formula One’s new image is thanks in no small part to Hamilton, who has brought fashion into the centre of the sport’s ecosystem — often in the face of considerable resistance.
He shot to global fame over the last decade thanks to his dominance as the sport’s first Black superstar. His love of fashion, jewellery and tattoos, and his championing of social causes often stood out among the once sterile and corporate atmosphere that surrounded Formula One.
Seven time championship winner Sir Lewis Hamilton in a campaign for his lifestyle brand, +44 (+44)
“When I was first exploring my style in my initial years in the sport, it felt at times like I was the only one pushing those boundaries,” said Hamilton, whose love of fashion and expressive pre-race outfits were often criticised by purist fans, traditional media outlets and even the former Formula One owner Bernie Ecclestone. “There was a sense that high fashion and high performance [in F1] couldn’t exist alongside each other.”
Since 2018, the British driver has co-designed several collections with Tommy Hilfiger, also acting as the brand’s global menswear ambassador, and recently brokered a sellout collaboration between New York menswear favourite Awake, Tommy Hilfiger and the Mercedes-AMG F1 team.
He has created his own version of the NBA’s tunnel walk to flex his love of fashion, arriving at race weekends wearing full looks from niche London brands like Saul Nash, Ahluwalia and AGR Knit, and more recently outfits from his own label +44, which he launched last year.
But while Hamilton is the best-known entity and household name in F1, he has been joined in recent seasons by a fresh crop of drivers — including Gasly, Monégasque driver Charles Leclerc and rising Chinese star Zhou Guanyu — eager to use fashion to cultivate their images and attract sponsorship income.

“Obviously the pioneer of fashion in the paddock was Lewis, opening so many doors for the rest of us younger guys,” Gasly told BoF. “Our sport is booming right now which brings great opportunities to build relationships like I have with brands like Vuitton or Berluti.”
Hamilton agrees this is just the beginning of fashion’s involvement with Formula One.
“There’s been so much interest recently from some of the people I know in fashion to learn more about the sport,” he said. “Once I bring them down to a race, they’re hooked.”

WWD : Research Reveals Insights Into What’s Driving the Future of Sportswear

Research Reveals Insights Into What’s Driving the Future of Sportswear
The latest Launchmetrics report dives into sportswear, highlighting key trends and the brands who won the race in 2022.

Launchmetric’s newly released Sportswear Insights report addresses questions around the evolving and expanding global sportswear industry for the first time, since announcing its expansion into the category earlier in 2023. The research looks at several factors driving the growth of the sportswear category, including changes in consumer behavior, convergence with popular culture and leverage of influential voices. The company projects the sportswear market will grow from $185.9 billion in 2022 to $356 billion by 2032.

“Over the past decade, we have witnessed a fundamental transformation in the perception of sportswear,” said Michael Jais, chief executive officer of Launchmetrics. “It has evolved from a niche market catering to athletes and fitness enthusiasts to a global phenomenon embraced by individuals from all walks of life.”

In Launchmetric’s Media Impact Value (MIV) analysis, the company’s proprietary algorithm used to measure and benchmark the impact of all media placements across fashion, beauty and lifestyle, data for sportswear revealed variations across different regions. In 2021, the Americas represented the highest contributor at $2.5 billion, followed by Europe, the Middle East and Africa at $2.1 billion. Both regions grew in 2022 with the Americas reaching 2.7 billion (a 7 percent increase) compared to Europe, the Middle East and Africa which reached $2.2 billion (a 4 percent increase).

Notably, China experienced the highest MIV growth from 2021 to 2022, increasing 52 percent to 1.8 billion. The company’s researchers call out the significant contrast between China and the rest of the world with influencers holding great importance in China as a top voice type driving MIV.

Launchmetric’s report points to the intersection of sportswear and pop culture as one of the key factors driving growth. As sneakers have evolved, the “Sneakerhead Phenomenon” has continued to develop a consumer community and drive growth for brands, the company said. In 2022, sneakers accounted for 43.3 percent of the total MIV in sportswear and 30.2 percent of luxury MIV.

The impact of sneaker culture on luxury and sportswear brands has also generated notable and lucrative partnerships. Launchmetric’s report points to the collaboration between Gucci and Adidas as a key example of how brands can create a powerful synergy with sneaker collections. The Gucci and Adidas collaboration generated $956.5 million in MIV in 2022. Launchmetric’s report notes that the successes already seen hold not only the potential for luxury brands to tap into sneaker culture but also for sportswear to continue opening doors to new possibilities.

Beyond footwear, Lanchmetric’s report highlights athleisure’s evolution into fashion and street styles as streetwear has grown from subculture to mainstream. Comfortable and versatile athleisure, and its connection to streetwear, is now integrated into everyday wardrobes, and influences runways, high-end fashion collaborations and has been seen at red-carpet events.

Launchmetrics’ report showed influencers hold more sway in the category than celebrities.

While celebrity endorsements experienced a decline of 20 percent year-over-year in 2021, influencers saw a 15 percent increase in MIV. As an explanation, the authors of the report cite influencers’ and ambassadors’ impact on social media and its influence on consumer behavior. Impressively, micro-influencers, who have been shown to have great connections to their niche audiences, saw a 52 percent increase in MIV for sportswear in 2022.

Launchmetric’s report encourages brands to utilize data to build authentic value messaging to optimize brand performance, and suggests sustainability messaging could be more of a focus.

The most powerful brands in sportswear in 2022, according to the report, include Nike, Adidas, New Balance, Puma, Anta, Converse, Li-Ning, Under Armour, Lululemon, Reebok, The North Face, Skechers, Gymshark, Fila, Asics, Kappa, Alo Yoga, Patagonia, Salomon and Hoka.

>>> UK signs to join £12T Trans-Pacific CPTPP Trading Bloc - UK press - The UK t

UK signs to join £12T Trans-Pacific CPTPP Trading Bloc - UK press
- The UK to become the first new member since the Bloc's initial formation with 11 nations, and the first European nation to join.
- UK Business and Trade secretary Kemi Badenoch signed off UK membership in Auckland, New Zealand today.
- CPTPP members now begin work to ratify the deal, while the UK will undertake parliamentary scrutiny and legislation.
- Officials believe the UK's ascension will come into force in the second half of 2024
- It is the UK's biggest trade deal since Brexit, cutting tariffs for UK exporters to a group of nations which including the UK has a combined GDP of £12T, 15% of global GDP, and a population in excess of 500M people.
- Critics have claimed the impact will be limited, suggesting it will add just £1.8B a year to the economy after 10 years, representing less than 1% of UK GDP.
- HSBC CEO: "The UK's formal accession to CPTPP marks a significant milestone for UK trade, enabling ambitious British businesses to connect with the world's most exciting growth markets for start-ups, innovation and technology."
- NZ Trade Min: "The United Kingdom is a G7 member and the world's sixth-largest economy. It is also committed to high standard, rules-based trade, making it a perfect fit for CPTPP"

Epoch times : Number Of Virus Outbreaks On Cruise Ships Surging: CDC

Number Of Virus Outbreaks On Cruise Ships Surging: CDC

Data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that incidence of a common stomach illness is on the rise on cruise ships.
In an update posted several days ago, the federal agency is now listing 13 outbreaks of norovirus on cruise ships this year, which is the highest number of outbreaks recorded on cruises since 2012. The most recent reported norovirus outbreak was on June 20 on a Viking Cruises ship in which about 120 passengers and crew members reported being ill out of about 1,200 people who were on board.
Viking Cruises recently told The Wall Street Journal that it believes the viral outbreak “originated from a shoreside restaurant in Iceland where a group of guests dined during their free time” rather than from someone on the ship.
There were only four norovirus outbreaks on cruise ships during all of 2022, even as demand for cruises surged after COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns.
Federal officials estimate that norovirus infects between 19 million and 21 million people each year on average.
Norovirus is one of the most common viral illnesses on cruises, and it has sometimes been dubbed “the cruise ship virus” owing to widespread media coverage of outbreaks. However, the CDC noted that outbreaks on cruise ships account for a small number of all reported outbreaks of norovirus in the United States.
In May, a Celebrity Cruises trip saw about 152 passengers and 26 crew members get sick with the virus, according to CDC figures. Another case in May also saw 246 passengers and 38 crew contract the virus, the data show.
During a Princess Cruises voyage involving the Ruby Princess, about 10 percent of the 2,881 passengers on board displayed symptoms similar to norovirus, according to the CDC.
It’s likely that more outbreaks will be reported in 2023. The Cruise Lines International Association industry group estimates that cruise passenger volume will reach 106 percent of 2019 levels, with some 31.5 million people expecting to take part.
It remains unclear why there’s a surge in cases this year. The CDC hasn’t issued a comment on the matter, although a spokesperson told CNN that cruise ship travel declined significantly during the pandemic years and that outbreaks were fewer at the time.
The CDC lifted its COVID-19-related risk advisory for cruise travel in March 2022.
“Because cruise ships report illnesses to the CDC, there is more visibility and faster reporting to health authorities, which should not be confused to mean a higher incidence rate onboard,” a spokesperson for the Cruise Lines International Association told The Wall Street Journal last month.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) headquarters in Atlanta on April 23, 2020. (Tami Chappell/AFP via Getty Images)
The highly contagious pathogen can cause gastroenteritis. Symptoms include diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach pain, and they can appear one to two days after contracting the virus, according to officials.
It’s generally spread via the accidental ingestion of small particles of fecal matter, eating food contaminated with the virus, touching contaminated surfaces and then touching the eyes or mouth, or being in direct contact with someone who’s sick with the virus, according to officials. The illness is generally more severe in older adults and young children, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.
Severe cases of the stomach bug can result in dehydration caused by vomiting or diarrhea. However, deaths aren’t common.
Officials recommend that passengers on cruise ships wash their hands more than they typically would. They’re also advised to stay hydrated on hot days and to avoid consuming uncooked vegetables, fruit with edible skin, and ice.
The CDC also recommends disinfecting surfaces with bleach, handling and preparing food safely by washing fruits and vegetables well, cooking shellfish at a high enough temperature, and washing laundry with hot water.
“This is an extraordinarily contagious virus,” Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University, said in a recent interview with CNN.
“It takes but a few normal viral particles to initiate an infection in someone who’s exposed. In other words, this doesn’t take a large dose; it takes only a little bit.”
One thing that passengers can do to mitigate the spread of the virus is to “postpone their trip if they’re not feeling well,” Mr. Schaffner recommended.
“Try to limit the exposure of others on the front end, and take another cruise a month later,” he said.
“You have this highly transmissible virus that’s introduced into an environment, the cruise ship, which is ideally designed for the rapid spread of a communicable disease.
“I think a lot of the public don’t even understand norovirus, let alone how to begin to protect themselves.
“They’re not taking those precautions, those good protection behaviors they learned over the pandemic.”
In 2012, the CDC reported 16 outbreaks of the virus on cruise ships, according to reports.

(ZH) Crypto "Will Transcend International Currencies" BlackRock CEO Cheerleads A

Crypto "Will Transcend International Currencies" BlackRock CEO Cheerleads As SEC Accepts Bitcoin ETF Application

Having told Fox Business last week that the role of cryptocurrency was largely “digitizing gold,” suggesting US regulators consider how an ETF directly linked to Bitcoin could democratize finance, and has the potential to “revolutionize” the financial system; BlackRock CEO Larry Fink was once again doing the media rounds this week, expounding on his new (flip-flopped) role as crypto-cheerleader.
From crypto-hater in 2017, the CEO of the world's largest asset-manager is now telling anyone who will listen that crypto will transcend international currencies.
“More and more of our global investors are asking us about crypto,” Fink said during an interview with CNBC’s Squawk on the Street on July 14.
In Fink's view, cryptocurrencies have a “differentiating value versus other asset classes” in helping diversify portfolios.
“It’s so international it’s going to transcend any one currency,” noted the executive.
As the world's largest asset manager, and given Fink's positioning among the globalist elite, one can't help wonder at why the sudden shift - is this is 'blow up the dollar, crash the world, force everyone to beg for global centralized currency bailout' narrative playing out?
"If you look at the value of our dollar, how it depreciated in the last two months and how much it appreciated over the last five years... an international crypto product can really transcend that," he went on.
"That's why we believe there's great opportunities and that's why we're seeing more and more interest. And the interest is broad-based [and] worldwide."
“We believe we have a responsibility to democratize investing. We’ve done a great job, and the role of ETFs in the world is transforming investing. And we’re only at the beginning of that,” Fink stated in the interview.
CoinTelegraph.com reports that the SEC’s acknowledgment indicates the commencement of the official review process for BlackRock’s ETF proposal.
While it is an initial step in a lengthy regulatory journey, it signals the SEC’s readiness to explore the idea of a spot Bitcoin ETF and assess its potential market effects.
“We are working with our regulators because, as in any new market, if BlackRock’s name is going to be on it, we’re going to make sure that it’s safe and sound and protected,” Fink added.
On Friday, July 14, the regulator announced that it is also in the process of reviewing applications for various funds, including Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust, WisdomTree, VanEck and Invesco Galaxy.
As a reminder, the SEC has yet to approve a spot Bitcoin ETF in the United States; however, in Canada, the financial product is already available. Three significant funds: Purpose Bitcoin, 3iQ CoinShares and CI Galaxy Bitcoin, have been approved by regulators in the country.