‘Max Goes to Jupiter’ Is an Updated Science-Filled Adventure

What does it take to land a Rottweiler on one of Jupiter’s moons? Quite a lot, actually. Even a fictional sojourn to Io and Europa requires at least three authors, an illustrator, a handful of human reference models (plus a canine one), and nearly a dozen scientific and technical advisers, including a couple from the…

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The Garment Label Needs a Makeover—Here’s How to Do It

Pity the humble clothing label. From high-fashion to basement bargain, hypebeast to Old World luxe, it’s the one universal design element that all items of apparel share, yet most people pay it scant attention. Sure, they’re useful to confirm a garment’s make and size, but other than that, who cares, right? Well, plenty of people,…

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Is #MeToo Hurting Victoria’s Secret’s Sales?

Victoria’s Secret is struggling with slumping sales—is the #MeToo movement, as one online research firm posits, to blame? Certainly the lingerie goliath’s foothold on its intended demographic is slipping. According to YouGov’s BrandIndex, which measures public perception of corporations, Victoria’s Secret’s “buzziness” with women aged between 18 to 49 has toppled from a score of…

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What Will We Wear on Mars?

As far as vacation spots go, Mars wouldn’t be on the top of many people’s lists. Sure, Olympus Mons, the tallest mountain in the solar system, might be good for a ‘gram or two. But Mars, on the whole, isn’t a pleasant place to hang out. There’s its inhospitable terrain, for one, which is mostly…

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Circularity: Sustainable Fashion’s Holy Grail or Greenwashing?

Hundreds of fashion and apparel brands, from Adidas to Zara, have pledged themselves to the cause of circular fashion over the past year, making “circularity” something like the holy grail of sustainable fashion. But are they actually making the industry less wasteful? The circular economy, a term that refers to a value “circle” where products and…

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How to Talk About Sustainability Without Turning It Into the S-Word

For brands and retailers that are still feeling their way around sustainability, communicating a greener ethos to their customers can feel like a double-edged sword. “They’re scared to come out of the shadows and say, ‘We’re doing this,’” said Amber Valletta, a model, entrepreneur and activist who spoke at the Copenhagen Fashion Summit this past…

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‘Bridge Millennials’ are the Shopping Demographic of Retailers’ Dreams

Baby Boomers. Gen X. Millennials. Gen Z. Just when you thought you had the generational demographics licked, PYMNTS.com has defined a new class of consumers for brands and retailers to woo. Meet the “bridge millennials,” a cohort-spanning bracket that the payments website describes as individuals “between 30 and 40 years of age who are maturing…

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AI, Big Data Could Change the Way We Design and Shop for Clothes

H&M is losing customers—can Big Data bring them back into the fold? The Swedish apparel retailer certainly has had a hard time of it lately. Sweatshirt controversies and delivery problems aside, foot traffic has nosedived, sending H&M’s operating profit careening 62 percent in the three months through February and yoking the fast-fashion chain with $4.3…

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Five Years After Rana Plaza, What Has Changed?

Five years after a catastrophic building collapse killed 1,137 garment workers and maimed or injured thousands more in Bangladesh, a group of labor advocates gathered in a light-filled hall off New York City’s famed Times Square to reflect on the watershed disaster and its political and social ramifications. The panel discussion, entitled “Has Anything Changed…

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The Story Behind ‘Wild Wild Country’s’ Red Rajneeshee Outfits

Heather Walters was 11 when she first encountered the crimson-clad disciples of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh in The Dalles in north-central Oregon. It was in the parking lot of a supermarket, though whether it was a Fred Meyers or some other big-box grocer—perhaps it was an Albertsons?—Walters, now 48, can’t quite recall. What she does remember,…

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The Future of Pre- and Post-Consumer Denim Leans on Innovation

Everything old is new again, at least where the denim industry is concerned. If the trade show floor of Denim Première Vision in November was anything to go by, mills like Kilim Denim, Ortalu Andalou, and Tavex are churning out fabrics made from castoff clothing at record rates. And brands and retailers such as ASOS,…

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