Continuing our weekly news snippets, here are some interesting ones for Week 34.
Lee Jeans teams up with Artistic Milliners on sustainable denim
Denim brand Lee Jeans devised Cradle to Cradle Certified jeans at the gold and bronze levels in partnership with Artistic Milliners, one of the world’s largest vertically integrated denim and apparel manufacturers. The new range of selvage jeans are circular by design, explains Lee Jeans, with every component being 100% recyclable, as they have been crafted using 100% organic cotton. The classic five-pocket jeans were made in a facility generating 524000 kWh of solar power per year and use fabrics dyed with a process that uses 58% less water than traditional denim dyeing processes. In addition, all the buttons on the jeans are raw, virgin metal, meaning they have not been finished with any treatments, so saving energy consumption and eliminating the extra processing.“At Lee, we are focused on finding transformative pathways to design and manufacture products that minimize the impact on our planet. Achieving Cradle to Cradle Certified for the Aureola and Nymph styles enables our consumers to wear Lee Jeans with confidence, knowing we are continuously improving the sustainability and circularity of our products with the good of people and our planet in mind.” Said Jeff Frye, vice president of product development, innovation, sustainability, and procurement at Kontoor Brands, the parent company of Lee Jeans.
Lee’s Cradle to Cradle certified jeans are available from selected retail stores and online across North America and Europe.
Scandinavian brand Les Deux launches sustainable denim
Les Deux is all set to take on sustainable denim. For decades, the classic menswear brand has been making a lot of timeless styles and prioritized good craftsmanship, and now the brand is ready to give its take on denim for the first time. Les Deux is introducing a selection of silhouettes and washes, all crafted with the greatest attention to their environmental impact. “Denim is something we all wear and everyone has an opinion on the right fit. Our approach to developing our fitting has been a long process but I am extremely confident, that we have ended up in the right spot” said Mathias Jensen, Creative Director at Les Deux.
As Les Deux are entering their 10th year, they have managed to stand as a key menswear brand in Europe with more than 800 stores across the countries. The Scandinavian brand is on an exciting journey both as a fashion forerunner, but also within the frontiers of sustainability. This is also the reason why the brand has partnered up with one of the leading, sustainable denim factories in the world. For this capsule, the Les Deux jeans will be available in 3 silhouettes; The Reed Slim Fit, the Russel Regular fit, and the Richard Straight Fit – all in five timeless washes. Inspired by iconic denim moments from fashion history, Les Deux has created a denim look for any occasion. “We only use pure natural indigo, and a traditional dyeing technique executed by Japanese technicians called “rope dyeing” to color the yarns for our denim” Mathias Jensen announced.
European Shutdowns Exerts 8% Revenue Drop at Guess
Guess Inc., in reporting fiscal 2022 second-quarter results, said the Covid-19 pandemic is continuing to impact its businesses.
During the quarter, the company experienced lower net revenue compared to the second quarter of fiscal 2020, as it remained challenged by lower demand, capacity restrictions, and temporary store closures. In light of the current environment, Guess said it continues to strategically manage expenses to protect profitability. Guess said it expected revenues in the third quarter of fiscal 2022 to be slightly negative to flat versus the third quarter of fiscal 2020 as pandemic-related traffic declines are almost offset by continued momentum in its global e-commerce business and the favorable shift of European wholesale shipments from the second quarter into the third quarter.
For the full fiscal year 2022, assuming no additional Covid-related shutdowns past the second quarter, Guess said it expected revenues to be down mid-single digits versus fiscal 2020 and operating margin to reach approximately 10%. Net revenue for the second quarter of fiscal 2022 ended July 31 fell 8% to $628.6 million from $683.2 million in the same period in fiscal 2020. Net earnings for the quarter increased 133.7% to $64.1 million from $27.4 million for the same period in fiscal 2020. Earnings from operations in the quarter increased 90% to $87.4 million from $46 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2020. Operating margin increased 7.2% to 13.9%from 6.7% in the second quarter of fiscal 2020, driven primarily by lower markdowns, lower occupancy costs, and higher initial markups. “The Guess brand has significant white space for revenue growth and we are confident in our ability to reach our $2.8 billion revenue target by fiscal 2024.
We continue to prioritize returning value to our shareholders and announced today that our board has approved an increase of our existing share buyback program to $200 million. Overall, I could not be more excited about our future.” Said Carlos Alberini, CEO Guess.
Ralph Lauren unveils exclusive partnership with Zepeto
Luxury fashion brand Ralph Lauren has announced its partnership with social networking and avatar simulation app Zepeto. The app allows users to function in a fully articulated virtual world where they can socialize with others using a customizable 3D avatar. Users will be able to purchase a completely digital Ralph Lauren clothing collection, reminiscent of its physical apparel, allowing users to dress their 3D avatars in exclusive products. The Ralph Lauren x Zepeto collection will feature 12 looks in total, with over 50 unique items on offer, including a mix of vintage Polo Ralph Lauren designs and pieces from its current summer collection. Shoppers will be able to get their virtual hands on limited edition skateboards and other special pieces exclusively designed for the collection.
Augmented reality fashion took off last year whilst the world faced a global lockdown, seeing homebound individuals take to avatar games like Animal Crossing as a substitute for the outside world. To celebrate the launch of the Zepeto partnership, the K-Pop band Tomorrow X Together will be hosting a live virtual event at the Ralph Lauren flagship store on Madison Avenue. The band will interact with visitors through their Zepeto avatar, with each virtual member wearing pieces from the collection.
