Industry News – April 7th, 2016

Curated fashion industry news links for Thursday, April 7th, 2016…

BERLUTI LAUNCHES NEW MEN’S SHOES FOR FALL 2016 – FootwearNews
“Berluti is continuing its youthful revival. For fall ’16, the Paris-based men’s luxury brand is launching a new style, titled the “Fast Track,” in four different colorways. The new sneaker-dress shoe hybrid made its debut on the label’s fall ’16 runway show in Paris — the last show under the artistic direction of Alessandro Sartori, who announced his departure from Berluti in February.”

H&M WILL OPEN ITS 4,000TH UNIT, RAMP UP E-COMMERCE – RetailingToday
“A total of 425 new H&M stores are slated to open this year, including the new market of Puerto Rico, and the fast fashion retailer also will expand its e-commerce efforts to Japan and 10 additional markets. The global retailer disclosed its aggressive physical and digital growth plans with the release of financial results for the period ended Feb. 29, which were negatively affected by the strong U.S. dollar. H&M is based in Stockholm, Sweden.”

A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO THE FASHION DESIGNER SHAKE-UPS OF THE PAST SEASON – Vogue
“Shorter-term contracts—the standard length now being about three years—are partially the cause, as is the general fickle nature of the industry. In womenswear, elite houses like Dior, Lanvin, and Saint Laurent have swapped creative directors, while the men’s realm, in Milan specifically, has undergone similar levels of change.”

FIRST DOLCE & GABBANA HOTEL TO OPEN IN MILAN – Forbes
“According to Italian news source Il Sole 24 Ore, the hotel would allegedly be located on Milan’s Piazza Cordusio, inside the Palazzo Broggi building. Last year, Palazzo Broggi was acquired by Chinese investment conglomerate Fosun, for a sum of €345 million. Fosun is said to be interested in using the space to develop a luxury hotel project. Adding fuel to the rumors that a hotel in partnership with Dolce & Gabbana is on its way, is the fact that the Chinese investor has assigned Milan-based architectural firm Piuarch, to give Palazzo Broggi’s interior a make-over. The same architectural firm is responsible for realizing the Dolce & Gabbana Milan headquarters, in addition to over 40 Dolce & Gabbana stores across the globe.”

INTRODUCING LA LIGNE, THE STRIPES-BASED BRAND THAT’S COMING FOR EVERY PART OF YOUR WARDROBE – Elle
“Meet La Ligne, an adorable direct-to-consumer luxury apparel brand inspired by graphic lines. Full of classic striped button downs, Breton sweaters, ringer Ts, and ribbed skirts, La Ligne offers a mix of both essentials and trendy styles that women can wear to make the stripe their own. Tank tops start at $85 and the most expensive dress tops off at $550, but most pieces fall within the $100-$300 range. Ahead of the launch I caught up with Howard, Melling, and Boster to chat about how this clothing collection came to be, whether or not women who hate stripes can wear this collection, and soon to sell out, must-have pieces.”