2023 is coming to an end and it’s time to look back.
What has happened in the past year – what has been burned into our memory and what have we almost forgotten? FashionUnited traditionally lists the (fashion) news of 2023 for you. Today we present Part 1, from January to June.
FashionUnited creates several annual reviews with different focuses. As always, we also provide you with an overview of the change in creative directors. This will be released at the end of December. That’s why the major changes at fashion houses are not included in this overview.
Adidas will be targeted several times in 2023 by the artist collective The Yes Men. It begins in January, when a press release reaches the media about a “revolutionary plan” at Adidas. The press release, which is indistinguishable from a regular press release, speaks of the appointment of a co-CEO at Adidas, a former Cambodian garment worker and union leader. It was then picked up by many media outlets, but Adidas quickly issued its own statement saying that the press release was not sent out by the German sportswear company.
It quickly turns out that the fake press release was connected to a guerrilla show during Berlin Fashion Week. The show was presented as an Adidas show, but is actually a show by the New York collective The Yes Men. The event deals with the allegations against Adidas that the company does not respect the rights of the workers of its suppliers. The models at the show wear upcycled Adidas clothing and look disheveled.
Adidas denies the allegations and says it has been taking measures to ensure fair and safe working conditions for workers in its supply chain for 25 years.
Another noteworthy news from January concerns the outrage caused by the Schiaparelli fashion house with its couture collection. The collection features large animal heads on the clothes that look very similar to real animals. Thousands of comments flooded Schiaparelli’s Instagram account, with the majority of comments questioning the concept of honoring dead animals.
February
The earthquakes in Turkey and Syria are also affecting the fashion world this month. There are fashion industry production facilities in several affected regions. The fashion industry is therefore responding with large-scale aid campaigns.
Hermès emerges victorious in the “Metabirkin” trial. According to the court, the artist Mason Rothschild violated Hermès’ trademark rights with the digital and fluffy Birkin bags. However, this judgment is not enough; The case will drag on through 2023 and more verdicts will follow.
In a surprise move, fashion house Louis Vuitton has hired designer, entrepreneur and artist Pharrell Williams as creative director for its men’s fashion collection. Although Williams has launched numerous fashion brands and projects, choosing a celebrity over a classic designer is a sign of the current zeitgeist.
At Adidas, the situation surrounding Yeezy’s products remains tense. After the company ends its collaboration with the artist and designer Ye in 2022, Adidas could face a financial burden of 700 million euros. At least that is the expectation for the 2023 financial year if Adidas does not find a solution for the remaining Yeezy stocks. A new deal gives the company hope.
Another German powerhouse made negative headlines in February. Zalando reports hundreds of job cuts. The company grew too quickly and now has to row back. The department store group Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof is also not calming down and is opening insolvency proceedings on its own initiative.
Some less good news comes from C&A. The company is restructuring in Belgium, leading to unions fearing numerous layoffs. It is also reported that Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof wants to sell its subsidiary Inno. It quickly becomes clear that no specific sales discussions are being held at this point.
There is a lot of noise in the Dutch department store Bijenkorf. The department store announces that it will withdraw its online business from German and French-speaking countries and reorganize its headquarters. There is also no agreement yet with the workforce on a wage increase, which has been in dispute since September 2022.
March
Some large companies reported adjustments in March due to market challenges. Peek & Cloppenburg KG Düsseldorf applies for protection and separates itself from most of the management, Zalando collapses in sales and profits and reduces its product range and Fashionette AG discontinues its beauty division due to cost reductions.
One of the big shocks in March was caused by the death of Myriam Ullens de Schooten Whettnall. The founder of the Belgian fashion house Maison Ullens is shot dead in front of her home in March. Her husband also comes under fire, but survives the incident. The perpetrator is the (step) son Nicolas U. Ullens de Schooten Whettnall. He had reportedly been at odds with the family for years.
March is anything but quiet. One of the most famous Dutch brands, Scotch & Soda, is also feeling the effects of this, shortly after rumors surface that the company is considering a sale. The company suffers from huge cash flow problems and decides to declare bankruptcy. Soon there will appear to be several interested parties for a restart, but the US investor Bluestar Alliance is in the running.
Fortunately, there is also some good news to report. This is what model Vivian Hoorn brings Body selfie label Viveh to the market, the Tomo department store opens its doors and Vodde and Sympany produce recycled yarn from Dutch textile waste.
April
The changes at Fashionette AG continue. After giving up its beauty division, the German company is now also discontinuing its smartwatch division. A little later, the company announced that it wanted to focus more on the luxury fashion business. Meanwhile, a wave of insolvencies is also rolling out in Germany. Among other things, Ahlers and Gerry Weber are applying for insolvency proceedings and restructuring.
Another sensational piece of news comes to us in April with the Amsterdam court’s ruling on G-Star Raw’s practices. The brand is held responsible for the damage suffered by a Vietnamese clothing factory. Official court documents show that the factory lost revenue because G-Star failed to honor its agreements. The brand had committed to sourcing jackets of a certain type from the factory for three years, which it ended up not doing. This case could become a precedent and important case law for other cases where orders were canceled due to the pandemic.
May
While northern Italy is drowning in rain, May is traditionally the month in which the Met Gala takes place. But there’s another celebrity-studded event this month. Charles III is officially crowned king after the queen’s death.
Adidas officially finds a solution to the Yeezy problem. The German sports giant announces that it will organize “strategic sales”. This means Adidas will sell the remaining Yeezy inventory in smaller quantities. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to charities. Adidas CEO Björn Gulden confirmed that an unknown percentage of Yeezy proceeds will go to charities, benefiting people affected by controversial comments from Ye, aka Kanye West.
The Chinese online retailer Shein continues to set its sights on Europe. The company opened a European headquarters and settled in Dublin. The office is primarily a “strategic IT hub”.
June
The month of June brings a lot of news again. Pharrell Williams makes his debut as creative director for Louis Vuitton, dozens are injured in an explosion at a Paris fashion school, Gerry Weber announces the closure of 122 stores and 400 job cuts as part of his restructuring, and the new owner of Scotch & Soda closes its business in Great Britain.
Fashion house Ann Demeulemeester has a new creative director. Stefano Gallici takes over from Ludovic de Saint Sernin. It remains to be seen whether Gallici will stay longer than his predecessor, who only designed one season for the Belgian fashion house. For the Belgian platform Cosh! Expansion is the order of the day. Thanks to two takeovers, the sustainable fashion platform is also expanding into Germany.
Part two of the 2023 annual review will follow before the end of the year. Keep an eye on the website for updates or subscribe to the newsletter so you don’t miss anything.
This edited and translated post previously appeared on FashionUnited.nl.