Latest from Fashion United
Fashion United
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Fashion United
Hoka and StudioPROBA collaborate on a joyful, artistic sneaker collection
HOKA®, a division of Deckers Brands, proudly announced its latest collaboration with Studio Proba, the vibrant multidisciplinary design studio led by artist Alex Proba. This collaboration brought art into motion, reimagining a selection of HOKA's iconic silhouettes through StudioPROBA's joyful, sculptural lens. Proba, known for her vivid exploration of colour, pattern and sensory emotions, applied her joyful aesthetic to everything from murals and sculptures to textiles, furniture and digital media. Since Studio Proba's inception in 2013, the brand garnered global recognition for its playful, immersive designs that transformed everyday objects into art. This collaboration with HOKA applied that same ethos to movement, combining form and function in a limited edition collection of expressive shoes. The collection, rooted in bold creativity, optimism and self-expression, celebrated the innovative spirit that spring brings. Guided by the concept of 'Energy of Joy', the designs were inspired by organic movement, emotional connection and the dynamic relationship between humans and nature. Credits: HOKA Credits: HOKA 'This collection is a celebration of joy, movement and colour. I wanted each pair to feel like a small burst of happiness on your feet, as if you were walking through a dreamscape inspired by nature, play and emotion,' said Proba. 'Everything I create is meant to be experienced, whether it's a sculpture in a gallery, a mural or a rug in someone's home. In this case, it's shoes. They are pieces of art, yes, but pieces of art that are meant to be worn, used and lived in. I want to take away the preciousness that often surrounds art and invite people to literally step into joy.' The collection encompassed four striking colourways across three HOKA silhouettes: the Speedgoat six, Ora Primo and Kawana Mid. Each pair acted as a wearable piece of art, combining vibrant colours, texture and functionality to transform everyday movement into an immersive, expressive experience. Credits: HOKA 'Proba's innate ability to combine form and colour is particularly evident in this special collaboration. HOKA's reputation for vibrant colours and bold shapes is fully realised through her expert eye,' said Thomas Cykana, senior director of global collaborations and partnerships at HOKA. 'This collection invites everyone, from athletes to art lovers, to find joy in movement.' This article was translated to English using an AI tool. FashionUnited uses AI language tools to speed up translating (news) articles and proofread the translations to improve the end result. This saves our human journalists time they can spend doing research and writing original articles. Articles translated with the help of AI are checked and edited by a human desk editor prior to going online. If you have questions or comments about this process email us at info@
Fashion United
2 days ago
- Business
- Fashion United
Sparxell introduces first plant-based structural colour ink for commercial use
Cambridge-based start-up Sparxell will next month begin selling what it claims is the world's first commercially available, plant-derived structural colour ink for textiles. The launch, produced in partnership with manufacturing specialist Positive Materials, offers fashion brands a dye-free alternative that promises sharp reductions in water, energy and chemical inputs. The initial release, Sparxell's signature blue, will be offered in matte and shimmer finishes and can be ordered in kilogram quantities from the end of June 2025. Printing will be handled by Positive Materials, which is preparing an all-over printed cotton jersey for European distribution in September. Additional colours are scheduled to follow later in the year. Unlike conventional pigments, Sparxell's colour is generated by engineering plant-based cellulose at the microscale, mimicking the light-scattering structures found in Morpho butterfly wings. The process eliminates synthetic dyes, mined minerals and petroleum-based plastics while meeting industry durability standards, according to the company. 'For too long, the textile industry had no choice other than to accept that vibrant colours meant environmental damage,' said Sparxell chief executive Dr Benjamin Droguet. 'Our bio-inspired technology shatters that assumption, delivering exceptional results from plant-based cellulose.' Positive Materials co-chief executive Elsa Parente added that the partnership lets designers 'order the most sustainable colourant options as easily as conventional alternatives, but with the added benefit of 100 per cent biodegradable pigments free from toxic chemicals.' Industry demand for lower-impact colouration is rising as regulators and investors focus on pollution. The sector employs more than 10,000 chemicals and releases an estimated 1.5 million tonnes of dyes each year, accounting for roughly 2 per cent of global greenhouse-gas emissions. Sparxell, which recently secured a 1.9 million euro grant from the European Innovation Council and joined LVMH's La Maison des Startups accelerator, is positioning its technology as a scalable response to those pressures.
Fashion United
2 days ago
- Business
- Fashion United
Shein to reportedly confidentially file for Hong Kong IPO
Fast fashion giant Shein is believed to be planning to confidentially file a draft prospectus for a Hong Kong IPO. This is according to three sources for Reuters, one of which said the filing could be submitted as soon as this week. Two sources said that, if approved, Shein's intention to file confidentially would be a waiver of one of the main listing rules in Hong Kong, and could represent the largest in the city this year. Documents related to Shein's IPO would remain undisclosed until the company moves into a hearing with the exchange. It would then have to secure approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), a feat it wasn't able to achieve when pursuing an IPO in London. Shein had been targeting a listing in the UK since early 2024 after previously looking to New York for its IPO. In the US, it already faced opposition from politicians who had argued to block the filing, calling for better disclosure of Shein's Chinese operations. The company then turned to London as an alternative route, yet was also confronted by similar challenges from local market authorities, NGOs and fashion industry leaders. By April 2025, however, it was reported that the retailer had received approval from the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for the London IPO, and thus notified the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC). While Shein had anticipated backing from the CSRC, a source for Reuters said the company experienced an unforeseen delay and limited communication from the organisation.
Fashion United
2 days ago
- Business
- Fashion United
Jonathan Anderson reboots Dior menswear with subtle subversion and commercial savvy
Jonathan Anderson walked on to the Dior stage on Friday with the hardest brief in luxury fashion: reignite a 9.5 billion euro powerhouse whose growth has begun to slow and whose identity, at least on the men's side, has drifted since the Hedi Slimane era. The 40-year-old Northern Irishman is hardly a novice. LVMH took a minority stake in his JW Anderson label in 2013 and, in the same breath, installed him at Loewe, where he built the once-sleepy Spanish brand into a cult enterprise (and created the Puzzle bag in the process). The inevitable next step, Dior, finally materialised this spring after a messy sequence of leaks: a departure from Loewe, an initial appointment to menswear, and, following Maria Grazia Chiuri's exit last month, full control of every Dior line. A marketing breadcrumb trail In the week before the show, Dior's image machine offered clues. American art royalty Jean-Michel Basquiat and socialite Lee Radziwill, both captured by Andy Warhol, floated across mood-board teasers. A shaky Super-8-style film lingered on peonies, a chateau and a wooden canoe adrift on still water. Viewers, like the canoe, were asked to wait. Context: revenue up, momentum down The waiting has had real-world stakes. Dior's turnover quadrupled between 2017 and 2023, yet HSBC flagged a slowdown from Q1 2024, citing consumer resistance perhaps to relentless price hikes and shifting priorites. Delphine Arnault, Dior's chief executive, now talks less about fireworks and more about 'quality and craft'. For Anderson, the unspoken mandate is clear: deliver covetable product, bags, sneakers, ready-to-wear, and a point of view that can translate into sustained demand. Dior Men's SS26. Credits: ©Launchmetrics/spotlight Dior Men's SS26. Credits: ©Launchmetrics/spotlight The collection: Saltburn meets Warhol On the runway the pressure translated into nonchalance. Shirts half-tucked, collars popped, one trouser leg rolled, looks that recalled the louche decadence of Saltburn spliced with a Warholian downtown shrug. The tailoring, less razor-sharp than Slimane's fabled skinny suit, was offset by playful twists: a vampiric cape, a cable-knit in peony pink, Oscar-Wilde bows adorning the neck, coats in drapey tweeds. Anderson's British eccentricity surfaced in tailcoats fastened with Napoleonic buttons and the ubiquitous look of a chino and polo shirt was reimagined as a nod to aristocratic decay, pleated, loose, and worn with the ease of someone who has never had to try too hard. Dior Men's SS26. Credits: ©Launchmetrics/spotlight Dior Men's SS26. Credits: ©Launchmetrics/spotlight Were the cargo shorts and polos special? Perhaps not. But in their casual iteration they reset the palette, signalling that everyday wear is once again fair game for high fashion, and, crucially, high turnover. Commercial chess moves Accessories telegraphed intent: a hybrid sneaker-deck shoe, bright book bags, sweaters emblazoned with a refreshed lower-case Dior logo—bait for Gen Z and a lodestar for retail. Denim returned with pocket stitching first introduced by Slimane, proof that Anderson is willing to cannibalise house history where it works. And all this is only the start. By LVMH arithmetic Anderson will produce roughly 18 collections a year across men's, women's, leather goods and his own label, a workload that would fell lesser talents. Yet his track record suggests an ability to inject nuance into the mundane: tweak a heel, pop a collar, ignite a cash register. Dior Men's SS26. Credits: ©Launchmetrics/spotlight Dior Men's SS26. Credits: ©Launchmetrics/spotlight What the creases say Christian Dior once championed post-war polish; Anderson's wrinkled shirts propose something different. Perhaps dressing up now feels performative, or perhaps life—pandemic, conflict, cost-of-living angst—is simply too short to iron. Either way, Anderson has staked out a fresh clearing in the Dior forest. The real test will be whether this studied casualness converts into queues outside the stores. In a year, the peonies, like the revenue charts, will show whether the house is blooming again. Dior Men's SS26. Credits: ©Launchmetrics/spotlight Dior Men's SS26. Credits: ©Launchmetrics/spotlight
Fashion United
2 days ago
- Business
- Fashion United
From Scandinavia to the world: NN.07 scales with precision and purpose
2024 was a big year for NN.07. The Danish brand celebrated record financial results, expansion in global markets and increased demand elsewhere. Now, half way into 2025, its team is continuing to grow with intention, taking a thought-out approach as to where they will take their next step. 'The primary thing is that we stay true to our long-term strategy; focus on product, select market expansion and strong partnerships,' Anders Rahr, NN.07's chief executive officer, told FashionUnited in an interview. 'We haven't tried to be everywhere at once. We spent years building this foundation, and in many ways, 2024 was a breakout year. It was a signal of how far we've come.' Since its founding in 2007, NN.07 has prioritised what it calls a 'focused execution of an international strategy'. As such, the majority of its revenue, which welcomed high double-digit growth last year, now comes from markets outside of its home region of Scandinavia. Rahr noted strong growth is being seen among the UK, DACH and Benelux regions, however, it is the US that has emerged as the brand's largest market. NN.07 CEO, Anders Rahr. Credits: NN.07. 'We've shifted from a Nordic mindset to a global mindset, and I think that has actually been key from what products we offer to how we speak as a brand,' Rahr stated. 'That has certainly been a key milestone, as has been strengthening our partnerships with top tier retailers, like Bloomingdale's, Nordstrom, Mr. Porter, Harrods and Amsterdam's De Bijenkorf.' 'We've shifted from a Nordic mindset to a global mindset…' Such efforts fell alongside the opening of stores in New York and London in 2024, which were described by Rahr as 'turning points that gave us visibility and credibility'. 'Retail is such a powerful amplifier when it's being done right,' he noted. 'We've learned that e-commerce and retail are now completely connected in the consumer's mind. They see one brand, no matter the channel they go through.' NN.07 Gammel Mønt Store. Credits: NN.07 / Armin Tehrani. This further underscores the importance of omnichannel experiences, connecting the brand's digital existence to its physical presence, something NN.07 is continuing to implement into its stores. For Rahr, this recent development reaffirms that retail is not 'old-fashioned' and instead an opportunity to create new connections to the brand, which can be hard to get from just a click. In the US, this has been particularly important. Customers in the region look for a very high level of proactive communication, with a clientele-focus becoming increasingly important, Rahr noted. Despite being an operationally different market, however, NN.07 has remained consistent in showing up akin to its approach in other markets. This can be seen in the maintaining of control over key elements of design, like fabric, fit and finishes through a centralised development process and trusted network of suppliers, Rahr stated. This has become more and more important in a business environment tainted by concerns over tariffs, which has rocked the fashion industry since the appointment of President Donald Trump earlier this year. When asked if he sees this impacting NN.07, Rahr reaffirmed the brand's stable outlook: 'When working with commerce or ongoing trade wars, you always have to stay vigilant. I believe that with our business model, we will find solutions long-term, no matter the outcome. We're on a mission to build a global brand, so trading across borders is part of what we do.' NN.07 London store. Credits: NN.07. Expansion to cultural capitals on the horizon Rahr noted that NN.07's business model is scalable, yet retains the ability to ensure a 'sustainable' and measured growth. Looking ahead, with new stores and new markets on the horizon, the company is expecting continued growth in both its top and bottom line in 2025, while remaining aware of evolving tariff disputes. Expansion, however, focuses largely on cities deemed to be 'cultural hotspots', instead of countries as a whole, as building relevance locally is considered by Rahr an imperative part of moving into new markets. 'Our go-to-market strategy is focused on cities instead of countries,' Rahr stated. 'We enter one city at a time, and then we have the right local strategy in regards to connections with retailers, partners and store formats. The regions that we're already in hold plenty of future potential — mainly Europe and the US. Then, of course, further down the line, Asia becomes a natural component for a global brand.' NN.07 can therefore be anticipated in more 'cultural capitals' in the near future, though which cities currently remain under wraps. 'We're not just chasing growth for its own sake, we're building a brand with meaning. We have momentum, but we're using that momentum to go deeper, not just wider,' Rahr concluded. NN.07 London store. Credits: NN.07.
