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Why Farfetch Acquired Stadium Goods
"In its first major move since going public in September, Farfetch announced Wednesday that it is acquiring sneaker and streetwear marketplace Stadium Goods in a deal that values the business at $250 million. The London-based fashion e-commerce platform is aiming to extend its reach in the growing luxury sneakers and streetwear market, as millennials account for a growing percentage of luxury sales and competitors are engaged in a digital land grab."

via: Business of Fashion

The People Vs. Young Thug
"Marvelous. Awesome. Astounding. Wonderful. Fantastic. Amazing. Many of the words we use to describe what we appreciate contain etymological traces of the unreal, as though it takes a hint of magic to really move us. In most cases, that otherworldliness is just a quirk baked into our language, but in special instances, good art appears to us as something genuinely alien. I was, in fact, amazed when I first heard the voice of Young Thug on his 2013 mixtape, 1017 Thug. Who was this then-21-year-old rapper from Atlanta whose voice jolted unpredictably from a guttural mumble to a falsetto squeal?"

via: Interview

The 10 Trends That Defined Fashion in 2018
"One year on, and the fashion industry’s ever-bubbling cauldron has cooked up a smorgasbord of new trends. The intersection of streetwear, fashion, and sneakers—the Highsnobiety 'sweet spot'—is a constantly changing landscape, and in the age of social media, brands, trends, and pieces can live and die in a heartbeat. The second something is in, it’s all over Instagram and then it’s gone again (pour one out for 2014’s all-red sneaker mania)."

via: Highsnobiety

This New York City Skate Brand Thinks Magazines Are Here to Stay
"Ben Oleynik has a very special haunt in midtown Manhattan. The former marketing director at Pony and founder of skate brand Grand has long been a customer at Around the World Fashion Publications, a 20-year-old outpost in the Garment District. It’s a haven of sorts for those young and old who, despite their attachment to iPhones, still find bliss in thumbing through print publications. 'I’m such a lover of magazines, coffee table books, and print in general,' Oleynik says. 'I’ve been going to Around the World for years, and I always told the owner, Jay, that he should make and sell apparel. Eventually, I just asked if he wanted to do it together and he was down!' Thus, they launched a capsule collection of hoodies in white and lavender imprinted with the shop’s logo and address. The sweatshirts, which are priced at $80 each, became available online at the end of November and will hit stores in Japan this week; Oleynik has tapped skater Spencer Hamilton to be the face of the collaboration."

via: Vogue

Why Voting Is in Fashion
"In August, Dahna Goldstein, a 44-year-old entrepreneur and mother of one, was feeling frustrated. She was glued to the coming midterm elections, following myriad candidates and the rising tide of disrupters around the country, and she wanted to take what had become a focus of her personal life and include it in her professional life. She wanted a message tee—or something like it, anyway—that she could wear in a boardroom. She didn’t want to leave her wardrobe politics to the weekends."

via: The New York Times

Bottega Veneta's New Era Is Here
"The fashion world carousel never stopped spinning in 2018: designers exited brands (Kim Jones at Vuitton, Haider Ackermann at Berluti), joined new ones (Kim Jones at Dior, Virgil Abloh at Vuitton, Riccardo Tisci at Burberry), and returned to the game (Hedi Slimane at Celine). One of the most notable departures was that of Tomas Maier from Bottega Veneta, who took the leather goods label from niche bag brand into global player in the luxury fashion field over his 17-year tenure at the house. Equally notable was his successor: Daniel Lee."

via: GQ

Kim Jones Expands on Dior's Strong Connection With Japan
"It’s Japan’s unique blend of contemporary culture and history alongside the nation’s spectacular technological innovation, that results in driving millions of tourists each year. The same fascination has repeatedly drawn the storied French fashion house, Christian Dior, to head East in search of inspiration for its designs. Today, this East-West marriage is spearheaded by Dior Men’s Creative Director, Kim Jones, whose affinity for world travels has frequently been on display in his past collections. In fact, Tokyo almost appeared to be the most logical choice to host Dior’s first-ever men’s Pre-Fall show, which also marks Jones’ second collection for the fashion house. The celebrated designer invited the likes of A$AP Rocky, David Beckham, Bella Hadid, Kate Moss, and Japan-native Takashi Murakami to the Telecom Center in Tokyo’s Koto ward for an impressive laser-lit presentation featuring a tall silver cyborg created by Japanese illustrator Hajime Sorayama."

via: Hypebeast

Police to Auction Off an Inmate’s Designer Sneakers
"A young Briton sentenced to six years in jail for a weapons charge after firing a gun at a blue Jaguar will lose more than his freedom. The police in Gloucestershire, in southwestern England, plan to auction off some of his most precious possessions: designer sneakers. The luxury footwear collection—55 pairs with brand names like Christian Louboutin, Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Jimmy Choo—is estimated to be worth around £18,500, or about $23,500, the Gloucestershire police force said in a statement on Saturday."

via: The New York Times

J Balvin's Moment Is Bigger Than Music
"J Balvin knows what you think of when you think of Colombia. It's okay, you can say it: Pablo. Narcos. The coca-leaf empires of the '80s and '90s. The bodies left in their wake. It's an unpleasant past, one that's been re-upped and packaged in Hollywood gloss time and again, a painful reminder of a reputation that the country is still fighting to leave behind. But no one is more determined to help them do that than J Balvin."

via: Esquire

Paloma Elsesser Ushered in a New Era of Body Positivity in the Fashion World This Year
"Traditionally speaking, fashion has always been a one-size-fits-all kind of affair. Paloma Elsesser doesn’t have time for that in 2018 (or in any other year, now you mention it). The body-positive activist, model and i-D cover star doesn’t see her body as radical, but the change she’s ushering into the industry certainly is."

via: i-D

Tags: weekend-reading