Brexit has not just changed the way fashion business operates but also brought certain discrepancies in apparel pricing across the EU and UK regions. As per a report by the Edited, tops and outerwear are being sold in the same price range in the EU and UK. However, prices of footwear and bottoms in these two regions vary. Bottoms in UK are currently priced higher in the range of £40-60 while footwear in the EU is priced between €30-40 and between t, £10-30 and £80-90 in the UK market.

Price differences post Brexit

Online British luxury brands have increased their prices both in domestic market and across Europe. Boohoo has increased prices in the European market on an average €3.41 compared to prices in the UK at £1.01. Similarly, Marks & Spencer has increased prices by £1.01 in the UK, while prices in EU are on par YoY. Spanish brand Mango has maintained prices in Europe while its UK prices have increased almost £2.00. Vero Moda's UK prices have increased nearly £0.60 YoY while prices in the EU have declined by €1.06. Prada’s UK prices have increased by an average of £149.29 than last year compared to those in the EU, where prices have increased by only €82.82.

Prices in the EU-based markets started increasing from the third week of 2021 while the UK market has seen some noticeable price increases since the start of the year. For instance, the prices of & Other Stories' have increased by 3.4 per cent while those of Esprit have increased by 2.8 per cent and Massimo Dutti by 2.6 per cent.

No change in free shipping policy

While prices across categories vary between the EU and UK, minimum orders for free shipping remains the same pre and post-Brexit in both markets. In UK, orders worth £60 from Jack & Jones are eligible for free shipping, while EU customers can avail free delivery on orders worth €50 DE). The figures for Mango are £30 UK / €30 across regions, Vero Moda products are priced at £60 in the UK while they cost €50 DE in the EU.

Brand COS offered free deliveries between January 13-17, 2021 on all orders to compensate for Brexit delivery delays.. Deliveries by Massimo Dutti are priced at £100 in the UK and €80 in EU. & Other Stories charges a minimal amount for shipping. United Colors of Benetton has introduced free shipping on orders over £40 over Christmas. It has maintained these prices post Brexit to reassure its shoppers and encourage shopping.

The spring season of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia took place in the Museum of Moscow. Fashion shows were arranged in Russia’s capital and 6 other cities, including Milan. Italian brands Hand Picked, Collini, Daniela de Souza, Vuarnet and others introduced their new collections at the Milan-based Sari Spazio Showroom. Other venues were St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Sochi and Chelyabinsk. Designers from Argentina, Belgium, Chile, Cyprus, France, Germany, India, Israel, Mexico, Netherlands, Nigeria, Peru, Poland, South Korea, Spain, UK, USA, and Japan showcased their new collections as video presentations.

Right during this season, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia became the winner of Tagline Awards, a major competition in digital for the Eastern Europe, as the Best Art/Culture/Entertainment Campaign. The Jury awarded the 2020 fall season of MBFW Russia (having taken place in October 2020) with the golden award.

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia was live streamed at 100+ websites of the global media websites and social networks. Recorded streams are still available in VK, the largest social media in Russia and the CIS.

In this season, the key subject for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia was conscious consumption. In collaboration with Vtoroe Dykhanie Fund, Russian Fashion Council started a sustainable fashion project - every day, secondhand clothes were accepted in the Museum of Moscow to be used in creation of new collections. Russian brands RigRaiser and VINA sticking to upcycling methods are going to use some of the turned in garments to make their new collections for the new MBFW Russia season scheduled for October in Moscow. The Fund will save the unclaimed pieces for recycling.

The upcycling concept found support at the venues of MBFW Russia, too. In this season, MBFW Russia decided not to make new brand clothing for volunteers and organizers, totaling to 300+ people. Instead, Moscow-based VINA brand made customized uniform for the Fashion Week staff, using secondhand clothes for that.

The new season of #MBFWRussia welcomed 14 brands that follow certain sustainable guidelines - upcycling, recycling, and slow fashion. Emerging designers Mesew Butenko, Tkachuk, Icone, and Arina Georgieva in collaboration with Laska (Henkel company) presented their NOT NEW Collection of 20 exclusive looks, specially designed from the garments showcased during previous Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia seasons. The underlying concept in this collaboration is #RethinkFashion that supports and promotes reasonable consumption.

Guess held on to its top spot in the Lyst Index for Q1, while Nike jumped nine places joining the top 10 in second spot. And Dior joined the index for the first time at number three with Louis Vuitton at number seven.

Balenciaga and Moncler declined by two spots, while Prada and Bottega Veneta slipped one spot each, Saint Laurent dropped three places and one-time index leader Off-white down six.

The ranking comes from the millions of searches made via Lyst and other data, and with online shopping being key in Q1 due to further lockdowns internationally, it’s an even better reflection of what luxury shoppers are thinking and doing than usual.

Gucci saw strong demand from online shoppers, and was able to create brand moments which resonate with digital audiences. Nike in second place was buoyed partly by seasonal demand for fitness wear, but also by newsworthy moments, such as the launch of its first hands-free shoes. The Go FlyEase racer found broad appeal and was among the Lyst Index’s hottest products.

Zipper and fastening products manufacturer YKK has launched a new business policy ‘Sustainable Growth under the New Normal’ that emphasizes on digitalization, sustainability, and diversity. As per Textile World, YKK has created a new, enhanced R&D division called the Technology Innovation Center (TIC) that will focus on developing entirely new technologies, materials, and new business. The company will invest 2.5 billion yen in this division to establish a Digital Business Planning Department. The company also plans to enhance its collaboration with customers through partnerships with digital platforms.

Over the next four years, YKK will invest an additional 2.5 billion yen in sustainability initiatives such as eco-friendly product development, solar power generation, and energy-saving measures. Additionally, YKK will continue to focus on human rights and diversity, the fifth pillar of its Sustainability Vision 2050. Under the plan, the company has committed to becoming more diverse and inclusive and improving work environments throughout its supply chains, and will continue to implement the YKK Global Criteria of Compliance audit, a comprehensive standard based on the ISO26000 guidelines.

Uster has introduced a new fabric inspection system known as Q-Bar 2. The system monitors the fabric additionally at the earliest point with automatic, in-line inspection. Q-Bar 2 is best described as a formation monitoring system, because of its ingenious positioning directly at the interface of warp and weft threads. That allows rapid response as soon as a defect appears, avoiding long-running or repeating faults. Alarm and stop signals alert the operator to correct problems immediately – and early detection reduces second quality and material loss, as well as minimizing the need for post-production checks.

Uster Q-Bar 2 provides different algorithms to identify specific defects and their causes. This inbuilt knowledge can prevent defects within the weft insertion cycle.

Its enhanced detection position in the fabric formation zone means the warp is monitored even before it is traversed by the weft – a truly unique benefit. It allows detection of incorrect warp positions, missing warp, loose warp ends and even pattern irregularities.

By monitoring each inserted weft in the formation area, Q-Bar 2 primes users to react to weft irregularities at the earliest possible stage. At this point, it can detect weft-related defects such as double picks, broken weft or slubs and loops.

Alan Wheeler, Director, The Textile Recycling Association (TRA) has urged the sector to reduce consumption of new clothes. He spoke on the eve resources charity WRAP formally unveiling its voluntary Textiles 2030 on April 26. Textile 2030 vision aims to slash the impact that textiles have on the environment over the next decade. To achieve this, the sector needs to collect more used textiles, without losing financial viability of the industry.

Instead of supporting jobs in textile production, governments need to support new jobs in the textile recycling industry, added Wheeler. New production houses need to use recycled fibers in their new textile products, he added. The Textiles 2030 comes after WRAP’s SCAP 2020 program missed its target for waste reduction.

While targets were met for reducing water consumption and carbon, the amount of textile waste being sent to landfill or incineration fell by 4 per cent since the 2012 launch, WRAP said, against a target of 15 per cent.

T-shirt imports by the US declined by 10.70 per cent to $ 2.92 billion in the January-February ’21 period from $3.27 billion in the corresponding period of 2020. As per Apparel Resources, import volumes declined 8.04 per cent to 83.68 million dozen during the period.

All major apparel shippers recorded a dip value-wise in T-shirt exports to the US, except China. China’s exports grew 5.37 per cent Y-o-Y to $ 403.87 million. It exported 13.51 million dozen T-shirts, a 17.58 per cent yearly growth. Bangladesh’s exports grew 2.87 per cent on a yearly basis to 5.35 million dozen, which valued $ 129.10 million and declined by 3.52 per cent in the January-February ’21 period.

India’s exports declined both in terms of quantity and value. The country clocked $ 140.42 million in January.-February. ’21 to ship 4.21 million dozen of T-shirts and noted a marginal drop of 0.06 per cent on Y-o-Y basis during the period.

Eighteen major brands including Boohoo, Asos, Primark, Next, M&S, Primark, and John Lewis have joined Textile 2030 Scheme that aims to reduce the sector's significant environmental footprint over the coming decade. The initiative launched by waste charity WRAP, commits fashion retailers to halving their carbon emissions by the end of the decade and reducing the aggregate water footprint of their products by 30 per cent.

Alongside pledges to reduce water use and cut carbon emissions, signatories have also committed to using more recycled materials in their products and to pilot and implement business models centred around the reuse of old clothes. The national scheme is set to join a global network of initiatives geared at reducing the environmental impact of clothing around the world dubbed the Textiles Action Network, WRAP said.

MPs on the Environmental Audit Committee held an evidence session today to discuss how the scheme can put the UK fashion industry on a pathway to net zero emissions while incorporating greater circularity across business models. The session also investigated how the planned Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme for the textiles industry could be designed to support the initiative and incentivize sustainable design within the fashion industry.

Puma Q1 sales grew 25.8 per cent currency adjusted (ca) to € 1,549 million. Its gross margin grew by 48.5 per cent while operating expenses (OPEX) increase by only 8.6 per cent. Wholesale business increased by 24.3 per cent (ca) to € 1,202.0 million, despite lockdown-related store closures in several markets and supply chain constraints in North America. The Direct to Consumer business (DTC), which includes owned and operated retail stores as well as e-commerce, increased by 31.3 per cent (ca) to € 346.8 million, driven by strong growth in e-commerce of 74.9 per cent (ca).

During the quarter Puma launched the She Moves Us communication platform to celebrate women. It also unveiled the Only See Great brand campaign to spark optimism and self-belief. Alonwith Neymar Jr, the brand launched a new Creativity collection, featuring the Future Z 1.1 football boot as well as shorts, training accessories and off-pitch apparel. Its new Re:Gen collection regenerates textile industry waste into new products.

Mulberry expects to report a small underlying profit before tax for the 12 months to the end of last month (FY21). As per Fashion Network, the company expects FY 21 revenue to be lower than the previous year. However, it will also reduce its losses as customers have remained loyal to the brand during the pandemic period.

The group has recorded strong growth in its Asian markets while its digital sales have also accelerated. Its improved margins due to lower markdown sales suggest that other markets may also improve on easing of the lockdown restrictions. Mulberry is a luxury fashion company founded in the United Kingdom in 1971, known internationally for its leather goods. Mulberry has stores throughout the UK and all over the world including Europe, the US, Australia and Asia. It has registered offices in Somerset, London and New York City. Mulberry continues to make designer leather goods at its original Somerset factory, called The Rookery.