The first Sunday in November is the day of the New York City Marathon — a date I hold dearest, because seven years ago I had the chance to be part of it. I’ve never seen that level of admiration for race participants anywhere else in the world. And yet, for what it is, I think major marathons could be a much bigger moment for fashion and consumer brands than they are today. Hundreds of thousands of runners and spectators make for unmatched visibility. Sports brands still speak to performance, not culture — and the “it-girl” narrative barely touches endurance sports. But what if it did? What if Aesop hosted a pop-up recovery spa at the finish line? What if Rhode launched a runner-proof makeup line?

Caught my eye

Introvert Chair designed by Robbie Williams

Trends — what’s bubbling underneath the headlines

• The next luxury customer has no brand loyalty

  A newly released report by WWD in collaboration with Boston Consulting Group reveals that Gen Z and Gen Alpha will drive around 40 % of fashion spending within the next decade. Drawing on consumer surveys and over 50 000 social-media posts, the study finds younger shoppers are using AI weekly (41 % of Gen Z/Alpha vs 34 % older generations) to research, trend-spot and shop. These groups are less brand-loyal (20 pp lower than older cohorts) and more likely to discover labels via micro-influencers and social content than through traditional advertising. Younger consumers are redefining loyalty as transaction-based, not emotional, so that brands have to compete on relevance every single day.

• Luxury’s M&A future

  I found an interesting piece in nss magazine comparing today’s fashion landscape to Silicon Valley’s Big Tech era of the 2010s — when smaller innovators were gradually absorbed by giants, leaving behind a few dominant players. The article speculates on similar consolidation in fashion: LVMH absorbing Kering, Amazon acquiring Zalando, Shein partnering with Inditex, Temu staying independent, and EssilorLuxottica evolving into a wellness-tech hub. It’s a thought-provoking lens — fashion as the next industry where scale, data, and distribution power start to outweigh creativity alone.

Business moves, big numbers & “wait, what?”

• Off-Price no more. LuxExperience — the parent company of Mytheresa, Net-a-Porter, Mr Porter, and Yoox — has agreed to sell THE OUTNET to The O Group for roughly $30 million. The deal includes brand rights, customer data, inventory, and the U.S. distribution centre. Despite generating around €260 million in sales in FY 2025, THE OUTNET is unprofitable. Having an off-price channel actually offers several advantages: it broadens the customer base and helps manage inventory. Still, it’s interesting that by divesting it, the company can now focus more sharply on its core business.

• Cavalli outsources the hustle. Roberto Cavalli has signed a partnership with Tomorrow Group to manage its global wholesale strategy starting fall 2026 including managing international distribution and help reposition it with top retailers across key markets. It might be a new growing trend in the business fashion — unbundling creativity from operations.

• Fashion’s $7 B Club. According to Morgan Stanley, a  business needs roughly $7 billion in revenue to qualify as truly “scaled.” Analyst Alex Straton highlights that companies like On Running and Abercrombie & Fitch still have runway to grow toward scale — while others such as Under Armour face structural headwinds that keep them below the benchmark. The criteria for making the club include women’s apparel exposure, direct-to-consumer strength, and attractiveness to shoppers under 35 — i.e., the growth sweet-spot for modern brands.

Wish I were there - pop-ups,  collabs, etc.

Pencil in, book the ticket, or just follow on social media — choose your option and let’s discuss afterwards!

• 06.-09.11.25 | Cologne - Art Cologne

• Ongoing | Milan - Azzedine Alaïa, Cristóbal Balenciaga. Sculptors of shape exhibition

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