Happy Easter, for those who celebrate.

Tuesday edition this week — public holiday. Spent the weekend in Italy. And a thought: do you actually know where la dolce vita comes from? As the social feed starts filling with Lake Como, linen shirts and Aperol spritzes, social media has turned it into a moodboard — Amalfi Coast, Vespa, aperitivo hour. But the original idea was more philosophical. The phrase comes from Fellini's 1960 film — a story about Rome's glamorous elite navigating excess, escapism, and existential emptiness. Over time, it became shorthand for the Italian way of life. La dolce vita isn't about indulgence. It's about intention. Dolce far niente — the sweetness of intentionally doing nothing. Espresso at the bar, not coffee in a to-go cup. Three-hour lunches. In a world obsessed with hustle and digital validation, I'm starting to think they were onto something.

Caught my eye

90kg porcelain dress from the latest Margiela collection

Trends — what’s bubbling underneath the headlines

• The retailer that welcomes returns. 

  While most brands are making it harder to send clothes back—adding "restocking fees" and shorter return windows—Revolve is doubling down on the opposite. In a world where "free returns" are starting to disappear, they are betting that making your life easier is the best way to keep you coming back. It’s a smart, long-term play: they’ve realized that if you make it easy for a customer to say "no" to one dress, they’re much more likely to say "yes" to the next five.

• 95% of European retailers have tried AI. Only 5% are seeing real returns.

  That's the headline from a new study by Retail Economics and Voyado. The gap isn't about access to technology — it's about data infrastructure and organizational maturity. Everyone has the tools. Almost no one has the foundation to make them work.

  Voyado's chief product officer put it plainly: "We're still very early in the journey, and the AI we're using today is likely the least impressive version we'll ever see."

  Which means: before AI solves all our problems, we have to build the pipes. The data, the systems, the organizational readiness i.e. the unglamorous work underneath.

• Backend of AI shopping

  Static images, bulleted specs, a small gallery on the side. Eko is trying to fix that. The company creates interactive video galleries that let shoppers explore products the way they would in a store — rotating items, seeing them in action, clicking into features. The experience is personalized: first-time visitors see technical details, return visitors see social proof. Now they're scaling it. Their new 70,000-square-foot "capture factory" in Bentonville can process 750,000 items a year.

  The bigger ambition: "the definitive data source for every consumer product on earth". If AI is going to shop for us, it needs to understand what products look like, how they work, what they do. Eko is building that layer. No one knows exactly what AI commerce will look like — but whoever owns the richest product catalog will own the future.

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

• The $10 Billion Wristband. While most wearable tech is fighting for attention, Whoop has closed a $575 million funding round, valuing the company at $10.1 billion. The investors: Abu Dhabi’s 2PointZero joined the deal alongside other major names like Mubadala and QIA. It is a great development to see the brand moving beyond simple fitness tracking to offer blood biomarker testing and biological age reports, which effectively turns health data into a luxury product. I was also impressed to learn that Whoop has reached a $1.1 billion revenue run rate; it is clear that Whoop is no longer just a gadget, but is becoming a piece of health infrastructure that aims to compete with your doctor.

• Kering is selling real estate to raise cash. Kering is selling an 80% stake in its 8 Via Monte Napoleone building in Milan to Qatar’s Al Mirqab Group for €1.45 billion. Just two years after buying this trophy property, the group is effectively "pawning the family silver" to fix its finances. After a rough year where group revenue fell 10% and debt reached a record high of 3.9x EBITDA, Kering needs this €729 million cash to protect its credit rating. By selling the building but staying on as a tenant, they are trading long-term ownership for the immediate funds needed to fix Gucci, where profit margins have been cut in half.

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!

• Until 08.11.26 | London - V&A Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art Exhibition

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