Balenciaga’s New Poet, Burberry’s Bleed, and the WNBA’s Glow-Up
Things are getting turbulent.
News Bites is a space to get the lowdown on what the f*ck has been going on in fashion recently. Good, bad, and everything in between — this is where it's at.
If fashion is a mirror of the times, then buckle up, because the current reflection is giving prophetic chaos meets high-gloss reboot.
In one corner, Pierpaolo Piccioli's surprise (or not so much) landing at Balenciaga has continued to feed into the creative director merry go round circus — couture’s most poetic minimalist now helming a house built on provocation. In another, the Tommy Girl is wide awake and wearing Aleali May as Gen Z’s glossy Americana dream just got a streetwise remix.
Meanwhile, British luxury is learning the hard way that sovereignty isn’t a sales strategy, with Brexit slashing exports like a sample sale gone wrong. Over at Burberry, the spreadsheets are bleeding red — £66 million lost and 1,700 jobs trimmed — but hey, at least the quarterly sales wore a brave face.
Elsewhere in the headlines: Supreme’s skate darling Tyshawn Jones is suing for $26 million in what may be fashion’s most stylish courtroom drama yet; illegal running shoes are back in the race and still outrunning regulation; and the WNBA is serving both looks and numbers, proving female athletes are just as much runway as they are game-day.
And because no week in fashion is complete without a power move, Edward Enninful is launching a new magazine (with his sister, no less), while Grace Wales Bonner casually claimed the Met Gala throne.
Call it fashion's version of a group chat; part prophecy, part drama, all perfectly on-brand.
Brand chit chat
Pierpaolo is in at Balenciaga: turns out, as
so aptly put it, a fashion prophecy has been fulfilled and the white man's equilibrium agenda is now complete. Pierpaolo Piccioli has been named the new creative director of Balenciaga, in charge of womenswear, menswear, accessories and couture.Tommy Girls are back and better than ever: after a well-deserved nap, the Tommy Girl is back — and she’s had a glow-up. Thanks to the sharp eye and streetwise style of inaugural Guest Creative Advisor Aleali May, this marks the dawn of a new era for all things Americana nostalgia and girlhood.
Burberry cuts jobs, but it’s not all bad news: Burberry just went from catwalk to tightrope — posting a £66 million loss for the year ending in March, ouch. To stem the bleeding, the brand is trimming about 1,700 jobs. Still, there's a glimmer of hope: quarterly retail sales managed to edge past expectations.
Headlines you might have missed
British luxury exports down, thanks to Brexit: Brexit may have promised sovereignty, but for British luxury, it’s not looking good. According to analysis by Walpole, UK luxury goods sent to the EU are, on average, 43% lower than they might’ve been in a Brexit-free world. Turns out, red tape isn’t en vogue.
Tyshawn Jones sues Supreme: pro skater Tyshawn Jones is flipping more than just boards as he's hit Supreme with a $26 million lawsuit. Jones claims Supreme didn’t just slam the brakes on his $1 million-a-year deal and a 13-year partnership, they allegedly blacklisted him and torpedoed his career.
Illegal running shoes? On the rise apparently: nearly a decade ago, a new wave of “super shoes” hit the distance-running world, and promptly ran circles around the rulebook. Fast forward to now, and it’s déjà shoe all over again, as brands push past the limits and runners flirt with disqualification.
Icon moments and eye-roll behaviour
WNBA girlies bring their style game: roughly 1.25 million viewers tuned into the WNBA draft this year, making it the second-most watched in the league’s history, and a slam dunk for women's sports visibility. As the spotlight widens, female athletes are emerging as bona fide fashion tastemakers.
Edward Enniful launches 72 Magazine: EE72 — the brainchild of former British Vogue editor-in-chief Edward Enninful and his sister Akua — has officially entered the chat. The duo has unveiled their first act: 72 Magazine, a new digital platform and quarterly print publication launching in September.
Wales Bonner ruled the Met Gala: Grace Wales Bonner’s Met Gala debut wasn’t just a red carpet moment, it was a coronation. The British designer hit a new high, with the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s exhibition spotlighting eight of her looks, showcasing a decade of thoughtful, genre-defying design.
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