Fashion Is Spiralling
The Walmart Birkin is for the wirkin class, RedNote netizens show off their fashion side and fashion acts are signed into law
‘Vibes' is a place 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.
The fashion industry has come to resemble a spectacle of organised chaos sewn at the seams with duct tape.
2025’s first viral bag of the year had digital echo chambers quaking as social class debates arose and dupe fever ruffled more than a few feathers.
TikTok refugees, a problematic term imo, flocked to rival social media apps, which is the exact thing those in power in America didn’t want to happen — but we got to see what fashion looks like in lesser known to the Western eye corners of the internet.
And storied fashion houses continue to close down left, right, and centre, with hush-hush buyouts happening behind the scenes elsewhere as luxury struggles to stay afloat.
With economic recessions, political upheaval, and social media turmoil unsettling the landscape as we pull teeth trying to push through, it’s a wonder fashion is still standing at all.
Brand chit chat
Y/Project is no more, RIP: gone but never forgotten… after failing to find a buyer, the avant-garde Parisian fashion house Y/Project is shutting down. Gilles Elalouf, the brand’s owner, died last June, and creative director Glenn Martens exited the same year. Evidently, the brand was never able to recover.
Kapital is part of the LVMH crew: Kapital discreetly became part of the LVMH family in 2024 as L Catterton, the investment firm backed by LVMH, acquired a majority stake in the brand. Was this a strategic inroad to strengthen its presence in Japan? Most likely because Japanese fashion is where it’s at.
Clint from Corteiz continues to cook: you've probably heard the tea by now: Corteiz founder Clint hosted a Twitter competition after someone mocked his collection. The challenge? Create the best-designed collection within 24 hours, with a £5,000 prize for the winner. Mad magician behaviour.
News you might have missed
TikTok exodus makes way for RedNote fashion: TikTok was banned in America for less than 24 hours, and there’s so much more to be said about that but this is not the place. Anyways, this made way for users of the Chinese social media app RedNote to flex their fashion muscles.
Laura Weir named British Fashion Council CEO: former Editor-in-Chief of ES Magazine and the current executive creative director at Selfridges, Laura Weir will succeed Caroline Rush as Chief Executive of the British Fashion Council at the end of April. Let’s wait and see what she cooks up.
The Walmart Birkin is for the wirkin class: the first viral bag of 2025 had the girlies shooketh. Walmart’s Hermès Birkin dupe, sold for less than one one-hundredth of the original’s price, sold out instantly. And now the US chain has inked a deal with Rebag to sell secondhand luxury brands online for real.
Icon moments and eye-roll behaviour
Paloma Elsesser stands on business: we love to see it, homegirl supermodel Paloma Elsesser held a designer archive closet sale along with Ariella Starkman to support those affected by the LA fires. All proceeds from the sale will be donated to mutual aid efforts and grassroots charities in Los Angeles.
Biden gives industry heavyweights their fashion flowers: sleepy Joe is now out, but he did a little something something for *important* fashion industry folk before he departed. Both Ralph Lauren and Anna Wintour received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and it was cute I guess.
The Fashion Workers Act is soon to be law: this is the industry progress we like to see! After nearly three years of advocacy from politicians, models, and supporters, New York Governor Kathy Hochul has officially signed the Fashion Workers Act into law which is set to take effect in June.
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We need fashion to be circular, not spiralling 🙃 I appreciate your round-up though!
Great roundup! While I am hoping LVMH's Kapital acquisition means Kapital will be a little more accessible/easier-to-find, I hope this doesn't mean it loses out on its quality.