Tag: Fashion and Apparel

Young Chinese Embrace ‘Gross Outfits’ at Work

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When the weather turned cold in December, Cindy Luo started to wear her fluffy pajamas over a hooded sweatshirt at the office. Wearing cozy sleepwear to work became a habit and soon she didn’t even bother to wear matching tops and bottoms, selecting whatever was most comfortable. A few months later, she posted photos of herself to a “gross outfits at work” thread that had spread on Xiaohongshu, a Chinese app similar to Instagram. She was one of tens of thousands of young workers in China to proudly post pictures…

Shein, the Fast-Fashion Giant, Is Said to Have Filed for an I.P.O.

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Shein, the ultrafast-fashion retailer founded in China more than a decade ago, has filed confidentially for an initial public offering in the United States, according to a person familiar with the plans for the deal, who was not authorized to speak publicly about it. Some companies keep their paperwork for an initial public offering temporarily under seal so they can prepare for the offering out of the public spotlight. Investors had largely expected Shein to make the move this year, after the historically tight-lipped company began to address a range…

China May Ban Clothes That Hurt People’s Feelings. People Are Outraged.

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In the 1980s, people in China could land themselves in trouble with the government for their fashion choices. Flared pants and bluejeans were considered “weird attire.” Some government buildings barred men with long hair and women wearing makeup and jewelry. Patrols organized by factories and schools cut flared pants and long hair with scissors. It was the early days of China’s era of reform and opening up. The Communist Party was loosening its tight control over society little by little, and the public was pushing the limits of self-expression and…

Shein and Forever 21 Team Up in Fast-Fashion Deal

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Shein, the e-commerce retailer founded in China, is teaming up with the parent of Forever 21 to expand its reach into Americans’ closets. The tie-up will bring together two of the biggest names in the fast-fashion sector online and in malls across the country. As part of the agreement, Shein could one day operate stores-within-stores at Forever 21 outlets, while Forever 21’s clothes would be sold on Shein’s site. The deal also includes investments from each partner in shares of the other. In the early 2000s, Forever 21 helped popularize…

Shein Flew Influencers to China to Help Its Image. A Backlash Ensued.

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When the ultrafast-fashion retailer Shein invited Kenya Freeman on a free two-week trip to China, she was thrilled. It has become a status symbol for Instagram and TikTok creators to be taken on paid excursions by brands, and Ms. Freeman, who had also been designing clothes for Shein for two and a half years, saw it as a major opportunity. But while brands often plan such trips to promote new products or generate online buzz, Shein’s pitch was unusual: She was among half a dozen influencers in the United States…

In China, It’s Time to Splurge Again, and the Luxury Industry Is Relieved

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This time last year, Shanghai — China’s capital of fashion and luxury — was in the throes of a ruthlessly enforced Covid lockdown. The city’s glittering high-end malls and avenues lined with flagship stores stood practically empty. Today it is a different story. Huge crowds on a recent weekend flocked to top retail destinations on or near Nanjing Road, the hub of glamour in China ever since the country’s first large department stores began to open there in 1917. “I splurge more extravagantly,” Sunny Zhang, 24, said as she waited…

Your Wednesday Evening Briefing

Chin@Strategy

(Want to get this newsletter in your inbox? Here’s the sign-up.) Good evening. Here’s the latest at the end of Wednesday. 1. Voter fraud prosecution is rare, erratic and often undeserved. As part of our Democracy Challenged series, The New York Times reviewed some 400 voting-fraud charges filed since 2017. Often, voters didn’t know they’d broken a law. Serious penalties usually fell hardest on those least able to fight back: Poor and Black people were likelier to go to jail than comfortable retirees. In Florida, where the governor, Ron DeSantis,…

China’s Youth Try on the Communist Cadre Look

Chin@Strategy

A dull blue jacket, oversize trousers, a Communist Party member pin adding a splash of red on the chest, a small briefcase in hand. It’s the typical dress of the typical Chinese official, and has long been the very opposite of the look that many young Chinese strive for. But now the cadre look is cool. On Chinese social media platforms where trendsetters trade fashion tips, young people — mostly men — have been sharing pictures of themselves dressed like their strait-laced, middle-aged dads working in Communist Party offices. They…

Global Brands Seek Clarity on Xinjiang

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Ms. Apter said that while no Eileen Fisher garments were being made in Xinjiang and that it wasn’t getting fabric or yarn from the region, the company didn’t know whether any of the cotton fiber it was using could be traced to Xinjiang. “Two years of pandemic and a deteriorating political situation made it impossible to fully vet what is happening on the ground,” Ms. Apter said. The Latest on China: Key Things to Know Card 1 of 4 Discontent among the population. The Chinese government’s censorship and surveillance, which…

Supply Chain Woes Prompt a New Push to Revive U.S. Factories

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Called near-shoring, the move to Mexico is paralleled in Europe with factories opening in Eastern Europe to serve Western European markets like France and Germany. “We’re starting to see it in Mexico as well as in the U.S.,” said Theresa Wagler, chief financial officer of Steel Dynamics, a steel maker based in Fort Wayne, Ind. “Many companies now prefer security of supply over cost.” Mr. Knizek of EY-Parthenon expects industries with complex and more expensive products to lead the resurgence, including automobiles, semiconductors, defense, aviation and pharmaceuticals. Anything that requires…