Editors' Top Reads: News from Mulberry, NEXT, Seasalt and more...
Here are some of this week’s news and features highlights handpicked by TheIndustry.fashion team.
Christopher Kane joins Mulberry as creative director of ready-to-wear
Those of us old enough will remember the mid-00s when London Fashion Week was riding the wave of a new generation of talent producing excitement, buzz and great clothes. Leading the pack, which included Jonathan Saunders, Giles Deacon, Henry Holland, Nicholas Kirkwood and more, was Christopher Kane. His graduate collection of body con lace dresses earned him a window in Harrods and caught the attention of Donatella Versace, who declared herself a fan.
He is truly talented and went on to collaborate with Topshop and launch his own label. Most recently he created a guest collection for Self Portrait. But it has always felt as though he had more to give and never quite got the platform to do it.
Mulberry (which was also huge in the mid-00s under Stuart Vevers and then Emma Hill) has taken the bold step of recruiting Kane as creative director of women's ready-to-wear. It wants a fashion line to complement its world-famous bags, and Kane's job is to create it - he's pretty much working from a blank slate. Other than the fact he will be showing at LFW in September, with the collection going live next year, we don't know much.
We do know, however, that he is very talented. And we also know there will be lots of hype and expectation. I'm sure he will live up to all of that and deliver something we can all get on board with – and some of us may even be able to afford it. Props to Mulberry for this great move.
Lauretta Roberts, Co-founder, CEO and Editor-in-Chief.
How I started in fashion: Paul Hayes, CEO of Seasalt
Paul Hayes joined Cornish clothing brand Seasalt as CEO in 2013, leading the company for nearly 13 years. Under his leadership, Seasalt has transformed from a regional £20 million business into a £150 million international brand, reaching new markets and audiences around the world.
Prior to Seasalt, he held senior roles including UK General Manager at FitFlop and General Manager for Northern Europe at Timberland, having started his career at Berghaus - an experience he reflects on in the interview below.
In his conversation with TheIndustry.fashion, Hayes shares his passion for sustainability and highlights the key lessons he learned early in his career. He offers advice he would give his younger self and outlines the significant potential he sees to continue growing Seasalt and introducing the brand to new global audiences. Read the full interview here.
Sophie Smith, News Editor & Senior Writer.
The Interview: Richard Anderson on 25 years of his eponymous bespoke business on Savile Row
It was great to sit down and chat with tailor and Master Cutter Richard Anderson at his Savile Row shop recently, in this the 25th anniversary year since he launched his eponymous bespoke business after 18 years at Huntsman - one of the longest-standing and most revered bespoke tailoring businesses in the world.
While Anderson has also offered ready-to-wear pieces for the past 20 years, last spring saw it launch fully in the shop under the main bespoke business at 13 Savile Row, as RICH’s - and that’s where we chatted, along with his daughter, Molly. She joined the business in 2019 and is learning all the top tailoring techniques from her dad, as well as from his business partner, Brian Lishak, who was MD at Huntsman before they both left to do their own thing. In 2001, it was the first bespoke tailoring business to open on Savile Row in 50 years.
I won’t give it away here, but it was fascinating to hear Richard’s account of how he got started in the bespoke tailoring business in the first place, as well as his interesting encounter with Ralph Lauren while working for Huntsman in the 1980s.
The ready-to-wear offer is thriving and now accounts for around 25-30% of the business, with further plans to grow it. Meanwhile, through Molly’s input - and her own bespoke style - women’s tailoring is another avenue they are looking to exploit. Read all about it here.
Tom Bottomley, Contributing Editor.
Retail is starting to grapple with the impact of the conflict in the Middle East
This week, high street chain NEXT revealed a £15 million cost hit from the Iran conflict and warned it may need to hike prices if the war is prolonged.
The fashion and homewares retailer said it had set aside the cash to cover additional costs for fuel and air freight due to shipping disruption and soaring oil prices, but that the impact so far can be offset by savings elsewhere in the business.
It cautioned that the ongoing conflict in the Middle East - a region which accounts for around 6% of its annual sales - was also likely to impact costs, selling prices and consumer demand across the wider group.
The conflict has caused prices for oil and gas to jump in recent weeks, and other goods prices could also be affected by disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
The conflict has also already started to damage consumer confidence, as the British Retail Consortium reported on Wednesday, with consumer expectations about the state of the economy dropping to the lowest figure on record, falling to -53 from -30 in February, in light of the Middle East conflict raising the prospect of higher inflation.
Inflation in the UK fashion sector has already been noted, with clothing and footwear costs rising 0.9% in February - their highest level since March 2025 - after remaining flat in January.
Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium, commented that the current conflict had “created a great deal of uncertainty in the economy,” and that it was now “vitally important that Government policy does not exacerbate the situation, and bringing down the cost of living must be a top priority.”
Camilla Rydzek, Senior News & Features Writer.
The Interview: Fairfax & Favor co-founder Marcus Fairfax Fountaine on building a pre-eminent force in countrywear
Sometimes it behoves us to look beyond the city and see what fashion really means to those who live outside of it. For many of them, the most aspirational brand is not located on Bond Street but rather in the high street of an affluent market town, or indeed on the stall at a country fair.
Fairfax & Favor is one such brand. It started life selling boots and footwear at country fairs and now has a wide wholesale network, nine standalone stores, a growing international fanbase and a new creative director in the form of high street doyenne Barbara Horspool. Its ready-to-wear is already strong and Horspool will make it even better.
This week we have the privilege of interviewing its co-founder Marcus Fairfax Fountaine (his fellow co-founder is Felix Favor Parker) on the story behind the brand, its exactly quality standards, its loyal customer base and the opportunity he sees for the future.
It's a great story and there is much more to come. I, for one, will be watching. And, while I don't live in the country, I could also be tempted by one of those waxed jackets...
Lauretta Roberts, Co-founder, CEO and Editor-in-Chief.
