Vogue Business

Why TAG Heuer hit the gas on Formula One. LVMH-owned watch brand Tag Heuer has become the event’s first-ever title partner of the Monaco Grand Prix. “It’s our historic association with the Automobile Club de Monaco, obviously the Monaco watch [the square-cased watch was introduced in 1969 and gained its icon status after being worn by Steve McQueen in the 1971 film Le Mans], the myths that are built around places, products and people,” Tag Heuer CEO Antoine Pin told Vogue Business during an interview on Saturday on the Tag Heuer boat. “We are the brand of Formula One,” adds Nicholas Biebuyck, Tag Heuer heritage director, who notes that the relationship goes back to 1969, when Tag Heuer became the first watch brand to have its logo on an F1 car. He went on to share the history, including the 1994 partnership with drivers Michael Schumacher and Ayrton Senna, and the partnership with the Red Bull Racing team since 2016. This year, Tag Heuer ramped up its activations. It invited around 90 guests — a mix of celebrities, talents, journalists and top clients — for the weekend of race watching. On Saturday, Tag Heuer hosted a party on the boat with a performance by ‘Messy’ singer #LolaYoung and DJ sets by #NaomiCampbell and Kavinsky. To coincide with the Grand Prix, the brand also launched three models — the Monaco Chronograph Stopwatch, Monaco Chronograph x Gulf and the Monaco Split-Second Chronograph — in limited-edition runs, now available in boutiques and some online. Here, Laure Guilbault reports from the pit lane. https://lnkd.in/dNGTYPqS

Is the era of digital brand-building over? In the last 10 years, Google, Facebook and Instagram — and now, increasingly, TikTok — shaped brand marketing budgets. “Honestly, they’ve owned the whole thing,” says Jack Campbell, founder and marketing strategist at Wize Agency. For the past decade, he says, if you had any marketing budget, most of it went straight to Google and Meta, and now TikTok. “They set the rules: short-term results, data-driven campaigns and constant pressure to ‘perform’.” Throughout the 2010s, brands were built on this strategy. But now, brands are needing to reckon with an over-reliance on digital advertising spend. “Five years ago, you could chuck some money at Facebook ads and blow up overnight,” Campbell says. “Now, it takes a lot more to stand out. You need an actual brand — a real community, some substance behind you.” If there are significant changes afoot across almost every digital advertising platform, where should brands go? Here, Madeleine Schulz breaks it down. https://lnkd.in/d_wMhwju

Can British fashion manufacturing reclaim global relevance? The looming prospect of a global trade war is forcing brands around the world to reconsider how and where their products are made. At the same time, rising import costs, supply chain fragility and incoming transparency and sustainability legislation are funnelling those discussions towards reshoring. Suddenly, it seems like ‘Made in the UK’ has a lot to offer. But the industry stands at a crossroads — it can either adapt to the new, tariff-accelerated era of localisation and thrive, or settle for decline. Proponents insist that the UK could rebuild a thriving, modern fashion manufacturing sector — one that combines heritage #craftsmanship with cutting-edge technology, and creates jobs. However, the industry remains fragmented, facing major challenges. Here, Kirsty McGregor breaks it down. https://lnkd.in/eqUCYdGh This article is the first in a new series where we unpack what the ‘Made in the UK’ label stands for in 2025, and what it tells us about the future of onshoring.

CEO Michael Kliger on LuxExperience's path forward. Last month, regulators approved the 2024 agreement that saw Mytheresa acquire YNAP from Richemont with a cash position of €555 million and a revolving credit facility of €100 million. In exchange, Richemont received 33 per cent of shares in the resulting entity’s newly named parent company, LuxExperience. Which leaves Kliger, the group’s CEO, in overall command of the e-tailer from which he once reluctantly purchased those sneakers. Now, it’s time to step on. In an investor presentation last Thursday, Kliger laid out LuxExperience’s medium-term objectives: reach €4 billion in combined sales (up from €3 billion) and an EBITDA of €300 million. So what will it take to reach those healthy-sounding metrics? Speaking via video call, Kliger says: “It’s open-heart surgery. But if you have the right doctor, success rates nowadays are pretty high.” Here, in his first interview since LuxExperience’s completed acquisition of Yoox Net-a-Porter, its CEO shares the vision and strategy for the newly named retail megagroup. https://lnkd.in/eDy9tUF6

How fashion school grads feel about their futures. Over conversations with eight of Savannah College of Art and Design’s soon-to-be graduates across various School of Fashion programmes including fashion design, fashion marketing and management, jewellery design and accessories, a strong thread became apparent: fashion’s next generation is acutely aware of the work and education they have ahead — and that clothes need to sell. As BFA student Flora Medina tells Madeleine Schulz: “Everything is a business.” Many in this group have ambitions to start their own brands — but almost all want to gain experience at existing labels and companies first. Some are more wary of the industry they’re going into — tariff-ladden, rumour-fuelled, all-around chaotic — than others, but all are keen to get out there and get started. Here, eight of them share their post-grad plans; why they’re doing what they’re doing; and their hopes and reservations about entering an industry that already looks very different to when they started at SCAD four years ago. https://lnkd.in/efRnC2_w

How can #retail fend off cyber attacks? Last week, British company Marks and Spencer (M&S) revealed that a recent ransomware incident, which forced it to temporarily suspend online trading, would cost it an estimated £300 million in the 2025/26 financial year. M&S is not the only fashion business to have been targeted in recent weeks. Last week, Dior confirmed it had been struck by a cyber attack. While the origin of the hack is not confirmed, a group of self-described cybercriminals, which calls itself DragonForce, has told the BBC it was behind the attack at M&S. The same group also claimed to the BBC that it was behind another attempted hack at Harrods earlier this month. DragonForce has not claimed any ties to the Dior incident. Retail is emerging as a prime target for hackers, says Anton Yunussov, head of cyber security at professional services firm Forvis Mazars. “It all goes back to reliance on digital systems, omnichannel and also the large volumes of personal data that retailers hold,” he says. “These make them a valuable target to cyber attackers.” So how can retail safeguard itself against these attacks? Here, Megan Tatum breaks it down. https://lnkd.in/eUEyd3Dz

RIMOWA CEO Hugues Bonnet-Masimbert on balancing heritage and innovation. “At Rimowa, we not only have a history, we have product patrimony — all of our lines have been there a long time, they are permanent products that we improved over time. For this patrimony to grow, stay alive and always be superior, that’s when innovation kicks in,” says Bonnet-Masimbert. “We have to constantly ask ourselves, ‘How do we challenge the performance of our products?’” At its heart, any innovation Rimowa experiments with must improve the functionality of the product or the customer experience. “We have defined who we are and who we are not. We know if we improve the core functionality of the luggage — weight, components, noise, safety — it’s a direct and undebatable improvement to the customer experience,” Bonnet-Masimbert says. At the Rimowa Design Prize in Berlin, Bonnet-Masimbert shares how the brand is supporting next-gen talent and staying ahead of emerging competitors. Maliha Shoaib has the details here. https://lnkd.in/ewxgBc-X

Is there a plastic-free future for your leggings? Despite only accounting for 1.1 per cent of global fibre production, elastane (also known as spandex) is found in up to 80 per cent of clothing, according to materials science company Yulex, and is often blended with other materials to provide stretch and durability. The sportswear market depends on this fossil-fuel derived fibre to create performance products including leggings, sports bras and cycling shorts. “Synthetic stretch fabrics enable comfort, performance and longevity,” says Professor Natascha Radclyffe-Thomas, professor of marketing and sustainable fashion at Ravensbourne University London. “In fashion — not just in sportswear — they’ve become pervasive. People expect a certain level of comfort from their clothes and have become interested in high-performance garments even if they’re not actually being active. We also now tend to associate function with synthetics.” Elastane is not only derived from fossil fuels and energy-intensive to produce, it is also non-biodegradable and contributes to microplastic pollution. However, while there are bio-derived alternatives, barriers remain to their use. “Mainly cost and infrastructure,” says Radclyffe-Thomas. Here, Ana Santi breaks down the innovations that could help pave the way for plant-based activewear that actually performs. https://lnkd.in/e9Wn2jJc

The strategy behind L’Oréal Paris’s ambassador power play. From #EvaLongoria to #AndieMacDowell, L’Oréal Paris has several long-standing, loyal ambassadors. “Ambassadors are historical and inseparable from the brand,” says Global brand president Delphine Viguier-Hovasse. “Also, L’Oréal Paris is present in many countries, and we felt the need for diversity — age, skin colour, body shape — to enrich the brand equity. What better way to represent diversity than through ambassadors who express their own uniqueness?” The brand has around 30 ambassadors. “It’s not a numbers game,” Viguier-Hovasse stresses. “It’s about what story we want to tell and when, and which woman will help us tell it.” When the brand further expanded its haircare line, Elvive, in Brazil, it tapped Brazilian actress Taís Araújo as ambassador. “It was necessary to have someone representing the brand, by speaking directly to Brazilian women with a genuine connection,” Viguier-Hovasse explains. Here, Viguier-Hovasse explains how these women help tell its story. https://lnkd.in/eV5RcquP 

Inside Kering’s 10-year partnership with Cannes Film Festival. For its 10-year partnership with Cannes, Kering pulled out all the stops. The luxury group, which launched its Women in Motion programme in 2015 to highlight women’s contribution to cinema as part of its commitment to advance gender parity, this year honoured Nicole Kidman at a star-studded dinner on Sunday in Cannes. Headliner aside, Kering invested a record sum in its 10th edition, which is telling considering the wider challenges the group is facing. “Women and sustainability are pillars of Kering. It’s not because of the challenging context that we’ll stop what we do on these two fronts — it’s the DNA of the group,” Kering chairman and CEO François-Henri Pinault tells Laure Guilbault. Find out more about the partnership here. https://lnkd.in/eRikwJjU