This is Wednesday’s fashion news.
Richemont Quarterly Sales Surge 20%
Richemont, the parent company of brands including Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels, rose 20% in the first quarter to €6.33 billion ($7.5 billion), driven by strong performance across regions and a pick-up in watch sales. The results highlight the emergence of jewelery as a driving force in the luxury industry as consumers shift away from handbags, benefiting Richemont while rivals LVMH and Kering continue to struggle. {Richemont}
Bluemercury Appoints New CEO
Alexandre Choueiri has been appointed CEO of Bluemercury, effective August 3. He succeeds Maly Bernstein, who left the company in September 2025 to join Bath & Body Works. Choueiri previously held leadership positions at Kering Beauté Americas and L’Oréal. {Fashion Business/paid}
How Handbags Take Over Men’s Clothing
Menswear’s next big commercial category is the bag, with celebrities like soccer player Erling Haaland and actor Jacob Elordi driving the category’s mainstream visibility. Bags are reported to have appeared on 15% of the Spring 2027 menswear runways in high-end fashion, and searches for “men’s bags” are up 637% year-over-year. The trend comes as luxury leather goods look to low-ticket accessories and menswear to help pull the category out of its two-year slump. {Fashion United}
Romain Spitzer Named CEO of Bottega Veneta
Kering appointed Romain Spitzer, former president and CEO of LVMH Beauty’s Fragrance Group, as the new CEO of Bottega Veneta effective September 1, filling the vacancy created when Bartolomeo Rongone left in March for Moncler. Spitzer joins creative director Louise Trotter, whose first two shows have received positive feedback, as the brand posted strong Q1 growth among Kering’s fashion houses. {VogueBusiness/paywalled}
Chanel Taps Gracie Abrams as Face of Its New Fragrance
Image: Hosted by Chanel
Chanel has named singer-songwriter Gracie Abrams as the face of Coco Mademoiselle Crush Absolu, the brand’s new fragrance. “I feel so proud. I love that Coco is someone who leaves a mark everywhere she goes,” Abrams said in a statement. Created by in-house perfumer Olivier Polge, the fragrance and campaign will launch in August 2026.
Schiaparelli Launches First US Store
Schiaparelli will open its first freestanding US store this fall at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, California, marking the brand’s first West Coast location. The 2,244-square-foot space, designed by design director Daniel Roseberry in collaboration with architecture studio Halleroed, will feature an apartment-like layout with golden tones, treated wood and the house’s signature Surrealist motifs. {WWD/paid}
Top Ingredient-Focused Skin Care AI Beauty Recommendations
The Ordinary leads the list of beauty products cited in AI responses according to data from 5W AI Communications, CeraVe and La Roche-Posay that collect top skin care choices. The trend favors brands with strong visible ingredients and dermatologist credentials, while legacy names like Estée Lauder lag far behind. As AI-driven search grows — NielsenIQ reported more than 1 billion weekly beauty searches on ChatGPT — brands are expected to invest more in content optimized for LLM acquisition. {glossy/paywalled}
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