This started with the Seventh Avenue, shop-and-copy approach that has defined the industry, but no longer works with consumers on a global scale. America created the concept of lifestyle brands—it drove the rise of casualization as early as the 1950s, first through denim, then khakis, and now leggings. But the fashion itself has long been... See more

Skills like darning and patching, once second nature to homemakers, have gradually fallen out of style, a victim of a decline in home-ec classes and the rise of trendy, disposable fashion that is cheaper to replace than repair. Consumers are buying 60% more clothing yet hanging to it for half as long as they did 15 years ago. As a result, textile... See more

Commercially, this season of Helmut Lang may sell better than it ever has for Fast Retailing. Walking out of the show, I asked a store owner if she planned on buying the collection, and she seemed keen on the blazers and jeans, which are reasonably priced. (Reasonable, in this case, means between $300 and $600.) And then, a shop-and-copy master... See more