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☆ Carrie Fisher’s white Princess Leia gown worn in ‘Star Wars: A New Hope’ up for auction
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Alli Rosenbloom | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —The archetypal white gown that Carrie Fisher wore while playing Princess Leia in 1977’s “Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope” could be yours to own, if you have a couple million dollars to spare. The site also lists the dress as a “historically significant piece” that “is the only Princess Leia costume known to still exist from the original film.”Costume Designer John Mollo created the gown for Fisher’s legendary character Princess Leia. He went on to win an Oscar in 1978 for his work on “A New Hope.”Brandon Alinger, Chief Operating Officer at Propstore, in May putting on display the Princess Leia dress worn by Carrie Fisher in 1977's "Star Wars: A New Hope." Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty ImagesAccording to Barneby’s Magazine, Propstore Auction founder Stephen Lane said many collectors in the industry feared the garment was lost forever, and that collectors had been on the hunt for the gown for 40 years. Barneby’s estimated the final sum the garment might fetch to be even higher than Propstore, saying it could be set to sell for $2.5 million.

Persons: Carrie Fisher, Princess Leia, John Mollo, ” Brandon Alinger, Leia, Frederic J . Brown, Stephen Lane, “, ”, ” Lane, ” Fisher, Luke Skywalker, Mark Hamill, Han, Harrison Ford, Barneby’s Organizations: CNN, Barneby’s Locations: Propstore, AFP, “, London

☆ Their parents made China the world's factory. Can the kids save the family business?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( David Kirton | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

Du, like tens of thousands of other young Chinese factory bosses, is inheriting a basic manufacturing business that can no longer rely on the labour-intensive model that made China the world's largest exporter of goods. Those skills would come in handy in a factory the Chinese state set up in 1951 and privatised in 2002. Like five of the other chang er dai who spoke to Reuters, Zhang never planned to take over the factory. Chang er dai, however, help lift the bottom, which is also important for preserving China's share of world manufacturing, two industry experts told Reuters. Not all chang er dai will get there.

Persons: Steven Du, Du, Zhang Zhipeng, Mao Zedong's, Du said, Zhang, Zhang Zeqing, Chang, Zhou Yuxiang, Tian Weihua, Tian, Zhang Ying, David Kirton, Marius Zaharia, David Crawshaw Organizations: Shenzhen Research Institute of High, Reuters, Apple, Agricultural Products, Lake Technologies, Science, Technology Innovation Research Institute, University of Arts, Workers, Thomson Locations: RUICHANG, China, Shanghai, Southeast Asia, India, New Zealand, United States, TW, Wisconsin, Ruichang, France, London, Ningbo

Exports and factory output in the world's second-largest economy tumbled in May, as looming downturns force the United States and Europe to pare back orders for goods made in China. Some factories closed or are struggling to pay wages or severance for laid-off workers as a result, according to Chinese labour researchers. "We believe that the drop in manufacturing orders and that factory closures will continue," said Aidan Chau, researcher at Hong Kong-based rights group China Labour Bulletin (CLB). Labour unions were central to the Communist Party's proletariat beginnings but play only a marginal role in modern authoritarian China. However, some analysts say factory strikes could become a political headache for the Party.

Persons: pare, Aidan Chau, CLB, Dian, Xin Dian, Zhong Min, Xu Tianchen, Xu, Laurie Chen, Nicoco Chan, Marius Zaharia, Sam Holmes Organizations: China Labour Bulletin, Min, Goods Shenzhen Ltd . Co, Dian Cable Ltd . Co, Reuters, China's Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Human Resources, Shenzhen, China Federation of Trade Unions, Manufacturers, Workers, Security, Labour, Party, Economist Intelligence Unit, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, United States, Europe, China, Hong Kong, Guangdong province, Shenzhen, Communist, Beijing, Shanghai

☆ The recycling idea at Levi's, Adidas, Zara to stop trillions in fast fashion from going to waste
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-11 | by ( Carolyn Chun | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

The multi-trillion dollar fashion industry contributes significant greenhouse gas emissions, between 8% to 10% of total global emissions, according to the United Nations. With the majority of textiles in the fashion industry blended, it is harder to recycle one fiber without harming another. Spinnova partnered with the world's largest pulp and paper company this year, Suzano, to turn wood and waste into recycled textile fiber. Textile waste, by some measures, is a bigger issue than plastics waste, and it has a similar problem. Late last year it worked on a limited collection with fast fashion clothing giant — and consumer consumption flashpoint — Zara, using its recycled textile waste material.

Persons: LEVI, Alexander Donka, Paul Dillinger, Levi Strauss, Spinnova, Chloe Songer, Songer, Victor J, Levi's Levi Strauss, Dillinger, You've, we're, —, Stacy Flynn, Flynn, Levi's, Stella McCartney, — Zara Organizations: McKinsey, United Nations, McKinsey Sustainability, Co, Shoppers, Blue, Bloomberg, Getty, Adidas, CNBC Locations: Sweden, Africa, Zara, New York

☆ The mother-daughter duo behind the thrift store Buffalo Exchange explains how they built a $103 million company from used clothes
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Jennifer Ortakales Dawkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Kerstin and Spencer Block founded the resale chain Buffalo Exchange in 1974. Back then, secondhand clothing carried a stigma as a lower-class necessity, said Kerstin Block, the president and co-owner of Buffalo Exchange. The industry is expected to double in size, reaching $350 billion by 2027, and Buffalo Exchange is at the forefront of resale's emerging appeal. Popularizing the 'buy, sell, trade' modelKerstin (left) and Spencer Block in their first resale store in Tucson, Arizona. "It really is the fun part of the job — being in the store and helping customers," Rebecca said.

Persons: Kerstin, Spencer Block, Rebecca, —, Kerstin Block, Rebecca Block, Tucson , Arizona . Buffalo Exchange Kerstin, Spencer, Jennifer Le Zotte, Le Zotte, Buffalo Exchange Spencer, Buffalo Exchange's Organizations: Buffalo Exchange, Service, Google, Buffalo, Tucson , Arizona . Buffalo Exchange, University of North, tote, Nike Locations: Buffalo, Tucson , Arizona, University of North Carolina, New York, Buffalo Exchange's Ventura , California

☆ Look of the Week: J. Smith Cameron makes the case for party pajamas
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Leah Dolan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Don’t cry because “Succession” is over, smile because J. Smith Cameron wore an extravagant set of feather-trimmed pajamas to the finale watch-party. Discovery, parent company of CNN) were mourning the end of “Succession,” Smith Cameron — who plays Waystar general counsel Gerri Kellman — and her stylist Cat Pope gave us something to grin about. The look even received the approval of Sex and the City’s Kim Cattrall, who simply commented: “Perfect.”The Sleeper set worn by J Smith Cameron retails for $390 on the brand's website. That The Sleeper set takes its sartorial cues from this era, and that it’s being worn by Smith Cameron, is a knowing wink. This is Smith Cameron’s silver screen moment, and she’s dressing for it.

Persons: Smith Cameron, ” Smith Cameron —, Gerri Kellman —, Cat Pope, ” Smith Cameron, Kim Cattrall, Cameron Smith It’s, ” Smith, ”, J Smith Cameron retails, Sylvia Pedlar, Anna Sui, Christy Turlington, Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista —, mary janes, Sarah Burton, Alexander McQueen, Gigi Hadid, Morgan, Jean Harlow, Smith, Hollywood starlets Vivien Leigh, Shirley Ross Organizations: CNN, Warner Bros, Twitter, Hollywood, Bettmann Locations: New York, Ukrainian

[1/2] Staff members work at a packing section at a garment factory in Colombo after the International Monetary Fund's executive board approved a $3 billion bailout for Sri Lanka. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) cut its standing deposit facility rate and standing lending facility rate to 13% and 14%, respectively, from 15.5% and 16.5% previously. The central bank raised rates by a record 950 basis points last year to tame inflation and by 100 bps on March 3 this year. "There is a need to bring the interest rates down because the cost of government financing is high," said Udeeshan Jonas, chief strategist at equity research firm CAL. Sri Lanka secured a $2.9 billion bailout from the IMF in March and aims to complete restructuring debt talks by September, coinciding with the first review by the lender.

Persons: Dinuka, Udeeshan Jonas, Uditha Jayasinghe, Swati Bhat, Shri Navaratnam, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: Staff, Monetary Fund's, Sri, REUTERS, Central Bank of Sri, Colombo, Monetary Fund, Reuters, CAL, Thomson Locations: Colombo, Sri Lanka, Lanka's, Central Bank of Sri Lanka

☆ Firms are bringing production back home because of the Ukraine war, China's slowdown — and TikTok
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Lucy Handley | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Earnings calls discuss 'reshoring'A number of banks noted mentions of the domestic manufacturing trend in U.S. earnings calls for the most recent quarter. And we have never … got the target right," McRaith told an audience at a supply chain conference organized by software company o9 Solutions in April. Bill McRaith Former chief supply chain officer, PVHMcRaith, a former chief supply chain officer at Tommy Hilfiger-owner PVH , said the apparel industry both over-orders and under-orders stock by about 20% to 25%. If we build an economy based on electrification and batteries, it's going to be really important to control our own supply chain. "If we build an economy based on electrification and batteries, it's going to be really important to control our own supply chain," he told CNBC's "Street Signs Asia" in April.

Persons: Luke Sharrett, Savita Subramanian, Ryan Grabinski, they're, Bill McRaith, McRaith, PVH, Tommy Hilfiger, we've, Shein, Jade Gao, it's, Keith Phillips, Joe Biden, CNBC's, Elon Musk, Phillips Organizations: European Union, Bloomberg, Getty, Bank of America, UBS, Securities, o9 Solutions, CNBC, AFP, U.S ., Reshoring, EV, U.S, EVs Locations: China, Ukraine, U.S, Europe, Brazil, Guangzhou, U.S . U.S, Corpus Christi , Texas, Tennessee, United States

[1/5] TANAKA whose real name is Kim Kyung-wook, speaks during an interview with Reuters in Seoul, South Korea, May 16, 2023. Now Kim exemplifies the changing attitudes of young Koreans as ties with Japan thaw. DEMAND REBOUNDThe quarrels are being left behind as the enthusiasm of young Koreans fuels a sharp rebound in demand for Japanese consumer products. That compared with a 90% drop in imports of Japanese beer in 2019, when the intensifying feuds made it an early target of a sweeping boycott. "China is clearly less preferred than countries like the United States and Japan," Kim said, citing Beijing's curbs on freedom in Hong Kong and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Persons: TANAKA, Kim Kyung, Kim Hong, Ji, Jeong, Tanaka, idolises, I've, it's, Kim, Fumio Kishida, Yoon Suk, James Kim, Hyonhee Shin, Heekyong Yang, Jimin Jung, Daewoung Kim, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: Reuters, REUTERS, South, Korea's, Relations, Asahi Group Holdings, Costco, Hankook Research, Asan Institute, Policy Studies, Thomson Locations: Seoul, South Korea, Ji SEOUL, South Korean, Japan, Tokyo, Korean, China, Russia, North Korea, United States, Hong Kong

☆ A TikToker with 3M followers who turned his business into a lifestyle brand shares how much he made in sales and profits in under 2 years
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Shriya Bhattacharya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Sooraj Saxena has almost 4 million followers on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Here's how much he's earned from an apparel line he created based on his follower's comments. While Saxena started growing his online presence through Instagram and YouTube, he said TikTok was the true game changer. Today, the South Asian American creator has a combined following of almost 4 million followers across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Though he first gained popularity through his chai pouring videos, he's pivoted his content to short forms and skits that he writes himself.

☆ Budding fashion designers are learning the benefits of creating digital outfits for Roblox
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( Grace Mayer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

This year the Parsons School of Design teamed up with Roblox, an online gaming platform, for a design course. The course aims to prepare students for a fashion world that's increasingly merging with the digital world, The Verge reported. Digital designs on platforms like Fortnite have already proved to be profitable on these platforms. The digital fashion sector will be worth $50 billion by 2030, according to Morgan Stanley. And luxury fashion brands, including Gucci and Burberry, are already designing for the metaverse and Roblox, Insider reported.

☆ How to Wear a Sari? A New Exhibition Counts the Ways.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Phyllida Jay | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The sari, in essence, is a six- to nine-yard cloth draped freely around the body. In April, Zendaya wore a sparkling deep-blue sari by Rahul Mishra on a red carpet in Mumbai, India. At the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, the Indian actress Deepika Padukone wore a shimmering gold-and-black sari by Sabyasachi Mukherjee that Vogue France called “the star piece” of the festival. Ms. Poonawalla’s Met Gala sari is among the pieces featured in a new exhibition, “The Offbeat Sari,” opening on Friday at the Design Museum in London. The show, which runs through September, explores how the sari is being newly defined, said Priya Khanchandani, the head of curatorial at the museum.

☆ Angelina Jolie unveils new sustainability-focused fashion venture
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Jack Guy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Hollywood star Angelina Jolie has become the latest celebrity to announce their own fashion brand with the launch of Atelier Jolie. The Oscar-winning actor announced the new fashion venture in a post on Instagram on Wednesday. “I’m starting something new today — a collective where everyone can create,” wrote Jolie. “Atelier Jolie is a place for creative people to collaborate with a skilled and diverse family of expert tailors, pattern makers and artisans from around the world,” she added. From Angelina JolieThe brand also has its own Instagram account, and one post provides further explanation of its purpose.

DHAKA, May 18 (Reuters) - Apparel makers in Bangladesh are considering rare bulk exports by air to Europe and the United States, as they race to meet deadlines and avoid cancellations after a cyclone delayed shipments, caused power cuts and disrupted production. Bangladesh, the world's second-largest garment exporter, has already been hit by weakening global demand, with exports falling in both March and April. Another garment owner who supplies H&M said some of his shipments had been delayed. Power cuts in the last two months, first due to a scorching heatwave, and then the cyclone, have put more stress on apparel companies. "Now there are also chances of missing orders for the next season, as we are struggling to provide samples on time due to the regular power cuts," Ehsan said.

☆ These 2 millennial brothers quit their jobs to focus on their side hustle so they could 'get out of bed and not dread work'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Josh and Arran Stewart quit their jobs in March to focus full-time on their side hustle. They started clothing brand Illicit Bloc with about $2,500 after being furloughed in the pandemic. After being furloughed, the brothers decided to launch their clothing brand, Illicit Bloc, as a side hustle in April 2020. After the brand started gaining some traction last year, the brothers from Buckinghamshire in England realized it might be time to focus on their side hustle full-time. Arran and Josh Stewart work together on the design and sampling.

☆ New York Is Full of Empty Offices After Covid. Make Way for the Playground City. - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Edward L. Glaeser | Carlo Ratti | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +20 min

We are witnessing the dawn of a new kind of urban area: the Playground City. The transformation toward the Playground City will not happen on its own. To draw people into the Playground City, we need to show, not tell. 6.Engage citizensGovernments should empower citizens to participate directly in making the Playground City. The Playground City sees people as both a means and an end, and it should involve them in the process of its creation.

☆ Why Should Charles III Be King?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Tanya Gold | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +7 min

King Charles(Francis Xavier,Professor X) III Prof. King Charles III, a telepath and the leader of the X-Men, is powerfully gifted, like the real Charles III (a noted gardener and watercolorist). King Charlize (Theron) III Charlize III is a gifted actor, which all good monarchs need to be, and an extraordinarily beautiful woman. King Charles III, theMadame Tussauds waxwork Wax Charles III lives in Madame Tussauds on Baker Street, and more people met him in 2022 — 2.5 million — than the real king will meet during his whole reign. King Charlie (Sheen) III Another actor, who has the advantage of already being from a famous dynasty: his father played Jed Bartlet, the philosopher king from “The West Wing.” King Charlie (Sheen) III would be handsome but not as handsome as King Charlize (Theron). King Charles (Dickens) III could not function in a country with failing public services and a system that taxes earnings, not wealth.

☆ Nothing Says Fashion in 2023 Like a Corset Hoodie
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Jessica Testa | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

There is a certain futility in making sense of fashion trends of late. Just try to follow the path from naked dressing to stealth wealth without taking the pink-drenched detours of cottagecore, balletcore and Barbiecore. Three years later, one consequence of this convergence has emerged: the corset hoodie. The garment is a fashion Frankenstein — cozy hoodie on top, restrictive corset on bottom — that is both a conjugation and rejection of its parent trends. The corset half was sheer with visible boning.

☆ I make almost $5,000 a month renting out clothes online I hardly wear. It only takes a few hours a day — here's how I got started.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Lola Christina Alao | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

I'm a size 14 and most of the clothes were in a size 8 or a size 10. It's become one of my most popular items. I started with a portfolio of around 20 items from my closet that I was happy to rent out. I'd love to wear them myself, but as a full-time mom, I don't do enough to wear these types of clothes. On Hurr, I rent items out for four days, and on By Rotation, I rent them out for three days.

Reuters GraphicsMany U.S. importers are still sanguine, but their supply chains could still be disrupted as Vietnam's apparel makers depend on China for about half of their input materials, according to the country's industry association. XINJIANG LINKSWhile the halted shipments represent a tiny portion of the $27 billion worth of garments and footwear Vietnam exported to the U.S. last year, compliance risks may lead to more painful adjustments for Vietnam. That, in turn, will hit U.S. consumers as Vietnam is their main source of cotton apparel, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. However Nike has significantly reduced its output of apparel and footwear in Vietnam despite the country remaining its main manufacturing hub, according to its latest annual report updated to May 2022. Two officials from U.S. footwear and apparel industry trade associations said the new rules have had no major impact so far on Vietnam and blamed recent job cuts on lower global demand.

☆ Harry Belafonte, calypso star and civil rights champion, dies at 96
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Alex Johnson | Diana Dasrath | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Singer Harry Belafonte speaks during a press junket at The Bing Decision Maker Series with the Sing Your Song Cast and Filmmakers on January 22, 2011 in Park City, Utah. American singer Harry Belafonte performing in a recording studio, circa 1957. By the early 1960s, Belafonte had become a force in the civil rights movement. A crowd of over 10,000 civil rights marchers gathers in the Manhattan Garment Center as Harry Belafonte sings at spiritual at a civil rights rally. A capacity audience of civil rights advocates turned out to watch a glittering array of theater personalities perform.

☆ Opinion | The True Cost of a $12 T-Shirt
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( E. Benjamin Skinner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Across the country, while inflation has siphoned middle-class wealth, American consumers have enjoyed a consolation prize: Apparel is dirt cheap. In 1993, you could buy a T-shirt for $13 — and get a midsize tank full of gas for about the same. Today, the full tank would cost more than three times as much. Over the last decade, the voices of the over 75 million vulnerable workers in the global garment and textile industry have been, like the products they made, steadily devalued. In mid-19th century Manchester, the textile trade fostered technological leaps that led to higher wages and lower prices for consumer goods.

☆ Retailers to tackle sustainability at key conference
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

They will discuss the challenges facing their businesses as inflation causes consumers in Europe and elsewhere to reduce spending. The European Commission is drawing up new rules on textile waste that will make companies responsible for managing the waste their products create. Decathlon, the world's biggest sporting goods retailer, sells repair services, spare parts and tools for people to repair their own bicycles, tents, and kayaks. Retailers are working with local authorities ahead of an EU law that will require member states to separately collect textile waste by Jan. 1, 2025. Firms including Decathlon, Mango, Inditex, and IKEA recently created an association in Spain for the management of textile waste.

☆ A Grim Anniversary for Survivors of the Rana Plaza Disaster
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Elizabeth Paton | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Kabir Mollah said he was inspecting garments when a friend called his cellphone, screaming that the building was on a perilous tilt. On the morning of April 24, 2013, more than 1,100 people were killed when Rana Plaza, an eight-story building that housed five garment factories on the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh, collapsed in about 90 seconds. It is considered the deadliest accident in the history of the modern garment industry, and one of the worst industrial accidents ever. Many major retailers used the factories to produce their clothes, and the disaster led to a reckoning around workplace safety for garment workers and the responsibility of brands selling low-priced clothes to Western consumers. And for current garment industry workers, where has progress been made?

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