What a week!!

And even though we are in the midst of a new covid spike, news of the vaccine makes it all so much more bearable. There is light at the end of the tunnel. Plus, there is so much exciting news from retail to luxury to travel.

Scroll down to check out this week’s Top 10.

1. Daily Paper’s New NYC Flagship

This is Daily Paper‘s first location in America. The fashion brand was founded in 2012 in Amsterdam by Hussein Suleiman, Abderrahmane Trabsini, and Jefferson Osei. Their flagship is an extraordinary addition to the neighborhood (18 Delancey Street).

• The renovation of the building is by Heather Faulding of 4plus Design, and it is SPECTACULAR.
• The exterior is covered with recycled, crushed Arizona Iced Tea cans, mimicking the style of traditional African beadwork.
• The interior woodwork, murals, and windows are equally stunning.
• The two-story building includes a coffee shop on the 2nd floor (not yet operational because of COVID).
• The store opened at the end of October but then quickly boarded up in the lead-in to the elections. It’s currently half-unboarded.
• And a big shout out to the staff, especially to Yancarlos Jimenez (Creative Direction/Styling/Brand Consultant)

2. Supreme Goes From Niche To Mainstream in $2 billion VF deal

Supreme has been on my radar since its founding in 1994 when only skater boys knew the brand and hung out at the store. It was easy tracking the popularity of Supreme’s “drops” since I moved my office to 270 Lafayette Street the same year Supreme opened their store. More recently, Supreme moved to the Bowery, close to where I live (“NOW” pic above). Once again, I walk past the store daily and have noticed Supreme’s “drops” are attracting smaller, and much more mainstream crowds. It’s no longer a niche subculture brand. Way more kids and girls in line now versus hardcore skaters.

James Jebbia (the founder) is now 57 and although he will continue to run the company, he is clearly cashing out. And who can blame him? He previously sold part of the business to private-equity firm Carlyle Group.

• According to Vogue Business, VF Corp chairman, Steve Rendle, credits the first Supreme x Vans collaboration back in 1996, for cementing VF’s long and close connection to Jebbia.
• The main goal VF Corp. has laid out for Supreme is more expansion in China and Korea.
• They also intend to grow Supreme’s digital business, which already makes up 60% of its sales.
• VF Corp. expects the brand to reach $500 million in sales in 2021 and ultimately, $1 billion. (Source: Quartz)
• Investors like the strategy: VF Corp. stock jumped the most in 33 years after agreeing to buy the streetwear fashion label.

3. China Leads the world in Retail thanks to Singles Day and Luxury

Alibaba Blasts Singles Day Sales Record in First 30 Minutes (Source: Pymnts)

The world’s biggest consumer event, Alibaba’s Global Shopping Festival, drew more than $56 billion in purchases in the first 30 minutes.

• Balenciaga and Prada launched Singles’ Day promotions for the first time this year.
• JD.com (an Alibaba competitor) reported sales of luxury brands on their site surged by 100% in the first 30 minutes of sales.
• WATCH THIS VIDEO – it’s the future of robotic delivery! Alibaba’s logistics unit, Cainiao, shows off its fleet of ‘XiaomanLV’ units. (Source: CampaignAsia)

China is driving luxury’s recovery (Source: CGTN)

“Chinese consumers account for about a third of global spending on luxury goods, and that figure is forecast to reach 45% or more by 2025.“

Cai Qingjing, CEO Kering Asia Pacific

Cashing in on China’s young, rich and tech-savvy

• Compared to the West, the average age of luxury consumers in China is below 35.
• To succeed, fashion brands have to speak their language and engage them using channels they are familiar with: livestreams, online stores, and Chinese social media platforms.

China also starting to lead the world in style

• Gucci and Balenciaga are looking to Chinese millennials in the design phase predicting they will be the future of luxury on the global stage.

Farfetch looks to china for the future of luxury (Source: Alizila)

Farfetch, Alibaba Group, and Richemont just joined forces to provide luxury brands with enhanced access to China and speed up digitization of the global luxury industry.

“The Chinese luxury market – which is expected to account for half of global luxury sales by 2025 – consists of hundreds of millions of young, digitally-native consumers. By partnering with Farfetch and expanding our existing relationship with Richemont, we will accelerate the digitization of the global luxury retail industry and transform the luxury shopping experience for consumers.”

Daniel Zhang, Alibaba Group Chairman/CEO

4. gucci’s firing on all cylinders (Source: HarpersBazaar)

Whoa!! Gucci is (thankfully) breaking all the rules of the fashion industry! No more runway shows (“they’re stale”) instead we’ll see #GucciFest, a digital fashion film festival with Harry Styles & Billie Eilish that premieres Alessandro Michele’s new collection. It will be streamed on YouTube, Weibo, and GucciFest.com from November 16 to 22.

But there’s more: Gucci x Sims4 (Source: SCMP)

On October 13, Gucci announced a collaboration with Sims 4 modders, kicking off a new industry trend.

• The collaboration is part of Gucci’s new initiative, Gucci Equilibrium, which the brand says is its “commitment to generate positive change for people and our planet”.
• What’s unique about Gucci’s collab is the brand’s decision to work directly with two “modder” content creators: Grimcookies and HeyHarrie.
• Modders are a central part of The Sims 4 community and keep the game creative and fun mirroring the brand values Gucci wants to convey to its young audience.
• And the trend seems to be catching on. Louis Vuitton is designing outfits for League of Legends characters, and Burberry is creating its own fashion game, B Bounce.

5. “About Time: Fashion and Duration”, The Met Costume Institute’s 2020 exhibition – thru Feb 7, 2021.

Checked this exhibition out last week. AMAZING. I’m going back today.

• It’s a smallish show but absolutely exquisite and beautifully installed. The concept of time makes you think about fashion in a broader context. Plus, I’m always inspired by my fellow museum-goers. The Costume Institute shows attract the most creative dressers.

6. 2020 USA MULLET CHAMP KIDS’ EVENT WINNERS (Source: wcbv)

Even though I do love designers and fashion, I also adore a great mullet. Never more so than when on a kid.

On October 27, 8-year-old Jaxson from Celeste, Texas was crowned the winner of the 2020 Kids Mullet Championships contest.

• More than 20,000 votes were cast in the USA Mullet Championships.
• Besides growing a mean mullet, 8-year-old Jax is also into boxing, fishing, and riding his dirt bike.
• When asked how he feels about winning, the mullet titleholder had just one response:

“I can’t give autographs right now, cause I don’t know cursive.”

Jax, Mullet Champion, 8 years old

7. champagne and sparkling wine corks are popping!

“It’s busier than New Year’s Eve. We sold out of everything but ‘real Champagne’ by around 7 p.m.”

St. Marks Wine and Liquor, NYC

This past Saturday, along with cars honking and people clapping and cheering in the streets, I also noticed my Instagram feed filled with people popping corks to celebrate the latest election news (hello, Emily Anadu – pic above, right).

• At Warehouse Wine & Spirits on Lower Broadway, customers loaded up on “anything sparkling… just to pop and say ‘he’s gone!” (Source: NY Post)
• Filmmaker Spike Lee popped a bottle of champagne on a Brooklyn street.
• 79th Street Wine and Spirits on the UWS was out of all bubbly under $50 by 7 p.m., with a staffer saying he had “no cheap stuff left at all.”
• Other stores reported that “Veuve Clicquot was king,” with people buying three bottles on average.
• In LA, San Antonio Winery couldn’t keep its Stella Rosa sparkling wine in stock and noted a 50% increase in alcohol sales throughout the weekend. (Source: LAEater)

Prediction: Even with smaller gatherings expected for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s, I expect we’ll see more corks popping at all events. Good news for sparkling wine sales through January. If this is your thing, stock up NOW!

8. Acclaimed Savannah Chef Mashama Bailey Is Coming to NYC for a Lexus Pop-Up (Source: Eater)

This is such a peculiar collaboration but I have to give Lexus props for thinking big and getting Chef Bailey to be their latest chef-in-residence at Intersect by Lexus. They’re reopening on December 3 after shutting down in March.

• I’ve dropped into Intersect a few times and been underwhelmed (although it is a Danny Meyer project). Everything about it is “nice” but it feels lackluster.
• That said, I still dream about my dinner at Chef Bailey’s outstanding restaurant in Savannah, The Grey (so-named because it is in a former Greyhound bus station). And she was in the kitchen the night we dined there, so doubly memorable. Link here to my review of The Grey.
• Fingers crossed she breathes some life into The Intersect.

9. Travel on an upward trend

“When they announced the COVID vaccine on Tuesday, that’s when the phones started ringing.”

Bob Cook, director of sales, Go Travel

Top Trends noted by Travel Agents (Source: ClickOrlando)

• Luxury trips are being booked into 2022 because 2021 is selling out so quickly.
• A lot of interest in cruises with tremendous volume coming from families booking cruise vacations.
• Strongest bookings starting for March of 2021 and beyond.

Travel over thanksgiving (Source: AZ Central)

Two cities in Arizona rank among the top locations Americans want to visit over Thanksgiving:

• Sedona ranks second in the nation among top Thanksgiving destinations – up 50% from last year.
• Scottsdale ranks fourth with a 28% increase in interest.
• Key Largo, Florida, is #1 on the list, with four other Florida cities among the 10 most popular destinations.

Brits are even more eager to travel (Source: Yahoo Style/Telegraph)

Tour operators in the UK are witnessing a boom in ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ wilderness trip bookings for 2021 as well as for “bucket list” destinations.

• A spike in searches for physically challenging trips such as trekking to Everest Basecamp, walking the Inca Trail, and climbing Mt Kilimanjaro
• As of this week (when vaccine news came out), searches for travel in 2020 were up 20%, while 2021 jumped by 68%.
• The destinations for winter holidays in 2021 were Mauritius, St Lucia, and Grenada.
• For summer 2021, the Maldives, Dominican Republic, Mauritius, and Mexico were top performers.
• For 2022, demand is high for the Maldives, Barbados, and New York. 
• Polar trips are doing well with customers booking Antarctica cruises in 2021 and 2022.
• Inquiries for Mongolia and Namibia are up 20%, and Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan are up 30%. A 47-day Great Silk Road Adventure is one of the most popular trips offered.
• The over-60 age group is among the most eager to travel again, especially for traditionally luxurious ‘bucket list’ trips. Bookings are up over 50% among this age group.

10. 2020 is all about Podsgiving. restaurants booking up fast!

Anyone else finding themselves doing something quite different this year when it comes to Thanksgiving?

I’ve been going the Friendsgiving route for at least 20 years. It’s one of my favorite holidays and I always celebrate with my core group of friends plus pals who might not have family or friends nearby. This year, that concept is out the window.

• However, I am thrilled to be celebrating with my small COVID-pod at one of my favorite restaurants, Peasant. The menu looks amazing and they’ve created a very cozy environment outdoors complete with heaters and coverage for inclement weather.
• In many states, there is a 10-person max for in-home gatherings which will put a damper on family get-togethers. I have heard that reservations at restaurants are booking up fast as more people celebrate with only their immediate families or pods and would rather go out than cook such a labor-intensive meal for a small group.
• Pre-ordered meals are also going fast – I’ve heard some stores are already sold-out on their turkey to-go packages.

And that a wrap for this week

I had one of the most joyful weeks in a long while. Saturday was especially jubilant – not just for political news but for the wonderful birthday party my friends Jourdan and Richard hosted on Randall’s Island. 75 degrees and sunny in November? How much better can it get?

But that was not the only joyful event. Brad got fantastic news this week. He was awarded a Civitella Ranieri Foundation Fellowship. It’s a six-week residency at their 15th-century castle in rural Umbria that just sounds sublime – beautiful lodgings and studios shared with artists, writers, composers from all around the world. Nightly, amazing alfresco group dinners created by the foundation’s chef. Definitely something to be especially grateful for after all that 2020 has wrought.

And with that, my friends, I wish you all a great weekend. Here’s to all of us staying safe and healthy until that vaccine is ready! Fauci said he is going to be first in line. As a die-hard vaxxer, I will do everything in my power to be right there behind him!