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From a pure economic/financial perspective this Nike branding campaign doesn’t make sense…. unless, you realize a much bigger picture. A hidden bigger picture. On its face, it just seems absurd. Why would any major corporation intentionally stake out a branding position that is adverse to their financial interests? I’ve spoken to some very excellent business actuaries on this late today; and one specific conversation finally helped to make it all make sense. During that conversation a good ally shared: “a multinational corporation would never make a branding decision adverse to their financial interests. Unless there is a hidden risk unrelated...

Boats and helicopters have joined the search for the chief executive of sportswear maker Quiksilver, after his empty boat was found washed ashore in south-west France. The port authority of the Atlantic beach town of Capbreton said the search was launched after Pierre Agnes' empty boat was found washed up Tuesday in nearby Hossegor. Maritime authorities said two boats and three helicopters are involved in the search. The area is known for intense, sometimes dangerous waves that are prized by surfers.

SCOTTeVEST CEO and Co-founder Scott Jordan really stepped in it when he insulted a large swath of his customers last week.The controversy started when Jordan shared on Facebook how he reacts when people tell him they recognize his face from Fox News, which frequently plays his commercials.“I laugh to myself, and tell them that we primarily advertise on Fox because we find their viewership to be extremely gullible and much easier to sell than other networks," he wrote in part. “I get to tell them they are f***ing idiots while getting rich off them.”Trying to tamp down on the outcry,...

**SNIP** Over the weekend, apparel company Alpha Industries launched an Antifa-influenced M-65 Anarchy Cotton-Blend Field Jacket on high-end retailer Barneys' website. Now the $375 military-style canvas zip-up with “stand collar” and “snap flap patch pockets,” is getting slammed by the demographic it was trying to market to – Antifa members and anarchists.

MAS Holdings, a global apparel technology and manufacturing company, will locate its first U.S. manufacturing and development center in Randolph County, creating 133 new jobs, Gov. Roy Cooper’s office announced in a news release. The company plans to invest nearly $20 million in a facility in Asheboro, providing additional payroll impact exceeding $4 million annually. MAS is a textile company headquartered in Sri Lanka, employing more than 85,000 people worldwide, operating 48 facilities in 15 countries including design offices, apparel and component manufacturing plants and private industrial parks. MAS also provides technology to the apparel and footwear industry. Recently, the...

Kniterate, the 3D printer for Knitwear, has taken Kickstarter by storm with its new crowd-funding campaign. The digital knitting machine, which first crossed our radar back in June 2016, has recently resurfaced, catching the eye of design bloggers, knitters, and knitwear enthusiasts alike. And all the buzz may be just what Kniterate needs to hit the market: with almost $250,000 already pledged, the Kickstarter campaign has more than doubled its initial goal of $100,000. What is Kniterate exactly? It’s a computerized knitting machine that, by “bringing an affordable and compact version of industrial knitting machines to your workshop,” promises to...

To boycott or not to boycott First Lady Melania Trump because of her husband’s politics has been hotly debated in US fashion circles, but for one Chinese designer, at least one member of the first family is a major asset. Tiffany Trump, the youngest daughter of the US president, was guest of honour in the front row at Taoray Wang’s New York fashion week show on Saturday, accompanied by her mother, Trump’s ex-wife Marla Maples. The 23-year-old first daughter, who wore Taoray Wang at her father’s inauguration weekend, has been happily adopted by the Chinese label as it seeks to...

Inspired by the thugs who arsoned, vandalized, and assaulted their way through UC-Berkeley, a New York fashion designer has designed a line of menswear to take the Black Bloc look mainstream. New York-based designer Robert James debuted a collection that was unmistakably, “decidedly militant in tone” in order to “create clothes that felt like armor.” The look screams “Occupy radical chic.” So, whether you’re beating a Trump supporter unconscious with a metal pipe, or just spraying painting “STOP HATE” on a Mormon Church, you will look fabulous, darling. Oh, the romance of socialist revolution! Why be a plain vanilla college...

FULL TITLE: Millennials blamed for the falling sales of fabric softener... because 'they don't know what it is for' Millennials are being blamed for falling sales of fabric softener because 'they don't know what it is for.' Sales of the product have been falling for past ten years and Procter & Gamble believes the next generation is to blame. The consumer goods giant, which produces Downy and Gain fabric softener, says it saw sales of its own products decrease by 26 per cent. Shailesh Jejurikar, Procter & Gamble's head of global fabric care, told the Washington Post that most millennials...

The holiday garment that became cool for being anything but cool has now crept into German culture from overseas. But does that make it uncool once again? It’s taken on almost cult status in the United States and the United Kingdom, but now this more horrid than haute couture fashion statement has made it to the Bundesrepublik: the ugly Christmas sweater. While for years anglophones have thrown parties and declared official days for the often sparkling, gaudy, snowflake-bedecked knitwear, Germans have only recently picked up on the trend, which ever more stores are starting to have on offer. “You see...

One model with a mullet and mustache throws a 'Blue Steel' pose as he models a velour dressing gown while another similar-looking chap stands confidently in a snazzy pair of bell-bottom trousers. These are snapshots from a range of 1970s adverts showing the most popular men's fashions of the day. High-waist pants, skimpy briefs, synthetic fabrics and psychedelic patterns seem to be in vogue - looks more suited to the fancy dress parties of today.

In what may go down as the apex of #SlatePitches, on Friday, writer Vanessa Vitiello Urquhart investigated a Democratic presidential contender in a story that declares that "Hillary Clinton Isn't a Lesbian - but She Dresses Like One." You know what, fine, let's take the bait. Because by my calculation we will be having these discussions until at least November. After Vitiello Urquhart establishes that this isn't about sexual identity per se, she commends Clinton by explaining, "If Clinton were a lesbian, I'd be proud to claim her fashion sense. Clinton embodies something many lesbians accomplish effortlessly: She dresses in...

On Friday, the second day of its annual developer conference, Google I/O, one of the search giant’s semi-secretive research divisions announced a project that aims to make conductive fabrics that can be weaved into everyday clothes. The effort, called Project Jacquard, is named for the French inventor of the Jacquard Loom, which revolutionized textile manufacturing and helped pave the way for modern computing. Much like the screens on mobile phones, these fabrics could register the user’s touch and transmit information elsewhere, like to a smartphone or tablet computer. They are made from conductive yarns that come in a rainbow of...

Insiders also tell the New York Post the naked pictures were allegedly posted on a blog purportedly belonging to Morales, and it's illegal in California to falsely impersonate others online. More woes for Charney: On Friday, a video of him dancing naked in front of two female employees surfaced.

Since we can't post out of the Military Times you will have to copy/paste link. Boy in 'workout gear' refused admission to commissary http://www.navytimes.com/article/20140523/NEWS/305230060/Boy-workout-gear-refused-admission-commissary

"Flipping through their yearbooks, female students at Wasatch High School in Utah noticed something amiss. While one girl wore a tank top on picture day, she appeared in a t-shirt in her photo. She wasn't the only one to have her picture edited: Necklines were raised, sleeves were added, and tattoos were covered. But what most peeves students about the secret alterations is that they weren't applied consistently. "There were plenty of girls that were wearing thicker tank tops and half of them got edited and half of them didn't," one student tells FOX 13."

The memorials were hastily assembled on Monday with sad, handwritten messages and stuffed animals — in remembrance of two teenage brothers who died from gunfire the night before in a murder-suicide over what may have been the most trivial of sibling arguments. The two brothers fought over sharing clothes on Sunday night — with one of them apparently pulling the trigger on himself.

Schoolboys in France stirred up gender norms when they eschewed pants last week. But men in skirts shouldn’t be a provocative sight…it should be a choice as normal as women in pants. Last Friday, male students and teachers in Nantes, France launched a campaign to fight the sexism that is plaguing societies across the world through their clothing. The 'Ce que soulève la jupe' (or ‘Lift the Skirt’) movement encouraged boys across 27 of the northwest city’s schools to sport skirts to class instead of trousers. “We noticed that in a lot of high schools in our region, there are...

“I want to say congrats to Chelsea Clinton. Last week she announced that she is expecting her first child,” Fallon said, setting up the joke. “That’s great. That’s great for her. If it is a girl, it will get some of Chelsea’s old hands-me-downs.” “And if it is a boy,” he continued, “it will get some of Hillary’s.”

Until three years ago I did not believe in magic. But that was before I began investigating how western brands perform a conjuring routine that makes the great Indian rope trick pale in comparison. Now I'm beginning to believe someone has cast a spell over the world's consumers. This is how it works. Well Known Company makes shiny, pretty things in India or China. The Observer reports that the people making the shiny, pretty things are being paid buttons and, what's more, have been using children's nimble little fingers to put them together. There is much outrage, WKC professes its...