Fashion News Alert: Lanvin Rebellion, Kanye’s Yeezy 1 Sells Out, and China’s Shoddy Product

Let’s talk about a revolution!! A fashion revolution, that is!!

And it’s happening at Lanvin. 350 Lanvin workers are demanding that Lanvin majority shareholder, Shaw Lan Wang, bring back Lanvin creative director Alber Elbaz. Elbaz was ousted from his position as creative director on October 28, 2015. Many insiders believe that Shaw Lan Wang instigated Elbaz’s removal.

On French radio channel, RTL, it was revealed that Lanvin workers are considering taking legal recourse with the Paris commercial court. Alber Elbaz has yet to comment on his exit from Lanvin.

Fake product

According to a report from the Xinhua news agency, 40% of goods sold online in China in 2014 were of bad quality or counterfeit. This report, issued to Chinese lawmakers on Monday, concluded that less than 59% of products sold online were genuine or/and of good quality.

Online retail sales have increased to 40% in the past year, adding up to 2.8 trillion yuan ($441.84 billion). The report added customer complaints about online orders hit 77,800 in 2014, a steep jump of 356.6 percent against 2013.

Yeezy 1 sells out

In less than a week of being available, Kanye West’s Yeezy 1 collection has completely sold out at retail value. Amidst the criticism that Kanye West is not a real fashion designer and his clothes have no retail value, West has proven fashion critics wrong by doing something that very few brands can accomplish.

But, selling out fashion product is nothing new to Kanye West. West’s Yeezy 950 boots sold out last week in 24 hours. West’s Yeezy Boots 350s, which launched in June, were sold out at stores in both the US and UK within approximately three hours of their release.

Tom Kalenderian, executive vice president and general merchandiser of men’s at Barney’s New York, told WWD that, “the product is right for the moment.” That may be true, but the price tag may not be right for a lot of male consumers. The Yeezy 1 collection ranges in price from $880 to upward of $1760.

Hmm, I guess the price tag didn’t stop consumers from buying out the collection.

—William S. Gooch