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The global COVID-19 pandemic has hugely disrupted the exhibition world. The vast majority of exhibitions didn’t take place in their physical form and visitor numbers were significantly down wherever this was possible. Some fashion fairs managed to repackage themselves and are instead now offering online trade fairs and B2B platforms. The current circumstances means online sales & marketing is now more important than ever before for fashion companies and participation with online fairs seamlessly fits in with this. Two Belarus companies participating with the Ready to Trade project by CBI and ITC have recently been preparing to participate with such an online fair. We are pleased to present Priorstil and Panda from Belarus.

Priorstil

Priorstil produces nightwear, homewear and lingerie and has an extensive product range which offers more than 200 styles of different designs and sizes. The range mainly consists of nightwear and homewear for ladies and underwear. They offer their exclusive collections for private labels and other manufacturers. Priorstil recently launched its new Mirolina brand. Mirolina offers beautiful and comfortable nightwear for ladies, for rest and relaxation. The Mirolina collection can be seen on their new .

Priorstil has been given the opportunity to participate with the online version of the Salon International de la Lingerie fair with its new Mirolina brand. Salon International de la Lingerie is normally held in Paris in February, but has now developed an online platform called Lingerie Connect. Priorstil is working hard at preparing for the online fair and is very enthusiastic about this opportunity: “Salon International de la Lingerie is the most important venue for a new brand to be introduced to buyers and potential partners. So we are very happy to have been given the opportunity to participate, thanks to our participation with the CBI scheme, despite the exhibition’s online format. We see this form of participation as progressive and most appropriate in the present circumstances.” You can visit the here until 21 February.

Panda

is also based in Belarus and has an extensive product range: children’s clothing, as well as ladies wear and evening and bridal wear. Panda is an established name in its domestic market, but is already selling in Russia and the Ukraine too. The company’s ambition is to now export to the EU with, among other things, its children’s clothing products. Panda makes children’s clothing for everyday wear, with a strong focus on clothing suitable for school-age children. Important details are taken into account during the production of every children’s clothing product: natural fabrics, comfort, durability, tailoring quality and, of course, following fashion trends. The collections are supplemented with new designs of elegant dresses and skirts, comfortable sweaters and T-shirts, sports trousers and shorts, workwear pinafores and jackets every year. All the finished products meet the high clothing requirements and quality standards.

Panda is currently developing its online sales & marketing strategy and is in the process of preparing to participate with online B2B events for children’s clothing. Panda is hoping to use these events to meet potential partners or clients during the current pandemic.

Ready to Trade

The Ready to Trade project is run by the Centrum ter Bevordering van de Import uit Ontwikkelingslanden (CBI, Centre for the Promotion of Imports from Developing Countries) and the International Trade Centre (ITC) and is funded by EU4Business, an initiative for SMEs in the EU’s Eastern partnership countries. You can find more information about the companies, the scheme and contact details . You can contact the companies via the CBI’s sector expert Carinke Dijkstra: [email protected].

Christian Horner obviously holds Max Verstappen in high esteem, but the Red Bull boss has resorted to a bit of simplistic logic to make the bold claim that the Dutchman is better than Lewis Hamilton.

There’s no disputing Verstappen’s outstanding skills and talent. Indeed, an overwhelming number of members of the F1 paddock reckon the Red Bull charger is Hamilton’s natural successor at the head of the field.

But Horner believes his driver would have deprived the seven-time world champion of a collection of wins in the recent past had Red Bull supplied him with a better car.

“Yes, I think he is the best, and George Russell’s performance at Mercedes confirmed that for me,” Horner told Dutch website RacingNews365.

Indeed, the Briton argued that Russell’s remarkable one-off with Mercedes at Sakhir was proof, at least in his view, that Verstappen has an edge over Hamilton in terms of sheer talent.

“Max and Lewis stand out for me, but although we should definitely not be blind to what Hamilton has achieved, he does have a good package at his disposal,” added Horner.

“That while Max has to get more out of his car.

“At Mercedes, a Williams driver can qualify himself directly on the front row and Russell almost won the race.

“However, if at Red Bull someone had to get into Verstappen’s car, for example if Max had corona, nobody would reach his level.”

Read also: Verstappen believes Red Bull could have dominated F1

While perhaps over-simplifying things when comparing Verstappen and Hamilton, Horner does convincingly make a case for his driver’s development over the past couple of seasons.

“His qualifying performances are of an exceptional level and his race craft is excellent, just like his tyre management.

“Max has become better at ‘reading’ the race, giving feedback to the team, but also dealing with disappointment, for example. He has matured very much in those areas.”

And Horner believes Verstappen is no where near achieving his peak.

“No, I don’t think so,” he said. “The others have a hard time compared to Max’s performance.

“If you look at his performance in Abu Dhabi, his pole was phenomenal and then he controlled the race in a very mature way from start to finish.”

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Black-owned fashion brand Telfar has won Fashion Design of 2020 by the Design Museum for its vegan leather gender-neutral Telfar shopping bag which became a hot commodity last year.

The Telfar Shopping Bag, dubbed “The Bushwick Birkin”, first dropped in 2014, and has been coined by many as one the accessory of the decade.

The simple, boxy carryall with double shoulder straps, top handles and statement logo, is available in an array of colours and comes in three sizes that correspond to those of Bloomingdale’s disposable shopping bags.

Telfar, with its “not for you – for everyone” ethos that luxury should be both practical and financially accessible, has priced its coveted bag between 150 and 257 US dollars, which has resulted in stock selling out online in minutes.

The bag’s popularity spread rapidly after founder, New York-born Telfar Clemens was awarded the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund in 2017. The Liberian-American designer was the first Black designer to win the 400,000 US dollar top prize and he invested his winnings into revamping the bag, adding additional sizing and colour options.

Not long after the bag become a celebrity favourite, spotted on the arms of stars including Solange Knowles, Selena Gomez, and Dua Lipa.

To cater to the increased demand, Telfar launched a bag security programme in August 2020 to allow people to pre-order the shopping totes for a limited period with guaranteed delivery at a later date. The initiative was a success and the brand reportedly generated 10 times the sales it had in all of 2019.

Design Museum crowns the Telfar Shopping Bag as Fashion Design of 2020

Emily King, guest curator at the Design Museum, said of Telfar’s win in a statement: “Telfar is a firm who have managed to really redefine the relationship between themselves and their customers, so much so that owning a Telfar bag is not just owning a brilliant product, it’s about making a vote for things to be done differently.

“Telfar have redefined what luxury means and, in an era where true luxury is having a functioning health and social security system, I think their slogan – ‘Not for you, for everyone’ – rings very true.”

The Telfar bag beat off tough competition, from fashion designer Rui Zhou, who uses an elastic knitted fabric to create her garments to give the illusion of an opaque ‘second skin’ and Nigerian-based designer Nkwo Onwuka who developed a new recycled textile.

Others on the shortlist included Fredrik Tjærandsen for his undergraduate degree show at Central Saint Martins that went viral for his balloon dresses, while Phoebe English, Clara Jedrecy, Nataliya Brady and Ellie Grace Cumming created a fashion collection made from nothing new.

There was also recognition for a digital anthology of sari drapes featuring more than 80 films, costumes created by Manish Malhotra for Abhishek Varman’s period drama Kalank, a suitcase made of shoes by designer Nicole McLaughlin, and a collection of reconstructed second-hand Adidas Superstar sneakers by Helen Kirkum with Bethany Williams.

Beazley Designs of the Year at the Design Museum announce the 2020 winners

Telfar was just one of the winners of the thirteenth edition of Beazley Designs of the Year. The annual exhibition and awards span across six categories: architecture, digital, fashion, graphics, product and transport.

Other winners include an illustration of the Covid-19 virus, the vegan Impossible Burger 2.0 designed to replicate a beef burger, a protest performance denouncing sexual violence towards women and LGBTQ communities in Latin America.

The overall winner was the temporary interactive installation the ‘Teeter-Totter Wall’, designed by architects Ronald Rael and Virginia San Fratello with Colectivo Chopeke. The project, win won the transport category, created a place where children from both the US and Mexico could connect playfully through three bright pink see-saws.

Images: courtesy of Telfar / The Design Museum

Williams boss Simon Roberts says he wants to keep the unique family atmosphere at Grove following the team’s sale to Dorilton Capital last year and the departure of Sir Frank Williams and his daughter Claire.

Roberts took over as interim team principal last September, and has now been confirmed in the position for 2021 with former Volkswagen motor sport director Jost Capito joining as CEO in February.

“Dorilton don’t want to shift that lovely feel that exists within Williams, that kind of family spirit and friendliness,” Roberts told Motorsport.com this week.

“We accept that things have to move on, but there will always be a place here for Claire to pop back and see us,” he continued. “Hopefully when we’re back in Europe sometime next year she’ll be able to do that.

• Read also: ‘Fed up’ Claire Williams felt compelled to sell team

“But she’s had a really tough time. Keeping this together for as long as she has, and keeping spirits up as she has is amazing. We really respect everything she did.

“We’re Williams still and that’s really important to us,” he added. “Just trying to be open, trying to be as diverse as we can, employing people with all different backgrounds and nationalities, ethnic backgrounds. That’s really super important to us.

“When we talk about it still, in the various committees that we have on that kind of stuff, we still reference back to what it means because of Frank and because of Claire. So yeah, they’re always in our hearts.”

But Roberts said he hoped the injection of fresh capital into the operation would make a big difference in terms of performance. “We’ll be investing in some of the facilities in the factory.

“It’s just simple stuff, but stuff that makes it better for people to work there.” he said. “It’s 100 percent focused on adding performance, and that includes making sure it’s a great place to work.

“We’re fixing a lot of things, quite literally from leaks in the roof to doing maintenance on the wind tunnel that we haven’t been able to do for a while, and stuff like that.”

However incoming CEO Capito warned that even with the new investment there would be no quick fixes to the problems that have afflicted the team in recent years leaving it without a single championship point in 2020.

“With the new beginning, also with the new owners, you now have the opportunity to restructure and streamline again,” he told Motorsport-total.com. “This is important because fewer than zero points is not possible! It can only be better.

“But no matter what changes you make, it always goes down first, then it has to go up,” he acknowledged. “That means for this year, no miracles are to be expected because you can only change very little on the car.”

Capito added that the development freeze forced in the sport by the coronavirus pandemic had helped the smaller teams on the grid such as Williams.

“The small teams would have fallen even further because the large teams and the works teams can deal with COVID much better than a smaller team,” he explained. “That means the gap would actually have become even bigger.

“There was so much risk that it was absolutely right to postpone the regulations by a year,” he noted. “You didn’t know how many races could be run, how much money would come in, how much money would come in from television stations.”

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Carlos Sainz says he is now in the thick of his preparations for the 2021 F1 season with new team Ferrari, undergoing meetings with his engineers ahead of starting simulator work with the Scuderia.

As he digs in at Maranello, Sainz will also enjoy a track test at the wheel of an old-spec car in the coming weeks to help him get acquainted with his team and its processes.

But on Thursday, the former McLaren charger kicked off his day with over six hours of meetings and briefings.

“I’m finally here, finally starting to work properly with all the engineers and all the people here,” Sainz said.

“I’m obviously meeting a lot of new faces, a lot of new names that are going to be tough to learn but I’m getting there.

“Yesterday I had six hours and a half of meetings, which obviously was encouraging to see everyone working flat out for this year.

“Today for the first time, I am jumping in the simulator. So I will get to try for the first time the car, the simulator and start getting a bit of feedback and working hard for this season.”

🔙 to work here in Maranello! @ScuderiaFerrari
-#Carlossainz #EssereFerrari🔴 pic.twitter.com/kTALSyWWuX

— Carlos Sainz (@Carlossainz55) January 15, 2021

Sainz will logically require a period of adaptation with his new team, but the 26-year-old will be facing a formidable competitor at Ferrari in the person of Charles Leclerc.

While the Monegasque is expected to have the upper hand against his new teammate, Scuderia boss Mattia Binotto insists his drivers will be on equal footing at the outset this season.

But as usual, Binotto made clear that the pair will be managed according to the team’s interests.

“There is nothing written in the contract of Charles being the [team] leader,” said Binotto. “The two will be free to fight on track.

“It’s important that they are not damaging themselves, that is clear, but I think that they will have equal opportunity, certainly at the start of the season.

Read also: Ferrari transition will be ‘a tough thing to do’ – Sainz

“Our top priority, as I said in the past and will remain, is to optimise the team’s points. So it may be that in some races, it will be important that the two are somehow helping team decisions or accepting team decisions in order to optimise what is the team’s interest.

“And by doing the team interest I think we are prevailing and we are helping the drivers’ interest as well.

“Later in the season, if there will be a clear advantage of one driver to the other and that one of the two drivers may achieve an objective which is not possible for the other, I think it will be an open discussion between the two.

Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers

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Los Angeles-based The Row is retailing a series of vintage designer items from its archive, ranging from Japanese purists Comme des Garcons and Yohji Yamamoto to John Galliano and Chanel.

The luxe minimalist brand, named after London’s infamous Savile Row, is selling multiple one-off garments from mostly the 1990s that were either used as inspiration for its own pieces or that were acquired elsewhere.

Many designers and brands use vintage clothes to inspire the shapes, fits and fabric choices of their new collections. High street brands especially are prone to buying luxury designer pieces to copy details for their own ranges. It is not by accident that strong designer catwalk looks get filtered down to the Zara’s and H&M’s of the high street.

The vintage items retailing at The Row have a similar pared-down quality to the brand’s own womenswear, and surely inspired its attention to detailing and cuts.

In its US and UK boutiques The Row merchandises its spaces with vintage furniture and objects, ranging from original Pierre Jeanneret seating to Charlotte Perriand stools, which it also sells. Prices are available on request.

Founded in 2006, The Row says its combines a timeless fashion perspective with subtle attitudes to form an irreverent classic signature. Its collections explore the strength of simplistic shapes that speak to discretion and are based on uncompromising quality. Some inspired, no doubt, by fashion’s original masters.

Image courtesy The Row

Victoria’s Minister of Sport saluted F1’s decision to push the Australian GP back to November, a change that will allow organisers to run their event in a safe environment.

Formula 1 published on Tuesday a revised 2021 calendar that featured several changes. Both Australian and Chinese races are postponed, but Melbourne has been assigned a new date, November 21.

Current travel and mandatory quarantine restrictions in Australia due to the coronavirus pandemic are expected to remain in force for the forthcoming future, rendering F1’s presence in Melbourne and the organization of the opening round of the 2021 season impossible.

“This is the right decision and we thank Formula 1 management for their co-operation in setting a new schedule for the 2021 season,” said Martin Pakula, Victoria’s Minister for Sport.

“The Australian Grand Prix is one of the great events in the world and we’ll make sure it can be run safely and successfully in November.”

F1 adds Imola to 2021 calendar – Australia and China postponed

Melbourne’s new assigned slot on November 21 means the event could host a championship-decider race.

“As the third-last race of the season, this provides the opportunity to safely host what could be the championship-decider in Melbourne in the lead-in to summer,” said Paul Little, Chairman of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation.

“We’d like to thank our loyal motorsport fans and employees for their understanding in these challenging times.”

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Jenson Button has revealed that he nearly passed through the golden gates of Maranello at the end of the 2012 F1 season, with contracts even drawn up between the Briton and Ferrari at the time.

The 2009 F1 world champion was heading into his third season with McLaren in 2012 when talks took place with the Scuderia about a possible move to the Italian outfit for 2013 and a potential drive alongside Fernando Alonso.

“Every driver would love to race for Ferrari at some point,” Button told Motorsport News. “There’s just something about that team.

“Even this year [2020] it’s tough for them and tough for motorsport fans to see them where they are, but maybe they needed this to come back stronger.

“But I would love to have raced for Ferrari and there was a good possibility sort of eight years ago but it just didn’t materialise at the end.

“Pretty much contracts were ready to go and it almost happened, but for many different reasons it didn’t and, to be fair, I was probably better off where I was anyway at McLaren.”

Read also: Sainz says Ferrari transition will be ‘a tough thing to do’

Button eventually prolonged his spell at McLaren and remained with the Woking based outfit until the end of 2016, hopping back onboard for a one-off at Monaco in 2017.

However, there were no wins for the Briton after his final Grand Prix triumph with McLaren at the Brazilian GP at the end of 2012.

As for Ferrari, the House of Maranello collected two wins in 2013 thanks to Alonso who went on to finish runner-up in the championship that year to Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel.

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Marks & Spencer has become one of the first companies to formally sign a
call to action over human rights violations in Xinjiang, China, where
Uighurs and other minority groups are reportedly being forced into manual
labour.

In December, a new report released by the Washington-based Center for
Global Policy found that more than half a million Uighurs and other
minorities were being forced into picking cotton.

Xinjiang produces around 85 percent of China’s and 20 percent of the
world’s cotton, which is used by fashion companies across the globe.

The call to action, supported by groups including the Ethical Trading
Initiative, demands businesses ensure their full supply chains – including
secondary and tertiary suppliers – are not linked to the human rights
abuses in the region.

Marks & Spencer said the signing of the call to action “is in line with
the company’s long-term focus on ensuring its supply chains are sustainable
and ethical, where workers are treated fairly, and their human rights are
respected”.

The retailer said that 100 percent of the cotton used in its fashion
ranges is sustainably sourced and that it is already one of the few
retailers that does not work with any supplier in or source from
Xinjiang.

Richard Price, Marks & Spencer clothing and home managing director,
said: “When it comes to sustainable and ethical clothing, we can only
achieve real change at scale by working with others, which is why we are
proud to be formally supporting the coalition and providing additional
assurance to our customers they can purchase from M&S with confidence.”

Jasmine O’Connor, CEO at Anti-Slavery International, said she welcomed
“the leadership shown by Marks & Spencer” and encouraged other retailers to
do the same.

“The Call to Action sets out a clear path of action for brands to follow
in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and we
call upon other major brands to follow suit with M&S and commit to the Call
to Action urgently,” O’Connor said.

Photo credit: Pixabay

RFLCTVE is an independent label from Thailand focusing on reflective party wear and street style. Brought to you by people who love anything holographic to young, high-street fashion.

The brand started in 2019 with the idea of making streetwear affordable for everyone, especially millennials and hustling young audiences.

In 2020, RFLCTVE dropped a full FALL/WINTER collection which launched early September with the concept of time travel. The campaign was named “journey across an era” which featured 30 pieces blending in 90s and Y2K , Modern Grunge, and Reflective Futuristic styles which have been the key trends for 2020.