Worldview: Ukrainian Fashion Week Returns to Kyiv

🇺🇦 Ukrainian Fashion Week returns to Kyiv. For the first time in two years, Ukranian Fashion Week will return to the country’s capital city. The Fashion Week will run from Sept. 1 to 4, representing themes of resilience, survival and hope. More than 50 Ukrainian brands supported the decision to return, including Litkovska, Frolov, Bobkova, Paskal, Nadya Dzyak and TG Botanical. Ukrainian brands will introduce Spring/Summer 2025 collections in various formats, including fashion shows, presentations, installations, performances and trade show. “Despite missile attacks, air raid sirens and daily challenges, our commitment remains to supporting our designers with their creativity and business growth… We aim to showcase the creative power and courage of the Ukrainian fashion scene to the world, bringing Ukrainian Fashion Week back to Kyiv. The voice of Ukraine has to be heard,” said Iryna Danylevska, Founder and CEO of Ukrainian Fashion Week. [BoF Inbox]

🇨🇳 China maintains ‘problematic’ policies against Uighurs, UN says. A spokesperson from the agency said “many problematic laws and policies remain in place” two years after the United Nations initially issues a warning of mistreatment from China to Uighur and other ethnic minorities. Regarding Xinjiang, the office has urged a full review on the human rights perspective of the legal framework governing national security and counter-terrorism so not to discriminate against minorities. [Sourcing Journal]

🇧🇩 Bangladesh central bank orders fresh loans for exporters to pay wages. Bangladesh’s central bank instructed all banks to introduce a fresh loan facility on simple terms to active exporters to pay workers’ wages for August as recent disruptions caused due to political instability and global economic conditions have affected timely export value repatriation, on Monday. According to the guidance, the industries that export four-fifths of their total production are considered export-oriented industries and will get separate loans. The factories that have paid staff wages from May 2023 to July 2024 will be considered active factories and will be verified through certificates from the respective trade associations. [Fibre2Fashion]

🇰🇭 Cambodian workers ask for $14 raise in minimum wage, employers for $1 hike. Workers’ representatives from garment, footwear and travel goods industries are asking for an increase in the new minimum wage, while employers have proposed a $1 raise. Trade unions said their demand is based on the rising cost of living and the cost of daily expenses. [Fibre2Fashion]

🇦🇺 Clothing leads decline as Australian retail turnover stalls in July. Australian retail turnover remained flat in July 2024. Clothing retail lead the decline, down 0.9 percent ($17.2 million). The overall retail sector showed no growth after 0.5 percent increases in June and May. Department stores fell 0.4 percent, while Western Australia saw a 4.6 percent rise, marking its seventh consecutive month of growth. [Fibre2Fashion]

🇹🇷 Inflation in Turkey expected to fall to around 24% in 2025, IMF reports. Economic growth would rise back towards 3.5-4 percent in the medium term, according to the IMF, which concluded its 2024 Article IV Mission to the country. “Despite favourable base effects, still-strong inertia would keep inflation at around 43 per cent at end-December,” it said. [Fibre2Fashion]

🇨🇳 Man About Town launches Chinese edition with famed Asian directors on cover. Man About Town unveiled the debut issue of its Chinese edition with famed Asian film directors Jia Zhang Ke, Bi Gan and Kitano Takeshi as the faces on different cover versions of the title. The Chinese edition will publish monthly. The arrival of a local edition for the biannual British men’s fashion publication via a licensing agreement came after four years of collaboration between Wonderland, a women’s fashion magazine that also sits under Huw Gwyther’s media company Visual Talent, and the Beijing-based Lifestyle Media Group, the publisher of the Chinese editions of Madame Figaro and Ok! [WWD]

🇨🇳 Balenciaga’s flagship store debuts on JD.com. The launch also marks JD.com as the exclusive online platform for the debut of Balenciaga’s new Stapler Sneaker. Following the launches of other Kering brands, including Gucci, Balenciaga is the latest label from the luxury group to launch on JD.com. [BoF Inbox]