Ganni Joins Forces With Ambercycle; Inspyrations Sportswear Launches at Printemps; Poshmark’s ‘Secondhand Sunday’: Short Takes
CYCLE ROUND: Danish contemporary fashion label Ganni is partnering with Los Angeles-based Ambercycle on a new sports jersey as the first step in a long-term partnership.
Ganni, known for its bold prints and romantic bent, will use Ambercycle’s recycled polyester Cycora material on a sports jersey that will be part of the Ganni Sport line. Looking more long-term, Ganni will incorporate the textile-to-textile recycled fabric into its collections as part of its goal to source 10 percent of its materials from “fabrics of the future” by 2025.
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“Since 2019, we have been working hard to move away from conventional materials and switch to better alternatives,” said Ganni sustainability and corporate social responsibility director Lauren Bartley.
“Investing in innovative low-carbon materials is crucial to making fashion more responsible and partnering with Ambercycle brings us one step closer to that ambition. Ambercycle is one of the front runners when it comes to recycling of post-consumer waste within polyester fibers — which is also one of the reasons why we choose to support and partner with Ambercycle through our ‘Fabrics of The Future’ initiative,” she said.
Its “Fabrics of the Future” initiative will invest in start-ups in materials innovation, with a focus on lower-carbon impact fibers, including those that are recycled and other alternatives to traditional textiles.
Ganni has integrated its sustainable credentials throughout its collection, minimizing its social and environmental impact across its business. The brand is committed to an absolute carbon reduction of 50 percent by 2027.
“Ganni’s comprehensive approach to responsible brand-building is completely aligned with our vision for what the future of fashion can look like. Our collective aim is to bring circular products to market quickly and drive systemic change urgently needed in the fashion industry. This partnership marks a pivotal step in our journey to scaling the production and widespread adoption of circular materials,” said Ambercycle cofounder and chief executive officer Shay Sethi.
Ambercycle is on a roll, with Zara parent company Inditex agreed to buy 70 million euros worth of Cycora to integrate into its upcoming collections. The offtake agreement revealed Oct. 25 will secure 70 percent of the Ambercycle’s production output over a period of three years. It also launched a sportswear collection for men made with Cycora.
Ganni has been doing brisk business in China, so much so that its LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton-backed private equity owner L Catterton was said to have been shopping the label around to China-based investors for about $700 million in 2022.
ALPINE-INSPIRED: French sustainable sportswear brand Inspyrations launched its first collection at Paris department store Printemps. The unisex label from former Rossignol global brand director Grégory Delamarre enlists local production through factory Toptex Cube, which creates the seamless garments.
Sportswear including T-shirts, leggings and waterproof outerwear are key pieces, though the versatile Fusyon blazer is meant to go from bike to boardroom with a quick flip of the lapel.
The sporting goods industry veteran was born and raised in the Alps, and said seeing the firsthand impact of climate change led him to look for more sustainable solutions. The line uses thermal bonding and the seamless nature of the process helps with durability and recyclability.
“The most revolutionary part is that you can undo your product as fast as you have constructed it,” he said. This allows the products to be easily repairable. For example, customers can send a damaged or worn garment back to Inspyrations and they will replace the sleeve or any portion needed. It makes for some pretty fun patchwork looks that Delamarre compares to the outerwear equivalent of Japanese Kintsugi.
The brand will also disassemble and repurpose items at end-of-life, recovering zippers or other parts that can be reused.
“We don’t do collections, we do products that will last, with a very clean design. I don’t want to be an outdoor brand, I want to break all the principals and be proactive. We are really keen on shaking up the [sportswear] system,” he said, which encourages replacement of an item every season.
The first collection is about 20 items, uses overstock and works with an on-demand production facility. If Delamarre finds a cool material to use for a capsule, he can create a limited-edition jacket or shirt due to the flexibility of the factory.
“The point is to use as much existing stuff as we can,” he said. “It goes into the reduction of new resources that we don’t need. We don’t need more overproduction.”
The company will target Europe as its primary market for the time being.
Inspyrations plans to launch some carefully considered collaborations next year — not to do “drops,” create buzz or false scarcity, but to work with influencers to spread the message around the impact of climate change. Those partnerships will be built around mountain photography, to be followed by an ocean-based project closer to summer.
Its website and e-commerce will launch Friday.
POSH MARKS THE SPOT: For the second Secondhand Sunday, U.S. resale site Poshmark is leaning in — and filling up the calendar — with live events.
Taking place on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, this year Nov. 26, the day is mean to mark a counterpoint to the frenzy of Black Friday and the craziness of Cyber Monday by promoting secondhand gifting, resale and circular fashion during peak holiday shopping season.
Poshmark is working up to the day with a live selling event on Thursday featuring a guide on how to source up-to-the-minute trends through resale.
A major pillar will be a partnership with ShopGoodwill for a series of live events on Sunday and Nov. 26. ShopGoodwill’s campaign to upcycle items will see creators on Poshmark’s live shows, showcasing and selling their handmade items. Ten percent of proceeds from each live will go back to ShopGoodwill, the online, auction-based offshoot of Goodwill.
On Nov. 26, Poshmark will host a series of live shopping events focused on specific gifting categories.
The company is working with Veritree to fund tree planting projects in the. U.S. and Canada. All proceeds from the Thursday shows will go to the charity, while they will donate up to $10,000 for sales made Nov. 26.
Poshmark cites a survey from Morning Consult which found 92 percent of respondents were open to receiving secondhand gifts, while only 33 percent of people would shop for such items. It launched Secondhand Sunday to help shift consumer sentiment around secondhand shopping for the holidays.
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