Must Read: What Luxury Stores Need to Succeed, What Happened to the 'Russian Fashion Mafia'?

Plus, Gigi Burris launches nonprofit to preserve artisan craft in America.

These are the stories making headlines in fashion on Tuesday.

What luxury stores need to succeed
For Business of Fashion, Lauren Sherman walks through the six key factors that make a luxury store successful and able to thrive in today's market. Sherman cites the newly renovated Dior megastore on Avenue Montaigne as a near-perfect example of the success she describes. From the importance of a store's physical size to the potentiality for a store to also be a cultural landmark (see the new built-in museum at Dior), there is a new standard for the luxury experience. {Business of Fashion}

What happened to the 'Russian Fashion Mafia'
Vanessa Friedman explores the infamous group of Russian women who once dominated the front rows of fashion weeks. Ulyana Sergeenko, Elena Perminova and Miroslava Duma, also known as the "Russian fashion mafia," rose to fame with the growth of street style and Instagram. From their popularity, they were soon regarded as "ambassadors of a new Russia…(putting) Russia on the map as a country offering fashionable inspiration." After being "canceled" in 2018 and name-dropped in the Mueller report in 2019, they were laying lower than usual. With the ongoing war involving Russia and Ukraine, they are even quieter. "They risk being regarded as traitors if they speak up, or seen as complicit by an industry that was quick to declare its allegiance to Ukraine if they stay mum." {The New York Times}

Gigi Burris launches nonprofit
American milliner and accessory designer Gigi Burris O'Hara has launched Closely Crafted, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving and sustaining artisan craft in the American fashion industry. Board members and special advisors include Maxwell Osborne, Alexandra O'Neill, Natalie Chanin, George Esquivel, Julie Gilhart, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, Kay Unger, Bailey Moon and more. The organization's goal is to begin educating the public on the quality and importance of American craft while ensuring brands who produce in America are supported with interest from the public consumer. {Fashionista Inbox}

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