Fashion News Round Up: 2026 Kickoff
Industry moves over the last few weeks to start the new year.
Welcome to the first newsletter of 2026! I hope everyone had an amazing holiday season. For the retail industry (similar to other sectors), the new year marks another opportunity to grow, update strategy, and ultimately meet consumers where they are. We saw plenty of micro and macro trends last year, like musical chairs with creative directors at the major fashion houses and brands leaning more heavily into fragrances as revenue from accessories grew while other high ticket items took a hit. Analysts believe that there are signals in certain regions like China that show luxury might be poised for a bounceback, while some athlete-forward retail companies like Nike and Lululemon are still trying to figure out their turnaround strategy as smaller, popular brands continue to take away marketshare. Lets discuss some of the biggest stories that will set the stage for how this year may unfold.
Saks Fifth Avenue’s Continued Downfall
Over the last 12 months we’ve seen Saks consistently in the news, and its usually nothing positive. The big box luxury giant has been breaking promises to its vendors around when they would pay for their inventory, and then proceeded to put them on contractual terms that, by industry standards, are unacceptable. Just days ago they missed a crucial debt payment of nearly $100M, saw their CEO (who had worked his way up to the top spot over the course of three decades) step down, and have now begun starting bankruptcy filings. Their poor decision making will unfortunately hurt its employees, its brand, vendors who decided to stay in business with them, and the industry overall. It’s become increasingly difficult and expensive to break through the noise for any consumer company via digital marketing so in person experiences are a must to continue driving revenue. This, however, presents a massive opportunity for Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s, and other international retailers like Harrods and Selfridges to pick up the slack to continue bringing these products to market. Brands may also have to start getting creative with popups and leasing brick and mortar stores, but unfortunately those routes have become painfully expensive. Saks still has a widely recognized name and footprint with their purchase of Neiman Marcus, so it’s still worth keeping an eye on what they do next.
Zara Shows How AI Will Continue to be a Force Multiplier
Zara is known for fast fashion, and now they’ll be known for their speed with generative AI. Because they bring so many SKUs to market within a calendar year, their creative teams have to move with significantly more intensity than other brands. Artificial intelligence has been a key lever in allowing them to be more nimble. They’re essentially laying the blueprint for other fashion companies to do the same, which will be a continuing problem for the creative community at large. Last year we saw plenty of photographers, models, etc express concerns that AI will supplant and replace their jobs. Brands made soft promises that this would be more of a supplement at most, though the strategy they’ll ultimately decide on for next several years remains to be seen. For now, Zara is mindful of everyone involved and is at least making an effort to find a balance. “Zara’s move was first reported by London business-focused newspaper CityAM, which cited an unnamed model saying Zara asked for approval to edit images of them with AI to show different items, and that they were paid the same amount as if they had traveled for another photo shoot.1”
Holiday Spending in the U.S. Still Strong
For the vast majority of 2025, we heard plenty of bleak statistics and found early recession indicators. Prices of groceries started skyrocketing, full industries were having consistent layoffs without adding nearly enough jobs, by now pay later (BNPL) opportunities on apps like DoorDash; the list goes on and on. Yet somehow Americans still spent a significant amount money during the holiday season. “Holiday sales climbed 3.9% compared to last year, Mastercard SpendingPulse data showed, tracking online and in-store payments from the start of November to Christmas Eve. The data leaves out car sales and does not account for inflation.2” It’s important to note that some of this growth year over year was supported by lower-cost spending. A K-shaped chart emerged, showing that many shoppers who were struggling financially spent on lower cost items, while those in a stronger financial position tended to spend quite a bit more.
Inside Retail; Zara adopts AI to create fashion imagery using real-life models
ABC News; What did holiday shopping reveal about the US economy?