Author: Haley Crawford
After a year of experimentation and noise, 2026 marks a pivot for fashion marketers toward slower advertising, more thoughtful creative risks and human connection, as brands recalibrate how to entertain, engage and earn trust in an age of AI and consumer exhaustion.
The Independents announced on Wednesday that it has added the agency Ma+Group to its network, bringing the global communications group’s roster to 21 agencies.Ma+Group, founded as an artist management agency by brothers Massimiliano and Michelangelo Di Battista in 1999, has since expanded to include a strategic and creative production arm designed to work in concert with its talent roster spanning stylists, set designers, creative directors and more. The group includes film and photography talent representation through Cadence Films and Cadence Image, beauty talent representation through Blend Management, local Italian talent management through Milan-based agency Atomo and production entities Experiential H…
PARIS — On Saturday, Elias Medini, also known as Lyas — the creator behind fashion week “Watch Parties,” where runway shows are streamed for a live, in-person audience — posted a video on social media lambasting Vogue for “stealing” the concept. The response was overwhelmingly supportive, with Instagram and TikTok commenters casting Lyas and his free, open events as David to the Condé Nast publication’s invite-only viewing party Goliath. Still, there were some who questioned whether an idea as simple as gathering fashion fanatics to watch a public livestream truly belonged to anyone anyway.With his latest event, Lyas upped the…