🇦🇪 Dubai Fashion Week welcomes more Asian brands. The biannual showcase, held this season from Feb. 1-6 in the United Arab Emirates’ commercial hub, featured about 20 runway brands. The event, which is run by Dubai Design District (D3), is now focused on “further strengthening the bridge between designers and retailers,” said Khadija Al Bastaki, D3’s senior vice president. In addition to Dubai-based labels like Lama Jouni, Mrs. Keepa and Asjad and brands from Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Europe, Asian designers stood out as a growing contingent this season. Vietnamese brands L’Scarlett and Soramame presented collections alongside Indian designers Kresha Bajaj and Manish Malhotra, with the latter closing the week. Organisers have welcomed a growing number of designers from Southeast Asia in recent years, including Malaysians and Indonesians, in a bid to round out the schedule. Mohammed Aqra, the Arab Fashion Council’s chief strategy officer, pointed to the event’s ongoing mission to prioritise “commercial outcomes while reinforcing Dubai’s position as a gateway between regional creativity and global markets.” [BoF Inbox]
🇭🇹 HOPE/HELP extension is a temporary reprieve for Haitian exporters. US president Donald Trump signed legislation on Tuesday extending the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement act and the Haiti Economic Lift Program Act (HOPE/HELP). The two schemes, which expired in September, support around 50,000 jobs for workers in the Caribbean nation, including those at manufacturers supplying American companies like Gap, Hanes and PVH. Both HOPE/HELP and AGOA, the lapsed US duty-free trade programme for 32 eligible African countries, have been extended through Dec. 31 and are effective retroactively from Sep. 30, 2025. However, “data points to the trend that US apparel imports from AGOA and Haiti have been negatively affected by the expiration of the two agreements, even in just a few months,” said Sheng Lu, professor of fashion and apparel studies at the University of Delaware. [Sourcing Journal]
🌍 US apparel body calls for “long-term renewal” of AGOA, HOPE/HELP. The American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) said that while it “celebrates” the US government re-enactment of both the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and the HOPE/HELP Acts for Haiti, stakeholders require greater certainty than just a one-year extension. “While the retroactive nature of this passage supports the industry on time lost, proactive and long-term renewal is what is needed for predictability, investment, and economic viability to support the US jobs anchored by these programmes,” said Beth Hughes, AAFA’s vice president of trade and customs policy. “We look forward to immediately working with Congress and the administration on this approach to ensure these programmes are timely renewed well before their expiration on December 31, 2026.” [BoF Inbox]
🇮🇳 US trade deal brings “vital relief” to India’s gem and jewellery sector. Last week’s trade deal between the US and India, which reduced American levies on many Indian goods from 50 percent to 18 percent, has been welcomed by India’s industry leaders. As part of this week’s Interim Agreement framework between the two nations, India secured zero-duty access for diamonds and coloured gemstones to the US. “We are elated,” said Kirit Bhansali, chairman of India’s Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC). “Especially after a difficult year in which India’s cut and polished diamond exports to our largest market fell by over 60 percent.” Bhansali is now lobbying for a return to the lower US duties levels on jewellery that were in place before US president Donald Trump took office last year. [Economic Times]
🇰🇷 Seoul Fashion Week streamlines shows at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza. This season’s event, which was held from Feb. 3-8, featured 15 South Korean runway brands, including headliner Munn by Han Hyun-min, Ulkin, Mmam, BLR by Gwon Bongseok, Re Rhee, Hannah Shin and Lie by Chung Chung Lee. Organisers claimed that by moving from a multi-site model to a single venue, they would “enhance [the event’s] business efficiency and viewing experience.” This season’s trade trade show brought together 100 fashion brands, attracting over a hundred buyers from 20 countries. At a sideline event, Jorn Zempel, president of Loewe Korea and Lee Ji-eun, executive director of W Concept Korea, mused over the future of Korean exports. “K-fashion is no longer an emerging story,” Zempel, later told The Korea Herald. “It is poised to be the next global chapter in Korea’s ever-growing creative influence – brands that don’t just dress the world but connect with it.” [BoF Inbox, The Korea Herald]
🇸🇻 El Salvador’s US agreement clarifies trade treatment of used clothing. The Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles Association (SMART), a US-based international trade association, has applauded the news that an Agreement on Reciprocal Trade has been reached between the US and El Salvador. “This outcome represents a meaningful step forward for our members and for the broader circular economy,” said Jessica Franken, a SMART spokesperson, adding that it delivers “a solution that supports responsible reuse, recycling, and legitimate global trade.” NCTO president Kim Glas also welcomed the move. “El Salvador is part of the CAFTA-DR region that forms a vital co-production chain with the American textile supply chain. This production chain facilitated $11.3 billion in two-way trade in 2024 and supported more than 470,000 US workers in the domestic textile sector alone.” [BoF Inbox]
🇬🇹 Guatemala receives US duty-free treatment on apparel and textiles. The Washington-based National Council of Textile Organisations (NCTO) welcomed the US government move to provide preferential treatment to qualifying textile and apparel products from Guatemala under the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR). “The reciprocal trade agreement with Guatemala marks an important step toward strengthening the US textile supply chain. We commend the administration for taking decisive action to remove reciprocal tariffs,” commented NCTO president Kim Glas. “[This] action will reinforce the strength of the US textile industry. The US–Western Hemisphere supply chain is a strategic bulwark against China and other Asian competitors.” [GlobalData]
🇨🇳 Chinese fashion brand Icicle’s parent prepares to go public. ICCF group, owner of the Shanghai-based brand and French luxury label Carven, is reportedly considering an IPO in either Hong Kong or Paris, where it started its international expansion a decade ago. Founded in 1997 by Ye Shouzeng and Shawna Tao, the group is preparing to expand its namesake brand further overseas. The brand, which has around 240 stores in almost 140 cities in China, already operates a store in Dublin, Ireland. The company told the FT that, “in line with the long-term strategy set out by its founders, the company regularly considers all possible strategic options and growth opportunities that support its future development,” adding that it is delivering “strong performance.” Analysts estimate that the Icicle brand had revenues of a few hundred million euros last year. [Financial Times]
🇱🇧 Creative Space Beirut and Slow Factory strike education partnership. Lebanon’s scholarship-based fashion design school has inked an agreement with the New York-based ESG nonprofit for an initiative that Sarah Hermez, the school’s founder, says will “safeguard free design education”. The alliance will see Slow Factory “act as fiscal sponsor” for Creative Space Beirut, enabling US-based supporters to contribute financially to the Beirut school. “Creative Space Beirut is an example of radical education for collective liberation. Its free education programme, operating in a war-torn country and centring the most disadvantaged youth, demonstrates how grassroots institutions create real, lasting impact,” said Slow Factory founder Celine Semaan. [BoF Inbox]
🇧🇭 Bahraini pearl prices surge to record levels amid rising global demand. The Gulf island nation’s natural pearl sector has seen prices rise by at least 40 percent over the past year, buoyed by the renewed global demand for rare gemstones, said a spokesperson for Bahrain Institute for Pearls and Gemstones (Danat). “Today, we are witnessing a clear shift among consumers and investors away from diamonds, as their investment appeal has diminished with the rise of lab-grown diamond alternatives and the resulting erosion of rarity. In contrast, natural pearls are emerging as a truly rare and enduring asset — one that cannot be replicated,” Danat CEO Noora Jamsheer said. [Zawya]
🇸🇦 Saudi Fashion Commission to regionalise the Kering Generation Award. The second edition of the award focused on sustainable innovation will widen its scope beyond Saudi Arabia to applicants in the wider Middle East and North Africa region. “Together, we are building a platform that empowers changemakers and reinforces the region’s role as a driver of sustainable transformation in the luxury fashion industry,” said Miral Youssef, president of Kering Middle East and Africa. In 2018, Kering launched the first iteration of the award in China in partnership with Plug and Play. Since then, the award launched in Japan, and then in Saudi Arabia. [BoF Inbox]
🇮🇳 India’s Kalyan Jewellers profit surges 90% in Q3. The Thrissur-based company, whose portfolio includes its namesake brand and Candere, reported consolidated profit after tax of 416 crore rupees ($45.8 million) for the quarter ended December 2025. Consolidated revenue for the period rose 42 percent to 10,343 crore rupees ($1.1 billion). Kalyan Jewellers India executive director Ramesh Kalyanaraman attributed the performance to strong festive and wedding-led demand, despite gold price volatility. [Economic Times]
🇻🇳 European Union expands its trade agreement with Vietnam. The trade bloc and the Asian sourcing hub for textiles, apparel and footwear has upgraded the existing bilateral relationship to bolster trade and investment. Vu Duc Giang, chairman of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS), was cited by local media as saying that the sector is now focused on better use of free trade agreements and strengthening its supply chains. [Sourcing Journal, Fibre2Fashion]
🇨🇳 Another Magazine is launching its first international edition in China. The British title’s publisher Dazed Media has partnered with Huasheng Media to launch Another Magazine China. The new bimonthly will bow in May, two years after the partners launched Another Man China. Dan Cui has been named Huasheng Media’s group editor-in-chief, overseeing both titles, and Monica Mong is editor-in-chief of Another China. [BoF Inbox]
🇮🇳 Tata Group’s fashion unit Trent records Q3 profit rise of 2.7%. The Mumbai-based retailer reported a net profit of 510.11 crore rupees ($56.2 million) for the quarter ended December 2025, up from 496.54 crore rupees a year earlier. Trent’s holdings include Westside department store chain, e-tailer Tata Neu, fashion brands Zudio, Samoh and Utsa, beauty brand Misbu and joint venture partnerships with international brands like Zara. [Economic Times]
🇨🇳 Maison Margiela will close Shanghai Fashion Week. The Paris-based luxury brand will take to the runway on April 1, the final day of Shanghai Fashion Week, as part of a whistlestop tour of China. The brand will then stage exhibitions in Beijing and Chengdu and hold marketing activations in the southern city of Shenzhen. [Wallpaper]
🇮🇳 Indian cricketer Suryakumar Yadav invests in local fragrance brand EM5. The sportsman has joined the brand founded by Shashank Chourey in 2022 as a partner and investor, although the company did not disclose terms of the deal. Yadav, a popular player on the national team, has more than 19 million Instagram followers. [Economic Times]
