SMART TIMES

[SMART TIMES @SMART_TIMES]

NEW LONG READ: AMERICAN FASHION IS SMART AND BOOMING
$544B+ combined US clothing sector market cap. 32 US companies in the global top 100.
Phia, The Mall, Aily Labs, DressX — the VC thesis fashion's application layer.
Hailey Bieber → Rhode → $1B exit. Kylie Jenner co-designing Meta's Starfire glasses. Kim Kardashian's Skims on Regent Street.
Snap hired Steven Meisel. Meta dropped Ray-Ban's name entirely.
American brands use AI more than any peer market.
https://t.co/U9MMsNXrva🧵

[SMART TIMES @SMART_TIMES]

NYFW SPRING 2027: 70 SHOWS · SEPT 10-15 · HENRY ZANKOV DEBUTS FOR DVF AT 9:30AM ON DAY ONE
Opens: DVF (Zankov debut) Sept 10
Closes: Thom Browne Sept 15
Pre-week: Ralph Lauren, Coach, Rachel Comey (25th anniversary), Cult Gaia
Hilfiger · Tory Burch · Michael Kors · Prabal Gurung · Khaite · Carolina Herrera
First-timers: Conner Ives, Magda Butrym, Sabyasachi, Zaldy.
Fur-free policy in effect for first time.
CVFF finalists on official calendar for first time: Bad Binch TongTong, Jamie Haller, Milamore.
https://t.co/HKJwo660x3 🧵

[SMART TIMES @SMART_TIMES]

CHANEL NAMES MARIE-LAURE CÉRÈDE DIRECTOR OF JEWELLERY CREATION STUDIO — OCTOBER 2026
Cartier (head of creative communications + product) → Harry Winston (artistic director) → Cartier (nearly a decade overseeing jewellery and watch design) → Chanel.
Succeeds Patrice Leguéreau who died November 2024 after 15 years in the role.
Wertheimer + Nair: "One of the most talented, refined and accomplished creative directors of her generation."
Blazymania in womenswear. Now the jewellery studio has its leader.
https://t.co/HKJwo660x3 🧵

[SMART TIMES @SMART_TIMES]

PRADA UNVEILED THE INNER LAYER OF THE SUIT THAT WILL BE WORN ON THE MOON
The LCVG — Liquid Cooling and Ventilation Garment. Ventilation tubes knitted into the fabric. 8-hour spacewalks. Lunar south pole temperatures. Unveiled in New York, June 7.
Axiom Space CEO: "Neither company could have created this independently."
SpaceX IPOs June 12. Anthropic filed for IPO. Google paying SpaceX $920M/month.
The week the future was priced — and Prada's garment goes to the moon.
https://t.co/HKJwo660x3 🧵

[SMART TIMES @SMART_TIMES]

MANGO JUST SIGNED HAILEY BIEBER. €3.8B IN REVENUE. 13% GROWTH. 2,900 STORES. THIS IS WHAT MID-MARKET ELEVATION LOOKS LIKE.
She just did Alaïa. DKNY. Met Gala in Saint Laurent. Now Mango.
"Craft Your Own Story." Shot in LA. On sale today.
Follows Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, Kendall Jenner, Kaia Gerber.
Mango knows exactly what it's doing. https://t.co/HKJwo660x3 🧵

[SMART TIMES @SMART_TIMES]

THE DOLLAR SAYS FASHION IS FINE. BITCOIN SAYS IT LOST TWO-THIRDS OF ITS VALUE
197 companies. $2.65 trillion in market caps. Down just 1.7% in dollars since April 2023.
In bits — fixed supply, no government can print more — down 64.6% over the same period.
The dollar flatters. Bits reveal.
US debt: 100.2% of GDP. Government spending $1.33 per dollar collected.
The unit of account is not neutral. 🧵

[SMART TIMES @SMART_TIMES]

AMAZON IS EATING FASHION — AND LAUREN SÁNCHEZ BEZOS AT THE MET GALA IS THE CULTURAL PROOF
$10M Met Gala sponsorship. Anna Wintour as ally. Law Roach as stylist.
Meanwhile: Amazon opens its logistics network to any fashion brand. 200 fulfillment centers. €15B invested in France. UPS fell 10% the day it launched.
76% of fashion executives say tariffs will define 2026. Amazon just became their cheapest solution.
AWS did it to computing. Supply Chain Services does it to fashion. 🧵

[SMART TIMES @SMART_TIMES]

CHINA LUXURY TRAFFIC: +36% OVER 2025 HOLIDAY AVERAGES. CONSUMER SALES: +14.3%.
Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Dior leading. Cartier spiking on falling gold prices and new collections.
But: Hermès underperforming. Kering underperforming. Miu Miu decelerating. Spending per trip still down year-over-year.
Traffic recovered. Wallet depth has not. 🧵

[SMART TIMES @SMART_TIMES]

KONTOOR IS SELLING LEE AFTER 40 YEARS TOGETHER WITH WRANGLER — THE FUTURE IS HELLY HANSEN
Helly Hansen: +16% Q1. Wrangler international: +20%. $750M buyback authorized. EPS guidance raised to $6.60–$6.70.
LVMH selling Marc Jacobs. Kontoor selling Lee. Tapestry cutting Kate Spade.
The pattern is clear: fewer brands, sharper focus, higher returns. 🧵

[SMART TIMES @SMART_TIMES]

X / TWITTER
ESSILORLUXOTTICA — ONE PROCEDURAL CLAUSE COULD BLOW UP A €10 BILLION DEAL AND DESTABILISE THE FUTURE OF AI GLASSES
75% vs 88% approval threshold. Basilico's 12.5% alone blocks the deal under the higher threshold. He voted against. He's filed in Luxembourg.
But the real story: Meta has a stake in EssilorLuxottica. Ray-Ban Meta glasses are the leading AI wearable on the market.
Governance instability here has consequences. 🧵

[SMART TIMES @SMART_TIMES]

GOOGLE FITBIT AIR: $100. NO SCREEN. 12 GRAMS. 7-DAY BATTERY. AFIB ALERTS. GEMINI HEALTH COACH BUILT IN.
Whoop competitor. Half the size of Inspire 3. Fast charge: full day in 5 minutes.
"Simple, affordable, comfortable enough to wear 24/7."
The body is the new platform. $100 is the entry price. 🧵

[SMART TIMES @SMART_TIMES]

AURA BLOCKCHAIN: 80M PRODUCTS. 50+ LUXURY BRANDS. AND A NEW CEO WITH ONE SHARP THESIS:
"AI makes data intelligent. Blockchain makes data trustworthy. Luxury needs both."
EU DPP compliance mandatory by 2028. Early movers build competitive advantage.
The trust infrastructure race is on. 🧵

[SMART TIMES @SMART_TIMES]

GAMESTOP ($12B) IS BIDDING FOR EBAY ($46B).
Ryan Cohen's goal: $100B retail juggernaut.
eBay = the world's largest peer-to-peer resale marketplace.
Fashion resale is projected at $350B by 2028.
The secondhand market just became the most important M&A battleground in retail. 🧵

[SMART TIMES @SMART_TIMES]

PVH IS JUST COMMITTED $10M TO BUILD THE NEXT GENERATION OF DESIGNERS.
"The next generation — unlocking access and creating pathways for future fashion leaders." — Stefan Larsson, PVH CEO
Talent pipelines in down cycles own the next up cycle. 🧵

[SMART TIMES @SMART_TIMES]

US DEBT: $31.27T. US GDP: $31.22T. RATIO: 100.2%.
First time above 100% since WWII — except that was war. This is just spending $1.33 for every $1 collected.
BTC is up 165% since April 2023.
The entire fashion sector is down 63% in Bitcoin terms.
The unit of account is not neutral. 🧵

[SMART TIMES @SMART_TIMES]

THE CORSET IS NOW CODE.
Vivienne Westwood + CLO + Unreal Engine + MetaHuman = "CUT, SLASH & CORSET"
A global 3D design contest. $3,500 in prizes. Submit by June 11.
Fashion's $1.78T market is down 63% in BTC terms. Digital builders are the ones holding ground. 🧵

[SMART TIMES @SMART_TIMES]

LANVIN GROUP: -18% IN EUROS. -80%+ IN BITCOIN.
€240M revenue in 2025. Lanvin brand down 30%. Sergio Rossi down 30%. 51 stores closed.
The global clothing sector is down 63% in BTC terms since 2023.
Efficiency without growth is a slower decline. The luxury playbook is broken. 🧵

[SMART TIMES @SMART_TIMES]

👗 Victoria Beckham @victoriabeckham just launched AI try-on with DressX @dressxcom .
Selfie → AI Twin → photo + video try-on → smart sizing.
DressX numbers: 🔥 10x conversion lift 🔁 7x long-term retention
Founders Modenova & Shapovalova: "Fashion demands a level of visual accuracy standard AI misses." Luxury-grade AI = the new moat.
Plug it into the Smart Fashion stack: 🤖 Google Photos digital wardrobe (this week) 🔗 Aura on-chain provenance (80M+ items) 💸 Adobe: AI retail traffic +393% YoY ♻️ Vinted at €8B for resale
Top 130 listed clothing cos: $1.78T, ▼ -63.3% in bits over 3 years.
Wealth transfer = built one try-on session at a time.
👉 https://t.co/HKJwo660x3
#SmartFashion #AI #BTC #bits #RWA #fashion