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Mend My Manolos: Manolo Blahnik’s new partnership with The Restory

Manolo Blahnik has announced a new partnership with London-based luxury repair service The Restory, which already has relationships with retailers Browns, Farfetch and Selfridges.

The Restory x Manolo Blahnik partnership will enable customers to send their treasured Manolos to a group of expert artisans, who can perform anything from standard reheeling, resoling or redying to advanced restoration and recolouring.

“The repair industry is fast expanding, with its growth potential similar to that of rental or resale,” said Vanessa Jacobs, chief executive of The Restory, in an interview with Business of Fashion.

“If you take the top six brands of LVMH, we’re talking about hundreds of millions of pounds worth of opportunity,” she added.

The partnership is now available via the Manolo Blahnik website and across all three UK Manolo Blahnik boutiques.

Galeries Lafayette’s new circular fashion space, (Re)Store

The issue of sustainability is fast taking over fashion. As further proof, Galeries Lafayette last week announced the launch of (Re)Store, a new space dedicated to circular fashion.

Ahead of the launch, buying and merchandising director Marianne Romestain told WWD: “After everything that was written about the end of the department store model, [the reopening after pandemic-related closures] showed that people were happy to see us again. So we’re pleased to kick off the year with a complete renewal of our offer and our spaces, for a reworked customer experience that has been designed to align with the trifecta of what clients want right now: products, services and pleasure.”

The store’s second, third and fourth floors have been overhauled. The trend-led second floor will showcase a rotating selection of some 30 sustainable brands, such as Nanushka, Rejina Pyo and Denmark’s Stine Goya.

“It’s not just about having secondhand, it’s about offering different visions and approaches of pre-loved and secondhand,” Romestain said.

The third floor is home to labels Romestain describes as “functional yet contemporary” such as Joseph or Theory, and a selection of digital native vertical “Instabrands” such as Navy Paris, Not Your Girl and Pretty Wire.

The final space now houses the newly renovated footwear department, which has moved from its former basement home to the fourth floor. Spanning 43,000 square feet, it is the largest shoe department in Europe. Its selection goes from trainers by Axel Arigato to stilettoes from Christian Louboutin. The space also offers a trainer refurbishment service by sustainable label Veja, open to any brand.

“The overarching idea is that the store will increasingly become a space for services that go beyond what we sell ourselves,” said Alexandre Liot, director of Galeries Lafayette Paris Haussmann.

The Fashion Business Centre’s online ‘Think In’ event

The Fashion Business Centre at University of the Arts London has announced a two-day online event taking place on 14 and 15 September.

The event will feature sessions on topics around the themes of circular economy, emerging technologies, wellbeing and the future of fashion business education.

The university says the event is unlike a traditional conference, with sessions organised to maximise discussion and exchange of ideas.

Take a closer look at the programme here.