Fashion
Confidence lowest among Dutch textiles-apparel-leather manufacturers
Half of the various industrial sectors produced more than they did last year.
The calendar-adjusted output of the Dutch manufacturing sector was 0.7 per cent higher YoY in November 2025, according to Statistics Netherlands.
Half of the various industrial sectors produced more than they did last year.
Producer confidence in December was above the 20-year average of minus 1.3.
Manufacturers in the textiles, apparel and leather industry were the most negative (minus 4.5).
Producer confidence was less negative in December than the previous month. It stood at minus 1.1, up from minus 1.7 in November. Manufacturers were less negative about their current stocks. Their assessment of the output for the next three months and their current stocks of finished products remained largely unchanged.
Producer confidence in December was above the 20-year average of minus 1.3. Confidence reached an all-time high (10.4) in October 2021 and an all-time low (minus 31.5) in April 2020.
Confidence improved in five of eight of the underlying industrial sectors. However, manufacturers in the textiles, apparel and leather industry were the most negative (minus 4.5).
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
Fashion
JD Sports makes major move in one-click AI sales
Published
January 12, 2026
JD Sports is diving deep into AI with a new plan that means shoppers will be able to buy products through AI platforms without exiting an app.
AI is increasingly making itself felt in retail in both behind-the-scenes and customer-facing activities and this is one move that’s as customer-facing as it’s possible to get. It reflects consumers’ increasing use of AI platforms like ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot, the latter of which will be its first partner.
Jetan Chowk, JD’s chief technology and transformation officer told the Press Association the company sees AI as “the future of how people will shop” and the retailer wants to be at the heart of this.
It’s working with Commercetools and payment firm Stripe on “one-click purchases” through AI platforms with the tech to launch in the US — now its biggest market — in the months ahead.
But JD isn’t the only one carving out an AI sales future. Back in October major rival Frasers Group (it owns Sports Direct, which competes directly with JD in the UK) saying it was to become the first European retailer to deploy Commercetools’ full agentic commerce suite.
As for JD, it’s expecting to expand the tech to other key markets (the UK and Europe) this year.
Chowk said: “We think AI is the future of how people will shop, and we want to stay at the forefront of how they shop. What we are currently seeing is that customers are regularly using AI apps to research and discover the products they want to buy. We can see that already and want to ensure we are moving early to meet customers and their needs in that space.”
Importantly too, JD has a big presence in the youth shopping market and has seen AI usage soaring for shoppers aged 18 to 24.
So now, those shoppers will be able to not only find products using AI but buy them too within the AI platforms.
CEO Regis Schultz hailed the strengthening of its digital proposition for customers, and how how the tech “keeps us moving in line with the fast-changing retail landscape”.
He thinks the innovation will make the company more efficient as well as improving the customer experience.
Copyright © 2026 FashionNetwork.com All rights reserved.
Fashion
China’s economy expected to grow 4.8% in 2026: Goldman Sachs
The team’s most distinctive out-of-consensus view is for China’s current account surplus to rise to 4.2 per cent of GDP this year from 3.6 per cent in 2025.
Goldman Sachs Research expects China’s real GDP to grow by 4.8 per cent in 2026, above the consensus of estimates of 4.5 per cent.
However, structural challenges like labour market weakness remain.
Its forecast for producer price inflation of minus 0.7 per cent is modestly higher than the consensus expectation of minus 1 per cent.
Consumer price inflation is projected to be below 1 per cent this year.
However, structural challenges like low household consumption and labour market weakness remain, Goldman Sachs Research said in a insights piece.
While the housing market’s decline hasn’t yet reached its bottom, the economic drag from a declining property market is expected to lessen.
China’s economy is projected by the financial services firm to grow faster than consensus estimates this year as exports increase and the economic drag from a declining property market lessens.
The Chinese economy has changed significantly in recent years amid trade wars and a prolonged property downturn, wrote Hui Shan, Goldman Sachs Research’s chief China economist, in a recent report.
Both China’s share of US imports and its new property starts—a measure of new residential construction projects—fell last year to levels last seen in the early 2000s.
In light of these shifts, policymakers face the challenge of finding new sources of growth in the coming years, Shan wrote.
“Although Chinese exporters have successfully diversified into non-US markets, supporting our positive outlook for Chinese exports, building a consumption- and services-driven economy will take years, if not decades,” she added.
Goldman Sachs Research’s above-consensus forecast for Chinese economic growth is consistent with its above-consensus projections for monetary and fiscal policy easing, inflation and exports.
Similarly, its forecast for producer price inflation of minus 0.7 per cent is modestly higher than the consensus expectation of minus 1 per cent.
China has been experiencing deflation in its producer price index (PPI) for more than three years. The team expects year-on-year PPI to turn positive in early 2027. Meanwhile, it estimates headline consumer price inflation will largely remain below 1 per cent this year.
Goldman Sachs Research expects price inflation for Chinese exports in US dollar terms to turn positive in 2026, rising to 0.7 per cent from minus 2.7 per cent last year.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
Fashion
Globes red carpet: chic black, naked dresses and a bit of politics
By
AFP
Published
January 12, 2026
Hollywood’s top stars hit the red carpet on Sunday for the Golden Globes, the first major event on the road to the Oscars, and they delivered lots of old-school glamour.
Here is a glance at some of the looks seen at the Beverly Hilton Hotel:
Ever-chic black
Selena Gomez is a newlywed and her happiness shows. The best comedy actress nominee for her work on “Only Murders in the Building” radiated joy as she arrived on the arm of her husband Benny Blanco.
She oozed sophistication in a black Chanel column gown with a frothy white feathered strapless neckline, her black bob swept into soft waves.
Gomez was not alone in striking an understated pose, with lots of stars opting for black or dark, wintry hues.
Teyana Taylor, a winner for her searing turn as a leftist revolutionary in hotly-tipped film “One Battle After Another,” scorched the carpet in a cut-out backless black Schiaparelli gown with a halter neckline — and a cheeky crystal bow on her backside.
Ariana Grande (“Wicked: For Good”), who competed with Taylor for the award for best supporting actress, turned heads in a black textured Vivienne Westwood ballgown with an asymmetrical neckline and a bubble silhouette before trailing to the floor.
Her hair was swept into her signature ponytail, and she kept the jewelry simple with a diamond choker.
Amy Madigan, also in their category for her villainous turn in “Weapons,” went for a tuxedo look with cropped pants and patent leather boots.
Nominee Jenna Ortega embraced the goth chic of her title character in “Wednesday” in a black high-neck Dilara Findikoglu gown with glittering epaulets and cut-offs that revealed a bit of side boob… and part of her hip bone.
Among the male stars in attendance, Colman Domingo was as usual a standout, wearing head-to-toe black Valentino, with silvery appliques scattered from his left shoulder down his lapel to his waist.
Naked ambition
Jennifer Lopez is no stranger to strong fashion statements. Her plunging green Versace gown at the Grammys in 2000 is still a reference for winning the red carpet by adopting the “less is more” rule.
On Sunday, Lopez — whose turn in “Kiss of the Spider Woman” was overlooked by Globes voters — wore a figure-hugging sheer gown with bronze patterns snaking over her body, ending in a mermaid fishtail.
Jennifer Lawrence –nominated for best drama actress in a film for “Die My Love” — got the memo as well, rocking a barely-there sheer nude Givenchy gown with only a smattering of strategically placed flowers.
Stars slam deadly ICE shooting
Hollywood never quite has a night out without a bit of politics coming into play.
On Sunday, some of the stars including nominee Mark Ruffalo wore pins with the messages “BE GOOD” — a reference to Renee Good, the Minneapolis woman who was shot and killed by a federal immigration agent.
Comedian Wanda Sykes wore the same pin on her lapel, while actress Natasha Lyonne, a nominee for her TV show “Poker Face,” attached one to her clutch handbag.
The campaign is endorsed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), one of the country’s most prominent civil rights organizations.By Frederic J. Brown with Susan Stumme in Washington
Copyright © 2026 AFP. All rights reserved. All information displayed in this section (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the contents of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presses.
-
Entertainment1 week agoMinnesota Governor Tim Walz to drop out of 2026 race, official confirmation expected soon
-
Politics5 days agoUK says provided assistance in US-led tanker seizure
-
Sports1 week agoVAR review: Why was Wirtz onside in Premier League, offside in Europe?
-
Entertainment5 days agoDoes new US food pyramid put too much steak on your plate?
-
Entertainment4 days agoWhy did Nick Reiner’s lawyer Alan Jackson withdraw from case?
-
Business1 week ago8th Pay Commission: From Policy Review, Cabinet Approval To Implementation –Key Stages Explained
-
Business4 days agoTrump moves to ban home purchases by institutional investors
-
Sports1 week agoFACI invites applications for 2026 chess development project | The Express Tribune
