🇺🇦 Ukrainian Fashion Week presents adaptive clothing for combat injuries. More than 40 fashion brands presented their latest collections at Ukrainian Fashion Week in Kyiv from Feb. 14 to 17 including Frolov, Gasanova, J’amemme, Ksenia Schnaider, Nadya Dzyak and TG Botanical. The event returned to Ukraine’s capital last September following a two-year hiatus. “During these challenging times of full-scale war, we recognise how vital it is to support the younger generation of Ukrainian designers — the future of our fashion industry,” said Iryna Danylevska, founder and CEO of Ukrainian Fashion Week. Organisers launched a charitable initiative this season supporting people with facial injuries and an adaptive clothing programme for those with injuries to the hands, eyes, and legs and those using prosthetics or mobility aids. The industry event ended just days after US President Donald Trump set out controversial plans for peace talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in negotiations that would sideline Ukraine and the rest of Europe. [BoF Inbox]

🇮🇳 India’s Bharat Tex lures in textile buyers from 120 countries. The second edition of the country’s largest textile industry event, which was held between Feb. 14-17 in New Delhi, saw participation from more than 6,000 exhibitors. Speaking at the event, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the country, the sixth-largest exporter of textiles and apparel in the world, aims for a threefold increase in textile exports by 2030. The event saw participation from some of India’s largest manufacturers and exporters of fabrics, fibres, yarn and apparel, such as Reliance Industries, Aditya Birla Group, Trident Group, Welspun, Arvind and Shahi, as well as global textile associations and regional consortiums, including the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC), Euratex, and the US Fashion Industry Association (USFIA). [Arnika Thakur for BoF]

🇭🇺 Budapest Central European Fashion Week plans to get ‘competitive’. The 15th anniversary edition of the event showcased 50 brands from Hungary and countries across the wider Central and Eastern Europe region including Czechia, Slovakia, Serbia, Slovenia, Romania and Poland from Feb. 10 to 16. Among the local brands presenting a runway show were Katti Zoob, Mero, Cukovy, Nubu and Nanushka whose co-founder Sandra Sandor was born in Hungary. “This week is… about enhancing the entire sector’s competitiveness…Our goal is also to promote business stability at home, as well as support entry into international markets and increase the industry’s prestige [regionally],” explained Zsofia Jakab, CEO of the event’s organising body, the Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency. [BoF Inbox]

🇨🇳 Net-a-Porter will terminate its China business in April after 12 years. Fengmao, the local joint venture between Yoox Net-a-Porter (YNAP) and Alibaba, will be dissolved in April when the e-tailer’s after-sales service ends. Richemont, the Swiss luxury group that owns the e-tailer, first confirmed it was liquidating the China business around eight months ago, but the exact timing of the exit was not revealed until this week. In October, Richemont agreed to sell its ailing e-commerce YNAP business to German online luxury retailer Mytheresa in a deal that is expected to close in the first half of 2025, subject to regulatory approvals. [Drapers, BoF]

🇮🇱 Israeli underwear manufacturer Delta Galil posts $2 billion in sales. “We exceeded our 2024 sales and EBITDA guidance, as we grew [annual] sales by 10% to over $2.0 billion, produced a record gross margin of 41.9 percent and expanded net income by 18 percent to $109 million,” said CEO Isaac Dabah in a statement. The Caesarea-based, Tel Aviv-listed firm manufacturing intimates, activewear, loungewear and denim including products for international licensing partners like Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Adidas, Wolford and Polo Ralph Lauren recorded a 18 percent year over year Q4 sales increase to $599.2 million. [Business Wire]

🇳🇬 Nigeria wants less Chinese and Indian fashion imports. “You would be surprised to know that we import $6 billion every year of textiles into Nigeria, and… by doing that, employ 750,000 Chinese and Indian workers in their countries to clothe themselves,” said John Enoh, Nigeria’s minister for industry, trade and investment on a visit to Lagos-based yarn-to-apparel manufacturer Sunflag Nigeria Ltd, promoting the government’s “mandate” to revive the domestic textile industry. The minister pointed to the neighbouring nation of Benin which “has a flourishing textile garment industry [of its own now], and their target is the Nigerian market.” [People’s Gazette, Fibre2Fashion]

🇰🇪 IFC finances expansion of Kenya’s Royal Apparel EPZ factory. The International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, and its Canada-IFC affiliate, have agreed to loan $15 million to Royal Apparel EPZ Limited and its associated Royal Apparel Group companies, Royal Garment EPZ Limited and Royal Clothing EPZ Limited, for the enlargement of its factory in Athi River outside Nairobi, in a move that the firm says will create around 3,700 jobs. “Partnering with IFC enables us to leverage their extensive experience and resources to achieve our growth objectives and produce high-quality apparel,” said Royal Apparel chairman Omprakash Shukla.

🌍 The LVMH Prize reveals its 2025 semi-finalists from around the world. In addition to those who originate from North America and Western Europe, young designers from other regions have made the list again this year including Penultimate by Xiang Gao from China, Young N Sang by Youngshin Hong and Sang Lim Lee from South Korea, Boyedoe by David Kusi Boye-Doe from Ghana, Renaissance Renaissance by Cynthia Merhej from Lebanon, Yasmin Mansour from Egypt, KML by Ahmed Hassan from Saudi Arabia and two brands from Japan, Pillings by Ryota Murakami and Soshi Otsuki. [BoF Inbox]

🇰🇷 South Korean fashion and costume designer Kim Rieul dies at 32. The designer known for dressing members of the K-pop band BTS and other Korean musicians, sometimes using traditional fabrics for garments like the hanbok, was found unconscious last Tuesday at an apartment block in Namwon, the town where his parents live. Though investigations are ongoing, local media reported that the police suspect Kim took his own life. [Korea Times]

🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan joins with Chinese firm to open textile and apparel testing lab. The Central Asian nation has signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Kyrgyz firm KyrgSert and China’s Xinjiang Tianyu Engineering Testing in a deal that would see the three parties create a laboratory offering testing for compliance with international quality, safety and health standards as well as certification and consulting services. Kyrgyzstan’s neighbour Uzbekistan is a major cotton exporter. [Fibre2Fashion, BoF]

🇲🇱 Barrick Gold to restart Mali mining operations once shipments resume. The Toronto-based miner and the West African country have been tangled in a dispute since 2023 over Mali’s new mining code. Barrick suspended mining operations after the military-led government blocked shipments, seized three metric tons of gold, detained four of the company’s employees and issued an arrest warrant for its CEO. [Reuters]

🇮🇳 Indian lab grown diamond brand Solitario raises $3.6 million. The jewellery brand founded in 2023 by industry veteran Ricky Vasandani and actor Vivek Oberoi has secured funding in a pre-IPO round from investors Neeraj Gupta (founder of Meru Cabs), Mauritius-based FPI Investi Global, Vicco Group, and Seema Manish Nuwal of Solar Industries among others. [Economic Times]

🇨🇳 Mugler appoints Chinese celebrity Cai Xukun as ambassador. The French luxury brand has tapped the actor and musician — a solo artist and former member of boybands Swin and Nine Percent — to endorse its fragrances including the new scent Angel Fantasm Eau de Parfum Sensuelle. [Cosmetics Business]

🇮🇳 Manish Kapoor is the new managing director of Marks & Spencer India. The former India MD and CEO of Pepe Jeans has been appointed to lead the British high-street brand in India. Kapoor will report to Mark Lemming, international managing director from April. [Economic Times]

🇲🇽 David Yurman taps Mexican actress Eiza González as ambassador. The American jewellery brand has signed an endorsement deal with the actress and musician known for her roles in Hollywood action films like ‘Baby Driver’ and ‘Ambulance’. [BoF Inbox]

🇨🇳 Gucci appoints Chinese actor Zhang Linghe as ambassador. The beauty division of the Italian luxury brand has tapped the actor known for roles in TV series like ‘Story of Kunning Palace’ to endorse its fragrances. [Cosmetics Business]