The Monocle Minute

It’s a season of big changes in the fashion industry and I’m not just talking about the switch from lightweight linens to thicker wools. Inside ateliers and luxury-group boardrooms, executive teams are being reconfigured, strategies rethought and budgets revised as sales slow down across the sector. This week the Paris-headquartered conglomerate Kering, which owns brands such as Balenciaga, Saint Laurent and Gucci, posted a 16 per cent decline in sales for the third quarter of 2024. Though there have also been a few success stories – Miu Miu, for example, is enjoying double-digit growth, as is Bottega Veneta, with its craft-first strategy and recent expansion into perfume – many industry leaders think that it’s time to start playing it safe.

One executive who disagrees is Michael Kliger, the CEO of Munich-based retailer Mytheresa. He remains optimistic and is making confident investments. Days before I sat down with Kliger in Paris to interview him for our new show, Monocle on Fashion, he had written a €555m cheque to acquire one of Mytheresa’s competitors, Yoox Net-a-Porter Group.

He told me that it makes sense to invest when the market is down and, though it might seem unlikely when you look at recent headlines, we should expect to see the sector recovering from early next year. Fresh from an event with Tod’s in Milan, where Mytheresa’s guests were treated to a performance and dinner at La Scala, Kliger also spoke about the importance of staying focused, having a clear point of view and creating “customer magic”. The latter, he said, requires creativity and making bold moves – even during tough times.

You can hear our full conversation with Kliger on‘Monocle on Fashion’, which launched this week. Our new Monocle Radio show dissects the fashion and luxury sectors with a slice of optimism, creative inspiration and alternative perspectives.

The Royal Netherlands Navy, the world’s third-oldest naval force, has announced plans to become the first to deploy unmanned multipurpose vessels, which will be built by Damen Shipyards Group. The support ships will be operated remotely by nearby air-defence and command frigates. They will also carry advanced sensors to detect underwater espionage and sabotage activities.

The vessels’ primary mission will be to enhance security in the North Sea by protecting crucial data cables, energy infrastructure, offshore wind farms and drilling platforms. The hi-tech ships will initially operate with minimal crew, before transitioning to fully unmanned operations. They will be equipped with Israel Aerospace Industries’ Barak ER missiles, Harop munitions and electronic-warfare systems. The Netherlands intends to invest up to €1bn in the project. The first two ships are scheduled to be operational by 2027.

For more on the Dutch navy’s plan to procure unmanned vessels, tune in to ‘The Globalist’ from 07.00 London time on Monocle Radio.

One of Thailand’s most highly anticipated mixed-use developments opens to the public today. One Bangkok, which consists of five towers, three shopping centres and about eight hectares of public space, is close to both Lumpini Park and the bustling Sukhumvit Road. To lure shoppers, tourists and office workers from the likes of Siam Paragon, Central World and Emporium, the development’s owner, the TCC Group, has invested $3.2bn (€2.9bn) in the project. It has also called in some international heavyweights, from blue-chip US architecture practice Skidmore, Owings & Merrill to UK sculptor Tony Cragg. One Bangkok is home to several unique anchor tenants too, including Bangkok’s first Ritz-Carlton hotel and a Mitsukoshi food hall.

Shifting the city’s retail centre away from Sukhumvit Road to Lumpini Park will be a tall order but One Bangkok won’t be the area’s only big draw. Another mixed-used development, Dusit Central Park, is under construction nearby. As competition becomes ever more fierce, the big winners will be Bangkok’s shoppers and diners.

This week’s picture by pioneering US colour photographer Mitch Epstein is entitled “Amos Coal Power Plant, Raymond, West Virginia”. It is part of a series called American Power, for which he travelled across the country to investigate how energy production and consumption were affecting the rural landscape. This week, his American Nature series will be on show at Turin’s Gallerie d’Italia in an exhibition curated by Brian Wallis. It brings together Epstein’s most significant work of the past 20 years in large-format photographs that immerse viewers in the conflict between the nation’s growth and its diminishing wilderness.

Monocle’s Carlota Rebelo reports from the World Economic Forum’s annual Urban Transformation Summit, which took place in San Francisco this week. We discover the city’s plans to build a resilient waterfront, hear about South Africa’s ambitions to tackle the housing crisis and how the private sector can help deliver urban innovation.