Tech

Products strewn across the sink, half-empty or in cluttered piles have replaced picture-perfect shelfies as brands and influencers find luxury in mess.

The arrival of direct checkout in AI search engines like ChatGPT is being called the biggest innovation in online shopping in over a decade. BoF breaks down how brands and retailers are getting ready for the disruption.

Sneakers have dominated the footwear business for years, driven by constant growth from industry leaders like Nike and Adidas. Now, questions are rising about how much further that growth can go.

British lingerie retailer Boux Avenue is sharpening its Valentine’s Day trading strategy with the launch of ‘Tunnel of Love’, a high-impact lingerie and nightwear collection designed to drive early-year demand across stores and online. Landing today (12 January) in all 27 UK stores and on BouxAvenue.com, the collection arrives at a critical point in the retail calendar, when fashion and lingerie brands typically rely on occasion-led gifting and self-purchase to counter post-Christmas footfall softness. Priced from £14 to £55, the range sits firmly within Boux Avenue’s accessible premium positioning, offering statement design without pushing into luxury price territory. Sizes run from 6 to 18, with selected bras available up to a H-cup, reflecting the brand’s continued emphasis on fit inclusivity as a commercial differentiator. Unlike softer, everyday lingerie drops, Tunnel of Love leans heavily into theatricality and visual impact, a strategy increasingly used by lingerie retailers to create social-first product moments and drive conversion around Valentine’s Day. The collection is built around bold colour stories – pillar box red, berry, blush pink and black – paired with high-margin detailing such as eyelash lace, guipure trims, heart embroideries and corsetry-inspired construction. Zoe Price-Smith, Chief Design and Product Officer at Boux Avenue, said: “The Tunnel of Love Valentine’s collection radiates theatrical glamour and pure escapism. We were influenced by the sumptuous, high-drama aesthetics of the catwalks and the opulent allure of the Moulin Rouge, and burlesque shows adding an essence of Parisian boudoir. “This Valentine’s season, lingerie becomes wearable art, embracing glamour and seduction through craftsmanship in 3D embroideries and exquisite guipure trims. The designs are rich in detail with striking heart motifs, modernised corsetry elements, and delicate floral eyelash lace. This Valentine’s collection is about giving the customer a stage for bold self-expression and allowing her to take centre stage.” Core hero styles such as the Angelique and Anastasia lingerie sets are supported by add-on products including suspenders, leg harnesses and stockings. The Angelique set, priced at £40 for the bra with coordinating briefs and leg harnesses priced from £16, anchors the collection’s bold red story. Meanwhile, softer options such as Lisette and Vivienne broaden appeal to customers seeking romance over overt sensuality, helping the brand capture multiple Valentine’s shopper mindsets. Boux Avenue continues to push beyond traditional lingerie categories, positioning bodysuits, basques and nightwear as crossover pieces. With Valentine’s Day remaining one of the most commercially significant periods for lingerie retailers, Boux Avenue’s Tunnel of Love collection demonstrates a clear strategy: use visual drama to drive attention, maintain accessible pricing to protect volume and rely on fit.

With more shoppers priced out by luxury’s rising costs turning to secondhand goods, CEO Rati Sahi Levesque opens up in the BoF-McKinsey State of Fashion 2026 about how the resale player is welcoming them with open arms.

The 49-year-old menswear brand, known for its exacting preppy aesthetic and English craftsmanship, is now majority-owned by a Danish billionaire. Co-owner and creative director, Michael Hill told BoF that radical change isn’t set to follow.

With a new brand campaign and visual assets, the original results-driven “clean” beauty brand hopes to reinforce its original ethos and reclaim its core customer.