YNAP

LONDON — Net-a-porter and Mr Porter are moving all outstanding payment terms to 90 days net, Yoox Net-a-porter Group said in a memo to brand partners obtained by WWD.The new payment terms will apply to any Net or Mr Porter brand partner not already on those terms with immediate effect from spring 2022, including any purchase orders already raised for the season.
The e-commerce giant said the move aims to “standardize the payment terms applied by Net-a-porter and Mr Porter” across their distribution centers in order to maintain payment dates, and to reflect some of the already agreed commercial terms with brand partners.
In the memo, Lea Cranfield, chief buying and merchandising officer, said the majority of its brand partners across the group already operate on payment terms of 90 days net, or longer.

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Cranfield added that if the new terms present a “significant challenge” for any brand, it may be possible to use an Amex payment facility, which would allow for faster payment, although it will incur a fee.
The new terms could be challenging for the smaller brands, many of which already have problems with cash flow.
While payment terms vary widely depending on the brand and the retailer. Most brands on average will receive payment between 30 to 60 days from retailers. It’s not uncommon for smaller brands and start-ups to get as much as a 30 percent deposit to help with production, with the remainder paid upon delivery.
One designer who asked not to be named and whose brand is on 60-day terms with YNAP, said the change in payment times will not impact their business too much. However, they said they are concerned that emerging brands will face great difficulties with a 90-day pay window. It means they will have to shoulder the risks and costs of producing a collection for a longer period of time.
“For small brands, this change is very bad. They are holding a season of cash flow,” the designer said.
A creative director of a London fashion label who asked not to be named told WWD that “90 days is a joke. If they don’t pay the deposit, you have to invest money in production in advance. After delivering, which is usually before the [runway] show, your cash flow will be very vulnerable.”
Separately, a showroom manager argued that the new terms could be up for negotiation. “Of course, [YNAP] will offer harsh terms, but it doesn’t mean you can’t push them and negotiate. Not all power is with retailers, brands have quite a bit as well,” the manager told WWD.
WWD has reached out to YNAP for comment.
Coincidentally, Net-a-porter said during its fall 2021 update back in May that it will put a renewed focus on the retailer’s top-end luxury offering, with more runway pieces and wider assortments of top brands in the luxury realm, be it heritage names like Bottega Veneta and Saint Laurent or younger ones like Khaite.

EDU-INDUSTRY: Amid growing competition for international fashion schools to provide premium academic curricula, the Florence unit of Istituto Marangoni has secured high-profile partners including the Yoox-Net-a-Porter Group and Italian luxury houses Versace and Etro for three post-graduate master courses kicking off in October.
The school’s goal is to shorten the gap between academic education and the labor market.
In particular, the e-tailer will support the school’s nine-month master course in Fashion e-Business and Digital Transformation, aimed at providing future fashion professionals with skills ranging from digital capabilities and e-commerce to design thinking, sustainability and new media.

Experts from the YNAP group as well as from other leading fashion companies will provide guest lectures, as well as workshops and masterclasses flanked by a project work initiative as part of which students will be tasked to develop a strategic plan following a company brief.
Ivana Conte, director of education at Istituto Marangoni Firenze, touted the master’s course in that it allows students to “develop skills and abilities that nurture a digital first entrepreneurial approach.”
“The master’s course developed together [with Istituto Marangoni Firenze] is a further proof of our commitment towards new generations, offering them not only a high-profile education but also an opportunity to acquire skills that are essential on international markets,” offered Paolo Inga, global human resources director at Yoox Net-a-Porter Group.

Versace and Etro are supporting the Florence school’s students with two scholarships starting from the 2021-2022 academic year.
Each brand will cover 50 percent of the school’s tuition fee for the winning applicants in the Luxury Accessories Design and Management and Fashion, Art and Textile Innovation master course, respectively.
Students applying for the Versace scholarship will be tasked with creating a handbag, as well as footwear and a piece of small leather goods inspired by the Italian brand’s signature codes, while those interested in attending the Etro-backed Art and Textile Innovation course are required to provide sketches or digital drawings of three total looks, one with a sustainable bent, in sync with the brand’s DNA and offering a creative take on the use of fabrics and materials.
On July 6 Istituto Marangoni Firenze’s director Lorenzo Tellini, alongside Conte and representatives of the two brands, will select the winning projects.
Istituto Marangoni counts nine campuses across Milan, Florence, Paris, London, Mumbai, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Miami.
As reported, the enrollment rate at Istituto Marangoni Firenze – which was opened in 2016 – inched up 9 percent in 2020, despite the pandemic.

A look from a student in Fashion Design at Istituto Marangoni Firenze. 
Courtesy of Istituto Marangoni Firenze

Last week in conjunction with men’s trade fair Pitti Uomo, the Florentine fashion school hosted its fashion show displaying the collections by the 10 best designers from its Fashion Design undergraduate courses. Among them, Filippo Matteo Paolo Barbagallo was the recipient of the International Catwalk Award assigned at the London Graduate Fashion Week 2021.

MILAN — Imagine giving young artisans exposure to 4.3 million customers and 1 billion viewers.
That opportunity is provided by The Modern Artisan project, which is unveiling the Yoox Net-a-porter for The Prince’s Foundation capsule collection on Thursday across the Yoox, Net-a porter, Mr Porter and The Outnet online stores at the same time — a first for the e-tailer.
The capsule is the result of a training program developed by YNAP and HRH The Prince of Wales, president of The Prince’s Foundation, blending and celebrating traditional Italian and British craftsmanship with digital tools such as data insights. The goal of The Modern Artisan is to strengthen textile skills and train artisans in the U.K. and Italy to produce luxury apparel collections.

“This project is the sum of my work for 20 years, of all the values that I have tried to infuse, the importance of data, of digital education and of luxury as longevity, so I am personally passionate about it,” said Federico Marchetti, Yoox Net-a porter Group chairman and chief executive officer, who considers this “the grand finale” of the 20th anniversary of YNAP.
The Modern Artisan has been in the works since spring 2019 but dates back to the end of 2018, related Marchetti. “Prince Charles came to see [the YNAP] Tech Hub in London and we discovered we had a friend in common; the human aspect is always fundamental, as much as technology. He invited me to Scotland to see what he does for young people to create jobs and his textile program. He challenged me to create a project that would have to do with his great love for Italy, together with his great passion for sustainability,” said Marchetti, who shares this commitment with the prince.

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The result is a fashion collection that is made by hand with luxurious fabrics, ranging from Johnstons cashmere to silk from Como. “This is not an amateurish project,” Marchetti touted. “The result is beyond my expectations in terms of quality.”
Looks from the capsule collection.  courtesy image

The capsule also relies on the information collected by YNAP’s massive data, allowing to perfect sizes and shapes in order to reduce waste and thus generating less returns. “The name of the project blends a storied profession with a modern tool,” Marchetti noted. It also relies on experience gathered through previous projects, such as the line unveiled in 2018 and called 8 by Yoox, which was driven by artificial intelligence. This followed Mr P, the in-house collection launched by Mr Porter in 2017.
Production of the capsule started in April 2019, but was stalled by the pandemic from March to August and was completed in September. All profits from the sale of the collection will be donated to The Prince’s Foundation to enable the charity to develop and deliver training programs that will help preserve traditional textile skills.
“There are fundamental values beyond marketing in this project, which bridges Italy and the U.K. in a spirit of collaboration at the time of Brexit,” said Marchetti, underscoring that YNAP is Anglo-Italian. “These are jobs that we cannot lose,” he added referring to the art of craftsmanship, expressing his pride and belief that it will be a blueprint for more sustainable collections.

Marchetti said the project is an “incredible launch pad,” since all of the 10 artisans have already found jobs in companies ranging from Ermenegildo Zegna and Max Mara to Off-White. “This gave one young person the confidence to even set up his own business and another is teaching sustainability at school,” Marchetti said.
The ready-to-wear capsule of women’s and men’s wear comprises 18 pieces, produced in a total of around 600 units.
Six Italian students from leading design school Politecnico di Milano’s Fashion in Process (FiP) research laboratory led the design of the collection, while British artisans were trained at Dumfries House, the headquarters of The Prince’s Foundation in Ayrshire, Scotland, producing most of the collection in the estate’s Textile Training Centre.
The artisans were bestowed a Modern Apprenticeship Award in Heritage Textiles in partnership with Glasgow Clyde College.
The knitwear was designed by the Italian artisans and manufactured at Johnstons of Elgin’s knitwear mill in Hawick, Scotland.
The artisans were granted exclusive access to five years’ worth of YNAP data on long-term preferences of the group’s 4.3 million customers and learned how to process image data and use AI visual recognition to inform the styles and silhouettes of their designs.
For example, in the women’s wear collection, details from the wide legs and midi lengths to the cinched-in waists and pussy bows were design choices that reflected customer preferences. In men’s wear, data was mirrored in a camel coat or navy trousers, as well as the drawstring detail at the waist of casual trousers.
Looks from the capsule collection.  courtesy image

Created during the 500th anniversary of the death of Leonardo da Vinci, the legendary artist’s knots are a feature throughout the collection. His studies of drapery inspired the women’s wear, seen in folds, pleats, smocking, ties and bows. The men’s wear points to his fascination with architectural details.
Marchetti, who has championed sustainability since 2009, pointed to the Prince of Wales’ beliefs in sustainability for more than four decades. For this reason, the collection rests on cashmere and wool sourced from Scottish textiles firm Johnstons of Elgin that is fully traceable, and organic eco silk sourced from Centro Seta in Italy.
Natural and organic materials were prioritized, as was end-of-roll, and no synthetic fabrics were used in the collection. Each style is equipped with a digital ID, providing the story behind the product, its materials, the artisans who designed and made it, as well as care and repair recommendations for durability.
“Designed in Italy and crafted in the U.K., this truly sustainable luxury collection illustrates the vast possibilities of cross-border collaborations to tackle environmental challenges and train creative talents in these uncertain times and beyond,” Marchetti said.
The Modern Artisan project will be showcased at Michelangelo Foundation’s Homo Faber in 2021.
British Modern Artisans working on coats in the Textiles Training Centre.  courtesy image