Frasers Group Acquires Harvey Nichols
Mike Ashley, the founder of Frasers Group, whose portfolio spans Sports Direct, House of Fraser, and Flannels, now owns Harvey Nichols. The acquisition was made through a pre-pack administration deal, meaning the sale was agreed upon before the company officially entered administration. Frasers beat out rival Next Plc in the process, and the move is the latest in Ashley’s long-running push into luxury retail, a strategy that has had a complicated track record. Frasers bought Matchesfashion for £52 million in 2023, and it collapsed into administration three months later. Harvey Nichols, which recorded five consecutive years of losses under Sir Dickson Poon’s family before they ended their 35-year ownership, arrives in similar distress. The package includes six UK stores, the Knightsbridge flagship, the online business, existing inventory, and international franchise agreements in Hong Kong, Dubai, Riyadh, Kuwait, and Doha. More than 1,000 of roughly 1,200 UK employees will transfer with the deal, which means redundancies are coming. Ashley had already told the Financial Times he would be surprised if the business fetched more than £40 million, calling it a “death spiral.” CEO Michael Murray said, “The turnaround will require tough choices, and we are prepared to make those decisions, even if that means a smaller business in the near term.” [WWD]
Photo by John Keeble/Getty Images
Society Management Is Partnering with a College Sports Agency
Fashion is cashing in on athletes, and the infrastructure is catching up. SKIMS became the official underwear partner of the NBA, WNBA, and USA Basketball in 2023. Angel Reese walked in the Victoria’s Secret fashion show last year. Carine Roitfeld launched Players in 2025, a biannual magazine at the intersection of sport and fashion. Now, this week, Society Management, whose roster includes Angel Reese, Jaylen Brown, and Russell Westbrook, announced a partnership with Canopy Talent, a marketing agency that represents collegiate and Olympic athletes. Together, they will build integrated brand campaigns for college athletes with fashion, beauty, and luxury clients, with Canopy serving as Society’s exclusive on-campus activation partner. The timing is deliberate. Since the NCAA changed its rules in 2021 to allow college athletes to earn money from their Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL), a generation of athletes has been building public profiles that rival those of professional sports stars.[WWD]
Steff Yotka Is i-D’s Next Editor in Chief
After a two-year stint, Thom Bettridge is stepping down as editor-in-chief of i-D, the publication that Karlie Kloss’s Bedford Media rescued from Vice’s bankruptcy and handed to him in September 2024 with a clear mandate to bring i-D back. He relaunched the print edition after a six-year absence, debuting the Spring/Summer 2025 “Unknown Issue” around a shift he described as moving from the attention era to a retention era. He is leaving to focus on his creative studio Content World. Stepping into the role is Steff Yotka, who has been serving as i-D’s global editorial director since October 2024. An American Vogue and Vogue Runway alum who also spent time as head of content at SSENSE, Yotka has been at the center of i-D’s editorial operation since the relaunch, overseeing storytelling across print, digital, social, video, and newsletters. At a moment when fashion media is consolidating and in some cases disappearing entirely, i-D has chosen to promote from within. [Business of Fashion]
Steff Yotka | Image courtesy of Instagram
Models.com Looks Back at the Top Stories of the Year
As the industry settles into its annual August lull before another whirlwind fashion month, Models.com looks back on a year of conversations with the people defining where fashion is headed. Check out the year that was, where we captured fashion’s leading figures, emerging talent, and the ideas shaping what comes next. Click the link here for all the complete interviews.
Model of the Week: Hot Lister Nyla Singleton Has Been A Jil Sander Regular
Hot Lister Nyla Singleton has been a Jil Sander regular since her debut at the Spring/Summer 2026 fashion week season and is now landing pages in publications like D La Repubblica and M Le magazine du Monde. Singleton is the newest face on the rise and the latest Model of the Week. See the complete interview, plus exclusive images by Brendan Wixted, at the link here.
Tati Cotliar on the Art of the Unexpected in Styling
“Sometimes, not thinking about the result takes the pressure off, and you begin to let go and push your ideas toward a place you actually want, rather than what you think you should do,” says Tati Cotliar, Models.com’s next Behind the Image creative. Some might remember her modeling era, but she discovered her natural pull to styling, and after assisting Katy England in London, she joined Charlotte Stockdale at Garage Magazine. Now, as Fashion Director of Love Magazine, Cotliar believes working in a team and having constant conversations with them has always helped her. Dive into Cotliar’s conversation with Features Editor Anire Ikomi, who shares what has inspired her, the challenging moments in her career, plus who she thinks is the one to watch. Click the link here for the full interview.
Karoline Vitto on the Body as a Starting Point
“I’d rather bury the brand than change it into something else,” says designer Karoline Vitto on staying true to her vision. Since launching her label, Vitto has built a practice centered on technical innovation and integrity, consistently platforming a diverse range of bodies in an industry governed by rigid beauty standards. Sculptural silhouettes and fluidity that celebrate the female form are foundational to her designs. Vitto has had a whirlwind year: two runway shows, a t-shirt collab with the Paul Smith Foundation and the Tate, a Pull&Bear partnership, and her work featured at the Met’s Costume Art exhibition. She sits down with Models.com contributor Georgia Moot to talk about building an independent brand with her team and her unwavering commitment to her values. Read the interview here.
MDC Talent Watch: Summer So Far
Summer is the calm before the storm of ready-to-wear, but the off season doesn’t lack for excitement. With Pitti Uomo and Couture behind us, fashion swings into its vacation era, kicking back but never slowing down. Even as insiders take their annual sabbaticals, they remain plugged in, their eyes glued to the latest campaign launches, cover releases, and the never-ending scroll of social media posts from the industry’s biggest names. Exclusively for Models.com Pro members, check it out here.
And don’t forget the new additions to the New Super & Top 50 rankings, Mathieu Simoneau, Bhavitha Mandava, Elodie Guipaud, Mia Armstrong, Perus Adolwi, and Song Ah Woo.
