Articles by AFP
Rare Patek Philippe watch sells for 17.6 million dollars
A Patek Philippe timepiece that in 2016 became the most expensive wristwatch ever sold at auction fetched an even higher price this weekend, auctioneers Phillips said Sunday. The watch sold for 14,190,000 Swiss francs (17.6 million dollars), surpassing the 11 million francs it fetched nine years ago, or 11 million dollars at the time. The Patek...
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Italy gears up to fight fast fashion
Milan, Italy - The Italian fashion industry is looking to defend itself against Shein. The platform recently challenged the industry on its home turf in Milan with a chic collection and an army of influencers. "Hundreds of thousands of parcels arrive at our homes every day. We must react," Luca Sburlati, president of the fashion employers'...
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Paris urges Brussels to take action against Asian platform Shein
Paris, November 6, 2025 (AFP) - The European Commission “must take action” and sanction the online platform Shein, which is “clearly in breach of European regulations,” urged the French minister of foreign affairs on Thursday. “It has been three years since the regulations were adopted; the European Commission must take action,” stated Jean-Noël...
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Shein opens first physical store in Paris, drawing bargain hunters to BHV
Paris - Out of “curiosity” or because “it’s cheaper”, customers began to gather outside the department store on Wednesday. They were waiting for the opening of the Shein store at BHV in Paris at 1pm, despite the controversies surrounding the Asian giant's practices. UPDATE France suspends operations of online platform Shein “My husband doesn’t...
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What 'thinking sustainably' means at Lagos Fashion Week
Lagos - Four days before the Éki kéré show at Lagos Fashion Week, sewing machines were still whirring in the workshop of this popular Nigerian brand. The studio is located in the heart of the cultural and economic capital of Africa's most populous country. On that day, brand founder Abasiekeme Ukanireh gathered models and seamstresses for the...
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Antwerp Six member Marina Yee has passed away
Belgian designer Marina Yee, a member of the Antwerp Six collective which revolutionised fashion in the 1980s, passed away on Sunday at the age of 67, the ModeMuseum Antwerpen has announced. “Her name is inextricably linked to the legendary Antwerp Six collective, which put Belgian fashion on the global map,” the museum emphasised. In 1986, six...
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Shein prepares to open a store in Paris' BHV Marais
The Asian ultra-fast fashion giant Shein, criticised for its practices, will open its first-ever permanent physical store in the world at BHV in Paris on Wednesday. The announcement was made on Friday on Instagram by Société des Grands Magasins (SGM), the owner of BHV. The brand, whose factories are mostly in China, will offer its thousands of...
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Amazon shares soar on AI cloud computing boom
San Francisco, US – Amazon's shares soared by almost 10 percent on Thursday. The e-commerce giant announced better-than-expected earnings, driven by the growing demand for its AI cloud computing services. Quarterly sales increased by 13 percent, reaching 180.2 billion dollars across the company, it reported. Net income rose to 21.2 billion...
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Claire's France: two companies propose takeover of brand and 460 employees
Two companies proposed to the Paris Commercial Court on Thursday to take over the Claire's brand in France. The company was placed in receivership at the end of July. The proposal includes taking on 460 of the 829 employees of the low-cost jewellery chain in France, lawyers for the staff representatives told AFP. The companies in question are...
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Nigerian designer embraces 'clashes' and 'chaos' at Lagos Fashion Week
Models strutted down the runway, their beaded and sequined dresses evoking the traditional facial scarring still done in some parts of Nigeria. Others donned outfits paying homage to adire, a traditional Yoruba indigo fabric long prized for its craftsmanship. Kanyinsola Onalaja's show kicked off Lagos Fashion Week in style, in what has been a...
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