A round-up of everything you might have missed in relevant fashion, retail and tech industry news over the past week.

TOP STORIES
  • 5G will drive 100m people to shop in AR by next year [Mobile Marketer]
  • How luxury fashion learned to love the blockchain [BoF]
  • Your cotton tote is pretty much the worst replacement for a plastic bag [Quartz]
  • Beyonce to design shoes and clothes for Adidas [Bloomberg]
TECHNOLOGY
  • Facial recognition is coming to hotels to make check-in easier—and much creepier [Fast Company]
  • Is digital clothing the next fashion frontier? [Vogue Business]
  • Facebook gets one step closer to building your virtual copy [Tech Crunch]
  • NBA lets Magic Leap users watch live AR basketball [Mobile Marketer]
SUSTAINABILITY & PURPOSE
  • NY to ban single-use plastic bags by 2020 [Fashion United]
  • Patagonia is cracking down on the Wall Street uniform [Bloomberg]
  • Does the ethical fashion community have a diversity problem? [Fashionista]
  • Bangladeshi government ‘not ready’ to take over safety regulation [Drapers]
  • Just how eco-friendly are lab-created diamonds? [JCK Online]
  • Printemps puts spotlight on upcycling initiatives [WWD]
  • Indian University works to grow cotton in red, blue, yellow hues [Sourcing Journal]
RETAIL & E-COMMERCE
  • Online shopping overtakes a major part of retail for the first time ever [CNBC]
  • Hermès opens a new kind of shop in New York [Bloomberg]
  • Asos updates returns policy to prevent ‘serial returners’ [Drapers]
MARKETING & SOCIAL MEDIA
  • Marketers say Instagram is the best way to reach teens [Digiday]
  • Snapchat will power Stories & ads in other apps [Tech Crunch]
  • YSL’s gas station pop-up is taking over Coachella [Highsnobiety]
  • Reebok launches loyalty program unlocked as part of digital overhaul [Footwear News]
PRODUCT
  • Under Armour launches new tech-enhanced performance line ‘Rush’ [Fashion Network]
  • Lululemon set to debut selfcare product line [Retail Dive]
  • American Apparel relaunches denim with inclusive sizing [Fashion United]
BUSINESS
  • Britain’s loss is Europe’s gain as brands go offshore ahead of Brexit [WWD]
  • Kering completes luxury transition with Volcom sale [WWD]
  • Supreme breaks silence on ‘criminal’ global counterfeiting menace [BoF]
CULTURE
  • Fashion’s gender pay gap isn’t getting any smaller [BoF]
  • Anxiety is rising. So are wellness companies promising relief [Vogue Business]
  • Net-A-Porter launches biggest ever Ramadan initiative [Fashion Network]
  • Model with Down’s Syndrome becomes brand ambassador for Benefit cosmetics [Herald Sun]
  • Men are changing. Are brands keeping up? [BoF]

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