Eric Musgrave

England

Please go to my Instagram & LinkedIn feeds - Just_Ask_Eric_Musgrave - as I no longer post on here. I'm a fashion business journalist, specialising in menswear.

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Articles

Show Report: Busy Pitti Uomo brightens the gloom

1 week ago | theindustry.fashion | Eric Musgrave

"We sell to 47 countries around the world and not one of those markets is showing positive growth." That off-the-record comment from a significant European menswear manufacturer neatly summed up the global economic backcloth to this week’s Pitti Uomo, the premier marketplace for classic and mainstream menswear. Once again, however, the fair in Florence proved to be the catalyst for lifting the spirits of the sector.
Show Report: Outlook remains changeable at Pitti Uomo

1 week ago | theindustry.fashion | Eric Musgrave

Bright sunshine and high temperatures were forecast for Florence on Tuesday. Instead visitors to the 108th edition of Pitti Uomo had grey skies and rain to contend with on the opening day. The climatic turnabout was an appropriate metaphor for the changing circumstances around American tariffs, one of the main topics of ongoing conversations among British exhibitors at the classic sector’s leading menswear show.
In My View by Eric Musgrave: London calling at the top of the dial

2 weeks ago | theindustry.fashion | Eric Musgrave

Noel Coward’s celebrated song “London Pride” was the unexpected soundtrack to a pulsating video presentation that kicked off the recent World Retail Congress at the Hilton on Park Lane, London. Written in 1941 to raise the spirits of Londoners during the Blitz, a typical couplet in the lyric says:London Pride means our own dear town to us,And our pride it forever will be.
The Eric Musgrave Interview: Simon Carter on 40 years in menswear

3 weeks ago | theindustry.fashion | Eric Musgrave

This year premium menswear brand Simon Carter celebrates its 40th anniversary. The eponymous front man and driving force of the business gave up medical studies to dive into the fashion world in 1985. Here Simon Carter, Esquire reveals how Simon Carter Ltd has flourished for four decades. Do you consider yourself a designer, an entrepreneur, a company owner, or something else? I’ve always regarded myself as adequate all round, rather than excellent at one area.
World Retail Congress: Retail’s not dead, but mediocre retail is dead

1 month ago | theindustry.fashion | Eric Musgrave

London’s reputation as a potent international retailing destination was underlined last week as almost 1,000 senior industry figures attended the 18th edition of World Retail Congress. Back in its home base for the first time since 2012, the two-day conference covered most significant sectors, from luxury fashion to discount supermarkets.
Save UCLA's VIPS Program for Future Scholars

1 month ago | change.org | Eric Musgrave

My name is Eric Musgrave, and my journey took a life-changing turn when I joined Cohort 13 (C13) of UCLA’s Vice Provost’s Initiative for Pre-College Scholars (VIPS). Before discovering VIPS, the college application process was a mystery to me. I was lost without the knowledge or guidance to navigate this path. VIPS not only opened the doors to understanding but transformed my life by providing mentorship from college students who had walked in my shoes.
In My View by Eric Musgrave: Home thoughts from abroad

1 month ago | theindustry.fashion | Eric Musgrave

The recent local government elections gave a telling view of how the great British electorate is viewing the Labour government’s unedifying performance since its landslide victory last July. Losing the parliamentary seat of Runcorn and Helsby to Reform by just six votes was the bitter cherry on a stodgy cake – the Labour majority in 2024 in the constituency had been almost 15,000.
In My View by Eric Musgrave: Profiting from synthetics

2 months ago | theindustry.fashion | Eric Musgrave

There was much trumpeting and banging of gongs in the business media recently as high street favourite Next turned in annual profits of more than £1 billion for the first time. Its sales hit £6.3bn. Well done them. That equates to around £2.74 million profit each day, or £114,150 each hour of every day. No wonder Next head honcho Simon Wolfson, who has been in charge since August 2001, is held up as one of the finest retailers of his generation.
In My View by Eric Musgrave: Giving Scottish heritage a future

Mar 13, 2025 | theindustry.fashion | Eric Musgrave

We can expect “a tsunami of job cuts” across UK clothing and textile factories later this year thanks to the imposition of higher operating costs in Labour’s Budget last autumn against the backdrop of continuing challenging trading conditions in almost all the world’s leading markets. This was the gloomy prediction I received from a Scottish factory owner during the Pitti Uomo menswear fair in January.
Strathberry adds second store in its home city of Edinburgh

Feb 24, 2025 | theindustry.fashion | Eric Musgrave

Fast-growing Scottish accessories brand Strathberry has opened its fourth retail store close to home, on the independents’ haven of Victoria Street, Edinburgh. Situated only 1.5 miles from Strathberry’s elegant townhouse head office, the new space at 4 India Buildings on Victoria Street reflects Strathberry’s successful mantra of “accessible luxury”.