Welcome in, today is Tuesday, October twentieth, and we begin with Drapers on three creative director exits inside a fortnight. Drapers has published its deputy editor's read on the exits we have been tracking at Saint Laurent, McQueen and Calvin Klein Collection, and the argument is that these are business calls more than creative ones. We have not seen that read matched elsewhere. Per that analysis, Bernstein's Luca Solca estimates McQueen revenue fell from eight hundred million euros in twenty twenty-three to two hundred million in twenty twenty-five, growth having leaned on sneakers and streetwear. The same account puts Gucci's first half down nine percent, at two point seven billion euros, while Saint Laurent carried momentum. Solca tells Drapers he reads Anthony Vaccarello's exit as a misalignment with chief executive Cédric Charbit rather than a performance call, and cites a possible mismatch between Veronica Leoni and Calvin Klein's brand identity. Three studios now hire and plan calendars at once, which sets wholesale buying for the next two seasons. Industry reaction is less about the exits than the brief, with a recurring contrarian view that over-protecting a house's codes is the bigger risk. Also today, China's apparel exports rose twenty-four percent in September, to fifteen point four billion dollars, per WWD, with footwear shipments up twenty point two percent to three point five billion. That summary has overall exports up thirty-six percent, and goods bound for the United States up thirty-nine point six percent to forty-seven point nine billion dollars. The question for sourcing teams is how much of the United States jump reflects shipment timing rather than end demand, which decides whether the order book holds past peak. Industry reaction leans skeptical of the official trade figures as a basis for sourcing or demand calls. A recurring contrarian question in the channel is whether tariff policy is meeting its stated onshoring aim, given that United States-bound shipments led the increase. Separately, Euronews English argues European luxury can no longer bank on China for growth, following our earlier report on LVMH's third-quarter sales. That piece cites Bain and Company data showing mainland China's personal luxury market contracted three to five percent last year, after an eighteen to twenty percent fall in twenty twenty-four, while the second-hand market grew fifteen to twenty percent. Per the same account, Bank of America's Chen Luo says China stays an important market but may not be a growth engine for two to three years. That moves China from growth engine to base case in brand plans, and puts resale and domestic labels in the competitive set. The argument also notes Louis Vuitton has closed five mainland stores in two years. Reaction from operators who have run luxury businesses there leans more pessimistic than the rebound executives have been guiding toward. Also in Europe, Drapers reports Lacoste and Louis Vuitton were among the fashion retailers and brands hit by riots and looting in cities across France over the weekend. That account does not quantify the damage. For anyone carrying a European high street footprint, what follows is the familiar arithmetic of lost trading days, security cover and insurance terms, and it lands weeks out from peak trading. We will follow the detail as retailers put numbers to it. Now, a few more headlines moving the trade today. Hermès tops FashionUnited's twenty twenty-six index of most valuable fashion brands for the first time, at forty-five point two billion dollars, ahead of Louis Vuitton and Chanel. Drapers reports True Religion's private equity owner is reportedly exploring a whole or minority sale that could value the US denim brand at close to one billion dollars. That account is not confirmed by the company. Benetton has closed its Oxford Street flagship, its only remaining UK store, per Drapers. And finally, The Footwear Hub has written to the chancellor and prime minister ahead of this month's Budget, asking for more support for specialist footwear retailers, following our earlier report on pre-Budget talks with retail bosses.