• Amazon is cutting jobs in its Fashion and Fitness group, according to internal messages seen by BI.
• A spokesperson said the cuts affect about 200 employees.
• Amazon has been trying to expand in the apparel and fashion categories for years.

Amazon is cutting jobs in its Fashion and Fitness group, according to internal messages seen by Business Insider.

One of the internal messages, posted on an internal Amazon Slack channel, said San Diego employees in this group, known as F2, were let go recently.

An Amazon spokesperson said the role eliminations affect roughly 200 employees across the country.

"We're always looking at our team structures to ensure we're best set up to move fast as we innovate for customers," the spokesperson said. "We've adjusted parts of our North America Stores team because we believe this structure will better enable us to deliver on our priorities. As part of these changes, we've made the difficult decision to eliminate a small number of roles, and we're committed to supporting affected employees through their transition." ­

The job cuts are likely unrelated to Amazon's plans to shut down Try Before You Buy, previously known as Prime Wardrobe. This service lets consumers order clothing, try it on, and either send it back or buy it.

Amazon has tried several times to expand in the apparel and fashion categories. This part of the retail industry can be more challenging for e-commerce businesses because consumers often prefer to try on items before buying them. When online clothing orders don't fit, and customers send products back, that can be expensive and cut into profit margins.

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• A fire devasted one of the world's largest secondhand clothing markets in Accra, Ghana.
• Kantamanto Market receives 15 million garments weekly and employs some 30,000 people.
• An advocacy group urged the global fashion industry to provide relief.

A fire devastated one of the world's largest secondhand clothes markets in Accra, Ghana.

The blaze started Thursday and destroyed as much as two-thirds of Kantamanto Market, which employs about 30,000 clothing traders and receives some 15 million garments weekly from wealthy countries like the US, the UK, and China.

Thousands of people lost their stalls. Ghana National Fire Service said the fire was fully extinguished, and no injuries or fatalities were reported. They are still investigating the cause of the fire.

Now, clean-up efforts are underway, and advocacy groups are calling on the global fashion industry to help provide relief.

"This is a critical moment for the global fashion ecosystem to show solidarity, not just by recognizing the value of secondhand markets, but by providing tangible help to rebuild and sustain them," Daniel Mawuli Quist, creative director of The Or Foundation, said in a statement.

The fire calls attention to the global fashion industry's lack of alternatives for waste handling.

Workers in Kantamanto Market resell and remanufacture millions of garments. But the rise of fast fashion has overwhelmed Accra with textile waste piling up in gutters, landfills, and beaches. An estimated 40% of garments go unsold, The Or Foundation found. The nonprofit in Ghana conducts research and offers grants and job training to workers in Kantamanto Market.

The Or Foundation pledged $1 million to relief efforts and set up a fund to raise money for rebuilding the market and providing financial assistance to vendors.

Kantamanto Market before the fire

Up to two-thirds of the market was destroyed

The fire was extinguished on Thursday

The aisles of Kantamanto Market before the fire

Thousands of people have lost their stalls

Metal scrap dealers are going through the rubble now that cleanup efforts are underway

• Secondhand luxury platform The RealReal has a trove of data about the hottest brands.
• Demand for trendy items influences how they're priced on The RealReal.
• These are the brands that two executives from The RealReal say you should buy now.

It's the most wonderful time of the year to be a shopper — but anyone who wants lasting bang for their buck knows to look beyond 2024's biggest trends and choose styles that will last.

Two experts from The RealReal, chief creative officer Kristen Naiman and associate director of fashion Noelle Sciacca, broke down which brands and trends shoppers should add to their carts now before they sell out or get more expensive on the secondhand market.

Using customer data, including about which designers are seeing spikes in search queries, the company can predict budding trends, Naiman said on "The Cutting Room Floor" podcast last week.

The RealReal prices its items based on several variables, including seasonality, condition, availability, and demand, measured through search volume and how quickly items sell out.

The more popular a brand gets, the more expensive it can become, Naiman said on the podcast.

These are the hottest brands to buy this season to be on-trend — and avoid overpaying for — next year, according to Naiman and Sciacca.

Bally

"Bally is super hot right now," Naiman said of the Swiss brand, which is already popular among "diehard, interesting fashion people."

It's only a matter of time before it goes mainstream, she added, telling "The Cutting Room Floor" host Recho Omondi that if she wants to buy an item from Bally, she should "do it now."

The brand began to surge earlier this year; Bally sales were up 42% year-over-year in August, Sciacca told Business Insider.

Romeo Gigli

Romeo Gigli is "really trending right now" for vintage-lovers, Naiman told Omondi. The Italian brand became a staple in the 1980s and early 1990s for its romantic style and soft tailoring.

Although its popularity dwindled over the years, Naiman predicted a resurgence.

Styles from the designer's heydey are "particularly captivating consumers," Sciacca said.

Brands like Miu Miu and Loewe will continue to be popular

Miu Miu is among the hottest labels of 2024, with retail sales up 86% in the first half of the year. Sciacca and Naiman don't foresee that changing.

Searches are surging on The RealReal, particularly for the brand's bags and sunglasses, with queries up 100% and 212% year-over-year, Sciacca said.

Handbags from Loewe continue to be popular as well.

The label's Puzzle Tote "is selling for an impressive 90% of its original price, while searches for the Flamenco bag have jumped 87% year-over-year," Sciacca said.

Moschino will kick off the year in a big way

"Moschino is a brand to watch as expressive styles gain momentum over uniform dressing," Sciacca said. "We're kicking off 2025 with a Moschino spotlight on-site."

The Italian designer is known for its lighthearted take on fashion.

Customers are searching for Ralph Lauren and Alaïa

Both Ralph Lauren and Alaïa are seeing surges in search queries on The RealReal. The former is experiencing a 57% increase in searches this quarter compared to last year, while searches for the latter have risen 29% year-over-year.

For Alaïa, there is particular interest in handbags, including the most recent styles and vintage pieces from the 1980s and 1990s.