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Its a great week to have a disposable income and act like you know how to ski. North Face x Skims today launches its second winter outerwear capsule, again channeling ski culture with a campaign shot on the powder-coated Chilean mountains. (Skis and airfare not included.) The 2025 drop expands on its collection from last year with even more silhouettes, like the wrap puffer coat, and a thoughtfully cropped, hooded puffer jacket with drop shoulder that brings some fashion to the line, which is aesthetically more oriented toward sport. It also includes mens and kids styles for the first time (prices range from $55 to $800). [Photo: The North Face] Even considering the new styles, the overall brand ID will look very familiar to Skims fans, with creative direction thats nearly identical to last years North Face collaboration. It has a styling and color system approach thats similar to the recent Skims x Nike collab, with muted color tones such as bone, kyanite, gunmetal, phoenix, and onyx, this time inspired by winter color palette. [Photo: The North Face] The campaign creative direction again utilizes gradiated layouts and product imagery, featuring models in geometric groupings organized by garment colorway. (Laura Obermeyer and Jackie Nickerson shot this years campaign; the first iteration last year was 2 campaigns, one shot by Vanessa Beecroft and the other shot by Donna Trope.) Part of what makes the Skims marketing such a home run is how it plays with its brand for a distinct visual approach to each of its various campaigns for core product drops. It appears to be less flexible with collaborations. [Photo: Nike] A big week for ski fashion But its not the first to drop a winter collection this week. Nike and Jacquemus expanded their long-running partnership into the winter season by earlier this week announcing their first ever ski collection (some styles are online now). The Nike x Jacquemus’ collab plays into cold weather glamour and offers shapes that are driven less by spandex body shaping and more by a classic, retro aprés style. The style lines and pattern of the clothes create their own shape on the body, such as in the ful skirt featured on the first campaign image, or the hourglass shape emphasized by the bell sleeve and tailored waist of the ski jacket. Its Audrey Hepburn in Chalet with the functionality of Gore Tex. Prices range from $110 to $700 for whats currently available online, which is half of the total 18 expected styles to be released. [Photo: Nike] These drops are an entry point for fashion brands to get in on outerwear sales by tapping into the expertise of brands already in the space (North Face and NIke, respectively). They are also a way for winter sport amateurs to tap into ski styles, without having to spend big on a vacation or premium-level gear they dont really need. I live at sea level, and Id still buy that Nike x Jacquemus jacket, if it wasnt sold out. And though all the North Face x Skims styles have yet to be released, the comments section on the brand announcement posts is already piping. [Photo: Nike] This quick sequence of drops is another indication theres appeal in prestige signalling through pieces that have prppy, sophisticated, and stylistic design elements you might see walking around Kemo Sabe in Aspen or a premium St. Moritz chalet. Its almost as if tennis core and gorpcore had a winter romance (does that give us chaletcore?). North Face x Skims and Jacquemus x Nike have distinct pespectives on this, but one thing is clear: this winter, skiing is a state of mind. [Photo: The North Face]
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E-Commerce
Russian authorities said Thursday they have imposed restrictions on Apple’s video calling service FaceTime, the latest step in an effort to tighten control over the internet and communications online. State internet regulator Roskomnadzor alleged in a statement that the service is being used to organize and conduct terrorist activities on the territory of the country, to recruit perpetrators (and) commit fraud and other crimes against our citizens. Apple did not respond to an emailed request for comment. The Russian regulator also announced that it has blocked Snapchat, a messaging app for sharing photos, videos and text messages, citing the same grounds it gave for restricting FaceTime. It said that it took the action Oct. 10, even though it only reported the move on Thursday. Under President Vladimir Putin, authorities have engaged in deliberate and multipronged efforts to rein in the internet. They have adopted restrictive laws and banned websites and platforms that don’t comply. Technology has also been perfected to monitor and manipulate online traffic. After Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the government blocked major social media like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Access to YouTube was disrupted last year in what experts called deliberate throttling of the widely popular site by the authorities. The Kremlin blamed YouTube owner Google for not properly maintaining its hardware in Russia. While its still possible to circumvent some of the restrictions by using virtual private network services, those are routinely blocked, too. Authorities further restricted internet access this summer with widespread shutdowns of cellphone internet connections. Officials have insisted the measure was needed to thwart Ukrainian drone attacks, but experts argued it was another step to tighten internet control. In dozens of regions, white lists of government-approved sites and services that are supposed to function despite a shutdown have been introduced. The government has also acted against popular messaging platforms. Encrypted messenger Signal and another popular app, Viber, were blocked in 2024. This year, the authorities banned calls via WhatsApp, the most popular messaging app in Russia, and Telegram, a close second. Roskomnadzor justified the measure by saying the two apps were being used for criminal activities. At the same time, authorities actively promoted a national messenger app called MAX, which critics see as a surveillance tool. The platform, touted by developers and officials as a one-stop shop for messaging, online government services, making payments, and more, openly declares it will share user data with authorities upon request. Experts also say it doesnt use end-to-end encryption. Earlier this week, the government also said it was blocking Roblox, a popular online game platform, saying the step aimed at protecting children from illicit content and pedophiles who meet minors directly in the games chats and then move on to real life. Stanislav Seleznev, cyber security expert and lawyer with the Net Freedom rights group, told The Associated Press that Russian law views any platform where users can message each other as organizers of dissemination of information. This label mandates that platforms have an account with Roskomnadzor so that it could communicate its demands, and give Russia’s security service, the FSB, access to accounts of their users for monitoring; those failing to comply are in violation and can get blocked, Seleznev said. He suggested that these regulations could have been applied to both Roblox and FaceTime. Roblox in October was the second most popular game platform in Russia, with nearly 8 million monthly users, according to media monitoring group Mediascope. Seleznev estimated that possibly tens of millions of Russians have been using FaceTime, especially after calls were banned on WhatsApp and Telegram. He called the restrictions against the service predictable and warned that other sites failing to cooperate with Roskomnadzor “will be blocked, thats obvious. Dasha Litvinova, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced a proposal to weaken vehicle mileage rules for the auto industry, loosening regulatory pressure on automakers to control pollution from gasoline-powered cars and trucks. The plan, if finalized next year, would significantly reduce fuel economy requirements, which set rules on how far new vehicles need to travel on a gallon of gasoline, through the 2031 model year. The administration and automakers say the rules will increase Americans access to the full range of gasoline vehicles they need and can afford. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration projects that the new standards would set the industry fleetwide average for light-duty vehicles at roughly 34.5 miles per gallon in the 2031 model year, down from a projected 50.4 miles per gallon in 2031 under the Biden-era rule. The move is the latest action by the Trump administration to reverse Biden-era policies that encouraged cleaner-running cars and trucks, including electric vehicles, and it sparked criticism from environmental groups. Burning gasoline for vehicles is a major contributor to planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions. “From day one Ive been taking action to make buying a car more affordable, Trump said at a White House event that included top executives from two of the largest U.S. automakers. The rule reverses a Biden-era policy that “forced automakers to build cars using expensive technologies that drove up costs, drove up prices and made the car much worse, Trump said. Automakers applaud and environmentalists decry rule change The action is expected to save consumers about $1,000 off the price of a new car, Trump said. New cars sold for an average of $49,766 on average in October, according to Kelley Blue Book. Automakers applauded the planned changes, which came amid industry complaints that the Biden-era rules were difficult to meet. Ford CEO Jim Farley said the planned rollback was a win for customers and common sense. As Americas largest auto producer, we appreciate President Trumps leadership in aligning fuel economy standards with market realities. We can make real progress on carbon emissions and energy efficiency while still giving customers choice and affordability, he said. Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa said the automaker appreciates the administrations actions to realign the mileage standards with real world market conditions. Since taking office in January, Trump has relaxed auto tailpipe emissions rules, repealed fines for automakers that do not meet federal mileage standards, and terminated consumer credits of up to $7,500 for EV purchases. Environmentalists decried the rollback. In one stroke Trump is worsening three of our nations most vexing problems: the thirst for oil, high gas pump costs, and global warming, said Dan Becker, director of the Safe Climate Transport Campaign for the Center for Biological Diversity. Gutting the (gas-mileage) program will make cars burn more gas and American families burn more cash,” said Katherine García, director of the Sierra Club’s Clean Transportation for All program. This rollback would move the auto industry backwards, keeping polluting cars on our roads for years to come and threatening the health of millions of Americans, particularly children and the elderly. ‘People want the gasoline car’ Trump has repeatedly pledged to end what he falsely calls an EV mandate, referring incorrectly to Democratic President Joe Bidens target that half of all new vehicle sales be electric by 2030. EVs accounted for about 8% of new vehicle sales in the United States in 2024, according to Cox Automotive. Trump called Democrats’ efforts to promote EVs insane, adding, People want the gasoline car. No federal policy has required auto companies to sell EVs, although California and other states have imposed rules requiring that all new passenger vehicles sold in the state be zero-emission by 2035. Trump and congressional Republicans blocked the California law earlier this year. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy urged his agency to reverse existing fuel economy requirements, known as Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or CAFE, soon after taking office. In June, he said that standards set under Biden were illegal because they included use of electric vehicles in their calculation. EVs do not run on gasoline. After the June rule revision, the traffic safety administration was empowered to update the requirements. The new rules are going to allow the automakers to make vehicles that Americans want to purchase, not vehicles that Joe Biden and (former Transportation Secretary Pete) Buttigieg want to build, Duffy said Wednesday. Under Biden, automakers were required to average about 50 miles (81 kilometers) per gallon of gas for passenger cars by 2031, compared with about 39 miles (63 kilometers) per gallon today. The Biden administration also increased fuel-economy requirements by 2% each year for light-duty vehicles in every model year from 2027 to 2031, and 2% per year for SUVs and other light trucks from 2029 to 2031. At the same time, it called for stringent tailpipe rules meant to encourage EV adoption. The 2024 standards would have saved 14 billion gallons of gasoline from being burned by 2050, according to the traffic safety administrations 2024 calculations. Abandoning them means that in 2035, cars could produce 22,111 more tons of carbon dioxide per year than under the Biden-era rules. It also means an extra 90 tons a year of deadly soot particles and 4,870 additional tons a year of smog components such as nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds going into the air in coming years. Mileage rules have been implemented since the 1970s energy crisis, and over time, automakers have gradually increased their vehicles average efficiency. Weakening fuel economy standards wont do much to make cars more affordable but is certain to make Americans buy a lot more gasoline,” said Albert Gore, executive director of the Zero Emission Transportation Association. The action also harms domestic manufacturers that have invested heavily in EV technologies and hired thousands of employees to build them, Gore said. GM CEO skips White House event Notaby absent Wednesday was General Motors CEO Mary Barra, who was attending a previously scheduled event in New York City, a company spokesperson said. A GM plant manager represented the automaker at the White House instead. Like Ford and Stellantis, GM has poured billions of dollars into electrification of its fleet. In a statement, the company said it supports the goals of the proposed rule. “We remain committed to offering the best and broadest portfolio of electric and gas-powered vehicles on the market, GM said. Matthew Daly and Alexa St. John, Associated Press Associated Press writers Darlene Superville and Seth Borenstein contributed to this report. The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
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E-Commerce
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