As another day passes, another Kanye West saga has unravelled. The rapper-turned-designer and his brand Yeezy have now been ordered to pay over $300,000 to New York-based creative Katelyn Mooney after failing to attend a court session.

A default judgement was filed in Mooney’s favour at Manhattan Supreme Court when no legal representative for West or his brand showed up or responded to the court papers.

In her lawsuit, Mooney initially claimed that West and Yeezy owed her over $300,000 in damages and unpaid invoices after failing to fully pay her for a photoshoot she was hired to produce in September.

The artist was appointed to create imagery for Yeezy’s new SHDZ sunglasses collection for 110,000 dollars, of which she claimed she had only received $15,000.

In her complaint, Mooney, who is a freelancer, said the snub forced her to take out “a significant loan and max out her credit cards” so she could cover her bills, calling West’s behaviour “exploitative conduct.”

The news comes days after it was revealed that Adidas was confronted with a lawsuit from its investors regarding its past dealings with the controversial figure.

The complaint alleged that executives for the sportswear giant knew about West’s troubling conduct long before an anonymous letter from employees revealed a series of “problematic behaviour” they encountered during his time as a collaborator for the brand.

It has also been reported by NBC News that West and Yeezy are facing further issues in regards to more than $600,000 of unpaid tax debts, dating back to 2021.

The media outlet added that it had uncovered 17 government-imposed liens in California against three of West’s businesses, including a charity in his name.

Technology research and advisory company Technavio released a report on the growth of the global handbag market, pointing out its estimated increase in value by 14.11 billion US dollars from 2022 to 2027 and a CAGR of 4.3% and highlighting key findings on this development.

The handbag market 2023 to 2027 is split up into three segments by Technavio – type, distribution channel and geography. Types of handbags include leather, fabric and others, distribution takes place online and offline, and locations concern Asia Pacific (APAC), North America, Europe, South America and Middle East and Africa.

Vendors of the market include Burberry, Dolce and Gabbana and Chanel, to name a few, offering a wide range of bags in different sizes from tote bags, to cross body, and shoulder bags.

Over the past several years, there has been an upsurge in demand for leather handbags with various textures, qualities, and feels. This element will fuel the segment’s growth during the course of the forecast.

A key driver of this development is the personalisation and customisation of luxury handbags, which has heavily emerged as a new trend over the past five years, particularly in western Europe and North America.

The product’s aesthetics are improved through embroidery, straps and buckles, or the inclusion of a name tag, which at the same time increases its value in comparison to standard products.

The report revealed the customers’ increased preference to shop duty-free at airports for high end and luxury items, such as handbags, during the forecast period. Last-minute shopping or external factors such as delays and early check-ins further push the growth of the market. This uprising trend results in renovations of retail outlets within airports to enable this shopping experience.

The research company explains that strengthening the foothold in the fast-growing segments while maintaining the positions in the slow-growing ones is a key action for brands in this context.

However, Technavio also discloses how stringent government regulations will play a major role in terms of challenges for the growth of the market during the forecast period.

Due to a number of associations and government departments enforcing these rules, for example in Europe and particularly in Germany, parties operating within the tanning industry should adapt and consider ethical production, synthetic use and reuse.

This factor, alongside fluctuating operational costs and the measures needed to reduce waste and protect the environment which make up almost 5 percent of manufacturer’s total costs, might impede the growth of the handbag market.

Net revenues at Brunello Cucinelli of 265.3 million euros, increased 34.7 per cent at current exchange and 32.8 per cent at constant exchange rates in the first quarter of 2023.

After the strong first quarter, the company forecasts an overall growth of around 15 per cent in 2023 and continues to envisage very concrete sales growth in the region of 10 per cent for 2024.

Commenting on the company’s trading results, Executive Chairman and Creative Director of the fashion house, Brunello Cucinelli said, “The first quarter of this year closed with excellent results. There is no doubt that we are reaping the fruits of the positive period that our brand is experiencing for the style it represents and perhaps also for the way we share our ideas with all of our counterparts.

“The strongly positive response to our men’s and women’s autumn-winter 2023 collections and the flattering judgement expressed by our esteemed multi brand outlets and by international media, coupled with the beautiful atmosphere of our boutiques and our plans for major investments in advertising and events in stores and Case Cucinelli, lead us to envisage significant growth in revenues of about 15 per cent for the current year,” Cucinelli added.

The company recorded growth in all geographical areas with Americas increasing 42.9 per cent, Europe 15.8 per cent, and Asia 56 per cent. The company’s retail channel reported an increase of 63.7 per cent, while wholesale grew by 4.7 per cent.

The luxury fashion company also launched two fragrances “Brunello Cucinelli pour femme” and “Brunello Cucinelli pour homme” in collaboration with EuroItalia, an Italian firm specialised in the creation and distribution of luxury fragrances.

“Some years ago, on the passing of my very dear friend, a producer of aromatic essences, a beautiful soul, I dreamt that one day I would dedicate a new product to his memory. Today I’m making that dream come true, a dream I’ve never abandoned in all these years. I like to think that a fragrance, used in moderation, is like a caress: along with trust, it gives someone a vision of the world, in colour,” said Cucinelli.

The company also announced a new factory planned in Penne, Abruzzo, a place with a long tradition of high-quality Italian outerwear, which would employ a large number of highly skilled workers in the men’s tailoring sector.

The company said in a release that for the year 2023, “Neiman Marcus Fashion Award for distinguished service in the field of fashion” has been awarded to Brunello Cucinelli.