Fashion pulse: Netherlands — April 2026

Consumer prices

Dutch headline CPI edged up to +2.8 percent year-on-year in April 2026 per CBS, from +2.7 percent in March. The harmonised HICP (excluding owner-occupied housing) eased to +2.5 percent in April from +2.6 percent in March, sitting modestly above the ECB 2 percent target. The fashion basket cooled sharply: clothing and footwear inflation eased to +0.1 percent year-on-year in April from +1.3 percent in March per CBS — a 1.2 percentage-point drop that brings Dutch fashion-basket inflation to essentially flat versus a year ago, well below headline. Within the fashion basket, women's footwear fell −2.7 percent and children's footwear −3.7 percent on CBS's March release, while "other clothing and accessories" remained the strongest sub-component at +6.0 percent.