A few weeks ago, Neri Karra, a professor at the London College of Fashion wrote to me to say she had included The Business of Fashion as part of the curriculum and recommended reading for both her Masters and Undergraduate students of fashion business strategy. Not only this, she kindly invited me to give a short talk to her some of her Master’s students, and yesterday, my 30 minute chat turned into a 1.5 hour debate with some very passionate students from around the world, all of whom are interested in the fashion business.  I’d like to thank Neri and her students very much for welcoming me into their classroom and inspiring many so many new ideas for posts here on The Business of Fashion.

One of the topics that came up was about how to choose a target market and ensure that the product for that market meets the customers’ needs — functional needs, emotional needs and budgetary needs. This question came to mind instantly when I came across this article, from The Wall Street Journal’s Teri Agins, on the "Yummy Mummy" market, aka "Soccer Moms".   (Incidentally, the WSJ has been particularly good about engaging with bloggers to propagate its content and have even introduced video with embed codes that bring their written content to life. Well done!)

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An article in the Technology section of the New York Times provides further proof of the growing appetite for online luxury apparel sales, a $1b market this year and growing more than 20% annually.

Contrary to popular belief, it is some of the more expensive things that are being snapped up the most quickly, according to Brendan Hoffman of Neiman Marcus Direct, which

“has been exploding over the past 18 months, really at the upper end of the price points.” Basic garments sell comparatively slowly, Mr. Hoffman said, but items like $7,900 Valentino gowns, $5,500 Carolina Herrera jackets and other items “with more camera appeal” sell quickly. “We’ve yet to see any limits to what they’re willing to pay."

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What drives me crazy about most fashion industry coverage is that it is often limited to soundbites, tainted with marketing spin, and driven by editorial objectives. This perpetuates the notion of the superficial designer and undervalues the contributions made by truly innovative creative geniuses like Karl Lagerfeld.

It is rare to have an unedited, in-depth conversation with anyone influential in this business– let alone Karl Lagerfeld. But, not only did PBS interviewer Charlie Rose have this rare opportunity, he seized it with gusto in this clip I recently found on YouTube.

Together with Harriet-Mays-Powell, Fashion Editor of New York Magazine, he deftly takes Mr. Lagerfeld through a wide ranging one hour conversation (no easy task!) which goes from his design process to the role of celebrity in fashion to the relevance of haute couture to how fashion reflects the modern zeitgeist. Lagerfeld also declares that second lines are “condescending,” “bridge lines are for the dentists,” and that fashion today is about mixing.

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My friends Anne de Kerckhove and Ed van de Logt make a fine case study for how London’s cosmopolitan business community can help to harness the city’s unparalleled creative energy while having positive social impact in the developing world.

Anne is a part Dutch, part French-Canadian entrepreneur who has made her mark in the world of digital gaming while also spearheading Irregular Art Beat, a ground-breaking initiative to identify and support high potential design talent. For his part, Ed has spent the better part of a decade scouring the globe for beautiful things made by craftspeople in some of the world’s most far-flung places.

Now, Anne and Ed are taking their trained eyes and setting their sights on the fashion industry. Anedoti is an online retail business which provides a platform for emerging and international designers to reach new consumers using the Internet.

Over the past year, their quest for unique, hand-crafted products has taken them on a veritable world tour.  To share the treasures from their search, Anne and Ed recently hosted a launch event for Anedoti in their stunning London home, and we got a sneak peek at some of the brands they believe in.

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