Rugby to Add E-Commerce  (DNR)
Ralph Lauren’s Rugby plans to launch rugby.com on August 12th.

Frost French, the label by Sadie Frost and Jemima French, has "gone bust." (Monsters and Critics)
Sadie Frost’s fallen fashion finances.

Eco-conscious fashion being designed for the masses’ appeal (Seattle Post Intelligencer)
Eco-conscious fashion is poised to trickled down to the masses.

Tod’s Sales Up 9.7 Percent (WWD)
Tod’s has experienced a 9.7% spike in revenues in the first half of this year.

Rugby, photo courtesy of Rugby.com.

Coach Resists Recession with Jump in Profits (DNR)
Despite the unstable economy, Coach’s sales performance is strong, and its planning to expand its offerings at a higher price point.

Luxury Items Still Selling In Tough Times (CBS News)
Even with the consumer spending slowdown, luxury items are still selling.

Credit crunch bites into UK fashion firms (Reuters)
Due to the credit crunch, fashion companies are "hit hard" in the UK.

Tory Burch Seeks Investor (WWD)
Tory Burch is "shopping around" a 30 percent stake in her company for $300 million.

Mervyns Files Chapter 11 (WWD)
The ailing Mervyns department stores has filed for bankruptcy.

Image of Coach store in Japan courtesy of Coach.

Photos courtesy of Sean Wood/Mekas

TOKYO, Japan - So far, 2008 has been a foreboding year for the European luxury houses in Japan. The sub-prime mortgage crisis has reduced credit lines, rising food prices have decimated discretionary spending, and lower stock prices have convinced the New Rich they aren’t so rich after all.

Although the Japanese super rich seem unfettered, aspirational customers are staying home and saving their meager incomes for an uncertain future. With wages weaker than ever, the average female 25 year-old (in a salary hierarchy based on age, with an exclusive “management track” decided at time of entry to the company) makes barely enough to pay rent let alone make credit card payments for a luxury handbag or designer apparel.

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Jil Sander Said For Sale (WWD)
According to insiders, Jil Sander may be up for sale if the price is right.

New Balance, Nine West pair comfort with style (Boston Globe)
New Balance and Nine West are pairing up to design a footwear collection launching in March.

Apparel Retailers From Overseas Hitting the Malls in the U.S (WSJ)
More outposts of foreign based retailers such as H&M and Zara are coming to America.

Retail Stocks Fall (DNR)
With Wall Street "falling hard" yesterday, so did many retail stocks.

Jil Sander Autumn / Winter ‘08-’09.

LONDON, United Kingdom and STOCKHOLM, Sweden - A couple of years ago, as I was exploring the graduate collections of a stellar Central St Martins MA class, I met Molly Grad, one of the strongest talents to emerge from the legendary fashion school that year.  Apart from the deft tailoring and layering of Molly’s collection itself, I was engrossed in her sketchbook, which was filled with anatomical photos interspersed with her illustrations.

I recently met up with Molly for lunch and she gave me a wonderful book called Fashion Illustration by Fashion Designers, written by Laird Borrelli, who is also a friend. In the book, Laird gives us a sneak peak into the dreams and designs of the world’s leading designers, alive (Boudicca, Giles and Phillip Lim) and dead (Yves St Laurent, Gianfranco Ferre).

I reached Laird via email in Sweden, where she is on holiday but still agreed to answer a few questions, from a Swedish keyboard, so we could benefit from her renowned expertise on the history (and business) of fashion illustration.

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Inditex Bows Uterqüe Accessories Concept (WWD)
Inditex, the parent company of Zara has launched an accessories format called Uterqüe.

Australian fashion gets hip (Times UK)
Australia’s fashion and music scenes are experiencing a moment.

Fashion’s First Aid Kit (WWD)
Fashion industry experts weigh in on how to weather the economic down turn.

Piste, deck and boardroom (FT)
Men are snatching up accessories, especially sunglasses.

Uterqüe bangles, photo courtesy of Uterqüe.

Som Resigns at Bill Blass  (WWD)
A year after Peter Som was appointed creative director at Bill Blass, he resigns from the label’s top design post.

A New Makeup: Bloomingdale’s to Open Space NK Shops (WWD)
Bloomingdale’s has signed a deal to open in store shops of Space NK at nine of its locations beginning this November.

Wal-Mart in pay deals with Chinese unions (FT)
In China, Wal-Mart has agreed to give its employees an 8% pay raise this year and the following year.

Surf Brands Eye Independent Retailers (DNR)
In Orange County California, independent retailers are being sold to surf / skate brands.

Peter Som, photo courtesy of W magazine.

PPR Sales Rise 4.4% on Gucci, Bottega, African Arm (Bloomberg News)
Due to demands for YSL, Bottega Veneta, and Gucci items, PPR, the 3rd largest luxury goods conglomerate posted a 4.4% rise on Q2 sales.

Stimulus Checks Do Nothing to Boost Sales (DNR)
In the U.S., stimulus checks did little to reverse the slowing of consumer goods spending.

Armani Profits Soar in 2007 (DNR)
In 2007, Giorgio Armani SpA went up 66.2 percent compared to the previous year’s results.

Retail sales dive 3.9% in worst fall for 22 years (Times UK)
In the UK, retail sales in June dropped 3.9%, the largest monthly decline since 1986.

Photo of PPR’s Gucci ad campaign

Hermes Sales Rise on Strong U.S., Asia Business (DNR)
Hermès second quarter sales were strong in all geographic zones except Japan (see recent articles on the country’s luxury market on BoF).

Why fast fashion is so last season (The Guardian)
Shoppers are recognizing the real costs of fast fashion (see an article on ethical luxury on BoF).

Dressing Rooms Of The Future (Forbes)
To entice customers, retailers are adding technologically advanced features in fitting rooms.

A Lean Holiday Season: Stores Cut Inventories, But Hope Glitz Is Gold (WWD)
Many predict that the upcoming holiday will be one of the worst selling seasons.

Illustration of Hermes store in Paris, courtesy of Hermès.

MILAN, Italy - A few months back, I published an article about the Made in Italy label, following damaging findings aired in a provocative Italian documentary on the state of luxury manufacturing in Italy.

In the meantime, there has been growing interest in the concept of ethical luxury, but some of the biggest manufacturers continue to flout the rules and standards.

Just yesterday, a new reader of the BoF named Lauren, provided detailed commentary on our previous article Made in Italy | Time for accountablity regarding the egregious behaviour of major Luxury brands which she has observed first hand. Her observations merit further discussion and debate, and so I have included them here.

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