Uniqlo Ads Boost Profits at Fast Retailing (DNR)
Uniqlo’s ads, which stars Chloë Sevigny and Japanese actor Tadanobu Asano, boost the sales of its parent company.

Karl Lagerfeld to Design Dubai Dwellings (WSJ)
Karl Lagerfeld inks a deal with Dubai Infinity Holdings to design 80 homes in Dubai’s Isla Moda development.

June Sales Boosted by Stimulus Checks (DNR)
In the US, retail sales in June were up due to the government’s stimulus checks.

Carlos Slim Boosts Saks Stake (WWD)
Carlos Slim, the second richest man in the world acquires 10.9 percent of Saks Inc.

Europe’s Luxury Sector In Unfamiliar Territory As Investors Cool Off (WWD)
As shares of PPR and blue-chip European luxury labels drop, investors lose confidence in the continent’s luxury market.

Photo courtesy of Uniqlo.com.

We love leaks.

The Business of Fashion has an exclusive first look at the new Jimmy Choo book to be published by Bloomsbury in the UK and the US in March 2009, entitled “The Towering World of Jimmy Choo: A Glamorous Story of Power, Profits and Pursuit of the Perfect Shoe.”

Lauren Goldstein Crowe, a fashion and business journalist, and Sagra Maceira de Rosen, head of the Luxury & Retail division of Reig Capital Group, have teamed up to write the first fashion book to cover both the design side and the business side with equal vigour and rigour.

The book tells the story of how one Tamara Yeardye (now known as Tamara Mellon), an accessories editor at British Vogue meets one Jimmy Choo, and turns him from couture shoe designer into £185m brand. Today, Jimmy Choo (the brand) kicks it heels with Christian Louboutin and Manolo Blahnik in the triumvirate of high-potential luxury shoe businesses, but Jimmy Choo (the man) is no longer involved in the business that bears his own name.

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Love Your Sunglasses (Should I Know You?) (NY Times)
Despite their rise in price, sunglasses are still doing brisk business.

Battle for fashion heats up (China Daily)
In Shanghai, Zara, H&M, and local boutiques are fiercely competing in a market where consumers are spending less due to an unstable economy.

A Short Story: The Rise of ‘Floods’ (WSJ)
This summer, hemlines are rising in menswear.

Christian Louboutin To Open Paris Store (WSJ)
Christian Louboutin, designer of devilishly sexy heels, is slated to open a store on Paris’ Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré later this month.

Steve & Barry’s Files Bankruptcy (DNR)
Steve & Barry’s, the fast fashion retailer known for selling Sarah Jessica Parker’s Bitten line, has filed for Chapter 11.

Woman in sunglasses, photo courtesy of the New York Times.

Derek Lam Sells Stake to Labelux (WWD)
New York based designer, Derek Lam, sells stake to Labelux, a Vienna and Milan-based holdings company that owns Swiss label, Bally.

Levi’s hammered by global downturn (Drapers)
Due to a tough retail environment and high expansion costs, Levi’s net income sharply dropped from $46 million to $1m in the second quarter.

Mango’s Risky Business: Spanish Chain Sees Iraq As Fertile Retail Ground (WWD)
Despite Iraq’s political instability, Mango, the Spanish fast fashion retailer plans to open a store in the country’s Kurdistan region.

Questions For…Marka Hansen (WSJ)
With television ad campaigns no longer part of their marketing plans, Marka Hansen, president of Gap North America, let’s us in on the company’s new branding initiatives.

Cut out for the beauty business (Boston Globe)
Elan Sassoon, son of the legendary entrepreneurial hairstylist, Vidal Sassoon, plans to build his own beauty schools empire.

Derek Lam autumn ‘08, photo courtesy of coutorture.com

New Asprey chief buoyed by spending boom (FT)
With new CEO Robert Procop at its helm, Asprey could (finally) become a profitable business in the next year.

Boucheron Making U.S. Moves (WWD)
French jeweler, Boucheron, plans to expand its presence in the United States.

China’s Coming E-Tail Renaissance: The Myth About Payment (Seeking Alpha)
In China, e-commerce’s slow growth is due to the lack of credit card ownership.

Purple, Black Label Stores Are Possible (DNR)
Ralph Lauren is considering freestanding men’s stores for his Purple Label and Black Label lines.

Cavalli decides not to sell fashion house-report (Reuters)
Italian designer Roberto Cavalli plans not to sell his eponymous company amid the global financial crisis which has lowered the value of the brand.

Asprey products’ photo courtesy of Asprey.

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Few Silver Linings Seen for Second Half (WWD)
According to experts, consumer spending will continue to decline in the second half of the year.

De Beers Polishes Its Image (WSJ)
Gareth Penny,  CEO of De Beers, explains how he’s cleaning up the company’s checkered past.

Why Katie Grand is the most-wanted woman in fashion (The Guardian)
Lynn Barber talks with the Katie Grand, the editor of Pop and arguably the greatest arbiter of cool.

Vuitton Opens Shop Inside Nordstrom (WWD)
Louis Vuitton opens up a 2,000-square-foot shop in Nordstrom.

The Shoe Olympics (WSJ)
Adidas and Nike, compete for brand buzz during the Beijing Olympics in order to capitalize on China’s market potential. (see video above)

PARIS, France - Just a few weeks ago I met Qiu Hao in Shanghai I am thrilled to announce that tonight in Paris he has been awarded the Woolmark Prize, worth €100,000.

The award is is famous for anointing both Karl Lagerfeld and Yves Saint Laurent in 1954 and this year it has been resurrected by Australian Wool Innovation, which recently acquired the Woolmark brand. Said Mr Craig Welsh, CEO of AWI, “We see the Woolmark Prize as an opportunity to support the future of design and at the same time, showcase to the world Australian Merino wool at its best and most innovative.”

For those of you who missed it, please check out our feature on Qiu Hao and his fellow Shanghainese designer Helen Lee, and congratulations to Qiu. Well done.

A cut above the rest (The Guardian)
Despite the murky economic climate, the haute couture business is looking rosy.

A Seasonless Era Approaches (JC Report)
A slew of designers are questioning the fashion industry’s fast pace by promoting flexible, seasonless collections.

‘India,’ the Guru Chants (New York Times)
Next month, Giorgio Armani will open the Emporio mall in Delhi which will house other luxury brands such as Dior and Fendi, and his first store in India.

A Chinese Fashion Moment (WSJ)
The prestigious Woolmark fashion design award, a competition that Karl Lagerfeld and Yves Saint Laurent took part in 1954, has been revived and two Chinese talents  are among the ten finalists (including Qiu Hao who was recently featured on the BoF) that could ignite "a Chinese fashion moment."

Chanel haute couture autumn ‘08 show, courtesy of Coutorture.com

TOKYO, Japan – “Welcome home.” With those words Jun Morimoto, CEO of Alfred Dunhill in Japan, warmly ushered me into the new Alfred Dunhill flagship in Tokyo’s Ginza district, where it rubs shoulders with the impressive architecture of some of the world’s most famous luxury brands. But all is not rosy in Tokyo’s legendary luxuryland, with reports that sales for some international luxury brands in Japan are down as much as 20% versus last year.

As Morimoto-san showed me around the store, the first of a few Dunhill ‘Home’ flagships which will be opening around the world, he also demonstrated how brands like Dunhill are leading the way in adapting their stores and product offering to meet the evolving expectations of the Japanese luxury customer.

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Race on the Runway (WSJ)
In its groundbreaking July issue, Italian Vogue features all black models. But the Wall Street Journal asks, "Is it an indication of a new trend toward diversity on the runways or just a fad?"

Business big shot: Nick Robertson of Asos (The Times)
Asos chief executive, Nick Robertson, is preparing to take the ascendant online fashion retailer abroad.

Stores Look to Lure Millennial Generation (WWD)
Retailers are flexing their marketing muscle to attract the Millennial generation.