Kristen McMenamy at Viktor&Rolf Autumn/Winter 2010 | Source: Style.com

Gender assumptions reconsidered (FT)
“Monday is International Women’s Day – fancy that. For once, in spite of its seasonal discontinuity, fashion and the outside world are on the same page. They are both thinking about women. Theoretically, at least.”

US online and luxury spending jumps in February (Independent)
“Luxury consumption and e-commerce both jumped in February, according to data released March 3 by MasterCard. After a largely positive January, MasterCard Advisors’ SpendingPulse reported that the rise in US online spending continued in February, up 16.7 percent year-on-year.”

Why community building is better than simple social marketing (Biz Report)
“For a truly integrated social campaign marketers need to take their social profile to the next level. That includes building a community the consumer will return to time and again, and that means more than deal tweeting.”

Discreet luxury and courage on show in Paris (Independent)
“If no-frills clothes that are discreetly – but to those in the know extremely – luxurious are a large part of the story this season, then Phoebe Philo’s hugely influential debut collection for Celine, shown in Paris six months ago, has by now proved ahead of its time.”

Texture rules on the red carpet (Los Angeles Times)
“That annual Oscar conundrum — how to make a fashion statement on the red carpet while honoring tradition at the same time — was solved this year with one easy concept: texture.”