Aquascutum Autumn/Winter 2010 | Source: Rag Pony

Aquascutum collapses into administration (FT)
“Aquascutum has collapsed into administration, putting about 250 jobs at risk and threatening the possible demise of a classic British clothing brand. FRP Advisory has been appointed administrator to the 160-year-old company, owned by fashion entrepreneur Harold Tillman.”

TA Associates fashions 30 per cent deal for Zadig & Voltaire (AltAssets)
“The US-based firm’s purchase would value the company at about €380m according to sources which spoke to France’s Le Figaro newspaper. TA, which generally focuses on technology, finance and business services, healthcare and consumer industries, already has British lifestyle brand Cath Kidston in its portfolio following a 2010 deal.”

Burberry ‘Vigilant’ as Fourth-Quarter Sales Trail Estimates (Bloomberg)
“Burberry Group Plc, the U.K.’s largest luxury-goods maker, reported fiscal fourth-quarter sales that trailed analysts’ estimates and said it remains vigilant as growth slows in Europe. Revenue from continuing operations rose 16 percent to 453 million pounds ($719 million) in the three months ended March 31, the London-based company said today in a statement.”

Hugo Boss Plays Catch-Up in China (BusinessWeek)
“Even though it’s the world’s hottest market, especially for luxury goods, China offers no guarantees. Just ask Hugo Boss. The German luxury clothing maker began selling its apparel through franchisees or by wholesaling goods to independent retailers in Hong Kong as early as 1982, but it didn’t open its first company-run stores in China until 2006, 15 years after Italian suitmaker Ermenegildo Zegna.”

Marchesa Said To Be Launching Contemporary Line (Fashionista)
“Marchesa may soon fall somewhere within a normal person’s range of affordability…  WWD says that LF USA, the U.S. subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Li & Fung (and the same company currently reviving contemporary label Vena Cava), is ‘said to be in talks with Marchesa about the launch of a new contemporary line’ and ‘an announcement could be imminent.’”

Alexandra Shulman | Source: Mih Jeans

Lunch with the FT: Alexandra Shulman (FT)
“But she is a big deal, and this is a big year for her and for Vogue. It’s Shulman’s 20-year anniversary as editor, this month she’s publishing her first novel, Can We Still be Friends, and Vogue is staging its first festival.”

Discount fashion chains feel the pinch (FT)
“In a market under pressure there are winners and losers. Fashion-conscious consumers are still making purchases but cutting back on the number as household budgets are squeezed, placing a strain on retailers whose model relies on selling cheap items in bulk.”

H&M March same store sales up 16 pct (Reuters)
“Warm weather fuelled the biggest rise in monthly sales at Hennes & Mauritz for five years in March, although the world’s second-biggest fashion retailer signalled a weaker start to April as colder temperatures returned.”

Jon Moulton’s Better Capital buys fashion brand Jaeger (Telegraph)
“Better Capital said in a statement it had bought the secured debt and a 90pc of the high-end fashion brand, which saw it profits fall by two-thirds last year as the downturn on the British high street took its toll.”

Goot, Lee pull out of Fashion Week (Sydney Morning Herald)
“Two big-name Australian designers announced their withdrawal from this year’s Australian Fashion Week this morning, a mere fortnight before the prestigious industry-only event in Sydney is scheduled to start.”

Andy Dunn | Source: NY Times

Stores Go Online to Find a Perfect Fit (NY Times)
“When Andy Dunn helped start Bonobos five years ago, he wanted to shake up the retail industry with a men’s wear brand exclusively sold online. Now Mr. Dunn, 33, is embracing the brick-and-mortar model, striking a partnership with Nordstrom. It is a symbiotic deal. Bonobos will get $16.4 million in cash and more than 100 stores to sell its clothes, while Nordstrom will get gain expertise on e-mail marketing and online branding.”

Gilt Groupe Founders Gab About the Future of Commerce (AdWeek)
“When Gilt Groupe co-founders Alexis Maybank and Alexandra Wilkis Wilson opened the virtual doors to their online flash sale site in 2007, they were thrilled to sell $9,565 in high-fashion fare on their first day. Now, the members-only site—which has since grown to include travel, food, home furnishings and local services—can generate far more than that in a matter of seconds.”

PPR Falls as Morgan Stanley Sees Gucci Slowdown (Bloomberg)
“PPR fell in Paris trading after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock on concern its Gucci unit will underperform luxury peers in 2012 and continued challenges at sporting-goods maker Puma will weigh on profitability.”

Fashion Television thrived in the fickle world of fashion (Toronto Star)
“After 27 years on air, production has been suspended on Fashion Television. The groundbreaking series, hosted by Jeanne Beker since April 1985, was instrumental in bringing high fashion to living rooms around the world.”

One leg at a time (Moscow News)
“The Russian fashion industry has traditionally had a difficult time introducing innovative designs into men’s clothing… The situation is changing as more men under 26, who take more care in shopping for clothes, appear in stores, especially in the larger cities.”

Perry Ellis by Norman Parkinson | Source: NY Times

Perry Ellis Still Has Something to Say (NY Times)
“For men of a certain generation, the Perry Ellis look of the early ‘80s was a classic: impeccably constructed khaki pants and a crisp white or blue cotton shirt, perhaps paired with a buttery soft trench coat, all of it conveying a kind of effortless elegance.’ When Perry Ellis was alive, no one did it better,’ Michael Bastian, the men’s wear designer, said recently.”

The £60 million suit: Gieves & Hawkes for sale (Telegraph)
“A Hong Kong based-clothing conglomerate named Trinity Limited today announced its proposed acquisition of the ‘rare jewel’in a £60 million deal due for completion within the month.

Former Jimmy Choo exec to lead Bergdorf Goodman (FT)
“Joshua Schulman, former Jimmy Choo chief executive officer, has been appointed as president of luxury US department store Bergdorf Goodman… Mr Schulman, 40, left the luxury shoe brand earlier this year in the aftermath of Jimmy Choo’s sale to Labelux, a privately owned German company.”

NYC Releases Fashion Report: Fashion Week, Fast Fashion See Biggest Growth (Fashionista)
“According to the report, NYC’s strengths are having a huge fashion week, being a design center, remaining ‘a robust fashion manufacturing center,” having an ‘incomparable wholesale market,’ a large retail market and major fashion media and marketing companies.”

Do These Two Looks Mix Well? (NY Times)
“But his appointment, while well received, has raised no small amount of curiosity about what it will mean for Dior. Among fashion editors, the move was described as a bold choice. But some retailers, who also adore Mr. Simons, wondered if it wasn’t too bold for a label with more than $1 billion in sales of clothes, bags, shoes, makeup and other products.”

Givenchy store Paris | Source: Paris.com

Luxury Goods Oust Executives With Global Economy in Flux (Business Week)
“Luxury-goods makers are spring cleaning their boardrooms and ateliers. At least 14 new presidents, chief executive officers, chief financial officers and creative directors started at European companies, including Mulberry Group Plc and PPR SA in the first quarter alone.”

Cashmere house Cucinelli IPO approved by Milan bourse (Reuters)
“Italian clothing company Brunello Cucinelli has received the green light for its initial public offering in Milan, the Italian bourse operator said on Tuesday, paving the way for a listing expected early next month.”

Digital Tools Boost In-Store Service (WWD)
“The online and offline shopping worlds are converging, and thanks to a handful of digital solutions, retailers are using them to enhance offline shopping practices more than ever… Gucci unveiled a ‘Mobile Point of Sale’ program this week that will launch later this year at select boutiques in the U.S., Europe and Asia to better the retail experience for consumers.”

Billionaires Unmasked as Coty Persists in Pursuit of Avon (Bloomberg)
“The German billionaires behind Coty Inc.’s $10 billion bid for Avon Products Inc. (AVP), the world’s largest direct seller of cosmetics, are the heirs to a 189-year- old chemicals empire their father helped transform into one of the largest consumer-goods companies in the world.”

Pinvolve Converts Facebook Pages Into Pinterest Pinboards (TechCrunch)
“The folks behind a forthcoming fashion catalog for the iPad, Bazaart, have launched an interesting side project… From their participation in DreamIt’s new Israel-based startup accelerator program. In need of something similar for themselves, the company launched a Facebook app called ‘Pinvolve’ which converts Facebook Pages into Pinterest pinboards.”