Steven Kolb | Photo: Carly Otness/BFAnyc.com

PARIS, France — The fashion world is in a tizzy. Ever since the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana (CNMI) laid down the gauntlet, scheduling next autumn’s Milan Fashion Week from September 19th to 24th, a massive rift has emerged amongst the fashion fraternity.

New York Fashion Week, organised by the Council for Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), is scheduled to start on the 13th of September and conclude on the 20th. London Fashion Week, organised by the British Fashion Council (BFC), is supposed to run from the 21st to the 24th. But based on the dates currently being proposed for Milan Fashion Week, which the CNMI insist were communicated back in 2010, Milan would not only conflict with the end of New York Fashion Week, but completely overlap with London. Paris Fashion Week, organised by the Fédération française de la Couture, du Prêt à Porter des Couturiers et des Créateurs de Mode (known informally as the Chambre Syndicale), would follow Milan, and begin on the 25th. In short, it’s a jumble of acronyms and national organisations trying to oversee what is effectively a fashion month for a global industry.

In response to this serious scheduling problem, Jonathan Newhouse, Chairman of Condé Nast International issued a statement: “We at Condé Nast do not want the schedule to be changed. We very much oppose moving the Milan shows earlier so that they overlap or conflict with the London fashion shows — or with the New York fashion shows or those of any market,” he said, adding that various international editors of Vogue would not attend a Milan Fashion Week that conflicted with its counterparts. Milan has not budged on the 2012 dates, but they have proposed to discuss the 2013 dates.

Contrast this dispute with my surroundings as I sat down for tea with Steven Kolb, chief executive of the CFDA, on a park bench in Paris’ Palais-Royal, surrounded by stores from fashion brands from all over the world. It was clear proof of the global nature of our industry, as CFDA President Diane von Furstenberg articulated a few days ago in an open letter to the fashion community. “We share the same goals as Milan, Paris, and London,” she wrote. In other words, pitting fashion weeks against each other is like the fashion industry feeding upon itself.

Mr. Kolb was in town for “Americans in Paris,” inspired by the British Fashion Council’s “London Showrooms” concept, a perfect example of how fashion weeks can learn from each other. It’s the latest in a slew of CFDA initiatives designed to support America’s burgeoning young fashion talents, including Prabal Gurung (Nepali), Sophie Theallet (French) and Simon Spurr (British), all of whom came to America from other countries. It’s an international fashion world after all.

I met with Mr. Kolb while all this fashion week in-fighting was only just simmering, and had yet to reach boiling point. But nonetheless, it became an important part of our conversation, along with the future of fashion week more generally and the prospects for young fashion designers in America.

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Maison Martin Margiela by Julien Oppenheim | Source: Maison Martin Margiela

On the eve of Maison Martin Margiela’s Spring/Summer 2012 fashion show in Paris, we are pleased to publish our latest CEO Talk with Giovanni Pungetti.

PARIS, France – Our CEO Talks with the chief executives of international fashion brands are usually accompanied by photos of the figures who lead these businesses. Things at Maison Martin Margiela are not quite so simple. While Margiela chief executive Giovanni Pungetti was more than willing to sit down and have a discussion about this most-loved of fashion brands, providing a photo of himself was out of the question.

It all goes back to the philosophy of the company’s founder. Margiela himself carefully avoided being photographed. And for a time, the Maison only answered questions via fax or email, once telling Women’s Wear Daily that “the withdrawal of a designer’s profile creates a space that the garments may fill.”

But while this approach enabled the Margiela brand to build a cult following amongst fashion insiders, the high-concept style and secretive communications strategy seemed to hinder financial stability. Enter Only the Brave, part of the Diesel jeans empire founded by Italian fashion dynamo Renzo Rosso, who acquired the brand in 2002. To some, it was an odd pairing, bringing together a highly-respected conceptual talent with a commercial fashion powerhouse.

At first, the partnership seemed to work well, bringing more structure to the business and allowing Mr. Margiela to focus on the creative process. But, in October 2009 the Maison announced the departure of Martin Margiela from his namesake brand. To this day, the company maintains that Mr. Margiela left on good terms, but fashion observers have always wondered whether the strong (and seemingly opposed) commercial and creative forces could no longer co-exist.

Since then, it’s been all systems go for MMM, which is now designed by a creative team. The business has continued to expand into new geographies and product categories. The retail network was reorganised, a fragrance license with L’Oréal was signed, the leather goods collections was restructured, and an eyewear range was launched.

BoF sat down with Giovanni Pungetti at the Hotel La Maison Champs Élysées, part of which was re-designed by the Margiela team, to learn about Mr. Pungetti’s plans for the brand’s future, and to better understand “the Margiela way” of doing business.

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Harry Wang | Source: Shiatzy Chen

PARIS, France — Long before the question arose about who would create the first Chinese luxury brand, Wang Chen Tsai-Hsia set up Shiatzy Chen to explore her tailoring skills and budding interest in serving the local luxury market in Taiwan.

Fast forward thirty years, and Ms. Wang now has a business with a turnover of more than $60m and growing, built through hard work, perseverance and — in the Chinese tradition — the support of her family, including husband Wang Yuan-hong, and their son Harry Wang, who now acts as the brand’s chief executive.

Mr. Wang believes the business can grow to $200m in revenues by 2020. But rather than focus on growing the business in the West as so many brands from emerging fashion markets tend to do, he has his sights set firmly on Asia. Extending from the brand’s home base in Taiwan to China and Japan is first on his list. Mr. Wang has also brought Shiatzy Chen’s fashion shows to Paris, forcing him to up his communications game and consider the brand’s role and customer targets in a global context.

I caught up with Mr. Wang during the last round of Paris shows to learn more about Shiatzy Chen and to benefit from his firsthand insights on the evolving nature of luxury in China.

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