Meadham Kirchhoff Spring/Summer 2012 | Source: I want you to know

Out of fashion: Designers finding new ways to sell their style (Independent)
“As the autumn 2012 collections are unveiled, more and more designers are questioning the format; seeking something new in an age where digital culture means every image is beamed straight to an audience at home and cloistered, exclusive runways are no longer the most practical way of promoting their labels.”

New York Fashion Week Parades 328 Shows (Bloomberg)
“There was a time when Ruth Finley could easily avoid conflicts while putting together the schedule for New York Fashion Week. This month, the publisher of the pink-paper Fashion Calendar, the trade’s must-read, had to fit as many as eight different runway shows and presentations into one time slot.”

Hugo Boss says good start to 2012 after record 2011 (Reuters)
“German fashion house Hugo Boss said 2012 had got off to a good start as it reported better than expected sales and earnings for 2011, thanks to wealthy Asian buyers snapping up luxury European brands.”

The beauty business (Economist)
“Careers in modelling are typically short-lived, badly paid and less glamorous than pretty young dreamers imagine. Yet the business is changing. For one thing, educated models are in. This may sound improbable. In the film ‘Zoolander’, male models are portrayed as so dumb that they play-fight with petrol and then start smoking. But such stereotypes are so last year.”

Michael Kors: Designer for the Jet Set (WSJ)
“The Michael Kors woman is lightly tanned, toned, polished and pulled together at all times. She loves fur, figure-hugging fabrics and expensive shoes. She may or may not travel by private jet, but she certainly looks as though she does… It could be said that if Oscar de la Renta is the Park Avenue Princess’s couturier of choice, then Kors is their regular tailor. “

Carolina Herrera Spring/Summer 2012 | Source: Style Carrot

Family, fashion dominate the days of Carolina Herrera (Reuters)
“Designer Carolina Herrera didn’t grow up dreaming of a fashion career. Born in Caracas, Venezuela, she spent her childhood riding horses and pursuing favorite pastimes on the family estate. But fashion became her calling and after a lifetime of design, winning awards and providing red carpet looks for stars ranging from Oscar winner Renee Zellweger to Grammy winner Lady Gaga.”

Why Fashion Trends are Still Relevant (Huffington Post)
“Money may well be tight for the consumer but this doesn’t mean to say they’ve stopped caring what they wear. Quite the contrary, they are becoming far more specific in what they buy and are looking for pieces that hit the nail squarely on the head. The scattergun approach to shopping is dead in the water; people don’t want five Breton striped tees any more, they want one ultimate Breton striped tee and are prepared to pay the cumulative cost.”

Fashion Week’s Latest Digital Moves (WWD)
“New York Fashion Week kicks off today — and with nearly every major player live-streaming their runway show this season, tweeting up a storm and hosting interactive Facebook chats, brands are looking to raise the digital bar even higher. Key initiatives this season range from shoppable runways to digital fashion shows to ‘social service.’”

Moving Past ‘Fierce’ (NY Times)
“Though it made him famous, Christian Siriano hardly ever uses the word ‘fierce’ anymore. He is more likely to say something is ‘fine,’ as in ‘Sometimes I think the critics don’t like me personally, which is fine.’ Or ‘Fashion is subjective, which is fine.’ Or ‘There are people in the business who will never support me in the way they would a Wang or a Wu or any of those boys, which is fine.’”

The Man Who Says No (NY Times)
“Though few people outside fashion know his name, Mr. Rougier, 50, is unquestionably one of that world’s most influential — and controversial — characters. With Sylvie Picquet Damesme, his New York partner in PR Consulting, Mr. Rougier has collected an enviable client list that includes Jil Sander, L’Wren Scott, Versace and Rag & Bone.”

H&M flagship store | Source: NY Magazine

Swedish fashion: How less can be more (CNN)
“Stockholm fashion may not have the clout of Parisian haute couture or the glamor of Milan’s upscale brands. But the city is turning its flair for sleek design into a major business export.”

Bulgari family sells LVMH shares (FT)
“People close to the deal said the Bulgari family had decided to reduce their stake after a strong rise in the shares in the past year and a strong set of results from the world’s largest luxury goods group.”

Savvy Chinese consumer comes of age (FT)
“China even seems to be losing its appetite for fakes. Counterfeit luxury goods, a hit with the girls in the Shanghai typing pool, are losing out to the real thing. Chinese shoppers still like an extra dose of bling on everything, but as salaries and sophistication rise, they prefer their glitz genuine rather than fake.”

Fashion Startup Moda Operandi: Now Opening to the World (Mashable)
“Moda Operandi, the closely watched online retail operation from ex-Gilt exec Aslaug Magnusdottir and Vogue contributing editor Lauren Santo Domingo, is in transition. Once accessible only via application, the year-old site is opening its doors and bolstering its content offerings in an attempt to draw new shoppers in and keep them there.”

Pitching a Few New Tents of Her Own (NY Times)
“Attention young fashion designers, editors, bloggers, stylists and others gearing up for New York Fashion Week. Fern Mallis, widely credited for making this week the huge news media spectacle it is today, has two words of advice: Be nice.”

Stella McCartney’s Fashion Message (On the Runway)
“Stella McCartney appears in a new video by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, released today. It’s worth watching. The subject is animal suffering in the leather industry and the risks to human health and the environment from tanneries.”

At Fashion Week, a Peek at a New Tactic for Marketers (NY Times)
“Made Fashion Week’s mobile app… has been designed to listen for specific sound waves that will be played over the speakers during runway shows throughout the week. The app will then automatically pull up a photograph of the outfit — taken by a photographer on the scene — as well as the designer’s name, biography and contact information.”

Models form rights group ahead of New York Fashion Week (Reuters)
“Fashion models in the United States launched a rights group on Monday ahead of New York Fashion Week to seek workplace standards including backstage privacy to stop unauthorized nude photos and a program to provide confidential advice on dealing with sexual harassment.”

Startup of the Week: Lux Fix (Wired)
“Lux Fix is an e-commerce site that works with designers to offer super-curated luxury fashion with members-only discounts… We are the only site which is able to provide its customers with current season offers from top luxury fashion brands; this is possible because we provide marketing and sales generation for our designer partners’ brands and websites.”

French Vogue embraces the digital age with website relaunch (Guardian)
“Vogue magazine has stayed at the pinnacle of fashion. From launching the careers of designers to creating trends and showcasing the latest in culture, Vogue has always been seen as the taste maker in an industry dedicated to the creation of taste makers… Today sees a new website launch from French Vogue.”

Santee Alley in LA by Gina Ferazzi | Source: LA Times

Counterfeit Gap joins the counterfeit Gucci (LA Times)
“The economy is one reason for the trend. ‘The recession has more people trading down,’ said Susan Scafidi, academic director of the Fashion Law Institute at Fordham University’s law school. ‘Even lower-priced brands feel like a stretch in this economy, and people are more likely to trade down to counterfeits.’ There are several other factors driving the low-rent-counterfeit trend, including the Internet, a changing consumer mind-set and beefed-up anti-counterfeiting efforts by the giant apparel companies.”

An awful lot of fashion in Brazil (FT)
“If France and Italy, the world’s fashion capitals, are content with one big ready-to-wear fashion week, does Brazil really need two? Yes, the country boasts the world’s sixth-largest economy, a growing and appetising consumer market and great tourist appeal, but is there so much going on style-wise that the world requires both Fashion Rio and São Paulo Fashion Week.”

Cashmere maker Cucinelli files for Milan listing (Reuters)
“Italian cashmere goods maker Brunello Cucinelli said on Friday it had filed with Italian regulators for an initial public offering (IPO) of its shares on the Milan bourse , as signs emerged recently of steadier market conditions.”

Beyond the Runway: Meet the PR Pros Who Run Fashion Week (AdAge)
“Those outside the tight-knit fashion PR community might be familiar with Paul Wilmot, who sold his firm to Omnicom’s Fleishman-Hillard; HL-Group, which got snatched up by MDC; or People’s Revolution owner Kelly Cutrone, who through reality TV demystified the frantic nature of fashion-show seating and swag-labeling. But inside the sartorial bubble live some highly influential shops unfamiliar to those outside the industry.”

Embracing the Ghost of a Faraway Past (NY Times)
“‘Who you are today is a ghost of your past,’ said the fast-rising New York designer Prabal Gurung. The observation sounds a bit dark and moody for the amiable young talent, who introduced his line three years ago, full of bright colors and sexy, feminine silhouettes that instantly endeared him to, among many others, the first lady. Lately, though, Mr. Gurung has shown that there’s bite behind the smile.”

Loewe Spring/Summer 2012 | Source: Her World Plus

LVMH Profit Meets Estimates, Sees 2012 Growth (Bloomberg)
“LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA (MC), the world’s largest maker of luxury goods, reported full-year profit that met analysts’ estimates and said it’s “well- equipped” to maintain growth in 2012. Net income rose 1 percent to 3.07 billion euros ($4 billion) in 2011, the Paris-based maker of Zenith watches said today.”

In cities, clothes maketh the man (China Daily)
“Cosmetics are not the only luxury goods attracting increasing numbers of Chinese men. More than 76 percent of urban males bought clothes in 2010, with 24 percent regarding clothes as ‘important purchases’, according to Chinese market researchers CTR.”

Luxury Flash Sales Sites Regroup After Layoffs (BetaBeat)
“Mass flash sales—deep discounts that expire usually after one to three days—had been touted as the first real innovation in e-commerce in years, and start-ups that applied the flash-sales phenomenon to the luxury market had investors salivating. But the former venture capital darlings suddenly seemed to be hemorrhaging employees.”

Polo Puzzle: What Goes Into a $155 Price Tag? (WSJ)
“Every piece of clothing has a story: There’s far more to a $155 polo shirt than a yard of fabric, four buttons and a length of thread. The tale of a KP MacLane polo shirt offers a rare look inside the planning and global transactions behind the clothes people wear.”

Following A Legend (Vogue)
“The film, entitled Bill Cunningham New York, profiles the visionary 81-year-old taking pictures on an old Nikon camera of its best dressed residents. Directed and produced by Richard Press, the documentary features anecdotes from New York’s biggest names, from Anna Wintour to best-selling author Tom Wolfe.”

David Beckham for H&M | Source: Zap 2 it

David Beckham Fetes H&M Launch in London (WWD)
“It takes an unusual amount of sex appeal for a man to make a pair of long johns look good — and David Beckham has pulled it off. After serving as the face and body for Armani Underwear, Beckham decided to develop his own range together with his business partner and manager, the entertainment mogul Simon Fuller.”

Yoox Chief Marchetti Raises Stake, Forecasts Strong U.S. Growth (Bloomberg)
“Yoox Chief Executive Officer Federico Marchetti raised his stake in the online retailer of fashion and luxury goods after exercising stock options, saying the Italian company is being undervalued by investors.”

Fashion Changes, and So Do the Magazines (NY Times)
“Glamour’s newsstand sales were down substantially last year, by 17 percent through June and (as submitted to the Audit Bureau of Circulation) 9.9 percent in the second half. Most women’s titles were down. Part of the problem, it would seem, is that by exploiting a winning formula, fashion magazines have made themselves indistinguishable.”

Fashion Tech Boom: Why It’s Happening  (Fashionista)
“Last year saw a major influx of new fashion-focused tech startups. With the early success of pioneers like Gilt Groupe and Ideeli, an industry that has typically been slow to embrace new technology has spawned a burgeoning community of game-changing ecommerce sites, mobile apps and social networking and discovery platforms.”

An Intellectual Fashion | Scott Schuman (AnOther)
“Scott Schuman is the founder and editor of the iconic fashion blog The Sartorialist which he set up in 2005. He achieved considerable influence with his photographs taken in the streets, a selection of which was published as a book by Penguin in 2009.”

Benetton Unhate campaign | Source: Foto Telegraf

Benetton to make decision on delisting (FT)
“The Benetton family will decide at a board meeting on Wednesday whether to delist the Italian knitwear group known for its brightly coloured jumpers after the company posted another plunge in profits as it struggles to compete with Inditex and H&M.”

Luxury Companies That Can Bring You Closer to the Good Life (Money Morning)
“A lot of consumers are hurting right now, but you wouldn’t know that looking at the earnings of major luxury companies. Many luxury companies like LVMH Moet Hennessey Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Hermès, and Coach Inc had a stronger-than-expected 2011 campaign.”

Bright Young Things (Vogue)
“The British Fashion Council has announced the launch of International Fashion Showcase – a platform for international emerging designers – which will take place during London Fashion Week. Nineteen embassies and cultural institutes across London will display work from over 80 rising designers, spanning the world from Belgium to Botswana.”

The Finnish Fashion Blogger Who Landed A Deal With Diesel (Business Insider)
“Sandra Hagelstam, 24, is the founder of the hot fashion blog 5inchdesandup.com. She started blogging to create a daily log of what she wears… ‘(The blog) has opened up doors for me I never would have imagined in terms of being able to design my own collection and collaborate with others.’”

Divided they stand: the new extremists (Telegraph)
“This may look like a classic case of Roundhead versus Cavalier. Or Minimalist meets Maximalist. But that’s too simplistic.Neither Mary Katrantzou or Osman Yousefzada can be that easily pigeonholed.”

The Real McCoy's Tokyo | Source: One and Beyond

Made Better in Japan (WSJ)
“Louis Vuitton sales are plummeting, and magnums of Dom Pérignon are no longer being uncorked at a furious pace. That doesn’t mean the Japanese have turned away from the world. They’ve just started approaching it on their own terms, venturing abroad and returning home with increasingly more international tastes and much higher standards, realizing that the apex of bread making may not be Wonder Bread–style loaves, but pain à l’ancienne.”

Luxury brands long to bond with China’s elite (FT)
“Chinese shoppers have become a fixture of the luxury retail scene in the US and Europe, drawn by prices that can be up to 50 per cent lower than tax-elevated levels at home. But many upscale brands have yet to bond with the truly wealthy – China’s million millionaires.”

A fashion revolution? (FT)
“By far the most exciting thing I saw last week during the couture in Paris wasn’t couture at all, but a website that launches today: www.honestby.com. The brainchild of Belgian designer Bruno Pieters, late of Hugo Boss, it is the most subversive etail initiative I have seen.”

CFDA Controversy (Vogue)
“The CFDA has caused controversy after deciding to relocate its offices from New York’s beloved Garment District to Bleecker Street – a move designers have described as a snub to the area – a location that the organisation has always tried to protect and promote through initiatives such as Fashion Incubator and the Made In Midtown study.”

Custom shirts, cut from a different cloth (LA Times)
“Custom-made men’s dress shirts were once considered the privileged peacockery of the moneyed set… Thanks to advances in technology, a competitive market and consumer demand, custom clothing has moved within the barrel-cuffed arm’s reach of the common man.”

Christian Louboutin Paris men's store | Source: The Squeeze

His not hers (FT)
“It’s a man’s world where luxury goods are concerned. At least judging by recent moves from two of fashion’s biggest players: in November, PPR acquired Italian tailor Brioni and LVMH appointed Antoine Arnault to head up the expansion (including a move into ready-to-wear) of its men’s footwear label Berluti.”

Executive Education in a Material world (FT)
“From fine wines and fast cars, to handbags and haute couture, insatiable consumer demand for luxury goods means that business is booming for the €185bn industry. As a result, specialist executive programmes that train managers for the sector are also on the rise, with several high-­profile launches in recent years. The trend is not exclusive to international business schools, with companies and art colleges following suit.”

Bloomberg to Launch Luxury Lifestyle Magazine (WWD)
“Users of the Bloomberg Terminal are among the richest demographic in the world, and advertisers will soon be able to reach them via a new luxury lifestyle magazine… Bloomberg Pursuits is a spin-off of Bloomberg Markets, the monthly business magazine that also goes to Terminal users.”

Ode to Handsome (WSJ)
“The logo for Kirk Miller’s debonair menswear label, Miller’s Oath, is a pickax. Although this might seem suspiciously of-the-moment, given the number of designers currently mining Americana heritage, for the 33-year-old Minnesota native, the frontier-meets-luxe look is a natural fit.”

Manolo Blahnik: Feet First (WSJ)
“Since he began his career in the early ’70s, Manolo Blahnik has dominated the shoe world. And this season, with the demise of the heavy wedge and the return of the stiletto and mule, every woman worth her salt will be wearing his uniquely crafted designs.”