Burberry Autumn/Winter 2010 | Source: Burberry

LONDON, United Kingdom — It was billed as the world’s first truly global fashion show, taking place on the penultimate day of London Fashion Week, beamed live in 3D to five global cities, and streamed to the rest of the world via 73 websites, including Vogue, Grazia and CNN, which all picked up the video feed in a global simulcast. It was undoubtedly the  most widely distributed fashion show a luxury brand has ever staged, potentially reaching an audience of more than 100 million users, according to Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts.

At first, I was disappointed that BoF had not been invited to attend the real event at London’s Chelsea College of Art, but in the end I’m glad to have experienced Burberry’s live internet stream. It all felt very 2010, especially as I ducked into the Regent Street Apple Store to watch the show after a late lunch. It was a fashion moment.

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Rachel Whiteread’s Drawings | Source: NOWNESS

NEW YORK , United States — In recent quarters, online sales were the only bright patch in a grim luxury retail landscape. But interestingly, in January of 2009, LVMH-owned eLuxury announced that it would cease e-commerce operations entirely and relaunch as a luxury destination focused completely on content.

Fast-forward one year and the luxury industry still can’t seem to get enough of the internet. Social Media is the phrase on everyone’s lips. And so, it was with great interest that BoF took a sneak peek at the web experience that takes eLuxury’s place — NOWNESS — which will officially launch to the public on Thursday 25 February.

Tuning into a special online preview and connecting with EVP Digital of NOWNESS, Kamel Ouadi, we got the lowdown on what to expect from NOWNESS in the months to come.

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LONDON, United Kingdom — As the fashion industry continues its march into the digital age, London — always known for its raw creativity and emerging talent — can now add digital innovation to that list.

This is no overnight story. To the contrary, it’s taken ten years for fashion players here to plant seeds which are only beginning to bear fruit now, as fashion’s digital tsunami really begins to take hold.

The British capital, after all, is home to revolutionary fashion website SHOWStudio, e-commerce pioneer Net-a-Porter, and online hub of youth culture Dazed Digital — all of which were founded many years ago. These seminal businesses have created a foundational and fertile seedbed for other digital businesses and attracted and developed digital talent that has gone on to shape and inspire other online companies here including mywardrobe.com, Fashionair and farfetch.com. And, while American Vogue is in the midst of setting up its website now, British Vogue has had its own website for fifteen years.

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Robert Duffy and Marc Jacobs | Source: Twitpic via @robertcduffy

In our latest CEO Talk, Robert Duffy, longtime business partner of Marc Jacobs, speaks to BoF about the power of Twitter.

NEW YORK, United States — When Robert Duffy posted his first-ever Tweet on 30 January, saying “Welcome Tweeties,” he had no idea what he was getting into. What happened in the weeks that followed is an excellent lesson for fashion executives everywhere: the best way to understand social media is to use social media.

You see, Robert Duffy had never used Twitter before. In fact, he didn’t really even know what Twitter was until a member of his team introduced it to him. Eventually, he warmed to the idea of using Twitter to share the behind-the-scenes action of the Marc Jacobs show, still the highlight of New York Fashion Week even after 26 years in business.

It wasn’t all smooth sailing. On his second day of tweeting, Duffy accidentally deleted all of his tweets. In the days that followed, he learned about direct messaging and retweeting and privacy on Twitter. Still, Duffy stuck with it. He began each day by getting on his stationary bicycle and reading the hundreds of tweets that had come in over night, listening and responding to feedback and questions on stores, customer service, the Marc Jacobs website, and — music to our BoF ears — how to run a fashion business.

Soon, Robert became an expert tweeter, not only on the techniques and norms of using Twitter, but also by speaking authentically in his own voice and even sharing a few private moments with Marc Jacobs himself. This authenticity resonated across the fashion Twittersphere in thousands and thousands of retweets, and spreading to blog posts and articles in the mainstream media.

By February 13, the power of Twitter had really dawned on Duffy: “I have learned much from doing this,” he tweeted. “Am really better for the experiance [sic]. You talk to the whole world in 1 second. Takes no time. Amazing!”

Still, he announced to his almost 7,000 followers that he would be hanging up his Twitter hat. And yesterday, after the Marc by Marc Jacobs show, his @robertcduffy handle was transformed into @MJInternational, leaving room for an as-yet unnamed someone else to fill Duffy’s shoes.

In a very special exclusive CEO Talk for The Business of Fashion, I caught up with Robert Duffy backstage before the Marc by Marc show, armed with questions from our loyal BoF followers, to learn more about his Twitter experience.

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Tavi Gevinson's Bow at Dior Couture | Source: Twitpic by SteffiSchuetze

LONDON, United Kingdom — A veritable firestorm erupted across fashion blogs and twitter streams this week in response to an article that appeared in London’s Independent newspaper over the weekend, highlighting Tavi Gevinson’s front row presence at the Haute Couture shows in Paris.

In a piece entitled “Fluff flies as fashion writers pick a cat fight with bloggers,” The Independent reported that “senior fashion insiders believe blogs have turned into little more than mouthpieces for fashion brands, which are increasingly using bloggers to regurgitate their press releases.”

As those controversial words rippled through the blogosphere and twittersphere, the protest and outrage came from all quarters of the fashion blogging fraternity and sorority. And, while we at the BoF were hesitant to take the bait and join the fray — the whole ‘editors versus bloggers’ story is becoming tired — it would be even worse for us to remain silent. Indeed, the Independent article raises very important issues which merit further discussion and debate, and perhaps, a more balanced perspective on this so-called “backlash” against bloggers.

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“Vol de Jour” by Karl Lagerfeld | Source: Chanel.com

NEW YORK, United States — In recent seasons, while a deep economic downturn has threatened the long-term survival of many magazines, a number of major fashion brands have been creating their own editorial content, and perhaps no brand has done more of this than Chanel. Back in November, Olivier Zahm posted an image of several layouts from 31 Rue Cambon, announcing “the first Chanel magazine which I have art directed and designed for Karl Lagerfeld, to be distributed worldwide in all the Chanel stores.”

But whereas 31 rue Cambon will be a print publication, Chanel’s real content focus has been in the digital space, harnessing Karl Lagerfeld himself to create increasing volumes of original content for digital distribution, especially around the brand’s showcase “Métiers d’Art” collections, which underscore Chanel’s unique commitment to the traditional Parisian ateliers the firm acquired in 2002 — costume jewellers Desrues, embroiderers Lesage, milliners Michel, feather-makers Lemarié, cobblers Massaro, floral designers Guillet, and silversmiths Goosens — a strategic point of differentiation.

Having created runway videos, a silent film and short video teasers to accompany their Paris-Moscou Pre-Fall 2009 and Paris-Venice Resort 2009-2010 “Métiers d’Art” collections, Chanel recently launched a longer-format film and a full runway video for their Paris-Shanghai Pre-Fall 2010 collection. To accompany Paris-Shanghai, Mr. Lagerfeld has also been posting a series of behind the scenes video diaries documenting his design process, as well as fittings with models and the making of advertising campaigns, all released via YouTube and the Chanel News section of the brand’s website.

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BERLIN, Germany — A big thank you to PREMIUM and Mary Scherpe of Stil in Berlin for inviting me to join an esteemed panel of German fashion experts — Christoph Amend of Zeit Magazin, Marcus Luft of Gala and  Too Posh to Push, and Sven Schoene of PR Agency K-MB — to discuss the future of fashion media on the first day of Berlin Fashion Week.

The panel began with the esteemed Suzy Menkes, who wasn’t able to participate in person, but declared via video: “The world changed when fashion instead of being a monologue, became a conversation. And that’s never going to stop.”

Suzy, of course, was amongst the first of the mainstream fashion editors to reach out to bloggers and engage them as professionals. “A good blogger,” she says, “can really take all sorts of elements and use them both in words and pictures and make a strong statement.”

She’s “tremendously in favour of anything that is new and fresh in fashion,” but the one thing that concerns her is that “some bloggers believe, in their innocence, that they are completely independent in what they say.” In between the lines, Suzy advises bloggers to be wary of the increasing pressure they receive from brands to evangelise brands and products.

The video also features Julia and Jessie from Les Mads, Jennine from The Coveted and Yvan from The Facehunter, each of whom provide their own perspectives on how quickly the fashion blogosphere is rising in influence and prevalence.

Jaime Perlman | Source: Jermaine Francis.

LONDON, United Kingdom — “Everyone knows that editorial content is going to change,” says Jaime Perlman, Art Director of British Vogue. As web magazines, fashion films and a new generation of bloggers continue to capture the collective imagination of industry insiders and end consumers alike, there’s no doubt that fashion media is embracing digital technology like never before and becoming more immediate, transparent and multi-sensory in the process.

But where many in the magazine industry see a seismic threat, Ms. Perlman saw a creative opportunity. Last September, she launched an experimental fashion site called Test that embraces the collaborative energy, speed and democratic spirit of the internet and — true to its name — provides a platform for a new generation of fashion creatives to test the digital waters.

Jaime got her start in fashion as an assistant to Fabien Baron at American Harpers Bazaar, before moving on to become Associate Art Director at American Vogue. After a chance encounter with Robin Derrick, she was offered the job of Art Director at British Vogue and jumped ship for London, where she’s lived for the last five years.

BoF recently caught up with Jaime to talk about Test, the convergence of film and stills, moving to London, and the new inclusive fashion universe.

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The Social Graph Clinic | Source: LuxuryLab

NEW YORK, United States — The Business of Fashion is pleased to announce our second media partnership with LuxuryLab, following the much talked-about Luxury Lab Innovation Forum held last Autumn.

On January 29th, the New York University-based think tank will hold its first Social Graph Clinic, “a one-day intensive workshop that takes an adroit and sober examination of social media’s underpinnings, platforms, and best practices. The objective is to enhance participants’ fluency in brand-driven social media efforts.”

Confirmed speakers include:

• Erik Qualman, author of Socialnomics who will speak on How Social Media Transforms the Way We Live and Do Business

• Shenan Reid, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Morpheus Media on Finding your Social Voice

• Fabio Freyre, Regional Vice-President of Facebook on Facebook, the Marketing OS

I will be speaking to brands on how best to engage bloggers. On that note, bloggers, let us know your pet peeves and top tips on how brands should engage with you. You can comment on this post, send a direct message on Twitter or send an email, and I will do my best to reflect your feedback in my presentation. Now’s your chance to have a say what you always wanted to say about those generic press releases, untargeted emails and unreasonable requests from fashion PRs. But please don’t just focus on the negative. What is the best relationship you have with a fashion brand and why?

Already, representatives from an impressive array of brands — including Brooks Brothers, Chanel, Coach, Dunhill, Gucci, J. Crew, Maxmara, Michael Kors, and Neiman Marcus — have confirmed their attendance. If you too would like to attend, please consider using this special BoF link to register and you will also help us to earn a commission on ticket sales to support the development of our content in the coming year and defray the growing costs of maintaining BoF. A portion of the proceeds will also be donated to the much-needed ongoing aid relief in Haiti.

A complete agenda and list of speakers is available here.

I look forward to meeting many BoF readers there!

Dolce & Gabbana Front Row Spring/Summer 2010 | Source: New York Times

LONDON, United Kingdom — It’s that time of year again. With over one million pageviews on BoF in 2009, it’s time to take stock of the year that was in a retrospective of the most popular articles from The Business of Fashion.

Needless to say, 2009 was the year of social media in fashion and our top 10 list is reflective of the explosion of interest in fashion bloggers, social networks and the now ubiquitous Twitter. Despite all of the hubbub (and yet another high-profile article this week from the New York Times on bloggers crashing the front row) social media is not a trend that will disappear. At BoF, we have prided ourselves on going beyond all of the hype to figure out what the implications are for the long-term.

But BoF is about more than just Web 2.0 and our top 10 is reflective of this. Indeed, over the past year we responded to media requests on a variety of subjects from The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Wallpaper*, Women’s Wear Daily, AnOther Magazine and others seeking our input on the forces re-shaping the fashion industry that are regularly covered in our pages.

So, without further ado, here is The Best of BoF from 2009. Happy reading!

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