Editorial GIF by Reed + Rader | Source: V Magazine

LONDON, United Kingdom — Instagram, Barbour, vinyl records, artisanal butchers, moustaches, and the biography of your potatoes lovingly detailed on chalkboard signs at Whole Foods. What is wrong with this picture? As London-based writer and entrepreneur Russell M Davies puts it, “most of Shoreditch would be wandering around in a leather apron if it could. With pipe and beard and rickets. Every new coffee shop and organic foodery seems to be the same. Wood, brushed metal, bits of knackered toys on shelves. And blackboards. Everywhere there’s blackboards.”

For the last few years, the stylistic purview of much of the creative class in places like Shoreditch in London, the borough of Brooklyn in New York, and Berlin’s Mitte district has been curiously backward-looking. Perhaps this retreat into retro nostalgia is a reaction to economic uncertainty and technological change. Maybe it’s a craving for what we imagine were simpler times or a search for authenticity in a world that is increasingly artificial. Whatever the reason, the backward-looking trend extends to fashion, as well. In fact, perhaps more than any other design discipline, fashion is engaged in an intense dialogue with the past. “There’s so little innovation in fashion in its current state,” Susanna Lau, widely known as Susie Bubble, told BoF. And indeed, from Belstaff to Moynat to Schiaparelli, reviving dusty heritage brands is undoubtedly the business model du jour.

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Pinterest vs Facebook | Source: Boticca.com

LONDON, United Kingdom — It’s now common knowledge that social curation site Pinterest — which attracted its first 10 million users faster than any other website in history — is the fastest growing social platform today, with 18.7 million users as of March, according to comScore. But what does this mean for social giant Facebook, fashion businesses and the bottom line?

According to research provided exclusively to BoF, it turns out that the answers to these questions are mixed. A case study by online boutique Boticca.com shows that Pinterest users buy and spend more than their Facebook counterparts, but that their levels of engagement are considerably lower.

London-based Boticca is a curated online marketplace that specialises in accessories and jewelry. Founded by Kiyan Foroughi and Avid Larizadeh, the company was early to integrate Pinterest across its website, a move that has already paid off. Indeed, in the last month, Pinterest has become the site’s primary social media driver in terms of sales, begging the question: when it comes to social commerce, which is the bigger player: Facebook or Pinterest?

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Vogue 'Cover' Shots | Photo: Susana Lau, Style Bubble

LONDON, United Kingdom – There was a special vibe in the air at the Royal Geographical Society in London over the weekend as British Vogue editors, normally ensconced behind their desks at Vogue House or off on fashion shoots in far flung locales, were instead zipping around with clipboards, cue cards and headsets, each playing their part in the first ever Vogue Festival.

Brainchild of editor-in-chief Alexandra Shulman, the sold-out two-day event offered readers a chance to have a much more up-close and interactive experience of the Vogue brand than has ever been possible through the physical magazine or website.

From a panel discussion with the capital’s brightest designers and a keynote speech by Diane von Furstenburg to one-on-one conversations with David Bailey, Dolce & Gabbana, and Stella McCartney and intimate workshops hosted by a cast of Vogue editors and stylists, the event showcased both the subjects featured in the pages of Vogue and the talented team of people who make it all happen.

“I thought it would be really fun to make the world of Vogue come alive with the general public, because no one has done it,” Ms. Shulman told BoF in the green room, just before her highly anticipated on-stage conversation with Tom Ford.

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Vogue.fr screenshot | Source: Condé Nast International

LONDON, United Kingdom – Moves this week from within Condé Nast International suggest that some of the media giant’s edgiest fashion publications – including French Vogue and Love magazine – are finally gearing up to seize the digital opportunity in a more meaningful way.

Superstylist Katie Grand, the creative force behind Love magazine, took to her brand new Twitter account Monday to announce the appointment of Alexander Fury in the role of editor. The news coincided with the launch of Vogue Paris’ English language site, designed to increase international traffic.

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Raf Simons | Source: Hypebeast

PARIS, France – Late Monday in Paris, Christian Dior SA named Raf Simons as its new artistic director, ending more than one year of speculation and rumour following the departure of John Galliano, who was suddenly removed from his role after an anti-semitic outburst at a Paris bar in March 2011 and the subsequent release of a video of Mr Galliano making similar rants at the same bar a few months earlier.

“It is with the utmost respect for its tremendous history, its unparalleled knowledge and craftsmanship that I am joining the magnificent house of Dior,” said Mr Simons in a statement on his new role at the helm of one of the world’s most prestigious and storied fashion houses. “Mr Christian Dior has always been for me the most  inspiring couturier. Around the globe, the name Dior symbolises the ultimate in elegance and refinement,” he continued.

Indeed, so powerful is the Christian Dior brand that even without a creative director at its helm, the business managed to grow profits last year by 21 percent to over €1 billion.

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