28 February, 2013
“It was clean, it was exact, it didn’t rock the boat (or the brand). It was, as the French say, pas mal. Almost entirely in black and white, Alexander Wang’s first Balenciaga show nodded to the house’s architectural past.”
“The seed bed of young talent has produced fresh shoots in a crowded Paris calendar. In the last of the four cities, at the start of a nine-day run, the early winter 2013 collections are focused on designers who are already rooted and growing.”
“Fashion house BCBG Max Azria Group Inc, whose clothing has been worn by celebrities such as Beyonce and Angelina Jolie, is exploring a potential sale that could fetch around $1 billion, two people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.”
“Jun Takahashi’s modest and brilliant show Wednesday night at the Sorbonne probably confirmed for many in the audience why they will cross an ocean just to be tickled for 15 minutes. Mr. Takahashi, the creator of Undercover, hasn’t done a Paris show in awhile, though he has been busy at home base in Tokyo. You may remember he designed a line for Uniqlo.”
“The first MBA course in fashion will launch in September at the University of Arts London. The 18-month Master of Business Administration programme will allow students the opportunity to network with leading industry figures.”
“Brussels is rarely considered home to Europe’s high-end fashion and luxury barons, who are more easily spotted on the streets and in the boardrooms of Milan, Paris and London. But over the past 18 months it has become increasingly common to see such figures as Spain’s Agatha Ruiz de la Prada and Italy’s Paolo Zegna walking along the corridors of the Berlaymont, home to the European Commission.”
“Loewe is now hoping to rekindle such staff loyalty and professional know-how, particularly at a time when Spain has sunk into an economic quagmire that has pushed its jobless rate to a record 26 percent. It recently inaugurated a training school at its production center in Getafe, on the outskirts of Madrid. The school will train 300 people in leather-working skills over three years, and Loewe intends to recruit 120 to 140 of them for full-time positions.”
“Warby Parker, the hip purveyor of retro-style glasses, has solidified ties with two of its most prominent fans. Now the three-year-old start-up can count Millard S. Drexler, the chief executive of J. Crew, and American Express as participants in its latest round of financing, which closed last month at $41.5 million.”
