Gucci on Canton Road, Hong Kong | Source: Sky Scrapercity

China’s Shoppers Sling a Gucci ‘Lifeline’ to Faltering Hong Kong (Bloomberg)
“A stream of customers in Tsim Sha Tsui’s Canton Road yesterday carrying bags of Vivienne Westwood, Gucci and Burberry brand products and speaking in Mandarin, showed that a $350 billion decline in the value of stocks in China since mid-April has failed to kill off the tourist trade. Their spending may help to limit what Morgan Stanley and Daiwa Capital Markets say is set to be a second straight quarterly contraction in Hong Kong’s economy.”

PVH posts Q2 profit beats estimates, shares up (Reuters)
“Clothing maker PVH Corp posted a quarterly profit above estimates as its major growth drivers, the Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein brands, stayed popular with shoppers, prompting the company to raise its full-year forecast… Revenue at Calvin Klein rose 19 percent, while at Tommy Hilfiger revenue saw an increase of 30 percent.”

Hermès posts 37 percent rise in operating profit (Reuters)
“French luxury group Hermès posted a 37 percent rise in first-half operating profit, driven by the United States and China, and reiterated its sales and margin goals for the full year. Operating profit reached 418.1 million euros in the first six months of the year, Hermès said in an announcement.”

American Apparel investors to offload shares (Just Style)
“A group of private investors is looking to sell its shares in American Apparel, just months after giving the troubled chain a US$15m lifeline. The investors, led by Canadian financier Michael Serruya and Delavaco Capital, are seeking to sell the 43.2m shares in a secondary offering, which means that American Apparel will not get any proceeds from the sale.”

Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty coming to the UK? (Telegraph)
“It seems that Alexander McQueen is continuing to make waves almost 18 months after his death. The designer, who broke all the rules of the fashion world, yet won the hearts of it’s harshest critics, has been the subject of a petition gaining thousands of signatures to bring his retrospective to London… Only now have McQueen’s representatives confirmed that they are in talks with major museums.”

Prada's Spring/Summer Covers | Source: Fashionista

Prada’s Spring Collection Lands 48 Covers (Fashionista)
“Last season it was Miu Miu, specifically that one appliqued dress, that kept appearing on cover after cover. This season, Prada’s spring 2011 is sweeping the glossy covers… So far Prada’s colorful stripey bananas collection has seen 48 covers (that we’ve counted) and starred in countless editorials.”

He’s Only Just Begun to Fight (NY Times)
“To many, Mr. Charney is not only a somebody but even something of a hero: finding a new niche in a saturated market for cotton basics by refusing to make them overseas… crusading for workers’ rights; and successfully marketing the idea that young adults should embrace their natural sexuality… But to others, he is a morally challenged provocateur.”

D&G Will Die; Long Live Dolce & Gabbana (WSJ)
“When Dolce & Gabbana said recently that it is folding its younger, less expensive D&G brand into its high-end line, many retailers were bewildered… But there’s another way to look at this wager: Consumers—savvier and more confident than ever about fashion—no longer pay as much attention to narrow tiers of brands…. what consumers really care about is the designers who stand behind them.”

Asos apprenticeships will keep us in fashion that’s made in Britain (Telegraph)
“It’s not something that can happen overnight: setting up training, let alone new factories, is a long and laborious process which has to be overseen by people who are qualified, understand quality, and know how to direct a fashion business. But how great that the likes of Asos are already kicking things off.”

Insiders | Chanel Metiers D’Arts – Lemarié (AnOther)
“Ever since Marie Antoinette added exotic plumes to her headdress to get herself noticed in 18th century French society, feathers have come to represent the ultimate in fantasy and female frivolity. But this recherché craft has dwindled over the years from nearly 500 ateliers in Paris in the 1920s to barely a handful now, chief of which is Maison Lemarié.”

Hedi Slimane | Source: YMFY

Hedi Slimane: ‘Maybe I have to start designing again’ (Guardian)
“Hedi Slimane won’t talk about fashion. Specifically, he is not to be asked when he will make his return to fashion design. Slimane’s assistant has insisted as much via email, and she is telling me again as we walk down a Brussels backstreet to meet him. ‘He gets asked every day,’ she says. ‘Every day.’”

In Tokyo, Responses Vary in Tony Shops (WSJ)
“Japanese department stores and boutiques, such as Comme des Garçons and Issey Miyake, were open for business as usual. Not so many European shops. Consumers approached Louis Vuitton’s doors, only to see a darkened interior. Citing electrical outages and concern for its workers’ families, the luxury luggage chain had closed 23 of its 57 stores across Japan.”

Perfect fit: The rise of sportswear (FT)
“Athletic brands are realising the potential benefits of making sports wear that is stylish as well as functional. They are even tapping into catwalk trends… This time last year ready-to-wear designers such as Alexander Wang and Marc Jacobs were unveiling their take on sports, and now sports wear makers have reciprocated.”

American Apparel: red, black and blue (New York Post)
“The ugly numbers keep piling up for American Apparel — and so do the unfinished financial reports. The racy clothing retailer — whose CEO Dov Charney was accused this month of keeping an 18-year-old woman as a sex slave in his Manhattan apartment — now estimates that it lost money last year as sales and margins dropped, according to a regulatory filing by the company.”

Fashion goes pop (Guardian)
“Something odd is happening with celebrities and style. The stars are becoming more daring, more avant garde than the designers. Nowadays, the biggest female names in music don’t particularly set themselves apart from their predecessors through musical style… but the way they look is a whole new world.”

Phoebe Philo | Photo: David Sims for Vogue Paris

Lunch with the FT: Phoebe Philo (FT)
“Everyone was looking at me, and competition is fiercer because of what happened with the economy, but I also felt: it’s really not relevant to me what Céline has been or where it has been. It will be whatever I make it for the time I’m there.”

Luxury fashion enjoys a rebound, takes no risks (Reuters)
“While buyers are slowly returning to the shops in Western Europe and the United States, designers seem to have received the same instructions to create outfits, bags and shoes that are both sellable and clearly recognizable among fashionistas.”

Luxury brands must push ecommerce harder this holiday season (Luxury Daily)
“Luxury brands must use the reach and convenience afforded by online shopping to offset consumer restraint in the face of a still-tepid economy this holiday season.”

American Apparel appeases lender with key management hiring (Retail Week)
“Beleaguered US fashion chain American Apparel has hired Blockbuster executive Tom Casey as acting president, in line with a pledge to lender Lion Capital to secure key management talent.”

London sheep kick off the Campaign for Wool (Telegraph)
“Events are being staged in honour of The Campaign for Wool, a five-year project… to educate consumers about the benefits of wool, and promote wool-predominant products to help support and grow the wool industry.”

American Apparel Summer 2010 | Source: American Apparel

American Apparel: The public won’t wear it (Guardian)
“[American Apparel] was now a vertically integrated company that seemed dedicated to getting women horizontal.  It turns out that, even in the fashion business, there’s such a thing as too much sex.”

Burberry: Runway to Checkout (NY Times)
“Burberry plans to offer customers a substantial portion of its Prorsum spring 2011 runway collection — to be shown Sept. 21 in London — for immediate online sale, with delivery in six to eight weeks.”

Thoroughly Modern Milliners (Vogue UK)
“With visionaries like Lady Gaga around, there’s a feeling that we should all be making more effort with our headgear – especially as the class of 2010 are redefining the art of millinery.”

French luxury vet steps in at Chloé (NY Post)
“On tap to replace Toledano is Geoffroy de la Bourdonnaye, a veteran of French luxury conglomerate LVMH and Walt Disney Co., who most recently engineered the turnaround of British department store Liberty.”

Louis Vuitton’s Global Flavor (WWD)
“Louis Vuitton’s holiday windows worldwide will have an Indian flavor this year. Starting Nov. 5, displays will pay tribute to Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, an ancient and joyous occasion to light oil lamps, wear new clothes and distribute sweets.”