L-R Rick Owens, Balmain, Balenciaga S/S 2012 | Source: Style.com

Raid the Archives With Caution (NY Times)
“Mr. Ghesquiere can come away refreshed from the Balenciaga archive, but for most designers the postwar couture is an element in the cut-and-paste process that largely defines current fashion. Designers saw the Madame Grès exhibition here this summer; they know Balenciaga’s volumes and bullring pomp by heart. But they always have to do something extreme to make you think it’s new.”

Don’t Forget the Clothes! (IHT)
“They are the champions of the Internet age — designers who can tap into the ultra-modernity of image and sound as part of a multimedia experience. But as the catwalk moves into cyber space, there should be one dictum: Don’t forget the clothes! Two fashion labels — the revived Mugler brand and the British-born Gareth Pugh — were in the same territory as the Paris season clicked onto spring/summer 2012. Or make that the year 2099 as these shows streaked into the future.”

H&M cost control cushions fall in profits (Reuters)
“Hennes & Mauritz accelerated its expansion plan and said it was gaining market share as it delivered a fall in third-quarter profits that was smaller than feared. The world’s no.2 fashion retailer suffered a 15 percent drop in third-quarter profit, hit by costs such as higher cotton prices. It said sales so far in the fourth quarter were below its expectations and markets remained challenging.”

From shopping sprees to marketing technique (FT)
“So-called ‘haulers’ are tween-to-twentysomething, largely female shoppers who haul their purchases back home and post video reviews on YouTube for their followers to watch…Chris Sanderson, co-founder of The Future Laboratory, a trends and innovation consultancy, says: ‘If that’s your world, to go to the shops and show off your stuff, then it’s incredible. This becomes a whole new mechanism for [retailers to] understand and target a demographic’.”

Official: Alexander McQueen is cooler than Chanel (Telegraph)
“Alexander McQueen, the British fashion label that scored the commission of the century – designing Kate Middleton’s wedding dress – has topped a list of cool designer fashion brands… The label, headed up by creative director Sarah Burton since Lee McQueen’s death in 2010, came eleventh overall in the 2011 list of cool global brands – four places ahead of iconic Parisian fashion brand, Chanel, at number 15.”

Anna Wintour, Cindi Leive and Roberta Myers

2009′s Most Powerful Fashion Magazine Editors (Forbes)
“This year, moving pictures mattered to U.S. magazine editors like never before.”

Gucci Group sees Balenciaga as a rising star (Forbes)
“Balenciaga, the trendy fashion house favoured by actresses such as Charlotte Gainsbourg, is the fastest growing brand within the Gucci Group and meeting all pre-crisis targets, its head said on Monday.”

Primark delivers ‘stunning’ sales (Independent)
“Primark, the discount fashion retailer, has posted recession-defying sales in its second half, and vowed to press ahead with its store opening programme.”

‘Time Style & Design’ Quarterly is No More (Media Post)
“Time Inc. is suspending publication of fashion quarterly Time Style & Design because of the collapse of the luxury market.”

A Decade Sophisticated but Louder (New York Times)
“With the spring 2010 collections beginning in less than a week, let’s take a moment to reflect on what designers have wrought over the decade that is coming to an end. What will fashion of the aughties be remembered for, if anything more than hipster uniforms and the Olsen twins?”

At what point does referencing and inspiration turn into blatant copying? It’s a question that is increasingly on the minds of designers — particularly young designers and small brands — who don’t have the legal muscle (read: cold hard cash) and time to defend the integrity of their designs.

In other creative disciplines like music, writing and visual art, it is much easier to defend copying. In fashion, referencing, inspiration, and trends form the backbone of our industry (just check out this long list of adventures in fashion copyright). So, where do we draw the line?

Case 1:  Steve Madden
Sometimes it’s quite straightforward to see what is going on.  A post on Manolo’s shoe blog alerted us to this blatant copy of the Balenciaga sportiletto shoe. Some may find it amazing that anyone would even wear these shoes, but I find it amazing that any company would be so brazen as to rip designs off in this way. 

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It’s been a blisteringly busy Paris fashion week here at the BoF, but we’ve been taking everything in and can finally share some of our views on all the action — and the business implications. This season, we were most interested in Balenciaga and Givenchy — the new Paris establishment — and the series of brand revivalists – including Stuart Vevers at Loewe, Estaban Cortazar at Ungaro and Alessandra Facchinetti at Valentino. Today, the new establishment. Tomorrow, the brand revivalists.

After what was widely considered a tour-de-force from Nicolas Ghesquiere  last season, the anticipation was building for a Balenciaga for A/W 2008. He did not disappoint, picking up on last season’s modern, sculpted silhouette (which, incidentally has also popped up in other collections this season from Marchesa to Bruno Pieters) and producing a more wearable, but still distinctive, collection. Ghesquiere is solidifying his place as the leader of the new Paris establishment.

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