Olivier Rousteing | Source: Balmain

Olivier Rousteing Named New Designer at Balmain (T Magazine)
“The new era at Paris’s sex-charged fashion house Balmain is beginning to take shape, with Olivier Rousteing being tapped as the label’s new designer. Rousteing, who joined Balmain in 2009 and is currently in charge of women’s wear.”

Savile Row tailors on dressing the royal groom (Telegraph)
“Last week, David Cameron briefly stole the limelight from Kate with his fashion indecision… At least it got everyone talking about men’s fashion, for once. Retail analysts estimated that the wedding will generate £620 million for the British economy: surely Savile Row should be getting a slice of that (wedding) cake?”

Fashion Companies Go Green, Cut Costs (Thread NY)
“It may be socially responsible for fashion companies to be eco-conscious, but many are finding that thinking in terms of sustainability also produces major cost savings.  Finding ways to cut costs internally has also become increasingly important for fashion companies as the cost of commodities like cotton rises and labor costs increase.”

Coach profit rises 18 percent, boosted by U.S., China (Market Watch)
“To spur growth for the company, Frankfort… also is expanding in stand-alone men’s shops and in the U.K. and other European markets. The company also plans to introduce mobile commerce in North America next week and continues its roll out in China, its fastest growing market.”

Q&A: Franca Sozzani (WWD)
“Vogue Italia editor in chief Franca Sozzani doesn’t shy away from controversy. Some might argue she courts it. She isn’t afraid to speak her mind, and her blog on vogue.it has helped the site jump to more than one million unique users a month.”

Christophe Decarnin | Source: Homme a la Mode

Balmain Exit (Vogue UK)
“Christophe Decarnin is leaving Balmain after spending five years as creative director. A successor has not yet been appointed…. Decarnin joined the French fashion house in 2005 as a designer before being made the creative director in November 2007. He is largely credited for introducing the rock and military-inspired look… that the label is currently known for.”

Reviving the Russian luxury market (Reuters)
“Russia’s luxury market may be worth only half of what it was pre-financial crisis, but its thirst for excess is making somewhat of a comeback, though uncertainty over its ability to grow lingers. ‘Slowly, slowly, people are starting to live again,’ said Alla Verber, Russian clothing mogul and head of fashion at plush designer store TSUM, Moscow’s answer to Saks Fifth Avenue.”

Boom time for boutiques in Australia (The Australian)
“Burberry’s flagship store in Sydney’s CBD has marked a trend…for bigger, more lavish and, of course, more expensive boutiques in the booming top end of the retail market. … ‘Our new Sydney store is the most ambitious and expensive boutique we have ever opened,’ TAG Heuer chief executive Jean-Christophe Babin said. ‘After just two months of operation, it was already our No 1 store in the world.’”

Twitter to offer brands Facebook-style pages (Marketing Magazine)
“Branded pages, through which advertisers could deliver tailored messages, are under consideration, along with other plans to increase the long-term revenue potential of the social network… The pages would work in a similar way to Facebook Pages, providing brands with their own space to deliver content and encourage Twitter users to follow them.”

Dazed Live: Ruth Hogben (Dazed Digital)
“The pioneering London filmmaker Ruth Hogben is Director of Fashion Film at SHOWstudio and will be speaking at Dazed Live about her collaborations with Gareth Pugh and the resulting, inimitable visual style of her unique films. She has created iconic fashion films with Matthew Stone and Dazed’s own Katie Shillingford, not to mention her work with Nick Knight and Alexander McQueen.”

WHY Wally Hermès Yacht | Source: Twistedsifter.com

What’s Next: Luxury Products (WSJ)
“Pierre-Alexis Dumas embraces innovation. But as the sixth-generation member of his family to lead, in his case, the creative end of the French luxury house Hermès, he must uphold tradition, as well.”

John Lewis Adds to Evidence Of February Sales Bounce (NY Times)
“Bellwether retailer John Lewis posted another double-digit percentage rise in weekly sales as wet weather drove customers to its stores, adding to evidence consumer spending bounced back in February.”

Balmain produces this year’s template for the high street (Independent)
“High-street bosses will be on the look out for inspiration for their autumn/winter 2010 designs, and the Balmain show will have been the focus for much of their attention. The French label… has been heavily copied by mass-market brands over the last year.”

Creating the World of Tomorrow? (IHT)
“A definitive exhibition of the work of Yves Saint Laurent, whose masculine/feminine vision dominated the wardrobe of the 20th-century woman, and a book celebrating 60 years of Pierre Cardin, fashion’s eternal futurist, gives pause for thought.”

Gianni Versace, a life lived as a 90s fashion icon (Reuters)
“‘House of Versace: The Untold Story of Genius, Murder, and Survival,’ by Deborah Ball tells the story of how Gianni, with his flamboyant sister Donatella as muse, not only became the cutting edge of 90s fashion but symbolized the era.”

Dunhill Shoes

LONDON, United Kingdom — There’s been quite a lot of talk about value lately. But what does value really mean, and how are different consumers evaluating their purchases?

Dunhill recently held a private sale in a discrete space in a Mayfair alley with some deeply discounted prices. It’s something many luxury companies have been doing to help shift stockpiles of their products in a way that doesn’t damage the brand. It’s easy to tell why most of the products are on sale at such low prices. There are flaws of some sort in the knitwear or the trousers are poorly cut or the print is ghastly. You tend to find these kinds of overstock products in available many replicates, in all sizes, proving they were of no interest to anyone at full price.

But sometimes, you come across something that seems one of a kind, special, and only available in one size: yours.

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Sara Ferrero, CEO of Joseph Group

LONDON, United Kingdom — Sara Ferrero is one of those once rare but increasingly common fashion executives who spent the early part of their careers outside the fashion industry. After six years at McKinsey & Company, the management consultancy, she entered the fashion business at Furla, the Italian accessories brand. Under her leadership, Furla’s retail sales tripled to over 360 million euros in less than five years.

Last year, Joseph, the London-based fashion retailer, tapped Ferrero as its new CEO, and since then she has been executing on a plan to revive the once-hip chain to its former glory. With more than 120 stores scattered across several countries, and a turnover of over £85 million, the Joseph Group is an important player on the global fashion scene. But in recent years, Joseph had somewhat lost the original excitement that drew the fashion hordes under the brand’s charismatic founder and namesake, Joseph Ettedgui back in the 1970s.

I spoke to Sara at the Joseph showroom to get the inside scoop on her strategy to take Joseph back its roots, starting with its store in London’s Westbourne Grove, which celebrated its official launch during London Fashion Week.

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