Donatella Versace | Source: Versace

Donatella Versace is teaching a new generation how to thrive (Independent)
“Once a party animal, now the head of a fashion empire, Donatella Versace has lived through both good times and bad. Now she’s teaching a new generation of designers how to thrive.”

Betsey Johnson Faces a Makeover (WSJ)
“Steven Madden could likely help the $200 million Betsey Johnson label expand, allowing it ‘to put money into the organization, product development, marketing and corporate growth.’”

Young Chinese mortgaging their futures for luxury brands (Global Times)
“Young Chinese have been sold a distinct vision of what it is to be modern, and it’s all about the brands and the gadgets. But the Chinese economy isn’t yet capable of providing the income necessary for most urban youth to live a life of full-blown consumerism.”

New Facebook message platform a game-changer for luxury brands (Luxury Daily)
“Facebook’s new message platform breaks down the wall between email and social media with the potential to reap significant rewards for luxury marketers who can master the ecosystem.”

The Eye Behind Fashion’s Innovative Showcases (NY Times)
“The hordes of shoppers lining up for the Uniqlo’s+J collection in SoHo last month probably didn’t notice the store: the futuristic clean lines, steel railings, opaque glass stairs. And that’s the way Masamichi Katayama, the cult designer behind this mass-market fashion temple, likes it.”

Betsey Johnson at NY Fashion Week Feb 2008, courtesy of Associated Press

Betsey Johnson’s Survival Strategy (WSJ)
Instead of a runway show, Betsey Johnson will have a “smaller, friendlier, and more artistic” presentation in its showroom.

Don’t Tell Me To Go On Project Runway! (39th and Broadway)
Despite its popularity, Project Runway creates misconceptions about the fashion business.

2008: The Year in Trends (MEKAS)
Mekas takes a look at a number of trends that shaped Japan’s fashion market in 2008.

European Retailers Brace for Downturn (WWD)
In Europe, “retailers are facing one of the harshest retail seasons in recent memory.”

Two legendary doyennes of the fashion world have been making news this week — and not just for their colourful fashions.

Today, Betsey Johnson announced a majority investment in her business from Boston’s Castanea Partners. Some observers are questioning Castanea’s logic for investing in a 30 year old brand whose namesake is already a grandmother and whose high-profile days are long over.  On the contrary, the business  has a solid own-retail network of 51 stores and a respectable $200m in sales. This could provide a great platform for further growth, as long as Castanea doesn’t dilute the brand’s famous quirky irreverence, which is what is most appealing to its loyal fans.

Earlier this week British fashion icon, Zandra Rhodes, garnered yet another high profile article highlighting the resurgence of interest in her designs around the world. While she doesn’t have a business on the same scale as Johnson, she is still finding news ways of capturing value from over 3 decades in the industry, using her iconic colourful style as the basis for a series of licensing agreements with MAC (for makeup), Pologeorgis (for furs), and the Dash Partnership (for jewellery).

So, why are the fashion grannies on the rise?

Well, apart from a lot of hard work (Zandra Rhodes’ daily schedule starts before dawn, sending faxes around the world, while straddling homes in London and California), they both have unique signatures for which they are famous (Johnson for her frilly girly designs and Rhodes for her vivid multi-coloured prints). They have also taken their extreme creativity and toned it down so it is more accessible to a wider audience and can therefore be extended to other categories, while still retaining the core spirit of their brands.

Many young designers, who are often content to simply follow trends and reference other designers as inspiration, could take some lessons from Johnson and Rhodes. Few emerging designers are pushing themselves enough to develop their own signatures, to establish what they will be known for.  Without this, a designer is just one of the crowd, and doesn’t stand out.

In the long run, who wants to be just like everyone else?

Photos courtesy of Sydney Morning Herald, Zandra Rhodes and Betsey Johnson