Pringle thrown an £18m as it moves to recapture the luxury market (Guardian)
“The wealthy foreign owners of Pringle of Scotland have pumped another £18m into the loss-making brand’s continuing attempt to become a Burberry-style luxury label… accounts show the company has received injections of £10m and £8m from its owners, Hong Kong textile dynasty the Fang family.”

Luxury sales reveal return of confidence for the wealthy (FT)
“More prosperous shoppers seem to be defying continuing high unemployment levels and economic uncertainty to renew their spending on luxuries such as jewellery, fashion and cosmetics.”

Burberry show to live stream in 3D (Grazia)
“While guests will be sitting watching the ‘real’ fashion show at Chelsea College of Art & Design in London on February at 4 p.m, Fashion Editors and VIP guests in the selected cities will be putting on 3D spex to watch the larger-than-life broadcast in special ‘customized screening spaces’.”

Louis Vuitton’s emotion monitoring bags (Agenda Inc.)
“According to art director Fernando Lahoz’s website, Louis Vuitton is developing a series of emotion monitoring bags – technologically designed to ‘feel what you feel’… The bag incorporates a new HERM (heart and emotion rate monitor) in the form of a beautiful piece of jewelry which can be purchased with a bag or separately at Louis Vuitton stores.”

Sustainable fashion: what does green mean? (FT)
“‘Sustainable fashion?’… ‘What’s that?’ Good question. And here’s the truth: having spent two days in Copenhagen immersed in the concept, having thought about it over the weeks since then, and having canvassed a wide variety of fashion figures… no one knows.”

SJP in Halston Heritage for SATC2 Movie Poster | Source: imdb

Sarah Jessica Parker partners with Halston (Times)
“Sarah Jessica Parker and Halston may be banking on fashion sequels: The storied designer label reportedly has hired the “Sex and the City” star in a creative role for its newly announced Halston Heritage collection.”

Burberry beats forecasts as luxury goods come back into fashion (Guardian)
“Recession or no recession, it seems luxury goods are on the shopping lists of the rich again, judging by a good performance from Burberry. The retailer said its total sales in the three months to 31 December had jumped 12% to £380m, better than analysts’ forecasts of an increase of around 3%.”

Zegna sees growth in 2010 (Plush)
“Milan, Italy: Leading global menswear brand Ermenegildo Zegna sees a return to growth this year as it celebrates its 100th birthday, after closing 2009 with an 8 percent fall in turnover, its chief executive said.”

Texture Messaging (IHT)
“Creating fashion emotion in a digital age was the subtext of the Milan menswear season. Designers are streaming their shows and tweeting to their followers but more than anything else they are creating the desire for interactivity, mirroring touch-screen technology with sensory fabrics.”

Designers show one-offs at eco fashion show (Independent)
“Fashion designers including Thakoon, Bora Aksu, and Manish Arora have unveiled their unique creations that will be shown exclusively at EcoChic Geneva on January 21.”

Holly Fulton A/W 09, Swarovski Emerging Talent Award Winner | Source: Dazed

British Fashion Awards 2009 – The Winners (Independent)
“British fashion’s leading lights were rubbing shoulder pads last night at the prestigious annual awards which celebrate home-grown design talent and business success and are voted for by industry leaders, designers and retailers.”

Neiman Marcus sees weak luxury demand (FT)
“Neiman Marcus, the US luxury retailer, said on Wednesday it was seeing “some encouraging signs” of a recovery in parts of its high-end business, while warning that it expected overall demand to remain weak for some time.”

New York cracks down on counterfeit luxury goods (Reuters)
“New York authorities are cracking down on the sale of counterfeit luxury items, shutting down 31 stalls in raids on Tuesday and Wednesday and seizing $1 million of fake bags and watches.”

Burberry confirms London Fashion Week return (Drapers)
“Burberry chief creative officer Christopher Bailey has confirmed that the luxury British brand will stay at London Fashion Week this February.”

Alexander Wang, for Cool Kids, and Now You (NY Times)
“Don’t tell Alexander Wang that blue is the new black or that wedge-heel boots are the season’s must-have. Such airy edicts would most likely make him laugh. “No one talks like that anymore,” said Mr. Wang, whose keen sense of what young women want to wear is matched only by his no-nonsense approach to his, um, métier.”

Gucci Eyeweb versus Burberry Art of the Trench | Source: InFashionMedia

LONDON, United Kingdom — In recent weeks, two major luxury fashion brands have taken the plunge and launched social networks built around their brands and products. It’s not a new idea by any means, and indeed I wrote a piece on this very idea for the Financial Times almost two years ago. But, that doesn’t make it any less notable because, as far as I can tell, it is the first time top fashion brands have used social media in this way. Indeed, both Gucci and Burberry went to great efforts to highlight these initiatives at last week’s IHT Techno Luxury conference in Berlin.

So, have their experiments been successful? Of course we at the BoF have our own opinions, but in the spirit of democracy we thought it was the perfect opportunity to turn to the BoF community to see what you think. In our first ever BoF Twitter Poll, we asked:

BoF Twitter Poll: What do you think of Gucci Eye Web versus Burberry’s Art of the Trench?

The responses came in fast and furious from BoF’s followers around the world, including James Gardner, CEO of the industry’s leading creative agency CreateThe Group, and influential bloggers such as Bryanboy and DisneyRollerGirl. In the end, it was a no-contest knockout for Burberry which was unanimously selected as the winner.

… Continue Reading

Burberry Autumn/Winter 09 | Source: Burberry

Burberry targets India’s brand-aware middle class (Times)
“Burberry, the British luxury brand, is poised to enter a joint venture to expand its presence in India, a market in which the ultra-rich are thriving because of a soaring stock market.”

Phillips-Van Heusen 3Q profit up, raises outlook (AP)
“Clothing maker Phillips-Van Heusen Corp. on Wednesday posted a jump in third-quarter earnings, boosted by a $30.4 million tax benefit, and raised its full-year 2009 profit outlook citing factors including higher expected royalties.”

Burkle Acquires Large Stake in Barneys Debt (WSJ)
“Ronald Burkle has become a significant investor in Barneys New York in recent months, with his Yucaipa Cos. buying a chunk of the struggling luxury retailer’s debt.”

Gap profits rise 25 percent (Drapers)
“Profits at American casualwear giant Gap grew 25% over its third quarter boosted by improved sales at its value fashion chain Old Navy.”

My Techno: A Designer Viewpoint (IHT)
“Some are cyberexperts and others are technophobes, but most designers today embrace a variety of technology applications… there are all sorts of ways that designers are using technological skills without necessarily navigating through cyberspace.”

Art of the Trench | Source: Burberry

Burberry Looks Online for Ways to Gain Customers (IHT)
“Angela Ahrendts still remembers when she bought her first Burberry trench coat… Ms. Ahrendts — who now runs the company — is hoping to move the quintessentially British brand into the age of the Internet to attract a new generation of shoppers.”

Luxury Pundits: Stay Elitist Yet Youthful (Media Post)
“Luxury brands… must be elitist, empathetic, immediate, social and youthful in order to succeed… the single worst thing that happened to luxury was its democratization.”

La Perla to rationalise brand strategy (Drapers)
“Italian lingerie firm La Perla is to rationalise its brand portfolio and lower prices in a move it claims will boost its market share.”

Bond Street rings up record for shop rents (Times Online)
“Shop rents on London’s Bond Street, home to the world’s glitziest brands, are poised to defy the credit crunch and smash through £900 per square foot — a record in Britain.”

Online museum for fashion house Ferragamo (Reuters)
“Italian fashion house Salvatore Ferragamo has taken a museum detailing its history and culture online, allowing young designers to add their creative touch to its shoe models.”

Burberry Autumn/Winter 09 | Source: Burberry

Handbags, leather goods help Burberry top forecasts (Reuters)
“British luxury goods group Burberry beat second-quarter revenue forecasts, helped by demand for handbags and leather goods, and signalled an improvement in some second-half revenue trends.”

Chinese Are the New Kings of Bling (WSJ)
“The latest to pop the champagne corks of conspicuous consumption is China. The government stimulus, rising consumer spending and 6% GDP growth has kept China’s millionaire-making-machine well oiled. It also has fueled a no-holds-barred luxury-buying binge, as the newly rich Chinese seek to show their status.”

Beauty shines through gloom for Asian dept stores (Reuters)
“Department stores in Asia that have managed to capitalize on trend-conscious consumers willing to spend on elegance and beauty are ringing in the sales as the region’s economy recovers.”

Armani presents new smart phone amid fashion mobile trend (Independent)
“Italian luxury label Armani has introduced its newest gadget, “personally” designed by Giorgio himself.”

Hong Kong invites the creative world to town (Independent)
“The Business of Design Week – designed to invigorate Hong Kong’s cultural and creative industries – has announced a line up of more than 135 of the world’s top thinkers for its programme at the end of November.”

LONDON, United Kingdom — In February of 2004, writing about London Fashion Week in the Guardian newspaper, Charlie Porter declared: “It’s that old London fashion week conundrum all over again — wondering what’s the point, and failing to find an answer.” A month earlier, Porter said that London Fashion Week was in crisis mode.

Looking back, it’s easy to understand Porter’s lack of optimism. That February, London hosted 40 shows in a 5-day schedule. This was a decline from 50 shows in September of 2003. Style.com only reviewed 13 of the on-schedule shows in London, or about 33 percent. As a proxy for quality, this ratio did not bode well for London’s position amongst the major fashion capitals. Major editors were in short supply and international buyers were few and far between at the lacklustre event.

What a difference five years makes. It felt like three times as much activity was packed in to the same five day period during this London Fashion Week. With more than 75 on-schedule shows and presentations at Somerset House and other locations, more than 50 off-schedule designers showing at Fashion Scout and On|Off, plus a full day of menswear and even more events each evening, this was a jam-packed London Fashion Week to remember.

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London Fashion Week: Burberry (Telegraph)
“A shower of silver sequins rained down on 1,500 guests in a vast white tent in the grounds of the Chelsea College of Art & Design last night (Tuesday), creating a starry climax to the Burberry Prorsum show at London Fashion Week.”

Burberry Jumps After Ahrendts Says U.K. ‘On Fire’ (Bloomberg)
“Burberry Group Plc rose as much as 5.8 percent in London trading after Chief Executive Officer Angela Ahrendts said the clothing maker’s U.K. business has been “on fire” as demand for luxury goods improves.”

Tom Ford Seeking At Least $50 Million (PEHUB)
“Tom Ford International is on the hunt for financial backers, two sources familiar with the situation told peHUB. The New York-based fashion house entered the market within the past two weeks seeking a $50 million or greater investment, the sources said. Credit Suisse is managing the process.”

Luxury retailers see rents drop globally (CBC)
“Some 54 per cent of the 274 luxury retail strips covered under real estate consultancy Cushman Wakefield’s annual survey of retail rents dropped during the past year. Only in 18 places did rents increase this year.”

Clements Ribeiro say fashion in era of exuberance (Reuters)
“Design duo Clements Ribeiro, who have dressed Madonna and Nicole Kidman, believe fashion is experiencing a period of particular creativity and are beginning to look for investors for their label.”

Luxury’s cautious comeback in Calgary (Globe & Mail)
“Hermès is on the way in, upscale merchants are expanding – but that doesn’t mean it’s business as usual.”

Pringle A/W 09 ad campaign, courtesy of Pringle

A lady from Chanel who wants to drive Pringle off the golf course (Guardian)
“American Mary-Adair Macaire aims to restore the struggling Scottish knitwear firm’s name for elegance.”

From the Garage to the Runway (WSJ)
“Little more than a year ago, 27-year-old Hannah Marshall spent most days at a garage in rural Essex, two hours outside London, working in a makeshift studio to create tight, sexy-sinister dresses that looked a bit like Audrey Hepburn meets ‘The Matrix.’ Today, Ms. Marshall has her own fashion-design studio in London thanks to funding from the Centre for Fashion Enterprise.”

Fashion’s Night Out Falls Short (Forbes)
“Anna Wintour’s much-publicized event drew big crowds, but few dollars.”

Designers return to kick-start London Fashion Week (AFP)
“British designers who abandoned their homeland for the bright lights of New York, Milan and Paris are returning in droves this season in what promises to be the most exciting London Fashion Week for years.”

Burberry looks to win over friends online (FT)
“Burberry, the fashion brand that has gone from classic to cutting edge, is to launch its own social networking site next month. The clothing group hopes the move will deepen its relationship with customers and attract new devotees.”