Christopher Bailey by Nick Knight | Source: American Vogue

Christopher Bailey: Tech Mate (American Vogue)
“Let us consider Christopher Bailey, the man at the helm of Burberry, a pioneer of all things digital in the fashion industry…a company that he and CEO Angela Ahrendts sketched out on a napkin at lunch in 2006. As Bailey was re-creating the look and feel of Burberry, Ahrendts went to work on the business, turning an overgrown licensing operation into a global retail company to astounding success.”

Galliano’s Departure From Dior Ends a Wild Fashion Ride (IHT)
“John Galliano’s departure as design director at Christian Dior brings to an end a wild fashion ride, in which grace, glamour and shock, in equal measure, sent the once conservative Parisian house leaping forward both in its image and its financial success.”

Galliano Case Tests Dior Brand’s Future (NY Times)
“The firing of Mr. Galliano, 50, a one-time punk stylist whose soaring imagination helped turn Dior into a multimillion-dollar brand, was the expected culmination of one of the strangest episodes in recent fashion history.”

Influence Metrics Make It Harder for Traditional Publishers to Survive (Ad Age)
“Page views, ComScore uniques and click-through rates (CTRs) only tell part of the story when it comes to online ad effectiveness. Vogue might attract nearly 600,000 monthly uniques but how many of them were actually influenced by the Hermes roadblock that ran for two days?”

Lady Gaga to walk for Thierry Mugler at Paris Fashion Week (Catwalk Queen)
“It has been confirmed – Lady Gaga will walk in Nicola Formichetti’s debut womenswear runway show for Thierry Mugler in Paris.”

Hobbs Designer Womens Clothing | Source: Hobbs

Equity turns fashionable (Fashion United)
“Investing in something more than a covetable wardrobe is turning to be a trend that arrived to stay. Even more equity and investment firms are looking for opportunities to enter the fashion business, which is proving to be resilient to crisis and financial turmoils.”

Coach to Move Production From China (WSJ)
“Leather-goods maker Coach plans to gradually move some production out of China, where labor costs are rising, and into lower-cost countries, such as India and Vietnam. At the same time, China is proving a boon to Coach’s sales… comparable-store sales grew by double digits in China.’”

How long will Burberry’s success last? (CPP Luxury)
“The ‘democratic luxury” positioning, although it may have a very possitive message during the current recession, it remains to be seen how the consumers will regard it once most of the international market will have recovered from the recession.”

Selfridges: Bright Young Things (Dazed Digital)
“The windows of Selfridges will feature some of the biggest upcoming stars in British fashion and art… 25 young designers and artists [will] create their own displays and showcase their work to millions. They will also design limited edition pieces.”

Vivienne Westwood’s jewellery extravaganza (Telegraph)
“Dame Vivienne Westwood, the high-priestess of punk, will mark the opening of London Fashion Week next month, with an extravagant launch of her precious jewellery at the Wallace Collection.”

Burberry Mens A/W Show 2011 in Milan | Source: Oki-ni CultureShoq

Today, BoF exclusively brings you Savigny Partners’ blow-by-blow analysis of the rapidly shifting luxury fashion business model which is undergoing transformation due to underlying shifts in consumer values, technology and globalisation

LONDON, United Kingdom — Luxury fashion is a very exciting business which can generate substantial returns if you get the formula right. Not only is there the ability to charge up to ten times the cost of manufacturing a garment and the potential to build a global business; apparel can be the beginning of a page-turning blockbuster, accessories and leather goods are the next chapter, fragrances and eyewear licenses the well-oiled plot. The story can have a happy ending with the promise of many sequels to come.

Success stories in this field are mouth-watering: Burberry’s share price climbed from 175p in November 2008 to 1,116p at the beginning of this year as the brand went from strength to strength and reportedly attracted the attention of a number of acquirers. Lanvin has embarked on a stellar growth trajectory with plenty of potential yet to come. However, not all blockbusters have a happy ending. The latest crisis has claimed a number of victims: Christian Lacroix, Gianfranco Ferré, Yohji Yamamoto, Luella Bartley to name a few.

In this article we will examine how the traditional designer business model has come under threat and what key factors we believe are necessary to ensure the success of a luxury fashion label today. Finally we will take a look at what lies ahead for the luxury fashion sector.

… Continue Reading

Ermenegildo Zegna Autumn/Winter 2011 Runway | Source: Style.com

Italian Luxury-Goods Makers to Follow Clients in Spending More (Bloomberg)
“Ermenegildo Zegna, Salvatore Ferragamo and Roberto Cavalli will increase investment in 2011, signaling greater confidence among Italian luxury-goods makers as demand continues to rise.”

Milan: Heritage, Showmanship, Theater (IHT)
“But even the face-paint effects for the Facebook generation… did not give that extra kick of excitement to sleek suits and luxurious sportswear. Like most of the Milan menswear season, which closes Tuesday, the Gucci show was nice — but not a knockout.”

Kenneth Cole shuttering 8 U.S. stores (Crain’s)
“The brand, which started 29 years ago, has been struggling in recent years as consumers shunned its trendy wares. Late last year, there were even rumors that namesake designer Kenneth Cole’s younger brother, Neil, who runs Iconix Brand Group Inc., was eying Kenneth Cole as an acquisition target.”

Burberry boosted by China expansion (FT)
“The group said like-for-like retail sales grew by 36 per cent in the quarter after the group took full ownership of 50 stores in China from a franchisee agreement. China recorded like-for-like comparable sales growth of 14 per cent for the period.”

Behind-The-Scenesters: Mel Ottenberg (Style.com)
“‘I don’t want the style to be noticed, per se. I just want the kid who’s reading the magazine to think, wow, that looks great.’ Here, Ottenberg talks to Style.com about his big break(s), his atypical days, and how a little fear can be a very good thing..”

Vionnet, Then and Now | Source: PSFK

Is  Fashion In Danger Of Going The Same Way As The Ad Industry? (PSFK)
“Sharing the inner workings of the business and marketing of fashion is pop culture these days, behind the scenes interviews, makings of, documentaries, buy from the runway etc. Cleverly marketing the marketing of fashion in consumer culture, or, an industry talking to itself?”

Burberry bid talk continues despite price label (FT)
“Could the company, best known for its red, black, tan and white check, be as desirable to a corporate acquirer as its aviator jacket was to the fashion pack? Shares in Burberry have risen almost 13 per cent since the start of the month on speculation that it could be the subject of a bid.”

Dealtalk: Doubts devil Prada IPO plan (Reuters)
“Catwalk favorite Prada’s hopes of being the first European fashion house to strut its stuff on the Hong Kong stock market could be delayed by pressure to split the listing with hometown Milan.”

10 Biggest Fashion-Business Faux Pas in 2010 (BNET)
“In 2010, fashion businesses made missteps in everything from design to manufacture and sale — and if you were here, you were there. From management decisions in questionable taste to mystifying merchandising, we singled out the truly awful in hopes there won’t be a repeat performance in the new year.”

Vogue Italia Opens Its’ Doors (Fashionista)
“Opening our magazine to people is just to give them the chance to meet persons working in fashion, how we work, where we are and our offices…Why should seeing each other take away the mystery?”