Stella McCartney Spring 2011 Look Book | Source: Stella McCartney

Women Designers and the Quiet Revolution (Guardian Weekend)
“From Phoebe Philo at Céline to Stella McCartney to Hannah MacGibbon at Chloé, women designers are at the forefront of fashion right now… When women design clothes for women, they do it differently. For women, clothes are not just seen, they are felt from the inside.”

Luxury stores caught out by surge in demand (FT)
“[Louis Vuitton] is not the only luxury goods company to have been caught unawares by the strength of demand after last year’s slump. Chanel has pushed up the price of its classic quilted leather bags by 20%… while Salvatore Ferragamo says sales have risen by 20% since June.”

Optimistic Feelings as Rich Buyers Return (Reuters)
“Optimism is in the air at fashion houses Christian Dior and Lanvin… Consumption is back in Europe… and the market has picked up again in Russia. There was a time when our affluent clients did not want to spend, but now it is over.”

Luxury brands must allocate more budget to online advertising (Luxury Daily)
“Luxury brands must invest much more heavily in online advertising or find themselves out of touch with the young consumers who might be their biggest clients in the coming decades.”

Call It a Victory for Maturity (NY Times)
“It’s worth keeping in mind that Azzedine Alaïa and Karl Lagerfeld are doing some of their best work past age 70… Indeed, maturity in fashion, as Hussein Chalayan suggested, ‘is knowing exactly what you need and doing it really well.’”

Tom Ford by Terry Richardson | Source: Tom Ford

Glamorously, Tom Ford Is Back (NY Times)
“Explaining why he didn’t allow pictures, Mr. Ford said that fashion had become overexposed in recent years… ‘I want fashion to be fun again… You couldn’t wait to get the clothes and put them on, and I think we’ve lost that.’”

Luxury-Goods Firms Turn Up Volume on Value (WSJ)
“Luxury-goods retailers are coming to grips with the reality that ‘aspirational’ shoppers, who blew open the high-end market by stretching their budgets during the boom, aren’t coming back any time soon.”

Turning Playgrounds into Runways (Bloomberg)
“Dressing their kids in designer gear is a guilt-free way for fashion-focused parents to indulge their own penchant for following trends… It makes them feel good.”

Facebook adds ‘social context’ ad metrics (Biz Report)
“Facebook advertisers are being given more insight into the effectiveness of their campaigns. The social network has introduced new metrics focusing on the ‘social context’ of ads.”

New York Fashion Week | The Céline Factor (T Magazine)
“How much of the Céline designer Phoebe Philo’s tailored conceptualism, her hand with stripped-back superhot sportswear, would find its way into American clothes remained to be seen.”

Olivier Zahm by Terry Richardson | Source: purple DIARY

The Future Of Fashion: Olivier Zahm (Style.com)
“The French editor and founder of the twice-yearly independent publication Purple Fashion has many other passions… but in an increasingly conformist world, Zahm offers an original, entertaining, and astute voice.”

Abercrombie Will Keep Discounting (WSJ)
“Abercrombie & Fitch said… it will continue its uncharacteristically high levels of discounting through the spring in order to boost store sales… it is willing to sacrifice margins if necessary to improve sales.”

Burberry accuses TJX of selling counterfeit goods (Reuters)
“Burberry Group… has sued TJX, accusing the operator of the off-price TJ Maxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods stores of selling counterfeit goods.”

Céline starts from clean slate (Wealth Bulletin)
“After struggling for years to forge an identity, the label is finding influential retailers including Barneys New York, Saks Fifth Avenue and Bergdorf Goodman are clamoring to carry its collection, even as they cut back their portfolios to focus on best sellers.”

Paris: A Rounder Season (NY Times)
“Louis Vuitton seemed to provide the perfect bookend to the Milan-Paris ready-to-wear season… Between Miuccia Prada in Milan and Marc Jacobs at Vuitton we saw the return of the lush, full-hipped woman, her breasts served up like ripe fruit.”

Reiss Autumn/Winter '09 | Source: Reiss

When a Bottom Line Isn’t Just About Profit (New York Times)
“As the fashion industry struggles with a global economic downturn and a rapidly changing consumer landscape, qualities that are at the heart of family and owner/founder businesses, like a consistent vision and a long-term approach, seem to be helping those companies ride out the storm.”

Fashion house Celine says 2009 year of transition (Reuters)
“French fashion house Celine, owned by luxury goods group LVMH, has been holding off opening new stores this year and hopes collections from creative director Phoebe Philo will underpin sales from 2010.”

Jimmy Choo and Inter Parfums Sign a Fragrance License Agreement (Yahoo)
“Inter Parfums, Inc. today announced that its subsidiary, Inter Parfums SA, and Jimmy Choo have signed a 12-year worldwide license agreement commencing on January 1, 2010 for the creation, development and distribution of fragrances under the Jimmy Choo brand.”

Paper Scrapes By In Style (Forbes)
“New York City’s Midtown skyscrapers host some of the biggest names in American media: Hearst, Condé Nast, Time Inc., The New York Times, CBS and News Corp. A dozen blocks south in the Koreatown neighborhood are the offices of Paper, a magazine that endures apart from the mainstream.”

Paris match: Giles Deacon’s tough glamour (Independent)
“British designer Giles Deacon’s brand of tough glamour made him a star of the London catwalks. This week he’s going to show the French capital what he’s made of, he tells Susannah Frankel.”