The Real McCoy's Tokyo | Source: One and Beyond

Made Better in Japan (WSJ)
“Louis Vuitton sales are plummeting, and magnums of Dom Pérignon are no longer being uncorked at a furious pace. That doesn’t mean the Japanese have turned away from the world. They’ve just started approaching it on their own terms, venturing abroad and returning home with increasingly more international tastes and much higher standards, realizing that the apex of bread making may not be Wonder Bread–style loaves, but pain à l’ancienne.”

Luxury brands long to bond with China’s elite (FT)
“Chinese shoppers have become a fixture of the luxury retail scene in the US and Europe, drawn by prices that can be up to 50 per cent lower than tax-elevated levels at home. But many upscale brands have yet to bond with the truly wealthy – China’s million millionaires.”

A fashion revolution? (FT)
“By far the most exciting thing I saw last week during the couture in Paris wasn’t couture at all, but a website that launches today: www.honestby.com. The brainchild of Belgian designer Bruno Pieters, late of Hugo Boss, it is the most subversive etail initiative I have seen.”

CFDA Controversy (Vogue)
“The CFDA has caused controversy after deciding to relocate its offices from New York’s beloved Garment District to Bleecker Street – a move designers have described as a snub to the area – a location that the organisation has always tried to protect and promote through initiatives such as Fashion Incubator and the Made In Midtown study.”

Custom shirts, cut from a different cloth (LA Times)
“Custom-made men’s dress shirts were once considered the privileged peacockery of the moneyed set… Thanks to advances in technology, a competitive market and consumer demand, custom clothing has moved within the barrel-cuffed arm’s reach of the common man.”

Hermès Canton Road | Source: B on brand

Behind the brands (China Daily)
“A survey confirms China’s luxury goods buyers are young and keen on pampering themselves.Gan Tian reports… The focus of this year’s survey is in line with China’s luxury industry profile, where the majorityof buyers are aged between 20 and 30 – significantly younger than their counterparts inWestern countries or nearby Japan.”

Mulberry profits boosted by overseas growth (Reuters)
“British luxury fashion brand Mulberry said its first-half profit more than trebled, boosted by global expansion, and said it was cautiously optimistic about the future while acknowledging the challenging macroeconomic climate. The company, which designs, manufactures and sells leather goods and accessories, posted pretax profit of 15.6 million pounds in the six months to Sept 30, up 231 percent.”

The CFDA Refuses to Shorten New York Fashion Week (The Cut)
“The CFDA has agreed to move New York Fashion Week back a week for September 2012 (to run from September 6 to September 13), and also start on the second Thursday in September in 2013 and 2014, as Milan requested. However, it rejected Milan’s demand to shorten New York Fashion Week.”

Facebook Fashion Index Ranks Brands by ‘Likes’ (WWD)
“When it comes to getting ‘likes’ on Facebook, Converse is a pro. In November, Converse continued to hold the number-one spot among fashion brands in Facebook “likes,” at 20,985,796, up 0.38 percent from October. Coming in at number two was Adidas, which had 11,397,425 “likes,” up 0.86 percent from October, according to a survey on Stylophane.com.”

Ohne Titel Stands Alone (Interview)
“Flora Gill and Alexa Adams of Ecco Domani Award-winning womenswear line Ohne Titel have always wanted to showcase their structured high-impact garments in an environment that echoes their strong look. Hence their excitement when New York-based arts and culture nonprofit BOFFO selected them to participate in its second annual Building Fashion Project. “

Steven Kolb | Photo: Carly Otness/BFAnyc.com

PARIS, France — The fashion world is in a tizzy. Ever since the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana (CNMI) laid down the gauntlet, scheduling next autumn’s Milan Fashion Week from September 19th to 24th, a massive rift has emerged amongst the fashion fraternity.

New York Fashion Week, organised by the Council for Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), is scheduled to start on the 13th of September and conclude on the 20th. London Fashion Week, organised by the British Fashion Council (BFC), is supposed to run from the 21st to the 24th. But based on the dates currently being proposed for Milan Fashion Week, which the CNMI insist were communicated back in 2010, Milan would not only conflict with the end of New York Fashion Week, but completely overlap with London. Paris Fashion Week, organised by the Fédération française de la Couture, du Prêt à Porter des Couturiers et des Créateurs de Mode (known informally as the Chambre Syndicale), would follow Milan, and begin on the 25th. In short, it’s a jumble of acronyms and national organisations trying to oversee what is effectively a fashion month for a global industry.

In response to this serious scheduling problem, Jonathan Newhouse, Chairman of Condé Nast International issued a statement: “We at Condé Nast do not want the schedule to be changed. We very much oppose moving the Milan shows earlier so that they overlap or conflict with the London fashion shows — or with the New York fashion shows or those of any market,” he said, adding that various international editors of Vogue would not attend a Milan Fashion Week that conflicted with its counterparts. Milan has not budged on the 2012 dates, but they have proposed to discuss the 2013 dates.

Contrast this dispute with my surroundings as I sat down for tea with Steven Kolb, chief executive of the CFDA, on a park bench in Paris’ Palais-Royal, surrounded by stores from fashion brands from all over the world. It was clear proof of the global nature of our industry, as CFDA President Diane von Furstenberg articulated a few days ago in an open letter to the fashion community. “We share the same goals as Milan, Paris, and London,” she wrote. In other words, pitting fashion weeks against each other is like the fashion industry feeding upon itself.

Mr. Kolb was in town for “Americans in Paris,” inspired by the British Fashion Council’s “London Showrooms” concept, a perfect example of how fashion weeks can learn from each other. It’s the latest in a slew of CFDA initiatives designed to support America’s burgeoning young fashion talents, including Prabal Gurung (Nepali), Sophie Theallet (French) and Simon Spurr (British), all of whom came to America from other countries. It’s an international fashion world after all.

I met with Mr. Kolb while all this fashion week in-fighting was only just simmering, and had yet to reach boiling point. But nonetheless, it became an important part of our conversation, along with the future of fashion week more generally and the prospects for young fashion designers in America.

BoF: I’d be remiss if I didn’t ask you first about the ongoing hubbub around fashion week scheduling. What is the status of the discussions with other fashion weeks, and what do you think the resolution will be?

SK: No one agreed to a short term [agreement], why would we? Since we negotiated the second Thursday start, the idea was to get it as far away from Labour day as possible. 2012 is the first year that we actually benefited from [NYFW] not being the Thursday after Labour day, but the following Thursday.

So, we are pretty clear on that. I know that the Brits are really clear on that. I feel that 20 years ago, Milan and Europe could really dictate and New York had to follow, but I feel like it’s time for us to stake what’s important to us. We have enough strength; we have a strong market; we have a lot of really talented designers. Milan might be surprised where editors and buyers decide to go.

BoF: Why?

SK: I think a lot of them would go to London and New York over Milan. I think every city has it’s own creativity, it’s own innovation, it’s own family of designers, but I think that London has invested a lot of energy into fashion week and put a lot of effort into promoting something interesting. I think London and New York are very similar in their approach to supporting the industry and particularly young designers.

Fashion is global and we can’t just plan within our borders. We hope we can all look at it as a fashion season and not individual fashion weeks. Diane and I have been working on [resolving] the conflict and want everyone to win. I can only believe there will be a solution.

BoF: You have taken a leaf out of London’s book and brought ten American designers here to Paris this week. Tell me about what prompted you to come here.

SK: We patterned this whole thing after the London Showrooms. The British Fashion Council is always coming up with new partners and new ways to support young talent and I think we’ve done a similar job of that in New York. It creates a lot of excitement around fashion week.

BoF: You spoke just now about supporting young designers. Everyone throws that phrase around a lot in the industry. In your view what is the single biggest challenge that a designer in New York City faces today? And how is the CFDA playing a part in helping them to address that challenge?

SK: I think you’re right. I do think it gets thrown around a lot and a lot of it is just marketing hype. There is an overabundance of ideas and programmes that are supporting young talent. But with CFDA Vogue Fashion Fund, there is a lot we do publicly [and] there is a lot that we don’t do publicly. You look at someone like Tommy [Hilfiger] — and who’s working with Tommy? Peter Som. That’s not accidental; that’s the Fashion Fund watching out for those designers. A lot of it is individualised, so I know just from the Fashion Fund that everyone has a very specific niche of what they need help with.

The one thing people say mostly, whether they are an emerging designer or not, is that they need an investor, they need money, they need capital. And so whether that’s private equity that actually invests in the company, or consulting work, or a capsule collection at Target — whatever it is, people want money, cash flow, and I think there are a lot of ways to make that happen, but that seems to be a big challenge.

BoF: I think it’s so great to see these designers here in Paris, as one of the impressions that I think people have about designers in New York is that they lack creativity. Why do you think that perception exists?

SK: New York has always been the commercial market. A funny thing happened [here in Paris]. Diane [von Furstenberg] and I were having lunch and we were shopping and there was this shop, and in the shop she saw these really fabulous little display ladders, and this beautiful metal chair, and she went in, and there was this French woman in there. Diane said, ‘I love this, where did you get it?’ and the woman said, ‘Well I made them myself.’ Diane said, ‘I love them, can I buy them?’ and the woman said, ‘No, I can’t sell them, I wouldn’t want anyone to have them as they are my personal pleasure. Plus, I know who you are and if you put them in your store everyone will know me.’ Diane said, if we were in the States she would have taken an order for a 1000 of those.

I think New York has always been about selling. But I think that has changed a lot, probably in the last twenty years. I think switching the New York shows from October to the front of the cycle was part of that shift — being first and not necessarily following ideas or trends and really being creative.

The American market was always about the brand. It was never about the designer — and you look at people like Bill Blass, who really started to step out from the backroom and become more upfront. Then you have Calvin, Donna and Ralph and it just continued. In the States, we are very entrepreneurial.

There are 250 shows on the calendar. Anybody can show that has an idea. I think that programs like the Fashion Fund and incubator and the relationships that the buyers or the editors have developed with designers encourages that creativity. Whether you’re an artist or a designer, to make something and not be able to let it go? What’s the point?

BoF: Couldn’t you also argue that you are diluting the week, because, frankly there is a lot of stuff that might not merit that kind of attention? Perhaps having a more curated week — like in London, like in Milan, like in Paris — where an organisation, whether it’s the CFDA or someone else, could play a role in upholding certain standards?

SK: We’ve been talking about that. The calendar is a challenge because we have that number of shows. You’ve got a show back to back with the designers, model call times, production, all of that. That is a big behind the scenes challenge.

But who is the voice of God? Who’s to say that the CFDA or some committee with an opinion should decide who has more talent than somebody else. I think there is a dog eat dog competitiveness that exists.

BoF: In a way it’s a quintessentially American approach. Let the market decide.

SK: Yes, I do believe that. We even talk about the fashion calendar, which frankly is a gated system. We’ve been looking at how you create a back-end system that PRs and designers can use as we do the puzzle of who goes where in the calendar. Then as you look at that, do we give priority to CFDA members? I just don’t think there is anything that can be done fairly. I think it’s just, let the market decide. I think you said it exactly the way it is.

We had a meeting, the summer before last, about the state of fashion week. Everybody has an opinion. I say to people ‘If you can figure it out, I am happy to make it happen. I’m good at executing things.’

BoF: The other issue with the show calendar is the timing of shows versus the timing of arrival of clothes. Everyone seems to have a point of view on it. Do you think a) there is a solution that’s out there? And b) given all the politics between the different fashion capitals, could anyone actually make a decision that would change the system?

SK: I think it takes someone brave like Helmut Lang and Calvin Klein when they switched over to September. I think it takes someone of that stature at this point [who] would be brave enough to do it. I think you can’t look at the shows alone, because a lot of the bigger designers are doing monthly deliveries anyway. The show has really turned into something less about a collection.

BoF: But the lag is still there. Whether the consumer sees the pre-collection images or the main collection, the clothes are still not available for four to five months. The big concern is the supply chain — you also need to be able to compress the supply chain. One suggestion Natalie Massenet made was to skip a season. Instead of doing shows, designers could do small private presentations for the industry, then you do the show when the clothes are actually ready.

SK: So it’s about skipping a season and maybe that’s a nice vacation break for people, but I think that it’s logistically complicated. I don’t know, it could happen one day. It requires someone big enough and powerful enough and influential enough to make that statement.

CEO Talk is BoF’s forum for in-depth discussions with the fashion industry’s global decision makers, conducted by BoF founder and editor-in-chief, Imran Amed.

Is Digital Killing the Luxury Brand? (Adweek)
“Just a few years back, most high-end fashion brands distrusted all things digital. Their fear was understandable. Digital is democratizing; it’s about accessibility. The brand image for high-end fashion is all about inaccessibility: Keep the masses out so that the people who can afford to buy their way in feel they’re exceptional.”

Don’t Look Back or Ahead (NY Times)
“‘There is so much pressure in the business to be something or not to be something, people dictating what I should be or do next, that you can get drunk on all the voices,’ said Mr. Panichgul, 36. ‘I don’t want to be just a product of the hype, being categorized as ‘Michelle Obama’s designer.’ So what I’ve learned to do is to focus on what’s in front of me right now, on what I’m doing today and not tomorrow, where I am now.”

Eyes on the prizes (FT)
“‘The market was severely affected by the September 11 attacks: designers had lost their show venues and everything was at a standstill,’ says Steven Kolb, the chief executive of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA)… As a result, Kolb, along with the editor-in-chief of American Vogue, Anna Wintour, decided something needed to be done, and in 2003 the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund, an award for globally expanding designers with at least two years’ domestic business experience, was born.”

S Korea luxury: beyond the obvious (FT)
“Korea is still a good place for fashion houses – luxury sales have been up about 12 per cent each year since 2006 – but they must adapt to changing trends. Intriguingly, several luxury goods makers note Korean culture is becoming so hip around Asia and beyond thanks to TV dramas and music, that they need a strong foothold in Seoul to identify trends that could spread from there.”

Bright future: Louise Gray (Independent)
“In London, there is currently a vogue for the work of young Scottish fashion designers – with Christopher Kane, Jonathan Saunders and Louise Gray leading the charge… After graduating in April 2007, Gray almost immediately became involved with Fashion East – Lulu Kennedy’s 10-year-old initiative, which provides financial and business support for emerging designers.”

The gospel according to Forever 21 (Guardian)
“This is the American fashion chain run as a family business, the chain that, thanks to its “pile very high, sell very cheap” operation, has been a phenomenal success, with profits (in 2008) of $135m despite the fact that nothing it sells costs more than $65.”

Mulberry Tops Fashion Retailers on Sales Boom (Bloomberg)
“The 40-year-old British luxury-handbag maker, is the world’s best-performing fashion retail stock over the past year… Investors are betting Mulberry…will join the likes of Burberry Group Plc as an iconic luxury brand.”

Designs on Doha (FT)
“Muslimah dress restrictions have paved the way for an accessories boom in the Middle East. For affluent young women here, however, designer accessories are not symbolic of money or aspiration but are simply the norm. So they increasingly seek out unfamiliar territory in the form of emerging designers.”

Sitting in the lap of luxury (China Daily)
“While consumers in Japan, the United States and Europe are scrimping on luxury goods, the swelling ranks of big spenders in China are taking in whatever the “haute” houses in Paris or Milan can serve up… Luxury brands feel no constraint in boosting their prices to cover rising costs and foreign exchange losses.”

Designers Revisit Copyright Protection (On the Runway)
“…Five years into a campaign by the Council of Fashion Designers of America to enact some sort of protection for original designs…One of the biggest differences in the new bill is that designers would have to prove that a copy is “substantially identical” to their originals, rather than “substantially similar.”

The fluorescent Satchel | Source: Dover Street Market

British satchel maker takes fashion world by storm (Guardian)
“A traditional chestnut-coloured unisex leather satchel, made in the UK by a mother-and-daughter team, has unexpectedly taken the fashion world by storm. The Cambridge Satchel Company has become 2011′s accidental multimillion-pound global hit, and is competing for popularity with international mega-league brands.”

How Prada became the biggest name in fashion (Independent)
“While the Western world is still reeling from the effects of the 2008 economic crash, business at Prada… appears to be booming. On 17 June… The expected listing price of HK$36.5 to $48 a share values Prada higher than its European peers including even France’s largest and most powerful luxury goods conglomerate, LVMH.”

Cacharel Attempts to Revamp With New Designers (Fashionista)
“It goes without saying that the brand needs a dual shot of stability and modernity; enter French-educated Chinese design partners Ling Liu and Dawei Sun… they will now be joint artistic directors for all the brand’s lines, including womenswear, childrenswear, menswear and accessories.”

Bears charge in on news of Supergroup voucher (Independent)
“Supergroup continued to slump yesterday amid fears that the retailer behind the Superdry brand might be losing its edge with customers. The worries first surfaced on Friday, when traders learnt that in a break from past practice, the group had sent discount vouchers to online shoppers.”

CFDA Awards: And the Winners Are… (WWD)
“There was no shortage of fashion at Monday’s CFDA Awards, but the one style matter everyone was wondering about was that of Lady Gaga’s grand entrance… she arrived fashionably late, a turquoise-hair-topped tower of black custom Thierry Mugler beaded tulle and lace over her spiked leather and mesh bodysuit.”

Joe Zee | Source: Sartorially Correct

Fashion’s Approachable Ambassador (NY Times)
“As fashion has evolved from an insular club to mass-market obsession — helped in part by proliferating Web sites, blogs and TV shows like ‘Project Runway’ — Mr. Zee, 42, has come to epitomize a new form of top-of-the-masthead personality. He is not the aloof style arbiter, gazing out silently behind Frisbee-size sunglasses, but a chatty and approachable ambassador of fashion.”

Tastes of the newly wealthy (FT)
“Both McKinsey and CLSA point to the fact that China’s rich really are different from their western counterparts and the luxury brands themselves are having to adjust their approach. Chinese millionaires, for example, are 15 years younger than their overseas peers and they spend more per transaction.”

Chinese Creativity: Who Are The Emerging Designers? (Jing Daily)
“With Shanghai Fashion Week about to kick off, and Beijing Fashion Week just around the corner, Jing Daily is looking forward to the newest collections by some of the top emerging designers in China. Some we’re watching closely.”

CFDA Fashion Award Nominees Set (WWD)
“This will mark the 10th year that Swarovski is underwriting the awards gala, which will take place on Monday, June 6… As in previous years, the night will also be an occasion for the CFDA to hand out several special awards. Marc Jacobs will receive this year’s Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award.”

Westwood’s Lasting Imagery (NY Times)
“Ms. Westwood’s 1980s fashions now are the focus of an exhibition at the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology. The show… is highlighted by pioneering looks such as a unisex ensemble in billowing striped cotton from the 1981 Pirates collection, which may well have an effect on designers now experimenting with genderless styles.”

UGG's Women's Classic Short Sparkles | Source: UGG

The story of Ugg (Telegraph)
“Clumpy or comfortable, hideous or heaven-sent, few shoe styles have proved as divisive as Uggs. The boots – originating from Australia – have outlasted all forecasts of their demise, and rocketed to ubiquity as one of the footwear industry’s biggest success stories of the past decade.”

Offer Submitted on Gianfranco Ferré (Fashionologie)
“Gianfranco Ferré might have another savior on the horizon. A Milan-based source revealed that Paris Group, a Dubai-based fashion distributor and franchisee in the Middle East, has submitted an offer for the bankrupt brand.”

CFDA: Handle With Care (Vogue UK)
“Diane Von Furstenberg has issued new guidelines on behalf of the CFDA… The recommendations stipulate that healthy meals and snacks should be provided backstage for models – and that no designer should hire models under the age of 16 in a catwalk show.”

New Technology Measures Emotional Responses to Web Videos (Mashable)
“Affectiva, a commercial rendering of MIT’s FaceSense technology, was originally dreamt up to help… better understand emotion. The founders now see the potential of opening their emotion measurement technology for market research, product testing and development, clinical use and other academic purposes.”

Jewelry: Unzip the Bling (IHT)
“A tour of the Place Vendôme on ‘Jewelry day’ last week showed that there were two contrasting themes that echo the wider world: technology and nature. For high jewelry, made almost entirely by hand, technology is still part of the process, as computers are used to develop images and calculate geometric patterns.”

Tom Ford Spring/Summer 2011 | Source: Vogue.com

Mr. Ford Returns (Vogue.com)
“[Tom Ford] is doing things differently this time. He objects to the way the Internet eats up fashion images before the clothes can be bought. He despises sections of the press. Private and formal are terms he favors now. And he’d rather people didn’t ‘Tom’ him anymore. At 49, he lets it be known he prefers “’Mr. Ford.’”

Google targets fashion market (Guardian)
“Not content to revolutionise online search and email, Google is preparing to enter the fashion business… The attraction is obvious: with conservatively estimated revenues of $500bn (£310bn) worldwide making it the fourth largest industry globally.

Burberry H1 profit tops forecasts on better margins (Reuters)
“British luxury goods group Burberry beat forecasts with a 49 percent jump in first-half profit as fewer markdowns and better management of stock combined with an already-reported rise in sales.”

Billy Reid Named CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Winner (WWD)
“A new crop of American design talent has been crowned. Billy Reid is this year’s winner of the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund, taking home an award of $300,000 and a trophy of a bronze swan by Rachel Feinstein.”

Asian Models Are ‘Redefining Traditional Concepts of Beauty’ (The Cut)
“December’s American Vogue features eight Asian models who are, according to the magazine, ‘redefining traditional concepts of beauty.’ With Asia’s significance to luxury brands becoming increasingly visible, it seems only natural for Asian faces to become more prominent.”

Chanel Ad Autumn/Winter 2010 | Source: 829

Chanel’s luxury dream is turning to dust (Marketing Week)
“According to the company’s 2010 estimates… [Chanel] lost 11% of its brand value over the past 12 months. It’s a rare glimpse into the actual state of Chanel’s brand health.”

Chinese spending power underestimated, study says (Market Watch)
“Chinese households have far more money than previously thought… property companies and even European luxury goods makers could be about to benefit from the rise of these deep-pocketed consumers.”

Macy’s gains market share, sees better sales (Reuters)
“Macy’s Inc quarterly results showed the department store operator boosted sales and gained market share without relying as much on discounts as its rivals to get shoppers into stores.”

Laws Of Fashion (Vogue.com)
“The Institute of Fashion Law has been set up by Fordham University Law professor Susan Scafidi in partnership with the CFDA, to provide help and support to designers in need of legal aid.”

Burberry chief Angela Ahrendts takes profits on 400,000 shares (Telegraph)
“The chief executive of Burberry has raised about £3.4m by selling almost 400,000 shares in the luxury goods retailer… Of the amount that Ms. Ahrendts raised, about £814,000 was used to cover tax liabilities, the company said.”