Karl who?

PARIS, France – We don’t actively engage in the rumour mill here on BoF, but when the whispers involve Karl Lagerfeld, Olivier Theyskens and Alber Elbaz in a Lanvin and Chanel merry-go-round, it seems worthwhile to engage in a bit of Friday afternoon fashion speculation.

Today, Diane Pernet has published a bombshell post outlining this scenario:

“This is not a fact until you officially read it somewhere else but rumour has it that Karl Lagerfeld will not renew his contract at Chanel and that Alber Elbaz will take his place and Olivier Theyskens will take Alber’s place at Lanvin…Nothing is engraved in cement, these are still just rumours you will have to wait and see.”

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Hermès Q1 sales get lift from bags, currencies (Reuters)
“Hermès proved again it was resisting the crisis better than many of its rivals with a 3.2 percent rise in first-quarter sales, helped by exchange rates and resilient demand for its handbags.” Have a look at this video from the CBC’s Fashion File to see the underlying craftsmanship that has served the brand well during the downturn.

Financial Analysts Predict 2010 Recovery (WWD)
“Financial analysts and private bankers expect the global economy, with the help of a more dynamic Asian region, to bounce back sometime in 2010.”

Most Powerful Luxury Brands (The Age)
According to the annual Millward Brown BrandZ ranking of the Top 100 Most Powerful Brands, global luxury brands are retaining their brand value. “In the luxury category, Louis Vuitton came out on top, with a brand value of $US19.4 billion, followed by Hermès at $7.86 billion, Gucci at $7.47 billion, Chanel at $6.22 billion and Rolex at $5.53 billion.”

The Blue Book of Fashion (New York Times)
“In the resale business, which is enjoying a bit of a renaissance at the moment, the pecking order of designers is different from those of most department stores.”

There are film reviews for regular movies, so why not have reviews for online fashion films? Our first ever fashion film review looks at Chanel’s latest short film starring Audrey Tautou.

PARIS, France — Yesterday, Chanel launched its long awaited Chanel No.5 short film Train de Nuit, featuring Audrey Tautou, who is no stranger to the storied French couture brand. Often compared to Mademoiselle Chanel herself, Tautou has now twice taken on the role of the famous coutourière, most recently in Coco Avant Chanel, a film exploring her early life and times.

Within seconds of seeing the opening shot of the 2 minute short film, directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, who previously worked with Tautou on the award-winning film Amélie, the viewer is struck by Tautou’s alluring presence, as she rushes to catch the Orient Express which takes her from 1955 Paris to modern-day Istanbul in mere seconds. This is the Internet after all, so things have to happen quickly before patience wears thin and viewers click away.

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Stars take to the red carpet, surrounded by paparazzi

LONDON, United Kingdom - According to analysts, we’ve just come through the worst holiday selling season in 40 years. 

If that’s not bad enough, Chanel announced that it is laying off 200 people in Paris. Chanel! That surprised everyone I spoke to in the industry. For one thing, Chanel is not masstige — it wasn’t catering to the masses, the part of the market said to be most impacted by the recession. For another thing, it’s French — meaning layoffs have to meet the stiff criteria of French social laws and union rules. And finally, it’s privately held — meaning the company wasn’t under shareholder pressure for short-term results and could therefore take a longer-term perspective. And still, they were compelled to let 200 people go. (The employees laid off were on fixed-term or temporary contracts.)

It seems we’ve got an unmitigated disaster on our hands. … Continue Reading

Wal-Mart, courtesy of Ravi Patel

Retail Winners and Losers This Holiday Season (Seeking Alpha)
“Wal-Mart is the only real retail winner during the 2008 holiday shopping season, which is presaging more retail bankruptcies in the year ahead,” reports Seeking Alpha.

A long swan song for the Blass House (IHT)
It was the beginning of the end when Bill Blass sold his eponymous label in 1999.

Veggies invading the skin care market (IHT)
The supermarket produce section is the new source of ingredients for beauty companies.

Chanel to cut 200 jobs as the rich tighten their belts (The Telegraph)
As the wealthy tighten their belts, Chanel is expected to cut 200 jobs in France.

Bill Blass, photo courtesy of Bill Blass.

Bill Blass Couture to Close (WSJ)
Once the go-to house for American socialites and Hollywood elite, Bill Blass Couture will close.

Nike picks ups its pace  (Just-style)
Strong performance in international markets has helped the sportswear giant achieve a 9% profit increase in the second quarter. 

Max Azria: The Show(s) Must Go On (WSJ)
Although the BCBG Max Azria Group has taken a financial hit like so many other fashion companies, the company will still stage three runway shows in New York.  

Chanel Cancels Mobile Art Tour (WWD)
Due to the bad economic climate, Chanel cancels costly traveling Mobile Art exhibition.

NEW YORK, United States - Quoting Steven Kolb, executive director of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, saying the format of showing the Fall 2009 collections this February is the “number one item on everyone’s agenda right now,” The Wall Street Journal’s Heard on the Runway blog recently asked the question: “Will fashion shows survive the economy?”

To answer this question, it’s important to consider how fashion shows function in today’s media landscape. Increasingly, images and video from runway shows, captured by the established media, as well as a new generation of fashion bloggers wielding video-enabled camera phones, reach a global audience of fashion consumers, in close to realtime, on Style.com, YouTube and fashion blogs around the world.

As a result, today’s shows are not simply aimed at editors, buyers and other industry insiders. They have become remarkable vehicles for conjuring and transmitting the energy of a brand to end consumers.

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Coco Futures (The Economist)
Maureen Chiquet of Chanel remains optimistic even as Bain & Company predicts that the luxury industry will contract by 3-7% in 2009. “Even in tough times,” she says “people want to see beautiful and inspirational things.”

Sales of high-end jewelry lose their lustre (AP)
According to the Associated Press, “demand for jewelry has waned as consumers put their income toward the high cost of food and fuel.”

Slowdown threatens stability, says China PM (FT)
China’s PM, Wen Jiabao, “warned that high growth was needed to maintain social stabilit.”

Kohl’s on the Holiday Offensive; Campaign, Major Price-Cuts Kick Off This Week (WSJ)
As a way to “win over budget-conscious shoppers,” Kohl’s is one of the first retailers to launch its holiday marketing campaign.

Chanel Mobile Art Exhbit in New York’s Central Park, photo courtesy of the New York Magazine.

LONDON, United Kingdom - Last night, I caught up for dinner with Olivier Bassil, one of the co-founders behind the exclusive video-sharing site Squa.re. I have known the team behind Squa.re from its early days, and like all new Internet businesses, I have seen it go through its fair share of fits and starts.

But, its core video proposition continues to hold promise and Olivier and his passionate team, which includes former Warner Music executive Paul-Rene Albertini as CEO and a key mentor, have been tweaking their original model and will unveil a re-design of the site in the early Autumn which will improve the user experience, introduce a directory feature which catalogs all the content, and establish a VIP area, enabling members to find each other more easily.

So what does this have to do with fashion, you ask?

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After having checked out some of the more up-and-coming areas of L.A, it was time to visit the king and queen of luxury and fashion here: Rodeo Drive and Robertson Boulevard.

The most remarkable thing about both these streets is that the stores really are an extension of the brands themselves. In Paris, London and even New York, most brands are constrained by existing building facades and building codes which they must work around as they design their stores. In Los Angeles, it appears that the brands have complete freedom in design, and therefore, if done well, every aspect from the sparkling exteriors, the natural lighting, the size of logos outside the building, and even the dramatic entrances off the street are messages about the brand. It was truly impressive.

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