Benetton Unhate campaign | Source: Foto Telegraf

Benetton to make decision on delisting (FT)
“The Benetton family will decide at a board meeting on Wednesday whether to delist the Italian knitwear group known for its brightly coloured jumpers after the company posted another plunge in profits as it struggles to compete with Inditex and H&M.”

Luxury Companies That Can Bring You Closer to the Good Life (Money Morning)
“A lot of consumers are hurting right now, but you wouldn’t know that looking at the earnings of major luxury companies. Many luxury companies like LVMH Moet Hennessey Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Hermès, and Coach Inc had a stronger-than-expected 2011 campaign.”

Bright Young Things (Vogue)
“The British Fashion Council has announced the launch of International Fashion Showcase – a platform for international emerging designers – which will take place during London Fashion Week. Nineteen embassies and cultural institutes across London will display work from over 80 rising designers, spanning the world from Belgium to Botswana.”

The Finnish Fashion Blogger Who Landed A Deal With Diesel (Business Insider)
“Sandra Hagelstam, 24, is the founder of the hot fashion blog 5inchdesandup.com. She started blogging to create a daily log of what she wears… ‘(The blog) has opened up doors for me I never would have imagined in terms of being able to design my own collection and collaborate with others.’”

Divided they stand: the new extremists (Telegraph)
“This may look like a classic case of Roundhead versus Cavalier. Or Minimalist meets Maximalist. But that’s too simplistic.Neither Mary Katrantzou or Osman Yousefzada can be that easily pigeonholed.”

Full Spectrum, Less Spectacle (NY Times)
“Don’t be fooled by the giant lion at Chanel… Most of the remaining half-dozen or so houses that show haute couture scaled down their presentations… a nip here, a tuck there and a P.R. man explaining in a hushed tone that the designer wanted to ‘return to couture’s roots.’”

Luxury shoppers pull back in June (Bloomberg)
“MasterCard Advisor’s SpendingPulse reported late Wednesday that luxury spending dropped 3.9 percent in June from a year earlier, the first decline since November.”

Primark’s sales boosted by £12 dresses and £10 shoes (Guardian)
“Its £12 floral dresses and court shoes for a tenner pulled in shoppers, with analysts estimating like-for-like sales increased 7% in the 16 weeks to 19 June. That is just shy of the 8% figure reported for the first six months and better than high street rivals.”

Tesco to make its West End fashion debut (Telegraph)
“The supermarket… has already looked at potential sites on Oxford Street and High Street Kensington. The store would be branded F&F after Tesco’s own-label clothing range, previously called Florence & Fred.”

In Fashion, Lifestyle, Not Age, Defines a Consumer Group (Forbes India)
“Renzo Rosso looks every bit the rebel. His graying curls peep out of a baseball cap and tattoos pop out from under his T-shirt as he animatedly talks about the denim brand he started fresh out of college and his fashion philosophy.”

Diesel Advert | Source: Diesel

Diesel banned from using ‘offensive’ ads (Reuters)
“Fashion label Diesel has been banned from using two adverts showing young women which a standards watchdog said were likely to cause serious offence.”

Global brands widening product portfolio in kids segment (Economic Times)
“Kids are getting spoilt more than ever before with busy parents trying to make up for lack of time and presence through luxury goodies, triggering a march of global kid’s fashion brands… into the country.“

Fashionable Shorts | These Movies Have Credits (T Magazine)
“In a time when the iPad has eclipsed the September issue, and editorial channels are growing while advertising page numbers are shrinking, luxury labels have to promote their collections somehow. The result? A fashion film movement, in full swing.”

Alexandra Shulman awarded Honorary degree by UCA (Telegraph)
“British Vogue’s Alexandra Shulman, was yesterday awarded a Master of Arts by The University for the Creative Arts. The MA acknowledges Shulman’s outstanding contribution to the fashion industry.”

Teens losing interest in Facebook (Biz Report)
“Of late there has been much speculation that Facebook is becoming a bit passé. New research from online gaming site Roiworld claims to illustrate clear signs of ‘Facebook Fatigue’ among teens.”

Eddie Bauer goose down slippers, courtesy of Eddie Bauer

Eddie Bauer Plots Its Next Ascent (WSJ)
“Eddie Bauer Holdings Inc., the nearly 90-year-old outdoor retailer with a rich history, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, overcome by a heavy debt load.”

British style captures mood of times, says Mulberry (Reuters)
“The leather bags specialist said UK like-for-like sales leapt 21 percent in the first 10 weeks of its new financial year, helping to send its shares up 9.2 percent to 71 pence at 0822 GMT.”

Fashion First, Whatever the Size (New York Times)
“This month, Arcadia plans to unveil a collection that Ms. Ditto designed for Evans, the company’s plus-size division. Available in the United States on the Web, it highlights cutting-edge looks like a corset dress and a cropped biker jacket.”

Kokosalaki to overhaul Diesel Black Gold (Drapers)
“Diesel Black Gold has pulled out of New York Fashion Week and drafted in Greek born designer Sophia Kokosalaki to overhaul its premium Black Gold womenswear collection.”

MILAN, Italy – Is Diesel’s Renzo Rosso on the prowl again?

Word on the street is that Rosso is in talks to acquire Superfine Jeans, the hot London-based premium denim brand, founded in 2003 by Lucy Pinter and Flora Evans. Superfine has become well known for its directional silhouettes and popularity amongst the global style A-list, including Kate Moss, Gisele Bundchen and Mary-Kate Olsen.

While Mr. Rosso has been acquisitive in the past, he has tended to focus more on the fashion end of things, acquring stakes in  Maison Martin Margiela, DSquared2, and most recently, Sophia Kokosalaki, through Diesel’s Staff International subsidiary.

That Mr. Rosso is reportedly looking to acquire another denim brand may suggest that Diesel, which now ranks amongst the best-known jeans labels in the world, is looking for something more edgy and sophisticated to add to its jeans stable to compete with the likes of cult Swedish label Acne and 18th Amendment and Ksubi of Australia.

This is a smart move. With Rosso’s manufacturing, marketing and distribution capabilities, Superfine could be supercharged into a global denim brand in its own right — but by then, I guess Rosso will be on the hunt again.