Christian Dior Couture Spring 2012 | Source: Style.com

Dior Designer: On the Doorstep? (IHT)
“The black and white, filmic Christian Dior haute couture show on Monday marked nearly a year since John Galliano left the brand in disgrace. But Bernard Arnault, chairman of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, confirmed that there would be no announcement about a new designer this week and that the ‘suspense’ would continue.”

How the other half dress: Paris says merci as haute couture sales rise (Guardian)
“The demand for haute couture is a reflection of economic reality. Not of the recession, but of the polarisation of wealth. Fifteen years ago, there seemed little economic logic in creating beautiful dresses which cost 20 times more than those available in the top Bond Street boutiques. But the emergence of a super-rich strata of society, tiny in number but fabulously wealthy, has created a niche market for whom couture makes perfect sense.”

Now, Online-Only Fashion Shows for Busy Editors (On the Runway)
“KCD, the public relations company that produces fashion shows for top labels like Marc Jacobs and Givenchy, announced on Monday that it is offering a new service wherein it will produce some shows in an entirely digital format so that overtaxed editors can watch them online.”

Little Red (Litigious) Shoes (NY Times)
“This week a federal appellate court will hear arguments in a case involving this very question. The issue arises in connection with shoes, specifically, the vivid red soles beneath Christian Louboutin shoes.”

Fashion’s beautiful relationship with art (The National)
“There’s a real buzz about the vivid, almost saccharine sweet pastel shades that will define spring/summer 2012 fashion. That, and of course the other huge trend of the moment: thrilling prints and 3D textiles. Sometimes it’s hard to tell one from the other because the surface is textured, which heightens the overall trompe l’oeil effect of the print.”

Louis Vuitton Incheon Airport, Seoul | Source: Inluxe

S.Koreans go mass-market, online for luxury goods (Reuters)
“Sixty years ago, war-torn South Korea was one of the poorest countries in the world. Now it is the world’s 13th largest economy and a magnet for luxury goods, prying open the wallets of its wealthy people as well as tourists. Indeed, the country’s appetite for high-end labels has led to the christening of a Louis Vuitton handbag as the ‘three-second bag’ for its ubiquity, with one spotted every few seconds on the streets of the capital Seoul.”

Simons For Dior? (Vogue)
“Dior is said to be finalising its contract with Raf Simons, as reports escalate that he has been hired as the label’s new creative director replacing of John Galliano… If reports by WWD are true, the move may mark a change in Dior’s design aesthetic - Simons being known for his minimal, futuristic, modern looks.”

Fendi CEO to become head of Bulgari (Reuters)
“ LVMH said on Monday that Michael Burke, head of Italian fashion brand Fendi, would become chief executive of jeweller Bulgari in February as part of a management reshuffle following its acquisition. As part of the deal completed over the summer, Bulgari Chief Executive Francesco Trapani took over the chairmanship of LVMH’s watch and jewellery division and a replacement for him at the helm of the Italian jeweller was expected to be found.”

Exotic India Wrapped in Chanel (IHT)
” The collection the designer showed last week was an ode to India — but emotionally it was pinned to Paris…Compared to Mr. Lagerfeld’s previous interpretations of Coco in Moscow or last year’s Paris/Byzantium show, the mood was restrained. That, no doubt, fits more accurately the current financial mood and the spirit of potential customers.”

Refinery29: Boutique Fashion and Design for All (International Business Times)
“Now, through Refinery29, their rapidly growing fashion and design startup, they’re exposing this fashion-forward independents to an insatiable audience of readers and consumers seeking to define their style. ‘Make it your own. That’s the most important thing,’ says von Borries, describing the ethos of Refinery29 and the changing role of fashion industry brands. ‘[Our company] is all about empowering personal style.’”

Dior Couture by Patrick Demarchelier | Source: Mama's Rolling Stone

Opening the Doors of Dior (NY Times)
“Saint Laurent, Chanel, Dior: the names of the most famous Paris houses sort of dance off the tongue. Their histories defeat the idea that younger generations might be bored with old things. And a stream of books and films helps to assure that they won’t be. “Dior Couture” (Rizzoli), by the photographer Patrick Demarchelier, is far and away the most gorgeous book on the house…What Mr. Demarchelier offers is a personal view of fashion from a great Paris house.”

Prada profit surges 75% in third quarter on Asia sales (BBC News)
“Profits at Italian fashion house Prada soared in the third quarter boosted by increased sales in the Asia-Pacific region. Prada said it made a net profit of 273m euros ($364m; £234m) in the three months to the end of October, a 75% jump from year earlier.”

Tiffany sales growth shows signs of slowing (Reuters)
“Concerns about slowing sales momentum took some of the luster off Tiffany & Co’s stock amid signs that European and U.S. economic distress are weighing on luxury consumers, and shares fell 9 percent. The upscale jeweler, a stock market darling for how fast its international business has grown, reported third-quarter.”

Hall of Fame: Patricia Field (WWD)
“Patricia Field has always done things her way. With a career spanning 45 years and counting, the designer, stylist and boutique owner built her reputation by creating her own blueprint. ‘If you asked me who I looked up to from the beginning of my career, I would say no one,’ Field said. ‘I didn’t see fashion that way. I felt fashion.’”

Rise: Sean McGirr (Dazed Digital)
“It’s no coincidence that Candy Nippon in Tokyo and Immense in Taipei – two of Japan’s most closely watched boutiques – have Sean McGirr’s A/W 2011 collection hanging from the clothes hangers. Titled ‘The Adolescent Years’, it draws from the Oriental kimono silhouette and shares a sensibility with Japanese fashion that gives it an uncanny autonomy.”

Dries Van Noten Spring/Summer 2012 | Source: Style.com

Dries Van Noten: Illuminating a Cityscape (IHT)
“Dries Van Noten’s show Wednesday was a magnificent sweep of imagination and invention compressed into elegant, modern clothes. There is no doubt that Paris, which comes last on the international calendar, holds the creative corner… What is required to succeed here is an exceptional vision and the ability of an established designer to change without breaking an identity.”

Inside Dior, fashion’s besieged atelier (Telegraph)
“For reasons it must wish didn’t exist, Christian Dior has been the most-talked about fashion house of 2011. From the moment the footage of John Galliano’s racist outburst went viral in March, the house has been under siege. Galliano’s guilty verdict a few weeks ago only intensified speculation about his replacement.”

A Model Business (China International Business)
“China is the world’s fastest-growing fashion market and the crème-de-la crème of the sector are all flocking here in search of business opportunities. Even the grande dame herself, American Vogue editor Anna Wintour, came last year — the fashion-world equivalent of a state visit — and was blown away by the buzz of energy and creativity.”

Tablets: Ultimate Buying Machines (WSJ)
“Retailers have found an interesting characteristic of consumers who browse their websites using tablets: They’re much more likely to pull the trigger on purchases than other online shoppers… Tablets still account for only a small percentage of overall e-commerce, but they are punching above their weight. While the conversion rate—orders divided by total visits—is 3% for shoppers using a traditional PC, it is 4% or 5% for shoppers using tablets.”

Fashion Bloggers, Posted and Represented (NY Times)
“Indeed, seemingly every fashion brand is working with bloggers these days, including mainstream brands like the Gap (which featured the avant-garde-leaning Susie Bubble in a campaign), DKNY (which hired the photo blogger Jamie Beck to shoot behind the scenes at its recent runway show)… But deciding which opportunities to accept can be tricky for bloggers, who risk overexposure and being seen as a corporate shill. A blogger’s influence is derived from independence.”

Marc Jacobs | Source: Fashionfreax.net

Marc Jacobs To Dior? (Huffington Post)
“The question of who will take the top job at Dior has remained since Galliano’s ousting. But WWD writes that meetings between Dior representatives from LVMH, the luxury conglomerate that owns the Christian Dior label as well as Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs and a host of other top brands, and Jacobs’ legal representatives are set to take place this week in Paris.”

Carine Roitfeld by Karl Lagerfeld (Interview)
“Although Carine Roitfeld is no longer the editor of French Vogue, she remains steadily at the perch of the fashion world, standing atop those super-high bondage-referencing heels that she partly made a staple of Parisian style. But la femme parisienne, which Roitfeld very much is, makes her own ground wherever she walks.”

Cut from a different cloth (FT)
“What happens when bespoke is not enough? As the ability to personalise everything from your trainers to your trench has become democratised thanks to the internet, those in search of the truly special – the ne plus ultraof made-to-order – have become frustrated. Even more so as their old go-to solution, the tailor, has been constrained by the increasing homogeneity of cloth.”

J. Crew’s Canadian shoppers balk at higher prices (The Globe and Mail)
“J. Crew has raised its merchandise prices by about 15 per cent in its Canadian store and on its new Canadian e-commerce site compared with those at its U.S. outlets. For online customers, taxes and duties raised the final price for orders in some cases by as much as 50 per cent compared with the U.S. site they previously ordered from.”

Summer Scouting (On the Runway)
“F.N.O. was a good idea when it began, back in the depths of the recession when stores were virtually empty. But now it’s become a party, an institutionalized kickoff to Fashion Week, and though it apparently raises money for some causes, I have to believe that the costs of security, crowd control and entertainment, not to mention the traffic headaches, outweigh the actual benefits.”