Gilt App Screen Shot | Source: Gilt Groupe

Mobile, Tablets Lead Holiday Charge (WWD)
“Holiday shopping has given new meaning to the term ‘click and order.’ In addition to a rise in the number of consumers and the average amount spent per buyer… Overall increases in online spending were fueled by other factors such as a surge in mobile and tablet commerce transactions, luxury brands that typically don’t discount, tiered sale offerings that offer deeper discounts the more you spend and an upsurge in the use of social media platforms.”

A Danish Fairy Tale Gone Awry (NY Times)
“It was a feat that made even skeptics believe in the power of a charm bracelet: a selection of 600 charms, in various combinations of gold, silver, wood and glass, cast in intricate shapes and designs, imbued with gems or semiprecious stones, transformed Pandora from a family-run jewelry shop in Copenhagen to a multibillion-dollar international brand.”

Forever 21 commits to opening three stores in China (LA Times)
“Forever 21 Inc. is opening a flagship store in Beijing, part of the company’s plan to reenter the world’s largest emerging consumer market… The expansion marks Forever 21′s second attempt to crack the China market. The company briefly operated a store in Changshu. But company officials closed it two years ago after concluding that the location was too remote and the store too small.”

Not Another One? (Vogue)
“It seems Emanuel Ungaro has lost yet another senior figure, as ceo Jeffry Aronsson – who arrived in June to attempt to ‘heal the bruises’ of the couture label – is reported to have departed. Aronsson, formerly of Donna Karan, Marc Jacobs and Oscar de la Renta.”

Poshmark Style App Turns Closets Into Marketplaces (Forbes)
“Startup Poshmark, founded by veterans of startup Kaboodle, has a new mobile app that aims to make it extremely easy for people to buy and sell clothing–all through the mobile phone… Poshmark founder and CEO Manish Chandra calls the service a mobile ‘marketplace for fashion,’ which is designed to take the friction out of selling clothing online.”

Hermès Scores Victory in Battle With LVMH (NY Times)
“Hermès won a major victory Thursday in its battle to torpedo a potential takeover by its larger rival LVMH after a court cleared the French luxury group’s plans to create a holding company that will lock in descendants of the founding family for 20 years.”

Ungaro Departure (Vogue UK)
“Giles Deacon has left his position as creative director of Emanuel Ungaro… Deacon’s successor at Ungaro has not yet been named, but he or she will be the sixth designer in as many years to take the helm of the brand – after high-profile departures by Giambattista Valli, Vincent Darré,  Peter Dundas, Esteban Cortazar and Estrella Archs.”

Luxury brands must wake up to ethical and environmental responsibilities (Guardian)
“While high street brands such as Gap and Primark have long been the target of anti-sweat shop campaigners, luxury brands from Armani to Valentino have largely managed to evade the ethical spotlight and have yet to be inconvenienced by reputation-damaging sweatshop scandals.”

For a Day, It’s All Good (NY Times)
“Wednesday was a double-bonus day with outstanding shows from Ralph Rucci and Proenza Schouler. The next morning, Ralph Lauren concocted one of his romances out of straw picnic purses and robin’s egg blue, ending it with a gown as triumphant as the Chrysler Building.”

Fashion bloggers to spur online luxury sales (Reuters)
“Fashion bloggers will help propel online sales of designer clothes, jewels and luxury cars to more than 11 billion euros ($15 billion) in 2015. The exclusive fashion world has embraced the Internet later than other industries but is catching up quickly… Blogs and social media are setting trends more than fashion critics, with one out of two customers turning to Facebook or Twitter for advice before buying, the study said.”

Christian Lacroix's Theodora Collection for Sicis, detail | Source: eRoom

Wanted: a Second Chance (WSJ)
“It’s the fear of every high-achieving professional: excelling, reaching the pinnacle of your field—and, the next day, having to start over… Many designers say the key to their reinvention came from using skills, interests and contacts from their earlier lives—without stopping for regrets. ‘Nothing’s a bad experience and nothing is a waste of time.’”

More Target Than Tar-zhay? (WSJ)
“The chain that made it trendy to shop for low-priced designer clothing and mod lamps while picking up detergent and toothpaste has been struggling to gain back its pre-recession sales strength… It was these apparel and decorating items—mixing mass with class—that set Target apart and allowed it to be one of the few discount chains to thrive against Wal-Mart.”

Five Online Retail Trends Shaping The Way Americans Shop & Save (FMM)
“Fueled by new technology and an evolving social media shopping sphere, e-commerce reported record sales last year… This new breed of brand deals and coupons is changing the way consumers shop and save money. Here’s a look at five online retail trends that are shaping a new type of consumer — those who expect special rates and lower prices.”

Jeffry Aronsson in at Ungaro (Vogue UK)
“Emanuel Ungaro has appointed a new CEO – former Donna Karan, Marc Jacobs and Oscar de la Renta chief executive Jeffry Aronsson… ‘We have an authentic, world renowned haute couture designer brand with a great heritage… Yes, it has been bruised, but with the right care and attention, the bruises will heal and it will look as great as it ever did.’”

Innovation Extravaganza (Trend Watching)
“There will never be a shortage of smart ventures, brands, goods and services that deliver on consumers’ wants and needs in surprising, new ways. In fact, with the entire world now engaged in creative destruction… the dozens of innovations we’ve rounded up for this Trend Briefing are just the tip of the iceberg. Invent, improve, copy… or perish.”

From the Cartier Collection, Richemont Group | Source: Cartier

Richemont’s Rupert to Take Over as CEO; Profit Slumps (Bloomberg)
“Richemont SA, the world’s largest jewelry maker, said Chairman Johann Rupert will replace Norbert Platt as chief executive officer in April, taking more control amid the deepest recession since the 1930s… Richemont’s first-half profit fell 60 percent.”

In downturn, luxury brand Bally eyes Asia and beyond (Reuters)
“Fresh from a makeover, luxury leather goods and clothing label Bally is out to woo fashionable Asians, but not at the expense of European and American customers who have been harder hit by the downturn.”

Bulgari shines after results, broker targets (Reuters)
“Shares in Italian jeweller Bulgari rise more than 4 percent after the company returns to a net profit in the third quarter and analysts raise their price targets on the stock.”

Lindsay Lohan at Ungaro a disaster: designer (Independent)
“Hollywood bad girl Lindsay Lohan’s first collection as artistic advisor for Emanuel Ungaro was a “disaster”, the founder of the French couture house said here, local press reported.”

Winner of Swiss Textile Award – Alexander Wang: Too cool for school (Independent)
“While some designers look to the past or future, Alexander Wang is as right here, right now as it gets. The American designer is zeitgeisty, he’s of the moment and in fashion-speak he’s also having a moment; quite an extended one to judge by his growing popularity.”

International Flags

Multinationalism in Fashion’s Tribes (New York Times)
“On the face of it, the recent G-20 meeting had nothing on Paris Fashion Week. In terms of a concentration of nations and cultures, there are few rivals to this weeklong summit for which the wildly disparate tribes of fashion converge from all corners of the world. By contrast, even New York’s Fashion Week looks like a county fair.”

LVMH, Dior executives upbeat on top brands (Reuters)
“Luxury executives voiced optimism about the outlook for LVMH and Dior at Paris fashion week on Friday, thanks partly to strong growth in Asia.”

Maria Luisa at Printemps (New York Times)
“For two decades, designers have ruled the roost at department stores. But a brand new venture at Printemps is giving authority back to the shopkeepers.”

A Controversial Debut for Lohan in Paris (New York Times)
“When Lindsay Lohan’s controversial appointment as artistic adviser of the French label was announced last month, Mounir Moufarrige, the new chief executive of Ungaro, said his intention was to give the aging brand the equivalent of ‘electric shock treatment.’”

French Connection to close Japan stores (Drapers)
“French Connection is to close its 21 stores in Japan over the next nine months and is looking for a licensee to operate the brand in the Japanese market.”

African Wealth and African Style at a Glamorous Juncture (New York Times)
“Sub-Saharan Africa does not bring to mind an image of a woman with perfectly manicured nails flipping through glossy magazines in search of the latest handbag or celebrity haircut. Yet such women are there, and in far greater numbers than the news media’s portrayal of Africa might suggest.”