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. “

Louis Vuitton's Young Arts Project, REcreative | Source: REcreative

Calling all aspiring artists: Louis Vuitton launches just the site for you (Telegraph)
“REcreative, www.recreativeuk.com, has been devised and developed over the past year… Aspiring artists can upload their work and share it with the online community in the ‘Projects’ section of the site, where leading artists and critics will select their favourite works to highlight.”

Labelux boosts fashion M&A (M&A)
“Mergers and acquisitions activity in the fashion sector maintained its surge with the purchase of English outerwear company Belstaff by Swiss luxury goods business Labelux. The undisclosed deal follows on from the recent retail acquisition surge, with the purhcases of Kurt Geiger, Moncler and Labelux’s own purchase of Jimmy Choo.”

Ferragamo gets go-ahead for Milan IPO (Reuters)
“Salvatore Ferragamo said on Thursday it had received clearance from market regulator Consob for what could be the first initial public offering in Milan this year. The Tuscan family-run maker of fine leather shoes, valued by analysts at around 1.5 billion euros.”

J. Crew reports 1Q loss on clearance pricing (MSNBC)
“Preppy clothing seller J. Crew Group Inc. said Thursday it swung to a loss in the first quarter as it marked down clothes to clear out excess inventory and took charges related to being acquired. The company, which went private in March… said net loss totaled $29.9 million.”

British fashion world pays tribute to the Telegraph’s Hilary Alexander (Telegraph)
“Last night at London’s St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel, the great and the good – and the drop dead fabulous – of the British Fashion industry gathered to pay tribute to the Daily Telegraph fashion director, Hilary Alexander’s remarkable career.”

Looks from Asda's Summer 2011 George Collection | Source: Asda

Asda set to explore fashion franchise (Belfast Telegraph)
“Supermarket chain Asda has unveiled plans to open its first George stores overseas as it looks to turn the fashion label into a major global brand… Asda said George is now the third best-selling clothes brand by volume in the UK.”

Traditional Fashion PR Is Dead, Wanna Survive? (Fashionably Marketing Me)
“In order to survive in today’s increasingly diffuse digital media marketplace, it seems clear that PR pros need to adapt their tactics. Gone are the days when press releases communicated information that was generally unavailable in other places.”

5 Best Practices for Fashion Retailers on Facebook (Mashable)
“But how can retailers optimize their Facebook presence? Should they focus on entertainment and product, or is it best utilized as a customer service channel? How far should they engage? Is it too early to think of Facebook as a sales tool?”

The twins who took on the fashion world… and won (Independent)
“‘Mary-Kate and Ashley have great personal style…and their über-cool ready-to-wear collections reflect this. They offer beautifully made pieces with an emphasis on clean lines and refined cuts, and have become one of the must-have labels for those in the know.’”

Chinese models stride the catwalk – but does it matter? (Guardian)
“‘It’s not that the increasing visibility of Asian models doesn’t matter, it’s just that it doesn’t matter enough… In celebrating a few exceptional editorials, I think we can become complacent to the racial and economic asymmetries that organise the fashion industry at large.’”

Dries Van Noten Autumn/Winter 2011 | Source: Style.com

A Fresh Breeze of Change (IHT)
“This gentle zephyr is bringing a new fashion attitude. Out goes outré, excess and over-elaborate shows. In comes the quiet, no-fuss presentation of pleasing clothes. Freshness is the best word to describe what seems of the moment. Add to that ‘decency,’ meaning that any hint of ‘vulgarity chic’ has gone — and you get the new mood.”

Fashion Retailer Asos Sets Up Shop on Facebook (Business Week)
“The U.K. clothing site is the first European fashion retailer to open an e-tailing outpost inside the social network… the hip, London-based online clothing site became the first European fashion retailer to open an e-tailing outpost inside Facebook. Competitors such as Gap and Inditex’s Zara use the networking site largely to communicate with fans.”

Whiteley moves to Givenchy (Evening Standard)
“When Sue Whiteley was 13, she bunked off school and went to buy a pair of designer trousers, having saved up her pocket money for six months. Today, some 30 years later, she bestrides the world of luxury fashion, as the newly announced head of Givenchy… [Within] LVMH, Givenchy is second only to Dior.”

Kim Jones takes the helm at Louis Vuitton menswear (Telegraph)
“Jones, 31, previously designed for Uniqlo, Mulberry, Alexander McQueen, Hugo Boss, Umbro and Topman, before moving to Alfred Dunhill in 2008. A fashion all-rounder, Jones has also contributed both as stylist and art director for magazines… and was awarded Menswear Designer of the Year by the British Fashion Council in 2006 and 2009.”

John Galliano Exits the Way That He Entered (NY Times)
“In circumstances like these, a sensible millionaire designer would have jumped into his chauffeured car and gone to his boss and pleaded insanity, whereupon he would have been given an all-expense-paid trip to rehab. But that’s just it: Mr. Galliano is not a sensible man, any more than fashion chiefs are missionaries.”

Jean Schlumberger Leaf ring | Source: Tiffany & Co.

Big spenders returning to the luxury fold (Globe and Mail)
“In the depth of the recession, Tiffany & Co. struggled to sell $3,200 diamond earrings and $12,000 bangles, while it fared better with $100 silver necklaces. Today, the situation is reversed, as the high-end retailer grapples with softer sales of jewellery under $500.”

Is Issa in Line for Throne? (NY Times)
“The label is ‘truly the Diane Von Furstenberg of the Sloaney set… something a well-bred and not terribly adventurous woman can reliably wear to polo matches or garden parties (or a really big press conference).’”

Should luxury brands explore Facebook as a retail channel? (Luxury Daily)
“Luxury brands have started to explore Facebook’s viability as a retail channel as the social network continues to position itself as the one stop shop for communications, networking and marketing on the Internet.”

Prada Nine-Month Net Triples (Bloomberg)
“Prada… said nine-month profit “tripled” as shoppers in Asia spent more on its products. Net income rose to 156 million euros ($208.2 million)… Revenue increased 31 percent to 1.39 billion euros. Sales grew in all markets.”

A Chronicler of Fashion Turns to the Heart (NY Times)
‘If you photograph a woman in a dress… it raises the question, ‘What are you saying about that woman?’ It sends a message. If you’re any kind of photographer, you are an activist.’