Givenchy Couture by Riccardo Tisci, Autumn/Winter 2011-12 | Source: Givenchy

Givenchy: Pure is Beautiful (IHT)
“Mr. Tisci’s vision of asking the impossible from his ateliers is part of the story. But the main thread of his collection is the link to those few, rare customers who are searching for the exceptional. And that suddenly seems like 21st century haute couture.”

Burberry faces shareholder revolt over ‘excessive’ executive pay (Guardian)
“Burberry faces a revolt over executive pay after a lobby group urged its members to vote against the luxury fashion house’s remuneration plans… Pirc, which advises pension funds and asset managers, described rewards for executives as ‘excessive’.”

The New Value of Being ‘Made In Britain…’? (Popsop)
“…The luxury sector as a whole—does indeed seem to be bucking the retail trend… In 2006, British brand Burberry was pilloried for moving its production to China… The brand is increasingly using its British’ness as currency around the world while increasingly looking to the Far East for sales.”

Giorgio Armani dedicates new collection to Japan’s Tsunami Victims (Guardian)
“Giorgio Armani has been attempting to get couture to look outside its rarefied environment by dedicating his Privé couture collection to recovery efforts in Japan… Fashion brands will often make a nod to charity, but Armani’s theming of the entire couture collection around a single cause is a highly unusual move.”

Rei Kawabuko, Artist & Visionary (Fashionably Marketing)
“Through a diverse portfolio of work, spanning just short of four decades, Kawakubo has positioned herself not only as one of the top three Japanese designers of our time, situated right up there with Issey Miyake and Yohji Yamamoto,  but also a true artist and visionary.”

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.”

Cravates Hermès | Source: Vintage Linens

Why Do We Care About Luxury Brands? (Wired)
“There’s now suggestive evidence that our faith in the authentic – especially when the authenticity is supported by effective marketing campaigns – is a deep seated human instinct, which emerges at an extremely early age.”

Champagne corks popping again in luxury business (AFP)
“Champagne corks are popping again in the luxury business as “It” bags and expensive watches this year sell like hotcakes from Beijing to New York, signalling the turning of a page after the global financial crisis.”

Pugh’s Store Debut (Vogue.com)
“Because it was my first store, I knew I had to do something that was very me… I went back to my runway shows and thought, ‘what could be more me than a black box?”

Sally Singer Makes First Major Hires at T (Fashionologie)
“It doesn’t appear that Sally Singer will be pillaging the ranks of Vogue — or even Conde Nast, for that matter — when it comes to stocking her team at T.”

The fashion world’s first transsexual supermodel (Guardian)
“If this Brazilian bombshell is causing such a stir it is perhaps because there is more to her than meets the eye. Lea T was born Leandro and, as well as being a model and a muse, she is an out and proud transsexual.”

Givenchy Haute Couture Fall 2010 | Source: Style.com

Skeletons, Family and Religion (IHT)
“There was little of the sharp tailoring associated with Givenchy, where Mr. Tisci has been the creative director for five years… In an interview, the designer explained his vision.”

Perrone Quits as CEO of Italian Suitmaker Brioni (Bloomberg)
“Perrone, the 40-year-old grandson of Brioni co-founder Gaetano Savini, was appointed sole CEO in July last year, replacing a governing committee, of which he was part. The move was partly to accelerate decision-making, he said at the time.”

IT Holding Administrators Extend Bid Deadline for Ferré (Bloomberg)
“Administrators for IT Holding, the Italian fashion company being reorganized under government- backed bankruptcy protection, extended the deadline for binding offers for the Gianfranco Ferré label.”

Apple’s Appvertising Takes Off (Brand Channel)
“To make iAd advertising as effective as possible, Apple is looking to mesh interaction with emotion… Apple is reportedly ‘studying the buying habits’ of 150 million iTune users so it can target its mobile ads.”

Slow fashion: forever yours (Guardian)
“The concept of fast fashion – the hunger for a cheap Saturday night top that gets bought, worn once or twice and swiftly dumped – is fast fading. In its place we have slow fashion, the pre-eminence of terminally stylish designs with lasting appeal.”

Marc Jacobs | Source: FT

A New Marc Jacobs? (FT)
“‘I can’t do everything, and I’m not good at everything… I feel like what I do creates some sort of direction for the company, and that’s good, and then I can leave it to other people to interpret.’”

Why Givenchy is more desirable than ever (NZ Herald)
“Givenchy struggled to reinvent itself for over a decade, but today – with Riccardo Tisci at the helm – the designer label is experiencing its finest moment in years.”

Coach sues city of Chicago over counterfeit bags (Reuters)
“Coach Inc, the maker of leather handbags and other goods, sued the city of Chicago this week for allowing the sale of counterfeit goods at the New Maxwell Street Market, about two miles southwest of the downtown Loop.”

Resurgent female shoppers swing Ann Taylor to profit (Market Watch)
“Women’s clothing retailer Ann Taylor Stores Corp. on Friday swung to a first-quarter profit, helped by resurgent demand for women’s clothing and an updated merchandise assortment that spurred shoppers to pay full price.”

Civil Rights | Brand New Dandies (T Magazine)
“This week marks the debut of Social Primer for Brooks Brothers, a collection of bowties created in collaboration with the ultimate WASP-y men’s store and K. Cooper Ray, the dapper Southern-born men’s-wear blogger.”

Givenchy's Autumn/Winter 2010 Campaign | Source: Givenchy

Tisci’s Trans Europe Express (WWD)
“Givenchy designer Riccardo Tisci has taken the whole idea of ‘coed fashion shoot’ to another level: The designer is using a transexual among the cast for the house’s fall-winter ad campaign.”

Jones Apparel to buy Stuart Weitzman (Reuters)
“Jones Apparel Group Inc. said it will buy designer shoe company Stuart Weitzman Holdings for an initial cash payment of $180 million, in a bid to expand its reach into luxury goods.”

Fast Retailing Shares May Fall After Uniqlo Sales Drop (Bloomberg)
“Fast Retailing Co., Japan’s largest clothing chain operator, may fall in Tokyo trading after the company blamed cold weather for a domestic sales drop at its Uniqlo chain.”

Tory Burch interview: America’s new fashion sweetheart (Telegraph)
“You might not recognise the chic, Hitchcock-esque blonde sitting poker-straight in Claridge’s tea room in London, but to millions of Americans she is a veritable style icon.”

Katie The Genius (Dazed Digital)
“The much lauded London-based menswear designer Katie Eary is now participating in the first ever public fashion funding scheme from Catwalk Genius.”

Chanel Haute Couture show, courtesy of The New York Times

Chanel, Now and Then (New York Times)
Cathy Horyn discusses the future of Chanel with Karl Lagerfeld.

Louis Vuitton, Cartier Are Preferred by Chinese, Survey Shows (Bloomberg)
“Louis Vuitton and Cartier are the top choices of Chinese consumers for purchases as their thirst for luxury goods remains unabated in the global economic crisis, a survey commissioned by Ruder Finn Asia showed.”

Sir Philip Green cautious on autumn trading (Drapers)
“Arcadia owner Sir Philip Green is cautious about trading in the final quarter of 2009 and is concerned about how shoppers will react to price increases this autumn.”

Givenchy by Riccardo Tisci a/w 09/10 collection (Telegraph)
“A light breeze whipped away the billowing black and white chiffon robes and Arabic headgear, revealing gilded, jewelled armour and crowns, at the Givenchy haute couture collection for autumn/winter 2009/10 in Paris this afternoon.”

E-retailers find big brands hard to touch (FT)
“Anyone with a computer and something to sell, they said, had a good shot at taking market share away from the big brands. But progress has been slow and the reality is proving a little different.”

Givenchy A/W 2009, courtesy of Coutorture

PARIS, France — Sitting through the Paris collections, I was struck by how unappealing much of it seemed.

I find that the editors who attend shows season after season get caught up in analysing a brand in terms of its recent history. Has it moved on, they ask? Where is it going? The ultimate compliment they pay is: “I’d wear that.”

Now that I’m slightly removed from the day-to-day of it all, I tend to sit there and think the slightly more practical: Would I pay for that? And I have to say, much of it I wouldn’t.

I can appreciate the cut of a Rick Owens jacket, but do I have to have it? In these times above all? No. What appears on the runway is supposed to be an indicator of the times. But what I saw (and I didn’t see everything) made me think fashion is more cut off reality than one would expect.

What should credit crunch fashion be? All I know is what I want. I want a dress that says lighten up, because everything else seems too heavy.  I don’t want intellectual fashion. I have enough to think about as it is.
I don’t want hard fashion because life is tough enough.

I want a dress that feels like a whisper. That says forget about all the uncertainty in life, put me on and go out, have fun. And I’d be willing to pay a lot for that dress.

From what I hear, US retailers are equally confounded by what they see on the runways and in showrooms. Budgets have been slashed, and what’s left is being spent on the big designers who control their floor space, leaving little room for autonomy or creative buying decisions.

Is it any wonder these stores are performing so poorly?

Lauren Goldstein Crowe is co-author of a book on Jimmy Choo to be published by Bloomsbury later this year

Sara Ferrero, CEO of Joseph Group

LONDON, United Kingdom — Sara Ferrero is one of those once rare but increasingly common fashion executives who spent the early part of their careers outside the fashion industry. After six years at McKinsey & Company, the management consultancy, she entered the fashion business at Furla, the Italian accessories brand. Under her leadership, Furla’s retail sales tripled to over 360 million euros in less than five years.

Last year, Joseph, the London-based fashion retailer, tapped Ferrero as its new CEO, and since then she has been executing on a plan to revive the once-hip chain to its former glory. With more than 120 stores scattered across several countries, and a turnover of over £85 million, the Joseph Group is an important player on the global fashion scene. But in recent years, Joseph had somewhat lost the original excitement that drew the fashion hordes under the brand’s charismatic founder and namesake, Joseph Ettedgui back in the 1970s.

I spoke to Sara at the Joseph showroom to get the inside scoop on her strategy to take Joseph back its roots, starting with its store in London’s Westbourne Grove, which celebrated its official launch during London Fashion Week.

BoF: Why did you decide to take on this challenge now?

There is so much in the essence of this brand. I was actually living here in London in the early 1990′s and at the time, Joseph at Fulham 77 was the place to go if you wanted to be cool. It was known for this kind-of chic take on fashion, with a sophisticated sexual undertone.

When the opportunity arose to join Joseph, I couldn’t resist because, as a former customer, I knew exactly where this business came from and where it needed to return. Even today, amongst most international fashion-savvy customers, there is a brand memory for Joseph as a fashion leader and trend-setter.

Joseph himself was a fashion curator known for bringing the best brands of the time — Alaia, Prada, Marni, Kenzo — together in one-place, carefully selecting the styles from each collection to create an offering that reflected his own distinctive fashion point-of-view . He combined this with the development of great separate pieces under his own name. Eventually Joseph also became known for these basics with a twist, like a great pair of pants. Finally, all of this was delivered all of this within truly impressive retail spaces.

In essence, Joseph invented the idea of the concept store as we know it today — before Colette; before 10 Corso Como.

BoF: So, what happened at Joseph in the intervening years prior to your arrival?

After operating independently for almost 20 years, in the late 1990s Joseph and his brothers (who owned the business together) decided to take on some prominent private investors from France, who bought 50 percent of the equity. In the years after that, the business was diffused a bit and the stores started to lose their special feel.

Then in 2005, Onward Kashiyama, the Japanese company that also owns Jil Sander and GIBO, bought both parties’ stake and Joseph left the business. By now, the stores had become too safe and began to lose the directional point-of-view altogether.

BoF: Now you are trying to re-capture that cool factor.  What are your plans to get it back?

There are three elements to my strategy.

First, we needed to find a fashion curator of Joseph’s calibre. For this, I turned to Alain Snege, who previously was a buyer for Colette in Paris. Just like Joseph, Alain has a strong point-of-view, and his direction is now reflected in our stores merchandising and look-and-feel.

Second, we needed to re-energise our retail spaces. We have some amazing locations, on Fulham, Sloane Street, Westbourne Grove, Old Bond Street in London and avenue Montaigne, rue St Honore and boulevard St Germain in Paris, but our stores started to feel boring. We have identified 8 stores which will be completely re-furbished and stocked with products specially selected for their clientele and environment. Each store will look and feel different, but they will all have a strong Joseph point-of-view.

Finally, we will also return to our focus on the Joseph own-label as a place for customers to find great fashion pieces styled together with basics to ensure relevant looks for today but also items that they can turn to time and time again, at prices which are competitive and deliver good value. I expect that our own brand component will compete with new, upcoming Contemporary brands from around the world, like 3.1 Phillip Lim, Alexander Wang and Isabel Marant.

BoF: But admittedly, it’s an odd-time to be relaunching a high-end fashion chain that stocks Balmain and Givenchy, some of the priciest brands on the planet, isn’t it?

To the contrary. Our sales numbers for designer brands are up 67% for Spring/Summer 2009, which reflects our new buying strategy. We sell 2-3 pieces of Balmain, Alaia and Givenchy every day and we have bought more than anyone else in London. Our customers are still spending, although they are certainly being more careful.

What’s more, we are doing special collaborations with many of our brands, including Alexander Wang, David Szeto and Comme des Garcons. We will have product that nobody else will have. On the retail side, we are collaborating with Tom Dixon for the refurbishment of our Bond Street Store opening next Friday.  This is not only a commercial effort, we also believe in supporting the creative talents that we believe in, something that Joseph was also known for.

BoF: What about online retail?

Just like our flagship retail stores, the new online presence for Joseph will reflect the fashion point-of-view that we will become known for, and it will be going live soon, so stay tuned!

CEO Talk is an ongoing series of discussions with fashion entrepreneurs and business leaders as they combat the economic downturn. Previous interviews are listed below:

• Natalie Massenet, Chairman and Founder, Net-a-Porter
• Camilla Skovgaard, Shoe designer and Entrepreneur
• Susan Lyne, Chief Executive Officer, Gilt Groupe
• Priya Kishore, Founder and Creative Director, Bombay Electric
• Alex Bolen, Chief Executive Officer, Oscar de la Renta
• Jeffrey Kapelman, Chief Executive Officer, Hilldun Corporation
• Bonnie Takhar, Chief Executive Officer and President, Halston

It’s been a blisteringly busy Paris fashion week here at the BoF, but we’ve been taking everything in and can finally share some of our views on all the action — and the business implications. This season, we were most interested in Balenciaga and Givenchy — the new Paris establishment — and the series of brand revivalists – including Stuart Vevers at Loewe, Estaban Cortazar at Ungaro and Alessandra Facchinetti at Valentino. Today, the new establishment. Tomorrow, the brand revivalists.

After what was widely considered a tour-de-force from Nicolas Ghesquiere  last season, the anticipation was building for a Balenciaga for A/W 2008. He did not disappoint, picking up on last season’s modern, sculpted silhouette (which, incidentally has also popped up in other collections this season from Marchesa to Bruno Pieters) and producing a more wearable, but still distinctive, collection. Ghesquiere is solidifying his place as the leader of the new Paris establishment.

Perhaps one reason why Ghesquiere is beginning to focus on gradually channeling his outstanding ideas in a more commercial direction (and we mean that in the best sense) is because he is reported to have about a 10% stake in the business. It’s very smart for designers to have their interests aligned with the brand owners. Everybody wins.

Then last night, Riccardo Tisci wowed the 900 people who assembled at Le Carreau du Temple with a genius collection for Givenchy. A new square runway format allowed almost everyone to take in the slick tailoring with ruffles and rouching up close. You could almost reach out and touch Tisci’s new signature for Givenchy.

He also allowed the Givenchy girl to add a bit of a muted colour palette to her wardrobe and there were no signs of a polkadot or Swiss-cheese fabric in sight, though some of the later looks were perhaps a bit heavy on the embellishment.

On our way out, we saw Carine Roitfeld racing towards the backstage area, with a huge smile on her face. The designer she has been supporting since his debut at Givenchy had proven her instincts correct. But while Tisci can be credited with the successful revival of Givenchy, credit must also go to a brand with a great heritage and CEO who meshes very well with the designer.

This powerful troika should have the cash registers at Givenchy’s new Paris store on the rue du Faubourg St Honore ringing like the one-armed bandits in Las Vegas. At tonight’s store opening, a super-chic elegant crowd, sporting Givenchy looks and those oh-so-hot Givenchy bags, feted the designer once again in the understated, minimalist space that lets the clothes, shoes and bags do all the talking.