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.

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