Jaeger Summer 2010 | Source: Jaeger

Jaeger says sales picking up, eyes expansion (Reuters)
“British luxury brand Jaeger has seen a strong pick up in sales in recent weeks, it said on Wednesday as it posted a 16 percent rise in annual earnings and outlined plans to expand internationally and online.”

Saks recovers with stronger merchandising, consumer appeal (Medill Reports)
“Luxury department store Saks Inc. recovered from a year-ago loss to post a first-quarter profit Tuesday, beating Wall Street expectations. The… retailer reported earnings of $18.9 million.”

Joanna Sykes appointed designer at Aquascutum (Telegraph)
“Sykes is British, educated at [CSM] in the nineties and learned how to do things in a European luxury-goods house (Armani in Milan). All that puts her in the demographic to which her sister alumni who…. are on a quietly feminist mission to bring a bit of sense to fashion.”

Ad Pages Go Up and Down (WWD)
“Fashion magazines are still in recovery mode, but things are looking up: most titles posted an increase in ad pages during the first half of 2010 — that is, compared with the dregs of 2009 and the numbers are still far off the good ole days of 2008.”

Maison Martin Margiela exhibition at Somerset House (Telegraph)
“A London retrospective will show off Maison Martin Margiela’s 20 years of radical design… Martin Margiela delights and confounds in equal measures.”

Zac Posen for Target Spring/Summer 2010 | Source: Refinery 29

Mom, I’ll Make a Profit Soon (WSJ)
“Mrs. Posen has been pressing for more attention to the commercial side—as opposed to the artistic side—of fashion. The company has added new lines, shed expenses and employees, and even moved some production from Italy to China to save money.”

Jaeger targets younger shoppers (FT)
“Boutique by Jaeger aims to compete with high street stores such as Whistles, Reiss and All Saints, but also with diffusion ranges from upmarket designers such as Marc by Marc Jacobs and See by Chloé.”

Anya Hindmarch designs a collection of coats for Barbour (Telegraph)
“Hindmarch, who launched her own label at the age of 19, in 1993, has created four exclusive designs for Barbour’s autumn/winter 2010 collection.”

Seventies Chic, Eighties Excess—Here’s Where It All Started (Style.com)
“Saillard’s latest show presents ‘an ideal history of contemporary fashion’ of the seventies and eighties, seen through films of the era’s shows and television reports.”

Primark owner’s shares fall after City criticism of fast-fashion chain (Telegraph)
“Primark has long been held up as the retail success story of the millennium, but yesterday the fast-fashion chain suffered a rare piece of City criticism when analysts at Deutsche Bank suggested it was overvalued.”

Palazzo Fendi, Rome | Source CPP-Luxury

The Future of Fendi: Hotels, Men’s line and F project (CPP-Luxury)
“Michael Burke, CEO of FENDI confirmed in a recent interview the relaunch in 2010 of the men’s line which was stopped earlier this year,” as well as the extension of the F Factory and a new hotel concept.

Replay majority stake bought by new investors (Drapers)
“An acquisition vehicle has bought a majority 60% stake in Fashion Box SpA the owner of denim brands Replay, We Are Replay and Replay & Sons denim. The acquisition vehicle, Equibox Holding, is controlled by Matteo and Massimo Sinigaglia, who were partners in the Replay footwear business, and Wolfgang Friedrichs, who was a partner in Replay’s German operation.”

Business Diary: Matteo Marzotto (FT)
“Matteo Marzotto spent 17 years at his family business, the Marzotto Group, most recently as president of Valentino, the fashion label the group bought in 2002. In 2008 he left Valentino after it was sold to Permira Private Equity, and purchased the fashion house Vionnet.”

Jaeger set sights on Europe (Drapers)
“Jaeger, the British heritage brand, is set to re-enter the European market after revealing sales are on an improving trend. Jaeger, which was bought by British Fashion Council chairman Harold Tillman in 2003 for a nominal sum, has reported a 9% rise in sales in the 14 weeks to December 11, after strong performances from its London flagship stores in Regent Street and Westfield shopping centre in West London.”

Grace Coddington: the Vogue visionary (Times)
“Even now, months after the release of The September Issue, this year’s cult hit about the making of the September 2007 edition of American Vogue, Grace Coddington, the magazine’s brilliant, but hitherto largely invisible creative director, says that at least five people come up to her on the subway every morning.”

Fashionair.com homepage

Showbiz moguls target the world of style (FT)
“This week pop culture maestro Simon Fuller, the man who created the Spice Girls and the American Idol format, launched his new venture, Fashionair, an online fashion-meets-entertainment platform.”

Web fashionistas are just a click away from high street acceptance (Times)
“Sir Philip Green is famously reluctant to follow slavishly the latest fashionable idea unless it makes good business sense. Asked for his opinion on a social-networking proposal called Mint by fashion students, a site that had won plaudits from hard-nosed types such as Terry Green, Tesco’s fashion supremo, Sir Philip curtly renamed it Skint. It was his shorthand for dismissing it as an extravagance.”

Jaeger chairman eyes Aquascutum bid (Reuters)
“Harold Tillman is considering a bid for 158-year-old fashion brand Aquascutum.”

Celebrity clothing ranges in the men’s market (FT)
“If, thanks to the likes of Kylie Minogue, Jennifer Lopez and Elle MacPherson, the women’s wear market has long accepted direct celebrity involvement, it is – apart from the hip hop and urban clothing market – still a new idea for men’s wear. Until now.”

The Fabric of New York (New York Times)
“The blocks from 34th to 40th Streets between Broadway and Ninth Avenue have been home to America’s fashion industry for more than 100 years. But all that could change. The district is in danger of disappearing, with its factories and workers forced out by landlords seeking higher-paying tenants.”