Chloe Raises the Roof at the Tuileries Tent in Paris | Photo: BoF

LONDON, United Kingdom — It was a fashion season of extreme weather. After the New York Fashion Week schedule was upended, first by an earthquake and then by the State of Emergency declaration that came courtesy of Hurricane Irene, an unprecedented heat wave in Paris threw buyers, editors and bloggers into a wardrobe tailspin.

The American editors were worst off, having packed for the European shows two weeks before Paris with no prior notice of the heat wave that was to come. After a few days of shows in impossibly hot venues, some of them resorted to ripping the sleeves off their outfits or just wearing their ‘airplane clothes.’

Brands tried to ease the pain. Fans were distributed at shows alongside champagne and much to everyone’s relief, Chloe arranged for the roof of the Tuileries tent to be removed for their show, letting in the sun and much welcome breeze. Meanwhile Net-a-Porter, always on top of a new market opportunity, delivered heat wave friendly clothes to editors caught without weather-appropriate attire.

But of course the real action was on the runway and in conversations between BoF and the good and the great of the global fashion tribe at a season filled with its fair share of events and parties.

Without further ado, it’s time to look back at Spring/Summer 2012, the season that was.

1. FASHION’S ENDLESS PLAYGROUND

Louis Vuitton Carrousel | Photo: BoF

At the opening of Marc Jacobs’ stunning show for Louis Vuitton on the last day of Paris Fashion Week, a large circular curtain was lifted to unveil models in dresses as light as feathers, perched coquettishly on white horses that sat atop a highly stylised carrousel. Those assembled gasped with audible pleasure and then erupted into spontaneous applause. But more than a visual delight alone, Mr. Jacobs’ magical set was a clear metaphor for an industry in constant motion, with its endless cycle of fashion shows, not to mention the musical chairs of creative directors moving from house to house.

This was the defining moment of the Spring/Summer 2012 collections, a season during which rumours continued to engulf Mr. Jacobs and other designers at the helm of major fashion houses, including Stefano Pilati, who seems safe — for now.

For others, the news was not so good. Immediately following the Vionnet show, it was announced that Rodolfo Paglialunga had been replaced. And just before Paris Fashion Week, Ungaro announced that the house and Giles Deacon had mutually agreed to part ways. Deacon was Ungaro’s fifth creative director in as many years and The Wall Street Journal reported at the end of September that Ungaro chief executive Jeffry Aronsson believes that “in-house talent can mine Ungaro’s heritage—bright colours, silk prints and sexy draped dresses—better than a high-profile designer from outside.”

But while some brands were severing ties with their creative directors, others were debuting new ones. Olivier Rousteing took the bow at the end of the Balmain show. There were also debuts from former Pringle designer Claire Waight Keller at Chloe and Manish Arora at Paco Rabanne — and, of course, the torrent of industry speculation about Galliano’s soon-to-be-announced replacement at Christian Dior.

2. BUZZ, EDGE AND SPORT COUTURE IN NEW YORK

Altuzarra prints and backpack detail | Photo: BoF

But fashion month begins in New York, which boasts more than 250 shows in a span of eight days, making it by far the busiest and buzziest fashion week of all. As one editor put it to me, “In New York we are great at picking up the leaves and throwing them up in the air and saying, ’It’s Fashion Week!’”

The unofficial kick-off for the Spring/Summer collections happens a couple of days into NY fashion week, with Fashion’s Night Out. Spearheaded by American Vogue, with individual events in almost every retail establishment across the city, it is a format that has been exported around the world. But though it has become a global phenomenon, the return on investment for brands and retailers remains in question. Most designers and retailers said it simply wasn’t worth the expenditure of time and resources, especially at one of the busiest moments in the fashion calendar. Barneys effectively sat this round out, eschewing the kind of elaborate in-store entertainment favoured by other retailers and issuing a statement that they were refocusing all efforts “on the shopping experience” and would donate ten percent of their Fashion’s Night Out sales to a fund for the National September 11 Memorial and Museum.

And with that, the New York shows were on and we entered a weekend of vibrant prints, inspired by places all around the world. It was a colourful vibe that New York designers seemed to have caught from London. But they gave it their own unique, New York spin with mesh fabrics and athletic details, making “sport couture” the buzzword on the lips of editors and buyers everywhere, from Joseph Altuzarra and Rag & Bone, to Alexander Wang, who has made athletic-inspired fashion part of his brand’s identity.

The week’s highlights came from power design duos Proenza Schouler and Rodarte, whose shows are now, deservedly, two of the most anticipated shows of New York Fashion Week. And both Jason Wu and Prabal Gurung took edgy steps forward from the red carpet and ladylike fare of their previous collections. These are some of the names amongst a healthy crop of promising young designers working in New York at the moment, pushing the boundaries of American fashion.

3. LONDON’S SHINING MOMENT

Giles Deacon swan hat, by Stephen Jones | Photo: BoF

It’s a shame that conflict over the global fashion calendar is putting London Fashion Week under threat just as the event really seems to be hitting its stride. This season, fashion stars in London shone brighter than ever, benefitting from the pulsating creativity of designers and digital print artists, who are largely based in the East London neighbourhoods of Hackney, Shoreditch and Dalston.

Of course, previous generations of young London designers were also praised for their creativity, but they were never able to translate this into commercial success. Garments were of poor quality and deliveries were often late. But that seems to be changing now. Indeed, Natalie Massenet, founder of Net-a-Porter told the Financial Times that “if people have been paying attention, they will see there is a new crop of extraordinary talent, which is young and dynamic and have learnt commercialism is not a dirty word.”

Bergdorf Goodman’s Linda Fargo told Suzy Menkes that although she was primarily in town to see Burberry and Tom Ford, it was the young talents who really excited her. “My camera is going and my notepad’s flying,” she said. “Between the prints and the quality, I am blown away.”

Not really ‘emerging’ designers anymore, Christopher Kane, Peter Pilotto, Jonathan Saunders, Giles Deacon and Erdem Moralioglu all put on very strong shows. Mary Katrantzou and Michael van der Ham both pushed their signature techniques forward. And the two new names in London that everyone was watching were JW Anderson (who put on both mens and womens shows within a span of five days) and Thomas Tait, a name familiar to long time readers of BoF. Cathy Horyn of The New York Times said Tait’s clothes were “imaginative and inspiring” — high praise from one of fashion’s most respected critics.

But will London’s recent successes be hijacked by the current scheduling complications? And if a sensible resolution isn’t found, will editors really choose to see independent designers in London over major advertisers in Milan? Watch this space.

4. THE RISE OF FASHION DIPLOMACY

Tods Light Installation at Italian Ambassador's residence in Paris | Photo: BoF

With all the bickering and back-and-forth between the fashion capitals, it somehow seems appropriate that national ambassadors, much better versed in the ins and outs of international diplomacy, are using their muscle to support young designers, senior editors, and famous national brands.

In Paris, the Italian ambassador invited the fashion glitterati to a special event for Tod’s, at which Chairman Diego Della Valle was present, to celebrate the launch of the brand’s Signature collection. Sir Peter Westmacott, the British ambassador to France, along with the prime minister’s wife Samantha Cameron, continued to show their support for London-based designers — Nicholas Kirkwood, Erdem Moralioglu, Roland Mouret, Antonio Berardi, Jonathan Saunders and Katie Hillier, to name a few — with a lavish event at the ambassador’s residence. And, Glenda Bailey was hosted by the American ambassador to France for a celebration of her book commemorating her ten year tenure at Harpers Bazaar USA.

5. MOUZAT AND MENKES GO VIRAL

Mark Holgate and Anna Wintour of American Vogue at Burberry Spring/Summer 2012 show | Photo: BoF

Fashion editors from two important newspapers flexed their editorial muscle this season, creating ripples throughout the fashion industry.

The season’s first viral moment came courtesy of Virginie Mouzat, fashion editor of Le Figaro, one of France’s most respected daily newspapers. Though her name is not widely known outside elite fashion circles, Mouzat’s scathing critique of Tom Ford’s private London presentation had everyone talking, even if only a select few were there to witness what Mouzat described as “a nightmare.”

When an English translation of Mouzat’s article was emailed from the American Vogue office in Paris to its senior editors in London and New York, it wasn’t long before the email was circulating throughout the global Conde Nast empire and, indeed, throughout the industry. Incredible chains of emails — from one front row name to the next, from one senior magazine editor to another, from one global brand executive to his colleagues — was a lesson in how closely tied this industry really is. Ms. Mouzat had clearly struck a chord amongst the fashion establishment, for whom email, not Twitter, is still the most powerful viral tool.

Suzy Menkes, fashion editor of the IHT, set off her own viral frenzy, this time on Twitter, with the assistance of her colleague Jessica Michault. In her review of Raf Simons’ collection for Jil Sander in Milan, Ms. Menkes suggested that Mr. Simons was in talks to take over from Stefano Pilati at Yves Saint Laurent. When Michault tweeted the breaking news, which coincided with the Aquilano Rimondi show in Milan, attendees were reportedly glued to their iPhones and Blackberries, while debate quickly broke out across the social web about whether Suzy Menkes was actually saying Simons was going to YSL.

The next day, Yves Saint Laurent quelled the rumours in an official statement, which while firm, still seems to leave open the possibility that Mr. Simons, or someone else, could indeed design for YSLin the not-too-distant future. Will Suzy Menkes still be proven right? Time will tell.

6. PRE-TAIL GAINS MOMENTUM, BUT FACES OPERATIONAL ROADBLOCKS

Edgy Glamour at Jason Wu Spring/Summer 2012 | Photo: BoF

When Aslaug Magnusdottir and Lauren Santo Domingo launched their “pre-tail” start-up Moda Operandi (MO) last season, they must have known that the model would generate copycats, just as Gilt Groupe (itself inspired by Vente Privee) and Groupon were copied by hundreds of other similar businesses.

But as it turns out, Moda Operandi’s fast followers have not been other startups. Rather, it’s major media and retail brands who got into the pre-ordering game this season. Online industry bible Style.com debuted an “Instant Get” program for one-off products from six New York-based designers and venerable New York luxury retailer Bergdorf Goodman partnered with Jason Wu to offer pre-orders on selected items from his Spring/Summer 2012 collection. Sister company Neiman Marcus posted an exclusive pre-ordering opportunity for Donna Karan’s Spring 2012 collection, along with an interview between fashion director Ken Downing and Ms. Karan herself.

But fresh with a $10 million capital injection from New Enterprise Associates, a venture capital firm, the MO team had big plans of their own, announcing a partnership with Vogue.com just in time for fashion week, which directly linked the latest runway images to MO’s pre-order platform.

“We’ve experienced a steady rate of growth since our launch in February,” said Ms. Magnusdottir at the end of New York Fashion Week, “but the collaboration with Vogue has accelerated the rate of growth of both member acquisition and sales.” Indeed, Magnusdottir said that membership is expected to grow from 15,000 just after launch, a customer base built primarily on the personal networks of the founders, to an expected 100,000 members by the end of the year, driven by affiliations with Vogue.com and GOOP, the online media brand of Gwyneth Paltrow.

But despite the clear momentum, the model still faces a major roadblock that is out of the control of pre-tail players like MO: inefficiency in the fashion supply chain. As it stands, consumers still have to wait four to five months to receive most pre-ordered products. If pre-ordering is really going to provide instant gratification to consumers who are interested in buying from the runway, brands and retailers will ultimately need to deliver products more quickly than this. Burberry delivers its pre-ordered products within eight weeks, and Style.com’s ‘Instant Get’ products were due to be available within a few days of the 31 October launch.

Indeed, the broad success of the pre-ordering model rests on the ability of designers to compress delivery lead times. In response to this suggestion, Ms. Magnusdottir said she expected that supply chains would eventually be compressed over time, enabling MO to better match demand with product delivery.

Based on this season’s pre-commerce momentum, it can’t be long before other major fashion e-commerce players such as Net-a-Porter and Shopbop get in on the pre-ordering game. If the industry manages to sort out its supply chain issues, better aligning the operations and media cycles by delivering goods closer to the peak of consumer interest, could pre-commerce eventually just become plain old e-commerce?

Imran Amed is founder and editor-in-chief of The Business of Fashion

Louis Vuitton store in Mongolian capital, Ulaanbaatar | Source: Courtesy LV

The Luxury Frontier (WSJ)
“What happens when a country previously hindered by vastness and foreign rule awakens to wealth on its doorstep? With Louis Vuitton on one corner and one of the world’s largest gold deposits down the road, the previously nomadic society of Mongolia is putting down some rich roots.”

Paris Men’s: Dude Surfers (On the Runway)
“The Paris men’s shows could always surprise with a great venue, or staging, or casting that conveyed the spirit of the designs. But Thursday’s shows put out so little energy that they made a case for seeing the clothes in the showroom. Or catching them later online.”

Prada Is Making Fashion in China (WSJ)
“About 20% of Prada’s collections… are made in China. The Milan-based company manufactures outside Italy in other cheaper countries such as Vietnam, Turkey and Romania… ‘Sooner or later, it will happen to everyone because [Chinese manufacturing] is so good,’ Prada designer Miuccia Prada said in an interview.”

Uniqlo and Jil Sander part ways (Telegraph)
“The German fashion designer Jil Sander, feted for her minimalist aesthetic, and Japanese retailer Uniqlo, are to part ways after working together for almost three years. The +J collection , which was launched in 2009… will make its final foray into stores with a range for this coming autumn and winter.”

What Has Pierre Cardin Been Up To? (WSJ)
“The legendary fashion designer has purchased a vast array of buildings there over the past decade, and, the locals advised me, he was taking a hands-on approach to their reconstruction. His acquisitions now number more than 40, the most famous being the château of the notorious 18th-century libertine the Marquis de Sade.”

Burberry Mens A/W Show 2011 in Milan | Source: Oki-ni CultureShoq

Today, BoF exclusively brings you Savigny Partners’ blow-by-blow analysis of the rapidly shifting luxury fashion business model which is undergoing transformation due to underlying shifts in consumer values, technology and globalisation

LONDON, United Kingdom — Luxury fashion is a very exciting business which can generate substantial returns if you get the formula right. Not only is there the ability to charge up to ten times the cost of manufacturing a garment and the potential to build a global business; apparel can be the beginning of a page-turning blockbuster, accessories and leather goods are the next chapter, fragrances and eyewear licenses the well-oiled plot. The story can have a happy ending with the promise of many sequels to come.

Success stories in this field are mouth-watering: Burberry’s share price climbed from 175p in November 2008 to 1,116p at the beginning of this year as the brand went from strength to strength and reportedly attracted the attention of a number of acquirers. Lanvin has embarked on a stellar growth trajectory with plenty of potential yet to come. However, not all blockbusters have a happy ending. The latest crisis has claimed a number of victims: Christian Lacroix, Gianfranco Ferré, Yohji Yamamoto, Luella Bartley to name a few.

In this article we will examine how the traditional designer business model has come under threat and what key factors we believe are necessary to ensure the success of a luxury fashion label today. Finally we will take a look at what lies ahead for the luxury fashion sector.

Is the designer brand becoming redundant?

The traditional designer brand business model is not for the faint-hearted. Typically, a design-rich but loss-making main line is invested in with the aim of capitalising on its cachet through a cash-generative diffusion line and, eventually through lucrative licensing deals. This model not only takes years to generate returns, but the ride is also a bumpy one with no guarantee of success. Christian Lacroix is a prime example of a label which, despite heavy investment in its main line/couture business, never saw the more commercial side of its activities take off sufficiently.

Life has also been made more difficult for designer brands, initially by the proliferation of fast fashion brands with a credible fashion offering. Zara, Mango and H&M have been extremely successful at attracting the fashion conscious consumer by interpreting catwalk trends with a time to market that would make Philip Green’s head spin. H&M took this one step further by pioneering designer collaborations, which created veritable stampedes in its stores and brought new customers to the brand. Top Shop has also been a trailblazer in this category: the brand showcases its Unique collection at London Fashion Week, its collaboration with Kate Moss has given it an edge and its recent opening of a flagship opposite Harrods demonstrates that it is looking beyond its traditional high street pasture.

And finally, traditional designer labels have been challenged by — and sometimes losing ground to, contemporary brands which offer a more accessibly-priced, less fussy fashion product. In this category both a Phillip Lim, who designs his eponymous line to a price point whilst still being able to fully express himself, and a Tory Burch, with a very-well merchandised line sourced mainly out of China, have found their audience in a relatively short time and have created thriving, financially successful businesses.

It is telling that Narciso Rodriguez and Hussein Chalayan both saw their brand being returned to them by their investors, and that such a star designer as Hedi Slimane is still without a major job in the industry. What lies ahead for top designers?

Managing seasonality

Designer labels have taken major steps to reduce seasonality risk by complementing their Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter collections with pre-collections, cruise and pre-Fall collections, thus increasing the number of collections from two to up to six per year. These inter-seasonal collections tend to contain more commercial pieces than the main collections, often have more accessible price points and now account for the bulk of sales of a fashion brand. This is also music to retailers’ ears whose aim it is to get fresh stock into stores, so as to give customers a reason to come back, and shift the stock as quickly as possible. Some luxury brands have taken a leaf out of the book of leading fast fashion players such as Inditex, introducing flash collections in their stores.

Harnessing creative talent – the increasing importance of the merchandiser

The well-publicised demise of the Gianfranco Ferré fashion house exemplifies the need for a strong merchandising function: during the early noughties development costs for its main line collection escalated to 5m euros per season, and the number of pieces produced for market stretched as far as the eye could see. The first actions of the newly-appointed CEO upon taking over the troubled company was to control collection development costs by significantly reducing the number of SKUs, the number of styles produced and of prints ordered, and to make sure that each style was able to generate profits on relatively small sales volumes.

There the model was clearly in need of an urgent fix, but on an ongoing basis the role of the merchandising team, working with the design and product teams on one hand and the marketing and sales teams on the other, harnessing the creative talent and editing down the creative output to what will work or generally help the band, is absolutely critical. This helps to ensure that the market reception of the collection will be as good as possible, but is also true — and increasingly importantly so — in a world where the number of deliveries has increased and where efficient re-ordering and replenishment is where the real money is made.

Create a bestseller but know when to let go

Whilst every management team in the industry dreams about creating that iconic product or series of products which will become a cash cow, over-dependency can prove a curse if you push this too far and the market turns on you. This famously happened to French Connection, which rode the FCUK bike from 2001 until the wheels came off, resulting in the company dipping into loss for the first time in fourteen years in the first half of 2007 (the group is now rapidly recovering under the watchful eye of its Chairman & CEO, Stephen Marks).

One interesting path is that of Burberry, which initially had to rely too much on the dual deities of trench and check but made a considerable effort to diversify its product portfolio so as to avoid being branded as a one-horse pony, and on top of that successfully fended off the chav issue (to be reviewed in detail in a forthcoming issue of our newsletter).

Invest in retail but focus on the detail!

The last crisis claimed a lot of casualties as a result of over-dependence on the wholesale channel. Pain was felt in two areas: small boutiques not paying up on their orders, or proving to be too much of a credit risk going forward, and department stores panicking and batting down the hatches. Many fashion wholesale businesses were thus caught with their pants down and had nowhere to shift their rapidly devaluing stock. At the other end, whilst the experience for retail-led fashion brands was not by any means pleasant, the effects of the crisis were less hard felt. In this respect wholesale activities played for the fashion industry the same role as leverage did relative to the financial world: it can significantly enhance returns and offers easy growth, but when the market turns, the ground is taken away from under your feet.

Beyond this point, retail presence offers a number of advantages. First and foremost the ability to capture the retail margin – a fully-integrated fashion retail business can generate gross margins up to 80 percent (and sometimes more!), as compared with a wholesale business margin of 40 to 50 percent. Retail presence also allows for more control of the brand image and presentation. This is particularly important as a brand evolves as it can often get stuck in a time warp, with retail buyers ordering variations on what sold well in the last season instead of following with new products/designs, often seen as more risky.

Whilst location is key, store size is also vital to driving store economics. The late 1990’s saw the proliferation of mega-stores as shrines to brands. Many of these were loss-making: those of you who spend time in London will remember the monolithic Jil Sander store on Burlington Gardens, intimidating by its emptiness. When Change Capital Partners took over the company, its losses were well into double-digit millions. One of the first steps the new owners took was to close a few of its most unprofitable stores – the infamous London flagship for instance was relocated to a smaller premise on Bond Street. Losses were drastically reduced, and within a year the company was profitable.

White elephants such as this previous Jil Sander store never made good retail propositions, but you could understand why some management teams were keen on them: retail really helps drive wholesale. Department store managers will never own up to it, and we are sure Barneys and Bergdorf top brass were horrified when Lanvin announced the opening of its Madison Avenue store in the summer last year, but over time (and more quickly than people think), whatever turnover is temporarily lost for the neighbouring department stores will be made up and more, as the brand benefits from increased awareness, more prestige and a stronger, more complete image as a result of its own retail presentation.

So, own retail is most definitely good — as long as you can properly evaluate its cost/reward assumptions and avoid the white elephant trap.

A dynamic supply chain can drive profitable growth

Fashion is a uniquely complex business. The supplier base is increasingly global and increasingly specialised: there is therefore no guarantee a brand will be sourcing its product from the same country, let alone the same supplier, season after season. Distribution can be equally complex, the challenge of a global distribution network being compounded by an often fragmented customer base. The fashion business model is also very sensitive to production volumes; thus the supply chain has to be continually revisited during the growth phase of a brand.

One of the cornerstones of Burberry’s success has been the investment in its supply chain. Project Atlas, an overhaul of the company’s supply chain and IT systems, was launched in 2006, culminating in the roll-out of global SAP systems in 2010. This has given it a much improved granular understanding of every phase from design to the consumer, allowing the company to react rapidly to sales trends and capitalise on bestsellers. Burberry completely re-engineered its supply chain, cutting the number of distribution centres, freight carriers and suppliers and, through improved production planning, significantly reduced the use of air freight in favour of cheaper sea freight. These measures were estimated to deliver approximately £25m in annual savings, or 14 percent of operating profit. As a result of these measures the company can now also give fast fashion a run for its money through dramatically shortened times to market.

A future dominated by men and computers?

Besides the well-documented potential in China and other emerging markets, two areas of growth merit our attention: menswear and the internet.

Despite continuing success stories such as Lanvin’s, womenswear is pretty much a saturated segment in developed markets and therefore very competitive. On the other hand the men’s market accounts for a relatively much bigger slice of the luxury pie in emerging markets. Men are notoriously difficult to attract to a brand, but as a result also tend to be very brand loyal. There are also less cultural/sartorial differences across borders in menswear than there are in womenswear. All of these characteristics make this segment worth the chase, even if traditional menswear players have to alter their offering to give more room to sportswear and casual styles, away from suiting (suits are simply worn less in emerging markets). The potential of the internet has yet to be fully harnessed by luxury fashion players.

Richemont’s recent investment in Net-a-Porter (and the valuation the investment commanded) confirms the perceived potential of this medium. Burberry is ahead of the curve in this category — its Facebook page has the largest following of any luxury brand, its social media website www.artofthetrench.com is streets ahead of competition and it was the first brand to sell runway items from its Autumn/Winter 2010 show direct from the webcast to consumers. The potential for volume and margin in this area is huge — the only cloud on the horizon being the high level of returns (around 40 percent) creating a working capital headache.

Let fashion do what fashion does best….re-invent itself

The designer brand model in its purest sense has probably had its heyday. However, just as we thought we’d never see shoulder pads again when Joan Collins’ flamboyant character Alexis Colby left our screens, with a few alterations here and there they are back with vengeance. We should expect no less from the designer fashion business.

Pierre Mallevays is Founder and Managing Partner and William Plane is Director of Savigny Partners, a boutique advisory firm focusing on specialty retail and aspirational brands

Jil Sander Spring/Summer 2010 | Source: Pitti Immagine

MILAN, Italy — This season, BoF dipped its toes a bit deeper into the waters of the Italian men’s fashion scene, starting with Pitti Uomo and moving on to fashion week in Milan. And, as the fashion circus moves on to Paris tomorrow, my fashion fantasies are still lingering on the outstanding presentation by Raf Simons for Jil Sander Spring/Summer 2011 at the stunning Villa Gamberaia just outside Florence. It might not have been particularly wearable, but it certainly left a lasting impression.

Editors and bloggers were out in full force to see Mr. Simons’ pops of colour, which Tommy Ton aptly described—in the words of Michael Roberts, he was careful to point out—as a bit of sorbet to “cleanse the palate” before the start of the season. Tim Blanks called it “a synthetic sundae.” And afterwards, Susie Bubble was practically reeling from the sensory overload created by the combination of fluorescent colour-blocking, the setting sun, a looming rainstorm and those sweet flashes of colour below the classic shoes.

Describing the collection, Raf Simons told BoF that it was “A celebration of colour; a tribute to the vibrancy of extreme tropical nature, with colours that were brighter than ever before, renewing the summer wardrobe and subverting the codes of formal tailoring.” Indeed, it was a refreshing and promising start for the men’s season which had just begun.

There was little subversion in Milan, however, where the mega brands were out in force, doing their commercial thing with the expected dose of Italian swagger. Gucci, D&G, and Ermenegildo Zegna were among the brands who showed their wares in large scale fashion shows dotted throughout the city’s golden triangle.

While of impressive scale, there was little in these events to leave a lasting emotional impact, though there was plenty to add to my personal wish list for next Spring. Unfortunately, it will be at least 6 months before I can buy any of it.

Luckily, Burberry’s outerwear—and not just the trench, this season saw Christopher Bailey’s homage to the biker jacket—was available for sale online immediately, with deliveries in a six to eight week timeframe. But the amazing Burberry gladiator sandals and delicate military shirts will have to wait until the Spring/Summer 2011 merchandise hits the shop floor sometime around December, conveniently in the middle of winter. When we will sort out these fashion seasons for once and for all? I want to buy now.

More exciting than the click-to-buy clothes was Burberry’s clever link-up with young British musicians, a refreshing and authentic step forward after last season’s PR-heavy push to keep livestream and 3D viewers entertained as real-life guests took their seats. This time, online viewers could preview videos of acoustic tracks by some truly talented young musicians, as curated by Christopher Bailey. It risked coming across as gimmicky, but instead felt perfectly in tune with the brand’s British DNA.

“Burberry is an iconic British brand and Britishness is so much about music,” Bailey told me in a mob of international media backstage after the show, saying that he discovered the young talents in lots of different ways. “It’s never very strategic…when something really hits me, I love it.”

As for the Burberry Acoustic concept, Bailey said that it came directly as a result of feedback from the brand’s Facebook fans. “Whenever we’ve done things with music at shows or events, it’s always been incredibly well received. We’ve got a lot of Facebook fans and we’ve had a lot of feedback that they love the music, so this was kind of an organic project,” he explained.

Rumour has it that Life in Film, one of the bands featured in Burberry Acoustic, is being heavily pursued by an international music label. So, the young musicians may get more than just great exposure from the Burberry collaboration, there are music contracts to be had as well.

Speaking of new talent, there were some interesting newbies on Milan’s men’s runways too. Unlike the womenswear season which is pretty much devoid of new talent, young men’s designers in Milan are making a serious mark. The pre-show buzz about Umit Benan was virtually deafening, and Albino showed his first men’s collection in a quiet but confident debut. Tomasso Aquilano and Roberto Rimondi showed an elegant and relaxed collection for Gianfranco Ferré, even if it seemed out of step with the brand’s heritage and indeed, its more structured womenswear, designed by the same duo.

All in all, after spending an enjoyable few days in the heart of Italy’s fashion community —and surrounded by some of the best dressed best men anywhere—it looks like the Italian menswear circuit may become part of the BoF roster in seasons to come.

Imran Amed is Founder and Editor of The Business of Fashion, an official media partner of Pitti Immagine

Jil Sander's +J for Uniqlo | Source: Uniqlo

Jil Sander Bathes in the Glow of Uniqlo (NY Times)
“This sensitive yet strong woman, trained as a textile expert, created a fashion house… and listed her company on the Frankfurt stock exchange… The fact that she walked out twice on Prada… is part of 21st-century fashion legend.”

Taking the High Cost Out of Haute Couture (IHT)
“In the spirit of the Jil Sander/Uniqlo collaboration — but at a middle-market price point — Mr. Theyskens is taking to Main Street an aesthetic that has formerly been seen at the Paris houses Nina Ricci and Rochas.”

Luxury brand diversification does have limits (Reuters)
“Diversification into new areas, which you do not really master, can be risky… But the luxury industry is full of examples of failed attempts to branch out.”

Versace sees profit in 2011 after restructuring (Reuters)
“Versace is looking to return to profit in 2011, after restructuring and weak demand dragged down revenue in 2009… [The company] posted a consolidated operating loss of 49.6 million euros in 2009, compared with a loss of 400,000 euros a year earlier.”

CFDA: Fashioning a National Identity (Style.com)
“The 28th annual CFDA Awards were back at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center… for the second year in a row, and the stars came out to support the evening’s nominees.”

Erdem Autumn/Winter 2010 Digital Print Detail | Source: Style.com

Prints for the Cyberage (IHT)
“Printed matter has undergone a digital revolution, as the new millennium has witnessed a dramatic change in the way that a pattern is developed to follow the shape of the body and to overlay actual images with virtual versions.”

Takashimaya’s Net Slumps 34 percent (WSJ)
“Takashimaya Co. said.. that revenue and profit for the year ended Feb. 28 showed steep declines as consumer worries about income and employment hurt the Japanese department store operator’s sales.”

Jil Sander Launches New Line (Elle.com)
“Fashion house Jil Sander has announced that it will be launching a brand new, lower priced line… designed by Raf Simons after all – the line will be less expensive than its catwalk counterpart.”

From Paris to Patna:Net takes high-fashion to small town India (Economic Times)
“The sweeping spread of cyberspace has made it an ideal channel for coveted brands like Versace, Gucci and DKNY to reach out to the nooks and crannies of India, the country often touted as the next big retail destination.”

A fashion duo dresses up a wine label (FT)
“It was recently announced that Basso & Brooke, British designers known for their use of fabric decorated with pornographic prints, had been appointed ‘designers in residence’ to Turning Leaf, E&J Gallo’s traditional wine brand.”

Jil Sander for Uniqlo, courtesy of Uniqlo

Jil Sander’s new range for Uniqlo (Guardian)
“Jil Sander has been off the fashion scene for a while, but now the queen of understatement is taking on a new project – high-class design for the masses – with the Japanese brand Uniqlo.”

China Inc: Not just a maker but new owner of fashion (Reuters)
“After decades of Made-in-China garments, China’s fashion industry is keen to move on from being just a mass manufacturer of clothes — it wants to own western brands and to sell them to China’s 1.3 billion consumers.”

The A-Word: Fashion Embraces Accessibility (WSJ)
“During the boom time, it was considered somewhat shameful to create a ‘commercial’ collection that had practical elements (sleeves, for instance) that made them widely wearable. Now, many designers are creating more casual clothing — known in the industry as ‘contemporary’ — with an emphasis on luxury-quality sportswear.”

Back in fashion – Burberry’s CFO (Accountancy Age)
“In short, Thomson Reuters has delisted, leaving room for another company to enter the FTSE 100. Next in line is Burberry, the luxury fashion brand, and that brings Cartwright, the company’s CFO, into the top flight.”

Luxury Retailers Rush To Adapt: Chic Goes Cheap (Time)
“As fashion editors, department store buyers and couture afficionadoes congregate along the catwalks for New York’s Fashion Week shows, luxury retailers and designers may be looking upon beauty but their thoughts are likely on the ugly economy.”

Jil Sander and Tadashi Yanai, courtesy of AFP

Jil Sander to join Uniqlo (Drapers)
Jil Sander is set to become a design consultant at Uniqlo, “which will see her take overall creative control of the value fashion chain’s womenswear and menswear ranges.”

Delhi gears up for two fashion ‘weeks’ (India PRwire)
“Term it excess in times of a global economic slump, but two parallel events – the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week (WIFW) and the Delhi Fashion Week (DFW) – are again set for a head-to-head clash for their autumn/winter editions later this week.”

The duck that laid the golden egg (IHT)
According to the International Herald Tribune, the Moncler down jacket has come down from the mountains and landed on the city streets and fashionable society.

CFDA Announces Nominees for 2009 Awards (CFDA)
Marc Jacobs and Narciso Rodriguez are among the nominees for the CFDA Awards.

Escada Losses Widen in Quarter (WWD)
“Tough times continue at Escada. Against a backdrop of ongoing restructuring and a weakened luxury market, Escada’s earnings and sales further tumbled in the first quarter…” (Subscription required)