Kate Moss for Longchamps | Source: Longchamps

Kate Moss: Bags of Style (IHT)
“‘I am not doing it for different personalities — it’s what I like,’ says Ms. Moss — or Kate, as she is known. At age 36, she has taken another step in her second life, as a designer rather than as a supermodel using her pretty face and sensual lips to promote other brands.”

Esprit 1st-Half Net Profit Down 5.2 percent; Beats Forecasts (WSJ)
“Fashion retailer Esprit Holdings Ltd. said Wednesday its first-half net profit fell 5.2% percent from a year earlier as a disappointing wholesale business offset the improvement in its core retail operations.”

Abercrombie & Fitch’s Style Sense Wears Thin With Some Shoppers (WSJ)
“Retail analysts said Abercrombie’s troubles go beyond pricing to its once unerring sense of style, a problem that could be trickier to fix. The logo T-shirt and torn jeans ensemble that Abercrombie made the unofficial school uniform a decade ago has played out.”

Marc Jacobs to Stream Show Live While Robert Duffy Hypes It via Twitter (NY Magazine)
“Further democratizing the Fashion Week process, Jacobs’s business partner Robert Duffy just started tweeting to document Marc’s progress on the collection.”

Luxury in 2010 (CNN)
“Is there a luxury hotlist for 2010? CNN’s Ayesha Durgahee reports.”

Christian Lacroix Couture A/W 09, courtesy of Coutorture

Rethinking the rules at Paris couture shows (FT)
“Should couture go big or small? Subtle or over-the-top? These days, this particular niche of the fashion industry seems as volatile in its identity as the price of oil. When the rest of the world is busy doubting the rationale for your existence, a show is effectively a public argument for your worth. But how to make the case most effectively?”

Halston targets growth with heritage collection (Drapers)
“Luxury brand Halston is launching a lower-priced collection and is targeting European expansion.”

Kate Moss ‘to go into business with Sir Philip Green and Simon Cowell’ (Telegraph)
“Kate Moss is poised to go into business with Sir Philip Green and Simon Cowell, creating a billion pound global empire bringing fashion and entertainment together, it has been claimed.”

Critter-Friendly Grows Up (WSJ)
It used to be that synthetic shoes looked fake and cheaply made. But now, a growing number of manufacturers are launching stylish shoes marketed as vegan and animal-friendly for women who don’t want any animal products in their footwear.