The man who wants to fix retail (Fortune)
Fortune magazine profiles NRDC’s Richard Baker who is on a retail and fashion acquisition spree having bought Lord & Taylor, Fortunoff, and Peter Som and is said to have his eyes on Saks.

Giles Style (Scottish Daily Record)
Giles Deacon talks to a Scottish paper about the fashion designer of the 21st century — one who has his feet on the ground and is passionate about gardening and reading.

Levi’s turns a corner (International Herald Tribune)
Armin Broger , President of Levi Straus Europe, is successfully turning around the Levi’s business by refocusing its collections and using cities like Antwerp as fashion business laboratories.

Peter Som A/W 2008 photo courtesy of Coutorture.

A little lightness to end the week here on The Business of Fashion. This 1930’s clip from Youtube forecasts cantilever-heeled shoes and transparent net as the fashion must-haves for the Year 2000. The video has had almost 100,000 views. Could Raf Simons, Marc Jacobs and Alexander McQueen been some of them? Have a look at their collections for Spring/Summer 2008.

The Latest in Fashion: Pink Slips (New York Times)
Eric Wilson chronicles the revolving designer doors at fashion houses from New York to Milan to Paris in recent years. Of course, the latest door revolved this week in Milan, where Lars Nilsson was quickly replaced by Tommaso Aquilano and Roberto Rimondi of 6267 as head designers for Gianfranco Ferre.

Luxe brands Follow the Money – to the Internet (WWD)
Several readers have written to alert us to today’s WWD article about the role the Internet can play in helping luxe brands ride out the recession, which US Fed Chairman, Ben Bernanke, all but confirmed yesterday. In what some are touting as the greatest recession buster for luxury companies, the Internet may (finally) be the next battleground in their quest for the luxury consumer’s dollars, euro and yen.

In the run-up to the Easter long weekend, which has already begun here in London, we thought we’d share some our new favourites for lazy Sunday reading from the ever expanding fashion  and business blogosphere.

JC Report
Not technically a blog, but now presented in a blog format, JC Report is one of the leading online authorities for thoughtful fashion content on the cutting edge. We’ve been working with Jason Campbell, JC Report’s charismatic founder, on restructuring the JCR value proposition, launching a newly designed site, and engaging JCR’s truly global fashion community. We’re delighted with the results: daily news, editorial and intelligence that you can’t find anywhere else.  The latest issue, released yesterday, features a denim hunter from London, shopping in Kuala Lumpur, and the masculine tailoring trend sweeping through the A/W women’s collections. For the next month, the JC Report site is being curated by photographer Miguel Villalobos. Congratulations to Jason and his team.

… Continue Reading

Two articles this week gave an inside look into two of the women who are changing the face of fashion. And unlike the mysterious, impenetrable images that helped to create previous fashion icons, these women seem to be comfortable just being themselves, even if it is politically incorrect. Is authenticity the new must-have?

The Anti-Anna (New York Magazine)
In an unabashedly honest look into one one most important women in fashion, the editor of Paris Vogue, Carine Roitfeld makes no apologies for who she is. Comparison to Anna Wintour aside, we were most intrigued by Ms. Roitfeld’s comments on the fashion business, saying

“Right now, I think that fashion in the world becomes a bit boring. There is so much money, and I feel a bit when you go to shows they want to sell so many handbags, and for me, well, I do not like handbags. I do not wear handbags. It is not a nice look, to carry a handbag…I’m not a business girl. I will never be a business girl.”

… Continue Reading

Louis Vuitton | Going back to its luxury roots (Marketing Week)
The iconic French luxury brand is poised to launch its first ever television advertisement (click on video above to view it). The ad is being positively received by industry analysts and observers who say it takes the brand back to its heritage in luxury travel.

Gucci | “Loves” New York but city not returning sentiment (CNBC)
As Gucci opened its new 5th Avenue store, declaring its undying love for the city, some New Yorkers are trying to get in Cupid’s way.

Halston | Fast fashion test drive (Cathy Horyn – On the Runway)
While the fashion pack moved over to London, Cathy Horyn decided to give Net-a-Porter’s fast fashion from Halston a test drive, with some unexpected results that have “concerned” Bonnie Takhar, Halston’s CEO.

Why It bags are out (Wall Street Journal)
Stephanie Solomon of Bloomingdales tells the WSJ that "The ‘it’ bag isn’t important any more. It’s all about looking different from your neighbor."  Consumers are looking for something special, unique and exclusive. And, with a recession in the wind, observers are saying people will consume less conspicuously and may not want an instantly identifiable bag. It bags RIP?

Jane Shepherdson to Buy Whistles (Catwalk Queen)
With a little help from some Icelandic friends, Jane Shepherdson, a former TopShop business dynamo, has become Chief Executive and part-owner of Whistles. Smart move on the part of Baugur who recognised the expertise that Shepherdson could bring to the table and how to keep her there. Fashion Inc tells us about the price-value gap that she is going to have to overcome.

Cris Barros: Concrete Plans (Style.com)
During our recent trip to South America, we were introduced to designer Cris Barros and her business partner Luiz Felipe. Barros is one of Sao Paulo’s hottest designers. This is a piece we wrote for Style.com on her new flagship which opens in March.

Fashion Change: Hilfiger’s IPO is shelved (Wall Street Journal)
Tommy Hilfiger is the first high-profile fashion IPO scheduled for 2008 that has been called off as global economy continues to deteriorate. Will Prada call off it’s IPO for the fourth time running? Just last week, DowJones contacted The Business of Fashion to ask our opinions on this very topic.

Paris Men’s Fashion Week (Men.style.com)
We caught the tail end of  Men’s fashion week for Autumn 2008 in Paris this past week. Dior Homme was dark and dramatic and London designer Jsen Wintle sent out a palette dominated by grey and black. Earlier in the week, Raf Simons injected some welcome colour with burnt oranges and reds into his collection, which also included the season’s dominant hue: grey.

Majed Al-Sabah, The Sheikh of Chic (New York Times, The Moment)
Sheikh Majed Al-Sabah is the guest blogger on ‘The Moment’ this week. Majed’s first posting gives his perspective on bringing Western luxury brands to the Middle East and the second reflects on the Middle East "youthquake." It makes for interesting reading, particularly as the Middle East is one of the most promising markets for luxury brands. Majed reveals how this wasn’t always the case.

Why the Perfume Business is Beginning to Stink (The Wall Street Journal)
Perfumes used to be a guaranteed money-spinner for fashion brands and a way for the masses to buy into the carefully woven dreams of fashion designers. This article suggests that the economics of perfumes may have finally tipped, as the market is flooded with new scents from fashion houses and celebrities.

Made in Italy…by undocumented workers (Agence France Press) 
The backlash from Rai3’s documentary on the Made in Italy label continues. AFP reports that as much as one third of the fashion product in Italy is made by illegal labour, though the problem is not necessarily restricted to the fashion industry. According to AFP, the percentage is probably just as high for other sectors.

Rubles are a Girl’s Best Friend (New York Times)
We came across this multilingual sign on the new Dolce & Gabbana store on London’s Bond Street the other day. It’s a sign of the times that many of the customers are from the Middle East and Russia. This article  describes the celebrity angle of Russia’s fashion scene.

The Real Story Behind Boombox (A Shaded View on Fashion)
Mandi Lennard, London’s uber PR for the hip and happening in the fashion business sent out an email last week confirming a report on the Business of Fashion that Boombox is to shut down by the end of the year. Diane Pernet interviews Richard Mortimer in this piece to get the back story.

Heart to Heart (Style.com)
Check out our first piece for Style.com which covers a cool mash-up of Comme des Garçons and Chrome Hearts.

Wall Street Journal: In West L.A, A Homeless Man Inspires New Brand
Back in August when the BoF touched down in L.A. to poke around the lively local fashion scene, I witnessed a very interesting character twirling  down Robertson Boulevard in an outrageous outfit. Today, I read this article in the Wall Street Journal about the same gentlemen, who has inspired a range of t-shirts that are all the rage in the City of Angels.

Fashion Inc: Web 2.0 at the Luxury Briefing Conference
I had the full intention of attending all three of the London conferences this Autumn dedicated to the web 2.0 and luxury. Unfortunately, I am home-bound due to a nasty bout of Shingles (yes, really), and so was happy to see Lauren’s as-it-happens report from today’s conference.

WWD: What’s Next for Fashion Networks (subscription required)
Even WWD is getting in on the social networking act, though they don’t necessarily seem to "get it" just yet. They begin the article by saying it remains to be seen whether niche sites could grow as big as MySpace and Facebook. So, quick answer: Not likely at all. The most interesting insight was that Forrester Research says "16% of adults online belong to social networks and predicts that social media will increase in effectiveness in the next three years: In 2007, marketers spent $600m on social media and that figure is expected to more than double to $1.5b next year and rise to $6.9b by 2012.

Crazy Robertson photos courtesy of WSJ.com