Lanvin Petite | Source: Courtesy of Lanvin

Little Luxuries: Designer Apparel for Children is the Next Big Thing (Forbes)
“Move over fast fashion collaborations, another way haute designers will reach more consumers this year is by crafting luxury clothing for the scooter set… Back to school will bring even more designer collections to the playground.”

Can Prada get away with a luxury valuation? (CTV News)
“The price range looks rich. The question is whether the voracious Chinese appetite for luxury brands will let Prada get away with a luxury valuation… [The IPO]values Prada at as much as 28 times the company’s estimated 2011 profit. Six other luxury-goods companies, among the LVMH and Burberry, trade at an average of 21 times forecast earnings.”

Luxury shopping websites offer China a cheaper alternative (Relaxnews)
“These canny operators have found a way to keep their nation’s brand-hungry consumers satisfied – and it involves buying older ‘out-of-date’ items from the luxury brands in Europe and the United States, and then selling them in China at prices way reduced from their original ones.”

Gilt Groupe to Launch Full-Price Men’s Retail Website (Just Luxe)
“Park & Bond will be the Gilt Groupe’s full-price men’s retail website that will launch in late summer this year. The upscale fashion portal for men will feature 80 luxury brands and cover multiple categories. The premise of the nomenclature is classic, timeless, hip and contemporary.”

The 11 Best Fashion Brands to Follow on Tumblr (Fashionista)
“It makes sense that fashion brands have glommed onto Tumblr. The microblogging platform’s highly visual nature is a perfect fit for fashion brands to showcase their identities in creative and subtle ways. Of course, some brands are much better at it than others. Here are the brands we think are using Tumblr best right now.”

Anya Hindmarch Cooper Tote | Source: Purseblog

Dreaming of Clasps and Tassels (WSJ)
“Handbag designer Anya Hindmarch designs in her sleep—literally. Some of her best-selling ideas come in the early hours of light sleep at her London townhouse, when a dream culminates in an image of a bag, shoe or detail like a clasp or tassel.”

The Future Will Be Personalized (Tech Crunch)
“Today, we live in a world where we’re constantly overwhelmed by information. There are over 90M tweets per day, 34 hours of YouTube video uploaded every minute, and every Facebook user has an average of 130 friends.”

Luxury Brands Tailoring Approach to the Web (IHT)
“‘The tools are there now to create the same luxurious atmosphere that you have in a shop… You can come up with beautiful sites that are not just beautiful but also functional.’”

Black Friday Creeps Into Thanksgiving (WSJ)
“Thanksgiving Day was long considered a commercial-free zone… But an increasing number of stores are getting a jump on the Friday shopping hordes by opening on Thanksgiving.”

What Kate wears and why it matters (FT)
“What Kate Middleton wears on her wedding day does matter. And not just because it will give a lucrative boost to some designer, but because the royal family – especially the one who is going to become a king… is one of the few pure symbols we have left.”

Savile Row Street Sign | Source: JD Traveler

Reinventing Savile Row (WWD)
“Faced with constant pressure from the bottom end of the market, such as low-cost operations that claim to offer ‘bespoke’ goods… and the top end, in the form of slick designer labels… Savile Row’s tailors had a choice —evolve or go extinct.”

Luxury goods boom set to falter (FT)
“The US and Asia have been behind an unexpectedly strong recovery in luxury spending this year but sales are expected to slow in 2011… partly due to the dollar continuing to weaken against the euro and because of the strength of sales in 2010.”

Marc Jacobs’s Chinoiserie: Obsession or Opportunism? (Jing Daily)
“Beyond the playfulness and glam, reviewers clearly picked up on the Asian influence, seeing it as an acknowledgement of the growing industry influence of China and other Asian countries, or perhaps a play for their consumers.”

Luxe Lowdown: Sites Begin to Invite Buyer Reviews (WSJ)
“More than a decade after book and electronics retailers embraced online customer reviews, the most elite stores in the U.S. are opening their websites—and the brands they sell—to the slings and arrows of public opinion.”

From Boys to Men (NY Times)
“It’s also, like comfort food, about the economy…Look back to movies during the Depression, and all you saw was real guys like James Cagney. In tough times, people want a strong man.”

Phoebe Philo | Photo: David Sims for Vogue Paris

Lunch with the FT: Phoebe Philo (FT)
“Everyone was looking at me, and competition is fiercer because of what happened with the economy, but I also felt: it’s really not relevant to me what Céline has been or where it has been. It will be whatever I make it for the time I’m there.”

Luxury fashion enjoys a rebound, takes no risks (Reuters)
“While buyers are slowly returning to the shops in Western Europe and the United States, designers seem to have received the same instructions to create outfits, bags and shoes that are both sellable and clearly recognizable among fashionistas.”

Luxury brands must push ecommerce harder this holiday season (Luxury Daily)
“Luxury brands must use the reach and convenience afforded by online shopping to offset consumer restraint in the face of a still-tepid economy this holiday season.”

American Apparel appeases lender with key management hiring (Retail Week)
“Beleaguered US fashion chain American Apparel has hired Blockbuster executive Tom Casey as acting president, in line with a pledge to lender Lion Capital to secure key management talent.”

London sheep kick off the Campaign for Wool (Telegraph)
“Events are being staged in honour of The Campaign for Wool, a five-year project… to educate consumers about the benefits of wool, and promote wool-predominant products to help support and grow the wool industry.”

Hermès scarf for sale on Ebay

EU To Adjust Rules Governing Online Sales (CNN Money)
“The European Commission Tuesday said it plans to adjust the rules governing the rights of retailers to sell their goods on the Internet in an attempt to boost online sales in Europe.”

Coach Drops On Worries About Slowing Comp-Store Sales (WSJ)
“Shares of Coach Inc. fell as much as 7.1% Tuesday after the upscale leather-goods retailer’s fiscal fourth-quarter profit declined 32%, in part on prior-year gains, while sales fell short of analysts’ expectations and margins declined. Though the company’s per-share earnings met consensus estimates, much of the focus turned to the possible slowing of comparable-store sales at outlet stores and the company’s heightened investment in its Fall 2009 “Poppy” collection.”

Cost cuts help Jones Apparel profit beat estimates (Reuters)
“Jones Apparel Group Inc (JNY.N) reported a higher-than-expected second-quarter profit on Wednesday, bolstered by cost cuts and the strong performance of its wholesale jeans business.”

Unmasked: the blogging model who rocked the world of fashion (Guardian)
“An interview with Jenna Sauers, the fashion model who worked anonymously for the feminist website Jezebel.”

Reliability is good for business for fashion retailer sector – CPM (Fibre2Fashion)
“In the light of the current market situation in Eastern Europe, a platform such as Collection Première Moscow (CPM) is more important than ever. The demand for information, especially from the Russian garment retail trade, and the search for practicable ways out of the crisis, are at the forefront of every retailer’s consciousness in these weeks.”

Iconic floral prints, courtesy of Liberty

Liberty appoints advisers to review the business (Drapers)
“Liberty has confirmed it is set to appoint advisers to lead a review of the business, which could lead to a sale of the iconic London department store.”

LVMH, Chanel Force EU to Modify Draft Law on Internet Sales (Bloomberg)
“Luxury goods makers LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA and Chanel SA may win more control over how Web-based retailers sell their products after a last- minute lobbying campaign over a draft European Union regulation.”

Why your price is right (FT)
Vanessa Friedman explores the “Dutch Auction,”  leaving pricing to the people.

Winning Designs in China: Standing Out to Fit In (Huffington Post)
“The Chinese consumer is becoming increasingly modern and internationalized. However, while “egos” and ambitions are huge, the “new generation” is not becoming “individualistic” in the Western sense – i.e., the peoples never define themselves independent of society.”

China becomes world’s 2nd largest luxury market (People’s Daily Online)
“If you think China is still a developing country, this piece of news is going to surprise you. China has overtaken the US to become the world’s second largest luxury market.”

Outnet homepage, courtesy of Net-a-Porter

Net-a-Porter gives details of discount venture (Drapers)
As revealed in BoF’s exclusive interview with Natalie Massenet in November, Net-a-Porter will launch a discount e-Commerce venture called Outnet.com.

Milan’s Choice: Appeal to Reason or the Gut? (WSJ)
In order to lure customers, designers in Milan employed polarising design strategies.

Mulberry to beat expectations (Drapers)
According to Mulberry, the holiday sales rush will help it beat market expectations.

Luxury Players Battle Changes in Online Rules (WWD)
Changes in European regulation, could dictate how luxury players operate their e-Commerce businesses. (Subscription required)

Store fronts on Rodeo Drive, photo courtesy of WWD.

L.A. Specialty Boutiques Rocked by Shutdowns (WWD)
In LA, troubled boutiques are closing in droves.

The New Rules Of Luxury Spending (Forbes)
“Today’s high-net-worth consumers are still spending–but they’re putting more thought into their purchases.”

Ideeli.com, Ideal Online Shopping? (JC Report)
Ideeli’s invitation only online retail model is proving to be recession proof.

Retail Sales Tumbled in December (WSJ)
In December, retail sales figures in the US, “fell a sixth consecutive time.”

Alex Bolen, CEO, Oscar de la Renta

NEW YORK, United States – It’s a new year, but the news hasn’t changed all that much for the luxury business. In fact, as the numbers roll in from the holiday season and for the fourth quarter of 2008, many executives’ worst fears are playing out. It’s a good thing the industry has leaders like Alex Bolen around to keep us all optimistic.

A few seasons ago, I received an invitation to the Oscar de la Renta show in New York. It was a surprise because I hadn’t requested a ticket and I didn’t know anybody at the company. After the show, I met Alex for the first time and learned that he reads The Business of Fashion daily newsletter every morning on his Blackberry, while walking his dog. Invitation explained.

While this was a huge compliment, I am not telling you this to boast. Rather, it demonstrates that Alex is one of those rare executives in fashion who is literally switched on to new technology and new media. Alex recently answered a few questions to give us the latest news from Oscar de la Renta and explain his bullishness about the Internet in our first CEO Talk for 2009.

BoF: How are things going for Oscar de la Renta in this tough economic environment? What is your overall mood about the prospects of fashion and luxury?

Obviously this is a difficult environment for many industries, especially luxury goods and retail. That said, we feel quietly confident that we are well-positioned, and with the right product, to still be successful in this environment. We are still performing well in our own retail stores, and at wholesale, especially relative to many of our peers. There is a general sense that people will buy fewer items of better quality for the foreseeable future. Customers will demand uniqueness and good value, which is not to say inexpensive. We must deliver luxury – great design, the best fabrications and finest make, all at the appropriate price. We think this all suits our business well.

BoF: Your business is predominantly an American one — with significant Wholesale volume — not the easiest place to be right now. When last we spoke, you were contemplating a European retail push to build the Oscar de la Renta business internationally. Where do you stand on this now? What about establishing a presence in emerging markets like China and India which are still growing, or Japan, where Oscar de la Renta has no presence?

It’s no secret that some of our US wholesale partners are currently challenged, but our brand has been one of the few that are actually performing on their floors. Our international wholesale growth has been explosive – we have expanded our international doors from five to seventy five in the last six years. We opened our first international freestanding stores in Athens and Madrid this October, and they are both proving successful, considering the climate. We are also scheduled to open in Moscow in 2009, and we feel confident that we have a strong customer base in all of these markets, based on our demand at wholesale. We are still actively considering real estate opportunities in other European capitals, especially London. That said, we are being cautious about signing long-term lease commitments in this climate. My feeling is that there will be closings in key locations; rents should be dropping. The Middle East, China, India, Turkey and Japan are all still high priorities, and we are actively developing our relationships with the right partners in these markets.

BoF: Retailers are reporting the it is ready-to-wear and apparel that has been hardest hit. Are you doing anything to offset this in other categories?

Ready-to-wear is our core business, but we have not had the same experience as many other brands for precisely this reason. The Oscar de la Renta brand has always been more about quality than seasonal fashion. Nonetheless, we are still growing our accessories business, and developing a strong statement in shoes and hangbags, and that remains a priority for us.

BoF: You recently launched a new website. What roles will ecommerce and web 2.0 play for Oscar de la Renta?

I am a huge believer in the Internet, both in terms of branding and as a commercial vehicle. We have a lot of original content, with Oscar discussing different aspects of the house, and we will continue to add more. We launched the e-commerce site in September and we are now seeing sales, especially since the holiday season started. We have already had one sale over one hundred thousand dollars through our site. As for the interactivity…I think that this is where the real power of the Internet lies. We are looking at ways to incorporate these elements into the current site.

BoF: Finally, how would you describe the relationship you have with Oscar himself? As he is also your father-in-law, does this help or hinder the relationship at work?

This is Oscar’s company, and his name on the door, and he has been very successful for much longer than I have been around. As he is arguably the best designer in the world, I feel that the best thing that I can do for this company is to keep him very excited and interested in coming into the office. As for the personal relationship, I think that Oscar knows that he can really trust me, and that I would never consider anything not in the best interests of the company or himself.

CEO Talk is an ongoing series of discussions with fashion entrepreneurs and business leaders as they combat the economic downturn. Previous interviews are listed below:

• Natalie Massenet, Chairman and Founder, Net-a-Porter
• Camilla Skovgaard, Shoe designer and Entrepreneur
• Susan Lyne, Chief Executive Officer, Gilt Groupe
• Priya Kishore, Founder and Creative Director, Bombay Electric
• Alex Bolen, Chief Executive Officer, Oscar de la Renta

Vera Wang for Kohls, courtesy of Kohls

Vera Wang Bows Out of February’s Fashion Week Tent (WSJ)
Vera Wang is the latest designer who has decided to not have a priceyrunway show this upcoming New York fashion week.

Online sales surge 16% in November (Drapers)
Unlike brick and mortar stores, sales activity on e-commerce sites jumped 16% compared to last year in November.

Fashion Guidance for Aging Japanese Lads (Washington Post)
In Japan, there’s OilyBoy, “a slick new magazine designed to excite consumption among “elder boys.”

Santa On Sale: A Holiday Recession (JC Report)
According to the JC Report, most retailers “confirmed that, compared to last year, this holiday season has been predictably slow.”