McQ video, posted on Vimeo, shared on Tumblr | Source: McQ

Why Fashion’s Top Brands Are Flocking to Tumblr (Mashable)
“According to Tumblr… approximately 180 of the top 1,000 Tumblr blogs are fashion-related. And fashion-related Tumblr posts are reblogged on a much greater scale than general Tumblr posts… suggesting that ‘there’s a huge capacity for fashion content to go viral on Tumblr.’”

Manish Arora Confirmed as Paco Rabanne Creative Director (Fashionologie)
“Manish Arora is the new creative director of Paco Rabanne, and will show his first collection for the label in October during Paris Fashion Week — for Spring 2012. He will also continue his colorful signature collection, which is also shown in Paris but sells mostly in his native India.”

Barneys’ New Chief Explains Those Changes (On the Runway)
“Mr. Lee stressed that his mission for the luxury retailer was to make it surprising and dynamic. ‘But,’ he added, ‘there’s never going to be a day when we say ‘ta-da’ and drop the curtain.’ The changes will be a work-in-progress over the next few years, he said.”

Arnault offers olive branch to Hermès (Reuters)
“Arnault struck a conciliatory note on Friday, arguing LVMH was best positioned to ensure the long-term survival of Hermès’ culture and business. ‘We can bring them a number of advantages both strategically and operationally without anything in return other than our presence as a shareholder.’”

Lunch with Natalie Massenet (FT)
“Net-a-Porter looks a lot like a glossy online fashion magazine but Mr Porter is largely black and white; more tabloid in tone; more vertically oriented; and features real men, role models who can also be style models, such as actor Steve McQueen and hotelier Andre Balazs, as well as lists of “essentials” every man needs.”

Behind the scenes at Wills India Fashion Week, courtesy of PR Pundit

This week on The Business of Fashion we welcome several guest contributors to give us the scoop on recent fashion weeks, the IHT conference and local market trends in India. We’re calling it our own India Fashion Week, but as you’ll see, that might be the last thing India needs.

NEW DELHI, India — Bollywood, Cricket and Fashion. Everyday these three topics bring to life the popular culture pages of India’s leading national newspapers, The Times of India and Hindustan Times. And of this colourful ménage à trois, fashion is the relative newcomer, but is growing fast.

In the last year alone, the local scene has exploded to include three major prêt-a-porter fashion weeks, a bridal couture week, a regional fashion week in Kolkata, a proposed men’s fashion week and enough corporate sponsors to power each one. Multi-brand fashion boutiques and über-luxe malls featuring international brands have also recently opened. Local fashion media has reached critical mass, with Harper’s Bazaar, which launched an Indian edition last month, Vogue India, and countless other magazines all aimed at India’s it-bag aspiring middle classes.

But, let’s start at the very beginning, to see how it all began.

… Continue Reading

Thom Browne, courtesy of NYMag

Is Thom Browne Going Downe? (Blackbook)
With lavish spending on tailors and elaborate shows, Thom Browne’s business may be amongst the first high-profile independent designers to face financial difficulties as demand for his high-priced shrunken suits wanes.

Breaking into the West is hard to do (IHT)
Due to Indian designers “lack of Western-style business structure and of financial support” their effort to break out of the local market is being hampered.

H&M profits hit by currency turmoil (Drapers)
“H&M saw first quarter profits fall back 12% to SEK 3.5 billion after gross margin was hit by currency fluctuations.”

America’s Favorite Foreign Retailers (Forbes)
In terms of market share, foreign retailers are closing in on American stores.

Turning a Page (Newsweek)
“In response to tough times, the fashion business discovers inclusiveness.”

Manish Arora A/W 09, courtesy of Coutorture

Indian designers make their mark with craft (IHT)
During Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week, designers are making a mark through artisanship.

Nike realigns global footprint (Just Style)
Sporting goods giant Nike last week unveiled plans to reorganise its namesake brand into six regions with reduced management in a bid to make its operations more efficient and trim costs.

Tiffany’s Reports Sales Declines (Seeking Alpha)
“Tiffany’s has exceeded earnings expectations five of the last six quarters, which seems to suggest that analysts underestimate Tiffany’s ability to sell in a tough consumer spending market. However, the declines in sales are serious and a real cause for concern.”

H&M and Zara top Retail Best Brands list (H&M)
According to an Interbrand report, H&M & Zara are in the top 5 of most valued retail brands.

Inflation surprises and jumps to 3.2% (FT)
“Inflation as measured by the consumer price index rose to 3.2 per cent in the year to last month, up from 3 per cent in January.”

No sooner had posted my own thoughts on the future of Indian fashion, that I began seeing other interesting perspectives which have emerged in other online fashion media over the past week on India’s luxury goods and fashion industry. Clearly, Indian fashion is on fire. Much of the content is infused with the intelligent musings of Bandana Tewari, who is also the newly named Fashion Features Editor of Vogue India and has become a good friend since we met back at London Fashion Week in February 2006.

The most recent JC Report focuses on India, covering Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week in Delhi and Lakme Fashion Week in Mumbai. The highlight for me was an insightful interview conducted by global fashion guru Jason Campbell (the JC of JC Report) who speaks to  Bandana Tewari,  who is equally guru like in her knowledge of the Indian Fashion scene. You could call it the meeting of the gurus.

Bandana also features as part of an interesting dive into Indian fashion aesthetic at luxuryculture.com. There is also a fascinating interview with India’s minister for Commerce and Industry, Shri Kamal Nath, who provides a detailed look inside some of the drivers of Indian wealth and how the luxury goods industry is shaping up. If you want to get your head around the dizzying growth of Fashion and Luxury in India, this article is a must read.

[The picture above is snapped in Bandana's hotel room at Delhi Fashion Week, when Bandana kindly ordered us some room service after an exhausting day full of shows.]