Jaeger Summer 2010 | Source: Jaeger

Jaeger says sales picking up, eyes expansion (Reuters)
“British luxury brand Jaeger has seen a strong pick up in sales in recent weeks, it said on Wednesday as it posted a 16 percent rise in annual earnings and outlined plans to expand internationally and online.”

Saks recovers with stronger merchandising, consumer appeal (Medill Reports)
“Luxury department store Saks Inc. recovered from a year-ago loss to post a first-quarter profit Tuesday, beating Wall Street expectations. The… retailer reported earnings of $18.9 million.”

Joanna Sykes appointed designer at Aquascutum (Telegraph)
“Sykes is British, educated at [CSM] in the nineties and learned how to do things in a European luxury-goods house (Armani in Milan). All that puts her in the demographic to which her sister alumni who…. are on a quietly feminist mission to bring a bit of sense to fashion.”

Ad Pages Go Up and Down (WWD)
“Fashion magazines are still in recovery mode, but things are looking up: most titles posted an increase in ad pages during the first half of 2010 — that is, compared with the dregs of 2009 and the numbers are still far off the good ole days of 2008.”

Maison Martin Margiela exhibition at Somerset House (Telegraph)
“A London retrospective will show off Maison Martin Margiela’s 20 years of radical design… Martin Margiela delights and confounds in equal measures.”

Dolce & Gabbana Front Row Spring/Summer 2010 | Source: New York Times

LONDON, United Kingdom — It’s that time of year again. With over one million pageviews on BoF in 2009, it’s time to take stock of the year that was in a retrospective of the most popular articles from The Business of Fashion.

Needless to say, 2009 was the year of social media in fashion and our top 10 list is reflective of the explosion of interest in fashion bloggers, social networks and the now ubiquitous Twitter. Despite all of the hubbub (and yet another high-profile article this week from the New York Times on bloggers crashing the front row) social media is not a trend that will disappear. At BoF, we have prided ourselves on going beyond all of the hype to figure out what the implications are for the long-term.

But BoF is about more than just Web 2.0 and our top 10 is reflective of this. Indeed, over the past year we responded to media requests on a variety of subjects from The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Wallpaper*, Women’s Wear Daily, AnOther Magazine and others seeking our input on the forces re-shaping the fashion industry that are regularly covered in our pages.

So, without further ado, here is The Best of BoF from 2009. Happy reading!

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Martin Margiela Autumn/Winter 2009 | Source: Fashionologie

Martin Margiela to Leave Fashion House He Founded (NY Times)
“Insiders had known for months that Mr. Margiela had left the company in all but name. The designer’s particular vision, which had focused on the authenticity of the vintage artisan fused with modern photo prints depicting wrinkles or handwork, was missing from recent shows.”

Primark beats its one-day sales record (Independent)
“The flagship Primark store in London is thought to have enjoyed the best day’s trading in the discount fashion retailer’s 40-year history on Saturday, boosted by a traffic-free shopping day in the West End. The Oxford Street branch is understood to have taken more than £700,000, an increase of about 17 per cent on last year’s record for the store on the same day in December 2008.“

Talbots In Merger Deal, Swings To Surprise 3Q Profit (WSJ)
“Talbots Inc. is revamping its ownership structure to give the retailer more flexibility to complete its turnaround by infusing capital, reducing debt and shedding its majority shareholder…it is merging with a publicly traded shell company in which Talbots’ management will stay in place and the merger partner will hold a roughly 60% to 70% stake in the retailer.”

Louis Vuitton announces Madonna follow-up (Independent)
“Confirming earlier rumors, french luxury giant Louis Vuitton has unveiled next February’s ad campaign to the press, starring Madonna ‘replacement,’ supermodel Lara Stone.”

The Power 25: fashion’s most forward (Guardian)
“From fashion lecturers to PRs, introducing some of the less well-known names from the new list of fashion’s most influential figures.”

Maison Martin Margiela scarification | Source: ASVOF

In Part 1, we examined how the Maison Martin Margiela brand successfully adopted strategies of impersonality and invisibility to achieve cult status with consumers. Today, we explore how Mr. Margiela’s exit from the company could have been better managed by adopting strategies learned from real-world cults.

PARIS, France — In 2002, in an acquisition that was described as Greta Garbo marrying Harpo Marx, the Maison Martin Margiela brand was acquired by Only the Brave, owned by Renzo Rosso, making it a sister brand of Diesel.

Between 2002 and 2007, Margiela’s cult of invisibility turned into confusion and journalists and editors experienced a crisis of confidence. The clothes seems to show his hand at work, but it was increasingly difficult to tell, and the speculation became increasingly distracting from the fashion.

When asked in June 2008 if he could imagine Martin Margiela leaving the brand, Renzo Rosso said: “Never say never, but I cannot imagine. I love him.’

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Margiela image | Source: Maison Martin Margiela

The industry’s worst kept secret was confirmed this week when Renzo Rosso told Horatio Silva that he was “this close” to appointing a new designer at Maison Martin Margiela. Though Rosso says Margiela will continue to be involved from a distance, the loss of a founding designer at a namesake brand is not an easy transition to make. In the first of a two part series, our friends at Agenda Inc. examine how Maison Martin Margiela grew into a global cult brand, at the heart of which was the noisy invisibility of the eponymous designer.

PARIS, France — This month, after several years of intriguing – then frustrating – rumours among journalists, fashion editors and fans, Maison Martin Margiela announced that Margiela was no longer designing at the brand that he had created.

The reaction was confused. People wanted more information. As a cult brand, it had spent 20 years inspiring loyalty, love, and disciples. Despite years of communication that the brand was designed by a team – the hand of Margiela, albeit invisible, was a big part of the brand’s equity.

With Margiela gone, how should the brand evolve? There are lessons to be learned from real-world cults – who face varying levels of crisis when a leader leaves, retires, dies, kills himself, is proved embarrassingly wrong or – in some other way – is no longer available.

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