Steven Kolb | Photo: Carly Otness/BFAnyc.com

PARIS, France — The fashion world is in a tizzy. Ever since the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana (CNMI) laid down the gauntlet, scheduling next autumn’s Milan Fashion Week from September 19th to 24th, a massive rift has emerged amongst the fashion fraternity.

New York Fashion Week, organised by the Council for Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), is scheduled to start on the 13th of September and conclude on the 20th. London Fashion Week, organised by the British Fashion Council (BFC), is supposed to run from the 21st to the 24th. But based on the dates currently being proposed for Milan Fashion Week, which the CNMI insist were communicated back in 2010, Milan would not only conflict with the end of New York Fashion Week, but completely overlap with London. Paris Fashion Week, organised by the Fédération française de la Couture, du Prêt à Porter des Couturiers et des Créateurs de Mode (known informally as the Chambre Syndicale), would follow Milan, and begin on the 25th. In short, it’s a jumble of acronyms and national organisations trying to oversee what is effectively a fashion month for a global industry.

In response to this serious scheduling problem, Jonathan Newhouse, Chairman of Condé Nast International issued a statement: “We at Condé Nast do not want the schedule to be changed. We very much oppose moving the Milan shows earlier so that they overlap or conflict with the London fashion shows — or with the New York fashion shows or those of any market,” he said, adding that various international editors of Vogue would not attend a Milan Fashion Week that conflicted with its counterparts. Milan has not budged on the 2012 dates, but they have proposed to discuss the 2013 dates.

Contrast this dispute with my surroundings as I sat down for tea with Steven Kolb, chief executive of the CFDA, on a park bench in Paris’ Palais-Royal, surrounded by stores from fashion brands from all over the world. It was clear proof of the global nature of our industry, as CFDA President Diane von Furstenberg articulated a few days ago in an open letter to the fashion community. “We share the same goals as Milan, Paris, and London,” she wrote. In other words, pitting fashion weeks against each other is like the fashion industry feeding upon itself.

Mr. Kolb was in town for “Americans in Paris,” inspired by the British Fashion Council’s “London Showrooms” concept, a perfect example of how fashion weeks can learn from each other. It’s the latest in a slew of CFDA initiatives designed to support America’s burgeoning young fashion talents, including Prabal Gurung (Nepali), Sophie Theallet (French) and Simon Spurr (British), all of whom came to America from other countries. It’s an international fashion world after all.

I met with Mr. Kolb while all this fashion week in-fighting was only just simmering, and had yet to reach boiling point. But nonetheless, it became an important part of our conversation, along with the future of fashion week more generally and the prospects for young fashion designers in America.

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London Fashion Week, Somerset House | Source: Zimbio

Battle of the catwalks as Milan clashes fashion week with London (Telegraph)
“Milan has announced that its fashion week next September will overlap those of New York and London, meaning that if no solution can be found, department store buyers and fashion magazine editors would be forced to choose one city over another.”

Burberry slumps on fears of end to Asian boom (Guardian)
“Shares in the British superbrand Burberry took a fresh pummelling as investors worried that the sun was setting on the luxury goods sales boom in Asia. Nearly £2bn has been wiped off Burberry’s market value in the past three months on fears that the Chinese economy has started to splutter.”

Stella McCartney Keeps It in Perspective (NY Times)
“Ms. McCartney also does not have that designer problem of reducing a woman’s life to one or two moments: work, a fancy party. She also makes outfits that strongly hint of home, like a piped pajama shirt worn with a matching foulard-dot pantsuit, or a loose sweater or easy all-in-one to wear to a casual dinner. And they are done with a slightly wacky sense of humor that one assumes reflects her own life and those of the people on her staff.”

H&M Targets Expansion in Asia (Bloomberg)
“Hennes & Mauritz, Europe’s second- largest clothing retailer, plans to step up the expansion of its new brands in Asia, anticipating that Chinese consumers will favor more-expensive labels such as Monki and COS… H&M is adding stores in China more rapidly than anywhere else, turning to the world’s fastest-growing major economy to help reverse falling profit.”

Christian Louboutin retrospective to open in London (Telegraph)
“Launching at the end of March 2012, London’s Design Museum will host an exhibition detailing the story of the shoe designer’s rise to the top of the glamorous footwear game, from his launch in 1991 to the present day, when he dresses the feet of everyone from Victoria Beckham to Lady Gaga.”

L-R Gucci, Fendi, Etro Spring/Summer 2012 | Source: Style.com

Yelling ‘Fire’ on a Crowded Runway (NY Times)
“Without question, we can count on Miuccia Prada, Raf Simons at Jil Sander, Karl Lagerfeld at Fendi and, at times, Tomas Maier of Bottega Veneta to say something with fashion, and not just offer approachable clothes. But there should be many more designers in Milan with that driving ambition. Otherwise, the future of fashion will be in jeopardy.”

LVMH says it controls 98.09 pct of Bulgari (Reuters)
“LVMH , the world’s biggest luxury group, said  it controls 98.09 percent of Italy’s Bulgari after minority shareholders tendered their shares as part of its 3.7 billion euro ($5 billion) offer for the high-end jeweler. The deal will double LVMH’s watch and jewelry business to make up around 10 percent of its sales and about 6 percent of operating profit, according to analysts.”

Magazines Begin to Sell the Fashion They Review (NY Times)
“While the glossies have long had a reputation for accommodating the designers they cover, sometimes guaranteeing coverage to those who advertise in their pages, a wave of new ventures and partnerships suggests they are willing to go even further by selling the designers’ clothes.”

A Glimpse Into the Lesser Known (On the Runway)
“While New York and London have built reputations for discovering new talent, making their Fashion Weeks more exciting, Milan’s fashion calendar is dominated by what you could describe as a council of village elders, leaving little room for upstarts to be noticed. That’s starting to change, season by season, with events like Who Is On Next?”

Ready To Wear: In fashion, to tweet or remain discreet? (Independent)
“How best to showcase a forthcoming collection when even the most well-heeled of Western consumers must surely be tightening her belt?… In the red corner, we have Burberry. This is a brand that upholds democracy with pride. With this in mind, the company staged what it described as the world’s first-ever ‘tweetwalk’… In the blue corner: Tom Ford… decided that he doesn’t want any pictures and/or reviews of his clothing to appear until it goes on sale at the beginning of next year.”

Gucci Spring/Summer 2012 | Source: Style.com

Gucci at 90: ‘Hard Deco’ (IHT)
“The Gucci designer Frida Giannini, celebrating the brand’s 90th year, certainly sent out a polished and upscale collection, with shiny metallic surfaces and a focus on jazzy evening outfits — even if they were inspired by the 1920s, when flappers danced up to the edge of the Great Depression.”

Milan fashion picks glam over gloom (Reuters)
“Designers have prepared a marathon of catwalk shows and gala openings to wow shoppers and woo their wallets at a Milan fashion week… ‘This is our chance to react to the crisis,’ Mario Boselli, chairman of Italy’s National Chamber of Fashion… Fashion is a key contributor to the euro-zone’s third largest economy. Italian brands are expected to generate total revenues of almost 63 billion euros (54.9 billion pounds) this year.”

Designer-hungry China in sight at London fashion (Reuters)
“The world’s biggest luxury market within five years has become a second home for brands such Hermes, Prada and Tiffany & Co that tap Chinese appetite for sports cars, luxury handbags and diamonds. And British designers have taken note.’There’s quite a boom in the world of fashion and I believe that is mostly because of China,’ designer Vivienne Westwood told Reuters.”

The etail highway to China (FT)
“Yoox Group, the Italian company that builds and manages about half the fashion world’s etail outlets (Armani, Marni, Zegna, Dolce & Gabbana etc.) and has taken Armani and Dolce into China, is to make a move of its own into the country. Next week, thecorner.com, its high-end multi-brand boutique, will become the first multi-brand etailer to launch in China.”

Former Intermix COO Raises $33M For Fashion Brand JustFabulous (Forbes)
“Launched in March 2010, JustFabulous has a subscription fashion business built on its personalized fashion styling advice and in-house designed clothing and lifestyle brand. After just more than one year, the site already has 2.5 million members and more than $3 million in revenue per month.”

Pucci Autumn/Winter 2011 | Source: Style.com

In Milan, Trying to Leap the Obstacles (NY Times)
“Maybe reality is always too unreal without time to reflect, but the problem now seems acute for designers. Many say they don’t have time to design in the traditional sense: exploring new fabrics and shapes. Some have unusual corporate pressures. Their instinct, then, is not to look around them but to adapt the myths of the last few hundred years, be they Mods, flappers or horse-riding dukes.”

Video Raises Questions for Designer (NY Times)
“John Galliano, the chief designer for Christian Dior, faced fresh accusations on Monday of anti-Semitism after a video surfaced of Mr. Galliano appearing to deliver a tirade in a Paris bar…As the video circulated Monday, executives from Dior and its parent company, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, held emergency meetings about how to respond.”

Icelanders put All Saints up for sale (Telegraph)
“All Saints said that the banks ‘are looking to exit and realise a return on their investment’… The retailer, known for its grungy chic, currently has 63 stores and 47 concessions in the UK, Europe, the US and Russia. It is majority-owned by Kevin Stanford, the entrepreneur who built up the Karen Millen clothing chain with his ex-wife of the same name.”

Luxottica Targets Growth in Emerging Markets (Bloomberg)
“Luxottica, the world’s largest maker of eyeglasses, predicted it will increase revenue and profitability this year as consumer demand for branded goods rises. The company is in ‘an ideal position to continue throughout 2011 with solid, stable growth in net sales and a more than proportionate increase in profitability.’”

The Lady Whisperer (WSJ)
“Since launching his namesake label in 2006, American sportswear designer and maestro of the cocktail dress Jason Wu has earned a devout following among Hollywood ingénues and society gals… Now a household name, the Parsons alum continues to forgo fleeting trends for timeless, elegant ensembles in his growing empire of ready to wear, bridal and accessories.”