Chloe Raises the Roof at the Tuileries Tent in Paris | Photo: BoF

LONDON, United Kingdom — It was a fashion season of extreme weather. After the New York Fashion Week schedule was upended, first by an earthquake and then by the State of Emergency declaration that came courtesy of Hurricane Irene, an unprecedented heat wave in Paris threw buyers, editors and bloggers into a wardrobe tailspin.

The American editors were worst off, having packed for the European shows two weeks before Paris with no prior notice of the heat wave that was to come. After a few days of shows in impossibly hot venues, some of them resorted to ripping the sleeves off their outfits or just wearing their ‘airplane clothes.’

Brands tried to ease the pain. Fans were distributed at shows alongside champagne and much to everyone’s relief, Chloe arranged for the roof of the Tuileries tent to be removed for their show, letting in the sun and much welcome breeze. Meanwhile Net-a-Porter, always on top of a new market opportunity, delivered heat wave friendly clothes to editors caught without weather-appropriate attire.

But of course the real action was on the runway and in conversations between BoF and the good and the great of the global fashion tribe at a season filled with its fair share of events and parties.

Without further ado, it’s time to look back at Spring/Summer 2012, the season that was.

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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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Alexander Wang and gang | Source: 21-7magazine

Women of Wang (New York Magazine)
“He’s built an approximately $25 million business on cool but benign day-into-night clothes for lithe, pragmatic downtown girls who all appear to work in galleries or PR… anything vaguely “creative.” Wang synthesized the street-style-blog-derived notion of looking like a “model off duty,” a louche fantasy of effortlessly sexy living if ever there was one.”

Reed Krakoff Names Valérie Hermann President and CEO (Fashion etc)
“[Valérie Hermann] has been named president and chief executive officer at Reed Krakoff… ‘The possibility of building a new international luxury brand with such tremendous potential comes very rarely,’ she said, ‘and I’m excited about this logical new step in my career.’”

Nordstrom to acquire HauteLook (FT)
“Nordstrom, the upmarket US fashion department store chain, is acquiring HauteLook, one of a new generation of online ‘flash sale’ marketplace sites, in a deal reflecting the merger of digital and ‘bricks and mortar’ stores. The retailer is buying HauteLook… for $180m in stock, with the possibility of the cost rising to $270m.”

CNN Is Back to Covering Fashion (NY Times)
“‘There is room for fashion in our coverage,’ Ms. Cho said… ‘Our viewers crave hard news. They want the headlines about Egypt. But we shouldn’t discount the fact there are other topics we can cover, and I don’t think it makes me any less of a journalist to cover fashion… Designers are thrilled to have CNN looking at them again.’”

Tech Pushes Tradition Into the 21st Century (NY TImes)
“Today the most audacious prints and jacquards are created by computers. Alexander McQueen used the technology for his dramatic ‘Plato’s Atlantis’ show in October 2009, and in his final collection of medieval-inspired jacquards… And during New York Fashion Week, many designers, including Narciso Rodriguez and Joseph Altuzarra, used computerized prints.”

François-Henri Pinault | Source: Coolspotters

PPR Chief to Run Gucci Himself (NY Times)
“The French luxury magnate François-Henri Pinault said… he would personally take charge of Gucci Group as he reorganizes its parent company to focus on the most profitable businesses. Robert Polet, who has headed Gucci since 2004, will be stepping down in a few weeks… Mr. Pinault also said Paul Deneve would replace Valérie Hermann as chief executive of Yves Saint Laurent.”

At Marc Jacobs, the Show Before the Show (NY Times)
“‘Sometimes, I don’t know how we got from there to here,’ Mr. Duffy said, referring to the early days of his 27-year partnership with Mr. Jacobs, when the two of them constructed sets themselves and went around ‘with a tin cup’ to friends. ‘Nobody has any idea what it takes to do all this,’ he added.”

Hermès Wants LVMH to Cut Stake to Free Up Shares in the Market (Bloomberg)
“Hermès wants LVMH to reduce its stake by more than half to free up shares on the open market… With the family controlling more than 70 percent of Hermès stock, ‘it’s not normal’ that LVMH Chief Executive Officer Bernard Arnault should hold 20.2 percent of the shares, Bertrand Puech said in an interview in Paris yesterday. ‘We want him to reduce his stake to less than 10 percent.’”

Cinderella Dreams, Shoestring Budget? No Problem (WSJ)
“If consumers can rent a movie by mail, or wheels on a whim, why not a couture gown should the occasion strike? That’s the concept behind Rent the Runway, a website launched in November 2009 that promises to give ‘every woman the opportunity to be Cinderella for the night’.”

Cast Your Vote for Calgary (NY Times)
“Imran Amed, the founder and editor of the popular Web site The Business of Fashion, has teamed with the renowned British leather craftsman Bill Amberg to create a new line of unisex totes designed with the globetrotting fashion follower in mind.”

L-R Donna Karan, Marc Jacobs, Theyskens’ Theory | Source: Style.com

On the Straight and Narrow (IHT)
“It is back to the straight and narrow in New York Fashion Week. No more loose and sloppy casual clothes, easy sportswear or girlish frills. Women — grown-up women — are being asked to smarten up.”

Who Buys These Clothes? They Do (WSJ)
“Many of the runway styles are actually purchased by a small group of customers, not all of them from the isle of Manhattan. And unlike celebrities and socialites, who often get designer clothes at no charge in exchange for publicity, these customers pay full price.”

Puma feels pinch of higher wage, commodity costs (Reuters)
“German sportswear maker Puma joined rivals Adidas and Nike in warning of price rises for its products as a result of rising commodity and wage costs… the rising costs meant net profit would not grow as fast as sales in 2011, and margins would be lower.”

Sally Singer Talks T (WWD)
“‘For me, it’s what I want from The New York Times on a weekend… I want a good, sexy, neurotic story about New York literary life in the Seventies. I want the New York Review of Book parties. I want a little Farrar, Strauss and Giroux. You have that literary dream of New York.’”

Anna Wintour talks exclusively to Telegraph TV (Telegraph)
“Anna Wintour… talks about Alexander McQueen’s legacy and her favourites memories of his shows. She expalins why Rodarte, the avant-garde American label has the potential to be another ‘McQueen’ or ‘Galliano’ and reveals why she loves London’s street style.”