Nick Knight: Techno King (IHT)
“What makes this glossy magazine photo session different is not just that it takes place in a London museum… It’s that there are thousands, maybe millions, of other viewers out there in cyberspace following the live stream, watching the hairdresser flicking Natalia’s Mohawk or sending tweets about her luminous beauty.”

Mariella Burani mulls strategic investor (Reuters)
“Debt-laden Mariella Burani Fashion Group is weighing taking on a strategic investor after it failed to close a debt restucturing accord ahead of a Monday deadline, the luxury goods company said.”

H&M: October sales drop but Jimmy Choo range is a success (Drapers)
“Total sales across the group grew 7% in October compared to the same month the previous year. The results came as H&M opened its doors to its latest designer collaboration, this time with Jimmy Choo which drew crowds across the country this weekend.”

Asos enjoys overseas sales boost (BBC)
“A big push into new international markets has boosted sales at online fashion retailer Asos. International sales grew by 112% in the six months to 30 September. Asos added 56 countries to its reach and now trades in 114 places.”

Iman: The model entrepreneur (CNN)
“One of the most recognized models of the 1970s and ’80s, Iman has used her entrepreneurial skills to great effect in the fashion industry, with her own cosmetics business and in her charitable fund-raising work.”

Tramps, Past, Present & Couture - Dior Couture A/W 2001 | Source: SHOWstudio

LONDON, United Kingdom — For many fashion companies, 2009 was the year the internet arrived. In the face of an unprecedented economic crisis and overwhelming evidence that affluent consumers are highly active online, senior executives across the industry are finally starting to embrace digital media with a new strategic seriousness.

There was no better sign of this than the impressive gala held during London Fashion Week to celebrate fashion website SHOWstudio and its groundbreaking exhibition at Somerset House, “Fashion Revolution.”

When it was launched by photographer Nick Knight in November of 2000, SHOWstudio was ahead of its time. Indeed, “Fashion Revolution” celebrates nine years of restless experimentation and digital innovation. But for the majority of brands, retailers and publishers, who are still struggling to understand the radical impact the internet is having on fashion communication, the retrospective also offers urgent lessons for the present. We think it’s a must-see for executives, creatives and editors alike.

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Screenshot from David David fashion film | Source: David David

NEW YORK, United States — Fashion film was everywhere this season. Emerging and established designers alike dreamt up new ways to use the medium, proving it to be an increasingly powerful and flexible format for capturing, heightening and transmitting the energy of the collections.

In New York, designers Gareth Pugh and Tim Hamilton presented films that acted as prequels and sequels to their respective Paris runway shows, extending their presence across multiple fashion capitals. While in London, DAVID DAVID presented a series of clean and cost-effective films in lieu of an expensive runway show, Richard Nicoll showed a haunting short to introduce his catwalk outing, and luxury knitwear manufacturers Pringle of Scotland returned to London Fashion Week with a beautiful film featuring Tilda Swinton.

Fashion film was a powerful force in Paris, as well. Alexander McQueen integrated film into his visionary, technology-infused show, creating a heightened, multimedia experience for the editors and buyers in attendance, while beaming the spectacle to the world via twin robotic cameras and a link up with Nick Knight’s website SHOWstudio.

Fashion film also made an appearance alongside the collections. In a timely homage to an early pioneer, Parisian department store Le Bon Marché held a beautifully installed exhibition titled “Guy Bourdin: ses films.” Meanwhile, across the Seine at the Palais de Tokyo, fashion blogger Diane Pernet staged her second annual fashion film festival, screening recent films by Steven Klein, Nick Knight and others.

What follows is a BoF Best of the Season selection of what we think were the most innovative and captivating fashion films (and fashion film happenings) we saw this season. (RSS and Email subscribers, click here to view the films).

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Nick Knight on location

Nick Knight on fashion, photographs and failings (Times)
Luke Leitch interviews Nick Knight: “I have friends in the City who are amazed by how the fashion business is conducted. It’s controlled by a few people, and not particularly well.”

Inditex 1H Pft Beats Views; Plans Online Push (WSJ)
“Inditex SA, Europe’s top fashion retailer by revenue, Wednesday said it plans a major push online for its flagship Zara-brand, as it reported better-than expected first-half earnings.”

Two Fashion Stalwarts, Reared on Same Bronx Catwalk (New York Times)
“Ralph Lauren (né Lifshitz) and Calvin Klein were raised in the Norwood neighborhood along Mosholu Parkway in the 1940s and 1950s, with Mr. Klein living at in an apartment house at 3191 Rochambeau Avenue and Mr. Lauren in an apartment building on Kossuth Avenue overlooking the parkway itself, according to Lloyd Ultan, the Bronx historian.”

Recession Dims Stars’ Style Power (WSJ)
“The struggles of William Rast, which didn’t show in the New York Fashion Week tents this week, are a sign of the times. The downturn in high-end fashion is hitting celebrity-backed brands hard. Many are disappearing. U.S. sales of celebrity-licensed products fell to $2.9 billion last year after peaking in 2006 at $3.5 billion, according to the Licensing Letter, a trade publication.”

Louis Vuitton eyes Lebanon expansion (Forbes)
“French fashion brand Louis Vuitton, which will open its flagship Middle East store in Dubai next month, is in the ‘final stages’ of a planned expansion into Lebanon, a company official said on Tuesday. Damien Vernet, general manager for the fashion house’s Middle East and India operations, said the company was also looking into Egypt, Jordan and in Syria as possible markets.”

In the third and final installment of our in-depth feature on the future of fashion magazines, we address the biggest online trend of all — the fashion film.

LONDON, United Kingdom — Pioneered by SHOWstudio and powered by the spread of broadband internet and the popularity of video sharing sites like YouTube and Vimeo, fashion film has emerged as the most influential new format for fashion editorial online. Shorts like “Black and White,” captured on set by Nick Knight and former assistant Ruth Hogben during Mr Knight’s shoots for British Vogue, use music and movement to communicate the power and poetry of fashion in a way that static editorial simply can’t.

Fashion film has taken off at Dazed Digital also. “We have been experimenting with some of these directors to shoot fashion videos direct to the web and the results are cost effective and really impressive,” said Jefferson Hack. For a recent editorial previewing the Autumn/Winter 2009 menswear collections, Dazed Digital published an online fashion film, shot by Matt Irwin and styled by Robbie Spencer, to accompany the still images.

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