Benetton Unhate campaign | Source: Foto Telegraf

Benetton to make decision on delisting (FT)
“The Benetton family will decide at a board meeting on Wednesday whether to delist the Italian knitwear group known for its brightly coloured jumpers after the company posted another plunge in profits as it struggles to compete with Inditex and H&M.”

Luxury Companies That Can Bring You Closer to the Good Life (Money Morning)
“A lot of consumers are hurting right now, but you wouldn’t know that looking at the earnings of major luxury companies. Many luxury companies like LVMH Moet Hennessey Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Hermès, and Coach Inc had a stronger-than-expected 2011 campaign.”

Bright Young Things (Vogue)
“The British Fashion Council has announced the launch of International Fashion Showcase – a platform for international emerging designers – which will take place during London Fashion Week. Nineteen embassies and cultural institutes across London will display work from over 80 rising designers, spanning the world from Belgium to Botswana.”

The Finnish Fashion Blogger Who Landed A Deal With Diesel (Business Insider)
“Sandra Hagelstam, 24, is the founder of the hot fashion blog 5inchdesandup.com. She started blogging to create a daily log of what she wears… ‘(The blog) has opened up doors for me I never would have imagined in terms of being able to design my own collection and collaborate with others.’”

Divided they stand: the new extremists (Telegraph)
“This may look like a classic case of Roundhead versus Cavalier. Or Minimalist meets Maximalist. But that’s too simplistic.Neither Mary Katrantzou or Osman Yousefzada can be that easily pigeonholed.”

GAP S/S 2010 Ad Campaign | Source: Denimology

Gap Profit Up 40 per cent As Old Navy Drives Sales (WSJ)
“Gap Inc. (GPS) reported a 40% increase in profits for the first quarter, as sales were boosted by strong performance at the company’s budget brand, Old Navy. Sales at that division rose 6.8% to $1.3 billion, accounting for nearly 40% of Gap Inc.’s total.”

Versace and Kane: An Odd Mix That Works (NYT)
“They are an odd couple, Mr. Kane and Ms. Versace, in an industry of convenient marriages. Who in the fashion world could compete with her view of glamour? He, on the other hand, grasps the Versaces mentally — through pictures. He can’t help it, being born in 1982, when Gianni Versace did his first metal-mesh dresses.”

Fashion sales up but future looks gloomy (Times Online)
“Sales of clothes, shoes and textiles were 9.5 per cent higher than in April last year, the biggest annual rise since July last year…Analysts said that retailers would struggle to keep up the momentum as households faced sluggish earnings growth and political uncertainty as well as tax rises and spending cuts.”

LVMH says has no plans to sell Kenzo (Reuters)
“LVMH said it had no plans to sell Kenzo, denying a report in Les Echos that said the luxury group was looking for potential buyers for the loss-making fashion brand.”

Osman Yousefzada stars in new V&A Fashion in Motion series (Telegraph)
“Yousefzada designs through instinct, his creations reflecting a deep-rooted sensibility and poetic approach, inspired both by history and the future. He is renowned for his innovative cutting and dramatic draping, and so contemporary dancers will also be on hand to demonstrate the extraordinary way in which his designs move on the human form.”

Andrew Rosen | Source: The High Line Portrait Project

Made in Midtown: Meet Andrew Rosen, Theory (Huffington Post)
“As an inveterate horseman, Andrew Rosen knows the power of bloodlines– and in his, fashion run deep. His grandfather Arthur, a dress-maker, launched Puritan Manufacturing Co. in Boston nearly a century ago. ‘I remember as a young boy running around the factories and the warehouses, playing in-between all the clothes,’ he says.”

Lululemon rides out recession in quality fashion (The Globe and Mail)
“Christine Day could have followed the path of other high-end retailers in the recession. They slashed prices and scaled back offerings as consumers pulled back their spending. Instead, the chief executive officer of yoga wear purveyor Lululemon Athletica Inc. took a contrarian approach – and now it’s paying off.”

Alexander McQueen launches men’s underwear range (Telegraph)
“There has been mounting speculation over the future of the Alexander McQueen brand. It’s comforting news then, that business appears to be continuing as usual: the label has just launched its first men’s underwear collection for autumn/winter 2010.”

India’s Fashion Is Its Own Victim (WSJ)
“Fashion weeks are supposed to be trade events where fashion editors and department store buyers are the most-sought after, front-row guests. In India, for some reason, most of the front row is reserved for Bollywood actresses, retired models and socialites.”

Osman Yousefzada is the rising star of fashion (Evening Standard)
“When news broke last month that Sarah Brown had commissioned four new outfits from Yousefzada, it was confirmation that the Afghan-British designer is being taken very seriously.”

Osman Yousefzada is one London designer who has shown a knack for building his business without an active investor on board. Not only is he consulting for a high profile British luxury chain, he is collaborating with Mango to release a capsule collection of little black dresses which will hit Mango stores worldwide in March, after an exclusive selling period at Selfridges in London. These projects help Osman by injecting cash to finance production and operating costs for the business.

Mango also hosted Osman’s show today in its Oxford Street flagship, causing quite a stir as regular shoppers mixed in with London’s fashion flock. The choice of location works for both parties because Osman gets free space and solid evidence of his partnership with Mango, while Osman brings new people into the store and ups its Mango’s fashion cred. Perhaps it does not have the quirky ambiance of a schoolhouse in Shoreditch or a tunnel in the South Bank, but it does the trick anyway, and the long catwalk allowed many of the buyers and press to see the clothes up close.

Osman’s collection of minimalist layered shift dresses was accented with draped fabric, something of an Osman signature, and occasionally injected with color or accent at the waist, which sometimes evoked the style of a matador. The coloured pieces were best, and stood out on the clean tailored lines of the collection. The injection of colour was also in tune with the Autumn/Winter collections we saw for Fall on the New York catwalks.

Osman has recently been nominated for the annual Design of the Year award at the Design Museum, alongside modern fashion design heavyweights like Issey Miyake and Pierre Hardy.

Malini Murjani, the New York based handbag designer known for her exotic skins and ethnic chic,  is holding a private trunk show next week for her exclusive private client list. Check out her website. It is hot.

Afshin Feiz recently held a trunk show in London. As of next season, Afshin, who is based in Paris and has been showing in New York up until now, will have his London debut, joining the ranks of many upcoming designers who see London as a potential launchpad.

Osman Yousefzada, is one such designer. He has been showing London for several seasons now has a new shared space with Jenne O, known for her sexy shoes, on Québec St, just north of Oxford Street in Central London. Osman and Jenne will be hosting a gallery opening later this month, and will also take the opportunity to have a sample sale.

This is not only a good way to gain additional revenues. It is also one way that many emerging designers help to fund their production needs. By providing a lucky few with the ability to order next season’s collections in advance at wholesale prices or by selling samples from previous seasons, designers can use the money to pay their suppliers for their production needs. This helps to cover the production costs of some of the orders from department stores and major boutiques who are often reluctant to put down a deposit (sometimes because they fear they will never see the orders, sometimes because they just have so much power over these small companies that they can do whatever they want).

Somehow, the edgy venue and refined collection came together very well in a sort of  modern elegance, best exemplified by a hooded-dress that looked stunning from behind. There were also Lily Cole’s legs in a short sea grey skirt with ruffly pleats. A stream a immacuately cut dresses and trousers followed, each with hints of embellishment (okay, sometimes they were more than hints) and draping. While still a commercial collection you could imagine in the boutiques , it was a stronger statement of Osman’s signature than the last collection, which lacked the maturity that the new collection demonstrated. Some of the skin-tight mini dresses didnt work as well, though they were well-executed.

Selfridge’s are actively supporting Osman, having provided him with a coveted Oxford street window during Fashion Week, provided the venue for his show, and securing exclusivityfor Osman’s collection in London. It is great to see the industry get behind a designer and support him. It benefits both parties – so everybody wins.