Uniqlo 5th Avenue Flagship in New York | Source: High Snobiety

Fast Retailing May Buy Bigger Rival in U.S., Europe on Yen (Bloomberg)
“Fast Retailing Co., Asia’s largest clothing chain, may buy a bigger rival in the U.S. or Europe after the yen’s advance to a postwar high against the dollar boosted the Japanese company’s purchasing power… The billionaire aims to take advantage of the yen’s climb to expand outside Japan, where an unexpectedly long summer damped demand for fall and winter clothing, contributing to a 12 percent decline in profit in the year through August.”

Calvin Klein’s largest market outside the US – China (Red Luxury)
“Outside of the US, China is Calvin Klein’s largest market with 50 percent annual sales growth for the past two years. Its China business has pulled ahead of other international markets… The company continues to expect stellar growth ahead. ‘Our business grew 50 percent in 2010, it will grow 50 percent this year and the way we’re going, we could see 50 percent again next year,’ said Tom Murry, chief executive officer and president of Calvin Klein. ‘Our global business has been growing at 10 to 15 percent, so you can see the business here is outpacing the global business by a long shot.’”

Gareth Pugh: His Dark Materials (Independent)
“‘She’s very beautiful. But she looks like she might kill you,’ says Gareth Pugh of model Alla Kostromichova, the lovely if admittedly somewhat intimidating face of his soon-to-launch, limited-edition line of make-up and accessories, designed in collaboration with Mac. And that just about sums up not only the designer’s aesthetic more broadly, but also this latest venture.”

Gucci coup: the Italian fashion house celebrates 90 years in fashion (Telegraph)
“If an essential element of a successful luxury brand is its history and heritage, then Gucci’s is more richly textured than most. In this, the 90th year since the establishment of the first Gucci boutique, the company has celebrated the opening of the Gucci museum in Florence, its founding city.”

Pierre Cardin on banks and working at 89 (BBC News)
“He began his career making costumes for the film-maker Jean Cocteau. Christian Dior took him under his wing and he launched his own label in 1950… In 1959, Cardin courted their further contempt when he launched the first ever ‘pret-a-porter’ (ready-to-wear) show for the mass market. Later he went into merchandising in a major way, with hundreds of Cardin franchises all over the world, many of them not exactly top-of-the-range.”

Louis Vuitton store in Mongolian capital, Ulaanbaatar | Source: Courtesy LV

The Luxury Frontier (WSJ)
“What happens when a country previously hindered by vastness and foreign rule awakens to wealth on its doorstep? With Louis Vuitton on one corner and one of the world’s largest gold deposits down the road, the previously nomadic society of Mongolia is putting down some rich roots.”

Paris Men’s: Dude Surfers (On the Runway)
“The Paris men’s shows could always surprise with a great venue, or staging, or casting that conveyed the spirit of the designs. But Thursday’s shows put out so little energy that they made a case for seeing the clothes in the showroom. Or catching them later online.”

Prada Is Making Fashion in China (WSJ)
“About 20% of Prada’s collections… are made in China. The Milan-based company manufactures outside Italy in other cheaper countries such as Vietnam, Turkey and Romania… ‘Sooner or later, it will happen to everyone because [Chinese manufacturing] is so good,’ Prada designer Miuccia Prada said in an interview.”

Uniqlo and Jil Sander part ways (Telegraph)
“The German fashion designer Jil Sander, feted for her minimalist aesthetic, and Japanese retailer Uniqlo, are to part ways after working together for almost three years. The +J collection , which was launched in 2009… will make its final foray into stores with a range for this coming autumn and winter.”

What Has Pierre Cardin Been Up To? (WSJ)
“The legendary fashion designer has purchased a vast array of buildings there over the past decade, and, the locals advised me, he was taking a hands-on approach to their reconstruction. His acquisitions now number more than 40, the most famous being the château of the notorious 18th-century libertine the Marquis de Sade.”

Fast Fashion | Source: Sydney Loves Fashion

Why fast fashion is slow death for the planet (Guardian)
“With high-street chains churning out fresh designs every few weeks, we now buy more cheap clothes than ever before. But as Lucy Siegle reveals in her hard-hitting new book To Die For, it’s a trend that will cost us far more than we imagine.”

Why Pay Full Price? (WSJ)
“Neiman Marcus’s loyalty program, InCircle, is a credit card that… allows the retailer to keep track of purchases, as well as shopping frequency and any cross-shopping among its brands. The loyalty program ‘can retain customers, it can get new customers, it could win back anybody who has lapsed.’”

Goldman and Softbank invest in Gilt (FT)
“Goldman Sachs and Softbank of Japan are at the head of a group of investors providing $138m in financing to Gilt Groupe… The new financing supports estimates valuing Gilt at about $1bn… ‘It’s a stamp of approval, a sign that Gilt is doing the right thing.’”

Fashion Brands Attempt To Assess Social Media’s ROI (Thread NY)
“Fashion brands are beginning to assess their return on investment (ROI) for engaging on Twitter, Facebook and blogging. Some brands are certainly finding more success than others—and many are left shaking their heads about what works and what doesn’t.”

The fashion god who brought his message to the streets (Independent)
“It was Pierre Cardin, 88 – who this week announced he was putting his business up for sale (for €1bn, or £880m) – who opened those doors, inventing the franchise, a fashion directive that has changed the face of consumer culture. ‘Everything is Pierre Cardin.’”

The Costume Institute's Savage Beauty | Source: Courtesy

Alexander McQueen in All His Dark Glory (IHT)
“The exhibition, which celebrates Mr. McQueen’s wild, unfettered and dark imagination: gothic Victoriana, dresses tufted with blood-red feathers, decorated with dying flowers or rattling with clamshells. The weird, wonderful accessories alone send a tingle down the spine.”

PPR to buy Volcom for $607.5 million (Los Angeles Times)
“Richard Woolcott, Volcom’s chief executive, called PPR the ‘perfect partner’ to take the brand to the next level. Volcom designs and distributes surf, skate and snowboard clothing and related products for young men and women under the motto ‘youth against establishment.’”

Sites That Send Shoppers What They Might Like (NY Times)
“The sites are the latest example of retailers inventing new ways to shop online… these shopping clubs aim to filter the seemingly infinite options online and show a small selection, catered to an individual’s taste.”

Pierre Cardin Ready to Sell His Overstretched Label (WSJ)
“At 88 years old, Mr. Cardin says he wants to sell his business to ensure it outlives him. ‘I want to sell it now,’ Mr. Cardin said in an interview in his corner office overlooking the French presidential palace. ‘I know I won’t be here in a few years and the business needs to continue.’”

Trend-spotting is the new £36bn growth business (Telegraph)
“In an era of social media and hyper-connectivity, trend forecasting is becoming more and more important for business. And it is therefore also becoming a big and highly competitive business.”

Pierre Cardin Cosmos Collection 1964 | Source: IHT

Pierre Cardin: One Step Ahead of Tomorrow (IHT)
“It is 60 years since Pierre Cardin, fashion’s eternal futurist, opened his Paris fashion house; half a century since he first brought his designs to a desolate, postwar Japan; and more than two decades since he pioneered fashion in China.”

Heritage crafts at risk (Guardian)
“Modern Britain, it seems, is not much fussed about the skills and knowledge that exist only in the minds, eyes and hands of people who make things – our living vernacular heritage. We like them, in a rose-tinted, nostalgic kind of way, but we don’t do much to support them.”

Versace CEO says no family owners to sell shares (Reuters)
“Versace, the Italian fashion house seeking to turn the page on its chequered past, is on track to be profitable by 2011 and family owners have no intention of selling their shares, its chief executive said.”

Tod’s 2009 div tops expectations, sees higher 2010 (Reuters)
“Italian designer shoe and bag maker Tod’s will pay a higher than expected dividend on 2009 profit that beat forecasts, and said it expected further growth on the back of orders for its autumn/winter collection.”

A Rare Spirit, a Rarer Eye (NY Times)
“That constancy has made Ms. Smith a trendsetter for several generations — how many young girls emulate her look of pegged jeans, boyfriend jackets and white shirts without ever realizing it?”