Tommy Hilfiger | Source: Badische Zeitung

Tommy Hilfiger Dreams of Limitless Horizons (IHT)
“‘We are really living the American dream,’ Mr. Hilfiger said, ‘to be a successful brand in the States and in Europe and to steep ourselves in our heritage. But we do it with a sense of humor. We don’t take ourselves too seriously in fashion.’”

‘Cyber Monday’ Sales Show Strength (WSJ)
“Online retailers experienced a sales surge Monday, capping off a holiday shopping week in which more Americans than ever decided to skip the mall and buy on the Web. Early estimates indicated overall sales gains of about 20% from a year earlier for ‘Cyber Monday.’”

Saunders For Escada (Vogue UK)
“Jonathan Saunders has been enlisted by Escada to create a collection for its Escada Sport label. The Scottish designer will present the 20-piece offering as part of the label’s 2010 resort collection in London and Paris next June.”

Primark store sets new sales record (Independent)
“The discount fashion chain Primark achieved record takings of more than £820,000 at its flagship store in the West End of London on Saturday. The best one-day performance of any Primark shop in its 41-year history.”

Anna Sui’s new book (Telegraph)
“Sui’s anniversary book, featuring Christy Turlington, Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell and Linda Evangelista, is a walk down memory lane for the boho-chic designer.”

Primark Fall 2010 Lookbook | Source: Hey Crazy

Primark is the best summer seller (Independent)
“Love it or loathe it, you can’t avoid it – at least not anymore. As we report… Primark became Britain’s biggest clothes retailer by sales volumes over the summer. That is a position that has traditionally been occupied by Marks and Spencer.”

How Bergdorf Goodman understands the new luxury purchase funnel (Luxury Daily)
“Upscale department store Bergdorf Goodman has adjusted to consumer fragmentation across communication channels by tightly integrating its print, direct mail, online and mobile strategies to push its fall 2010 collections.”

Neiman Marcus gives fashion bargain hunters a final shot (Internet Retailer)
“Known as Last Call, the brand, which Neiman Marcus launched online and with a retail… features [goods] that were previously sold in Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman stores, at discounts of 30% to 65%.”

Coach’s Profit Increases 34%, Beating Analysts’ Estimates (Bloomberg)
“Chief Executive Officer Lew Frankfort cited ‘Resiliency’ in handbags and accessories in North America for the gains… The company also cut average prices to spur spending.”

Britain’s prisoners sew their way to a better future (Independent)
“The thought of finding hardened criminals bent industriously over their embroidery, counting stitches and arguing over patchwork might seem far-fetched, but… this unlikely scenario is not only a reality, but a highlight of their daily prison life.”

Full Spectrum, Less Spectacle (NY Times)
“Don’t be fooled by the giant lion at Chanel… Most of the remaining half-dozen or so houses that show haute couture scaled down their presentations… a nip here, a tuck there and a P.R. man explaining in a hushed tone that the designer wanted to ‘return to couture’s roots.’”

Luxury shoppers pull back in June (Bloomberg)
“MasterCard Advisor’s SpendingPulse reported late Wednesday that luxury spending dropped 3.9 percent in June from a year earlier, the first decline since November.”

Primark’s sales boosted by £12 dresses and £10 shoes (Guardian)
“Its £12 floral dresses and court shoes for a tenner pulled in shoppers, with analysts estimating like-for-like sales increased 7% in the 16 weeks to 19 June. That is just shy of the 8% figure reported for the first six months and better than high street rivals.”

Tesco to make its West End fashion debut (Telegraph)
“The supermarket… has already looked at potential sites on Oxford Street and High Street Kensington. The store would be branded F&F after Tesco’s own-label clothing range, previously called Florence & Fred.”

In Fashion, Lifestyle, Not Age, Defines a Consumer Group (Forbes India)
“Renzo Rosso looks every bit the rebel. His graying curls peep out of a baseball cap and tattoos pop out from under his T-shirt as he animatedly talks about the denim brand he started fresh out of college and his fashion philosophy.”

Coach Spring/Summer 2009 Featuring Ali Michael | Source: Coach

Coach Doubles Dividend as Earnings Top Estimates (BusinessWeek)
“Coach Inc., the largest U.S. maker of luxury leather handbags, doubled its dividend and announced an expansion in Europe … The company said it planned to open at least 14 stores in France … with Printemps, the French department-store chain. Coach has also agreed in principle to create a joint venture with Hackett Ltd. to open stores in the U.K., Spain, Portugal and Ireland.”

High street retailers show their resilience (Independent)
“Burberry, the fashion giant, said its sales had risen by 6 per cent during the first half of its year, adding that profits were now likely to come in above previous expectations of around £200m. Meanwhile, Primark, said it was also seeing strong demand continuing, with profits up 18 per cent during the first half to £144m.”

Estrella Out (Vogue)
“The Ungaro plot grows thicker today with the announcement that head designer Estrella Archs has left her position at the French house.”

Asos aims for £1bn global operation (Times)
“The online fashion retailer reported a sales rise of 38 per cent in the year to the end of March, a slower rate than previously, but insisted that its international expansion meant that it could quadruple in size by 2015.”

What’s in a Label? Say It in French (NY Times)
“The environment of Ms. Marant’s new SoHo store is reflective of the finished-yet-unpolished look of her clothing: artsy structures in raw wood; acoustic French folk music.”

Zac Posen for Target Spring/Summer 2010 | Source: Refinery 29

Mom, I’ll Make a Profit Soon (WSJ)
“Mrs. Posen has been pressing for more attention to the commercial side—as opposed to the artistic side—of fashion. The company has added new lines, shed expenses and employees, and even moved some production from Italy to China to save money.”

Jaeger targets younger shoppers (FT)
“Boutique by Jaeger aims to compete with high street stores such as Whistles, Reiss and All Saints, but also with diffusion ranges from upmarket designers such as Marc by Marc Jacobs and See by Chloé.”

Anya Hindmarch designs a collection of coats for Barbour (Telegraph)
“Hindmarch, who launched her own label at the age of 19, in 1993, has created four exclusive designs for Barbour’s autumn/winter 2010 collection.”

Seventies Chic, Eighties Excess—Here’s Where It All Started (Style.com)
“Saillard’s latest show presents ‘an ideal history of contemporary fashion’ of the seventies and eighties, seen through films of the era’s shows and television reports.”

Primark owner’s shares fall after City criticism of fast-fashion chain (Telegraph)
“Primark has long been held up as the retail success story of the millennium, but yesterday the fast-fashion chain suffered a rare piece of City criticism when analysts at Deutsche Bank suggested it was overvalued.”

Martin Margiela Autumn/Winter 2009 | Source: Fashionologie

Martin Margiela to Leave Fashion House He Founded (NY Times)
“Insiders had known for months that Mr. Margiela had left the company in all but name. The designer’s particular vision, which had focused on the authenticity of the vintage artisan fused with modern photo prints depicting wrinkles or handwork, was missing from recent shows.”

Primark beats its one-day sales record (Independent)
“The flagship Primark store in London is thought to have enjoyed the best day’s trading in the discount fashion retailer’s 40-year history on Saturday, boosted by a traffic-free shopping day in the West End. The Oxford Street branch is understood to have taken more than £700,000, an increase of about 17 per cent on last year’s record for the store on the same day in December 2008.“

Talbots In Merger Deal, Swings To Surprise 3Q Profit (WSJ)
“Talbots Inc. is revamping its ownership structure to give the retailer more flexibility to complete its turnaround by infusing capital, reducing debt and shedding its majority shareholder…it is merging with a publicly traded shell company in which Talbots’ management will stay in place and the merger partner will hold a roughly 60% to 70% stake in the retailer.”

Louis Vuitton announces Madonna follow-up (Independent)
“Confirming earlier rumors, french luxury giant Louis Vuitton has unveiled next February’s ad campaign to the press, starring Madonna ‘replacement,’ supermodel Lara Stone.”

The Power 25: fashion’s most forward (Guardian)
“From fashion lecturers to PRs, introducing some of the less well-known names from the new list of fashion’s most influential figures.”

Thom Browne’s New Deal (On the Runway)
“Thom Browne… has sold the majority stake of his business to the Cross Company, the Japanese apparel company he began a relationship with in August. The deal, announced Thursday, lets Mr. Browne maintain creative control of his collection. It will also take some financial pressure off the designer.”

Saks Trades Sales for Margin After Discount Setback (Bloomberg)
“Saks Inc., the New York-based luxury retailer, offered smaller discounts in November than last year and cut inventories to help shrink losses at the expense of sales… Saks reverted to promotion levels of two years ago after offering discounts of 50 percent off already-reduced merchandise in 2008, the worst holiday season in four decades.”

Web 2.0 Creating a Digital Revolution for Fashion (AiInSite)
“A digital revolution is sweeping the fashion world. And this revolution will be blogged, streamed, and tweeted instantaneously. Web 2.0, which describes the interactive second wave of Internet use, heralds a more egalitarian way for designers and shoppers to reach each other.”

Primark faces new claims that it uses sweatshop labour (Independent)
“Primark was embroiled in a new row over the treatment of sweatshop workers today as shareholders gathered to celebrate record profits at the budget clothing chain.”

A gem of an idea (FT)
“As an economy of scale, Ducas ordered double the number of cufflinks her mother needed. She sold the surplus to London’s Harvey Nichols department store – prompting Ayton to write a business plan for a company the couple would later name Links of London.”

Anna Wintour, Cindi Leive and Roberta Myers

2009′s Most Powerful Fashion Magazine Editors (Forbes)
“This year, moving pictures mattered to U.S. magazine editors like never before.”

Gucci Group sees Balenciaga as a rising star (Forbes)
“Balenciaga, the trendy fashion house favoured by actresses such as Charlotte Gainsbourg, is the fastest growing brand within the Gucci Group and meeting all pre-crisis targets, its head said on Monday.”

Primark delivers ‘stunning’ sales (Independent)
“Primark, the discount fashion retailer, has posted recession-defying sales in its second half, and vowed to press ahead with its store opening programme.”

‘Time Style & Design’ Quarterly is No More (Media Post)
“Time Inc. is suspending publication of fashion quarterly Time Style & Design because of the collapse of the luxury market.”

A Decade Sophisticated but Louder (New York Times)
“With the spring 2010 collections beginning in less than a week, let’s take a moment to reflect on what designers have wrought over the decade that is coming to an end. What will fashion of the aughties be remembered for, if anything more than hipster uniforms and the Olsen twins?”

Burberry S/S 09 ad campaign, courtesy of Burberry

Burberry wholesale sales slide (Drapers)
“Burberry’s revenue rose 2% on an underlying basis and grew by 21% to £663 million for the six months ended March 31 but the luxury brand warned that wholesale sales would slide further in the next six months.”

Do Discount Designer Duds Make The Grade? (WSJ)
“Recession-scarred retailers are turning to collections of cheap-but-chic designer clothing to lure customers who love fashion but are watching their pennies.”

Primark sales hit £1bn in first half (Drapers)
“Primark’s sales rose 18% to bust the billion pound barrier for the 24 weeks ended February 28.”

Banking Concerns Push Retail Stocks Down Monday (WWD)
“Equity markets fell Monday, dragging retail stocks down 3.8 percent as investors fretted over signs of continuing weakness in the banking sector.” (Subscription required)

Amanda Wakeley returns home (Telegraph)
“Amanda Wakeley, the British red carpet designer, has returned in triumph to the fashion scene, as the owner of her own label for the first time in more than a decade.”