Power bloggers with Dolce & Gabbana | Source: Harpers Bazaar

Can You Trust the Editorial Integrity of Personal Style Blogs? (Fashionista)
“Whether it’s by partnering with brands, styling shoots, receiving payment (or free product) for writing posts or getting commission on the sale of items they post about, some bloggers are seriously cashing in on their influence… But as blogs make the transition from personal style diaries to profit-turning businesses, some readers have begun to feel that original and unbiased content, once the keystone of what made blogs so relevant, has taken a hit.”

How Leading Fashion Brands Are Embracing Online Video (Mashable)
“Prohibitively high costs have historically kept TV out of the media mixes of all but the most securely backed fashion brands. But the web has given brands an opportunity to cheaply host and distribute video content for the first time, and many are now developing video content to bolster their online and offline retail businesses.”

Pringle receives £11 million bailout (Telegraph)
“The losses, which occurred between January 2010 and 2011, were the label’s fifth annual drop. ‘Given the continued investment in the Pringle of Scotland brand, the directors are not expecting to report operating profits in the short term, but are satisfied that the development of the brand and of the business are progressing with their long-term strategic objectives,’ a spokesperson said.”

Altuzarra Triumph (Vogue)
“Joseph Altuzarra is the winner of this year’s CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund award. Pamela Love and Creature of the Wind’s Shane Gabier and Chris Peters have been named its runners-up, announced at a dinner gala, held in New York last night.”

Stephens Sisters Are in Select Company (On the Runway)
“The Stephens sisters make their jewelry in a workshop in their native Mexico City. Their grandfather Louis Stephens was a textile producer in New York who met and eventually married a muralist named Annette Nancarrow, settling in Mexico, though he also had connections to Martha’s Vineyard and Manhattan.”

Reiss Shola dress, worn by the Duchess of Cambridge | Source: Reiss

Kate Middleton: putting the regal into Reiss (Telegraph)
“‘The Reiss dress was perfectly pitched… Britain has the best high street in the world. No one exemplifies the strength of that better than the Duchess of Cambridge.’”

Knitting pretty (FT)
“As well as giving Pringle a youthful burst of creativity, the Archive Project provides the brand with a reputation for supporting new talent… ‘This makes them appeal to a younger demographic.’”

Ferragamo May Seek Higher IPO Rating Than Prada (Bloomberg)
“[Salvatore Ferragamo] may seek a higher valuation multiple than its bigger rival Prada SpA… [the company] may be valued at as much as 2.25 billion euros ($3.2 billion), or 26 times estimated 2012 profit.”

Phillips-Van Heusen first quarter beats; raises FY view (Reuters)
“Phillips-Van Heusen Corp raised its full-year outlook and posted first-quarter earnings that beat market expectations as revenue more than doubled on strong sales in its Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein businesses.”

How To Sell Luxury To The Chinese (Forbes)
“[A] chat with Lane Crawford’s fashion director Sarah Rutson — a much-photographed street style blog star — on the evolving taste of the Chinese consumer, the brands they favor, and her role in the global fashion community.”

Hogan A/W 2011 Presentation | Source: The Business of Fashion

MILAN, Italy — In the wake of the financial crisis of 2008, luxury fashion brands found themselves scrambling to develop strategies for the so-called “new normal.” Logos and conspicuous consumption were out, it was said. Customers were now looking for understated luxury, value and discretion.

And so, in uncanny lock-step syncopation, brands from Louis Vuitton to Gucci to Dolce & Gabbana began a strategic march to the same heritage tune, showcasing their age-old manufacturing techniques in carefully constructed advertising campaigns designed to appeal to notions of timelessness and quality and designing entire collections dedicated to their “iconic heritage.”

But, if the menswear collections just concluded in Milan are any indication, for many fashion brands, the focus on heritage was just another passing trend, in one season and gone the next. The industry has now embraced digital, “the next big thing,” in the same superficial and fleeting way. But generally speaking, if you scratch the surface, their real understanding of digital opportunities and risks is only screen deep.

… Continue Reading

Handmade apparel on Etsy by Qinliumei | Source: Etsy

Why e-commerce IPOs will soon be the smarter buy (Venture Beat)
“In Silicon Valley, market-watchers are looking to digital media in its many forms — social networks, tablet apps, user-generated content — to revive the IPO market… But there’s a smarter bet for investors: e-commerce.”

Pringle of Scotland: painting by jumpers (Telegraph)
“To celebrate Pringle’s 195th birthday, it has partnered with the Serpentine Gallery in London… Together they have invited a group of Scottish artists to lend their aesthetic to reinterpreting the twinset and the Argyle pattern.”

Saks’s Sadove Interview on Luxury Retail Sales (Bloomberg)
“Stephen Sadove, chief executive officer of Saks, talks about the retailer’s sales strategy and the luxury goods market. He speaks with Pimm Fox on Bloomberg Television’s ‘Taking Stock.’”

Sequins, Fur and Bar Codes (WSJ)
“The hottest accessory at New York fashion week this year may be a bar code… The new check-in technology, though common in other industries and even a few individual fashion shows, hasn’t been used in other major fashion weeks in Milan or Paris.”

Designer Hopes to Bring Chic to Geeks (NY Times)
“Internet entrepreneurs are not known for their keen fashion sense… Which is why Kristen Slowe, a product developer and fashion designer, is hoping to cater to geeks who want to dress a little bit sleeker with an online clothing line called Saboteur.”

Tilda Swinton for Pringle | Source: Pringle

Pringle boss reveals blueprint (Daily Record)
“Pringle boss Mary-Adair Macaire has revealed her plans to turn the knitwear brand into Scotland’s answer to Chanel… she’s confident that Pringle… will soon win a place among luxury brands from around the world.”

Beleaguered fashion chain returns to profit (Guardian)
“The fashion chains Oasis, Karen Millen, Coast and Warehouse, which became entangled in the failure of Icelandic group Baugur, have reported improving sales under their new owner.”

Does Digital Mean the End of Control? (Fashion’s Collective)
“With now 500 million people on Facebook, and the number of internet users growing exponentially across the world, brands need to figure out how to participate in online communication, but does this mean losing control?”

Valentino Wins 16-Year Trademark Case (Fashionista)
“For the past sixteen years, Valentino has been engaged in litigation with a company called Florence Fashions over the use of the Valentino trademark.”

A Hat Fit for a Queen (WSJ)
“In Via Dei Piatti, a narrow one-way street in the rabbit’s warren of roads around the Duomo in downtown Milan… master hat maker Lorenzo Borghi has labored for almost 60 years.”