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.

Yes, Italian fashion has caught the digital bug that has swept across much of the fashion industry over the past 24 months. There are digital screens everywhere you look — alongside the runways at fashions shows, inside the store windows, and even within glass boxes with artfully projected holographic images, as at the A/W 2011 Hogan presentation.

Several brands successfully incorporated digital media into the fabric of their fashion shows. At the beginning of the Ermenegildo Zegna presentation for A/W 2011, we were welcomed to the brand’s “digital world,” which included the use of green screen technology to project the models’ images onto iconic Chinese backdrops like the Great Wall of China, just before the real models came out onto the runway. (In case we didn’t grasp that the images were just projections, the show concluded with a real green screen to hammer home the point that this was all brought to us by the magic of technology.)

Other brands began their fashion shows with film presentations, sometimes with no apparent link to the collections that followed. When quizzed on the puzzling fit between the fun, light-hearted film by Walter Pfeiffer — which drew both catcalls and groans from the gathered fashion masses — and the serious, rugged collection of delectable knitwear conceived by creative director Claire Waight-Keller that followed, Pringle could only cryptically say that it wanted to give artists the freedom to “express their views on Pringle collections and the brand…clarifying our positioning through a multitude of individual viewpoints.”

Fine, but why try to show the two things together if the mood and creative direction of the film and the show were so different? Both the film and the collection were enjoyable enough, but there was no need to force them together just to be on digital trend if they had so little in common. Rather than clarify the brand’s positioning, it created a dissonant experience and left more than a few editors scratching their heads as they walked out of the venue into the crisp Milan evening.

The most successful digital presentations during the Italian menswear season took place at Pitti Uomo, where Gareth Pugh’s tour de force film, projected like a digital fashion fresco on the ceiling of the 800 year old Orsanmichele church, was a powerful combination of Italian cultural history and fashion’s digital future. Who’s On Next winner Andrea Incontri, also showing at Pitti, began his fashion show with a compelling narrative film which artfully showcased his sumptuous accessories, while not coming off as crassly commercial, integrating thematically and logically with the fashion show that followed. The filmmaker and designer had clearly worked together to create one seamless creative presentation, with a consistent message.

While at Pitti, I also had the pleasure of meeting several local Italian bloggers, who reported that many Italian brands — including those that are supposedly amongst the most digitally sophisticated — don’t know how to manage relationships with bloggers. “They’re only interested in inviting the famous foreign bloggers to their shows because it gets them publicity,” I was told by one local blogger. “But still, they send us their press releases and images afterwards, and then wonder why we don’t post them on our blogs,” he continued.

Notably, it was often the brands who weren’t caught up in the digital hysteria, who made the most impact. Even though I spent a scant 10 minutes scanning the goods on offer at Marni’s small but immaculately conceived A/W 2011 presentation, the excellent product has stuck in my head, because I got to touch it and feel it. Umit Benan’s presentation was another breath of fresh air in an otherwise stale Milan Fashion Week. Though the clothes themselves may not have been exceptionally different from what was on offer elsewhere, fused together with the unique narrative challenging the homogeneity of the investment banker set, the collection spoke to me in ways that many others simply did not.

Lest I be too negative, Italian executives I spoke to insisted that they understood that digital was an important consideration for their businesses going forward. Many of them are genuinely curious about how to approach digital and some brands like Dolce & Gabbana — boasting a team of 23 people working on digital projects alone — have invested heavily in digital talent.

But all of this is of little use if brands are simply embracing digital communication as a superficial trend and a way of obscuring a lack of focus on the product and their seemingly limited understanding of how to strategically integrate digital initiatives into a fashion business.

Imran Amed is Founder and Editor of The Business of Fashion

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.”

Pringle thrown an £18m as it moves to recapture the luxury market (Guardian)
“The wealthy foreign owners of Pringle of Scotland have pumped another £18m into the loss-making brand’s continuing attempt to become a Burberry-style luxury label… accounts show the company has received injections of £10m and £8m from its owners, Hong Kong textile dynasty the Fang family.”

Luxury sales reveal return of confidence for the wealthy (FT)
“More prosperous shoppers seem to be defying continuing high unemployment levels and economic uncertainty to renew their spending on luxuries such as jewellery, fashion and cosmetics.”

Burberry show to live stream in 3D (Grazia)
“While guests will be sitting watching the ‘real’ fashion show at Chelsea College of Art & Design in London on February at 4 p.m, Fashion Editors and VIP guests in the selected cities will be putting on 3D spex to watch the larger-than-life broadcast in special ‘customized screening spaces’.”

Louis Vuitton’s emotion monitoring bags (Agenda Inc.)
“According to art director Fernando Lahoz’s website, Louis Vuitton is developing a series of emotion monitoring bags – technologically designed to ‘feel what you feel’… The bag incorporates a new HERM (heart and emotion rate monitor) in the form of a beautiful piece of jewelry which can be purchased with a bag or separately at Louis Vuitton stores.”

Sustainable fashion: what does green mean? (FT)
“‘Sustainable fashion?’… ‘What’s that?’ Good question. And here’s the truth: having spent two days in Copenhagen immersed in the concept, having thought about it over the weeks since then, and having canvassed a wide variety of fashion figures… no one knows.”

Pringle A/W 09 ad campaign, courtesy of Pringle

A lady from Chanel who wants to drive Pringle off the golf course (Guardian)
“American Mary-Adair Macaire aims to restore the struggling Scottish knitwear firm’s name for elegance.”

From the Garage to the Runway (WSJ)
“Little more than a year ago, 27-year-old Hannah Marshall spent most days at a garage in rural Essex, two hours outside London, working in a makeshift studio to create tight, sexy-sinister dresses that looked a bit like Audrey Hepburn meets ‘The Matrix.’ Today, Ms. Marshall has her own fashion-design studio in London thanks to funding from the Centre for Fashion Enterprise.”

Fashion’s Night Out Falls Short (Forbes)
“Anna Wintour’s much-publicized event drew big crowds, but few dollars.”

Designers return to kick-start London Fashion Week (AFP)
“British designers who abandoned their homeland for the bright lights of New York, Milan and Paris are returning in droves this season in what promises to be the most exciting London Fashion Week for years.”

Burberry looks to win over friends online (FT)
“Burberry, the fashion brand that has gone from classic to cutting edge, is to launch its own social networking site next month. The clothing group hopes the move will deepen its relationship with customers and attract new devotees.”

An advertisement in a Tokyo railway station, courtesy of The New York Times

Positive Energy: Comme at 40 (New York Times)
“Comme des Garçons is marking its 40th anniversary by bringing out a guerrilla-style, temporary brand called “Black” that epitomizes the style, the inventiveness and the originality of its founder.”

Luxury market faces turbulence: Hermès (Reuters)
“Hermès believes turbulence could hit the global luxury goods industry for the next two years and has put some expansion plans on hold, the French fashion and leather goods group said on Monday.”

Oliver Sweeney rescued (Drapers)
“Amery Capital and footwear supply guru Tim Cooper have bought premium footwear brand Oliver Sweeney out of administration.”

Escada says to make bond swap offer in two weeks (Reuters)
“Escada plans to offer bondholders a new bond worth less than the face value of its current debt in about two weeks, the stricken luxury fashion house said on Monday.”

Pringle to show at London Fashion Week (Drapers)
“Pringle, the Scottish knitwear brand, is set to leave the Milan catwalks to show during London Fashion Week this September.”

Illustrations by Christian Lacroix

Fashion House Lacroix Seeks Partner (WSJ)
“The owner of the iconic but unprofitable Christian Lacroix couture fashion house is in talks to sell a stake in the firm to private investors, people familiar with the matter said, as cutbacks by U.S. department stores take a toll on apparel designers.”

Bamford, Pringle said to be restructuring (WWD)
“Two British luxury labels—Bamford and Pringle of Scotland—are restructuring operations and reducing staffs, sources said.” (Subscription required)

Fast Retailing 1H Pft Up, But FY Net Outlook Unchanged (WSJ)
“Fast Retailing Co. Thursday reported a 24 percent rise in net profit for the fiscal first half, highlighting the remarkable strength of its Uniqlo low-cost casual clothing chain amid continued weakness in personal consumption.”

Vacancies at U.S. Retail Centers Hit 10-Year High (Bloomberg)
“Vacancies at U.S. malls and shopping centers rose to their highest in more than 10 years as consumer spending fell and stores closed in the recession, according to first-quarter data released today by Reis Inc.”