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.”