L-R Donna Karan, Marc Jacobs, Theyskens’ Theory | Source: Style.com

On the Straight and Narrow (IHT)
“It is back to the straight and narrow in New York Fashion Week. No more loose and sloppy casual clothes, easy sportswear or girlish frills. Women — grown-up women — are being asked to smarten up.”

Who Buys These Clothes? They Do (WSJ)
“Many of the runway styles are actually purchased by a small group of customers, not all of them from the isle of Manhattan. And unlike celebrities and socialites, who often get designer clothes at no charge in exchange for publicity, these customers pay full price.”

Puma feels pinch of higher wage, commodity costs (Reuters)
“German sportswear maker Puma joined rivals Adidas and Nike in warning of price rises for its products as a result of rising commodity and wage costs… the rising costs meant net profit would not grow as fast as sales in 2011, and margins would be lower.”

Sally Singer Talks T (WWD)
“‘For me, it’s what I want from The New York Times on a weekend… I want a good, sexy, neurotic story about New York literary life in the Seventies. I want the New York Review of Book parties. I want a little Farrar, Strauss and Giroux. You have that literary dream of New York.’”

Anna Wintour talks exclusively to Telegraph TV (Telegraph)
“Anna Wintour… talks about Alexander McQueen’s legacy and her favourites memories of his shows. She expalins why Rodarte, the avant-garde American label has the potential to be another ‘McQueen’ or ‘Galliano’ and reveals why she loves London’s street style.”

Olivier Theyskens | Source: Frillr

Olivier Theyskens Is Theory’s New Artistic Director (The Cut)
“Theyskens previously signed a deal to design the Theyskens Theory label for the brand, which debuts for spring 2011, but will take over design for the entire label as artistic director beginning with the fall 2011 season.”

French regulator to examine LVMH swoop on Hermes (Reuters)
“French luxury goods company LVMH’s surprise acquisition of 17.1 percent of rival Hermes at a major discount to recent market levels will be investigated by the local market regulator.”

Puma increases annual forecast, takes full control of Chinese JV (Bloomberg)
“Puma… aims to boost annual revenue to 4 billion euros by 2015 from 2.46 billion euros last year. As part of that plan, the sporting-goods maker said it will take full control of its Chinese retail joint venture in January by acquiring the 49 percent minority stake.”

Why Content And Commerce Is A Marriage Made In Heaven (Paid Content)
“The internet has disrupted both the media and the retail industries. Now, new business models are emerging that blend the two together, offering publishers a much-needed new revenue line.”

Leith Clark’s Lula (Dazed Digital)
“Clark didn`t mean to start a magazine, exactly. She says she just wanted something to show her grandkids. But Lula took on a life—and an ever-growing, never-growing-up audience—of its own. This year it turned five. It`s been a happy birthday.”

Armani Hotel, Burj Khalifa | Source: Armani Hotels

Armani Unveils Hotel in Dubai (WWD)
“His first hotel in the world… occupies eight floors of the soaring Burj Khalifa here, a dramatic tower into the sky that is the world’s tallest building. The 160-room hotel, for which almost no expense has been spared, boasts eight restaurants, a spa and three retail outlets.”

Burberry forges ahead with beauty range (Independent)
“Burberry will launch its line of color cosmetics this July, joining a big list of fashion labels that have introduced their own-brand beauty collections recently. So how will it be different?”

Puma lifts World Cup year outlook after strong Q1 (Reuters)
“German sporting goods maker Puma lifted its earnings outlook for the soccer World Cup year of 2010 on Wednesday after posting slightly better-than-expected first-quarter earnings.”

Macy’s Boosts Outlook After Catering to Local Tastes (Bloomberg)
“Macy’s Inc., the second-largest U.S. department-store chain, boosted its annual profit and sales forecasts, helped by a strategy to better tailor merchandise to local tastes.”

The American Woman: Then and Now (WWD)
“As the Costume Institute prepares to unveil its spring exhibit next week, the female face of America will almost certainly become a key topic of conversation.”

Puma Ad campaign 2009, courtesy of Puma

Puma prepares for ‘volatile’ retail sector (FT)
“Puma, the world’s third-largest sports goods maker, said it expects a challenging second half of the year after posting better-than-expected results for the second quarter on Friday.”

David Reiss and Andy Rogers (Drapers)
“Reiss launches its first sub-brand this week, aimed at a younger, edgier customer. Founder David Reiss and brand director Andy Rogers share their vision for the premium chain’s global future.”

Kenneth Cole posts narrower-than-expected Q2 loss (Reuters)
“U.S. shoe and clothing maker Kenneth Cole Productions Inc posted a narrower-than-expected quarterly loss, helped by tight cost control and inventory management, and forecast a surprise third-quarter loss.”

Investigation into Kaupthing loans to UK retailer’s firm (Guardian)
“Details of loans made by failed Icelandic bank Kaupthing to a company owned by British retail entrepreneur Kevin Stanford have been sent to criminal investigators in Iceland by the local financial regulator amid allegations of market manipulation before the bank’s collapse last October.”

Valley of the Dolls | Jeffrey Turns 10 (The Moment)
“To celebrate its 10th anniversary, the luxury retailer Jeffrey is creating its own “Valley of the Dolls.” Its owner, Jeffrey Kalinsky, tapped the designer Jason Wu (who started out creating fashionable dolls before scaling up the fashion rungs with Michelle Obama’s inaugural ball gown) to create a series of limited-edition dolls, which were in turn sent out to a who’s who of designers to be dressed in the season’s looks.”

Armani's 5th Ave. store, courtesy of Armani

Armani profits drop 14% in ‘difficult’ year (FT)
“Giorgio Armani, the trend-setting Italian fashion group, reported a 14.6 per cent fall in profits in 2008 in spite of a slight rise in revenues and the opening of 50 new stores, as its owner reflected on a ‘difficult’ year for the industry.”

PPR says to focus on cash and cost-cutting (Reuters)
“French retail and luxury group PPR on Thursday pledged to focus on cutting costs and generating cash to emerge stronger from the current consumer downturn.”

Puma Profit Falls on Expenses of Restructuring Plan (Bloomberg)
“Puma AG, the German sporting-goods company controlled by PPR SA, reported first-quarter profit plunged 94 percent, hurt by one-time expenses, and said market conditions are expected to “remain difficult” in 2009.”

Japan’s Uniqlo thrives in recession, April sales up (Reuters)
“Same-store sales at Uniqlo rose 19.2 percent in April as warm weather early in the month helped lift sales of summer items. Like-for-like sales at g.u. rose 70 percent in April, having spiked by that much in March.”

A protest against ‘protest chic’ (The Guardian)
“The fashion industry has co-opted the imagery and emotion of activism in order to shore up its dwindling profits.”