Gucci on Canton Road, Hong Kong | Source: Sky Scrapercity

China’s Shoppers Sling a Gucci ‘Lifeline’ to Faltering Hong Kong (Bloomberg)
“A stream of customers in Tsim Sha Tsui’s Canton Road yesterday carrying bags of Vivienne Westwood, Gucci and Burberry brand products and speaking in Mandarin, showed that a $350 billion decline in the value of stocks in China since mid-April has failed to kill off the tourist trade. Their spending may help to limit what Morgan Stanley and Daiwa Capital Markets say is set to be a second straight quarterly contraction in Hong Kong’s economy.”

PVH posts Q2 profit beats estimates, shares up (Reuters)
“Clothing maker PVH Corp posted a quarterly profit above estimates as its major growth drivers, the Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein brands, stayed popular with shoppers, prompting the company to raise its full-year forecast… Revenue at Calvin Klein rose 19 percent, while at Tommy Hilfiger revenue saw an increase of 30 percent.”

Hermès posts 37 percent rise in operating profit (Reuters)
“French luxury group Hermès posted a 37 percent rise in first-half operating profit, driven by the United States and China, and reiterated its sales and margin goals for the full year. Operating profit reached 418.1 million euros in the first six months of the year, Hermès said in an announcement.”

American Apparel investors to offload shares (Just Style)
“A group of private investors is looking to sell its shares in American Apparel, just months after giving the troubled chain a US$15m lifeline. The investors, led by Canadian financier Michael Serruya and Delavaco Capital, are seeking to sell the 43.2m shares in a secondary offering, which means that American Apparel will not get any proceeds from the sale.”

Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty coming to the UK? (Telegraph)
“It seems that Alexander McQueen is continuing to make waves almost 18 months after his death. The designer, who broke all the rules of the fashion world, yet won the hearts of it’s harshest critics, has been the subject of a petition gaining thousands of signatures to bring his retrospective to London… Only now have McQueen’s representatives confirmed that they are in talks with major museums.”

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.”

Backstage at Thakoon | Source: Thakoon

A Faster Trip From Runway to Shopping Cart (WSJ)
“Collections of dozens of high-end design houses in New York, London, Milan and Paris will be opened up to individual shoppers, who will be able to place orders on a site called Moda Operandi, or modaoperandi.com.”

Chinese firms eye luxury’s battered stars (Reuters)
“Luxury Western brands selling designer handbags and handmade suits to China’s newly-rich, may find their local distributors want a bigger role or even ownership given the $10 billion market is booming.”

PVH reports decline in 2Q net income, ups forecast (Bloomberg)
“PVH reported a drop in its third-quarter net income due largely to several one-time items. The company said Thursday that it earned $80.7 million, or $1.12 per share, for the quarter. That compares with $83.6 million, or $1.58 per share, in the same quarter last year.”

The blurring of fashion and art (FT)
“Next weekend luminaries of the art and fashion worlds will be converging on Miami for the Art Basel Miami Beach art fair but they are not the only sign of the increasingly close relationships between the worlds of fashion and art.”

Tod’s CEO offers to fund Colosseum repair (Reuters)
“Italian luxury group Tod’s is ready to provide 25 million euros to fund the restoration of Rome’s Colosseum, chief executive Diego Della Valle said on Thursday, urging authorities to make a decision on the project soon.”

Louis Vuitton Omotosando | Source: Highsnobiety

Web-Bargain Luxury Comes to Japan (WSJ)
“For decades, the model for selling luxury imported goods in Japan has been simple: plush surroundings, attentive service—and the ‘Japan premium’… But the cozy system may be cracking, [thanks in part to] third-party websites to jump in with deep discounts.”

Karl Lagerfeld cancels Paris show (Catwalk Queen)
“Instead, the designer is working on a new ‘masstige’ ready-to-wear collection in a bid to change the brand image into a more commercial line… The collection will be ready for A/W 2011, and will be sold online.”

Richemont sales beat forecast, Asian demand soars (Reuters)
“Swiss luxury goods group Richemont’s five-month sales jumped 37 percent, beating forecasts and confirming a rebound in the sector as wealthy Asians splash out again on top-end watches and jewellery.”

Phillips-Van Heusen raises outlook (Reuters)
“Apparel maker Phillips-Van Heusen Corp posted an adjusted quarterly profit that surpassed analysts’ expectations, helped by revenue gains in all three units, including its newly-acquired Tommy Hilfiger brand.”

Anna Wintour Weaves Her Web (WWD)
“Just what Anna Wintour needed: another project. On the eve of New York Fashion Week and a mere two days before her brainchild, Fashion’s Night Out… she is unveiling the new vogue.com.”

Giles Deacon confirmed as Creative Director of Ungaro (Vogue.com)
“The new appointment is bound to bring a close to an unsettled atmosphere at the French house that has reigned since Emanuel Ungaro himself retired in 2004.” (RSS and email subscribers: watch exclusive BoF interview here)

Phillips-Van Heusen beats, but Tommy weighs in Q2 (Reuters)
“Analysts had been expecting a bigger boost from Tommy Hilfiger, the preppy apparel brand recently acquired by the clothing maker, but the company cited weaker seasonal business trends in that unit for the second quarter.”

Prada Q1 revenue up on strong retail sales (Reuters)
“Italian fashion house Prada posted a 26 percent rise in first-quarter consolidated revenue on Monday, boosted by strong sales in all main markets, including Europe.”

Reassessing the ’70s: A Brave New Wave (IHT)
“It has been dismissed by opinion makers as ‘the decade that taste forgot’ — the era of bell-bottom pants, glam rock glitter, clammy polyester, shrunken sweaters and a palette of orange, brown and avocado. Yet suddenly ’70s style is being re-assessed.”

The world’s gone Gaga (Times Online)
“As the Gaga juggernaut sweeps back into town this week for a second stab at her British tour, we thought it was time to take stock of the great lady’s fashion effect.”