Hedi Slimane | Source: Hypebeast

A Fashion Designer’s Second Act (NY Times)
“When Hedi Slimane stepped down as artistic director at Dior Homme in 2007, Fashion Wire Daily summed up his tenure this way: ‘Slimane leaves Dior with the well-earned reputation as the single most influential men’s designer this century, the most copied of his peers and the only one to achieve the status of a rock star.’… But Mr. Slimane seems to have left fashion behind with nary a second thought, reinventing himself as a photographer in the past few years, one who has produced an array of strikingly intimate portraits, nearly all of them black and white.”

Ralph Lauren margins fall, shares hit (Reuters)
“Ralph Lauren Corp posted a sharp drop in quarterly margins on Wednesday, hurt by rising costs, and its shares fell in premarket dealings. Shares fell 5.7 percent as gross margin fell dropped to 56.6 percent from 58 percent a year earlier. The clothing maker, which makes brands including Polo, Club Monaco and Chaps, said net income rose to $233.5 million, or $2.46 a share, in the second quarter ended October 1 from $205.2 million, or $2.09 a share, a year earlier.”

Online fashion retailer Yoox sees Q4 growth (Reuters)
“Italian online fashion retailer Yoox is looking to further revenue growth for the end of the year after strong sales in the first nine months confirmed the vigor of the luxury industry despite wider economic woes in Europe. Yoox, which powers sites for top brands such as Valentino and Roberto Cavalli alongside its own multibrand online stores, said core earnings rose 20.2 percent to 11.8 million euros ($16 million) in the nine months ended in September.”

Retail Site Raids a Big Closet (NY Times)
“Since its debut in February, Moda Operandi, the online retailer that sells designer clothes right off the runway, has become a surprise competitor on the lucrative trunk-show circuit. Now the site is becoming a competitor to traditional department stores and magazines for personnel, as well. Roopal Patel, a longtime executive in the fashion offices of Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman, will join Moda Operandi this month as its fashion director. And Taylor Tomasi Hill, formerly the style and accessories director of Marie Claire, will become its artistic director.”

Yohji’s World (Vogue)
“Yohji Yamamoto has explained his love of the colour black – a signature that punctuates most of his collections… ‘Colour disturbs people. I am confident in black, not in light. This dark side of life is attractive to me forever and from the beginnings. I am a lazy designer when it comes to colour. The body is the important thing to me – it is the beginning of my work.’”

Savigny Luxury Index September 2011 | Source: Savigny Partners

LONDON, United Kingdom — The seemingly unflappable luxury market continues to waver, with growing worries that China’s booming economy — the driver for much of the rapid growth of luxury brands in the past few years — is beginning to slow down. As a result, every major luxury brand has been hit, and hit hard.

Big news

• Luxury stocks suffered a steep sell-off in the last ten days of September as hedge funds moved out of the sector en masse due to growing concerns over the Chinese economy. The SLI took a real beating losing 13.6 percent over the month of September compared to only 3.8 percent for the benchmark MSCI.

• Prized assets are nevertheless still changing hands, as demonstrated by the recent sale of heritage leather goods brand Delvaux and a healthy interest in Italian tailoring brand Brioni, fronted by PPR.

• Hermès’ plan to create a controlling family holding company was cleared by French market authorities, boosting its defences against LVMH and consequently resulting in its inflated share price easing off.

… Continue Reading

Savigny Luxury Index August 2011 | Source: Savigny Partners

LONDON, United Kingdom — Hurricane Irene wasn’t the only storm wreaking havoc during the month of August. The financial markets were also stormy. Ongoing economic uncertainty on both sides of the Atlantic had investors in a panic, and luxury stocks were were hit hard, though they bounced back towards the end of the month.

Big news

• August, which is a typically quiet month, has seen some high trading volumes driving substantial market movements.  Global markets fell sharply in the first week of August due to the US losing its AAA credit rating for the first time in history and growing eurozone debt concerns.  The SLI was hit more harshly than the overall markets and lost 10.2 percent in that first week compared to 7.7 percent for the MSCI.

• At the end of the second week, financial markets once again endured severe price falls as investors moved to perceived safe havens of gold, the Japanese Yen and government bonds.  The catalyst for the sell-off was poor economic news from Germany, the eurozone’s power house, compounded by weak US manufacturing and employment data, which raised fears of a global slowdown.  Again, the SLI suffered stronger volatility than the MSCI and lost 8 percent between the 12^th and 22^nd, compared to 5.2 percent for the MSCI.

• Equity markets have rebounded in the last week on better-than-expected US consumer spending data, a critical driver of US economic growth.  The SLI accelerated faster than the MSCI, more than making up for lost ground during the downfall and finishing down by 7.6 percent over the month (compared to a decrease of 9.3 percent for the MSCI).

… Continue Reading

Ralph Lauren in the early days | Source: V7 Web

Oprah salutes Ralph Lauren and the American dream (LA Times)
“So few people, in these starkly striated economic times, during which the barriers between classes have become more insurmountable than ever, get to traverse the chasms of culture and economy that have been leapt by Winfrey and Lauren.”

Hermès Ownership Battle Continues (Epoch Times)
“The controversial takeover of Hermès by LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton has taken another turn, with minority investors challenging a French court’s decision to protect the company from being bought out.”

Flash Sale Site Competition Could Ultimately Benefit Designers (Thread NY)
“All of this competition could ultimately be a boon for up-and-coming designers with a less of a brand name… There are over 80 private sale sites in the U.S. today, which leaves a lot of e-commerce space to fill. More space means more opportunities for fashion’s rising stars.”

Relaunch of a Classic (WSJ)
“In a world where watches continue to grow in size and become more cunning in the way they display time, and the boundaries between jewelry and timepieces are increasingly blurred, one sector is beating on against the current: relaunched classics.”

Judith Leiber talks handbags and history (LA Times)
“Who would ever think that women would want to carry rhinestone-encrusted handbags shaped like anteaters or bunches of asparagus? Judith Leiber, that’s who… [her] sculptural minaudieres have been carried by first ladies to presidential inaugurations, and by celebrities on red carpets around the world.”

Vionnet, Then and Now | Source: PSFK

Is  Fashion In Danger Of Going The Same Way As The Ad Industry? (PSFK)
“Sharing the inner workings of the business and marketing of fashion is pop culture these days, behind the scenes interviews, makings of, documentaries, buy from the runway etc. Cleverly marketing the marketing of fashion in consumer culture, or, an industry talking to itself?”

Burberry bid talk continues despite price label (FT)
“Could the company, best known for its red, black, tan and white check, be as desirable to a corporate acquirer as its aviator jacket was to the fashion pack? Shares in Burberry have risen almost 13 per cent since the start of the month on speculation that it could be the subject of a bid.”

Dealtalk: Doubts devil Prada IPO plan (Reuters)
“Catwalk favorite Prada’s hopes of being the first European fashion house to strut its stuff on the Hong Kong stock market could be delayed by pressure to split the listing with hometown Milan.”

10 Biggest Fashion-Business Faux Pas in 2010 (BNET)
“In 2010, fashion businesses made missteps in everything from design to manufacture and sale — and if you were here, you were there. From management decisions in questionable taste to mystifying merchandising, we singled out the truly awful in hopes there won’t be a repeat performance in the new year.”

Vogue Italia Opens Its’ Doors (Fashionista)
“Opening our magazine to people is just to give them the chance to meet persons working in fashion, how we work, where we are and our offices…Why should seeing each other take away the mystery?”