Milan's Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

Russians top Milan’s list of shoppers (IHT)
“Russians are Milan’s largest national group of fashion shoppers, commanding 38 percent of the tax-free pie in 2008, despite their own economic woes back home,” reports IHT.

The GAP Hires Students (Fashionista)
Gap taps RISD students to design cardigans.

Now that the pricing dam has burst (IHT)
“Shopping is becoming a matter of ethics.”

Battling the Downturn: Saks Posts $99M Loss (WWD)
“The pullback in luxury spending, unprecedented markdowns and a sharp slowdown at its iconic New York flagship took a severe toll on Saks Fifth Avenue.” (subscription required)

Saks Signature Bag

Saks Upends Luxury Market With Strategy to Slash Prices (WSJ)
Saks’ deep discounting before the holiday season will have a long-term effect on the consumer psychology.

Fashion Walks a Fine Line (WSJ)
During New York Fashion week, you’ll see dour and spunky on the runways, the magic blend that will court customers.

Retailers feel credit squeeze in India (FT)
“India’s biggest discount retailer said that hundreds of its stores had been attacked at the weekend after it failed to pay its security guards, in a sign of the potential socio-economic implications of the credit crisis hitting the sector.”

Shows must go on (The National)
In New York, despite the series of upheavals in the industry just before fashion week, “shows must go on.”