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.”

Henri Bendel Holiday 2010 Catalogue | Source: Henri Bendel

US department stores gain Black Friday traffic (Reuters)
“U.S. shoppers spent 6.4 percent more this Black Friday weekend than last year and hit department stores and clothing shops, rather than focusing on discounters as they had done in recent years.”

Christmas shoppers stung by early price hike (Telegraph)
“An investigation has revealed Christmas shoppers are being stung by rises of up to 26 per cent on gifts such knitwear as retailers bring forward price increases linked to the soaring cost of cotton.”

H&M Says Lanvin Collection Performing Well (Bloomberg)
“[H&M] said a temporary collection from French designer Lanvin introduced this week has posted strong sales in countries including China and Russia. Customer reaction has been ‘extraordinary’ in China, Canada, the U.K., Italy and Russia.”

Needleman’s Newbie (WWD)
“The New York media world will finally begin to size up a new magazine war in town: Deborah Needleman’s WSJ. Magazine vs. Sally Singer’s T: The New York Times Style Magazine.”

The Making of Fashion’s Latest ‘It’ Girl (NY Times)
“She’s a hipster muse for Karl Lagerfeld; a regular on the pages of fashion and music magazines; and an inspiration for young bloggers…’She’s become the Kate Moss for this new generation.’”

The New Creative Establishment | Source: INDUSTRIE Magazine

LONDON, United Kingdom — Today, The Business of Fashion brings you an exclusive preview of The New Creative Establishment, a list of the 50 most influential and inspirational creatives working in fashion today, developed by our friends at INDUSTRIE magazine for their second issue which comes out later this month and was inspired by a much-watched list with a similar name published by Vanity Fair called ‘The New Establishment’.

Ever since the widely-read debut issue of INDUSTRIE hit the stands last May, editors Jens Grede and Erik Torstensson have been carefully creating their list which they say is a “celebration of creativity in fashion.” After the first draft of the list was developed, they sought feedback from fashion insiders and peers, and re-iterated the list several times. The emphasis is on the word ‘new’ as there are obviously some very important longtime names who continue to wield great influence who are not on the list. In the end, “those listed were selected not only for their creative faculties/creative contribution to fashion today but also because of the wider impact their work has had on fashion business, the social and other creative industries.”

So, without further ado, here is The New Creative Establishment from INDUSTRIE magazine. What are your thoughts and opinions? Who deserves to be on the list? Is anyone missing? And what do you think of fashion power lists in general?

… Continue Reading

Cravates Hermès | Source: Vintage Linens

Why Do We Care About Luxury Brands? (Wired)
“There’s now suggestive evidence that our faith in the authentic – especially when the authenticity is supported by effective marketing campaigns – is a deep seated human instinct, which emerges at an extremely early age.”

Champagne corks popping again in luxury business (AFP)
“Champagne corks are popping again in the luxury business as “It” bags and expensive watches this year sell like hotcakes from Beijing to New York, signalling the turning of a page after the global financial crisis.”

Pugh’s Store Debut (Vogue.com)
“Because it was my first store, I knew I had to do something that was very me… I went back to my runway shows and thought, ‘what could be more me than a black box?”

Sally Singer Makes First Major Hires at T (Fashionologie)
“It doesn’t appear that Sally Singer will be pillaging the ranks of Vogue — or even Conde Nast, for that matter — when it comes to stocking her team at T.”

The fashion world’s first transsexual supermodel (Guardian)
“If this Brazilian bombshell is causing such a stir it is perhaps because there is more to her than meets the eye. Lea T was born Leandro and, as well as being a model and a muse, she is an out and proud transsexual.”

Magaschoni in Neiman's June Fashion Book | Source: Neiman Marcus

Neiman gains from luxe spending but Euro worries persist (Reuters)
“The operator of Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman stores said it is monitoring Europe’s debt crisis and has yet to see vendors there pass on gains from a weak euro. Neiman also noted that a weak euro could negatively impact travel to New York.”

Inditex Beats Views As 1Q Sales, Margins Jump (WSJ)
“Spain’s Inditex, the fast-growing owner of the Zara retail chain, Wednesday reported a 64% jump in first-quarter net profit, as shoppers snapped up its chic yet cheap spring and summer garments, and it continued global expansion.”

Luxury brands feel talent pinch (Economic Times)
“Entering the Indian market may have seemed an attractive proposition for luxury brands, but there’s one thing they didn’t bargain for: manpower challenge.”

Gucci’s Luxury Packaging Gets a Green(er) Makeover (Treehugger)
“Gucci has kept their word (following their pledge back in November to reduce paper use) and announced yesterday that all of their luxury packaging has been newly designed with FSC Certified paper and is now 100% recyclable.”

Sally Singer Moves to T (WWD)
“Bye, Anna, hello, Bill. Sally Singer said as much Tuesday morning when The New York Times confirmed the Vogue fashion news/features director would be the next editor in chief of T: The New York Times Style Magazine.”