Louis Vuitton Maison Sydney | Source: AFR

Anatomy of a maison (AFR)
“In the Medieval age, the sight of a towering spire signalled a city of splendour. Today, it is cathedrals of retailing that indicate metropolitan status in the global pecking order. The December 3 opening, not of another Louis Vuitton store – there are already 460 of those worldwide – but of a much grander Louis Vuitton ‘Maison’ (of which there are just 13) proves Sydney must be a very smart town indeed.”

Arcadia Closures (Vogue)
“Sir Philip Green has confirmed that he expects to close more than 250 Arcadia stores in the next three years as the company reports a profits drop of almost 40 per cent against last year. ‘We have got – from my memory – 450 or 460 stores where leases expire in the next three years,’ Green said. ‘And I think on our latest summary we will close more than half of those on lease expiry.’”

Heel Height Times Tweets? (NY Times)
“The 1920s notion of a “hemline index,” in which the economist George Taylor posited that skirt lengths rise and fall in relation to the economy, suggests that fashion is socially determined. In a modern twist, a report about the direction of high heels, issued by I.B.M., proposes that fashion can now be determined through social media.”

Ogilvy’s and Holt Renfrew: Buzz is, big changes are coming (Montreal Gazette)
“It’s the talk of downtown: big changes are said to be coming to Ogilvy’s and Holt Renfrew. The buzz is that Holt’s will close in its current location, move into Ogilvy’s, and the Art Deco Holt building will become condos… The rumours come after Selfridges Group Ltd., owners of Holt Renfrew, acquired Ogilvy’s this summer.”

Hailee Steinfeld Miu Miu ad deemed ‘irresponsible’ (Telegraph)
“The Advertising Standards Authority ruled that the image… Showing the 14-year-old actress sat on a train track and wiping away what could be tears from her eyes, was irresponsible because it depicted a child in an unsafe location. Prada Retail UK, who own the Miu Miu brand, said the image, captured by renowned fashion photographer and film-maker Bruce Weber, was ‘part of a serious, high-fashion campaign’ and ‘based on the set of an imaginary film’.”

Thecorner.com.cn | Source: Thecorner.com.cn

A Wish of E-Shoppers Everywhere, Now in China (WSJ)
“FedEx Corp. delivery men will wait on the doorsteps of Chinese consumers while they inspect their purchases, try them on for size, and decide if the products are worthy of keeping or sending back… The goal is to draw more of that luxury spending online. It is also part of a larger trend of retailers offering special perks to impress upon China’s consumers they are priority No. 1.”

Hermès fires back at share buyback criticism (Reuters)
“Hermès on Wednesday hit back at questions from minority shareholder association Adam regarding the luxury company’s share buybacks at high market prices… Since June, Hermès, best known for its silk scarves and high-end leather bags, has spent 114.5 million euros, or 14 percent of its end-year cash reserves, on share buybacks.”

Sir Philip Green warns of profit fall at Arcadia (Telegraph)
“The revelation is further stark evidence of the consumer downturn, which has hit high street retailers hard in recent months… Profits in the current financial year – which runs to the end of this month – are now expected to be a third lower, Sir Philip has told employees. Arcadia, which also includes the BHS department store, made a pre-tax profit of £213m on sales of £2.7bn last year.”

Hong Huang’s Beijing Boutique, Brand New China (BNC) Signs First In-House Fashion Designer (Jing Daily)
“Hong Huang, publisher of the influential lifestyle magazine iLook, tireless promoter of home-grown Chinese fashion design, and proprietress of the “designed in China” boutique Brand New China(BNC), has signed the fresh ESMOD Beijing graduate Xiang Yaodong as the first in-house designer for her new BNC house line.”

Rise: Ziv Gil Kazenstein (Dazed Digital)
“A recent graduate from Central Saint Martins, Ziv Gil Kazenstein inadvertently laid the foundations for his menswear collection long before he began studying fashion. Hailing from Natania, Israel, the print wear designer describes how at age 17 he spent two years making, creating and painting in a commune before moving to London in search of an outlet for his creativity.”

Who will be part of The Online Fashion 100 in 2010?

LONDON, United Kingdom — Last year, the online fashion community in London was abuzz when Leon Bailey Green and London’s Independent newspaper co-published the ‘Online Fashion 100,’ a list of the most “Inspirational, Interesting, and Influential people in the Online Fashion Industry.”

Today, BoF has the exclusive scoop on a few of the names that will appear on this year’s list, due to be published on Monday alongside expert commentary from Hilary Alexander of The Daily Telegraph and Brent Hoberman of Lastminute.com fame.

So without further ado, here’s a sneak peek at the Online Fashion 100 for 2010.

It should be of no surprise that James Bilefield & Dylan Jones of Conde Nast Digital and GQ, Nick Knight of SHOWstudio, Nish Kukadia of SecretSales.com, and Simon Cowell & Sir Philip Green of Arcadia and Sony, have all made the cut.

One notable addition to the list this year is Johann Rupert, Chairman and principal shareholder of Richemont, who is on the list alongside our next BoF Fashion Pioneer, Natalie Massenet. She sold Net-a-Porter to the Swiss luxury goods group earlier this year for £350m. Indeed, investors like Mr. Rupert are included on the list for the first time, acknowledging the essential support that their capital provides to the development of the online fashion ecosystem.

That said, the Online Fashion 100 is more of an art than a science due to the subjective basis upon which it is created, a fact which Green says is a necessity.

“I really believe in keeping the list diverse and inclusive,” he explains. “The only way to maintain that is to keep it subjective with my choices, some of which were whittled down if unchosen by judges. These are people who I have watched — directly or indirectly— through their work over the past year, or have come to my attention after being mentioned by industry professionals I respect.”

The complete Online Fashion 100 will be published on Monday, 21 June 2010 on Leon Bailey Green and The Online Fashion Agency.

Kate Moss for Topshop Autumn/Winter 09 | Source: Topshop

Arcadia profits soar (Retail Week)
“Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia Group has reported a 13% rise in pre-tax profits, despite the recession. Young fashion brands Topshop, Topman and Miss Selfridge all had record years.”

Harvey Nicks boss says luxury needs to evolve (Drapers)
“Harvey Nichols chief executive Joseph Wan has warned the luxury sector will not recover from the global banking collapse for at least five years after the downturn prompted a “substantial shift” in the mindset of shoppers.”

The Guardian launches online fashion store (Drapers)
“Newspaper group, the Guardian News & Media, has launched an online fashion store. Guardianfashionstore.co.uk links the newspaper’s fashion editorial content and allows Guardian and Observer readers to browse over 150,000 products.”

Nanette Lepore heads up rally to save the garment center (Examiner)
“The fashion district was buzzing yesterday at a rally to save the garment center… Nanette Lepore spoke out about legislation to promote production in the garment center and honor the city zoning for manufacturers.”

Son of Escada founders mounts bid for brand (Drapers)
“The son of Escada’s founding family has teamed up with Maurizio Borletti, chairman of Italian department store La Rinascente, in an to effort rescue the insolvent German womenswear business, according to reports.”

Old Navy ad campaign, courtesy of Old Navy

Gap Revamping Old Navy, Seeking To Reclaim Mkt Share (WSJ)
“Gap, which is the largest U.S. clothing chain, will remodel 50 Old Navy stores this year after a successful pilot in California, according to Chief Executive Glenn Murphy, speaking at a Piper Jaffray conference in New York Wednesday.”

Rodarte: California dreamers put B-movies before business (Times)
“Interest in the Mulleavy sisters and their fantastical designs has grown like a giant redwood.”

Boomtime for fashion fakers (Independent)
“The counterfeit trade is flourishing online – and it’s harder than ever to tell forgeries from designer originals. But now the big labels are fighting back.”

Sir Philip Green’s interview on BBC 2 (Drapers)
“Sir Philip Green, who owns Arcadia and BHS, said that while trade had been more settled recently, businesses were still not being funded properly, which would not help the country lift itself out of the recession.” Watch the interview here.

Graduate Fashion Week winners announced (Drapers)
“Myrto Samou of UCA Rochester picked up the River Island Gold Award and the Womenswear Award at Graduate Fashion Week last night.”