Is Digital Killing the Luxury Brand? (Adweek)
“Just a few years back, most high-end fashion brands distrusted all things digital. Their fear was understandable. Digital is democratizing; it’s about accessibility. The brand image for high-end fashion is all about inaccessibility: Keep the masses out so that the people who can afford to buy their way in feel they’re exceptional.”

Don’t Look Back or Ahead (NY Times)
“‘There is so much pressure in the business to be something or not to be something, people dictating what I should be or do next, that you can get drunk on all the voices,’ said Mr. Panichgul, 36. ‘I don’t want to be just a product of the hype, being categorized as ‘Michelle Obama’s designer.’ So what I’ve learned to do is to focus on what’s in front of me right now, on what I’m doing today and not tomorrow, where I am now.”

Eyes on the prizes (FT)
“‘The market was severely affected by the September 11 attacks: designers had lost their show venues and everything was at a standstill,’ says Steven Kolb, the chief executive of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA)… As a result, Kolb, along with the editor-in-chief of American Vogue, Anna Wintour, decided something needed to be done, and in 2003 the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund, an award for globally expanding designers with at least two years’ domestic business experience, was born.”

S Korea luxury: beyond the obvious (FT)
“Korea is still a good place for fashion houses – luxury sales have been up about 12 per cent each year since 2006 – but they must adapt to changing trends. Intriguingly, several luxury goods makers note Korean culture is becoming so hip around Asia and beyond thanks to TV dramas and music, that they need a strong foothold in Seoul to identify trends that could spread from there.”

Bright future: Louise Gray (Independent)
“In London, there is currently a vogue for the work of young Scottish fashion designers – with Christopher Kane, Jonathan Saunders and Louise Gray leading the charge… After graduating in April 2007, Gray almost immediately became involved with Fashion East – Lulu Kennedy’s 10-year-old initiative, which provides financial and business support for emerging designers.”

Webisode sneak peek of Thakoon Pre-Fall 2011

NEW YORK, United States — The landscape of fashion communication and commerce continues to change radically, and not just for big brand innovators like Burberry and Louis Vuitton. For a whole generation of formerly “emerging” designers — including Proenza Schouler, Alexander Wang and Thakoon Panichgul — digital innovation is now a central part of their strategies for taking their businesses to the next level.

On Thursday at the Independent Fashion Bloggers conference — part of Social Media Week here in New York — I interviewed Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez of Proenza Schouler, who told a rapt audience of more than 200 fashion bloggers how social media is dramatically changing the way they think about the way they work, the way they sell and the way they communicate with consumers, driving sales and interest in their brand amongst a younger, tech-savvy consumer.

Following a return to form at his A/W 2011 show on Saturday, the ever energetic Alexander Wang is opening his first flagship store here in New York this week, but is also making substantial investments in his online presence, with a revamped website and online store to open later this year. “We see digital as fundamental to our development as a brand, and one of the most powerful ways for us to connect with our customers,” said Dennis Wang, the designer’s brother and CPO.

Big digital moves are also being made by Thakoon Panichgul, the Thai-American designer who became a household name to consumers around the world when Michelle Obama wore a floral print dress he designed on the evening Barack Obama accepted the 2008 Democratic Nomination, and as one of the stars of The September Issue, the popular film chronicling Anna Wintour’s reign as Editor-in-Chief of American Vogue.

Today, Panichgul confidently explains to BoF how the brand new Thakoon.com will bring his brand straight to consumers, bypassing those once uber-powerful magazines with direct communication initiatives like the brand new Thakoon Studio Diary blog, a consolidated social media landing page, and video webisodes showing life behind-the-scenes at Thakoon.

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Louis Vuitton Facebook Page | Source: Facebook

Why Some Of The World’s Biggest Brands Still Don’t Get Facebook (Forbes)
“Just because a brand has big marketing prowess or is known globally doesn’t necessarily mean it’s active or even gets social media–namely Facebook, that is.”

Luxury Brands Hobbled By Poor Management (Jing Daily)
“As major luxury brands continue their march into China’s second- and third-tier cities in an attempt to tap increasing spending power, many companies are finding their progress in these markets stymied by a management ‘talent shortage.’”

Stella McCartney’s Russian return a boutique affair (Reuters)
“The comeback, via a partnership with TSUM, was more subdued than the grand opening of McCartney’s own store in 2007, which closed after only 18 months when the financial crisis halted Russia’s seemingly insatiable demand for expensive clothes.”

Top brands reconsider India strategy (Fashion United)
“Some top international fashion and lifestyle brands which exited the Indian market during the economic downturn are returning to India, albeit with revised business strategies, more suited to the Indian environment.”

One-on-one with fashion designer Thakoon Panichgul (Globe and Mail)
“The fashion arena is verging on overload when it comes to ambitious young designers with a point of view and a passion to succeed. But every once in a while, one does manage to break through the din of excess and not only get noticed by those who matter, but woo the world with a sartorial sensibility that’s both arresting and right for the times.”

BoF Breakfast Club at Norwood Club | Photo: Drew Innis

NEW YORK, United States — When I first met Rachel Shechtman at a Harvard Business School luxury goods conference back in 2007, we quickly learned that we had much in common. Since then, we have made a point of meeting for breakfast to catch-up and discuss the state of the industry whenever work brings me to New York City.

It got us to thinking. With the non-stop madness of the fashion business, many of us don’t make the time or have the energy to sit back, think about and discuss the changes which are happening all around us. More than ever, we need to have honest discussions about the brave new world of fashion.  There is much we can learn from each other. Why not open our breakfast catch-up sessions to like-minded peers and colleagues from the industry? And thus, the BoF Breakfast Club was born.

Last Thursday in New York, designers and CEOs of established and emerging fashion businesses — Shirley Cook of Proenza Schouler, Maria Borromeo and Thakoon Panichgul of Thakoon, Charles Nolan, Bonnie Takhar of Halston, Waris Ahulwalia, Brian Murphy of Loeffler Randall, Courtney and Phillip Crangi, Elana Posner of Peter Som, Michael Angel, Susan Posen of Zac Posen and others — gathered for an intimate, off-the-record conversation on the future of fashion at the Norwood Club.

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