Mugler's pre-show and backstage live stream | Source: WWD

Mugler’s Digital World (WWD)
“‘My job was to resurrect the brand, and to pump it up and bring it to the new decade… I had this amazing history and archive but there was nothing for me to work with to make it contemporary. For me, it was taking those amazing historical ideas and transforming them digitally. I design digitally, I communicate digitally, and I live digitally, and I wanted to incorporate that into the brand.’”

Julie Gilhart on Sustainability, Philanthropy, and Life after Barneys (Thread NY)
“Julie Gilhart has been flying fairly under the radar since her dismissal as Barneys’ fashion director in November (aside from touting favorite socially-conscious causes via Twitter), but Friday she appeared at Afingo’s Fashion Forum at FIT to discuss sustainability and philanthropy, and revealed a bit about her personal priorities and plans in the process.”

Spain’s Puig is front-runner for Jean Paul Gaultier (Reuters)
“Spanish perfume maker Puig is the front-runner to buy control of fashion brand Jean Paul Gaultier after China’s Li & Fung walked away but Interparfums is still in the race, fashion and banking sources said… Jean Paul Gaultier, which is still lossmaking, made revenues of 26 million euros in 2010.”

Carine Roitfeld, Chanel Stylist (WWD)
“Carine Roitfeld, a guest editor and stylist at Barneys New York this fall, has also been tapped by none other than Karl Lagerfeld. The designer just wrapped up shooting Chanel’s fall-winter campaign in Paris with… the former Vogue Paris editor in chief, as stylist.”

Ten minutes with Carven designer Guillaume Henry (Telegraph)
“If you have not heard of Guillaume Henry or Carven – it won’t be that way for long. The ex- Givenchy and Paule Ka designer moved to the storied French house two years ago to breathe new life into the brand, and has since been causing quite a stir.”

Thierry Mugler Autumn/Winter 2011 show | Source: Youtube

At Mugler, Genius and Its Limits (NY Times)
“Mr. Formichetti’s show was not a work of genius, but it was a show about genius in the present moment — its limits, its futility. If Paris couture is about history, craft and masters, the new Mugler is about nonspecialists, quick communication and downgrading the role of technique and craft, at least in the heavy, earnest sense.”

Carine’s Next Step (Vogue UK)
“Carine Roitfeld has finally confirmed her next move post-French Vogue – the former editor is teaming up with Barneys to become the store’s guest editor and stylist for autumn/winter 2011-12. Roitfeld will style and edit the American store’s advertising campaign (photographed by Mario Sorrenti), catalogue, newsletters, as well as the Madison Avenue windows.”

Dolce and Gabbana May Face a Criminal Trial (NY Times)
“Accused of defrauding the Italian revenue agency and failing to pay taxes on more than $1 billion in income, they are expected to be told… whether prosecutors have gathered enough evidence to warrant a criminal trial. So far, the case has generated remarkably little fanfare in Italy, a country where tax evasion is regarded by many people, including some in the fashion world, as a national sport.”

A Tribute to Elizabeth Taylor: Fashion Icon (The Cut)
“When it came to style, Elizabeth Taylor was fearless. The diamonds, the hair, the cleavage: She rocked it out everywhere she went. In her younger days, she favored plunging necklines with straps poised to slip off her shoulders, her hair like a dark cloud around her thickly made-up eyes.”

F(AA)shion Dialogues (Dazed Digital)
“In this search for fresh approaches some fashion designers developed collaborations with architects… Trying to explore the new possibilities offered by fashion and architecture, the Architectural Association School launched the ‘F(AA)shion’ workshop, an intensive design-based programme of lectures.”

Gucci Spring/Summer 2011 Campaign | Source: Fashion Fame

The reasons behind the major shake up at Gucci Group (CPP Luxury)
“International media as well as major luxury players have been taken by surprise this week by several major changes within PPR/Gucci Group and it seems this is just the beginning…. Francois Henri Pinault has radically changed management… responding fast to market conditions.”

Dropping Galliano lets Dior open new chapter (Reuters)
“Behind the scenes, Dior is telling industry watchers it is glad Galliano is gone, as it wanted to move away from his theatrical style and embrace a more subtle and refined elegance to better reflects post-economic crisis society. ‘This could be a driver for positive change, which is what Dior itself was looking for.’”

Balenciaga for Today (IHT)
“Mr. Ghesquière, who had gone punk and downtown last season, faced a difficult task. No longer the catwalk ingénue spicing up a house with a glorious past, he had to prove that he could move ahead within the spirit of the august founder. The designer’s process was via fabric, technique and cut.”

Hermès Annual Profit Jumps, Margins Exceed Forecast (Bloomberg)
“[Hermès] reported a surge in full-year earnings as improved confidence among wealthy customers boosted revenue. Operating profit jumped 44 percent to 668.2 million euros ($933 million)… Sales rose 25 percent to 2.4 billion euros and margins exceeded a forecast that Hermes raised last month.”

Thank goodness for Lady Gaga! (Telegraph)
Thank goodness for Lady Gaga! The bonkers blonde from New York has single-handedly rescued a week that on paper should be one of the high points of the entertainment calendar, but instead was fast becoming a car crash of disappointment… The party felt like a complete damp squib until the platinum blonde vision of Stefani Germanotta [arrived] making her catwalk debut at the Thierry Mugler show.”

Social Media Breeds Edvertorial (WWD)
“‘It’s a new way of communicating with consumers… an editorial approach to telling your brand story, and the social-media space just lends itself so beautifully to that combination.’”

Everyday Escada? Life After ’80s Power Dressing (WSJ)
“Over the past two years, in an effort to add new customers, Mr. Sälzer cut Escada’s prices by 20%… reduced the size of the collections by a third, while increasing the number of daywear pieces.”

Power of the Cyberimage (IHT)
“‘Nicola has an extremely prophetic future radar — a kinetic link to tomorrow’s trends today. His laser-guided vision makes his extreme point of view a take-it-or-leave-it proposition.’”

Value of being ‘Made in Italy’ (FT)
“The demise of ‘Made in Italy’ have proved to be greatly exaggerated. In 2010, the country’s exports are estimated to have grown 12.5 per cent, far outpacing the 4.4 per cent rise in global gross domestic product.”

Designers Anonymous (NY Times)
“Suddenly anonymity, the kind that lets you blend into a crowd, looks pretty desirable, too. It certainly did during a week of Milanese fashion shows that were so unostentatious as to be generic. Almost across the board, designers here chose a low-key approach.”

Aldo’s global footprint (Globe and Mail)
“Canadian shoppers are familiar with Aldo shoes. But few realize that this Montreal-based retailer has quietly built an empire that spans 1,500 stores in 55 countries.”

Vera Wang’s Idea of Empire: Marry High, Low, In Between (WSJ)
“Ms. Wang… is pursuing a three-tiered retail strategy of selling through luxury, midpriced and discount stores. A growing number of designers… are trying to deploy similar strategies as economic worries linger.”

Lululemon Grows Fast on a Slim Budget (WSJ)
“Lululemon belongs to an emerging class of retailers focused primarily on designing, making and selling athletic wear to women—and grabbing growing shares of the estimated $15 billion market for women’s fitness attire.”

Tom Ford’s Very Small, Glamorous Show (On the Runway)
“When you’re Tom Ford, and you’ve been away from women’s fashion for six years, more than likely you’ve thought a great deal about your return, perhaps even plotted it down to the last buttonhole.”

Thierry Mugler Appoints New Creative Director (Marie Claire)
“Lady Gaga’s stylist, Nicola Formichetti, has been appointed the new Creative Director of Thierry Mugler… Formichetti was chosen for the role because he represents a new direction in French fashion.”

Lanvin Autumn/Winter 2010 Detail | Source: Style.com

Africa’s influence in the fashion industry (FT)
“A long way from the World Cup epicentres of Johannesburg and Durban, catwalkers in New York and Paris are already marching to an African beat… chiming with the prevailing mood makes economic as well as sartorial sense.”

Will Last Century’s Styles Open Today’s Wallets? (NY Times)
“Brands are combing their archives in the hope that old clothing styles with a classic feel will assuage consumer anxiety in shaky times… — and help pry open shoppers’ wallets.”

E-commerce: Innovation brings a touch of class to online shopping (FT)
“Fuelled by a resurgent interest in the consumer web, a raft of technological advances, and evolving opinions of the web itself, companies such as Ike Behar, Burberry and Thomas Pink are discovering ways to reach consumers without sacrificing brand integrity.”

European M&A: Economic woes may herald slew of deals (FT)
“The conviction that the international success of groups of brands such as LVMH and PPR could be easily replicated, and that luxury is an easy industry for new entrants such as private equity [is false].”

Mickey Drexler: Retail Therapist (WSJ)
“No one understands shopping like J. Crew’s Mickey Drexler. With three successful turnarounds under his belt — Ann Taylor, Gap and now J. Crew — the ‘merchant prince’ is on a roll.”

Etail 3.0

Etail 3.0 takes customer service to the next level (Mad.co.uk)
“The industry body for global online retailing, IMRG, predicts that by the end of this year, 20 percent of the UK’s £300bn retail business will be e-commerce. Fashion brands such as ASOS (originally “As seen on screen”), Net-A-Porter, jewellery and diamond specialists Blue Nile, optician business Glasses Direct and many others are providing sophisticated customer-focused experiences that leave their high street rivals trailing in their wake.”

British Fashion Council ups commitment to new talent (Drapers)
“The British Fashion Council (BFC) has appointed Sarah Mower as its first ambassador for emerging talent.”

Thierry Mugler is back after a decade in the fashion wilderness (Telegraph)
“After a decade in the fashion wilderness, his outrageous power-clothes pushed aside by the bony elbow of waif-chic, Thierry Mugler is back and lending maximum impact to Beyoncé’s killer curves on her new world tour.”

Merchandisers …what exactly do they do? (Guardian)
“The word “merchandising” has echoes that ring down the centuries, and reminds us, among other things, of Shakespeare’s Venetian merchant, trading goods from far off lands in a strange currency called the ducat. But the basic disciplines of merchandising have endured, and are as relevant in the 21st-century retail environment as they were in the Bard’s day.”