Exiting Louis Vuitton CEO, Yves Carcelle | Source: Fashion Windows

Louis Vuitton picks Constans as new chief (FT)
“Yves Carcelle, chief executive of Louis Vuitton, will stand aside at the end of the next year to be replaced by Jordi Constans, a senior executive of Danone, the French yoghurt group. The move, announced by Louis Vuitton’s parent company LVMH on Wednesday, reflects a trend among luxury goods groups to hire senior executives from the consumer goods industry as their rapid expansion into emerging markets mirrors that of Danone.”

Fashion Week’s Split Personality (NY Times)
“In a matter of a few seasons, the Friday and Saturday shows have eclipsed the others in excitement and energy, so much so that, by Sunday, it seemed to many that spring 2012 Fashion Week had peaked and that the remaining days, far from being a slalom, were a slog… Beyond energy, though, what do all of these young people bring to the communal fashion table, and what, specifically, do they give to designers?”

Hermès shares suspended ahead of court ruling (Reuters)
“LVMH, the maker of Louis Vuitton handbags and Celine dresses, officially claims it does not wish to take control of Hermès but the group has been steadily increasing its stake in Hermès from 17 percent in October last year to nearly 22 percent.”

Japan’s Uniqlo revving up store openings worldwide (Washington Post)
“The head of Fast Retailing Co. said… His company will sharply accelerate overseas expansion of its Uniqlo stores in a bid to become the world’s top apparel manufacturer and retailer. Unveiling a new global business strategy, chief executive and founder Tadashi Yanai said Japanese companies are doomed if they don’t go global… Fast Retailing aims to open 200 to 300 stores worldwide each year with a heavy focus on rapidly growing Asia.”

Vogue publisher Condé Nast to open fashion and design college (BBC News)
“The publisher of Vogue magazine, Condé Nast, is to open a college of fashion and design in London. The college will open next September and the principal will be magazine editor Susie Forbes… The company says it will offer a year-long Vogue fashion foundation course, as well as short courses. It also plans interior design and decoration course.”

Louis Vuitton store in Mongolian capital, Ulaanbaatar | Source: Courtesy LV

The Luxury Frontier (WSJ)
“What happens when a country previously hindered by vastness and foreign rule awakens to wealth on its doorstep? With Louis Vuitton on one corner and one of the world’s largest gold deposits down the road, the previously nomadic society of Mongolia is putting down some rich roots.”

Paris Men’s: Dude Surfers (On the Runway)
“The Paris men’s shows could always surprise with a great venue, or staging, or casting that conveyed the spirit of the designs. But Thursday’s shows put out so little energy that they made a case for seeing the clothes in the showroom. Or catching them later online.”

Prada Is Making Fashion in China (WSJ)
“About 20% of Prada’s collections… are made in China. The Milan-based company manufactures outside Italy in other cheaper countries such as Vietnam, Turkey and Romania… ‘Sooner or later, it will happen to everyone because [Chinese manufacturing] is so good,’ Prada designer Miuccia Prada said in an interview.”

Uniqlo and Jil Sander part ways (Telegraph)
“The German fashion designer Jil Sander, feted for her minimalist aesthetic, and Japanese retailer Uniqlo, are to part ways after working together for almost three years. The +J collection , which was launched in 2009… will make its final foray into stores with a range for this coming autumn and winter.”

What Has Pierre Cardin Been Up To? (WSJ)
“The legendary fashion designer has purchased a vast array of buildings there over the past decade, and, the locals advised me, he was taking a hands-on approach to their reconstruction. His acquisitions now number more than 40, the most famous being the château of the notorious 18th-century libertine the Marquis de Sade.”

Coach Gallops Into Europe (IHT)
“Mr. Frankfort, chairman and CEO of the American accessories company, was on a whirlwind tour of Europe recently, taking in both Coach’s first move into France at Printemps and a Spanish collaboration with the department store El Corte Inglés.”

2010 FN Power 100 (WWD)
“Leaders began to regroup, restrategize and [find] innovative ways to conquer the retail market. It’s no wonder footwear has been a leading category, rebounding much faster than apparel and, oftentimes, saving the bottom lines of department stores.”

Fast Retailing’s Uniqlo Posts Store-Sales Decline (Bloomberg)
“Fast Retailing Co., Asia’s biggest clothing chain operator, posted the smallest sales decline in three months for its Uniqlo stores in Japan as cold weather in the final week of October spurred demand for winter apparel.”

100 Years of WWD (NY Times)
“Women’s Wear Daily, the quippy and quirky trade paper of the garment industry, marked its centennial with a commemorative magazine out Monday that traces the evolution of fashion and also of its own coverage of fashion.”

Jil Sander's +J for Uniqlo | Source: Uniqlo

Jil Sander Bathes in the Glow of Uniqlo (NY Times)
“This sensitive yet strong woman, trained as a textile expert, created a fashion house… and listed her company on the Frankfurt stock exchange… The fact that she walked out twice on Prada… is part of 21st-century fashion legend.”

Taking the High Cost Out of Haute Couture (IHT)
“In the spirit of the Jil Sander/Uniqlo collaboration — but at a middle-market price point — Mr. Theyskens is taking to Main Street an aesthetic that has formerly been seen at the Paris houses Nina Ricci and Rochas.”

Luxury brand diversification does have limits (Reuters)
“Diversification into new areas, which you do not really master, can be risky… But the luxury industry is full of examples of failed attempts to branch out.”

Versace sees profit in 2011 after restructuring (Reuters)
“Versace is looking to return to profit in 2011, after restructuring and weak demand dragged down revenue in 2009… [The company] posted a consolidated operating loss of 49.6 million euros in 2009, compared with a loss of 400,000 euros a year earlier.”

CFDA: Fashioning a National Identity (Style.com)
“The 28th annual CFDA Awards were back at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center… for the second year in a row, and the stars came out to support the evening’s nominees.”

Projects by the Textile Futures Research Group | Source- tfrg.org.uk

NEW YORK, United States — At the Met Ball held earlier this month in New York, singer and songwriter Katy Perry walked the red carpet in a gown made from silk chiffon and over 3000 glowing LEDs that changed colour from blue to pink to yellow to green. Created by London-based firm CuteCircuit, Perry’s gown assured her a lot of publicity. But the coming integration of fashion and technology is about more than making a visual statement.

What if a jacket could heat or cool according to the current weather, or a cocktail dress could help monitor and control your well being? Science fiction-sounding innovations like these are the potential output of the small, but growing field of “smart fashion” that’s being pioneered at university labs and start-ups across the world.

Smart fashion often begins at a level that’s imperceptible to the human eye. Advances in nanotechnology, which allow manufacturers to control materials on a molecular scale, have enabled researchers to develop smart textiles: fabrics that have embedded technology, but are able to maintain normal appearance and feel. For example, “carbon nanotube-coated yarn” is able to conduct electricity, while remaining pliable and soft, allowing clothing made from it to transmit information or power small electronic devices.

Indeed, at Cornell University’s 2010 Design League fashion show, Abbey Liebman showed a solar-powered dress with ultrathin flexible solar cells connected via conductive cotton yarn to a USB charger that allows the wearer to power a mobile phone or iPod. The cotton fibres used to make the dress were coated with a combination of semiconductor polymers and nanoparticles, but amazingly, the garment feels and moves exactly as if it were made of regular cotton.

Cornell University is also exploring cotton fabrics made of nanofibres that change colours, while a project called Communication Wear, funded by the UK-based Arts and Humanities Research Council, has resulted in Bluetooth-enabled garments that sync with a wearer’s mobile phone and emit “sensory messaging” based on his or her body movements.

But will smart fashion and textiles like these ever make their way to official fashion weeks and mainstream consumers? “We will definitely see these items on the catwalk,” said Sabine Seymour, CEO of Moondial, a company developing “fashionable wearable technology,” pointing to Hussein Chalayan’s collection for Spring Summer 2007 which included dresses that were able to transform in shape and style, driven by a sophisticated computer system.

Indeed, in recent years there has been growing cooperation between the worlds of fashion and technology. Back in 2007, Zegna launched a solar-powered jacket, available at mainstream retailers like Saks Fifth Avenue, that warms the wearer and generates enough energy to power a mobile phone or an iPod.

The technology behind Heattech 1 | Source: Uniqlo

The technology behind Heattech 2 | Source: Uniqlo

We’ve also seen innovation at the lower end of the market. Also in 2007, Uniqlo launched Heattech, a line of technologically sophisticated long underwear developed in strategic partnership with Toray Industries, a materials company in Japan. Woven from hollow fibre thread, the Heattech garments are engineered to actually generate warmth as they absorb moisture and trap pockets of warm air, insulating your body much like a heavy wool, but without the bulk. Milk proteins, containing natural amino acids, were also added to the fibres to create softness. Last winter, Uniqlo’s Heatteach was the best selling line for the wildly successful retailer, with an estimated 50 million items of Heattech thermal wear sold in the run-up to Christmas

One of the world’s largest luxury fashion groups is also exploring the future of smart fashion. In order to “facilitate technology convergence in textiles and improve the interface between science and design,” Gucci Group is currently amongst the companies supporting the Textile Futures Research Group at the University of Arts in London.

So will Gucci be the first major luxury group to launch a fashion line that leverages wearable technology and smart textiles? Stay tuned.

Research for this article was contributed by Hanne Melin.

Christian Louboutin Destroys Shoes in Web Video (WSJ)
“Two weeks ago, luxury footwear designer Christian Louboutin quietly launched a new website that prominently featured a rather unusual video. In it, a truck drives over a pile of what appear to be Mr. Louboutin’s signature red-soled shoes.”

Macy’s reports profit on sales, margin growth (Reuters)
“Macy’s Inc. posted improved quarterly results on Wednesday as the department store operator benefited from a strong recovery in consumer spending and efforts to cater merchandise to local tastes.”

Hold Off Being Bullish on China’s Luxury Market (WSJ)
“China’s wealthiest consumers shrugged off the global financial malaise faster than their peers in other parts of the world, but high-end Western brands shouldn’t see the Chinese market as a free-for-all just yet, say the authors of a new report on luxury brands in China.”

Is Luxury Dead? Maybe Not (Luxury Society)
“Guess who says the following attributes are most influential in making ‘important purchases’ today: value, price, overall quality, good design and functionality?”

Uniqlones (NY Magazine)
“Seemingly out of nowhere, their cheap, skinny rainbow-colored basics became a kind of New York uniform. Just how did the Japanese discount brand become the hottest retailer in the city?”

Givenchy's Autumn/Winter 2010 Campaign | Source: Givenchy

Tisci’s Trans Europe Express (WWD)
“Givenchy designer Riccardo Tisci has taken the whole idea of ‘coed fashion shoot’ to another level: The designer is using a transexual among the cast for the house’s fall-winter ad campaign.”

Jones Apparel to buy Stuart Weitzman (Reuters)
“Jones Apparel Group Inc. said it will buy designer shoe company Stuart Weitzman Holdings for an initial cash payment of $180 million, in a bid to expand its reach into luxury goods.”

Fast Retailing Shares May Fall After Uniqlo Sales Drop (Bloomberg)
“Fast Retailing Co., Japan’s largest clothing chain operator, may fall in Tokyo trading after the company blamed cold weather for a domestic sales drop at its Uniqlo chain.”

Tory Burch interview: America’s new fashion sweetheart (Telegraph)
“You might not recognise the chic, Hitchcock-esque blonde sitting poker-straight in Claridge’s tea room in London, but to millions of Americans she is a veritable style icon.”

Katie The Genius (Dazed Digital)
“The much lauded London-based menswear designer Katie Eary is now participating in the first ever public fashion funding scheme from Catwalk Genius.”

Ralph Lauren | Source: American Book Center

Ralph Lauren: New in an Old World (IHT)
“Standing shoulder to shoulder at the Élysée Palace, the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, and the American legend Ralph Lauren held a mutual admiration society.”

New York’s Fifth Ave. Sets Record with Uniqlo Lease (Bloomberg)
“New York’s Fifth Avenue is claiming a city retail record: Japanese clothier Uniqlo agreed to pay $300 million over 15 years to bring its affordable fashions to the world’s most expensive shopping area.”

Outnet sale shows hunger of internet shoppers (Lakestar)
“Online fashion retailer Outnet showed that sometimes an online marketing campaign can be a little too successful when it launched a £1 sale last week.”

Ex-employee to sue Prada Japan over alleged harassment (Plush Asia)
“A former employee of Prada Japan who claims she was harassed by the local unit of the Italian fashion house for being ugly.”

Design Vertigo (T Magazine)
“Design Miami and Fendi’s 2010 collaboration, ‘Design Vertigo,’ at Spazio Fendi… aim to highlight the ways in which designers are venturing outside the bounds of traditional practice and joining forces with unlikely partners.”

Uniqlo's +J Spring/Summer 2010 | Source: Uniqlo

Uniqlo parent raises forecast on brisk H1 results (Reuters)
“Fast Retailing reported 43 percent growth in first-half operating profit on Thursday, helped by strong sales at its Uniqlo budget fashion chain, and raised the full-year outlook.”

Garment District Hothouse (NY Times)
“The most intriguing results may lie in how they relate to the neighborhood, which has been declining as a center of fashion manufacturing… the current debate between landlords and designers about saving the district relates to the perceived importance of being close to their suppliers.”

Hermès takes strategic decision to develop high end jewelry (CPP Luxury)
“French luxury goods firm Hermès has announced that it will be launching a collection of fine jewelry with accessories designer Pierre Hardy. The [collection] was inspired by the shape of a horse’s hoof to keep with the fashion house’s equestrian roots.”

Luxury, Web sales drive retail boost (Reuters)
“Luxury retailers and e-commerce sites logged the best retail sales growth during March, pointing to growing momentum within the retail sector, according to a report.”

Createthe Group’s James Gardner Makes Labels Look Pretty Online (Fashionista)
“Createthe Group designs and engineers Web sites, e-commerce platforms, mobile applications and mobile commerce platforms for pretty much every big fashion and luxury brand around.”

Taylor Momsen for New Look Spring/Summer 2010 | Source: Nitrolicious

New Look to raise £650m in IPO as it takes on high street old guard (Telegraph)
“New Look aims to raise £650m by returning to the stock market, giving it the funds to repay debt and keep taking business from high street stalwarts Marks & Spencer and Next.”

Valentino Sales Rebound May Signal More Openings, Chief Says (Business Week)
“Retailing revenue rose at a ‘double-digit’ pace in the last two months, Valentino Fashion Group Chief Executive Officer Stefano Sassi said in an interview in Paris. The performance would indicate ‘we can grow more’ this year.”

Uniqlo sales mark first fall in 6 months in January (Reuters)
“Japan’s Fast Retailing said sales at its Uniqlo casual-clothing chain fell 7.2 percent in January, the first year-on-year decline in six months, blaming a shortage of inventory after robust sales the previous month.”

CFDA Chooses 12 Designers for Fashion Incubator (Style List)
“Half-off rent in the Big Apple? Sounds too good to be true, but twelve designers heard the improbable news from the CFDA and New York Economic Development Corporation today.”

The ‘Luxury Prime’: How Luxury Changes People (HBS Working Knowledge)
“Are people who travel in town cars and on corporate jets different—on a psychological level—from you and me? Does the availability of luxury goods “prime” individuals to be less concerned about or considerate toward others? The answer from new research seems to be yes.”