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.”

Valentino Autumn/Winter 2009 | Source: Valentino

Permira in talks to buy back Valentino debt-sources (Reuters)
“Private equity investor Permira is in talks to buy back some of the debt it amassed to purchase Italy’s Valentino Fashion Group two years ago, sources close to the matter said. Permira and other shareholders of Valentino Fashion Group plan to invest up to 300 million euros ($452 million) to reduce the Italian fashion house’s debt of about 2.2 billion euros by about a third.”

Roland Mouret to launch menswear (Drapers)
“Roland Mouret is to design a menswear collection that will launch in January. The luxury womenswear designer will introduce a 15-piece collection of men’s tailored clothing and separates.”

Saks faces dilemma as luxury shoppers stay away (Reuters)
“Swooning sales have forced Saks to expand its more affordable lines, given that the mindset of its traditional well-heeled shoppers has been changed by the financial crisis and as a result, they’re much more careful spenders now.”

Invest during a crisis to widen gap with competitors (Channel NewsAsia)
“LVMH believes that when a crisis hits, it is time to increase investments and not cut back. LVMH’s chairman and CEO, Bernard Arnault, said quality is even more paramount to customers during a downturn. He added that a crisis is a good time to push their brands even further ahead.”

A notch above (FT)
“After a rough ride during the height of the financial crisis, things could be starting to look up for the luxury industry. However, the shock to a sector accustomed until recently to double-digit growth has been severe. And this, say business schools, is why a management education programme focused on luxury is even more relevant to industry professionals than it was in the past.”

Escada Autumn/Winter 09 | Source: Escada

A fashion coup (NY Post)
“There is a new player in the international bidding war for a European luxury brand. The owner of Faconnable has emerged as one of the buyers likely to scoop German fashion house Escada out of bankruptcy.”

Luxury malls languish in booming Brazil (UPI)
“Dozens of new luxury malls remain nearly empty all over Brazil. Luxury boutiques would not release sales figures but analysts and sales staff said that few high-end retailers in Brazil are turning profits.”

Valentino pins right balance with new line (Reuters)
“Italy’s Valentino has pinned down the right balance for the fashion brand whose founder retired last year with its latest womenswear collection receiving “great response” from press and buyers, its CEO said.”

Japan, Foucault, Warhol And The Luxury Economy (Agenda Inc.)
“Helge Fluch… is working on an emerging philosophy of luxury which draws from Pierre Bourdieu, Baudrillard, Foucault, and other post-modern social theorists, and more contemporary references such as Currid’s ‘The Warhol Economy’ and Kapferer and Bastien’s ‘The Luxury Strategy’.”

H&M latest: now we can sell anyone new Jimmy Choos (Times)
“The list of big names teaming up with the Swedish chain grows longer. We meet the woman who keeps collaborations coming.”

Missoni A/W 2010 ad campaign | Source: Missoni

Italy’s Fashion Houses See No Early Recovery From Sales Slump (Bloomberg)
“Italy’s fashion industry will take years to recover after the biggest sales decline in at least two decades, according to the country’s designers, who criticized the government for not doing enough to assist them.”

Valentino Owners Say Company Will Survive Recession (New York Times)
“The finances of the Valentino fashion house will withstand the economic crisis, according to a partner in Permira, the private equity fund that owns the group. But current market conditions mean the investor will be sticking around longer than planned.”

Future Looks A Little Brighter For The Luxury Goods Sector (Financier Worldwide)
“Earlier this year, consultancy firm Bain & Company reported that the luxury goods sector was facing a decline of 10 percent, estimating that by 2010 the sector’s value could shrink to €153bn from its 2008 level of €170bn. In response, a new report by KPMG has recommended steps that the sector should take in order to survive the global recession.”

Gilt Groupe’s Jetsetter takes off (CNN Money)
“Jetsetter tells Fortune Brainstorm Tech exclusively that it aims to bring high-end travel online by adopting the model of its parent company, Gilt Groupe, a members-only shopping site featuring daily deals, or ‘flash-sales,’ on limited quantities of designer goods.”

Fast Fashion | +J at Uniqlo (The Moment)
“At 9 a.m., the line outside Uniqlo in SoHo was already stretching toward Dean & Deluca. By 10, it was around the block. Stores in London and Paris had already sold out.”

Valentino S/S 09 ad campaign, courtesy of Valentino

Valentino hits Permira’s pockets (FT)
“Private equity’s costliest excursion on to the catwalk risks turning into a flop as Permira, the UK buy-out house, nears completion of talks with lenders to Valentino, the Italian fashion house, about renegotiating its €2.5bn (£2.1bn) debt.”

Bread & Butter anticipation mounts (Drapers)
“Karl-Heinz Muller, the organiser of young fashion trade show Bread & Butter, is expecting more than 80,000 people to descend on the fair’s new location of Tempelhof Airport in Berlin, when the three-day event opens tomorrow.”

From Paris | Chic of Araby (The Moment)
Western style borrows from the Arabian peninsula as “washed linen and light cottons in multiple layers worn over floppy pants,” make it onto the runway.

Expert Advises on Creating A Korean Luxury Brand (Korean Times)
“Luxury brands, from Louis Vuitton to Gucci to Chanel have entranced the whole world, including Korea. But many are wondering why Asia, in particular Korea, has not yet produced its own globally known luxury brand.”

Valentino S/S 09 ad campaign, courtesy of Valentino

The Fashion Forecast (Vogue.com)
“Valentino Fashion Group’s operating profits fell seven per cent in 2008. But, despite a difficult year, the group – which owns Valentino, Hugo Boss and operates under license Marlboro Classics and M Missoni – intends to remain positive about its growth and future prospects.”

Luxury Goods to Drop as Much as 20% in First Half of 2009 (Market Watch)
“The luxury sector faces between a 15% and 20% decline during the first two quarters in 2009 (at constant exchange rates), shrinking to EUR 153 billion from its 2008 level of EUR 170 billion. Bain estimates that the worldwide luxury market will begin stabilizing in the second half of the year, resulting in a net decline of 10% for 2009 overall.”

Panel Discusses Retail Leadership (WWD)
“For retailers and search firms seeking new leaders, there’s a growing dilemma.” (Subscription required)

Rate rise threatens retail sector jobs (Drapers)
“The future of up to 19,300 retail jobs and 582 retail businesses are under threat because of planned business rate rises according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC).”

NEW YORK, United States — While he has technically left his eponymous house, Valentino Garavani has certainly not left the public eye. Following his departure from Valentino Group, the iconic Italian designer received the Légion d’honneur in France, celebrated 45 years in fashion in an over-the-top multi-day extravaganza in Rome, and premiered a feature-length documentary, Valentino: The Last Emperor directed by Matt Tyrnaur, at important international film festivals in Venice and Toronto.

Then in March, at a star-studded soiree in New York, Mr. Valentino was feted by friends like Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow, at a launch event for the film and conducted several television interviews, including ones with Oprah and this one with Charlie Rose (with his business partner Giancarlo Giammetti, pictured above). Then, just yesterday, another film premiere was rolled out in Los Angeles, this time supported by Tom Ford and Anne Hathway.

I enjoyed the film at press screening in New York in October and have been waiting to see what the broader reaction would be after its wider release.

The San Francisco Chronicle’s Sylvia Rubin says the film “offers a glimpse into the lavish and charmed life of the perpetually tanned, diminutive designer, then in his mid-’70s. He’s petulant, passionate, excitable, funny, charming, catty and impossible. His ex-lover and lifetime business partner, Giancarlo Giammetti, the brains behind the branding, spends much of his time making sure his other half doesn’t throw a fit over something or other.” This is right on the money from what I remember, and why it was a compelling film to watch: the characters and the story of a life and business partnership.

On the other hand, after awhile, it did seem unbelievable that two people could actually live such a charmed existence. Said The New York Times‘ Stephen Holden:”Watching the movie is a little like gorging on chocolate and Champagne until that queasy moment arrives when you realize you’ve consumed far too much.” Especially now, in the depths of recession, seeing this again makes their lifestyle seem even more surreal.

I think what I took away most from the film is just how much fashion has changed. Fashion has become a world where companies focus on image creation and the marketing of dreams and cultivation of aspiration to drive sales. And, the film frames Valentino as the last of the great couturiers which, in and of itself, is a depressing thought.

But, I hope this is not the case. The more I speak to people in the industry, the more I think we are returning to a time of great craftsmanship, design and timelessness in fashion. These are precisely the elements that enable even Valentino’s vintage dresses to be worn on the red carpet today. We need great designers and craftspeople more than ever before. To wit, many of the highly-creative designers I have spoken to in London have actually experienced an increase in sales for A/W 2009 — in stark contrast to the plummeting sales of ordinary brands churning out ordinary product elsewhere.

What is also clear is that the days of designer-as-dilettante are over. Valentino, a genius couturier and showman, would not be able to start a business today like the one he did 45 years ago. While he could essentially ignore the business aspects of what he did completely, today’s young fashion designers must be entrepreneurs as well, even if they have business partners to support them. They must work within commercial realities and expectations of investors, buyers and corporate sponsors.

That said, the film’s key message is that the success of the Valentino business and its continuing prominence and influence is the result of the amazing collaboration between two talented men. And it seems to me, Valentino deserves the spotlight even today, almost two years after his retirement.

On the other hand, it can’t make the job of Valentino’s replacements, Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli, any easier to have the man whose name is on the door, as it were, still working the PR like a racehorse. How can they move on if he is still lingering around?

Imran Amed is Editor of The Business of Fashion.

NEW YORK, United States – In the Summer of 2007,  around the time when Valentino Garavani finally resigned from his own label after months of speculation, I would have done anything to be a fly on the wall. What, with the planning of a 45th anniversary celebration in Rome, the controversy surrounding Permira’s battle with the Carlyle Group for control of the House, the never-ending will he-won’t he leave debate, and the ensuing rumours about potential successors (Giambattista Valli, Zac Posen, Proenza Schouler), there was a veritable tornado of activity going on in the Italian fashion house.

Today, 18 months later, I got my wish. I caught an afternoon press screening of  Matt Tyrnauer’s film, Valentino – The Last Emperor, in New York City. The film happened to focus on Valentino and his partner, Giancarlo Giammetti, at precisely this time. And while there was scant mention of the business issues of the day, it was still an engaging film that focused on the uninterrupted partnership of these two legendary men of a bygone era in la moda Italiana.

To get a rare inside peek into Valentino’s world, complete with yachts, pug dogs, a major domo and several over-the-top mansions, was certainly a humorous treat, and one which left many of my fellow audience members — Andre Leon Talley and Rachel Roy included — screeching with laughter.

In some of the more serious passages, which pitted Matteo Marzotto, of the Italian fashion dynasty, against Mr. Giammetti, it was clear that this was also a period of great stress for the two men who were trying to put a brave face on what they clearly believed was a big mistake for the business.

More than anything else, however, this was the life story of two men — incorporating business, love and fashion — who built a fashion house literally from scratch. From early bankruptcy in the 60s to rapid business growth in the 70s to a phase of extreme licensing in the 80s (Valentino car anyone?) and the years of multiple investors in the 1990s, these guys lived through it all.  But in the end, it was too much.

Giammetti himself stated that Valentino wasn’t made for this new era of fashion, which would require returns on investment, brand extensions and a scaling back of their truly extravagant lifestyles.

With  hindsight, we can also see how the business has struggled without their focus, perfectionism and dedicated partnership. The business has veered from one designer to another under the poor stewardship of Permira, which as I mentioned at the time of the investment announcement, has no previous experience in the high fashion business.

Now it is left to Valentino’s new successors to help find the way — and perhaps they will benefit from some of the advice and guidance that Ms. Facchinetti clearly did not have.

ROME, Italy – By now, most everyone in the fashion universe has heard that Alessandra Facchinetti has been ceremoniously removed from her post as Creative Director of Valentino. Some fashion critics, Suzy Menkes included, have spoken against the designer’s dismissal, pointing to early successes in her first outings over the past couple of seasons, where she availed herself of Valentino’s formidable atelier.

But the story doesn’t end there. A report in WWD said that Facchinetti’s ousting was not due to poor collections, but rather to a difficult and long creative process, and an inability to build a cohesive team around her. And, perhaps therein lies the point. Designers are no longer able to operate in a vacuum, in studios which are isolated from the business at hand.

Today, not only must designers be able to work to an ever-increasing seasonal cycle, they must also be able to work with all types of people, and communicate and evangelise a vision that everybody at the company, both on the business and creative side, can take pride in. This takes a very special kind of designer indeed, just have a look at Elbaz at Lanvin or Tisci at Givenchy.

It’s hard to know exactly what might have happened at Valentino, especially with an atelier that remains fiercely loyal to the brand’s founder.  But, the fact that Facchinetti was also removed from her last design role at Gucci, suggests that she seems unable to define a brand vision of her own. On the other hand, she apparently thrives in situations where the vision is laid out for her by someone else, as was the case in Gucci when she worked under Tom Ford and under Miuccia Prada, when she designed for Miu Miu.

Long time readers of BOF will know this is the same point I made just over a year ago, just after Facchinetti’s appointment. At the time, it wasn’t hard to tell that Valentino himself was not entirely supportive of the decision. This was confirmed in a strong statement of support for Facchinetti’s replacements, Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli, who previously designed under Valentino.

Word on the street is that these two designers are extremely talented and have the internal relationships to make the creative process work more smoothly. Whether they can push the Valentino brand forward remains to be seen, but Giambattista Valli, who was hotly tipped to be the new designer, would have been an even better choice.

That said, this business of dramatically turfing designers out after such short tenures, just before or after their shows, has got to stop. It is true what many have said, that designers need the time to settle into their roles and prove themselves. Hopping from one designer to another will only serve to confuse the brand’s identity further.

Let’s see if Valentino management has the patience this time to see if this design duo can make it work.

Photo courtesy of WWD and Valentino.

Not long after Valentino Fashion Group was acquired by Permira in 2007, Escada AG is the latest major European fashion company to find itself in the crosshairs of a private equity firm. The German newspaper Handelsblatt is reporting that Apax Partners is considering taking a stake in the the German fashion company — and possibly looking to execute an outright takeover.

Escada’s stock lost more than one third of its value in 2007, and another third of value was obliterated in the first few months of 2008, making it a very ripe target for acquisition. But any Escada-turnaround effort backed by private equity will not be easy, even if the price is cheap. Last week, Escada reported that its sales continued to slide in the first quarter of fiscal 2008: revenues across its Escada and Primera divisions dropped by more than 10% when compared to the same quarter in 2007, and EBITDA, a measure of profitability and cash flow, fell by almost 70%.

To complicate matters, the core Escada brand has lost any fashion relevancy that it may have once had (did it ever? You tell us). Traditionally, Escada has gone after a mature fashion customer and counted Chanel and some of Giorgio Armani’s more expensive and conservative brands amongst its direct competitors (Armani has created a highly structured brand portfolio divided into different style and price segments.) But of late, Escada has struggled to keep up with the heavily-image driven brands like Chanel and Armani and has also lost share to Akris, a high-quality womenswear brand from Switzerland, which some people are calling the new Armani. The company has also failed to tap into the accessories market, which has grown in importance over the years.

What’s tougher for a private equity company: Breathing new life into a dying brand like Escada or sustaining the momentum of a legendary designer like Valentino without the designer himself?

In any interesting twist, Escada CEO Jean-Marc Loubier hired a former designer at Valentino, Damiano Biella, as its head designer, just before Mr. Valentino stepped down in January.