John Galliano and Kate Moss | US Vogue, September 2011

John Galliano: Rise and fall of a tormented celebrity (BBC News)
“In the dossier that was presented to the court in Mr Galliano’s defence, a story emerged of a celebrity tormented by fear, hate, self-indulgence and loneliness. There were plenty of people within the fashion industry who saw this tragedy unfolding. But it seemed no-one had the power to stop it.”

Vivienne Westwood faces franchise lawsuit (FT)
“Fashion designer Vivienne Westwood’s clothing brand is facing a court fight with one of its oldest business partners. High quality global journalism requires investment. Hervia Limited, which operates seven Vivienne Westwood shops in regional cities, has issued High Court proceedings for breach of contract after the designer sought to end a long-standing franchise agreement in June.”

Fashion Week: @whatdidIjustsee (On The Runway)
“When I saw the subtle effects of the leather in a jersey dress, I wondered how many people on Saturday night — when Mr. Altuzarra shows his collection — will notice the details or be able to identify the fabric as the models zoom past and iPhones click away… Despite the amount of information flowing, we may actually know less about the real work — the making of clothes.”

Trunk Club Raises $11 Million (TechCrunch)
“Personal styling and retail platform Trunk Club has raised $11 million in Series funding led by U.S. Venture Partners with Greycroft Partners, Apex Venture Partners, and Anthos Capital also participating in the round… The startup pivoted from being a way that men could hire their own personal shopper via Skype video sessions to building a group of professional stylists on staff who coordinate with clients via phone and email, and actually purchase goods for clients from retailers.”

Designers, celebrities woo shoppers around world (Reuters)
“Department stores, designers and celebrities wooed economically battered shoppers around the world on Thursday during the third annual “Fashion’s Night Out” event to encourage spending and raise money for charity. ‘Fashion’s Night Out,’ the brainchild of Vogue magazine editor Anna Wintour, was designed to jump-start an industry battered by the global recession.”

Iris van Herpen at Berlin Fashion Week S/S 2012 | Source: Newsobserver

The Quiet Rise of Berlin Fashion (WSJ)
“Twice a year, with a series of high-profile fashion shows, the couture quartet of New York, Paris, Milan and London issues style edicts for the next season: hemlines are up, charcoal is the new black. But another capital has long held its own quiet but powerful sway in the fashion world: Berlin… With a few stops and sputters, German fashion has since picked up speed and garnered attention for its practical, minimalist designs propelled by industrious business acumen.”

Vivienne Westwood undervalues itself (Telegraph)
“Fashion designer Dame Vivienne Westwood has agreed to pay almost £350,000 in tax to HM Revenue & Customs for significantly underestimating the value of her own brand.”

Do fashion brands need ugly-queen discount contest? (The Economic Times)
“Fashion brands don’t really need to participate in such ugly-queen contests, year after year, trying to outdo each other by offering more and more discounts. So, what is the way forward? Fast-fashion, which ensures that designs move from catwalk to store in the shortest possible time, has been cited as an effective tool to combat such planned customer behaviour.”

Make That 15 Seconds of Fame (On the Runway)
“Today, with rare exceptions, fashion seems to lack that degree of depth, depth with a calculated eye, and one explanation is that we are simply too absorbed in consuming images. Viddy, a social video app for the iPhone and iPad, may intensify that experience during Fashion Week. Viddy allows you to shoot and instantly share a 15-second video on the Viddy network, or on Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr.”

Rei Kawakubo (WSJ)
“Fascinated by challenging conventional standards of beauty, she’s reconstructed “hybrid” clothes, sewn the left half of a jacket onto the right half of a different jacket and designed asymmetrical dresses made from her own vintage scarves—and that was all just in her last women’s presentation. It’s never just about creating something to wear, but rather expressing an idea.”

Simone Cipriani, Andreas Kronthaler, Vivienne Westwood, Federico Marchetti at the launch of the Ethical Fashion Africa Collection | Source: ITC

FLORENCE, Italy — Simone Cipriani spearheads the Ethical Fashion initiative of The International Trade Centre (ITC), a joint agency of the United Nations and the World Trade Organisation. Connecting “the world’s most marginalised people to the top of fashion’s value chain for mutual benefit,” it enables communities of artisans and micro-manufacturers — the majority of them women — to thrive in association with the talents of the fashion world by fostering local creativity, enabling female employment, and promoting gender equality in order to reduce extreme poverty, according to a detailed brochure published by the ITC this month.

Of her recent collection with the Ethical Fashion Initiative, unveiled during Pitti Uomo last month and now available on Yoox.com, Vivienne Westwood said “it’s quite incredible to think that we might save the world through fashion.”

But ethical fashion remains a somewhat fuzzy, idealistic concept, which has proven difficult to implement in practice. It also remains a niche market, even if consumers are becoming more conscious about their purchasing habits and sales of ethical fashion are growing. According to Mr. Cipriani, its widespread adoption will require a wholesale mindset shift for the fashion industry, which must eliminate waste from a fashion system that remains bloated with excess product and underpays those at the very early stages of production.

Mr. Cipriani’s official title is typical of bureaucratic nomenclature: Head, Poor Communities & Trade Program, Chief Technical Advisor, Ethical Fashion. But make no mistake, this is no ivory-towered diplomat. Cipriani spends most of his time in the field — the slums of Nairobi and rural communities around Africa — laying the groundwork for ethical fashion at the front lines and building ties to fashion houses in Europe in order to make his vision a reality.

I caught up with Simone Cipriani on a quiet rooftop terrazza during one of his rare visits to his native Florence for the launch of Vivienne Westwood’s Ethical Fashion Africa collection.

… Continue Reading

Vivienne Westwood | Source: Entrelinhas e Botoes

Westwood: From outsider to subversive insider (FT)
“This coming week marks 30 years since Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren’s ‘pirate’ collection stormed the runway in London with a blaze of sunshine colours and ethnic prints. The show was Westwood’s first swagger on to the catwalk, forging a sophisticated post-punk aesthetic with a billowing new romantic silhouette.”

Duffy Sued (Vogue UK)
“LVMH has defended Robert Duffy against claims made by a former Marc Jacobs chief operating officer, alleging that the company’s president is guilty of sexual discrimination and using company money for personal expenses.”

Oxford Street to receive £1bn makeover (Fashion United)
“East Oxford Street is about to get a makeover. The New West End Company, which represents 600 businesses in London’s West End, has revealed over £1billion of private and public sector investment… set to be injected into the East end of Oxford Street by 2016.”

H&M Profit Misses Estimates as Retailer Absorbs Cost Rises (Bloomberg)
“H&M, the world’s second-largest clothing retailer, reported first-quarter profit that fell more than analysts anticipated as the company decided against passing on higher costs to customers.”

Rise: Camilla Bruerberg (Dazed Digital)
“Camilla Bruerberg is a Norwegian menswear designer who founded her label C/BRUERBERG in 2010 at Oslo Fashion Week. Her latest collection, SOUP, uses a variety of different materials to create pieces focused on the fusion of knit and digital print.”

Ann Demeulemeester Autumn/Winter 2011 | Source: The Cutting Class

The Tribes of Westwood, Owens and Demeulemeester (The Cutting Class)
“While some designers tend to beat to the drum of being on-trend, others have already cultivated their own communities and are even referencing it within their collections. In the recent Ann Demeulemeester, Rick Owens and Vivienne Westwood collections you feel that they are speaking in a language that their customers already know and understand.”

Tokyo’s fashion stores slowly reopen (Relax News)
“‘Tokyo’s fashion business is gradually getting back to usual…Monday’s foot traffic along Omotesando Avenue and Harajuku seemed close to normal levels and shoppers were seen making purchases at Vuitton, Dior and Forever 21. H&M’s closed flagship drew some puzzled looks from passersby.’”

Luxury malls yet to catch on as brands can’t find the right space (Live Mint)
“With little expansion in the luxury mall space, what is emerging is a hybrid retail concept where luxury and premium brands are juxtaposed… For example, while there are pure luxury brands such as Burberry and Armani at Palladium in Mumbai’s Lower Parel, premium brands such as Diesel and Zara on the ground floor.”

Inditex Net Income Rises, Adds Stores in Asia (Bloomberg)
“Inditex… reported profit growth that beat analysts’ estimates and said it will accelerate expansion in stores and online. Fourth-quarter net income rose 14 percent to 553 million euros ($784 million), according to calculations based on today’s full-year results.”

John Lobb Unveils Bespoke Line (Forbes)
“It was created as a celebration of world cities: Eleven teams were assembled in 11 capitals to each create a unique pair of John Lobb shoes. The idea was to make two shoes that embody the spirit of the city, Paul-Dauphin said. He called it ‘around the world in 22 shoes.’”