Sonia Rykiel Spring Summer 2011 | Source: Moda Paramujer

Sonia Rykiel in talks with investor Fung Brands (Reuters)
“Sonia Rykiel, one of the last family-controlled French fashion houses, is in exclusive talks with privately held Fung Brands which could lead to the investment firm taking an 80 percent stake in the company to help it expand internationally.”

China’s Hidden Wealth Feeds an Income Gap (NY Times)
“Wealthy Chinese are snapping up gold, Rolls-Royces and yachts, Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Gucci faster than ever before, with increases registering not in baby steps, as a decade ago, but in giant leaps — 20, 50, even 80 percent, year on year. The Chinese have become the world’s biggest duty-free shoppers. Where is all the money coming from?”

Italy woes weigh on luxury shoemaker Tod’s in Q4 (Reuters)
“Italian luxury goods maker Tod’s reported lower-than-expected sales in its crisis-hit core Italian market in the last quarter. The owner of the Hogan, Fay and Roger Vivier brands, with a market value of 2.1 billion euros ($2.7 billion), said on Wednesday global sales grew 13.5 percent last year to 893.7 million euros, slightly above analysts’ estimates.”

Vogue keeps No. 1 rank among fashion titles (New York Post)
“In the closely watched March issues of fashion magazines — where fashion designers typically advertise their spring and summer collections — the Condé Nast flagship Vogue retained its customary No. 1 spot. Vogue had 442.74 ad pages, up 3.7 percent, handily beating Time Inc.’s In Style, which came in No. 2 with 347.0 ad pages, up a healthy 39 pages, or 13 percent.”

Cool Designer Ervell Hates to Shop, Wants NYC Store (Bloomberg)
“Dressed in jeans, New Balance sneakers and a simple blue button-down shirt, Ervell, 32, is indistinguishable from the vaguely mussed creative types who pack downtown. What makes Ervell — and all those scenesters — so effortlessly cool is his own, eponymous clothing line.”

Hong Kong skyline | Source: Flick River

Across Asia, an Engine of Growth for Luxury Firms (IHT)
“Europe is struggling to contain a spiraling debt crisis, the U.S. economy is beset with high unemployment, and emerging Asian economies are growing less rapidly. But none of this is killing off Asian shoppers’ taste for luxury goods. Companies like Burberry, Hugo Boss and Prada have continued to strike an upbeat tone on Asia in recent weeks, despite the havoc that debt woes in the euro zone have wreaked on investor sentiment.”

Luxury giants battle it out in menswear (Reuters)
“Buoyant demand for luxury menswear, driven by China’s male-dominated market, has prompted big industry players such as LVMH and PPR to step up their investments in the fast-growing market. Consultancy Bain & Co estimates the luxury menswear market, which makes up 40 percent of the global market, is worth 180 billion euros ($240 billion) and growing at about 14 percent a year, nearly double that of luxury womenswear at 8 percent.”

Indian Fashion Expands Online (NY Times)
“Last June, the Web site Exclusively.in debuted in the United States with much fanfare. The concept seemed promising: Indians and Indophiles stateside could choose from a range of India-style clothing, art and home furnishings in a flash-sale format similar to Gilt.com’s… Now its founder and chief executive, Sunjay Guleria, is going back to the drawing board.”

Vogue’s New Archive Site Costs $1,575 for a Yearly Subscription (The Cut)
“Vogue’s much-hyped archive website goes live today, and as promised, it contains every single page from every issue dating back to the magazine’s American debut in 1892… However, accessing the archive is not quite so simple: For now, it’s only available via subscription through WGSN… And an individual subscription costs a whopping $1,575 per year.”

Mencyclopaedia: Oliver Spencer (Telegraph)
“Spencer, now 43 and this month pipped to the British Fashion Award for best menswear designer by Kim Jones (of Louis Vuitton), was born in Coventry and started in the rag-trade selling second hand clothes on Portobello Road… His eponymous label, started in 2002, is the downstairs to Favourbrook’s up.”

"Irreverent" by Carine Roitfeld | Source: NY Times

A Super-Stylish Vampire (IHT)
“If the definition of a vampire is a pallid, blood-sucking monster with frightening fangs, Carine Roitfeld, former editor of French Vogue and a pivotal figure in the fashion world, does not seem to fit the bill… ‘Why a book — especially for someone like me who hates looking back?’ Ms. Roitfeld asked herself… ‘It marks 30 years. The end of a chapter is a good moment — and they have been ‘belles années,’ beautiful years, when I have succeeded in work and with my family.’”

Ted Baker’s figures look smart as high street rivals falter (Independent)
“The fashion retailer’s US retail sales grew by 74 per cent to $16.7m (£10.8m) in the 28 weeks to 13 August, boosted by new concessions and strong demand for its clothes. But UK and European sales rose by a more modest 7.8 per cent over the period, to £69.2m, while gross margins were dented by a higher level of promotional activity.”

Fashion’s brave new world (Telegraph)
“Beginning with the invention of nylon pantyhose by Allan Gant Sr in 1 959, fashion and technology have gradually been brought together as new materials and techniques opened up countless possibilities for designers… One step further along the technological scale comes catalytic clothing, which… Claims could help combat the harmful emissions released by vehicle exhausts in cities.”

US Vogue is magazine of the year (Telegraph)
“There’s no denying Anna Wintour still reigns supreme as queen of the glossies. US Vogue , which she has edited – with an iron fist some might say – since 1988, was just named Magazine of the Year at the prestigious Ad Age Awards… There is hope for print, it seems, as advertising revenues have plummeted along with every other measure of economic growth across the globe; if anyone can squeeze revenues from cautious (or broke) advertisers it is ‘Brand Anna’.”

Diane Pernet On A Shaded View Of Fashion Film Festival (Huffington Post)
“Drenched in black with her ever-present lace mantilla and catseye sunglasses, Diane Pernet is one of the most recognisable figures on the fashion landscape. But it’s not just her iconic and unvarying look that has gained her recognition; she is one of fashion’s true digital pioneers.”

David Lauren at IHT Luxury Conference | Source: Samir Husein for IHT

The Prince of Polo (Fast Company)
“By associating Ralph Lauren with new digital technology, David has done more than imbue the brand with a current vibe. He has, in the process, made the company a progressive leader among fashion peers. In 2009, David produced an online-only fashion show for Ralph Lauren’s heritage Rugby brand that, for the first time ever, allowed viewers to shop the looks in real time.”

Red Faces at Louboutin? (On the Runway)
“A court ruling today refused to grant a preliminary injunction requested by Christian Louboutin against Yves Saint Laurent, alleging trademark infringement on shoes that featured red soles suspiciously similar to those of Louboutin’s. The decision not only cleared the way for YSL to continue producing its shoes, but also seemed to give coverage to other shoe manufacturers who may want to add a scarlet underpinning to their own future models.”

Macy’s quarterly sales, profit surge (LA Times)
“Macy’s Inc., saying it had its most successful second quarter in more than a decade, reported a surge in profit and sales and raised its full-year outlook. The department store giant Wednesday reported profit of $241 million, or 55 cents a share, compared with $147 million, or 35 cents, in the same quarter last year… Profit, sales, operating income and cash flow all exceeded expectations for the quarter that ended July 30, the company said.”

Kleiner Perkins and the emerging market entail game (FT)
“Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, the Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm, has announced that, together with NY/Beijing-based Tiger Global Management, it is investing $26m in Trendyol.com, the fastest growing, biggest fashion etail site in Turkey… This is the first time Kleiner had invested in a Turkish company, and only its second fashion etail investment, after renttherunway.com.”

Sales Down for All Fashion Magazines Except Vogue (Thread NY)
“According to a new report in WWD, Vogue was the only magazine to show an increase in sales in the first half of 2011, and it’s largely because of one cover in particular: Lady Gaga, who appeared on the magazine’s March issue… While sales for all other fashion magazines were down during that period, according to the report, the March 2011 issue was up in sales by 100,000 copies over the March 2010 issue.”

Franceline Prat | Source: The Little Squares

NEW YORK, United States — Anyone who still loves magazines will be enchanted by this quick film portrait of legendary French Vogue editor Franceline Prat; proof positive that great editors are born and not made. Her collaborations with Guy Bourdin, Norman Parkinson, Bill King, Albert Watson and especially Helmut Newton will forever hold their place at the pinnacle of the history of fashion photography.

When she is asked, “who showed you how to do that?” she answers quite honestly, “nobody!” It was her personal style that she brought to every story, including her now famous house on the French Riviera, which served as a backdrop to many classic images, which appeared in French Vogue during the 1970′s. Having survived many an editor-in-chief, she was not only muse to the most difficult and important photographers, but also acted as mentor, teacher and great friend to everyone around her, from Azzedine Alaia to Marie Amélie Sauvé. Here, she talks about the first time she ever worked with Helmut Newton covering the Cannes Film Festival where she found a young unknown actress named Isabelle Hupert.

Listening to these marvelous stories in the digital age, they seem almost fictional. It’s as if, somewhere during the last turn of the century, fashion, while trying to defend and define itself, has become somewhat of a cartoon image of itself. It is hard to imagine that during that time at French Vogue, there weren’t even individual credits given to the many people who contributed to what would become some of the most influential imagery ever created. All great magazines, fashion or otherwise, are the result of great collaborations rather than any individual expression. There have always been star photographers, brilliant art directors, incredible writers, super models, fashion editors and of course, the editors-in-chief, who serve to inspire and guide these teams to express the point of view of the magazine.

So why do we still love magazines? And why hasn’t the rise of digital technology stamped them out already?

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