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."