Is Digital Killing the Luxury Brand? (Adweek)
"Just a few years back, most high-end fashion brands distrusted all things digital. Their fear was understandable. Digital is democratizing; it's about accessibility. The brand image for high-end fashion is all about inaccessibility: Keep the masses out so that the people who can afford to buy their way in feel they're exceptional."

Don't Look Back or Ahead (NY Times)
"'There is so much pressure in the business to be something or not to be something, people dictating what I should be or do next, that you can get drunk on all the voices,' said Mr. Panichgul, 36. 'I don't want to be just a product of the hype, being categorized as 'Michelle Obama's designer.' So what I've learned to do is to focus on what's in front of me right now, on what I'm doing today and not tomorrow, where I am now."

Eyes on the prizes (FT)
"'The market was severely affected by the September 11 attacks: designers had lost their show venues and everything was at a standstill,' says Steven Kolb, the chief executive of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA)... As a result, Kolb, along with the editor-in-chief of American Vogue, Anna Wintour, decided something needed to be done, and in 2003 the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund, an award for globally expanding designers with at least two years' domestic business experience, was born."

S Korea luxury: beyond the obvious (FT)
"Korea is still a good place for fashion houses – luxury sales have been up about 12 per cent each year since 2006 – but they must adapt to changing trends. Intriguingly, several luxury goods makers note Korean culture is becoming so hip around Asia and beyond thanks to TV dramas and music, that they need a strong foothold in Seoul to identify trends that could spread from there."

Bright future: Louise Gray (Independent)
"In London, there is currently a vogue for the work of young Scottish fashion designers – with Christopher Kane, Jonathan Saunders and Louise Gray leading the charge... After graduating in April 2007, Gray almost immediately became involved with Fashion East – Lulu Kennedy's 10-year-old initiative, which provides financial and business support for emerging designers."