Gucci Feeds Its Florentine Roots (IHT)
"The museum, housed in a 14th-century building in the Piazza della Signoria, is designed to honor the company's leather goods legacy and to bring it into the 21st century by juxtaposing the innovation of bamboo-handled bags or luxe sports equipment with modern art... The idea of facing off past with present — under the slogan "forever now" — was the brainchild of Frida Giannini, the creative director of the famous brand."

Paris fashion week strutting under cloudy economy (Reuters)
"Paris Fashion Week kicked off on Tuesday under a cloud of economic pessimism mixed with uncertainty about the creative direction of some of the world's biggest fashion brands... After New York, London and Milan, Paris closes the season of presentations for next spring and summer with nine days of shows at which designers will be fighting for buyers and media attention amid worries about a possible economic slowdown."

Cavalli Chief Sees Luxury-Goods Slowdown (Bloomberg)
"Luxury-goods companies should brace for weaker growth in 2012 asEurope's sovereign debt crisis leads to a slowdown in spending, according to Gianluca Brozzetti, chief executive officer for designerRoberto Cavalli... 'The luxury sector is not immune,' CA Cheuvreux analysts including Pierre Lamelin, wrote in a note this month. They estimate that so-called organic sales growth across the industry will slow to 9 percent in 2012 from 15 percent in 2011."

Hearst Passes 300,000 Monthly Digital Subscribers, Takes a Bow (All Things Digital)
"Hearst, which is about to sell its digital magazines via Amazon's new tablet, wants the world to know it's selling its digital magazines on plenty of other gadgets, too: The publisher says it is now racking up more than 300,000 paid digital downloads per month."

20 Q&As: Gareth Pugh (Dazed Digital)
"In 1991, Gareth Pugh and Katie Shillingford were ten years old. They're a bit older now – one is a successful fashion designer, and the other works as his stylist and senior fashion editor of Dazed. Graduating from Central Saint Martins in 2003, Dazed was the first to celebrate his work, featuring the red and white balloons from his BA collection on the cover in April 2004... Shillingford talks to her friend about life in 1991, and how the past 20 years have shaped their worlds."