Week in Review | YSL Chief Executive to Apple, Bec Astley Clarke, Made-for-Instagram Moments, Fashion Sweatshirts, Esteban Cortazar, UAE

LONDON, United Kingdom — It may have been a holiday week in America, but here in Europe people are heads-down, focused on getting things done before the August lull begins in less than a month.

A few days ago, the fashion industry was taken off-guard when it was announced that Yves Saint Laurent chief executive Paul Deneve was stepping down for a "new career opportunity in the high-tech industry" in California's Silicon Valley. The next day, it was confirmed that Deneve was taking up a new position at Apple, working on "special projects" and reporting directly to Tim Cook. Apple — the consumer electronics giant that has forever changed the way people connect with technology, in no small part by applying the rules of fashion to the marketing of its popular iPod, iPhone and iPad devices — is thought to be targeting the fast-emerging market for wearable computing, which all made us wonder. Could Deneve be leaving a senior role at one of the most hallowed fashion houses to work on wearables? Our hypothesis was widely picked up by other media, and received much attention on BoF this week.

In another notable fashion-technology story, we met with Bec Astley Clarke, a newly minted MBE and eponymous founder of online luxury jewelry retailer Astley Clarke, which has attracted serious investors, a loyal consumer following and plaudits for marrying luxury and technology.

Speaking of which, in Paris over the weekend, as the men's shows came to an end, setting the stage for the haute couture shows to follow, it became apparent just how strategically some brands are using fashion shows as a platform for made-for-Instagram moments, designed to be snapped and shared on the popular app.

Another key trend we picked up on this week was the rise of the statement sweatshirt. Having noticed the proliferation of these more accessible fashion items coming out of Europe's top fashion houses, we decided to investigate further. BoF spoke to fashion directors and buyers from Barneys, Matches Fashion, Mr Porter and Harvey Nichols to understand how and why the trend emerged, and whether it has the potential to grow from trendy hero piece to fashion staple.

We also did a very sweet and honest interview with Esteban Cortazar, a lovely young man who has been re-building his business, following a precocious and meteoric rise to the heights of the fashion industry as creative director of Ungaro, only to suffer at the hands of an industry which can often eat up the same people it champions. Mr Cortazar has received a valuable kickstart from Net-a-Porter to develop a second capsule collection, which is now being carried offline as well at Maria Luisa at Printemps and DNA in Kuwait.

Hopping over to the United Arab Emirates, our friend Mortimer Singer at Marvin Traub wrote an Op-Ed arguing that luxury brands should still believe in the twin cities of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, both of which are surging back after the global financial crisis.

That’s all from us this week. I hope everyone in the USA is having a great 4th of July holiday. Hopefully you have time to catch up on all you missed on BoF on your days off.

All my best, Imran Amed