2007: The Year Of The Deal

This year depressed a lot of people in fashion. It was the year that the private equity players really took force, buying some of the biggest names in fashion, for some outstanding sums. Jimmy Choo, Valentino, Halston all went to...

Dec 13 2007

Paris Fashion Week: Really Bad Bags Vuitton, Hermes and Chanel

At last night's Louis Vuitton show Marc Jacobs brought back the Supermodels to carry the creations of his latest Louis Vuitton/artist collaboration with Richard Prince. He had the models dressed as nurses. Why? I am not sure. But the ceiling...

Oct 08 2007

Fashion Breakfast

Economic woes are far from the minds of haute couture house managers as they get ready for another fashion week. Sidney Toledano, president of Christian Dior said that sales of "super luxury" are strong and that his house posted double-digit...

Jan 18 2008

A Shoe Story

The Luxury Institute polled 715 wealthy American women (with average incomes of $291,000) and found their top three most prestigious shoe brands are Christian Louboutin, Manolo Blahnik and Jimmy Choo and not Prada, Louis Vuitton or Gucci. I am not...

Sep 06 2007

Morning Hemlines: Chanel, Valentino, Retail, Reality, Westwood, Vuitton, Costume Institute, Greece

Retailers have been offering early sales and big discounts, but shoppers aren't biting--er, buying. (WSJ) In tough economic times, comfort clothing is gaining ground. (NY Daily News) Karl Lagerfeld showed his profound understanding of Chanel in the brand's Paris show....

Oct 06 2008

2008: The Year Of The Designer

The upside of all the deals done in 2007 is that there's a lot of change coming to the catwalks next year. These are the ones I'll be watching most closely: Bill Blass. Now owned by NexCen. Peter Som was...

Dec 14 2007

Louis Vuitton Bets Big On The Murakami Bags

Louis Vuitton is moving its Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art exhibition to Brooklyn. As in Los Angeles, Vuitton is opening a store to sell colorful monogram handbags and other bits and bobs done in collaboration with the Japanese artist...

Mar 12 2008

LVMH Results: Mortgage Crisis? Not in Asia

LVMH has posted what Goldman Sacs analyst Jacques-Franck Dossin called it's best quarter in two years. The group's sales grew 10.3 percent, to a total of 4 billion euros or $5.54 billion. Asia continues to do well for the Vuitton...

Oct 16 2007

Silly Counterfeiting Statistics, Bloomberg Edition

Oh, look! Another article filled with counterfeiting statistics! This one's from Bloomberg, it's 1,300 words long, and is the work of four journalists (Allan Dodds Frank, Jaime Hellman, Elizabeth Lopatto, and Wendy Soong) as well as four editors (Michael...

Jun 11 2008

Does LVMH Rule the Champagne Market?

Christina Passariello has an interesting WSJ article today on LVMH's Champagne business, explaining at some length how the French luxury-goods giant sources all the grapes it needs to be the world's biggest Champagne merchant. I do worry, though, that...

Jan 02 2008

Fashion Breakfast

Robertson Blvd is the new SoHo. D&G and Chanel are two of the two mega brands changing the face of what was once a cute street filled with small shops. (WWD) Executives at Guess say its European business may one...

Dec 05 2007

Mulberry Grows, Not Without Pain

Mulberry is suffering growing pains as it expands internationally. The British accessories and ready-to-wear group said in a statement last Thursday that sales at Mulberry's U.K. stores were up 36 percent in the nine weeks to Dec. 1. With a...

Dec 14 2007

Trademarks in Trouble! First the Izod Crocodile, now the Polo Player. Is Nothing Sacred?

So the U.S. Polo Association can continue to use a polo player logo on their apparel despite lawsuits from Ralph Lauren going back to the 1980s. Yesterday the U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a previous ruling in favor of the...

Mar 06 2008

"It" Bag Inspiration

In the latest pairing of a high-end fashion house with contemporary art stars, Chanel has asked Sylvie Fleury, Sophie Calle, Yoko Ono, and Stephen Shore (amongst others) to create work inspired by the luxury label's signature handbag. They'll be shown...

Oct 26 2007

Anti-Counterfeiting Bill Doing Well in Washington

John McCary of the Wall Street Journal reports today on the Bayh-Voinovich bill, an anti-counterfeiting bill which got nowhere in 2005 but which has slightly better prospects now, in the wake of minor revisions.

Jul 10 2007

The Big Bag List: So In, They're Out?

In today's issue of WWD (subscription only) Milton Pedraza, the C.E.O. of the Luxury Institute of New York released its "Handbag Brands 2008" by saying, "The wealthier the consumers are, the more unique they want the bag to be." They...

Dec 11 2007

Fashion Breakfast: Marc In Bribery Scandal, Ken Cole Gets New Ads

Marc Jacobs and P.R. firm KCD are being investigated by New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuom oover charges that they paid the former superintendent of Manhattan's 69th Regiment Armory $30,000 to reserve the downtown armory for his fashion shows....

Feb 07 2008

Copying: A Trendy Bill Now On The Hill, Part 3

The two main spokesman speaking out against the Design Piracy Act favored by designers and the CFDA (and currently working its way through Congress), turn out not to be executives from Forever 21 (currently being sued by Gwen Stefani's L.A.M.B),...

Aug 15 2007

In Defense of Luxury, Part 2

I went on the Star Jones show yesterday. They rang, at the last minute, looking for someone to defend spending huge amounts of money on really expensive stuff made by big brands. "I'm your girl," I said. "Lauren Goldstein Crowe,...

Sep 07 2007

Paris Fashion Week: YSL and Chanel

You might think from my recent posts on the Yves Saint Laurent Manifesto marketing campaign that I don't like the brand. But I do, and last night's show reminded me of why. C.E.O. Valerie Hermann (said to be an old...

Oct 05 2007

Bernard Arnault On Economics, Acquisitions and the Internet

Suzy Menkes interviewed Bernard Arnault at the IHT luxury seminar in Moscow. The video is below, but in a nutshell, Arnault thinks the U.S. economy will slow down, but not go into recession. This, he says, would make it an...

Nov 30 2007

LVMH Third Quarter Sales Up

LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton managed to avoid the widespread spending slump in the third quarter, WWD reports. Thanks to "remarkable" sales of the Louis Vuitton brand, Bernard Arnault's luxury group saw its organic revenue rise 6 percent, to $6.27...

Oct 09 2008

Extra Credit, Friday Edition

Why Do We Use Core Inflation? A clear essay from Mark Thoma. Citigroup Settles Charges of Widespread Theft of Customer Funds: Mostly from the "poor or recently deceased". Are Louis Vuitton’s Artist Collaborations Nearing Their End? Probably not, but...

Aug 29 2008

Morning Hemlines: LVMH, Richemont, Ralph Lauren, Diesel

LVMH has another legal victory--a Canadian judge awarded Vuitton Malletier SA close to $1 million in its lawsuit against a group of shop owners in British Columbia who sold fake luxury goods against court orders. (WWD) Super high-tech materials that...

Aug 08 2008

The Economics of Discounting

"Discounting smacks of desperation," says Liz Gunnison. "That's why brands like Louis Vuitton and Apple don't do it." Is this a common strategy, or is it a very tough one? All department stores have sales, no matter how high-end...

Aug 05 2008

Louis Vuitton Logo Lawsuit In the Bag

The popular LV logo that is Louis Vuitton's legacy is synonymous with luxury and indulgence--which means that it is often co-opted, and often by musicians. Lil Kim once did a photo shoot with LV's painted in brown and tan all...

Aug 01 2008

eBay Spooked by $61 Million Luxury Brand Ruling

Sam Gustin understands why eBay is so chapped over a French court's ruling that the it must pay $61 million to LVMH, the parent company of Louis Vuitton, for allowing the sale of fake luxury goods.LVMH had charged that eBay's French division hadn't moved aggressively enough to prevent knockoffs of ...

Jun 30 2008

Morning Hemlines: LVMH, Commes des Garcons, Levi's, and India

After a two-year legal battle, a French court orders eBay to pay LVMH 40 million euros for allowing the sale of counterfeit goods. (WWD) Louis Vuitton and avant-garde label Commes des Garçons to open a Tokyo pop-up store to sell...

Jun 30 2008

Time For New Trousers? Vuitton, YSL, Ungaro

One of the constant debates in fashion is pretty versus interesting. The best collections, like Lanvin, combine the two. Marc Jacobs' collections can go either way. Many designers have been tinkering with trousers this season. Stefano Pilati has showed ballooning...

Mar 05 2008

Fashion Breakfast

Big trend prediction for 2008? More Chinese fakes! (WWD) Big trend prediction for the end of 2007? Massive sales! (WWD) A weak dollar won't stop rich Americans from shopping. But a weak economy might. (WWD) Paul Smith joins Gucci, Burberry,...

Dec 27 2007