Monthly Archives: June 2012

From FT.com June 29, 2012

Recently I was riding my bicycle around Prospect Park in Brooklyn, something I do a few times a week, when a Bicycle Dude in multicoloured team-sponsored Lycra zoomed past. I say “zoomed” because my bike, a relic of the Liberty/Target collaboration, has an amazing print on its chassis but no gears. I tend to ride it at my leisure, while humming songs and looking at the trees, while Bicycle Dude was clearly in training mode. Read more

Posted in Accessories, Fashion |

Beware the counterfeit style blogger

June 29, 2012 3:06 pm by Vanessa Friedman

I was fascinated to read some comments by Joseph Giaconda, the lawyer who just won Michael Kors $2.4 million in damages in NY Federal court for the brand’s case against cybersquatters, about the potential new risk for luxury brands from counterfeit bloggers. Ooooh, these tangled webs those fakers weave.  Read more

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Posted in Fashion, Internet, Luxury goods |

Google Glass has a style problem

June 28, 2012 3:25 pm by Vanessa Friedman

So Google has unveiled its disruptive hardware technology, Google glass, the smart headgear that the googlers told the FT showed the company “had a healthy disrespect for the impossible.” Maybe so. But looking at the pictures of founder Sergey Brin in the things, not to mention the naturally beauteous models they have posted on their product site looking windblown and ecstatic with their heads bisected by some sort of metallic band, I also think they have a disrespect for the importance of style that may not be healthy for sales. Read more

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Posted in Accessories, Internet, Luxury goods |

Dolce & Gabbana launches couture

June 27, 2012 5:38 pm by Vanessa Friedman

Today Dolce & Gabbana confirmed rumours that it will create a small couture collection for the first time, to be showed July 9th to a group of clients in Taormina Sicily. The unveiling will take place far from the classic couture environs of Paris; the eye of the Chambre Syndicale, the governing body of the French couture tradition; and the fashion media. The choice is strategic for a number for reasons.
 Read more

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Posted in Couture, Fashion, Luxury goods |

Versace ups its stake in the branded jewellery game

June 27, 2012 1:24 pm by Vanessa Friedman

The branded jewellery game, long viewed as an area with the least players and the biggest potential pay-off, has a new entrant: Versace, which just announced it will introduce its first high jewellery line (one-off creations with emeralds, diamonds, etc) this Sunday during its couture show at the Paris Ritz. I’ll see your collection and raise you! Read more

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Posted in Couture, Fashion, Jewellery, Luxury goods |

Daphne Guinness explains her wardrobe sell-off

June 26, 2012 3:32 pm by Vanessa Friedman

Tomorrow clothes collector extraordinaire Daphne Guinness is auctioning off another chunk of her vaunted wardrobe, the recent subject of a dedicated exhibit at the Fashion Institute of Technology — 100 or so pieces, to be exact, to be sold at Christie’s in London. Why? She’s selling clothes to save clothes!
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Posted in Fashion |

The luxury middle ground returns

June 25, 2012 2:22 pm by Vanessa Friedman

So after all the chat about the current economic situation driving a polarisation of price-points – either super-high-end luxury or cheapo Uniqlo – Euromonitor has come out with some research that begs to differ.  Read more

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Posted in China, Fashion, Luxury goods, Ready-to-wear, Recession |
From FT.com June 23, 2012

In one of those cosmic coincidences of timing, just as the Leveson inquiry in the UK paints journalists in the worst possible light, HBO is on Sunday launching The Newsroom, a new series from Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network, The West Wing) that will paint journalists – well, TV journalists – in a relatively promising light: trying, most of the time, to be good. Even though I’m of the print species, I, for one, am glad. Read more

Posted in Fashion |

Disney to Rebekah Brooks’ rescue

June 22, 2012 3:41 pm by Vanessa Friedman

Let’s be honest: Rebekah Brooks, ex-CEO of News International UK brought down by the phone hacking scandal, does not have a great image – and I’m not just talking about her executive style. The riot of red hair with which she is closely associated, combined with her tendency to wear black, landed her on the cover of Private Eye recently with the title, “Salem Witch Trial”. But today a new movie bowed, to pretty rapturous reviews, that may do a surprising amount to change perception. Read more

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Posted in Beauty |

Yves Saint Laurent has a New Coke moment

June 21, 2012 5:04 pm by Vanessa Friedman

So, Yves Saint Laurent has confirmed that new YSL designer Hedi Slimane’s first rebranding of the company that Yves built involves….dumping the Yves! Albeit only from the ready-to-wear stores and labels.
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Posted in Fashion, Luxury goods, Marketing |
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