Hermes

The Style File Daily Cheat Sheet

(wwd)Chinese Textile Industry Warns of Bankruptcies

"China’s textile industry could face serious repercussions if the value of the yuan appreciates 5 percent against the dollar, state media reported Tuesday. China National Textile & Apparel Council vice president Gao Yong told the China Daily that a 5 percent currency appreciation could cause half of the country’s textile companies to go bankrupt. He said the bankruptcies would be spurred by the industry’s thin profit margins of around 3 to 5 percent. The textile industry output in 2009 accounted for just more than 11 percent of China’s gross domestic product, a Ministry of Commerce report said. The Chinese government conducted a yuan stress test in March that indicated textile manufacturers’ profit margins would decline 1 percent if the currency appreciates by 1 percent, according to the newspaper. China’s central bank announced last month it would allow greater flexibility in the value of the yuan against the dollar, amid pressure from the U.S. and other trading partners. The People’s Bank of China did not say how far the currency might fluctuate. Analysts told state media that textile industry profit margins already have been affected by rising raw material and labor costs, together with an appreciating yuan, which rose 21 percent against the dollar from 2005 to 2008. Zhang Bin, an analyst with Sinolink Securities, said textile products have become more expensive, resulting in diminishing price advantages compared with Vietnam, Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries. China’s textile manufacturers could further be squeezed by rising labor costs, Zhang said. Demands from factory workers for higher wages have become a central focus around the country after a spate of suicides at Foxconn Technology, a hardware producer in the southern city of Shenzhen." read more

(bloomberg)Polo, Hugo Boss, Hermes-Linked Fashion Notes Sold By Vontobel

"Vontobel Holding AG, a Swiss private bank, is marketing structured notes that track the stocks of fashion companies including Hugo Boss AG, Polo Ralph Lauren Corp. and Hermes International SCA. The two-year note is aimed at private banks and asset managers, according to Georg Vonwattenwyl, Vontobel’s Zurich- based head of financial products distribution. The bank will issue as much as 20 million euros ($25 million) of the notes, which start trading July 16 on the SIX Swiss Exchange Ltd. and Germany’s Stuttgart and Frankfurt bourses. Luxury goods companies in Europe are expected to post sales growth of 7 percent on average this year, after slumping 6.6 percent in 2009, according to a Vontobel report. Fashion companies returned about 50 percent last year, according to the Swiss bank, almost double the 27 percent gain in the MSCI Europe Index of 461 stocks. “We have seen some interest in the fashion story this year,” Vonwattenwyl said. “The global development of wealth and the demand for luxury products, particularly in Asia, should benefit these stocks in the future.” Vontobel’s notes will return to investors any gain or loss on the basket of 11 stocks that also includes Bulgari SpA, Burberry Group Plc, Coach Inc., Cie Financiere Richemont SA, Louis Vitton Moet Hennessy SA, Swatch Group AG, Tiffany & Co. and Tod’s SpA. The Swiss bank issued similar notes in 2004 that earned 20.3 percent for buyers that held them for all of their 18-month term." read more

(wwd)J. Crew Names Jenna Lyons President

Jenna Lyons was named Tuesday as president of J. Crew Group Inc. after the resignation of Tracy Gardner, president of retail and direct channels. Lyons will retain her responsibilities as executive creative director. Gardner is leaving the company effective Sept. 13. “This is nothing other than an important personal decision” for Gardner, said Millard “Mickey” Drexler, chairman and chief executive officer, adding that she wants to “spend more time with her children.” Drexler, who worked with Gardner for almost 20 years at J. Crew and their former employer, Gap Inc., described her as “a great merchant, business partner and human being. But we have a really strong team and there are people in place to step up and take on more responsibility.” Drexler said J. Crew will spread Gardner’s duties among executives. Libby Wadle, who had overseen the factory outlets, will become executive vice president of retail and factory. Charlie Phillips, senior vice president of men’s and women’s retail merchandising, now will serve as senior vice president of factory and men’s retail merchandising. Renee Brantjes will continue as vice president of women’s retail merchandising. Merchandise production responsibilities will be under James Scully, chief administrative officer and chief financial officer. Trish Donnelly will continue as executive vice president of the direct channel, and Laura Willensky will remain as senior vice president of the Madewell retail channel. The last person to hold the president’s position at J. Crew was Jeff Pfeifle, a close associate of Drexler, who left the company two years ago. “The team at J. Crew has considerable depth, and I am…confident in our ability to achieve a seamless transition,” Drexler said read more

(myfashionplate)Stella McCartney To Design Olympic Sportswear

"Stella McCartney is one of the UK’s most successful fashion designers and has previously collaborated with the likes of H&M on accessible ranges for those of us who can’t afford designer price tags in our virtual closet organizer. But now the daughter of the former Beatles legend has been appointed as the creative director of Adidas’ 2012 Olympic Team GB ranges. Of course, this is not the first time McCartney has worked with the sports brand, as she designed a performance collection back in 1995. "As a British fashion designer it is an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be creative director of Team GB as the hosting nation of the London 2012 Olympic Games," McCartney said. Plus, it is not just the athletes that will get to wear the fashionable sports gear, as there will also be a fan wear range to match. McCartney launched her own fashion house as a joint venture with Gucci Group in 2001. They may only be sports kits, but it’ll still be interesting to see what she comes up with! We’ll just have to remember to keep our eyes on our own athletes as well." read more

(wsj)French Court Kicks Google/LVMH Case Back To Appeals

The French Supreme Court Tuesday referred a previous ruling against Internet search giant Google Inc. (GOOG) back to the Court of Appeal, effectively canceling an earlier decision in favour of French luxury goods company LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA (MC.FR), which complained that searches on Google's website for its Louis Vuitton trademark generated adverts for counterfeiters and fake Louis Vuitton goods. The court, which is known in France as the Cour de Cassation, canceled a June 2006 Court of Appeals decision condemning Google to a EUR300,000 fine, and referred the case back to the appellate bench. The dispute concerns Google's AdWords business. Google, like others in the multi-billion-dollar Internet search industry, derives valuable income from enabling advertisers to tag their ads to particular search words, often famous brands. LVMH has complained that searches on Google's website for its Louis Vuitton trademark generated adverts for counterfeiters and fake Louis Vuitton goods. On March 23, the European Court of Justice ruled that Google could allow advertisers to use trademarks of brands as search keywords, but may be liable for polic

The Style File Daily Cheat Sheet

Long is in Short is Out, Lacoste's Lemaire at Hermes, Expensive Handbags at the Mall, J. Crew's Profits Rise and Gucci Cruise 2011.

(nyt)A Long, Lean Backlash to the Mini

Ruth La Furla of the NYT shows you how wearing the long maxi silhouette this summer can give you a whole new look and presence. "An elongated silhouette also represents a turning away from the frivolity and calculated provocation of a thigh-high skirt “toward a more austere sensibility,” said Holli Rogers, the buying director for Net-A-Porter, which highlights and sells long tanks from Helmut Lang(a side-split jersey maxi, $330), Stella McCartney (a long silk shirtdress, $1,115) and L’Agence (a cross-back jersey maxi, $200) on its Web site. “People are accepting a more muted, covered-up feeling and moving on". “There is definitely a movement to a very lengthy look, especially among the young,” said Nevena Borissova, a partner in Curve, a progressive retailer with stores in New York, Los Angeles and Miami. Ms. Borissova favors radically stretched-out skirts and dresses that “drag on the floor, with raw edges, and worn with combat boots,” she said. And as she pointed out, these myriad calf- or ankle-grazing iterations of the milelong skirt bear no relation to “Big Love” or, for that matter, the Summer of Love."read more

(AP)Gaultier exiting Hermes, Lacoste's Lemaire enters

"Jean-Paul Gaultier is leaving high-end fashion house Hermes' womenswear line, and Lacoste designer Christophe Lemaire is taking over as artistic director, the fashion company said Thursday. Gaultier will oversee the spring-summer 2011 collection to be revealed in 2010, and Lemaire will take over for the fall-winter 2011 collection, the Paris-based firm said in a statement. The move puts an end to "seven fruitful years of creative partnership" and allows Gaultier "to concentrate on his own projects," the statement said. Much tamer and preppy than his own signature line, Gaultier's collections for Hermes consistently garnered critical acclaim. "This has been a marvelous adventure which has allowed me to learn about a new 'savoir faire,'" said Gaultier. He said he'd maintain "a privileged relationship" with Hermes, which has a 45 percent stake in his own company, Jean-Paul Gaultier." read more

(wsj)These Bags Cost a Lot!

"As shoppers begin to feel the recession lifting and tiptoe back into spending, some mall stores are seeing a small window of opportunity to woo them in a new way: big-ticket handbags. Talbots Inc. will line its shelves with a $425 python-embossed shoulder bag come fall. Teenybopper Abercrombie & Fitch Co.'s megastores now stock $300-and-up bags alongside the belts and flip-flops. And Ann Taylor Stores Corp. is offering new carryall totes for as much as $298. These pricey purses—which feel particularly pricey in stores like Ann Taylor, where the average price of an item sold last year was $38—are the latest incarnation of the accessory craze, which retailers seized on last year after clothing sales plummeted. Penny-pinching shoppers who took a pass on apparel instead snapped up jewelry as a quick way to update their wardrobes. Bags, like jewelry, don't require a trip to the fitting room, and are more likely to be an impulsive, and emotionally satisfying, purchase." read more

(wwd)J. Crew Profits Rise

"Driven by greater full-price selling and differ-entiated merchandise, J. Crew Group Inc. posted strong first-quarter results, with net income more than doubling to $44.7 million and comparable-store sales rising 15 percent. With the business continuing to be on a roll, the company raised guidance for fiscal 2010 earnings to $2.35 to $2.45 a diluted share, as compared with previous guidance of $2.20 to $2.30 and fiscal 2009 earnings per share of $1.91.  Also on Thursday, J. Crew opened its first bridal store, at 769 Madison Avenue in Manhattan, and launched madewell.com. And recently, J. Crew launched a partnership with the Net-a-porter fashion Web site, giving J. Crew instant presence in 170 countries as well as some indications where the U.S. retailer might consider international expansion in the future." read more

wwd-Gucci Cruise 2011

(wwd)Gucci Cruise 2011

We love Gucci's Cruise 2011 collection which is print heavy with overdyes, tiger stripes and a Military-Rocker feel.  click to see more pictures

The Style File Daily Cheat Sheet

Men's Spring 2011, Burton to Take Over at McQueen, Richemont Profits Fall, Theyskens New to Theory, Gaultier Leaves Hermes, AEO Profits Fall and Everyone is Over Sex and the City 2.

A Change in Seasons in Men's Suits

"For spring 2011, suit vendors are once more celebrating American heritage by featuring the khaki suit as the ultimate ensemble for the season. Look for cotton suits and separates in a multitude of khaki shades in cropped silhouettes and softly constructed blazers."

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(wwd)Burton to Be Named Creative Director at McQueen

"Sarah Burton, the late Alexander McQueen’s trusted colleague, is set to be named creative director of the London-based fashion house, WWD has learned. Burton worked alongside McQueen on his women’s wear collection for more than a dozen years, and completed the fall collection after the designer’s suicide in February. Burton’s appointment should further solidify the future of the company. Shortly after McQueen’s death, Gucci Group vowed to keep the company open, saying the designer had set the “building blocks of a brand” that would allow the business to continue. However, Robert Polet, Gucci Group president and chief executive officer, declined to comment on any succession plan at the time."

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(wwd)Richemont Sales, Profits Decline in Year

"Sales and profits may have declined last year at Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA, parent of brands including Cartier and Dunhill, but Johann Rupert, Richemont’s executive chairman and chief executive officer is decidedly optimistic about the next 12 months. On Thursday, the company said profits in the year to March 31 fell 18 percent to 603 million euro, or $850 million, due chiefly to currency translation losses on net financial assets. Sales, meanwhile, fell 4.5 percent to 5.18 billion euro, or $7.3 billion, due to a decline in spending worldwide and lower inventory levels during the recession." read more

(boston.com)A genre that's out of fashion

"After more than a decade of Patricia Field-designed costumes for films and TV series, the genre has been wrung out, like the last of Samantha Jones’s delicates on wash day. Which makes the arrival of “Sex and the City 2’’ perhaps the most anticlimactic sequel of the summer, and the reason I won’t be queued up tonight to see it alongside the ladies who smell of cranberry juice, vodka, and Sarah Jessica Parker’s Lovely Moments perfume. Didn’t everyone’s dreams already come true in the first film?" read more

(wwd)Olivier Theyskens to Design for Theory

"Theory is bringing Olivier Theyskens back to fashion. Theyskens will design a women's capsule collection for the contemporary brand, which will bow for the spring-summer 2011 season. For Theyskens, one of the most revered designers, it will mark a return to fashion after stints at Rochas and Nina Ricci. Further details were unavailable at presstime." read more

(businessweek)Hermes Says Jean-Paul Gaultier to Quit Fashion House

"French fashion designer Jean-Paul Gaultier will step down as the artistic director of Hermes International SCA’s women’s ready-to-wear unit after seven years in the role. The 58-year-old French couturier, best known for designing the cone bra worn by singer Madonna on her 1990 Blond Ambition tour, will be replaced by Christophe Lemaire, Hermes said today in a statement. The spring-summer 2011 collection to be presented in October will be the last one created by Gaultier for Hermes. Gaultier’s exit marks the end of a formal arrangement that began when Jean-Louis Dumas, former president and chief executive officer of Hermes, signed the designer up to bring new blood to the maker of luxury handbags and silk ties. Dumas died this month at the age of 72." read more

(wwd)AEO Profits Fall in First Quarter

"American Eagle Outfitters Inc. flew into pockets of turbulence in the first quarter, cutting profits in half, and said Wednesday it expects more choppy skies ahead. While heavy discounting and the cost of closing the Martin + Osa division took their toll on first-quarter results, a second-quarter earnings projection slightly below analysts’ expectations played a larger role in dropping shares of the Pittsburgh-based teen specialty retailer $2.57, or 16.7 percent, to $12.81. For the 13 weeks ended May 1, net income totaled $10.9 million, or 5 cents a share, compared with $22 million, or 11 cents, a year earlier. Stripping out charges from the closure of the 28-door Martin + Osa chain, adjusted profits amounted to 17 cents a share, matching analysts’ estimates." read more

Sex and the City: the business that keeps on giving.

 

It's back. No, I'm not referring to my creepy ex boyfriend,  I am talking about the Sex and the City juggernut manifesting itself in the second instalment of the movie, Sex and the City 2.  A part from the welcomed spot light the movie has put on the fashion industry, the brand itself has generated millions of dollars for industries a lot less glamourous like tech, travel, beverages, automobiles, heck even internet web sites (Rent-a-bag web site Bag, Borrow, Steal got a significant lift in biz when Jennifer Hudson proclaimed her Louis Vuitton was NOT owned but RENTED). Vanity Fair created an extensive and complete list of product placement goers from the first movie, which included designer names like Dior, Ferragamo, DvF, and Hermes, techie names such as Apple, iPhone, Dell and Sprint and in the "Sips and Snacks" department, Starbucks, Pelligrino, Pret-a-Manger and Cup of Noodles, all to tune of $100 million and this isn't including the total worldwide film and DVD gross which tops close $420 million.

New Line Cinema hasn't confirmed the tie in deal they had with Apple for the last movie is officially severed,  but from the looks of it Hewlett Packard is stepping up with brand extension insanity (private screenings for bloggers to SJP with her own HP ad and who knows what's to come in the movie since I haven't seen it), as well as Mercedes Benz and probably an airline company given the foursome are traveling to Abu Dhabi by way of Morocco. And how much has HBO made from the "Sex and the City" frenzy? While they wouldn't disclose the exact figure, HBO claims they have made "hundreds of millions of dollars" from the subscribers garnered from the show, to DVD sales and the sale of  syndication rights to TBS for $750,000 per episode. And let's not forget the SATC Martini Shaker for $29.99. the "Miranda" Martini Glass for $14.99 or the SATC garment bag  for $29.99 that are selling out in the NYC store and online.  You hear that sound? That would be Candace Bushnell hitting her head against the wall (cosmo in hand) for selling the rights to SATC to HBO for a mere six figures in the early 90s. Hindsight's always 20/20, peeps.