Sunday, June 30, 2013

The Divide Between the Two Bangladesh Safety Plans


Ever since the deadliest accident in garment industry recent history, which occurred in Bangladesh in April, large retailers around the world have forced the confront and tackle the issue of how to prevent future accidents. Two distinct plans have surfaced as the retail industry's answer to improving factory worker safety and working conditions.  Just how different are they?

Friday, June 21, 2013

Marc Jacobs Beauty to Launch at Sephora


Marc Jacobs is launching a beauty collection exclusively as Sephora and select MJ stores.  The collection will consist of 122 different products and be available for purchase on August 9th!  However, on July 19th, Sephora will offer ‘teaser’ by allowing shoppers to purchasing five products from the collection early.  The products will range in prices from $24 to $59. 

Marc Jacobs already has a lucrative fragrance line but cosmetics have always been riskier.  Sephora is not worries as it plans to debut the collection in the United States and Canada, for its first ever global product launch.

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Hermès Sues Louis Vuitton in Commercial Court


Lately, it seems like the two premier luxury brands will never make peace as both have been filing lawsuits against each other.  Now add one more.  In its complaint filed with commercial court in Paris, Hermès accused LVMH of "most important fraud in the history of the French stock market."  Hermès wants the court to undo the transactions that allowed LVMH to secretly build up a large stake in its company. LVMH used a series of equity swaps to purchase shares without having to declare its stake over 5%.

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Dolce and Gabbana Found Guilty of Tax Evasion


The Italian design duo of their eponymous label Dolce & Gabbana were found guilty by a Milan court of tax evasion.  This criminal verdict is separate from the verdict the tax commission handed down in April.  For the criminal case, they are now sentenced to 20 months in prison and were also fined a half billion euros (or approximately $650 million) on top of the
 €344 million the tax commission levied.  Things are definitely not looking good for the newest members of the billionaires club, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index.  

Balenciaga Sues Ex-Creative Director, Nicolas Ghesquière

System magazine

Rumour has it...Balenciaga is suing its ex-Creative Director, Nicolas Ghesquière.  It may stem from the candid interview Ghesquière gave to System magazine in April after he departed from Balenciaga.  While Ghesquière gave the standard statement when he departed in November, saying, it was a "joint decision to end their working relationship", that was clearly not the entire story.  Ghesquière expressed his dissatisfaction with working at the luxury fashion house to System magazine, calling it "unfufilling" and a "bureaucracy", adding he felt "dehumanized" and "sucked dry".  Very candid indeed.   

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Phillip Lim Creates New Logo for China to Combat "Trademark Squatter"

New Phillip Lim logo

Phillip Lim, who recently announced a collection for Target, also debuted a new brand mark for its 3.1 Phillip Lim collections.  The new logo is shown above.  According to the company, "a trademark squatter" currently owns the Chinese rights to the brand's name for ready to wear and footwear and without letting that stop Phillip Lim from launching its collection in China, it went to easier route of creating a new logo. 

Kate Spade Wins Trademark Dispute Against Saturdays Surf NYC

Photo: Glamour.com

Kate Spade's new diffusion line, Kate Spade Saturday which debuted in the Spring came across resistance and opposition from Saturdays Surf NYC who complained that the name was too similar to its own. Saturdays Surf said the names would cause confusion since the logo fonts are very similar and they are both in the business of selling apparel even though marketed towards different demographics, Saturdays Surf said they planned on starting a women's line at some point.

Kate Spade Saturday is a new global lifestyle brand created to evoke the spirit of Saturday seven days a week and has lower prices compared to Kate Spade New York but contains the same colorful and optimistic vibe. Whereas, Saturdays Surf is a retailer selling surf gear and ready-to-wear accessories for men in SoHo and West Village as well as in Tokyo.

Monday, June 17, 2013

Gucci Appeals Milan Court's Ruling in Guess' Favor

Photo: Gucci

"If at first you don't succeed, try try again."  This seems to be Gucci's motto as it decided to appeal Milan court's dismissal of its infringement claims against Guess this past May.  Gucci requested the decision be overturned and all evidence of "brand infringement and unfair and parasitic competition against Guess be admitted." 

Gucci issued a statement saying:
"The appeal is a necessary action to protect its extraordinary historic wealth of iconic distinctive signs, famous the world and, more generally, to protect the values of creativity and innovation of quality of Made in Italy products.  Gucci, in fact, considers this sentence as potentially dangerous for the protection of the inestimable wealth of intellectual property represented by Made in Italy products."

Book Review: The Knockoff Economy: How Imitation Sparks Innovation


I came across this book while browsing inside Strand Bookstore in Greenwich Village and after reading the first couple of pages, I was captivated and knew I had to read the entire book.   The premise of the book is that despite preconceived notions that intellectual property laws spur creativity and innovation by protecting those ideas and the originator of those ideas, the authors, Kal Raustiala and Christopher Sprigman propose instead innovation thrives and is greater when there is no intellectual property protection.

Thursday, June 13, 2013

New York's Child Labor Law Will Change the Modeling Industry


The fashion industry which worships youth and beauty will be in for a change as the New York State legislature yesterday passed a bill proposing that models under the age of 18 be protected by the same labor laws that apply to child actors, singers, and performers.  The bill just needs to be signed by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo in order to become law.  His office said it is reviewing the legislation and will take several months before a decision is made.  In the likely event it does pass, what will it mean for those fashion houses hiring models under-aged models?

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Isabel Marant for H&M to Debut November 14th!

Photo: H&M

My heart skipped a beat when I found out French fashion label, Isabel Marant, known for her cool and care free Parisian chic-ness has teamed up with H&M!  Isabel Marant is every cool girl's dream wardrobe at a very steep price.  Her laid-back boho yet edgy look made her a hit among trendsetters. I love browsing her collection unfortunately only to be turned away by the price.  However, the collection for H&M should be priced similarly to past collaborations making it very accessible for budget-conscious fashion lovers.  My imagination is running wild with all the possibilities!  I cannot wait to see the looks from the collaboration because I know it will be amazing! (Continue reading to check out the Isabel Marant for H&M video!)


Friday, June 7, 2013

Louis Vuitton Files Criminal Lawsuit Against Hermès

Photo: Judy Wu

The tension between LVMH and Hermès is here to stay.  Just a few weeks before the French market regulator is expected to decide LVMH's fate for secretly amassing a large stake in Hermès, LVMH decides to file a criminal complaint against an Hermès manager for slander.  The manager's identity has not been disclosed but LVMH is claiming that the manager made implications that LVMH acted fraudulently.  The media has speculated that the lawsuit is against Hermès International's CEO, Patrick Thomas.  

Thursday, June 6, 2013

J.Crew Profit Slips But Sales Are Up - Why I'm Not Surprised!

Photo: J.Crew

J.Crew Group Inc., a privately held company which owns J.Crew, known for its colorful preppy chic clothing, and Madewell, a more rustic but hipper sister store, reported its first quarter earning today with a 4.5% decrease in profit but store sales are up 5% and revenue increased 12%.  This means they are selling more but their margins are lower and expenses are off-setting revenue. 

I can't say I'm surprised as J.Crew and Madewell have been having amazing sales this year.  I don't even bother looking at regular-priced items anymore because I can find relatively current items marked down and a good variety and selection too; it's just overall a better deal in the sales racks. Both online and in stores seems like there's a continuous sale everyday. J.Crew has been promoting 25% off everything (or 30% off with a J.Crew card) and these promotions seem to be more frequent these days.  Of course I had to stop by J.Crew after work to check it out and boy am I glad I did!