“The traditional retailers are still doing business the old way while Amazon has reinvented the model,” says Sucharita Mulpuru, retail analyst at Forrester Research. “Wal-Mart and Target are willing to sell a few things at a loss. Amazon’s whole business is a loss leader.”

Read more: http://business.time.com/2012/01/24/target-doesnt-want-to-be-a-showroom-for-the-stuff-you-buy-for-less-at-amazon/#ixzz2IYx3fr3D

“Whoever said money can’t buy happiness simply didn’t know where to go shopping.” Bo Derek

Anna Wintour’s, editor of Vogue Magazine, accusers have slung every disparaging word in the book at her, from cold, brusque, dictator to controlling, heartless, witch,  and yet she continues to endure the spiteful arrows of her critics with ne’er a hair out of place, her demeanor remains composed, and her purpose is sure.  

Anna Wintour

Marc Jacobs Spring 2009

May 2009 Cover

This seemed to be a week of contention and conflict...maybe the spring fever and slow sales is a bit too much for some of us to handle.

The Fashion Cap consists of a recap of the top 10 fashion happenings of the week.

Hope you will enjoy and look forward to reading your comments.

1.) The Metropolitan Museum of Art's annual Costume Institute gala theme featured "The Model as Muse: Embodying Fashion" opened on Monday.  Celebrities traditionally see the Costume Institute event as a chance to take more sartorial chances...some good...and some, not so good.

2.) Met news continues...Naomi Campbell decides not to attend the event to protest the museum's snub of her mentor's, Azzedine Alaia, designs.

3.) More Met gala drama...Keifer Sutherland headbutts Jack McCollough of Proenza Schouler.  Anna Wintour is furious.  Brooke Shield is caught in the middle.  Sutherland is scheduled to turn himself into the police today.

4.) Woody Allen's fight against American Apparel continues.  Allen is suing American Apparel for $10 million dollars after the company used his picture on its billboards and web site.  He claims the company didn't have permission and that the billboard depictions tarnishes his image...hmmm.

5.)  Designers duke it out in D.C.  Tim Gunn went to Washington, D.C. this week to lobby for the Design Piracy Prohibition Act.  The bill, if passed, would give fashion designs copyright protection for three years.

6.) Gucci sues Guess? over logo, claiming trademark infringement due to Guess?'s use of green and red strip designs as well as interlocking 'G' patterns is a direct rip off of the Gucci brand.  You be the judge.

7.) Victoria Beckham's turn to strut her stuff for Emporio Armani's new lingerie line.

8.) Pierre Cardin, the 86-year-old designer, takes a tumble at his property in Lacoste, France, but has recovered.

9.) Forever 21 continues its plans for world domination.  This week looking for a suitable site in London to locate their fashion teen dream shop.

10.) Anna Sui designs a Gossip Girl inspired line for Target.  The collection is due to hit stores from September 13 through October 17.

That's the cap!

If there is any other news you think should have made this week's cap, please feel free to share.

Thoughts and opinions are always welcomed.

Till next week....

This week Fashion Speaks introduces a new weekly posting, The Fashion Cap.  The Fashion Cap consists of a recap of the top 10 fashion happenings of the week. 

Hope you will enjoy and look forward to reading your comments.

 

1.) New York designer, Rachel Roy, unveils new diffusion line for Jones New York.  Here's hoping Roy's flair for style will rescue Jones recently reported 98% profit plunge.

2.) Matthew Williamson causes a commotion with the launch of his new line at H&M, although reports are saying, Grace Jones may have stole the show.

3.) Luxury brands continue to take a hit due to the "recession."   Both, Prada and Gucci , posts negative earnings for 2008.

4.) Abercrombie and Fitch beware!  Teen spending reported down by 14%.

5.) Taking matters into their own hands, Forever 21 looks abroad with planned store openings in Japan.

6.) Michael Kors opens his first UK store without all of the hoopla of an H&M launch or Top Shop debut, but we are sure with the same amount of style and panache.

7.) The press delights us with more news of yet another celebrity deciding they can do anything better than we can.  This week's design star is David Beckham who has been quoted saying he is not going to model his own clothes...YET!

Consumers are feeling more confident in April, so maybe, Mom will get that new Escada bag she was eyeing over at ideeli.com for Mother's Day!

9.) Lilo finally gets something right!  Retailers, Nordstrom and Henri Bendel, report her leggings line, 6126, is flying off the shelves.

10.) In celebration of Marks and Spencers' 125th anniversary and hopefully to spark more consumer excitement, M&S announces their new womenswear line, a collaboration with designer, Zandra Rhodes, will hit store floors on May 9th.  Happy Birthday, M&S!

That's the cap! 

If there is any other news you think should have made this week's cap, please feel free to share.  Thoughts and opinions are always welcomed.

Till next week....

The news reports are stating that the Spring 09 selling season has yielded dismal results for retailers, caused largely by the economic recessions and the lower than expected sales planned for Easter holiday. 

This may be true, but it could also be that oftentimes when it comes to design inspiration and innovations, mass and moderate retailers tend to place less emphasis, i.e. less dollars, on ready-to-wear during the spring/summer season.

Traditionally the big selling months for spring have largely relied on holidays and events such as Easter, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, proms and weddings.  In turn, the assortment emphasis tends toward either special occasion, formal wear, or giftable accessory items.

Sale dollars are not heavily forecasted toward ready-to-wear apparel and hence, designers and merchandisers are not encouraged to spend too much time or company money planning and designing innovative spring lines, but rather to follow last year’s selling patterns, update the colors, add a new pattern here and there, but don’t spend too much time creating a line for spring. 

So after a while, spring season pretty much starts to look like the previous spring seasons leaving little room or reasons for an already cash-strapped consumer to decide to shop the stores and spend their dollars.

Maybe Spring 09 is dead, maybe it’s too early to say, although honestly…I, like many of you, have decided to move on and look ahead towards Spring 10. 

As you begin the 2010 spring season design process, then yes, of course, please look back to the previous seasons and look at what resonated for your customers in terms of colors, silhouettes, design details, fabrications, etc…I encourage this in my post, Pantone Spring 2009 Revisited|What Is Black?.

But also remember that a lot has happened in the past 18 months which has caused us to question the disposability of our incomes and your customer has changed.  The wonderful thing about fashion…and humans is our potential for change and renewal.

I awoke this morning and breathed a sigh of relief that spring weather had held for a second day in New York and the discovery caused me to stop and consider what really inspires me about each spring season—and so, I mused on this thought for a while and realized that for me the spring season is RENEWAL. 

I understand that renewal is not a new concept in fashion, but I wanted to try to approach the idea a little differently….

An onsen is a term for hot springs in the Japanese language.

Onsens are naturally-occuring small bodies of water heated from the Earth’s interior….a part of nature and the wonders that exist on our planet.

In Japan, onsens were traditionally used as public baths where men and women bathed together.

Onsen water is believed to have healing powers derived from its mineral content.

A particular onsen may feature several different baths, each with water with a different mineral composition.

The outdoor bath tubs are most often made from  Japanese cypress, marble, or granite with emphasis placed on maintaining the integrity of the spring’s natural environment.

The onsen or hot spring, is not only inspirational in the color palette each spring uniquely yields due to their specific mineral composition, but also it begins a thematic process that reflects fabrics and design details that advocates turning away from the hectic activity we create in our everyday lives. 

This inspiration has the potential to produce silhouettes that beckon one to slow down and enjoy the natural benefits and simple pleasures of life. 

The onsen can also be considered as another way to envision luxury…to create clothing which celebrates the communion of body and spirit, breaks down barriers of gender and beauty, as well as invites transparency and openness.

So, this week’s musing is directed to you.  As you begin the Spring 2010 design process, what inspires you?

What if you were stopped on the street and someone offered to buy everything you owned?  What would they find?  Would the items on your person truly represent who you are…your beliefs, political stance, goals, religious affiliation, or values or would they find random inconsequential items that somehow found their way inside your pocket or purse.

Liu Chang’s exhibit, Buy Everything on You(2006-2008), currently on display at The New Museum of Contemporary Art, offers such a snapshot into modern Chinese culture.  The artist approached people on the streets and offered to buy everything on their person.

The exhibit consists of all of the items that Liu Chang purchased from individuals on the street placed on a white table.  What was most striking was the prevalence of western culture that had been appropriated by the Gen-Y individuals Chang choose for this project.  

There was a the usual proliferation of western cultural hallmarks such as denim jeans, cotton t-shirts, sneakers, and cell-phones, as well as certain items, like seaweed, personal tissues, and Chinese currency or id cards that serve as place markers and reminders that these individuals were not your average American suburban teens, but rather represented a new Chinese identity forged from a communist country whose current wealth is the result of capitalist enterprise.

A new China that is intent on capitalizing on consumers’ needs and desires for new things  and supplying the West’s ever-growing demand for quick, cheap, and disposable fashions.  Most interesting, is that Chang chose a canvas which showcases both contemporary consumer proclivities as well as outlines the social and personal forces that help us to define ourselves—our clothing.

learn more click link for China Youthology Blog

These new millennial individuals have much more freedom of personal expression than their ancestors living under the dictate and rules of Mao Tse-tung.  In this era of communist China, citizens were expected to dress in uniformity wearing clothing which showed no difference in rank or gender, consisting of a military-style tunic-like jacket, short trousers, and cloth-peaked caps.  Dress was used to express a national rather than individual identity.

Today, a rapidly growing upper and middle class seeks to enhance its identity and quality of life with luxury products.  Much of Chinese spending is driven by people’s desire to enhance their own social status and visibility by an association with famous brand names.  In recent years, it has not been uncommon to see owners of a new suit conspicuously “forget” to remove the brand name and price tag that revealed the maker and high price of their new apparel.

Also fueling this demand for luxury products is that China now has an entire population of young, affluent males, called Little Emperors, who have grown up during the one-child only policy and thus, have been afforded many more  liberties from their parents as only children.

Recognizing both China’s demand and ability to purchase these designer items, luxury brands, such as Prada, LVMH, and Armani, have and continue to scout new locations to open boutiques in China.  

Analysts predict that, as China’s average per capita income grows, it will become the world's second-largest purchaser of luxury goods by 2015 and accounting for the sale of 29 percent of all luxury good sales worldwide(http://www.wikinvest.com/concept/Luxury_Consumption_in_China ).

Many more designer brands are looking toward the Far East as the demand for luxury products face sharp declines in Western Europe and the United States.  In sharp contrast, the West is reworking the paradigm for luxury, which involves less the acquisition of high end products and instead centers on the luxury of intangibles(time, freedom, and personal satisfaction). 

The recession has now forced us all to stop, pull out the things on our person, and truly question if we really are only the sum of our possessions.

Our economic downturn has not only brought with it disillusionment and insecurities but also in its wake has created a new type of nationalism.

Fashionalism which is a growing trend of blending fashion with patriotism has become the next buzzword. The trend first began to grab hold during the presidential election with Obama supporters sporting graphic tees depicting soon-to-be President Barack Obama’s face. The “Yes We Can” fervor is now the country’s drum roll for change and nationalistic pride.

The main idea behind fashionalism is to make nationalism “hip” and to give citizens a sense of ownership in their country’s economic and social landscape by purchasing American designers and brands.

American consumers are being encouraged to seek affordable, fashionable options with brands such as J. Crew and Liz Claiborne. American designers, such as Thakoon and Jason Wu, who represent the multicultural blend of American culture, have become, overnight, household names thanks to First Lady Michelle Obama.

We, in the United States, are not only experiencing a surge in nationalistic pride in our fashion choices, but this phenomenon has also taken fast hold in fashion capitals across the globe.

British designers have also been inspired by national pride where at a Vivienne Westwood show, one buyer listed new trends spotted in London including designer accessories featuring the Union Jack.

As well as purchasing fashion items with the British flag emblazoned on them, British buyers, same as American buyers, are concentrating on stocking stores with brands and designers that are specific to its respective country. In Great Britain, this includes items from designers, Vivienne Westwood and Paul Smith.

It is interesting to note that the wave in fashionalism has crested during a time when the G20 summit is taking place. The media has spent a significant amount time scrutinizing the attire of First Ladies, Michelle Obama and Sarah Brown. Both women have made a clear fashion nationalistic fashion statement by choosing to wear “homegrown” fashions.

The purpose of the current London G20 Summit is to bring the world’s biggest economies together so they can work to find a solution to help restore global economic growth through better international coordination. While at the same time, many of the G20 nation members have already implemented measures designed to restrict trade and protect local industries.

Aside from the concern to protect national industries, there are many other reasons that may be connected to the rise in fashionalism. One reason may stem from a need to exert patriotic pride and evoke consumer confidence despite the toll the recession has taken on jobs and businesses. Another reason could be that our need for security has turned us back to those brands that are familiar and have a trusted reputation

While an interest in nationalist shopping continues to grow, many proponents of free trade and globalism are concerned that ultimately buying locally may hurt international trade and stunt economic growth in the long term.

So with concerns of economic growth and stability in mind, one question remains to be addressed. With such a strong insurgence and interest in nationalistic pride and shopping, will transplants such as TopShop, H&M, and Zara strive in this environment or find themselves pushed out in the interest of fashionalism?