Remembering 2010 and Looking Forward to 2011...

Happy New Years! We can't believe it's already 2011- it feels like 2010 just flew right past us! (I guess it feels that way every year, doesn't it?) Before we kick off the year with the top five fashion/retail news to look forward to in 2011, we take a walk down memory lane and bring you the Top 5 Best and Tragic Fashion/Retail Industry Moments of 2010.

Whether it made you laugh, cry, or downright angry, we're sure that everything on this list was definitely something memorable. As we reflect on the memories of 2010, we are reminded of all of the accomplishments and milestones that were only just a year ago.

So without further delay...

Starting with the Best of 2010:

photo via: NOWNESS.com

1. Fashion's Digital Revolution

2010 was the year of digital fashion. This year brought in some of the best fashion films, new online social media platforms, and truly innovative online shopping experiences. We highlighted many of them this past year, and are excited to see what the following year holds. This is really just the beginning!

photo via: Warby Parker

2. Fashionably Socially-Responsible

"Buy one, give one" was a common motto for 2010. Many companies have adopted the well-received philosophy of TOMS, and began their own business ventures, selling everything from ties to eyeglasses, donating one of their products to charity for each one purchased. This was definitely one of our favorite trends of the year.

photo via: Fashionista (source: Harpers Bazaar UK)

3. Tom Ford Returns
2010's greatest designer comeback was Tom Ford. Known for sweeping off everyone's feet when he reinvented big-name labels like Gucci and YSL, Tom Ford made an even more grand and glamourous return with his own-label collection earlier last year. With a closed-doors show with a stellar cast including Beyonce, Daphne Guinness, Chanel Iman, and Julianne Moore, his debut was the most anticipated show of the season. And to make things even better, Carine Roitfeld, the former editor-in-chief of French Vogue and Tom Ford's muse and stylist since the early 90's, is rumored to once again collaborate with the designer. Welcome back Mr. Ford!

                         

photo via: Youtube

4. Burberry
2010 was absolutely the year for Burberry. Starting off the year with their specially staged 3D runway show event live in New York, Paris, Dubai, Tokyo, and Los Angeles, the brand made a dramatic global comeback. As the first to create a truly global fashion show, Burberry was a pioneer in developing the marriage of fashion and technology. To follow up, they also launched the first ever groundbreaking 3D online advertisement, paving the way for the fashion industry in developing remarkably innovative ad campaigns. Their achievements, of course, went above and beyond their technological developments as we can't stop obsessing over all of the shearling jackets and military coats inspired from their last fall collection. Excellent work Christopher Bailey!

photo via: Fashionista

5. Editorials
For most in the magazine industry, 2010 was a tough year as many faced financial bankruptcy and an end to their paper goods while the digital world gained much momentum. However, a few managed to rise above and beyond and create some of the best, most extraordinary work we have ever seen. A perfect example of how pressure can often lead to greatness, take a look at Fashionista's pick of the best magazine editorials of 2010!

And now for the tragedies...

photo via: NY Times

1. Alexander McQueen's Last Farewell
On February 11, 2010, the world mourned the sudden and tragic loss of fashion's modern-day genius, Alexander McQueen. Based in Britain, but influential all over the world, McQueen left a permanent mark in the fashion community, and will always be remembered.

photo via: GreenPacks

2. H&M and Walmart's Big Mistake
Although they are heavily marketing their new sustainable practices and collections, H&M and Walmart began the year with a huge mistake, where news was revealed that the two chain stores dumped dozens of garbage bags filled with unneeded merchandise. Preventing anyone from keeping them, the clothes were destroyed with holes and sliced pieces.

photo via: Business of Fashion (Source: Fashionsnap.com)

3. Abercrombie & Fitch Opens in Japan
In December 2009, American casual luxury brand, Abercrombie & Fitch, better known for it's topless male employees and heavily perfumed retail stores, opened their first flagship store in Tokyo. However, instead of trying to relate to the Japanese audience, A&F pursued an intensely American retail and marketing strategy, clashing with the Japanese culture in every possible way. Everything about the store was completely rejected by the country, making this case the perfect example of what not to do when expanding oversees.

photo via: Styleite

4. Manhattan's Bedbug Problem
What do Macy's, Abercrombie, Hollister, Bloomingdales, Nike, and Victoria's Secret all have in common? Well, this past year, Manhattan had a bit of a bed bug problem, and it affected all six of these retail companies. Disappointing their would-be eager shoppers and making all of Manhattan a little bit itchy about stepping in, this was not one of the greatest memories here in NYC.

photo via: Huffington Post

5. Lady Gaga's Meat Dress
Yes, yes, we know Lady Gaga is known to wear super outlandish outfits that never make sense, but the dress she wore at the last MTV Video Music Awards quite literally made us speechless. Covered head-to-toe in raw meat, this fleshy number is clearly an outfit to remember (and not in a good way)!


That's it for our top ten best and worst moments of 2010, but we can't wait all of the exciting things to look forward to this coming year. To conclude this post, we summarize a short list of some of the most promising in the fashion/retail industry:

photo via: NY Times

1. Yves Saint Laurent: New Vintage III
Stefano Pilati of YSL and Julie Gilhart, former fashion director of Barneys New York, new initiative "New Vintage" is revealed this year in limited, numbered editions. Made from recycled fabric and existing patterns, the collection is meant to start a dialogue with the market using known codes and a common language that are reassuring and familiar, states Pilati. Educating the public about acting consciously toward its environment while wearing one of YSL's most designs is absolutely fabulous.

photo via: NY Times

2. New Fashion Line Accompanying Car on Comeback Road 
2011's must-have fashion accessory is not a purse or pair of shades, but a car. The iconic Lotus Esprit makes a comeback, and it's here in full-force with an all-out luxury brand, which includes three separate men's and women's clothing lines, a style magazine, and a concept store in London. The Esprit is scheduled to return to showrooms in 2013, and is remembered for it's appearance in classic films like "The Spy Who Loved Me," "For Your Eyes Only," "Pretty Women," and "Basic Instinct."

photo via: The Wall Street Journal

3. Moda Operandi
We said fashion was barely touching the surfaces of digital technology and the Internet, so we're excited to announce the next big thing for E-fashion: Moda Operandi. This exclusive site promises it's hand-selected group of customers the ability to order directly from designers each season, within 48 hours of the runway show. Members will order with a 50% deposit, and the designs are expected to be delivered to your door in roughly four months. With the option to return clothes that don't fit or otherwise unsatisfactory, Moda Operandi is the latest attempt to end the six-month lag fashion designers typically face before their runway looks arrive in mainstream stores. Already, the site claims to collaborate with about 50 designers and will start offering four women's collections a year: spring, resort, fall, and pre-fall. This brings a whole new meaning to "fast fashion."

photo via: NY Times

4. Diane Von Furstenberg Goes to China
A globe-trotting fashion mogul, it only makes sense that Diane Von Furstenberg's New Year's resolution  is to get known in China. And to start, she is preparing for a coming retrospective in Beijing, "Journey of a Dress." Featuring some of her sketches, designs, and trademark prints, as well as original portraits created by her celebrity friends like Andy Warhol, Frencesco Clemente, and Francesco Scavullo, this art show is expected to be one of the most lavish events she will be hosting out in the far East.

photo via: Ecouterre

5. Eco-Fashion Predictions for 2011
Ecouterre asked 27 eco-fashion movers and shakers to offer their forecasts for the year ahead. Discover what these amazing people are doing and see what they have to say for the future of fashion!

And lastly, don't forget to make your New Year's Resolutions -- it's never too late! Fashion designers have their list of to-do's too! Click here and get inspired! Happy 2011!

MBF Exclusive: Future of Fashion Video

Earlier this month we were invited to speak at "Take 5ive" a monthly event -- hosted in NYC by WIN-Initiative -- which brings together professionals from various creative industries.

This month’s event was hosted by Take 5ive’s Hans Neleman; Chrissy Reilly emceed a packed Win Headquaters.

Manuela Fassbender, creative director was one of 10 guest speakers.

Each speaker is given 5 minutes to discuss any topic of their choosing.

This evening's selection of speakers was organized by social media marketing & business trending specialist, Karen D'Silva.

Speakers came from diverse industries -- from photography to beer brewing.

They included:
Stanislava Georgieva, photographer

Karen D'Silva of Karen D'Silva Creative Services
Jerry Tavin, Young Photographers Alliance
Andy Katz, photographer

Mario Estrada of HipstamartSonya Giacobbe, Kelso of Brooklyn

Sean Justice, NYU professor photography/technology
Savannah Spirit, photographer

See what Manuela presented here...

About Take 5ive
Take5ive brings together leaders in the creative industry in a forum of sorts. Typically, 10 speakers are split between artists and creative professionals. Past guest speakers have included creative consultant Stella Kramer and Allegra Wilde,tech people Dripbook founder Alex Wright as well as app developers and representatives from Adorama and Sony. Artists participating are split between commercial and fine art.

Fashion's Night Out and more: Updates from around the Web

Well, it looks like we were wrong, wrong, wrong about Fashion's Night Out's success, or lack of. WWD reports today that the Sept. 10 event was SO smashingly successful that it's going to be repeated next year — and it'll be bigger and smashing-er than ever!!! Everyone's still mum about actual sales figures for the night, with Bergdorf ceo Jim Gold pronouncing that "More importantly… Fashion’s Night Out set a fun, optimistic and energetic tone for the fall season.” Yes, we'd forgotten, retailers always measure their success by the tone. Bloomberg, Wintour, and co. are looking to outdo themselves by getting New York's sales tax repealed for the day, meaning deeper discounts for those buying items over $110. Can it work? Of course it can!!

In other updates, we made an egregious oversight in posting Tuesday's bike commuting story without linking to this handy guide to the two-wheeled commute in NYC. Let it be known that MBF does not in any way condone bike commuting without use of helmets (in the US, at least), lights, and a good contingency plan for rainy weather!

Lastly, we seriously underestimated the number of licensing deals inked for Where the Wild Things Are. In addition to the two clothing collections we mentioned, there was a skateboard series, Uggs, vinyl collector toys, and jewelry... Check out the comprehensive round-up at CoolHunting!

Photo by essgee on Flickr

6 ways Fashion's Night Out is like the internet

Both are 1) open late, 2) extremely well-connected, 3) rife with celebrity appearances, and 4) swarming with enthusiastic visitors, making it 5) nearly impossible to filter out the noise… but at the same time, 6) neither has turned out to be the instant moneymaker everyone thought they would be.

This we suspected already the night of the big party, with crowds, performances, and fancy displays making it difficult to actually shop for clothes. As it turns out, we're not the only ones who felt this way: Barneys creative director Simon Doonan, admits that although "just from an energy point of view it was fabulous," the much-heralded evening of shopping was "not incredible from a business point of view." In the same interview, Doonan refused to say whether Barneys lost money on the night, but acknowledged that the event "was not inexpensive."

Of course, as with any promotional stunt, the question is whether Fashion's Night Out can have an impact long-term, perhaps getting people back in the mood for shopping so they'll return another time and actually buy things. Measuring that, however, is best left to posterity.

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9/16/09: Comments NYC gossip blog Gawker on the situation:

The problem isn't that people don't like shopping, it's that they have no [unprintable term] money!

Well put indeed.

Photo via The Cut

When high-low goes even lower...

Hard to know which event this week was more shocking: Anna Wintour making an appearance in a Queens shopping mall for her pet project, Fashion's Night Out; or Emanuel Ungaro hiring Lindsay Lohan as an "artistic advisor". It's quite clear, however, which move was commendable and which was a bizarre attempt to pander to celebrity-obsessed fans.

Meanwhile, also during last night's Fashion's Night Out, Opening Ceremony had designers sell their authentic wares out of battered vans much like those selling counterfeit bags on nearby Canal Street; and Louis Vuitton, staunch anti-piracy crusader when it comes to its own much-copied bags and inciter of several recent Canal Street pogroms, was sued by New Balance for —drumroll, please — copying a pair of its sneakers.

Okay, people. We know the fashion industry has been shaken up plenty by the recession, globalization, etc, etc. But troubling as these times may be, they provide a fantastic opportunity to shake things up a bit: streamlining operations, improving the product, strengthening the brand, and coming out stronger than ever on the other side. Not to compromise essential values and cheapen your image — and yes, Ungaro and LV, we're talking to you.

Sales down, theft up!

There's bad news, and then there's... more bad news. According to an article in WWD, retailers already hard-hit by reduced sales are seeing a wave of theft, both from organized and disorganized criminals. To wit:

A survey released in May by the Retail Industry Leaders Association, which measured the first four months of 2009, found 61 percent of retailers had seen an increase in amateur and opportunistic shoplifting, while 72 percent had seen an increase in organized retail crime.

In a move straight out of a cops-and-robbers movie, one gang has been stealing jewelry from J.C. Penney's locations in Texas and Louisiana by hoisting themselves down from the roof.

But it's not all customers who are doing the thieving. In Chicago, high-end clothing boutique Jake has stiffed 28 designers for sums ranging from $860 to $48,000 by closing down their parent company and opening a new one, while continuing to run the shop itself under the same name.

The designers have collectively filed suit to recover their unpaid money; for smaller designers such as Costello Tagliapietra, the more than $20,000 they are owed represents a significant chunk of their business, while 3.1 Phillip Lim's brand director, Maria Vu, says the suit is also a matter of principle.

Regardless of the outcome, the designers, whose numbers also include Chris Benz, Lutz & Patmos, and Band of Outsiders, are pleased to have banded together created a community where they can discuss the issues facing them collectively as young designers..

Photo via Jason Tester on Flickr.

Anna Wintour, saving the world for fashion.

She was once so mysterious that "The Devil Wears Prada" resorted to thinly disguised fiction to betray her secrets — but suddenly Anna Wintour is everywhere: in the new documentary "The September Issue"; being interviewed on David Letterman; in this new commercial for her latest pet project, Fashion's Night Out; and even, on the big night itself, in Brooklyn and Queens. Shortly after, she'll make the hop across the pond to London, whose much-ignored Fashion Week she hasn't attended in two years — even though she was born and raised there!

But the big question remains: Can Anna Wintour save the fashion industry? Clearly, this season the rag trade has displayed an ingenuity and resourcefulness it lacked in flush times. Wintour's pet project, Fashion's Night Out, will bring top designers, fun, games, drinks, and shopping for all to stores around New York — and around the world — on the eve of Fashion Week; while London's Fashion Week, in a bid for relevance, has wooed back several prominent designers who had begun showing in other cities, including Burberry, Matthew Williamson, and Jonathan Saunders.

Presenting the new green giant: Wal-mart!

Pilloried in the media, and notably in Barbara Ehrenreich's must-read Nickel and Dimed, for its low, low pay and appalling lack of benefits, Wal-mart has cleaned up its act. Okay, conditions for workers may not have improved so much, but perhaps they will: surprisingly for a company whose employees often have to supplement their incomes with welfare, the mega-retailer recently announced it's officially supporting an employer mandate on health care.

Which would be great in and of itself, but another announcement has knocked that one out of the water: Wal-mart is creating a (self-reported) scorecard for its 100,000 global suppliers detailing their impact on energy and climate, natural resources, material efficiency and people and community, which will then be converted into an index – a number, for example – to label the product in stores. With one main challenge of sustainability being the difficulty of standardizing eco-claims, this project could be a huge boon to many companies looking to go green, as well as consumers looking to compare the relative claims of various products. Wal-mart will not own the index, which it says is a collaboration with universities, NGOs, governments, suppliers, and retailers.

Meanwhile, Wal-mart isn't just regulating its suppliers – they're greening their own stores, too. Lately, they've cut their energy consumption 15% by installing a "daylight harvesting" system that dims lights when natural light streams in from windows and skylights.

News flash: Less is more, again

Looks like minimalism is back – both as æsthetic and business strategy.

This summer, Camilla Stærk's sudden, unannounced closing of her Soho boutique set off alarms, but it turns out she was conserving her resources to regroup for the recession in a clever way: by creating Stærk Signature, a tiny line consisting of the 8 essential pieces that her customers demand from season to season.

Like designer, like retailer: stores, too, have begun paring down their inventory, as WWD reported yesterday. The still-suffering (and possibly for sale to Uniqlo?) Gap learned years ago that too much merchandise can mean smaller profits, as customers learn to wait for sales instead of buying at full price; a lesson missed by many retailers who have been offering deep discounts since before Christmas. Louis Vuitton, on the other hand, was recently rated the most valuable luxury brand in the world – thanks largely to its tight control of distribution and its strict no-markdowns policy.

The new face of retail: Personalized service for all

Business as usual just doesn't cut it anymore. The recession has proved to be fertile ground for innovation as lackluster business shift their strategies to keep up with our fast-changing world. According to a recent article in the NY Times, even super-sized Wal-Mart stores is cutting brands and streamlining inventory, while moribund department stores Sears and JC Penney are entering the 20th century by copying Barnes & Noble's longtime innovation of offering in-store customers the use of computers linked to the store's inventory system. If something they're looking for is out of stock, they can place an order right away.

Meanwhile, Macy's has introduced "My Macy's," a system of merchandising that customizes the selection for each individual store by getting input from the people who know best: the sales staff, who know, for example, if strapless dresses are too modest for Salt Lake City's clientele. Saks is going even more custom by installing software that gives salespeople easy access to a database of clients' preferences and earlier purchases, so returning customers can be welcomed with tailor-made service.

Another way to cater to client preferences has been through the internet, where Facebook and Twitter are fast becoming the preferred way for designers and retailers to interact with their clientele, according to a new WWD article. Designers such as Charlotte Ronson and Rachel Roy tweet sales as well as tidbits from their personal lives, putting a more human face on their brands, while the more established Oscar de la Renta and Donna Karan have Twitter feeds written by their PR girls.

News flash: Department stores, up and down

Wal-mart shareholders just got out from their star-studded annual meeting, in which Ben Stiller, Miley Cyrus, and various company execs celebrated the mega-retailer's status as one of few chains with, um, not-so-terrible sales amid the recession. 

Meanwhile, in Germany, the department-store and catalogue group Arcandor has filed for bankruptcy in another American Apparel-like situation: Three days from now, a bank credit of €710 million comes due, and without a serious rescue and restructuring plan, they won't be able to cover the debt. This creates a looming spectre for Germany: What kind of impact will it have on the economy if a major department chain, the Arcandor-owned Karstadt, simply vanishes?

Back in the States, Neiman Marcus isn't disappearing entirely, but some of their opening hours are. After analyzing traffic patterns in their stores, they've decided to open some locations later, and close others earlier. A smart move, even if it hadn't been prompted by the recession: Why spend money to keep your store open if nobody's there?

A more drastic version of that scenario is playing out in New York as Virgin Megastores North America follows its UK brethren into oblivion. Founded by Virgin impresario Sir Richard Branson, the Stateside part of the chain of cavernous music and bookstores was purchased in 2007 by Vornado Realty Trust, which quickly determined that the stores' real estate would bring better profits than did the stores themselves. How the truth hurts…

Saks, meanwhile, is betting on a $30 million renovation to boost sales on its designer floor. Chanel will be front and center, joined by younger designers including Doo.Ri, Erdem, and Martin Grant. But they're not exactly putting all their eggs in the luxury-goods basket: Saks is actually planning to get designers to lower prices, dropping them from the "best" into "better" tier of clothing. Can it work? Will designers survive the narrowing of their already-slim price margins? With Jens Laugesen, Emma Cook, and Veronique Branquinho already folded, the recession will surely claim more casualties as it unfolds, both among small designers and giant retailers.

"The Fall of the Mall" illustration via NY Times

News flash: Fashion, out on the town and around the world

Knitting lessons at Barneys? Rock shows at 3.1 Phillip Lim? Believe it – Fashion's Night Out, a special event from no lesser luminaries than New York mayor Michael Bloomberg and freshly-minted TV personality Anna Wintour, is arriving Sept. 10 in New York as well as as-yet-unnamed cities in Britain, France, Italy, Spain, Greece, Japan, China, Taiwan, Russia, Brazil and India. 

Without any real details posted, it's hard to tell whether the magnitude of this year's event is a mark of retail desperation, a sign of feisty can-do attitude, or some combination of the two. But in a nod to society's altruistic mood, the designers and retailers involved are not only saving themselves, but nobly collecting clothing in a drive that has yet to be explained on the event's website.

News flash: Small is bigger than ever

Pop! Among luxury fashion retailers, Comme des Garçons was a trailblazer in opening pop-up shops, starting with a guerrilla store in Berlin – opened in 2004 under the conditions that the rent had to be under $1,000 a month, and the decor had to come in under $2,000 in all. The unassuming little storefront was such a success that it became a permanent fixture (above) in Berlin, and has since spawned 30 more CdG pop-ups. Now, with the economy making swanky flagships taboo, Europe's more traditional fashion houses are opening temporary stores around the world: Hermès in the Hamptons, Chanel in Moscow, and Louis Vuitton in Tokyo.

And the trend isn't limited to the high end: Big-box retailers from OfficeMax to Radio Shack and even Wal-Mart are opening up mini-concept stores that concentrate on one specific area, hoping to catch customers who don't have time to stroll the longer aisles and even longer check-out lines of their larger stores. Banana Republic is getting in on the action, too, with a dedicated accessories store that opened Friday in San Francisco. Designed with "an urban town house-art gallery motif," the boutique is luxe, though its prices are not: 80% of the merchandise is priced under $100.

Via WWD/NY Times

J. Crew (New York)

While Abercrombie flounders, another brand with a similarly preppy heritage is working wonders. Under the leadership of spurned Gap CEO Mickey Drexler, J. Crew has completely shed its '90s-era identity as a catalog company hawking affordable, bland button-downs and khakis, to become a retail power player, a staple of Michelle Obama's high-low wardrobe with its colorful, up-to-date, fresh yet ladylike women's styles and complementary accessories; as well as a go-to designer for simple, well-priced wedding gowns and bridesmaids' dresses. Their little-sister brand, Madewell, is beloved by youngsters and fashion writers alike for its slim yet rugged, classic yet on-trend, Americana-inspired selection of rumpled jeans, stompy boots, and soft cotton shirtdresses. 

And now, the J. Crew juggernaut is expanding its hold on Soho, with its third-ever freestanding men's store opening next door to the much-hailed Topshop colossus. With its separate suiting department, antique furnishings, and restored original storefront, the new shop could be the middle-class man's answer to Tom Ford's uptown palace.

Now for a dose of reality: In spite of the critical raves, same-store sales were down 13% in the fourth quarter of 2008, leaving the company with a net loss of $13.5 million for that quarter. But Drexler and other execs took no bonus for the year, and say they're looking to make long-term investments in the company's future with developments like the men's store, a separate children's catalog, and a new in-store concierge service.

News flash: Abercrombie losing sales, minds

Quiz: Your dominance of the teenage mall crowd has been crushed by a recession that's sending kids over to your similar, but lower-priced, rivals, while your higher-end line was sagging even during the boom years. Do you: A) hold giant sales? B) start closing stores? C) concentrate on reviving your main line? or D) open a giant flagship on 5th Ave. for your children's line? 

Well, if you're Abercrombie and Fitch, the once-invincible preppy-wear chain that built its brand on Bruce Weber's homoerotic images of underdressed male models and its ever-present wood-clad, dimly lit, heavily perfumed stores, you choose option D. After watching same-store sales decline 30% in February, 34% in March, and 22% in April, A&F has been quietly discounting merch at its A&F and slightly cheaper Hollister stores, but refuses to advertise the fact. Instead, it would seem they're counting on a new children's store in the failed Hickey Freeman location on Fifth Ave to revitalize the brand. Good luck, guys – you're going to need it. 

Meanwhile, in case there was any doubt as to where Abercrombie's former customers are now heading – lower-priced teen brand Aeropostale's sales are up 20%.

News flash: The gold standard is back!

Okay, we all know times are tough, and lots of shoppers simply don't have the cash on hand to spend the way they used to. The solution? Give it to them. Forget coupons – sportswear mini-chain Olive and Bette's is now accepting gold as payment, reports the NY Times, with licensed gold buyers on site at each of its four Manhattan locations to weigh unwanted jewelry and offer money for it on the spot. Similarly, organic denim brand Loomstate is teaming with jewelry designer Jill Platner for an event tonight at which guests can turn in their gold in exchange for store credit  – valid at Jill Platner, naturally. 

Photo via NY Times

News flash: How to make money in fashion retail?

Answer: By getting out of fashion retail! At least that's the shocking new plan at Henri Bendel, the innovative New York department store founded in 1895. The retailer is ditching its entire apparel section, which was known for helping young designers get their start, most recently through their open calls for unknown talent, and carried styles from such rising stars as Matthew Williamson and Jason Wu.

As it turns out, although fashion dominated Bendel's image as well as its floor space, clothing accounted for only 25% of sales. Instead, the new Bendel's will be pared down to its more lucrative beauty, accessories, and gifts departments, and smaller stores carrying only the house brand will open in  shopping malls around the US.

Via WWD

News flash: Menswear sales are up!

Yes, you read that right – UP. In this market. 

Tom Ford and Lanvin menswear designer Lucas Ossendrijver declare in Saturday's Financial Times that this is because men shop for necessary things, whereas women shop for recreation. This from the purveyors of extremely necessary $10,000 fur boots and T-shirts "decorated with a bib of wooden beads", respectively…

Still, one can't entirely fault their logic. Let's face it, men have (for the most part) been keeping their closets pared to the essentials, which means that if something wears out, they have to buy a new one, no matter how gloomy the economic outlook. Women, on the other hand, all have giant closets like Sarah Jessica Parker's in the "Sex and the City" movie, and can always dig into their bottomless archives to find something to wear. 

Okay, not exactly; but for years, retailers have been encouraging women to buy, buy, buy for each of the year's 12 seasons, er, months, and for all of the current trends. And here's where that business strategy defeats itself: Women now have enough clothes, and are well able to opt out of shopping when the going gets tough. So they're staying home in droves, and organizing clothing swaps with their friends – bad news for the retailers who sold them too many clothes in the first place! Case in point: H&M, whose sales are currently down 5 percent, apparently due to consumers' developing distaste for fast, disposable fashion.

Via The Cut

News flash: Openings and closings

The tab for Topshop's opening bonanza last week, rife with celebrities, cocktail parties in-store and at The Box, and two nights of dinners at Balthazar, is estimated at a hefty $1.8 million (and please, did they count the cost of construction -- including moving stairways around -- on that huge space, not to mention renting it for over a year without selling anything?). A much-needed infusion into the New York economy, for sure. And they're not the only new kids on the block: French chain Zadig et Voltaire is officially opening their Meatpacking District shop, and -- any day now! -- Derek Lam is opening a surprisingly huge store in Soho, designed by star Japanese architects SANAA. 

Meanwhile, restoring our faith somewhat in the taste of the American public, Kira Plastinina's last sparkly, pink US store closed last month after the Russian teen's company declared bankruptcy in January, an event reduced to a footnote in a Forbes article about how US customers are choosing H&M and Zara over Gap and Ann Taylor. Sorry, Forbes, but that's not how it works; we seriously doubt that 40-something professional women have suddenly decided they'd like to stop wearing their preppy weekend basics and conservative suits, and stepping out in an XXXL shirt and comfy sneakers, as H&M recommends this spring. Not mentioned in the article was Liz Claiborne, currently resurgent on the charm and design skills of Isaac Mizrahi; let's face it, folks, it's just not all doom and gloom out there.

Photo via WWD

News flash: Opening Ceremony goes trans-Pacific

We've been saying for months that Opening Ceremony is the new Barneys, and darned if they haven't gone and proved our point by announcing their first international shop opening -- in that edgiest of fashion meccas, Tokyo. 

Since opening up shop on a dingy New York block in 2002, they've expanded their original boutique from a single floor featuring a dozen meticulously selected designers, to, well, two floors featuring a plethora of meticulously selected designers, including classic brands that created new designs especially for them. They've added an in-house line of womenswear, menswear, and shoes; they've collaborated with Chloë Sevigny and Betsey Johnson, and fostered Liberty-print Nikes; they opened a New York showroom and an LA outpost; and now they're off to win over the Japanese. 

Best of luck, Humberto and Carol – but we're pretty sure you won't need it!

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Update (4/14/09): A little bird tells us the gigantic Japanese firm Kashiyama is investing in OC. No wonder they're opening in Tokyo!