London sits on top of the list (below) and guess who we have to thank for that? Well… Read more…
London sits on top of the list (below) and guess who we have to thank for that? Well… Read more…
JCPenney is in major restructuring mode this year and we can’t blame them–other mass retailers and department stores are constantly pushing new collaborations and retail concepts and Penney’s has always been a little stale by comparison. In January, the company announced a slew of new measures, which included reorganizing the store layout to function more like shop-in-shops, with various collaborations with other labels–not unlike Target’s new concept. Read more…
SELFRIDGES has been named the Best Department Store in the World for the second year running by The Intercontinental Group of Department Stores – an association of international shops, with 30 members from 30 different countries. The news was announced as part of the group’s biennial Global Department Store Summit, attended by over 380 retail executives. Selfridges will hold the title until 2014. Read more…
SWAROVSKI has opened applications for its spring/summer 2013 Swarovski Collective sponsorship programme, inviting both established and emerging designers to apply for its unique grant. Open to designers from all four international Fashion Weeks, the initiative invites designers to demonstrate how they plan to integrate Swarovski Elements into their forthcoming collections Read more…
The Condé Nast College of Fashion & Design has unveiled its inaugural prospectus for students, featuring two new courses; a 10-week-long Vogue Fashion Certificate, starting in January 2013, and the year-long Vogue Fashion Foundation Diploma, which will begin in October next year. “Through education and inspiration, preparing the next generation for leadership in the fashion & design industries“…with a tagline like that on the homepage (and a picture of the beautiful Naomi Campbell smiling at us all) this college is going to be hard to ignore.
We are talking fashion world leaders people. Read more…
Dear All,
Firstly…happy Friday! This has been a pretty sweet week and I am glad it is rolling into the weekend. My Friday started really well with an organic facial and an hour walk, and then my lovely fiance sent me the link to news that Vogue is promising to ban underage or ill models. Editors of all 19 editions of the magazine worldwide jointly pledge not to use models younger than 16 or those they believe have an eating disorder.
All I can say is it is about time! Since working on the Talent Magazine in 2006/2007 I have felt quite strongly about the topic of underage models in the industry. I worked with a 14 year old girl on the cover who had been selected by our editor, and even though we looked after her with velvet gloves and she was accompanied by her parents I remember thinking, even back then, that not all young models are afforded this level of consideration and privacy. This girl was young and I dressed her like a 14 year old girl may dress but that is not always the way young models are dressed. Let’s be honest people, this industry is not children and I believe that you need to be over a certain age to take on all that the industry comes with…it does not go gently with your self-esteem, ego or inner-confidence. The number of castings I have sat in and literally cringed as the models were being critiqued in front of me…some were as young as 15 and left close to tears. Read more…
JIMMY CHOO has launched its highly-anticipated new project this morning, Stylemakers, an interactive website featuring a photo gallery of street style images. The public are invited to upload a picture of themselves wearing a Jimmy Choo style – whether it be a shoe or a bag for day or night. Users will then be able to share their photo at www.choo247.com.
London has officially started celebrating the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee today, with 147 Union Jack flags lining Oxford Street – marking 147 years since the street was made into a modern high street. British Fashion Council chairman Harold Tillman and model Jasmine Guinness unveiled the patriotic display this morning, which celebrates the country’s fashion and craft worlds. The flags, which can also be seen on Regent Street, Bond Street and Piccadilly, will be up throughout May.
London sits on top of the list (below) and guess who we have to thank for that? Well… Read more…
JCPenney is in major restructuring mode this year and we can’t blame them–other mass retailers and department stores are constantly pushing new collaborations and retail concepts and Penney’s has always been a little stale by comparison. In January, the company announced a slew of new measures, which included reorganizing the store layout to function more like shop-in-shops, with various collaborations with other labels–not unlike Target’s new concept. Read more…
SELFRIDGES has been named the Best Department Store in the World for the second year running by The Intercontinental Group of Department Stores – an association of international shops, with 30 members from 30 different countries. The news was announced as part of the group’s biennial Global Department Store Summit, attended by over 380 retail executives. Selfridges will hold the title until 2014. Read more…
SWAROVSKI has opened applications for its spring/summer 2013 Swarovski Collective sponsorship programme, inviting both established and emerging designers to apply for its unique grant. Open to designers from all four international Fashion Weeks, the initiative invites designers to demonstrate how they plan to integrate Swarovski Elements into their forthcoming collections Read more…
As anyone who works in the fashion industry knows, requests for free work come as often as the need for a key season must-have piece. I love this article by School for StartUps which handles this topic very well and gives you some great advice about how to simply say no to freebies including how to sidestep offering your services for free without causing offense. If you do not place a value of your service, who else will? What you do has value.
As the article states, ‘From Doctors to Architects, from Artists to Car Mechanics, everyone who provides services for a living has friends that ask for expensive favors and members of professional and personal networks that make saying “No” awkward. If you find that business discussions in social situations routinely end up with you giving your services away free, the following advice will be useful.’ Continue reading here.
The families behind Selfridges, Topshop and Mulberry dominate the fashion category of the Sunday Times Rich List 2012. The fashion business has made magnates of Galen and George Weston and their families. The Selfridges and Primark owners reached the top spot in the fashion stakes and were listed as the 10th richest family in Britain thanks to their combined fortune of £5.9bn, according to the latest edition of the Rich List. Read ELLE article here to find out who else made the cut.
Going green? French luxury group PPR has introduced environmental and social five year targets across its brands as the company looks to reduce and manage its social and environmental footprint. PPR, through its sustainability department PPR HOME, announced a set of core targets to achieve across its Luxury and Sport & Lifestyle brands by 2016 at the company’s Annual General Meeting today. Additionally, a 5% stake in Wildlife Works Carbon, LLC has been acquired as part of PPR’s long-term sustainability strategy for the Group. In this next phase of PPR’s sustainability efforts, a multi-tiered action plan over the next five years is in place to leverage the benefits gained from a Group Environmental Profit & Loss Account (E P&L), while reducing and managing PPR’s social and environmental footprint. Read full article here.
This topic is such a great one. We are nervously aware of our competition and keen to ‘get there first’ whilst at the same time being motivated, inspired and encouraged by their existence. How about looking at it with refreshing eyes?In the words of serial entrepreneur and producer/writer Nancy Fulton, “Nothing should worry an entrepreneur more than creating a product or service for which there is no competition”. Read more…
SWAROVSKI has opened applications for its spring/summer 2013 Swarovski Collective sponsorship programme, inviting both established and emerging designers to apply for its unique grant. Open to designers from all four international Fashion Weeks, the initiative invites designers to demonstrate how they plan to integrate Swarovski Elements into their forthcoming collections Read more…
This is a really great interview on securing investment by Richard Reed, Innocent co-founder. He talks about rejection from banks, VCs and angels. I love the part where he is described as a “dreadful investment opportunity” and also where he talks about constant rejection….spot on.
Check out this great video.
Vogue names its top 100 inspirational women here, can you guess who made the cut? I have had the pleasure of meeting a few of the women on the list.
Some of my favourites are in there including First Lady Michelle Obama, designer Diane Von Furstenberg, Pat McGrath and Victoria Beckham. It may be time to create another wishlist!
Samata x
When a “very shy” 22-year-old Spanish fashion graduate named Rei Nadal received a message from the acclaimed fashion photographer Nick Knight via her Tumblr site Read more…
Jenna Lyons has turned the staid clothing brand into a billion-dollar business feted by fashion and loved by the Obamas. J Crew is also going places. The brand is enjoying a programme of global expansion. Last summer jcrew.com began shipping here. Furthermore, executives are already on the hunt for a store in London. It’s Lyons who has reinvented the label into a powerhouse of (affordable) cool that everyone, from a housewife in Hampshire to America’s first lady, can buy into. Yes, Michelle Obama, who inadvertently had a lot to do with its reinvigoration, actually buys J Crew – and for the record, without a discount. Read more…
Christopher Bailey and Burberry pulled out all the stops to celebrate the opening of the brand’s Taipei flagship. Rather than just hire a few celebrities to pose in front of a step and repeat and maybe sip some champagne, Bailey creative directed an entire multi-sensory world event in a custom-built cylindrical space that included an 8-part 360º film starring Cara Delevigne, a live musical performance by British musician Tom Odell and a “digital weather experience.” Yep, Christopher Bailey made weather happen in some cylindrical space in Taipei. Of course, he’s done some weather control before–having “made it rain” with clear confetti at his fall 2012 runway show and snow for fall 2011. This time, however, he also threw in some leaves and wind. To see the stunning video click here.
10 Lessons from Einstein
by PAULO COELHO
1. Follow Your Curiosity “I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.”
2. Perseverance is Priceless “It’s not that I’m so smart; it’s just that I stay with problems longer.”
3. Focus on the Present “Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves.”
4. The Imagination is Powerful “Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions. Imagination is more important than knowledge.”
5. Make Mistakes “A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.”
6. Live in the Moment “I never think of the future – it comes soon enough.”
7. Create Value “Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.”
8. Don’t be repetitive “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
9. Knowledge Comes From Experience “Information is not knowledge. The only source of knowledge is experience.”
10. Learn the Rules and Then Play Better “You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else.”
I just read this article by Triona Maddick called ‘Get out of the house or you will go Loco’. It is about the lonely life of an entrepreneur and the importance of moving to be around people to get the right balance whilst leading an entrepreneurial life. It really struck such a chord with me so I wanted to share it below. The title also made me chuckle and I could not agree more. This is one of the reasons I am reading books in the park and taking my laptop to the library or to my members club. Human interaction is important! Enjoy! Read more…
