Style Snippets

1) Fashion Photos

Now that the 'fashion month' of FW09 shows is over, we thought we'd gather together some of the pictures that have caught our attention, not of the collections themselves, but rather of the people and the general goings on. This is just a start, by no means a complete collection of pictures we liked, but these are rather fun.

Above: from icanteachyouhowtodoit.com, Diane Pernet front row at Jeremy Scott. We think Diane is beyond fabulous and are intrigued by some of the practical aspects of her look, namely how she can see the collections at all in dark venues from behind her omnipresent sunglasses (her site isn't called A Shaded View for nothing), and how long it takes her to assemble her hair and headpiece every morning. Also from the same site:

We know obsessing about Carine's style has become a bit of a fashion blog cliché, but.. oh, we'll make no excuses. Actually, we're not crazy about this coat but we still love this photo because of her attitude and the way she wears clothes, which is just as important to her style as the clothes themselves.

Confirmation that those Dior shoes, while striking, don't look any better off the runway. We understand that these are not Carine's, despite the similarly white coat..

Grace Coddington, Creative Director of US Vogue.

A better picture of those Nina Ricci shoes. We're just wondering how much longer until Victoria Beckham is snapped teetering about in a pair, most likely undertaking a task like taking her kids to school where sky-high heels are an absolute must.

At the Emmanuel Ungaro show... the second row has never looked more fabulous. Image source here.

Bloggers are also obsessed with Anna dello Russo's style, but it's easy to understand why. She's the Fashion Director of Japanese Vogue, although she's probably better known for her breathtaking wardrobe, which is so large it requires its own apartment next to hers, and which contains nearly all the most amazing pieces from each designer collection, from each season (she hopes one day it will become a sort of museum/foundation, and so do we). Anyway, we love the fact that Anna, who always looks immacluate, won't think twice about rocking a designer cocktail dress and skyscraper heels for a fashion show at nine in the morning, when other editors are wearing - horrors - jeans. Here she is in a Dolce & Gabbana SS09 dress and those killer YSL boots - we love the faces of the jealous/bemused onlookers in the top picture. As you probably guessed, both photos are by the wonderful Mr Tommy Ton of Jak&Jil.

These pictures, from The Sartorialist at Style.com, are of Aurora, one of Anna dello Russo's two assistants. She certainly doesn't let the side down in terms of style, and we love how she rocks a (Prada?) turban. Combined with subtle mannish tailoring, it makes for a a super-cool look, which we really love. Turbans never really took off when Prada did them for SS07, but these photos makes us wish a few more people would wear them.

An arriving celebrity, a scrum of photographers with a few PETA anti-fur demonstraters thrown in for good measure.. it has to be fashion week. Photo from Styleclicker.

2) Shoe Moment: Brian Atwood metallic rainbow

We're not quite sure if these are brilliant or awful - or perhaps a bit of both. We love the multi-coloured, almost holographic, rainbow effect, but we'd have to see them in person to judge how workable they'd be. Still, it's a cool concept and actually the more we look, the more we like (in a slightly bad way..) Available from Colette.

3) Atelier Versace SS09

We're not the biggest Versace fans, but we've always loved their Haute Couture style Atelier Versace collection of striking red carpet/ball dresses. We love it because it's wonderfully extravagant and unapologetically Versace: sexy, extravagant, and (mostly) beautiful dresses are what we really associate with Versace, and naturally they do them well..


4) Retail Adventures

We've just read, and would recommend, two interesting articles about the state of fashion retail, the first by Suzy Menkes in the International Herald Tribune (here), and the second in the Wall Street Journal (here). The latter examines how the team of buyers for Neiman Marcus (the American group of upscale department stores) have been responding to the economic climate as they've been choosing what they'll stock this winter from the collections recently shown in Paris and Milan, but it also touches on the issue that Suzy Menkes explores: will we ever return to a state where people are prepared to pay full price for designer goods?

As the economic crisis worsens and consumers reign in on their spending, particularly on luxury goods, (and there is evidence that those who can still afford to spend on them as before do so more reluctantly because of a broader paradigm shift away from extravagance), the American department stores, which account for a sizeable proportion of most high fashion sold, have felt the pain: for the second quarter this year, Neiman Marcus posted a $509.2 million fiscal loss¹, while Saks Fifth Avenue reported a loss of $98.75 million in the fourth quarter of 2008, and announced that sales were down by almost 15%². Both stores posted gains for the equivalent periods last year. Amid falling sales, panic gripped American retailers before Christmas as they faced one of of the most sluggish holiday periods (normally a buoyant time) on record, and many slashed the prices of luxury goods by up to 80%, in a move never seen before in the sector. (It is not just in the United States where luxury retail is in trouble, but elsewhere it is yet to seem so pronounced).

Fashion houses were reportedly livid at these hefty reductions, claiming that their brands would be cheapened and their own-brand boutiques, along with other smaller retailers, found they were unable to compete on prices with the the department stores. It is the first issue, though, which is now causing fashion houses and retailers the biggest worry: a shift of power from the retailer to the consumer has occurred, and now that people have witnessed extreme price reductions, coupled with the general economic malaise and reduced spending (partly as a result of a shift in attitudes towards shopping), how long will it be (if ever again) that people are prepared to pay the full ticket prices of designer goods? This could prove a real problem for the luxury goods industry which has until now operated by charging heavily marked-up prices, justified among their customers by the brand exclusivity, quality and uniqueness. If this strategy is faltering because the benefits offered by luxury designer goods are no longer enough to entice people to buy them, it quite seriously calls into question the longer term profitability of luxury brands and retailers.

At the moment, there are mixed signals as to the extent to which the current structure of the luxury goods industry is under threat. On the one hand, witness the recent (fairly modest) profit growth posted by Louis Vuitton and Hermès, and how pieces costing upwards of $2,500 by designers like Balmain and Christopher Kane have apparently been selling faster than new stock can arrive at Net-a-Porter and Luisa via Roma. On the other hand, witness the falling profits of the American department stores, the increased popularity of discount retailers, both online and physical stores, like Gilt Group, vente-privee, and Value Retail (which operates outlet "villages" around Europe), and the general economic malaise that seems to be worsening. For now, only time will tell if fashion houses and retailers will have to rethink their game, but whatever happens one thing's for sure: the next few years, at least, are going to be a pretty bumpy ride.

Will it take more than Saks' fun 'propaganda bags' to get people shopping like it's 2007 again?

How do you feel about paying full price for designer goods? Has the general shift in attitude towards luxury and shopping brought on by the recession, along with the extreme discounting we witnessed last year, made you less inclined to buy things at full price? Do you now feel that designer goods are 'overpriced' (especially given that prices have risen and risen over recent years) and that there are bargins out there for those who look a bit harder or wait it out until the sales? Or do you believe that luxury and good design, at whatever the price, will survive the downturn? If you are spending, or plan to spend less, on designer goods, is it primarily because of financial reasons or social reasons (e.g. does it feel less appropriate, even less necessary, to buy new expensive clothes, bags etc.)?

5) Roberto Cavalli Dog Clothes/Accessories

And now back to something a little more lighthearted. The news that a range of Roberto Cavalli dog clothes and accessories is now available at his newly opened* boutique in Paris has been reverberating around the 'blogosphere,' partly to the tone of 'There is a recession on, is this really the time to be pushing expensive outfits that even Paris Hilton's dog would find distasteful' and partly to general merriment, because it is such great light relief. It seems so... 2006! Very expensive (we presume) outfits to dress up your equally expensive 'designer' dog.. at times we really are thankful to Roberto Cavalli for brightening up everyone's day a bit, and reminding us that, as bad as things may be, the recession can't be biting that hard, for now at least.

Related post: Barking Mad, 'designer' things for dogs.

* It's interesting how many fashion houses seem to be taking a long term view in continuing with their store openings, despite predictions for continued falls in luxury goods sales. Witness Armani's massive opening in New York, and speaking for London alone, a new branch of Brown's boutique, along with Missoni and Jil Sander stores all recently opened their doors, and a Rick Owens shop and Lanvin women's store are both on their way. What's more, OOoOO, one of the male shopaholics online, recently reported that a Goyard store is coming to London (excitement! they don't have any London stockists at the moment).