Sunday, July 24, 2016

The Unlikely Comeback of the ‘Pill-Popping Dermatologist’

The Unlikely Comeback of the ‘Pill-Popping Dermatologist’

Dr. Cheryl Karcher in her office. “Nobody asks for this disease,” she says. “Nobody wants to be addicted.”CreditAndrew White for The New York TimesJuly 9, 2014 dawned hot, dry and cloudless, the New York sidewalks shimmering in the heat. Dr. Cheryl Karcher, a frequent dermatology expert on CNN and shows like “The Doctors,” had no television appearances scheduled that day, but, as always, was camera-ready in her olive green Theory pants and crisp cream blouse.
She said her “I love you/I love you more”s to her children after they and her husband dropped her off at her Park Avenue office, and she was readying a laser for her first patient of the day. There was a knock on the door.

Saturday, June 25, 2016

Classis hair styles

Groom’s mother is an important person, the groom at a wedding. Mother of the groom’s hair should be such that it fits the dress. However, both the clothing and hair should not be so complicated, but simple and elegant. There are many ways to create such beautiful and elegant style. Here are different ideas of hairstyles mother of the groom.
Mother of the Bride Hair Ideas

Down Hairstyles
They are known for formal hairstyles mother of the bride and groom’s mother. If you have short or medium hair, they are the best hairstyles for you. They are easy to carry and requires very little hair styling. You can also create your hair styles without spending hours in the salon. If you have short hair and want to wear your hair in a natural hair styles then these tips below. For those who consider too much hair, a trim. You can usually get your hairstyle or try a layered bob style. Wash on a wedding or special occasion, your hair cleans and their status.
If your hair is naturally wavy or curly, then you should use a hair serum to wet hair curling, then you knead your hair and let it dry, Then part your hair and place the curls into place really careful cutting and combing. Never use a brush to comb your finger or a broad ridge. For Breton, has a front section of hair and straighten it if it is not just a matter of course, Then right Breton put one hand in order to complete the style. If you have straight hair, then apply a hair serum to wet hair, and then use a hair dryer and hair inside. To add more volume, you can try again comb, then blow dry and set the edge on the end and you’re done.
Up do hairstyles
Classic hairstyles updos are not out of fashion. These styles are best for women with medium or long hair. However, it must be taken to create an updo. There are several options updo hairstyles. Good French and classic bun updo hairstyles are. You can go to a barber to get these updos or ask a friend to do it for you. Make sure you create updo is well and stays put for two days. If you do not have time to create this classic updos , then use these ideas to create simple and elegant hairstyles.
First, the wet hair, Then apply a solution to the hair, and knead your hair and let it dry, Then just scoop all the hair back and secure it in a bun. If you want to avoid a slimmer, then, loose threads fall best. Fix well with pens and a clear rubber band. Take a look at a few threads to loosen sides. You can also use a similarly good with straight hair. Good for straight hair, make good low near the neck to avoid a roll look very formal. Once you are ready to create hair, spray hair is longer.
These were the ideas of hairstyles mother groom. Use with your formal hairstyle straight hair accessories to. You can as hair jewelry hairpin on the side or on top of good. Or simply wear some pearl or diamond earrings draw more attention to styling.
 By Taha Mateen

The Woman Who ‘Totally Understands’ Donald Trump

An inspirational poster hangs above the Trump Tower desk of Hope Hicks, the 27-year-old press secretary for Donald J. Trump’s presidential campaign, squeezed in among the framed Time magazine covers of Mr. Trump and exuberant thank-you notes written in his inimitable scrawl (“Hopie — You’re the greatest!”).

“Fate whispers to the warrior, ‘You cannot withstand the storm,’” it reads. “And the warrior whispers back, ‘I am the storm.’”

Ms. Hicks, a onetime champion lacrosse player who signed a Ford modeling contract as a teenager, had never worked in politics before last year, and her widest exposure had been as a co-star in a Nickelodeon children’s television special about golf.

Now she plays confidante and sometime gatekeeper to the presumptive Republican nominee for president and, improbably, serves as Mr. Trump’s sole liaison to the teeming national press corps.

Hillary Clinton employs a half-dozen battle-hardened media handlers who field hundreds of daily requests. Mr. Trump has Ms. Hicks, who was working for his daughter Ivanka’s luxury lines and for the Trump real estate brand when the candidate called her to his office in early 2015 and declared that she was joining his campaign.

“Mr. Trump sat her down and said, ‘This is your new job,’” said her mother, Caye Cavender Hicks. “It was a shocker.”

Photo

Ms. Hicks with Donald J. Trump at a January rally in Iowa. Credit Andrew Harnik/Associated Press
Hope Hicks had trained at Hiltzik Strategies, the powerful public relations firm that represents Hollywood clients and corporate executives, before Ms. Trump brought her in-house. She was commuting from an apartment she shared with her sister in Greenwich, Conn., above the dive bar where her father had his first beer at 18.

Suddenly, she found herself a near-constant presence by Mr. Trump’s side, flying in his jet, living rent-free in a Trump-owned apartment and attending to his mercurial moods.

She is arguably the least credentialed press secretary in the modern history of presidential politics. But for journalists who cover the campaign, she is sometimes the Jekyll to Mr. Trump’s Hyde, emailing angry complaints from her media-bashing boss (“dishonest”) and often concluding with her own polite sign-off: “Best, Hope.”

Seemingly unfazed by her boss’s outbursts, she can detect the best moments for reporters to make requests — knowing, for instance, not to bother Mr. Trump while he is watching a major golf tournament.

“Her most important role is her bond with the candidate,” said Paul Manafort, the veteran Republican adviser who, as of this past week, had been put in charge of the campaign. “She totally understands him.”

Or, as Ivanka Trump said in an interview: “My father makes people earn his trust. She’s earned his trust.”


Ms. Hicks, a former model, on the cover of a young-adult novel and featured in her hometown magazine in 2002.
And not without some steeliness. Ms. Hicks remained in her role even as Mr. Trump fired Corey Lewandowski, his campaign manager and another early member of his team.

Mr. Lewandowski and Ms. Hicks are close friends: He has visited her family in Greenwich for pick-me-up dinners and, days after Mr. Trump clinched the Republican nomination (and fired a key political aide), they took in a Hall & Oates concert with her parents in the V.I.P. tent at the Greenwich Town Party.

But it was ultimately Ms. Hicks who announced Mr. Lewandowski’s departure, describing it as “a parting of ways.”

Friends of Ms. Hicks say they are thrilled by her sudden rise, dismissing concerns that her ties to Mr. Trump could damage her nascent career. “She believes in him, his leadership and abilities, and she’s thrown herself completely into this,” said Michael Feldman, a prominent Democratic strategist and family friend. “I don’t think that ties her personally to everything that’s been said.”

But some say they are alarmed that Ms. Hicks is promoting, and defending, a candidate who has been denounced as a demagogue, a racist, a misogynist and even a fascist. In Greenwich, where her family is part of the civic firmament, the topic of her association with Mr. Trump can get touchy.

“Believe me, there are times when I would like to voice my opinion,” said Drew Marzullo, a Greenwich town selectman and Democrat who is close with Ms. Hicks’s sister, Mary Grace. He recalled doing a double take after spotting Mr. Lewandowski and other Trump aides with the family at the Hall & Oates concert.


Ms. Hicks with, from left, her sister, Mary Grace, and their parents, Paul and Caye. Credit Elaine Ubiña/Fairfield County LOOK
Still, he added, “It would be unfair for someone to judge Hope or the family based on her job.”

In fact, Ms. Hicks is the third generation of her family to represent a powerful but highly controversial client. Her grandfather led public relations for Texaco during the 1970s oil crisis.

Continue reading the main story

Her father, Paul B. Hicks III, represented a major tobacco company in Connecticut and later was the top communications executive for the National Football League, where he dealt with scandals over player safety and the Patriots’ deflated footballs.

Her establishment pedigree aside, Ms. Hicks does not fit the part of the typical campaign press secretary, spinning reporters and gossiping over expensed drinks on the trail. Among journalists, Ms. Hicks is not known to wrangle, cajole or mingle, serving as more of a conduit for her intensely media-savvy boss, who likes to act as his own chief spokesman.

Unlike her Clinton counterparts, who take pains to shape their candidate’s image, Ms. Hicks is not active on Twitter and does not show up on cable talk shows. Contacted for this article, she declined to be interviewed, insisting that she did not want to draw attention away from her candidate.

Reporters praise Ms. Hicks for her poise amid a chaotic campaign. But some say that she can be unresponsive to questions, a habit so pervasive that it spawned a mocking, anonymous Twitter account, @HicksNoComment. On the trail, political reporters say Ms. Hicks rarely interacts with them at rallies, preferring to communicate by text or telephone.

Ms. Hicks — perhaps the only campaign press secretary to have been photographed as a teenager by the fashion photographer Bruce Weber, in a campaign for Naturalizer shoes — favors Burberry trench coats and heels, a break from the scruffy ranks of harried campaign operatives. One reporter recalled staggering into a New Hampshire rally after a snowstorm, soaked in water and ice, only to find Ms. Hicks dressed impeccably, her makeup unmussed.


Ms. Hicks featured in her hometown magazine in 2002. Credit Bob Capazzo/Greenwich magazine, via Moffly Media
Still, the stresses of the campaign have occasionally spilled into public view: Despite their friendship, Ms. Hicks and Mr. Lewandowski were spotted in a screaming match on a Manhattan sidewalk, which later turned up in The New York Post, fueling reports of internal tensions.

Mostly, however, Ms. Hicks is a friendly, if disciplined, presence — Southern charm by way of Fairfield County. (Upon accompanying Mr. Trump to Scotland this past week, she told a reporter wryly, “I don’t do well in plaid.”) And she is unfailingly deferential to her employer, whom she refers to only as “Mr. Trump” or “sir.”

He seems to appreciate it. “I’m lucky to have her,” Mr. Trump said in a telephone interview on Thursday. “She’s got very good judgment. She will often give advice, and she’ll do it in a very low-key manner, so it doesn’t necessarily come in the form of advice. But it’s delivered very nicely.”

Did he have qualms about hiring a campaign spokeswoman with no political background? “Well, I have a lot of political experience, so I wasn’t really concerned about it,” Mr. Trump said.

“And if it didn’t work out, I would be able to make a fast change,” he said. “But it has worked out.”

Mr. Trump sent flowers to Ms. Hicks’s family when her grandmother died earlier this year. Her parents also visited Mar-a-Lago, Mr. Trump’s Florida resort, where he greeted them and teased Mr. Hicks about the N.F.L. “He could not have been nicer,” Caye Hicks said.



Hope Hicks at a Trump rally in Madison, Ala., in February. Credit Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call, via Associated Press
Ms. Hicks’s success has not surprised her family (“Hope’s a fighter,” as her father said), even as they harbor some concern about the intensity of her work. “She doesn’t really talk to anybody anymore, she has no life,” Caye Hicks said.

Mr. Trump’s rallies, where violent protests sometimes break out, can also be disconcerting. “I have to hope the Secret Service is keeping them all safe,” Caye Hicks said. “It’s a crazy atmosphere.”

She added: “I can’t actually let her know how worried I am.”

On free nights, Ms. Hicks retreats to her parents’ home in Greenwich — her mother sometimes hears a creaking door at 2 a.m. — to unwind. Her sister, Mary Grace, is a paramedic there, and her father, a former town selectman, remains a prominent figure: This spring, Greenwich proclaimed April 23 as Paul B. Hicks III Day to recognize his philanthropy.

Ms. Hicks grew up in Greenwich swimming and golfing. When she was in sixth grade, a neighbor invited Ms. Hicks and her sister to a Ralph Lauren tryout; soon their photographs were in Bloomingdale’s.

She made a cameo on “Guiding Light,” appeared on the covers of young adult paperbacks like “Gossip Girl” and once read lines for a film role with Alec Baldwin.

At age 13, Ms. Hicks told Greenwich Magazine, for a cover story about the Hicks sisters’ modeling careers, that she was “not ready to decide if modeling is what I want to do with my life.”


“If the acting thing doesn’t work out,” she said, “I could really see myself in politics. Who knows?”

The Hicks sisters earned enough from modeling to file tax returns. But Hope preferred lacrosse, leading Greenwich High School to a state championship and later playing at Southern Methodist University, where she majored in English.

After graduation, she and her father bumped into Mr. Baldwin at the Super Bowl. The meeting led to an interview and job offer from Matthew Hiltzik, whose clients include Mr. Baldwin and, fatefully, Ivanka Trump, who was impressed by Ms. Hicks and eventually hired her away.

Aside from Mr. Trump’s children, Ms. Hicks is now the longest-serving aide on his presidential bid. Mr. Feldman, the family friend, said he doubted that anyone anticipated it would last this long. “You do the best you can under very unusual circumstances,” he said. “In this case, circumstances that are more unusual than most.”

The campaign is looking to hire a communications director. But as the general election looms, Ms. Hicks, who has recently been featured in Marie Claire and GQ, remains loyal, apparently unperturbed by the controversies swirling around her candidate and prepared to stick it out.

Mr. Trump, asked if Ms. Hicks would have a spot in his administration, replied, “She would definitely have a role.”

How about press secretary?

“I don’t want to comment on that,” he said. “It’s too early. I don’t want to be making those prognostications yet. But she’ll certainly be involved with us. She’s terrific.”

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Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/26/style/hope-hicks-donald-trump.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Ffashion&action=click&contentCollection=fashion&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront&_r=0

The significance of fashion and trend forecasting in design development

Written by: Ankita Sodhi

Fashion forecasting is a process of analysing upcoming trends by predicting colours, fabrics and styles that will be a part of latest collections in the stores. The forecaster works on all categories and variants of the fashion industry, explains Ankita Sodhi.




Haute couture, pret-o-porter or ready-to-wear and street wear or mass market, all can benefit from trend forecasting. It also involves a study of emerging trends in make-up, beauty and cosmetics, to predict a complete look of the season.



Various practices involved in forecasting are:

a)     Study of various fashion seasons

b)     As an impact of globalisation, mapping of megatrends by analysing collections at fashion capitals of the world

c)      Comparative study of current and previous trends

d)     Identifying the niche market/client/group

e)     Understanding and analysing the demographic and psycho graphic structure of the targeted market/client/group

f)       Predicting themes, stories and trends for upcoming season by generating a style and trend report



Various fashion seasons

Design collections are launched as per specific seasons. These include:

a)     Spring/Summer

b)     High Summer

c)      Pre-fall

d)     Autumn/Winter

e)     Resort/Cruise



The two biggest seasons are Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter. These collections are showcased at major fashion weeks almost six months prior to when they appear in stores. These include both haute couture as well as ready-to-wear collections.



High summer is when some fashion houses or brands launch a collection after Spring/Summer collection has been launched. Several times, these collections are extremely impactful on trends that will emerge in the upcoming season.



Resort/cruise collections are launched for those who are keen on wearing trendy comfort wear at holidays or while travelling for leisure.



Pre-Fall collections have a wide customer range but they are launched to target the elite fashion fanatics and leaders. These fashion leaders are fond of an updated wardrobe. Celebrities of various fields are often the first to get these fresh off the runway outfits.


Megatrends mapping at fashion capitals

Fashion capitals are known for unique and strong identities. There are four major fashion capitals: London, Milan, Paris and New York. Various major activities like fashion weeks and fashion trade fairs make these cities a concentrated core hub of fashion. They are looked upon for stylistic inspirations. The collections are showcased at different times in these cities and guide colour palettes, silhouettes and textures of upcoming trends to be launched in stores for the masses as well as the niche markets in different fashion seasons.



Globalisation through media and internet has led to widespread impact of trends in the fashion capitals across different continents and countries. The trends in different regions are mapped to the megatrends at the runway of these capitals by forecasters across the globe.



Comparative study of current and previous trends

A comparative report of collections and product range of each designer/design house for the current year and previous year is generated by the forecasting team. This is done to figure out the similarities and differences. It also works as a guide for emerging trends in silhouettes, fabrics, colours, embroideries, textures, prints, surface manipulations and embellishments. Forecasters can thus analyse and predict innovative and unique trends that may prove to be high in demand in the coming season.



Identifying a niche market/client/group

One has to identify the target client for whom forecasting is required. The final product must satisfy the preference for a particular colour, texture etc. of the targeted market.



Analysing the demographic and psychographic structuring of the market

The client/group shall be chosen carefully and must relate well to the prospect designs yet to be developed.



Client profiles on the basis of demographics and psychographics must be analysed meticulously for an effective choice. A few examples are:



A client profile shall have a description about a chosen/given client with reference to demographic and psychographic study of the same. Demographics can be quantified and will include various statistical data of the client like name, age, gender, complexion, body type, height, budget/disposable income, socio-economic status, occasion for which the product or garment is required or suggested.



Psychographics are not measurable. They are quality-based and vary as per the taste of the individual or group and preference of the client like colour choice. Other criteria include length of garment, size and prototype of desired product, trimmings preferred, types of prints and embroideries. These may be different from the one in trend. Psychographics are related to the quality aspect of the final product desired as per the chosen given client/group.

Generating a style and trend report for the season

The report, based on rigorous market and trend analysis, shall be generated with the following predictions:

a)     Expected silhouette stories

b)     Expected fitting styles like pegged or flared, looser tunics or body snugging, straight fit or narrow fit

c)      Preferred themes for the coming season that shall regulate different elements and concepts to be focused by the design houses

d)     Colours in trend, with a brief of their categories like whether pastels will be preferred over bright hues; multicoloured or monochromes; solid colours or blended palette; high intensity saturated chrome or toned colours

e)     Kind of prints that shall prove to be more popular like small or large, floral or geometric, linear of checkered, peppy or classic

f)       Distinctive or conventional fabrics that shall prove popular in the coming season

g)     Embellishments that shall be used like pearl work, antique work, Swarovski, hand embroideries (conventional or contemporary)

h)    Any unique trimmings or fasteners to enhance the look and might prove to be popular and fit in the new trend

i)       An idea of the probable impact of development and special activities in sports, make-up, technology and economic conditions on upcoming trends

j)       Adequate information on what is expected to be completely outdated and obsolete for the coming season



Impact of the forecast report on design methodology and development

Design methodology is the process of putting together parts or ideas of an organisation to create an amalgamated, functional product. The following assortment is followed for final design development, considering the forecast report:

a)     An extraction of confined theme to be worked upon for a line of products

b)     A specific colour palette shall be generated based on the theme and must match the trend report by the forecasting team

c)      As per studied and analysed demographic and psychographic structures, swatches shall be developed before finalising final prints. These shall reflect use of embellishments, paint, textures, colours that are to be a part of the latest collection.

d)     A final illustration and material board shall be formulated to facilitate the design development of accessories as well as garments.

e)     The product should be designed to be cost effective for both consumer as well as producer. Quality shall be maintained while making a choice of material to be used. A proper costing and budgeting of the product shall be done.

f)       The final product must be developed with desired finishing and appearance. It must satisfy the customer's requirements and be functional and aesthetically pleasing.



About the author

Ankita Sodhi is assistant professor with the School of Fashion Design at Lovely Professional University.

See more at: http://www.fibre2fashion.com/industry-article/7734/the-significance-of-fashion-and-trend-forecasting-in-design-development

All Eyes on America

As growth in China slows, tapping post-recovery America is rising to the top of the fashion industry’s agenda.

NEW YORK, United States — “The shadow has passed and the state of the union is strong,” said American president Barack Obama during his annual ‘state of the union’ address last week. “At this moment, with a growing economy, shrinking deficits, bustling industry and booming energy production, we have risen from recession freer to write our own future than any other nation on Earth.”

Brands are reallocating some of the investment they made in their stores in Asia.
Indeed, in stark contrast to a still stagnant Europe and a Japanese economy that tipped back into recession in 2014, the American economy has emerged from the global financial crisis and ensuing downturn much faster and stronger than most. “Tonight, we turn the page. Tonight, after a breakthrough year for America, our economy is growing and creating jobs at the fastest pace since 1999. Our unemployment rate is now lower than it was before the financial crisis,” added Obama.

Now, as economic growth continues to slow in a troubled China — for several years the primary engine of the global luxury market — a resurgent America, expected to grow by 6 percent in the five-year period from 2013 to 2018, is rising to the top of the fashion industry’s agenda.

“The US market has been very positive for luxury and fashion businesses in the past two years, primarily supported by asset price rebounds, both in the stock market and in real estate,” explained Luca Solca, head of luxury goods at Exane BNP Paribas.

“A strong US dollar will allow European luxury goods companies to export more into America and the translation effect will create a positive boost for revenues, domestic demand and margins,” added Mario Ortelli, senior research analyst at Bernstein. “How the brands are reacting to this strong US market is [by reallocating] some of the investment that they made in the past years to build up their network of stores in Asia, where there is no more need to expand aggressively, and moving part of that investment to the US.”

Remarkably, the US is still very much an under-penetrated luxury market. “[America] has 30 percent of the world’s high net worth individuals (people with more than $1 million in liquid assets) and nearly a quarter of global GDP, but consumes less than a fifth of the world’s personal luxury goods, noted Olivier Abtan of the Boston Consulting Group in a piece recently published by The Economist.

“In the luxury goods sector, expansion is not only demand-driven, it is supply-driven as well. One region in which we have seen some opening of stores that is quite promising is Texas: Dallas and Houston,” said Ortelli. Areas with already dense luxury retail footprints also offer solid growth opportunities. “We do not expect that these luxury goods companies will open stores in all the cities in America. Due to the income and equality ratio, they benefit more from expanding in established cities, because consumers are more sophisticated so they are willing to trade up. New York is still under-penetrated, so it is a higher priority for a CEO to open another location in Soho, or elsewhere in downtown Manhattan, rather than opening in the Mid-West,” continued Ortelli.

“Our priority in the US is to maximise the productivity of our ten existing boutiques, located in New York, LA, Miami, etcetera, while rebuilding our business at wholesale,” said Geoffroy de La Bourdonnaye, president of Chloé. “It is definitely a resurging market. Not only is it strong commercially, due to its appeal as a tourist destination it continues to have strong impact around the world,” he continued.

Indeed, America’s international hubs, buoyed by flows of tourists, are growing faster than other centres. “I see a market that is going at two speeds. You have the American cities that are more international — the tourist hubs like New York, Miami, Las Vegas, LA — that are showing a faster growth rate, because there is a concentration of wealth in these cities. New York is growing a lot, Cincinnati is growing less. You have a boost from around the world in New York; very few people go to Cincinnati. In the growth of America, one thing that is a bit underestimated is what tourists in the gateway cities drive,” said Ortelli.

A strong US dollar, while helping to boost domestic consumption of imported luxury goods, may have a negative impact on tourist sales, however. “As fashion and luxury sales in the United States depend on tourists, too, a stronger currency will be a major headwind,” warned Solca. On the flipside, the bite of the headwind is expected to be reduced by a newly extended US-China visa agreement. “With the new agreement, we expect to see substantial growth in US touristic spend to come from the Chinese travellers. Last year’s 1.8 million Chinese tourists alone spent $21.2 billion while in the US, a lot of which was from shopping,” said Polly Nelson, the North America managing director of DFS, the world’s largest luxury travel retailer.

Domestic spending on luxury goods is expected to come disproportionately from the country’s top economic strata. “European companies are pointing to polarised US demand dynamics, backed by increasing income inequality. Luxury demand seems to have been supported by the very top-end consumer segments, while the middle class has been left behind,” said Solca. Yet America’s middle class is not going unnoticed. “Lower oil prices put more dollars in the American consumer's pocket, which could prompt higher discretionary spending, benefiting accessible and aspirational fashion and luxury too,” he added.

Certainly, at the mass end of the market, Uniqlo, owned by Japan’s Fast Retailing, is betting heavily on the American market. “The US holds great opportunity for Uniqlo given the size of the market,” said Larry Meyer, the brand’s US chief executive. Uniqlo now operates an e-commerce site and nearly 40 stores in the US, and plans to open more.

Inditex-owned Zara has also firmly planted itself in the region, having invested a reported $280 million in a 4,400-square-foot flagship in New York’s Soho, which Pablo Isla, Inditex chairman and chief executive, described in a statement, as “a global standard-setting Zara store.” By the end of the year, the retailer will have eight stores in Manhattan alone, as well as a further seven stores in the greater metropolitan area. This year, Zara also plans to open stores in Las Vegas, San Diego, New Jersey, Los Angeles, Boston, Houston, Dallas, Chicago, Seattle and the US territory of Puerto Rico. “The growth model for the US market consists of a combination of flagship store openings and online sales growth,” added Isla.

Indeed, US e-commerce offers brands at both ends of the spectrum significant opportunity, as well as a way to tap consumers across the country’s expansive geography without having to put down expensive physical stores in areas that lack a critical density of fashion consumers. “America has the highest penetration of online purchases of luxury anywhere in the world,” said Ortelli. “Seattle is a city that is rich, but from a cultural point of view people would probably spend $10,000 on a bicycle rather than a luxury watch. So there isn’t a critical mass for opening a monobrand store, because too few customers are interested in your product; some of them are buying already online and some of them are buying while travelling, so what is the additional value of opening a store when the consumption online is growing and growing?”

In terms of product categories, the top performers in America are jewellery, leather goods, shoes and clothing, said Ortelli. “Perfume is maybe too mature. If you take Richemont’s results, for example, America is one of the fast growing geographies, because of the group’s focus on jewellery and watches,” he said.

Male consumers in the US also constitute a releatively untapped opportunity. “There is definitely potential to increase the penetration of luxury among men,” added Ortello. “Starting with small leather goods, clothing and then eventually moving on to watches. Personal luxury is still dominated by the spend of women.”

But the market is not without its challenges. “People do like to spend in America, it is seen as an activity. However, our partners in the United States — Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue and Bergdorf Goodman — all tell me that since the Lehman Brothers crash in 2008, the American luxury consumer has changed the way in which they shop. Consumers now pay much more attention to value for money,” cautioned de La Bourdonnaye. “But, if you have a good proposition in terms of style and quality and you hit the right sweet spots, it is a fantastic market.”

“You have got supportive foreign exchange; you have got an America in which the consumer confidence is high. When you have got a luxury company with a global footprint you will reorientate your investment according to the sentiment of the market; there are no strategies forever,” said Ortelli.

But for now, some of the best opportunities for growth lie in the original land of opportunity: America.

Link: https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/global-currents/eyes-america

This Fashion Show Is Going to Be One Giant Designer Collaboration

18 different brands—from Juicy Couture​ to Manolo Blahnik—will produce an entire collection for Vetements.


Designer collaborations are nothing new, but next Sunday, when Vetements puts on its spring show in Paris it will feature a slew of them. Eighteen to be exact, putting a completely fresh spin on the designer/mass mashup game. 

Designer Demna Gvasalia tapped brands like Levi's, Hanes, Manolo Blahnik, and Juicy Couture to produce everything from blazers and jeans to shoes and evening gowns to makeup the entire Vetements collection. 

The idea came to Gvasalia when he couldn't put together a pair of jeans he felt looked "100 percent authentic," the designer told Cathy Horyn.  "That's when I began thinking that the ideal situation would be to work with manufacturers who specialize in each category—whether it's jeans, T-shirt, bomber jacket." 

After identifying brands who produced iconic or ideal versions of the items Gvasalia wanted—velour sportswear from none other than Juicy Couture, for example—the collection began to come together. 

You can be sure everyone in the fashion industry will be keeping a close eye on the runway.  

From: AR Revista

Monday, May 23, 2011

Brigitte Bardot




WITH the Cannes Film Festival in full swing and summer holiday wardrobes on our mind, we're taking a look at the style of Brigitte Bardot - the screen legend as famous for her love of the South of France and for her iconic seaside style as for her film roles.
SEE BARDOT'S STYLE FILE
Born in Paris in 1934, Bardot had initially intended to pursue a career as a ballet dancer. However, after appearing in a fashion show in 1949 and, subsequently, in French fashion magazine Jardin des Modes, she was discovered by French actor, writer and director Roger Vladim - who suggested her for the film Les Lauriers Sont Coupés and whom she later married. That film was never made, but it encouraged her to consider a career as an actress and - after several smaller roles - her career was launched when Vladim cast her in his controversial 1956 film - And God Created Woman. 

She starred opposite Kirk Douglas in 1953's Un Acte D'Amour, which propelled her into the international spotlight - where her killer curves and super-feminine sexuality lead to Bardot being dubbed a "sex kitten" and developing an almost cult-like following of male audiences. She retired from acting in 1973 and now lives in the South of France, where she runs the Foundation Brigitte Bardot which raises money for, and awareness of, animal rights.