Recently in Excerpts Category

"Couture has become completely irrelevant," says Oscar de la Renta ... "Couture isn't necessary, even to promote the brand," De la Renta says. "Customers are smart. They know that a $10,000 wedding dress will look as beautiful as a $1 million wedding dress. Maybe it will not be finished the same way inside, but who will know?" ...

Excerpt from Survival of the Finest, Wall Street Journal, 4/29/10. An interesting article about haute couture and its future.

I have long been interested in luxury goods and country of origin... (thus my rants about Longchamps sourcing from China)  Here is an interesting quote from the Wall Street Journal's interview with Miuccia Prada and her husband and business partner Patrizio Bertelli.

"While the Prada brand is 98 percent made in Italy, about half of Miu Miu handbags are made in Turkey and Romania, and 70 percent of the sporty Linea Rossa shoes are produced in Vietnam. Bertelli's roots lie deep in one of Italy's artisanal heartlands, and Prada runs 13 factories with 3,500 workers in the country. But Bertelli is unapologetic about his decision to make some products abroad--as long as there are quality controls. He believes firmly that consumers should learn to trust a brand name, regardless of where it's made, and that "made by Prada" should be just as trustworthy a label as "made in Italy."

Read the full article here: "Miuccia and Me" by Alessandra Galloni, Wall Street Journal

 

French fashion house Céline is quickly shedding its reputation as one of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA's most troubled brands.

After struggling for years to forge an identity and a following, the label is finding influential retailers including Barneys New York, Saks Fifth Avenue and Bergdorf Goodman are clamoring to carry its collection, even as they cut back their portfolios to focus on best sellers.

Credit for the resurgence of the brand--which LVMH bought in 1996 for €412 million ($562 million at current rates)--goes to British designer Phoebe Philo and a decision to make a sharp break with the past.

Céline recruited Ms. Philo 18 months ago. To start fresh, the company destroyed all of the inventory left in the stores prior to her first collection, a move that contributed to the €98 million in restructuring charges LVMH took last year.

Excerpt from LVMH Wipes Céline Slate Clean, Opening Way for 'Phoebe Effect' , Wall Street Journal

Ms. Prada loves to examine our sentimentality about women and beauty, and in some respects this was her most assertive anti-fashion statement in awhile. Something about these clothes -- the matronly dresses, the classic cable-knits -- felt so outside current fashion and obsessions as to be but a distant squeal from a 60s fondue party. True, some of the outfits almost dared you to call them ugly. But the methods of examination have begun to feel dated.

Excerpt from "Prada: Old Dears" by Cathy Horyn, New York Times (speaking of the clothes at Prada's Milan runway show)