my-wardrobe.com

My-Wardrobe bags funding of £6m to move into Europe
“The online fashion store My-Wardrobe has received an investment of $9m (£6m) from a venture capital group to accelerate its growth overseas.” (Independent)

Fashion-Forward Shoppers Spend More, Swayed by Social Media
“Consumers who describe themselves as “Fashion Forward” are at least twice as likely as other consumers to spend more on a wide range of consumer products, including apparel, and are most likely to refer friends and colleagues to their preferred retailers, according to a survey from Acxiom.” (marketingprofs.com)

Sir Philip Green aims to open more retail academies
“Arcadia owner Sir Philip Green is considering opening more shopkeeping schools after the success of London’s Fashion Retail Academy.” (Drapers)

The Crystal Renn Weight Debate
“Crystal Renn, the model at the center of fashion’s weight-debate—and the posterchild of the plus-sized movement—might be struggling with her own weight yet again.” (BlackBook)

‘Why I stopped the sale’
“The first thing I thought of when I heard earlier this year that Isabella Blow’s personal effects – including her wardrobe – were due to go under the hammer at Christie’s London was a sonnet written by Oscar Wilde and entitled “On the Sale by Auction of Keats’ Love Letters.”” (FT)

houseoffraser.co.uk

House of Fraser forecasts sales lift and boosts multi-channel offer
“Department store House of Fraser has forecast a sales increase as it announces the introduction of a range of multi-channel initiatives in a bid to improve the customer experience.” (Drapers)

2nd Lines Are Affordable Prelude to Haute Couture
“The summon of high fashion got a high street prelude on Sunday, as designers fielded spring-summer 2011 collections for their lower-priced second lines on the eve of Paris’ rarified haute couture displays.” (abc)

Bonjour Couture
“Just as Haute Couture Fashion Week begins the high fashion market has posted some very positive sales news. Top Parisian labels, including Chanel, Dior and Jean Paul Gaultier, have revealed a marked increase in both sales and demand.” (Vogue)

Ready to Wear: Ally Capellino’s designs appear particularly relevant now
“Congratulations Ally Capellino. Not only is the designer celebrating her 30th anniversary in business this year but also, this month, she’s launching the new AO by Ally Capellino rucksack, designed specifically to carry Apple laptops and available through that mega-corporation’s retail outlets, on and off-line.” (Independent)

10 reasons to buy your own business name in Adwords
“This week, I’ve been playing with Google Adwords, and wondering about whether we (the company I work for) should pay for our own name in the PPC ads. “Why would we bother when we’re already top of the natural search results?” is the obvious answer, but there’s more to it than that.” (tamebay)

office.co.uk

Fashion retailer Office could be sold
“Office, the British fashion and sports footwear retailer whose products are worn by celebrities such as David Beckham, has hired advisers, which could lead to a sale of the business.” (Reuters)

Roiworld: Teens losing interest in Facebook
“Of late there has been much speculation that Facebook is becoming a bit passé. New research from online gaming site Roiworld claims to illustrate clear signs of “Facebook Fatigue” among teens.” (BizReport)

First Person | Pamela Love
“For the past three years Brooklyn-born jewellery designer Pamela Love has set about crafting her business in the same way she shapes the hand-hewn gothic accessories she sells.” (BoF)

The Yohji Yamamoto story
“Biography to be released about the man behind the avant garde Japanese label which changed fashion.” (Telegraph)

Fantasy fashion collaborations
“Not long ago it seemed that every celebrity and their chihuahua was designing a collection for a fashion house. And when we say ‘celebrity’, naturally we mean ‘Z-list offspring of someone who was famous back in the 80s’.” (Guardian)

modcloth.com

ModCloth Raises $19.8 Million Series B For Indie Fashion
“Indie fashion site ModCloth has raised $19.8 million in Series B funding in a round led by Accel Partners, with participation from existing investors Floodgate and First Round Capital.” (TechCrunch)

Billionaire Brothers Looking To Move Up
“Victor Fung and his brother William are best known for helping to build Hong Kong export trading company Li & Fung into one of the world’s leading outsourcing giants.” (Forbes)

Japan Opens Doors to More Chinese Shoppers
“Swarms of Asian tourists disembark from a bus with tinted windows, snapping pictures and staring in awe at Japan’s capital city while a petite tour guide waving a flag shouts instructions—in Mandarin.” (WSJ)

Diesel banned from using “offensive” ads
“Fashion label Diesel has been banned from using two adverts showing young women which a standards watchdog said were likely to cause serious offence.” (Reuters)

Gilt Groupe and the Whitney Museum Celebrate T-Shirt Collaboration
“Kicking the Whitney Museum of American Art’s trend of blending art and fashion up a notch, the museum’s co-chair Adam Lippes last night hosted a laid-back celebration of his collaboration with the institution and online retailer Gilt Groupe.” (Observer)

Hakaan A/W10

Hakaan wins ANDAM prize
“Hakaan Yildirim or just Hakaan, Turkey’s long-hidden treasure that took London Fashion Week by storm last season, has won the prestigious ANDAM award.” (Independent)

Swatch Group Founder and Chairman Nicolas Hayek Dies
“Swatch Group AG founder and chairman Nicolas Hayek died Monday from heart failure at the age of 82.” (WSJ)

Digital Scorecard | Because Magazine
“Fashion editorial has long been a powerful generator of purchasing intent for brands. But ‘intent generators’ like magazines often lose their fair share of sales revenue to ‘intent harvesters’ like retailers further down the purchasing path.” (BoF)

The Secrets and Philosophy behind Fashion Trend Forecasting
“How do new trends in the world of fashion come about, and how can they be predicted? This subject came up during a fashion and textile exhibition held in Israel.” (ntdtv.com)

Jacques Vert to pay first dividend since 1995
“Jacques Vert, the British fashion retailer, will pay its first dividend to shareholders since 1995 after swinging to a full-year profit.” (Telegraph)

exclusively.in

India Goes Online with Exclusively.In
“Fashion folk have long traveled to India to score all things embellished. But now their purchases won’t always require an additional grand for the airfare.” (WWD)

Australia Attempts to Ban Thin Models, Heavy Retouching
“Australia’s youth minister, Kate Ellis, came up with a plan to reward fashion magazines and designers who cast healthy models and reject overzealous, unrealistic retouching.” (TheCut)

An Updated Snapshot: Luxury Department Stores on Twitter
“As a Twitter fanatic, it’s been interesting to watch as more and more luxury brands and retailers get on the “Twitter train.”” (FashionCollective)

Belgian fashion designers use everyman muse
“The man on the street became catwalk star Friday as a host of Belgian designers showed off an urban cool inspired by mundane reality in their spring-summer collections at Paris fashion week.” (Independent)

Boys To Girls
“It seems that some menswear designers are most definitely for turning – to womenswear.” (Vogue.com)

Burberry’s Digital Moves Pay Off
“Burberry has launched what is being billed as the first interactive extension of a luxury brand…” (PSFK)

Harrods, Liberty Follow Saks in Building Own-Label Fashion
“Harrods Ltd., the iconic London department store that sells diamond-encrusted Bulgari SpA sunglasses, Yves Saint Laurent scents and DKNY bags, is now banking on the brand its customers know best.” (Businessweek)

Designers Pitch Brand New York
“Young labels like the Row, Jason Wu, Nellie Partow, Waris Ahluwalia and Prabal Gurung are trumpeting their New York roots on apparel and labels in an effort to create a sartorial version of the locavore movement.” (WSJ)

The Spotlight | David David
“This month the BoF Spotlight turns to David Saunders, founder of the eponymous London fashion label David David, whose vibrant graphic motifs have already caught the attention of The New York Times, Dazed & Confused, and even BoF…” (BoF)

Uniqlo drops Japanese and makes English official language
“The Japanese company behind the fast-expanding fashion chain Uniqlo has announced it plans to make all its staff speak English while at work.” (Telegraph)