Fashion firm sales ‘hit by crunch’

the credit crunch is on it´s way…

Fashion chain French Connection has offered a cautious outlook for the financial year after it said the banking crisis had hit sales.

The group said a strong performance from UK retail around August had given way to “weaker and considerably more volatile” sales in recent weeks.

Sales for the 16 weeks since August 1 across the UK and Europe, which accounts for nearly half of group turnover, rose 1% on a like-for-like basis.

However, this was offset by weaker sales in its US business and wholesale operations, with overall group turnover slightly below a year ago for the three months to October 30.

French Connection said: “As with many retailers, the Christmas trading period is key to our results for the year and the significant downward trend in sales in recent weeks indicates that we should be cautious in our expectations, despite the good start to the period in UK/Europe retail.”

French Connection has been battling to revive sales in recent years as demand for its FCUK brand has waned, with the tough conditions on the high street adding to its problems.

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India:Bhandarkar drops gay kiss from Fashion

The censors had their say…

Filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar has dropped a gay kissing scene between actors Samir Soni and Anil Kumar from his forthcoming film Fashion before it went to the censor board. He, however, plans to restore it on DVD.

“What a beautifully-shot scene of intimacy it is between Samir and Anil. You forget their gender. They’re just two people in love expressing their feelings,” said Bhandarkar.

“I took it out before taking it to the censor board. I thought portraying a homosexual couple was bold enough. The kiss would have been too much. But now I’m planning to restore it on the DVD,” the director said.

The film, which also stars Priyanka Chopra, Kangana Ranaut, Mugdha Godse and Arjan Bajwa, is releasing Oct 29.

Samir, best remembered as Amitabh Bachchan’s ungrateful son in Baghban, says he didn’t face any nervousness or inhibition while doing it.

“Anil was more nervous than I could ever be. I wasn’t nervous or anxious at all. Why should I be? I think too much hoo-ha is made in our country about sexual orientation. Isn’t there enough violence and unrest being created against minority groups on the basis of religion? Do we need to get all heated up about what two grown-up men do in privacy?” he asked.

The gay kiss in Fashion happens in the car. “It’s a very natural moment between two people in love. And I didn’t have a moment’s hesitation in doing it. Why should I? I don’t have a girlfriend to be answerable to. I did think, ‘Oh my god, what will my parents say?’ But it’s not me, it’s my character kissing the person he loves.

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Manila:Fashion, love and world peace

love to read good stories from Philippines

Sharon Atillo, artist and co-owner of I Love You store, believes fashion can change the world (and save the environment too).

It’s all in the approach to style (be it designer fashion, styling, haircuts, art, photography, graphic and production design). To make the world a better place to live in, style should manifest love, and individuals actually live by the credo “everybody love everybody.”

Melissa’s Portrait with the Exploding Robotic Rhum in Cake by Sharon Atillo, will soon be found on T-shirts

Somewhere in the great big den in the sky, John Lennon is beaming beatifically and humming “there’s nothing you can make that can’t be made, no one you can save that can’t be saved.” He’d have felt right at home in bohemian warren Cubao X (formerly known as Marikina Shoe Expo), where I Love You shares a two-storey space with the Future bar and restaurant which is run by Leah Castañeda and Agnes Ramos.

If you want to build a community for the Future, why not install a bar open to anyone, and lighten the heavy by thinking of the future in terms of tomorrow, the next hour, or, heck, the next minute? Maybe all that means is riding a unicycle and having a grand time with newfound friends, building relationships. Or it could be painting a mural on the freedom wall, on a decon-structed blouse, or over salvaged bits of furniture. Anything goes, so long as you have the passion.

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Pet fashion all the rage as owners bark, What recession?

awww those tiny little creatures

It’s a dog’s life during hard economic times. But Chihuahuas in a tutu? Pugs in designer tank-tops? Dachshunds draped in Swarovski bling?

That was the scene at the third annual Pet Fashion Week in Manhattan this past weekend, where despite a looming US recession, the world’s dog-loving fashionistas gathered to share ideas, market their products, strut a canine catwalk and raise money for charity.

At a time when department stores are suffering from shrinking sales of clothing, shoes and accessories such as handbags, those in the pet fashion industry are thriving, thanks to dog-loving elites and the buying impulses of millions of other pet owners.

“I’ve always loved dressing up dolls and Barbies, and I wanted to take it into something else that I loved, and I love pets,” pet-fashion designer Kameron Westcott from Dallas, Texas told AFP as her five-year-old Yorkshire terrier, Louis, peeked out of a canine carry bag designed by luxury fashion giant Louis Vuitton.

“Dogs need to be cute when they go to parties as well,” quipped Westcott, who runs an Internet web site hawking a range of Brazilian-made clothes and accessories for dogs.

“They want to feel elite and posh, just like we are.”

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Shillong(India) gets National Institute of Fashion Technology

a new fashion institute for India,yay!

First of its kind in the country’s northeastern region, the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) centre in Shillong is among the four centres of the institute that were to be set up in various parts of the country besides the existing eight.

Sanjeev Kumar, Chairperson, NIFT, said that this centre is the result of the NIFT’s effort to reach all parts of the country.

“Till the time we don’t reach to everyone the meaning of education is not served. So our Director General, Rajeev Takru, thought that why not open first institution in the Northeast that’s how NIFT came into existence. We have got a great support from Meghalaya government,” said Sanjeev.

The centre is currently offering two courses – fashion design and accessory design, and the first batch consists of 30 students.

Dressing sense of the people in this region acted as a catalyst for the students like Ashutosh Singh, who has come all the way from Varanasi.

“When I visited Shillong after seeing other parts of India I noticed that people here were following different kind of fashion they wanted to look fashionable, so I thought that this was the best centre for me and my profession,” said Ashutosh.

While others like Huangpi Rani Gogoi, a student from Assam, look at the institute as a big opportunity to study fashion designing.

“I’m very happy to be the student of NIFT. It’s a very big opportunity for me to study fashion here. This place is special for the reasons that it’s so close to Assam,” said Gogoi.

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Potential First Ladies Walk The Fashion Tightrope

some news from the Frist Ladies:

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Republican first lady hopeful Cindy McCain often differentiates her style from that of current first lady Laura Bush, with bright yellow and shiny leather. Here, she appears on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. NBC/AP

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Democratic first lady hopeful Michelle Obama is already inspiring imitators; the black and white sundress she wore to guest-host The View, sold out in Nordstrom stores across the country following her appearance. AP

Morning Edition, August 22, 2008 · In its 200 year-history, the White House has not been a treasure trove of fashion-forward First Ladies. It can’t be; a successful first lady profile is a delicate amalgam of not-too-bright, not-too-tight, not-too low-cut and not-too expensive.

“If her husband is running for president,” says Letitia Baldrige, “she has to watch everything.” As social secretary to Jacqueline Kennedy, Baldrige knows the impact clothes can have on public perception of a politician.

Today’s First Ladies have to look stylish, but not too stylish, Baldrige says, or they’re dismissed as indulgent.

“I think it would be wrong for today’s first lady to go around like a princess all the time,” she warns. “But I think it would be very wrong of her when she’s on an official job to be dressed too casually. She’s always got to be a bit above.”

Fashionable — in an accessible way. That’s why Michelle Obama was named to Vanity Fair’s 2008 International Best Dressed List, says list curator Amy Fine Collins.

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Bali Fashion Week set to entertain

I´d love to go there

Fashionistas will not be the only group of people who will be entertained by the 4-day Bali Fashion Week, which begins next Monday.

The event’s committee has prepared a plethora of events to entertain people from all walks of life. Beginning from 4 p.m. on Monday, a carnival of models wrapped in unique designer clothes is scheduled to stroll Kuta beach.

The carnival will move along Jl. Melasti to Jl. Legian and then to Jl. Pantai Kuta before ending at 6 p.m. on the beach in front of Kuta’s Hard Rock Hotel.

Famous designers, such as Doii, a Korean-born designer based in Paris; Hu She Guang, who has designed clothes for the Queen of Holland; Mich Dulce from the Philippines; Selphie Bong, who has been called the “Indonesian Christian Dior-to-be”; and famous Indonesian designer Oka Diputra, are just some of the designers who are slated to show their designs in the carnival.

Participants can join in the Sunset Beach Party and partake in a string of competitions, like the Yamaha fashion photo competition, model contests and a battle of the DeeJays with the winners set to receive prizes from Samsung.

The party will also feature the Rice Girls, a new music sensation from Australia.

“Up to this moment, we have more than 1,000 participants already listed for the carnival,” said Budiarti, the project coordinator of the 2008 Bali Fashion Week, on Wednesday.

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