With the Academy Awards and Paris Fall 2010, our custom haute couture is cruising dangerously close to maximum capacity. Thank you Valentino for showing us a glimpse of lovely amongst the casual Parisian fare. The dresses…oh we love the dresses. Especially McQueen’s much anticipated heavenly collection. Gucci Group decided to cancel the hoopla and show the collection to small groups. The mood remained somber and the pieces (roughly 80% of his collection was completed) were eerily related to the afterlife. But in true McQueen accordance the mood was whimsically delicious with angel prints and hand carved footwear.

In other news… Retail stocks hit a 436.89 high Monday - the highest since December 2007. And retail stores are hiring up. The U.S. Department of Labor reported a hiring increase for the second month in a row. Maybe demand is back. Even the wintry weather couldn’t stop consumers from spend, spend, spend this February.  February was retailers’ best same-store sales results in two years - a 4% overall increase. J. Crew posted $40 million in 4th quarter profit. Jason Woo is doing it special style for Bergdorf. Jean Paul Gaultier for Target is flying off the shelves, and Burberry is suing TJ Maxx over alleged counterfeits, and yes, I am rushing through this because even more important that all of that is Calvin Klein’s new Calvin Klein X ad campaign.
God bless Calvin Klein. Let me repeat: God bless Calvin Klein for recruiting Emmet from Twilight, the possessed guy from True Blood, Spanish hottttt tennis star Fernando Verdasco and the most famous Asian footballer Hidetoshi Nakata to make this video. You can, and should, thank me later. Actually, just thank me right now.

Emma Dinzebach

In Milan, Roberto Cavalli celebrated forty years of fashion. His Fall 2010 collection included a walk on the wild side with animal print galore amidst a boho background. Missoni claimed fur and Dolce & Gabanna put their dibs on perfect tailoring with a hint of masculinity. Printemps new luxury concept, the Paris department store giant recently acquired a three story Louis Vuitton shop for women’s apparel, accessories and jewelry. Several luxury designers are on board to dye some of their signature (like Chanel’s Coco Cocoon bag) Rubine red.  Across the globe, Marc Jacobs opened a flagship store on the Windy City’s Michigan Avenue. Lanvin opened their first West Coast boutique in Vegas. Ebay launched a new selling format to boost apparel quotients. And Macy’s got in the bed with Kenneth Cole.
Retail stocks were up a plump 6.1% for February with 1.9% next week. Uniqlo, Dillard’s, Revlon, Elizabeth Arden, lululemon, and Phoenix Footwear finished in the top of the retail roundup. But in Europe, they are bracing themselves for a see saw recovery.

Farewell to the tent the fashion industry has called home (and home base) since 2002 in Bryant Park. We will surely miss the old locale where we could hop over and seek refuge just beyond the guarding Patience and Fortitude. Although next year we’ll seek in in the park! But we’ll be cold in the park. In short, dear Bryant Park, we will miss you so.

In other fashion news, Nordstrom’s profit rose 153% in the fourth quarter.  Talbots, Bebe, Marks & Spencer, lululemon athletica, Pacific Sunwear and our old friend’s at Phoenix Footwear couldn’t manage such luck and finished in the red last week. Joe’s Jeans did, however, for once end the week victoriously in the black alongside other often losing companies like Cache, New York & Co., and Zale. Oh how the stock flip flops like as easily as a dirty politicians…or a clean one at that. Retail stocks overall, however, were up 3.5% for the week. Target, Sears and Macy’s celebrated in black victory.

In other dark news, Burlington Coat Factory was ordered a payout to Fendi. According to WWD, “A federal judge ordered Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corp. to pay Fendi $4.7 million for violating a decades-old injunction barring the off-pricer from selling the luxury brand’s trademarked goods without permission.” Tsk. Tsk. Tsk.

Currently, buyers are still on Cloud 9, riding the Fall 2010 Fashion Week high. Burberry is killing Fashion week London, and in our personal favorite news, J.Crew partners with Net-a-Porter to take the preppy brand global. Watch out world! It’s ribbon belts and critter pants for all. At least until next week…in shopping.

Emma Dinzebach

It was a mournful start to Fall 2010 Fashion Week as the industry grieved fashion icon Lee Alexander McQueen whose namesake label, Alexander McQueen, inspired a whole generation of fashion designers and infused consumers with the courage to experiment. His edgy, dramatic costume-style, dark romantic undertone, mile-high heels and ability to singlehandedly resurrect the skull and cross bones won over the hearts of peers, consumers and artists across the globe. Nationwide, stores witnessed an immediate surge in McQueen apparel and accessory sales. Barney’s showcased a shadow box picture of McQueen in their Madison Avenue storefront window. Tributes poured in last Friday as fans put flowers, cards and other memorials outside of McQueen’s New York and London stores.

Both the art and fashion industries are verse in McQueen and influenced by his work.  His aggressive approach helped his peers stand out and experiment. Regardless of whether or not the label remains, his presence will be wholly missed. He leaves behind a legend laced with the courage to embrace possibility, and for that, the industry is forever grateful.

McQueen’s Fall 2010 show was canceled in light his death, but for the rest of designers, the show must go on. Beauty was on the brains of Badgley Mischka, Christian Siriano, and Marc Jacobs; the latter of whom is truly coming into his own. Marc Jacobs went back to basics or back to investment dressing, leaving behind youthful yet schizophrenic trends and taking his look back home. Alice & Olivia, Bensoni, Rodarte and Catherine Malandrino took Gothic through the jungle providing Fall 2009’s rocker look with a more earthy edge. Stacey Benet threw the after party of the year with performer Little Wayne and Blink 182’s Travis Barker.

Despite frigid weather, salt stained shoes and grievances, Fall 2010 Fashion Week was a wonder to behold. Each season the artistic elements - from the “set” to hair and make-up, the music to model’s staging - grows up. In New York, the global center of fashion, the evolution of Fashion Week is occurring right before our eyes. So for this week in shopping, put aside your Wall Street Journal, turn off Bloomberg and revel in the glory of an industry filled with possibility beyond our wildest imaginations.

In loving memory of Master Lee Alexander McQueen.

Emma Dinzebach