Business of fashion

On Chanel’s Covent Garden beauty pop-up and the Disneyfication of luxury retail




Latest in the rebranding of Covent Garden is Chanel’s new standalone beauty pop-up, a make-up mecca that will be in situ between now and the end of the year. It’s the first of its kind for Chanel in Europe and suggests they’re trialling the concept for a more permanent set-up. Why Covent Garden? “It’s a light-hearted, fun destination,” I was told, although being positioned slap bang at the entrance of the Piazza and also along the same drag as Apple, Burberry Brit, Rugby Ralph Lauren and Opening Ceremony on King Street (AKA, London’s new shopping destination) sounds much more strategic than that. (more…)



Quote of the day




“Magazines are just like books. People want the real thing, not just a flash on the iPad. It’s different. Reading magazines shows you’re taking fashion seriously.”
Zena Hao, a 24-year-old publicist, from Beijing in an insightful story in the New York Times on how Chinese luxury consumers are obsessed with glossy mags



Joanna Sykes joins Nicole Farhi as creative director




I’ve just been reading all the AW12 catwalk round-ups in Elle, Grazia and Vogue. Futuristic silhouettes, seductive goth and baroque over-embellishment feature heavily but they don’t excite me on a personal level. I’m more likely to get fired up over a macho coat or the perfect cigarette trouser so today’s breaking news about Joanna Sykes’ appointment at Nicole Farhi is a biggie for me. (more…)



BrandAlley launches Pin To Win Facebook app




What with all the Pinning, Tumbling, Fancying and Discoveredd-ing, I’m fast getting inspirationed out*. Enough with the inspiration – I don’t need anymore! But I guess I’m an extreme case – most people don’t spend their lives scrolling through websites 1000 hours a day.

The latest, and inevitable chapter in the social curation story is that of brands and retailers using virtual ‘pinboards’ to drive sales. (more…)