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Bringing back the backpack




Adorning the shoulders of everyone from Kanye to Style Salvage Steve and Susie Bubble, there’s no doubt the backpack is making a comeback. Well that’s what I decided the minute I happened upon the new Eley Kishimoto x Eastpak range which is jollying up the Eastpak Carnaby Street store and window display right now. After an intensive trying-on sesh and grilling the poor (but extremely accomodating) shop staff for a good ten minutes I gleaned the following. The backpacks are printed in the now-iconic flash print (I have the flash print upholstered chair and am still gutted that I never bought the flash print Globetrotter suitcase) and cost a very reasonable £60. Each product is a limited edition of 1000 (I’m guessing that means 1000 in each colour – red, blue, black?) and comes with a special edition Eley Kishimoto Eastpak enamel pin.

Now what do you do if you don’t like backpacks? Well there’s a whole host of other flash-y stuff. There are messenger bags and small shoulder bags as well as pencil cases and wallets (although they are a bit ‘ouch’ at £50 each). There are also three skateboards retailing at £350.

I’m going back for mine on Saturday and will be rocking it all through fashion week as it will be perfect for my LG laptop and inevitable gathering of press packs, passes and general paraphernalia that tend to mount up throughout the days. Well done Eley Kishimoto and Eastpak, I think this is a perfect partnership.




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How to rock a briefcase



kanye west fashion week entourage Tommy Ton

Kanye West and krew cavorting in Paris at Comme Des Garcons courtesy of Jak&Jil.com. “I have to say that Kanye is very warm and friendly when it comes to his fans at fashion week. He’ll always make time to stop for a photo or conversation with any one of [his] fans. What a good sport.”

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More on trunk shows



Further to yesterday’s post, retail blogger Bish Shops alerted me to the following news on trunk shows:

NEIMAN MARCUS PLANS SHOWS TO ENTICE TOP CUSTOMERS TO BUY NEW LINES AT FULL PRICE
Upscale retailer Neiman Marcus Group Inc is to set up special trunk shows and meetings with designers for its best customers in a bid to get them to buy new fashion items at full price.

Engaging Neiman’s core, wealthy customers are the retailer’s “best chance of turning the tide” of deep discounts that is drowning company profits, chief executive Burt Tansky said yesterday.

“The challenge that we have is to get the customer back into the store to buy at full price, because none of us can continue to sell at promotional prices and deep discounts,” Tansky told the National Retail Federation annual convention in New York. “First of all, there’s no advantage to it. Second of all it leads to hell … and it’s got to stop.”

Privately-held Neiman Marcus is testing several marketing ideas across its 40 signature stores, including bringing in groups of 20-30 shoppers for special events, Tansky said.

“We have a number of things going on and already we are starting to understand that our customer, the affluent customer, will come into the stores if we create the right environment,” he said. He noted that some clients said they felt uncomfortable “shopping ostentatiously… Our challenge is to break through that mindset”.

[Source: WGSN]

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Whatever Next?




Until I was sent a complimentary one to try out (thanks LG!), I didn’t even know what a netbook was. Now they’re bloody everywhere! I love the concept – a lightweight, compact laptop that’s easily transportable – and clearly so do many others. The latest development of the netbook is the ‘digital clutch’. (Why do marketing people think the only way to market technology to women is by giving things fluffy fashion and make-up related names? Anyone would think we can’t relate to stuff if it’s not connected in some way to the way we look.)

Anyway, HP started it with their Vivienne Tam-designed* ‘digital clutch’. According to the blurb, it’s “a digital clutch that complements this spring’s outfits perfectly. Weighing just 1.1kg, the 10.1 inch HP Mini 1000 Vivienne Tam Edition is both lightweight and ultra-portable. It also features a wrist lanyard ring so that you can carry it in your hand without it slipping to the floor.” Tres chic.

Not to be outdone, the latest Sony Vaio has an 8-inch screen and is ‘small enough to fit in many pockets’. Hmmm, I don’t know many pockets that big but you know, maybe that could be something for designers to think upon for SS2010…?

Finally, from next month, UK high street fashion retailer Next will be selling £99 ‘handbag-sized’ netbooks to appeal to women-on-the-go. Expect a brace of UK fashionistas of the Henry Holland/Giles/PPQ type to be enlisted for netbook-decorating purposes…

*Note, she didn’t design the actual computer, just the fancy floral casing.

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