What a coup!



The collaboration to end all collabrations, H&M have hooked up with Rei Kawakubo of Commes des Garcons to create an exclusive collection for autumn 2008. Included in the range are womenswear, menswear, a smattering of childrenswear as well as a unisex fragance and accessories. Talk about a coup, how do you beat that? Short of Marc Jacobs designing for Gap (which he’s hinted he always wanted to do) I don’t think there’s any point in any more of these collaborations after this one.

The range launches in Tokyo at the beginning of November followed by the rest of the world a few days later. What can we expect to see in the range? Well the great thing about Comme is how it combines wacky pieces with updated classics so my money’s on graphic printed tees, school-girl grey knitwear-with-a-twist, a perfect pleat-top trouser (for men and women), surely a rockabilly fifties frock or two in insane colours like neon pink or yellow and some wear-anywear white shirts. Accessory-wise I can imagine something in garish plastic or rubber (a shopper?), some brothel creeper-esque shoes and maybe a take on a Converse or Vans shoe. My man D suggests something in yellow/black tartan (kilts for men? bomber jackets?), and a version of their pop-coloured zip purses in printed vinyl. What does everyone else think?



The It-bag robberies




Those wretched baglifters are still at it, smashing and grabbing from every It-bag peddler from Bond Street to Sloane Street. On Monday evening the bike-mounted bag-burglers targeted the Fendi store but were papped by photographers stalking Rebecca Loos as they drove past Cipriani in Mayfair with as many as thirty bags hanging off each bike. Although it’s not much fun for a bag designer to have their stock plundered only to have the precious loot unceremoniously flogged on Ebay, it must be a bit of a comfort to know they’ve been targeted. In a way, these robberies are serving as quite the accidental barometer of what’s hot and what’s not in arm candy. So far, Luella, Anya Hindmarch, Mulberry, Louis Vuitton, Jimmy Choo and Salvatore Ferragamo have all been victims, imagine the shame if you were the only bag shop that wasn’t being raided, you’d almost have to stage a robbery yourself, just to save face.



Naughty numpties



The latest round of autumn-winter press days has just begun and amongst the booty we can look forward to in our goody bags are vouchers to spend at the high street department stores. A while ago, certain stores decided (correctly) that we’d far rather be given gift vouchers to spend on items of our own choosing than the usual scarf, bag or necklace. (Actually, we’d rather have the cash but that would be a bit too greedy.) Alas, an unfortunate turn of events has taken place that may put an end to the gift voucher tradition.

Four press officers for a well-known department store have been sacked following an investigation into a gift voucher scam. It seems these hapless PRs were ordering rather too many gift vouchers for phantom ‘competitions’ and then spending them themselves. So did they go to an off-radar branch of their store to spend said vouchers? No, they spent them in the Oxford Street store, mere yards from their press office and were caught on camera committing the offence. Doh! Still, it’s not as bad as the PR for another high street chain (clue: it’s the one that has sales hat start at 5’oclock in the morning) who was sacked for selling press samples on a market stall. Euww, how common!



Where east and west meet in the middle




One of the things I found hard to get my head around when I was working in India last month was the disparity between traditional design and modern fashion. The magazine I was launching was an international title which is nothing new, as the emerging markets are opening up of course all the magazines want a presence. Elle, Cosmopolitan and Marie Claire have been in India for a few years, Vogue launched last year, this year should see Glamour, Grazia, In Style and (I believe) Harpers Bazaar. What was confusing was that my initial editor (an Englishwoman) made a point of saying the magazine needed a 50-50 mix of Indian and International fashion and features while her Indian successor insisted that references to Indian traditions were kept to the absolute minimum. This meant no mention of saris, kurtas, mother-in-laws or maids if we could help it. As the very person this magazine was targeting – the single middle class, twentysomething working woman – her reasoning was that the modern Indian woman wants to be ‘international’. She travels abroad, she watches American sitcoms so she wants access to those brands and lifestyles that she has experienced in the western world. All very understandable, however I couldn’t help feeling that it was a bit of a shame.

Here is a country with such great history and culture, not to mention an amazing textile heritage, but to have any hope of succeeding outside India or appealing to the new Asian middle classes, designers have to move away from traditional Indian style and design with a more western-influenced eye. The same seems to go for Chinese and Russian fashion (example: Kova & T). Clearly, a balancing act is needed. The designers that inspired me when I was in Mumbai were those like Drashta which combined cocoon-like western shapes with the sequins and saturated colour we associate with India. Anupamaa designs simple kaftans and silk shifts in the most breathtaking fabrics, while Manish Arora is now a household name with his wacky Indo-Western psychedelic-pop prints. I’m not knocking Wendell Rodricks or Gauri & Nainika, their accomplished designs are certainly worthy of attention from overseas but will find it harder to stand out amongst similar fare from American and European designers. The ultimate challenge for designers from emerging nations is learning how to design for the western market while throwing in a taste of local flavour that reflects their heritage.

Pic: Drashta aw/08