One of the most awaited collection presentations of the London Fashion Week, the Buberry Prorsum Spring 2012 collection has been presented yesterday. With a subtle nostalgic feeling, the same commitment for classy elegant designs and fabulous color touches, the luxury label certainly didn’t disappoint anyone.
Elegance, carefully selected color combos, subtle textural mixes that instantly create several interest focal points and creative accessory choices were some of the Style concepts that could be noticed at the Burberry Prorsum fashion show yesterday during London Fashion Week. The presentation of the luxury label has brought together a myriad of A-list celebrities such as Kanye West, Andy Murray, Samantha Cameron or Sienna Miller who gave their own concise raving review of the collection: “It was un-be-lievable”.

A more modest statement regarding the collection was given by Christopher Bailey who described the designs as being ”joyous, upbeat, nostalgic”. With several classic elements and pieces, the label promotes simple, flattering combos that can stand out either through color and print choice or texture. Body hugging pieces and classy airy mid length skirts are both seen as stylish alternatives for the next season. With a high emphasis on the waist and a careful selection of accessories, attention to all style details is highly valued throughout the collection.

The main style tendencies according to the brand? Eclectic prints, stripes, beads, knits, ruffles or subtle pleats are some of the main trends that will delight us in the next season. Fabulous color combos will continue to be a strong style tendency that will entail some creativity, but that will definitely up the style quotient of any outfit when done right. Peep toe pumps, wooden necklaces and practical roomy handbags are some of the best accessory choices seen in the collection.

The company, which is famous for its red, black and camel check, said bumper sales through its Chinese outlets and flagship stores in London, Paris and New York helped half-year revenues jump by 30 percent to £830m.

Despite the figures coming in ahead of City hopes, shares have dropped more than 20 percent since July on fears of a slowdown in China.

Burberry said its Chinese outlets, which it acquired a year ago, showed the same store growth of 30 percent over the past six months.

Worldwide retail revenues rose by 45 percent, with like-for-like sales growth up slightly in the second quarter to September 30 to 16 percent, from 15 percent in the first three months.

Total retail growth slowed to 42 percent in the second quarter from 49 percent in the first. Outerwear and large leather goods accounted for half of the growth, with the Burberry London trench coat range a major contributor.

Chief executive Angela Ahrendts said the company’s first half performance “clearly demonstrates” the continued global momentum of the Burberry brand, though the group was prepared to “respond appropriately” if there is any significant change in demand in the luxury sector, she added.

Burberry added it expects to add 15 percent more store space over the rest of the year through between eight and 10 new stores, including a store in Paris and outlets in Latin America and China.

At the end of September, the group had 187 retail stores, 210 concessions, 44 outlet shops and 52 franchises. –

Twice a year the global pack of fashion buyers, style gurus and journalists trek across the world to scout styles for spring-summer and autumn-winter, stopping for eight days in New York, five in London, seven in Milan and nine for the finale in Paris.

But the 29-day Fashion Week calendar for September 2012 has been jumbled up in an unseemly game of musical chairs – with Milan overlapping New York by a day, and running over the entire duration of London’s own fashion week.

The mix-up originated during the summer, when New York announced it was shifting its shows back by a week to avoid the Labor Day holiday weekend, which it says was harming business.

London duly slid its dates back to accommodate New York – but the dance ground to a halt in Milan, where the National Chamber of Italian Fashion flatly refused to budge.

Shifting them by even a few days, it argued, would put too great a squeeze on the production schedule for Italian fashion houses, making it impossible to get their clothes into stores in time for the spring-summer season.

Only Paris, which wraps up the fashion marathon, is so far unaffected with its dates following on from Milan.

As things stand, the fashion pack will have to choose between the capitals, a headache for journalists and buyers – and an even bigger one for models.

But for fashion houses, who invest heavily to showcase their collections before the global fashion pack, the prospect of sending out models to a half-empty room spells disaster.

In stark business terms, Milan weighs considerably more than London.

So if next September’s shows go ahead according to the current calendar, observers believe the British capital stands to be the main loser, with buyers deserting its shows to head straight to Milan.

Accusations have been flying back and forth, with New York and London blaming Milan for the headache.

On Friday the Italian chamber’s chairman Mario Boselli reiterated his stance – laying responsibility squarely at the feet of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) and the British Fashion Council.

Slamming the New York and London Fashion Week organisers as “arrogant and aggressive”, he flatly denied in a written statement that Milan had put a spanner in the works.

“Such an accusation, besides showing an arrogant and aggressive attitude towards Milan, was supported by unfair arguments aimed at – unilaterally – imposing decisions that had not been agreed upon,” he wrote.

Milan, he argued, had clearly informed the industry back in March 2010 of its dates for 2012: September 19-25, “in line with the previous three years, since no different agreement had been made and no objection had been raised by anyone.”

He said Milan was open to discussion for 2013 onwards. Until then buyers and journalists will just have to choose sides.

New York’s stance rests on a 2008 agreement between the four fashion capitals, under which its Fashion Week kicks off on the second Thursday of September – which this year falls later than usual in the month.

But both Milan and Paris consider that New York is twisting the facts, since they argue that the three-year 2008 accord was not implicitly renewable.

New York organisers the CFDA said they still hope to find a solution that works for the fashion industry as a whole.

“We are in continued communication with all cities and are working to figure something out that addresses the short term conflict and creates long term agreement,” Steven Kolb, the CFDA’s chief executive, told AFP by email Friday.

How does the CFDA respond to Boselli’s charge of arrogance?

“We have no hurt feelings,” Kolb said, insisting that the CFDA was working to find a “solution that meets all cities’ interests.”

“If Milan, New York and London show at the same time, we are all at risk.” – AFP

The luxury label, famed for its camel check, raked in £298million in the past year – a rise of 39 per cent.

Sales of everything from classic trench coats to £1,500 handbags soared. Boss Angela Ahrendts now wants to DOUBLE investment this year to £200million to plant new flagship stores across the world.

New spruced-up sites will open in Paris, Milan, Chicago, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Sao Paulo as well as London. Both stores in the capital will double in size. Ms Ahrendts said: "It’s time to get our retail footprint up to par with consumers’ perception of the brand."

Other outlets will open across the Far East. Burberry already has franchise stores in Armenia and even Mongolia as well as 50 shops in China.

News of the chief’s spending spree spooked investors with the shares sliding five per cent.

But they have already gone up sevenfold in the past two-and-a-half years.

Sales in the past year rose nearly £400million to £1.5billion – of which just ten per cent was generated in Burberry’s home market of the UK. After a poor 2008, luxury labels around the world have surged on the money coming in from Chinese, Middle Eastern and Russian shoppers.

Burberry – a former favourite of football hooligans – has worked on going more upmarket and sorting its systems in a five-year overhaul.

Best-sellers include classic trench coats made in Castleford, West Yorks, where Burberry has doubled capacity.

Finance chief Stacey Cartwright told Sun City: "More and more people are coming into the middle-to-wealthy category, especially in emerging markets.

"A lot of people in Asia, the Middle East and Russia are travelling the globe and that is helping to underpin the rebound in luxury."

The dividend is up 43 per cent at 20p per share.

£1bn Jaguar drive profit

JAGUAR LAND ROVER has motored to profits of more than £1BILLION just a year after barely breaking even.

And yesterday the Indian owners of Britan’s biggest car firm laid out plans to splash out a fortune on bumping up its exports overseas.

TATA MOTORS said it would spend £1billion a year for the next five years on 40 new or face-lifted Jaguar and Land Rover models.

The firm has just given the go-ahead to production of a new 205mph Jag supercar – the C-X75.

Chief exec Ralph Speth said: "We are transforming JLR into a business that realises the potential of both these famous brands."

Yesterday’s profit of £1.043bn for 2010-2011 represents an amazing turnaround.

Experts predicted doom and gloom when Tata bought JLR from FORD in 2008. Some 2,500 jobs were shed in the recession.

But the Jaguar XL and new Land Rover models have led a revival in key export markets such as China, Russia and the US. Land Rover has been swamped with orders for its compact "green" Evoque.

In the past year the business has taken on 1,500 staff on Merseyside and is recruiting 1,000 engineers.

Tata Motors group boss Carl Peter Forster said: "We have to take this firm to a new level."

Fergie is ‘on a Tote loser’

THE BRITISH AIRWAYS chairman bidding £230million for the TOTE claims Sir Alex Ferguson is backing a loser.

Sir Martin Broughton yesterday said the Man United boss and racehorse owner was wrong to plug rival bidder, BETFRED owner Fred Done. He told Sun City: "Fergie’s good buddies with Fred so I don’t think he’s been objective in this.

"He’s listened to Fred, said ‘that sounds good’ but I don’t think he’s done his analysis."

Sir Martin’s SPORT INVESTMENT PARTNERS is locked in a battle with Betfred for the state-backed bookie.

A decision from the Government could come as early as today.

Sir Martin admitted the battle was "on a knife edge".

But he insisted that racing and the 4,500 Tote staff should support his offer.

If the BA chairman’s bid is accepted, Tote would float on the stock market with racing bodies given a ten per cent stake.

He said: "The key criteria should be which one does racing prefer. And clearly that’s us. And with us, Tote’s Wigan staff don’t have the risk of being merged into Betfred’s Warrington office and all those synergies they’re talking about."

Betfred boss Mr Done last week admitted some 150 jobs at the Tote could go if he was successful.

Chancellor George Osborne was due to meet Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt over the sell-off yesterday afternoon.

The disposal of the Tote has dragged on for more than a decade.

Greece in ruins

GREECE may be forced out of the EURO, its own EU commissioner admitted yesterday.

Maria Damanaki warned Athens had to fix its finances through huge cuts or risk being booted out.

She said: "The greatest achievement of post-war Greece, the euro and the European course of the country, is at risk."

Germany’s finance minister yesterday insisted Greece should NOT be allowed to default on its debts. Wolfgang Schaeuble said the risk of "contagion" was too high.

Cleaner firm boss flushed with pride

EXCLOOSIVE

A FORMER Grenadier Guard once forced to mop out toilets for a month has hit the big time – selling a chemical cleaner.

Hadrian Garner, 41, has just bagged a national deal to put his ONE-CHEM products in every HALFORDS in the country.

It comes a year after he launched the range, used to clean chemical toilets and showers in caravans and boats.

Mr Garner told Sun City: "I’ve already got a toilet hire business and realised there was a gap for an environmentally-friendly cleaner like this. We’re flying now."

Mr Garner was in the Army in 1988 when he passed out during a rehearsal for Trooping the Colour.

He said: "I was charged for leaving Horseguards Parade and punished by being told to clean the toilets for a month. Perhaps it started an obsession."

diesel at 8-week low

Diesel prices have fallen to their lowest level at the pump for nearly TWO MONTHS.

The AA said a supermarket price war pushed diesel down to an average of 139.99p a litre.

Unleaded is averaging 136.04p – the lowest for more than a month.

The AA said it was "good news" but added: "People are questioning why pump prices are still so high when oil prices aren’t anywhere near the records of 2008."

‘Bacc to America

CIGARETTE giant BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO is marching into Colombia.

The Lucky Strike maker yesterday bought the South American country’s second largest cig maker PROTABACO in a £275million deal.

Colombia is the world’s fourth largest cigarette market – with annual fag sales of 17 billion.

BAT director of the Americas Mark Cobben said: "This fills a strategic gap."

Last year, Joanna Shields, Vice President EMEA for Facebook, the world’s largest social network now with more than 700 million registered users, took that one step further. “Burberry is no longer just a fashion company — today they are a thriving media enterprise,” she said. “Burberry is now the most widely followed fashion brand on Facebook. It’s successful not just because it makes great clothes but because it understands the importance of sparking interest in the community and using social media to engage and delight their consumers.”

Of course, Facebook has its own reasons for promoting brands who have enthusiastically adopted its platform, but there is no doubt that with more than 6.5 million Facebook fans and an impressive array of digital initiatives, Burberry’s reputation as one of the world’s most sophisticated digital operators has now become a core part of its brand DNA.

So, I was surprised to receive a pre-release email from New York’s L2 thinktank about their new ‘Facebook IQ’ report that ranks Burberry 49th amongst 100 prestige brands, giving them an overall rating of ‘Average’. Only 8 months ago, the same organisation rated Burberry as ‘Genius’ in its annual Digital IQ index.

Is Burberry’s digital prowess really waning?

“One of eight minutes spent on the Internet is on Facebook,” writes L2 founder Scott Galloway in the report’s introduction. “The platform’s velocity of adoption is unprecedented, and as it gets bigger, it grows faster, both in number of users and time spent.” But Galloway goes on to knock prestige brands for “maintaining a monocular focus on the size of their Facebook community,” saying “they have failed to embrace the authentic two-way communication and marketing activation required to monetize the platform.”

These are fair criticisms of many luxury brands who have been overly focused on the race for fans rather than embracing the radical mindset changes necessitated by the rise of digital and social media. As I wrote back in February, too many brands are focused on the surface of social media as a marketing tool, without thinking more deeply about how to support core business objectives.

L2 told the FT’s Vanessa Friedman, who was also caught by surprise, that Burberry was penalised, amongst other reasons, “because it is one of the 20 percent of brands that does not allow fans to post on its wall, suggesting they aren’t yet ready to abandon command and control, because… the brand does not allow fans to upload photos or videos to its Facebook page, and because it doesn’t respond to fans or maintain any two-way communication.”

That’s a mouthful, and indeed, most of the report’s accounting of Burberry’s behaviour on Facebook is factually correct. The trouble with this kind of checklist methodology, however, is that it takes a one-size-fits-all approach, lumping brands together from across a number of sectors — automobiles, beauty, fashion, champagne — and assuming that they should all tick the same boxes, regardless of the differences in their underlying business strategies, price points, brand positioning, and product portfolios, which may actually necessitate different kinds of consumer engagement, across different kinds of media.

Despite its undeniable importance, considering Facebook separately from other channels of communication is a questionable way of evaluating success, digital or otherwise. Today, we are living in a multichannel environment where a consumer may first see a product in a magazine, research it online, purchase it in a bricks-and-mortar store, complain about it on Twitter or Facebook, and ultimately have their issue resolved over the telephone. A brand’s engagement with consumers lives across all of these touchpoints, for which different brands will, by necessity, pursue different strategies.

Take Tory Burch, for example, which was rated ‘Genius’ by the L2 report, making it the top ranked fashion brand. Positioned as an accessible fashion brand, Tory Burch products typically cost less than $500, making them readily affordable for many consumers, and accessible even to those who are only able to splurge once in a while. Part of what defines the brand is its openness, as personified by its aspirational but accessible founder who tweets from her travels, sharing experiences from her day-to-day life.

The Tory Burch Facebook page allows consumers to post to its page, even if this does not always shed a positive light on the brand or its products.

“I love your products but the quality is like a cheap chinese (sic) knock off,” writes one Facebook user, Yun Kum Collins. Other fan posts on the noisy Tory Burch page include an appeal for anti-stalking laws, a photograph of a broken Tory Burch shoe, and questions about potential Tory Burch counterfeit sites. Some, but not all, of these comments are addressed by referring consumers to a Tory Burch email address or providing links where more information can be found.

Burberry, on the other hand, has taken a different tack. A spokesperson told BoF: “Engagement on Facebook for us is not driven by replying to comments — we do that better via click to chat on burberry.com or via our customer service which engages on a personalised one to one basis. We engage fans on Facebook via one of our key strengths, content.”

Burberry is using its Facebook page as a mechanism for creating social objects, to be engaged with, shared, discussed and propagated by its fans, as opposed to using it as a primary customer service channel. In this way it is less about a “two-way” conversation between a brand and its fans and more about inspiring engagement and conversation with and amongst the fans themselves.

“Our fans are the benchmark for us,” continued the spokesperson. “The growth indicates they are engaged and sharing with their friends. We also look at how long they spend on the site, how much they spend viewing and commenting with all the different content and then move between our various platforms in a truly cross-platform, sharing community.”

This is not to say that effective handling of customer complaints is not important, just that for Burberry, Facebook may not be the best place to do so, especially with its complex hierarchy of sub-brands, product lines and price points.

Of course, this raises questions about Burberry’s openness. Doesn’t social media require that all brands be completely open all the time now? Not necessarily. Sophisticated luxury brands are generating consumer intrigue and excitement by being both open and closed, opening themselves up to consumers in some channels but also stepping back behind the veil to maintain some mystery in others.

Both Tory Burch and Burberry seem to think Facebook is an important platform, but are using it different ways, linked not just to the scale of their businesses and specific brand positioning, but also vis-a-vis the other channels through which they interact with their consumers. Does this really make one brand more genius than the other?

Part of the reason for creating these kinds of rankings, of course, is to spark a debate, and in this, L2 have clearly succeeded. As emails, blogs and tweets were exchanged amongst the digital fashion community debating the report’s validity last week, it brought into focus some of the key issues facing luxury and fashion brands as we enter a new phase of this digital revolution. If the first phase was mostly about adoption of and education about social media, the next phase will focus on strategic and creative execution to achieve business objectives.

Consider this BoF’s contribution to the debate. Things are only going to get more interesting. Burberry may have to revise its Facebook strategy if, as expected, fan posts on public pages become mandatory as of this August. It will be interesting to see how the posts of 6.5 million fans change the dynamic of the brand’s Facebook presence.

Burberry Prorsum‘s Autumn/Winter Collection was inspired not by the contemporary or the futuristic, but from delving back into its own British archives of the late 60s – the era of trench coats, creeper shoes and icons like Jean Shrimpton. Christopher Bailey, Burberry’s Chief Creative Officer says of the newly released ad campaign featuring the collection “We wanted to create a group of portraits celebrating British actors, musicians and models.”

The campaign’s June cast includes a handful that undoubtedly bring to the table a real sense of Britishness as faces of understated talent – Cara Delevigne, Matthew Whitehouse (of The Heartbreaks), Felicity Jones, Molly Smith and Sam Claflin are just a few, but the talent will be refreshed each month throughout the season. We really do love those collections that clearly reference a label’s heritage from a mile off and, in that particular direction, Burberry do always hit the nail on the head! Prepare to feast your eyes on tweeds, military tunic coats, geometric lurex jacquard, grainy leather and alligator bags, and tasselled golf shoes. Sounds rather splendid!

Burberry, a Fashion retailer, was the biggest gainer in early trade after the company was boosted by reports in France that luxury goods group PPR was in talks to make a large acquisition.

“The news is helping to entice speculative traders into the luxury goods sector today, giving lift to Burberry’s share price,” said Joshua Raymond at City Index.

Shares in the UK company rose 0.4 per cent to £13.12.

Gains for Burberry were still impressive, however, given the session’s weak retail sales data. Low wage growth and high inflation forced consumers to ease their spending in May after a strong Easter and royal wedding weekend, the British Retail Consortium said.

“The May BRC survey indicates that consumers have quickly put their hands back in their pockets after being encouraged to temporarily loosen their purse strings in April by a particularly favourable combination of factors,” said Howard Archer at IHS Global Insight.

The FTSE 100 closed up 1.49 points at 5,864.65.

Resolution, an insurance group, advanced 2.6 per cent to 307.55p after announcing a £500 million cash return to shareholders. The company, that specialises in acquiring and merging life insurers, said it would begin with an immediate £250 million share buy-back, followed by another similar-sized cash return in the first half of 2012.

“We remain a buyer of the stock as it is cheap in relation to the embedded value, and action it is taking should see it re-rated higher,” said Marcus Barnard at Oriel Securities.

Hopes that any spare cash at other insurance groups may find its way back into shareholders’ wallets boosted the sector. Legal General added 1.8 per cent to 115.6p, while Standard Life gained 1.3 per cent to 206.2p.

BP edged 0.2 per cent lower to 450.16p after it was reported the company was preparing to sell half of its 50 per cent holding in its joint venture with Russia’s third-biggest oil producer TNK to state-controlled Rosneft.

Weir climbed 1.5 per cent to £20 after JPMorgan lifted its target price on the stock to £21.50 from £21. – (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2011)

Birmingham-born Jones, 27, was chosen, alongside a cast of British actors, models and musicians, by Burberry’s chief creative officer, Christopher Bailey because of her retro allure.

”I was inspired by iconic British portraits and our own archive campaigns from the late 1960s of Jean Shrimpton using her trench coat to shelter herself from the poetic and romantic British weather", Bailey said.

Jones is joined in the advertising campaign by 16-year-old Molly Smith from Derbyshire. Spotted by Next Model Management while shopping in Covent Garden two years ago, the college student said the shoot with Mario Testino was: "Very relaxed and exciting at the same time – it was the best day of my life so far! My Mum and Dad are so proud."

Also starring in the new adverts, which were shot by Mario Testino, are 18-year-old Cara Delevingne; London-born model Jourdan Dunn, who is a regular on the Burberry catwalks; Edie Campbell and Amber Anderson.

Burberry opens its first Burberry Brit store in the UK

A-lijn

De wijduitlopende tops, jurken en broeken zijn dit seizoen niet weg te denken uit de winkels. Vooral op de jaren zestig en zeventig geïnspireerde kledingstukken die de vorm van de letter A hebben, zijn een musthave.

Bloemen

Op de catwalk voor dit voorjaar zagen we veelvuldig kledingstukken met bloemenprints. Jassen, jurken, schoenen, sjaals: als het maar fleurig is deze zomer.

Colourblocking

Dé trend waar iedereen het over heeft dit seizoen, is de zogeheten colourblocking-trend. In normaal Nederlands betekent dit: het combineren van felle ‘kleurblokken’ in één outfit.

Denim

Spijkerbroeken zijn nooit uit de mode, maar vooral het huidige seizoen is denim modeverantwoord. Zo erg zelfs dat het is geoorloofd om van top tot teen in dezelfde kleur spijkerstof te lopen.

Espadrille

Deze luchtige schoen met lichte zool is ideaal voor in de zomer. Gelukkig zijn er verschillende modellen voor zowel mannen als vrouwen verkrijgbaar dit voorjaar.

Hoge zolen

Niet iedereen is te spreken over de hoge plateauzolen die prada op de catwalk introduceerde. Maar nu ook Chanel, Fendi en andere modemerken de schoen met hoge zool in de collectie hebben, is de trend een feit.

Indigo

Diepdonkerblauw, ook wel indigo genoemd, is eveneens een mooie kleur in uw lentegarderobe. Mooi zijn de spijkerjurken van Stella McCartney in deze bijzondere tint.

Jumpsuit

Overalls, een ander woord voor jumpsuits, zijn al een tijdje in de mode. Ook deze lente zijn ééndelige pakken – mits ze u goed staan – een musthave.

Kant

Dankzij Dolce & Gabbana en andere modemerken zijn witte jurkjes met kant en broderie een musthave voor dit seizoen. Het witte jurkje van deze ontwerpers is dan ook een van de meest fotografeerde stukken op covers van modetijdschriften. 

Leer

Het lijkt tegenstrijdig om leer te dragen in het voorjaar, toch zijn er dit seizoen genoeg jasjes en tops in dun soepel leer. Mooi in combinatie met een gladde stof als zijde of chiffon voor het contrast.