The Canary in the Retailing Coal Mine:
“J. C. Penney on Friday slashed its earnings forecast for the first three months of the year by 33 percent, blaming an outright drop in consumer spending that bodes poorly for competitors . . . chief executive of Penney, Myron E. Ullman, said that ‘consumer confidence is at a multiyear low . . . J. C. Penney,’ he said, ‘counts half of American families as its customers, and they are feeling macro-economic pressures from many areas, including higher energy costs, deteriorating employment trends and significant issues in the housing and credit markets.’”

Mass Market Retailers Stock Their Shelves with Runway Interpretations:
“When consumers can afford to revamp their wardrobes on a semi-regular schedule, says Ingram, the stores know they have to keep up with trends. The resulting increase in fashion-forward looks on the rack means buyers can experiment . . . ‘They see what the designers are doing on the runway,’ says stylist Kay Ingram of Kithe Brewster, Inc., ‘and they reinvent it . . . (not) everybody can afford a Karl Lagerfeld.’”

*Update: Which is why fast fashion retailers like H&M team up with high-end runway labels like Lanvin — that way, their customers get a designer name at a fast-fashion price:

Giorgio Armani to George Clooney — Shut Up and Get a New Tuxedo!:
“Designer Giorgio Armani was so sick of seeing George Clooney in his old suit that he begged the Hollywood star to stop wearing the designer clothing and sent him a new tuxedo. Clooney has boasted about wearing the same Armani outfit to awards shows and premieres for a decade . . . ‘Giorgio Armani actually sent me a new tux and said, `Please either wear this or stop saying you’re wearing Armani, because it’s frayed’,’ Contactmusic quoted him, as saying.”

***In other news, Armani Among the Latest Luxury Brands Charmed by India’s Growth:
“Giorgio Armani is to become the latest of a horde of high-end brands to target India’s growing appetite for luxury goods . . . The first Armani outlet will be opened at a new “super luxury mall” being built by DLF, which also has a partnership with Dolce & Gabbana, in New Delhi. By the end of the year, Armani expects to have around five stores across the subcontinent.”

Is India the New Promised Land for Luxury Brands?:
“With the report estimating India’s population of dollar millionaires at about 100,000, it said growth rate was more than twice that of the US. Estimates suggest that India has more consumers for luxury goods than the adult population of several countries . . . The size of India’s luxury market is estimated at around $3.5 billion. Experts say that given the right impetus, it could easily leapfrog to $30 billion by 2015, riding on a consumer class of an estimated 400 million people with rising disposable incomes and a sense of optimism.”

A report below on luxury fashion in India:

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy Gives Dior Sales a Healthy Boost:
“After proving a fashion hit during last week’s state visit, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy may have given Christian Dior an advertisement better than money could buy . . . Mrs. Sarkozy’s choice could have been a savvy business move, engineered by leading French businessman Bernard Arnault. The Times reports that Arnault, a good friend of the President’s, could be calling on his friends in high places to help give Dior a revival, after the label received mixed reviews for its last collection. Industry sources claim that exposure could be worth in excess of over £1 million of sales for Dior, after fashion pundits worldwide applauded Mrs. Sarkozy’s look.”

Check out a video clip of Dior’s Fall 2008 show below:

The Synthetic Secrets Behind Your Favorite Perfumes:
“Today, your favourite scents are not coming to you from the garden, but rather straight from a laboratory – they are created from synthetic molecules, not from flowers . . . When a kilo of rose absolute can cost up to £4,000 and its synthetic equivalent costs only £400, it’s not hard to see why the perfume industry has embraced synthetic scents . . . In a year when Burberry clothing sales were down, its profits went up 17 per cent – due to perfume sales. Designer Yves Saint Laurent once confessed that perfume made up 85.3 per cent of his house’s revenues.”

Fashion Houses Increase Their Demand for Seal Fur:
“The commercial hunt virtually collapsed after the European Union banned imports of whitecoat pelts in 1983. In the early 1990s, the hunt took about 60,000 animals annually, but the numbers have risen steadily since the mid-1990s as demand increased from Europe’s fashion houses. The landed value of the hunt was pegged at $12 million last year, according to federal officials. The average price per pelt was $52.”