Fashion Industry News Roundup: 01/23/09

1.) Kanye West debuts his footwear collaboration with Louis Vuitton, and all I can see is Marc Jacobs in a skirt and neon-patterned tights.

“No, I didn’t say your tights were dope, I asked if you were smoking dope!”

Sorry LV, but when your head designer starts dressing like an escapee from Arkham Asylum, you’ve obviously got more problems than the economy.

In related pop-culture meets fashion news, film director Sophia Coppola has produced a new commercial for Dior Miss Cherie:

2.) Designers Opting for Safety in New Collections:
“Designers have unanimously chosen a safe, cheerful look to combat recession. This was the central theme emanating from an unusually short fashion week in Milan.”

The former global spending spree allowed men’s fashion designers to assume that perilously irrelevant collections (i.e. Prada’s frilly little tutus and halter-tops last fall . . . for men!) were mainstream worthy, so I guess we can all thank the economic crash for one thing — wearable men’s clothes! Roomy suits, 1920′s trousers, new wave lapels, conservative prints. I can fall in love with men’s design all over again.

Video clip below of Prada’s Fall 2009 collection — nary a tutu in sight:

3.) Gucci fakes brought to you by . . . Gucci?:
“The ex-wife of a deceased heir to fashion giant GUCCI has been accused of using her former husband’s name to make money on her own line of non-luxury products . . . executives at Gucci America claim Paolo Gucci’s former wife of 14 years, Jennifer, and her daughter, Gemma, have been selling skin care products, bedding and linens using the family name without its trademark.”

4.) But They’re Big in Siberia:
“‘There is a historic glut of goods,’ especially in clothing, says Irwin Jacobs, the former corporate raider who has been a wholesale liquidator for half a century. His Jacobs Trading Co., in Plymouth, Minn., has long sold outcasts to other resellers around the world. But only recently have his goods wound up in certain distant enclaves such as Siberia.”

The usual discount chains (TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Overstock.com) have been unable to move the huge glut of merchandise that suddenly frugal shoppers rejected this past season, so high-style is finding its way into the unlikeliest of places while selling for next to nothing. “‘Every retailer you can imagine has had inventory problems,’ said Hudson Salvage’s Mr. Roberts,” who also noted that the increase in discounted designer merchandise began in October and has only been growing.

In related news, Burberry cuts spending and jobs, while Coach reports an unprecedented 14% drop in net profit. Adidas also announced a near 3.5% cut in subsidiary Reebok’s workforce.

Sales across the board are so bad that LVMH has even stooped to offering a cheap cognac with Obama’s name plastered all over it in a desperate bid to generate sales: “The thriving trade in Obama-bilia just got boozier: Hennessy, the liqueur of choice for any self-respecting rapper, has issued a commemorative Obama cognac . . . LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton will offer 180,000 bottles at $30 each of its lower grade V.S. (Very Special) cognac.”

5.) Armani bitch slaps Dolce & Gabbana over ‘Trousergate’:
“Armani, the godfather of Italian haute couture, claims the fashion duo (Dolce & Gabbana) came up with a pair of purple quilted trousers which are an almost exact copy of a design he unveiled on the catwalk last year . . . “The quilted trousers of disagreement” ran the headline in La Repubblica in what is being described as the biggest schism between two world famous fashion houses since Yves Saint Laurent sued Ralph Lauren in the early 1990s for ripping off the design of a black tuxedo dress.”

Armani on the left, Dolce & Gabbana on the right

Expect this type of thing to happen a lot more as global sales shrink. Where imitation on the catwalk used to be considered flattery, it’s now grounds for a lawsuit.

6.) Roberto Cavalli Gets Equity Cash Infusion:
“High profile Italian fashion designer Roberto Cavalli is set to sell a 20% stake in the company to private equity firm Clessidra SGR SpA . . . Italian fashion companies, often still run by the founding families, are under pressure to bring in outside capital or management as competition mounts from major luxury conglomerates such as France’s LVMH.”

Both the houses of Prada and Salvatore Ferragamo were planning to go public just last year, but have put those plans on hold. That doesn’t mean they don’t still need the cash, however. Cash strapped independent fashion houses will find themselves under increasing pressure to either accept controlling stakes in their businesses (such as with Roberto Cavalli), or merge with larger corporate interests.

Video clip below for Roberto Cavalli Spring 2009 collection:

UPDATE:

Where You Won’t Shop in 2009:
Forbes puts together a list of retailers facing trouble this year, including such well-known names as Eddie Bauer, Sears and K-Mart, but the money quote for me was this one: “More pain is on the way. One-third of U.S. women recently surveyed by America’s Research Group said they plan no clothing purchases–none–in 2009. Normally, it’s just 4%. That means the market is still far too saturated with stores.”

The number of women stating that they won’t be purchasing any clothing at all jumped from 4% to 33% . . . in one year! The article also mentions that Starbucks might be closing hundreds of locations as discretionary income dries up and consumers (*gasp*) start saving rather than spending.

UPDATE 2:

Hell has officially frozen over: French rivals bury handbag hatchet

“Mr Arnault, chairman and chief executive of LVMH, the luxury goods company, and Mr Pinault, founder of PPR, the retail group headed by Mr Pinault’s son, François-Henri, met this week at a peace lunch brokered by Albert Frère at the Belgian billionaire’s home . . . ‘As France heads towards recession, Mr Sarkozy wants to steady the ship of corporate France and doesn’t want two of its most prominent businessmen still in a stand-off,’ they said.”

In other words, the global luxury business has gone so sour that the two largest luxury rivals have to beat their swords into ploughshares . . .