PPR Buys Majority Stake In Forbes China Fashion 50 List Member Qeelin

PPR, the French global fashion giant whose brands include Gucci, has acquired a majority stake in Hong Kong-based luxury jewelry chain Qeelin, in a move that underscores the growing importance of Chinese brands and purchasing power in the industry. 

Qeelin’s chairman Dennis Chan was a member of the “Influential Chinese in Global Fashion” list published last year by Forbes China, the licensed Chinese-language edition of Forbes. (See link here.)

Founded in 2004, Qeelin is among the first Chinese luxury jewellers to operate an international network of stores worldwide. Qeelin  currently has 14 boutiques worldwide, including seven in the mainland, four in Hong Kong and three in Europe. It competes in Greater China with larger businesses such Tiffany from the U.S. and Chow Tai Fook, the Hong Kong-based company controlled by billionaire Cheng Yu-tung.

The transaction should be finalized in January 2013, according to a PPR statement on Sunday.  It didn’t say how much PPR paid.

Fashion's 2012 headline makers: from Hedi Slimane to Isabel Marant

A high-fashion faceoff
One of the stories of the year was the showdown this fall during the Spring/Summer 2013 prêt-à-porter shows between the new design heads of Yves Saint Laurent and Christian Dior. Make no mistake about it: this was not a fight initiated by either one of the designers.

Both were presenting their first new ready-to-wear lines for their respective labels (Dior fans had already had a glimpse into Raf Simons' universe with his Couture show in June). The two creative directors were faced with a difficult task: reinterpreting the classic YSL and Dior pieces, but avoiding accusations of ‘playing it safe'.

Raf Simons at Christian Dior
The debut ready-to-wear Dior collection of Belgian designer Raf Simons, who had been at Jil Sander since 2005 (upon his departure, Jil Sander herself returned to her namesake label) was one that was hotly anticipated. The live-streamed Dior show started late but went off without a hitch. Simons updated the classic Dior shapes with his own minimalist tendencies and an astute use of color and fabric. Soundtracked with warm Detroit house by DJ legend Carl Craig, the collection offered a smart selection of evening separates.  

Hedi Slimane at YSL
Slimane had already come under attack for his decision to move Yves Saint Laurent's design team to his adopted home of Los Angeles, and for his rebranding of the ready-to-wear lines. The Yves was lopped off, and Saint Laurent (with a seen-but-not-heard ‘Paris') was re-born.

Fashion's biggest names were in attendance at the Grand Palais as Slimane's Saint Laurent show went west, moving from 1970s Paris to hippie California with luxurious ease. Flowing kaftans in black and gold, and rock 'n' roll inspired looks were paraded by models hidden under wide-brimmed hats.

Despite his success Slimane's discontent with his supposed detractors in the press was still bubbling nearly two months after the show, with Saint Laurent CEO Paul Deneve writing an open letter to WWD accusing the publication of sensationalism - "I regret that the best-known and oldest trade journal in the fashion industry should reduce the collective talent of all designers showing in Paris to a so-called duel between two fashion houses and two men."

With apologies to Monsieur Deneve, the Slimane versus Simons battle was the fashion story of the year - excitement, intrigue and two great designers taking on two great legacies.

Isabel Marant
There were plenty of fantastic collections in 2012 in which designers made their mark on the fashion world. Up and coming stars like Anthony Vaccarello and Pedro Lourenço were standout young designers from Paris, and Balenciaga's Nicolas Ghesquière proved he still had something new to say with a directional last collection for the brand.

Isabel Marant's namesake label has been around since 1994, but in 2012 the label continued to bloom despite the global downturn. An enormous success in Japanese multi-brand stores, Marant opened her first standalone boutique in Japan in August this year, which also features a showroom and studio. The brand now has stores in France, Spain, the USA, Lebanon, Hong Kong and China and continues to extent its reach.
While her famous wedge sneakers were first released in 2010, 2012 was they year that they (and plenty of high-street copies) were on the feet of all and sundry.

Carven
Carven has left its haute couture legacy behind, hiring young French designer Guillaume Henry in 2009 in order to focus on "inspired and affordable ready-to-wear clothes". As style.com's Nicole Phelps puts it - "In the three years Guillaume Henry has headed up Carven, he's established new codes for the old couture house with surprising swiftness and confidence."

2012 was the year that Henry added another string to his bow, with the brand's updated menswear collection on sale at the beginning of the year. Prior to the label's rebirth, Carven Homme had provided dependable office wear for bourgeois chaps, but Guillaume Henry has completely rethought the menswear offer to commercial and critical acclaim.

Sparkle and shimmer like The Great Gatsby's Daisy Buchanan this party season - no under-wiring required.

STYLIST TIPS
• This look is about geometric-patterned dresses in show-stopping fabrics. Think Daisy Buchanan in The Great Gatsby. The patterns reflect the era's obsession with tribal art and design.

• Look for dresses with dropped waists that skim the hips. The silhouette is androgynous and slender.

• Consider long ropes of pearls, sequin earrings in art deco shapes, beaded clutches and dainty metallic-sheen shoes. Faux-fur and feathers are having their moment, too.

Fashion footage

Snug toes. Check. Sole comfort. Check. Sizzling style. Check. Winter fashionistas in the capital are in step with global footwear trends.

Ankle-length lady boots in faux suede and leather, with clunky heels or stilettos or without, are scorching the fashion high street.

Giving them company are sporty canvas pairs, stylish sneakers, girly ballerinas, flirty leatherettes, elegant closed toe pumps and wedges.

No, this is not the season to flaunt your perfect pedicure.

Socks? Only if you're cheerleading Team Mahi at the Ranchi ODI on January 19.

To get your feet their fashion fix, head to Fashion Planet, Shoe Bazar and Woodland outlets.

Fork out anything from a cool Rs 600 to a haute Rs 7,000 for your purrfect winter pair.

Outlet owners vouch for the fact that winter boots in pink, black, brown, cream are giving foot fashion a whole new march.

Says Sanjeev Singh, proprietor of Woodland, GEL Church Complex: "We have brought fresh stocks of winter boots for college students and young professionals. They love pink and black."

Boots are perfect for the festive Xmas-New Year party mood, Singh adds.

"We have three stores in the city where these boots have a high demand. Women don't mind shelling out Rs 5,000-Rs 7,000 for them," he says.

Budget shoppers high on style can go to Shoe Bazar near Firayalal Chowk to snag that snazzy foot look for anything between Rs 700 and Rs 1,000.

Rashi Singh, a second-year PYT of St Xavier's College, agrees. "Boots are so in. They go so well with winter trenches and hoodies. Boots add charm to our overall personality." she smiles.

Rashi and her friends have planned their New Year partywear already. "Black faux fur coat. Black ankle boots with a side zip," she says.

Victoria's Secret Fashion Show: 10 best moments

Tuesday night's Victoria's Secret Fashion Show was chock full of buxom beauties, bedazzled bras and Beliebers.

The sexiest night on television opened with a bang and kept its momentum alive throughout the show thanks to the musical stylings of Rihanna, Bruno Mars and Justin Bieber.
Photos: 2012 Victoria's Secret fashion show
Here are the top 10 moments of the night:

1. Circus Act
Ringmaster Adriana Lima opened the show in style. After the shock wore off that it was humanly possible to be that fit two months after giving birth, I became more aware of the show's aesthetics.
A bizarre song mix and circus motif, marked by the Angels' mime and clown costumes and professional aerial contortionists, made the first runway walk truly memorable. As The Doors' "Break on Through (To the Other Side)" blended into Missy Elliott's "Get Ur Freak On," I had a clear vision of what the rest of the night would hold: rock & roll and sex.

2. Diamonds and Lace
Even with a bevy of semi-naked ladies strutting beside her, Rihanna managed to steal the show with her first performance of the night. Wearing a black, strapless, corseted dress, the songstress was dressed more demurely than usual but sill looked smokin' hot thanks to her gown's high slit and garters.
EW.com: Rihanna, Bieber and more perform at Victoria's Secret Fashion Show

3. The Show Must Go On
In the most dramatic moment of the night, an Angel lost her ... hat. The behind-the-scenes cameras followed model Erin Heatherton backstage as a team of stylists struggled to pin her top hat to her head. Dressed as "baby New Year" to open the calendar girls segment of the show, a reluctant Heatherton was forced to take the plunge with an incomplete look. How could the audience possibly have known that she represented January without that pink hat?

4. Retro Fit
Bruno Mars may have been singing "Locked Out of Heaven," but he was surrounded by Angels on stage. Accompanied by a live band, Mars fit the part of an old-school musician in the 1950s-themed calendar girls segment. He probably landed on Santa's naughty list by flirting with the scantily clad Mrs. Claus, but we love him just the way he is.

5. Bieber Fever
Before the barely-legal Biebs hit the stage, he salivated over the girls coming off the runway backstage while the VS Angels sang his praises to the camera. If that wasn't disturbing enough, the models also swooned in the background during his performances.
EW.com: Victoria's Secret pink carpet pics

6. Making a Belieber Out of You
The pop sensation's acoustic rendition of "As Long As You Love Me" was the only performance of the night not accompanied by a runway show. I was surprised by the age appropriateness of the act until the Pink Ball commenced and the teen broke into "Beauty and a Beat." Nicki Minaj wasn't there to show off her assets so Bieber resorted to exchanging smoldering glances with the models instead.

7. Pop Culture Pizzazz
Aside from Bieber's futuristic "3012″ space look, a few other odd outfits caught my eye during the Pink Ball. There was Dorothy from "The Wizard of Oz," who was business in the front, party in the back; a sexy Buzz Lightyear from "Toy Story"; and an angel in a bicycle handlebar-ed vest, prompting the question, "can you ride your bike with no handlebars?"

8. Silver Screen Sirens
Mars returned to the stage for a performance of "Young Wild Girls" in my favorite segment of the night. The wings -- along with feather plumes, headdresses and sequins -- finally came out as the girls strutted their stuff in the show's most extravagant costumes. Whether evoking old Hollywood glamour or Renaissance decadence, the girls dazzled in diamonds and slow-motion sequences. Yes, the Angels are young and wild, but Rihanna's "Diamonds" would have been a more appropriate song choice.
EW.com: 11 years of fantasy bras from 'Victoria's Secret Fashion Show'

9. Model Behavior
The show featured a short segment spotlighting South African model and Italian Vogue cover girl Candice Swanepoel. Aside from allowing her to be both seen and heard (it's safe to say that she didn't attend the Milford School), the video was further proof that Victoria's Secret should change its name to Model United Nations.

10. Angels in Bloom
After changing into a sheer, lingerie-style getup, Rihanna closed the show with her new single "Fresh Off the Runway." She faded more into the background this time around due to the trapeze acts and life-size flowers barging down the runway. Of course, Alessandra Ambrosio looked flawless in her $2.5 million floral fantasy bra (now that's a push-up!). I initially thought the bra was too over-the-top, even by VS standards, but it fit the floral theme and looked relatively ordinary compared to her stunning, over-sized orchid wings.

Although a lesser known flower (and model), Lily Aldridge won the prize for the most adorable costume of the segment with a tiger lily skit with lily pad wings. Claude Monet must have been stirring in his grave.

Fashion brands attend first NZ online fashion workshop

With online retailing the hottest topic throughout the business world, DHL Express and Fashion Industry New Zealand (FINZ) have brought together some of New Zealand’s most powerful and fashionable fashion brands together for a one day workshop: Online Fashion Success.

"With significant retail growth in online fashion retailing, all brands need to be looking at how to maximize their sales online, but this doesn’t come without significant challenges in logisitics, ecommerce and shipping," said Paul Blomfield, Chairman of FINZ.

"Clearly it has become essential that all fashion brands need to be selling online in some shape or form, and The Online Success Workshop is designed to give our fashion businesses expert guidance from some of the industry’s most experienced professionals," he said.

The line-up of speakers is impressive, ranging from the DHL Express Fashion Export Scholarship Winner I Love Ugly, top fashion designer brand Trelise Cooper, lingerie powerhouse Bendon and childrenswear retailer Pumpkin Patch, a company that has become one of the regions most powerful online brands.
Other speakers include New Zealand Customs, Amblique and Temando.

DHL Express Country Manager Tim Baxter said that they’ve identified several key issues that make for online retail success;

"For example, companies delivering apparel in 1-3 days have a higher conversion rate and 30% lower returns rate than slower shipping options. Online shoppers also valued live tracking data available via their shop account login instead of chasing emails."

"These are the kind of things apparel brands need to take into account if they’re to succeed online," he said.

The seminar has attracted a powerful group of 40 fashion brands and retailers including:
Barkers, Bendon, Cotton On, Deadly Ponies, Deadstock, Emma Highfield, Esteem Jewellery, Glassons, Hallensteins, Huffer, I Love Ugly, Icebreaker, Ingrid Starnes, James Dunlop, Juliette Hogan, Kathryn Wilson, Katmandu, Maaike Clothing, Mardle, Meadowlark, Northbeach, Paula Ryan, Saben, Sophie Boxer, Trelise Cooper, Turet Knuefermann, Verge, Wallace Cotton, Wildpair and Zambesi.

To accommodate the overwhelming response, the venue was changed from the original smaller Mt Eden venue, to the larger Mantells on the Water, Westhaven Drive, Auckland.

Since its creation a mere 10 days ago, the Facebook page Online Fashion Success has amassed over 1,000 likes - proving that New Zealand brands and consumers are eager to for the online shopping scene to improve in the country.

More glamour than business at fashion week

Candolim (Goa), Dec 2 (IANS) From Indian names including Zeenat Aman, Bipasha Basu, Genelia D'Souza, Shazahn Padamsee to International fashion icons like Paris Hilton, Miss Paraguay Leryn Franco and Nicole Huber, the second edition of India Resort Fashion Week (IRFW) was more about glamour than business.

With as many as 30 shows, the four-day festival that was divided into three areas - 'The Fashion Show', 'The Fashion Village' and 'The Music Festival', concluded here Saturday with a energetic performance by Paris, who visited the country for the second time.

The first edition witnessed 15 designers showcasing their talent, but the second edition had more names.

Some of the established names part of fashion fest were Narendra Kumar, Neeta Lulla, Arjun and Anjalee Kapoor, Pria Kataaria Puri, James Ferreira, Falguni and Shane Peacock, Rocky S and Babita Malkani.

When asked why there were lesser established names this year, Mumbai-based designer Narendra Kumar said that people in India were little exposed to trends in resort wear.

"I think I understand the value of the resort week, other people probably do not understand or cannot make clothes that are different from one collection to other. Its important that I participated and am sure there will be more designers who will enjoy the mix of fun, fashion and music together in the coming days," he told IANS.

"I think the resort trend is relevant to India. It is one kind of clothing that is perfect across India. It is probably the best thing one could do," Kumar added.

Unlike last season, this fashion week was organised in open air, giving more space for designers to showcase their creativity.

While space was provided, there were hardly any collection displayed for the buyers. Almost all the stalls were empty, and there was much leisure and chatting.

Shane and Flaguni Peacock, who were the finale designers for the fashion week, said that organising a resort week is surely going to help the Indian fashion world.

"Resort week is definitely a good thing to do for Indian market and it was our gut feeling that made us say yes to this event," said the designer duo, who rarely participate in Indian fashion weeks because of their international commitments.

Amit Patel from E-Sense entertainment, who brought some of the international names, including Paris, said that buyers from around the globe had flown in to see the collection.

"Indian fashion is much more appreciated outside India and with IRFW we strive to create a platform for all aspiring designers to showcase their talent globally. It's a perfect blend of music and fashion. Also there has been a lot of business as buyers from around the globe have flown in to watch the collection," said Patel.

Visitors at the IRFW seemed more drawn to the music than the fashion.
The four-day event, which began Wednesday, had a robust line-up of Indian and international disc jockeys (DJs).

From Indian DJs like Vijay Chawla, Anish Sood and Clement D'Souza to international names like Sidney Samson, Dimitri Vegas, Like Mike and of course Paris Hilton, the music definitely attracted one and all.