IPO's have been a major topic of conversation recently. Michael Kors and Prada successfully went public a little while back and of course, the controversy surrounding Facebook's entry onto the stock market has meant that it's a topic that's not going away any time soon. Now it looks like Versace might follow suit.
It's no secret that the family-owned business flirted with the idea of going public back in 1997 but after the death of Gianni Versace and a string of financial problems, any such discussions fell apart. But things are really turning around for the house. This year marked the first time it has been profitable since 2009, which it marked with a return to couture in January after an eight-year hiatus. If there was ever a time to appeal to potential investors, then, it's now.
With Facebook's falling stock price, Mark Zuckerberg hasn't been out of the headlines over the past week but his new wife is also creating headlines. Over the weekend his Priscilla Chan married the social media mogul wearing Claire Pettibone, creating a surge in interest in the brand.
Ever since the image of the dress hit the net this week, Pettibone has been inundated with requests. According to WWD, the designer has been overrun with phone calls from buyers trying to get their hands on the dress and unsurprisingly, orders have poured in and the website went from an average of 1,500 daily unique users to 26,000.
Despite joining Pinterest reluctantly, I'm now addicted and by the sounds of it you are too. The third most popular social network platform has quickly grown into a real force to be reckoned with and now brands are seeing it as another area worth investing in. Mashable recently reported that the site has become a major traffic driver to e-commerce sites but nothing had been done to measure whether that actually results in sales. Now we know.
Shopify did some investigating and discovered that Pinterest refers as much traffic to retailers as Twitter and Facebook but people are 10% more likely to purchase something directed from Pinterest than any other social networking platform. This says a lot. Considering that Facebook drives more traffic to these sites, it suggests that there's something unique to Pinterest that drives people to actually want to purchase something rather than browsing.
Don’t pay attention to fashion naysayers, Mr. Zuckerberg! I wore black crewnecks, black jackets and jeans before my IPO and I continue to do so after. It’s your talent, vision and performance that people are interested in.
Mark Zuckerberg has been pretty busy recently. The Facebook founder recently bought Instagram for a reported $1 billion and last week he was plastered all over the headlines as he took Facebook public and mind you, all of this took place before he celebrated his 28th birthday.
Despite all of the achievements, the fashion press have been less interested with the company and more concerned about poking fun at his 'uniform'. Anyone that has followed him over the years will know that he rarely, if ever, departs from his signature baggy jeans, t-shirt and hoodie combo and with an estimated $100 billion coming his way from all the new deals, people can't help but talk about whether the Harvard drop-out will finally decide to upgrade.
You'll be pleased to know that he did just that on Saturday when he tied the knot with his long-time girlfriend, Priscilla Chan. According to US Weekly, guests at the wedding believed that they were coming to celebrate Chan's graduation from medical school only to be told on arrival that the wedding was taking place.
When I posted this image of Crystal Renn at the 9th annual spring dinner dance yesterday on our Facebook page, not many of you were impressed with her new look. Talking to Fashionista at the event the model said that rather than being for a job, the new look was just because she wanted to experiment with something different. 'I was having a Gemini moment,' she said. 'It means that you can get bored and you want a bit of a change. So I would say besides having projects in the works, that I wanted something new myself so I decided to keep it.'
But as the picture shows, it's not only her hair that got the colour treatment. 'I’m in a place where I want to play with my look and because my eyebrows are such a prominent feature I thought it would be interesting to mix it with the white in my hair. I have very thick brows and to have thick white brows, it was very appealing to me. I wanted to do blond in a different way. I technically have white in my hair,' she explained. 'As a brunette, I felt very comfortable. It was the color I’d been my whole life. What I like is the challenge of full time being a different person in a way–and integrating my personality in what started out as a character. There’s this fusing going on right now that is very interesting. Because the first day that it happens you look in the mirror you don’t know who you are. But a few days on, I’m starting to feel like myself, blond or not. And that’s how I should feel.'
If - like us - you like a good bargain, you'll be pleased to know that Cocosa have launched yet another big sale featuring amazing pieces from brands like Calvin Klein, Temperley and Costume National. But there's a catch. The sale closes in 1hour so check it out now. Even if you're not a member, you can still take advantage of the sale by using out special invite code 'festival' to gain access.
To keep in the loop of their upcoming sales, like them on Facebook today here.
Kohl's aren't the only retailer finding themselves in a pickle due to an unforeseen events occurring before a big marketing push. Levi's are the current victims. Yesterday they announced that the UK release of their first advertising campaign, named 'Go Forth', has been stalled after fears of insensitivity as the ads include images of rioting similar to the footage we've seen taking place in London this week.
Despite releasing the image yesterday morning on Facebook, the brand have announced that the ad will not appear on TV as expected. 'It's a little risky to embrace youthful rebellion in advertising right now, given that the real-world examples involve so much looting and burning,' Adweek said. When questioned about the decision to pull the ads, a spokesperson from the brand made it clear that it was the right thing to do. 'We are deeply disheartened about the unprecedented events taking place in the UK at the moment and which have impacted communities across the country," they said. 'While Go Forth is about embodying the energy and events of our time, it is not about any specific movement or political theme; rather, it’s about optimism, positive action and a pioneering spirit. Out of sensitivity for what is happening in the UK, we have temporarily postponed our cinema and Facebook spots in the country.'
In today's digital age it's hard to find a brand that doesn't have a social media presence. Burberry continue to pioneer with all things live streaming and DKNY and Oscar de la Renta are well known for their Twitter accounts but Vera Wang is leading the pack in the Facebook stakes. According to data compiled by Stylophane, the brand updates their page more than any other and has 136 updates in May alone. BCBG came second with 111 times and Dolce & Gabbana coming third with 81.
I think it's safe to say that nobody was impressed by the new logo that Gap revealed last week so it didn't come as a suprise that they've already decided to scrap it.
According to bosses at the brand, the logo change was to help move Gap from their "classic, American design, to modern, sexy cool". After recieveing several compaints and criticisms on Facebook, the brand claimed that they were only experimenting and "crowd sourcing" but have since confirmed that they will not go ahead with the new design.
