In sad news, this morning it was announced that Luella Bartley's fashion label Luella, will not continue to trade. According the announcement, Club 21, the global licensee who has been working with Bartely since 2003, decided to pull out from working with the brand. In a statement, VSG Ltd, the subsidiary of Club 21, revealed that they had ‘taken the decision not to invest further in its relationship with Luella Bartley Limited.’
After the success of her Spring/Summer 2010 collection, the news has left many in shock. 'This is a very disappointing situation for everyone involved with the brand,' the designer said. 'I very much appreciate the support that VSQ has given me, but it is upsetting not to be able to protect jobs in this difficult economic climate. We have a number of options open to us, and are considering these over the coming months.'
However, despite the critical success of her recent collection, recent reports have shed light to the fact that the brand's factory unexpectedly closed month as a result of the current economy, which will prevent the brand from meeting their orders for the SS10 collection.
We all knew the cuts at Condé Nast were coming but nobody expected that they would affect those in senior positions. As a result of the aim to reduce budgets across the board by 25%, Condé Nast boses have put pressure on editors and publishers to cut back on costs in whatever way they see fit.
Result? This week, the layoffs at the publishing house were revealed and Style.com's Executive Fashion Director Candy Pratts Price was one of the ones to go. Accordig to sources, her contract will not be renewed when it expires at the beginning of next year. However, reports claim that she will keep her position as a contributing editor at Vogue.
Glamour has reportedly let a least 12 people go including deputy editor Ellen Seidman and production director Paul Karmer.
The huge Trey Seegle painting spelling out the word 'YES' at the back of the runway, truly set the tone of the Stella McCartney Spring/Summer collection. Gone was the pessimistic and over-intellectualised response to the current economic climate that we saw from New York to Milan last season. Instead, McCartney opted for feminine, fun pieces that oozed optimism.
"I want women to feel happy," she told Style.com backstage. "There's been a lot of sternness on the runway and I just kind of wanted to disperse all of that and just bring a summer energy."
Despite reported financial trouble, Thakoon had a hard a good year. Like Jason Wu, the designer got a big boost due to a certain First Lady wearing his clothes. Unfrotunately, it looks seems like that hasn't been enough for the designer financially. According to Fashionologie, last week he told Cathy Horn that he ended up buying a lot of 'crinkled jacquard and printing it in different patterns' that he can use for future seasons as way of cutting costs.
After news that Patricia Field is experiencing cut backs in the wardrobe department of 'Ugly Betty', all we can do is hope that the economy will not reach the new 'Sex and The City' movie.
However, I can't help but feel anxious after seeing the outfits Sarah Jessica Parker and Cynthia Nixon wore during filming this week.
Recent reports claimed that Teen Vogue have cut the accessories director position. However, the spokesperson of the magazine has been quick to squash the rumour, saying that the position has not been eliminated. According to The Cut, Teen Vogue accessories staff, Sarah Kuhn will take over from accessories director, Taylor Tomasi Hill, who is leaving the magazine to work at Marie Claire.
Denim has been all over the runways over the last few seasons.Balmain's S/S 09 collection full of white wash slashed denim being a case in point. If the thought of spending £1,200 on a pair of stylish jeans makes your stomach turn, fear not.
Never ones to miss out on a big trend, at the end of the month high street retailer New Look is launching Yes Yes, their new line of denim.
The collection boasts everything from your ultra skinny jeans to your bootcut and low rise styles. The collection is available is sizes 8-26 and comes in both tall and maternity sizes to suit all body types.
The Yes Yes line is available in all New Look stores nationwide at the end of August.
The past few months have been pretty hard for US Vogue. As previously reported, the ad pages for their September issue have dropped by 36% from last year, with ELLE beating them in pages for the first time.
In light of these problems, recent reports claim that the magazine is quietly revamping. "Think a new circle of models, an influx of fresh, young photographers and a desire for 'unpredictability' in the stories."
The credit crunch hasn't reached Russia if the latest issue of Vogue Russia is anything to go by. Where most magazines are being cautious of price points and even US Vogue is following suit, Vogue Russia appears to be moving the opposite way. The latest cover showcases diamonds after diamonds on model Dree Hemingway.
Anna Wintour is not the only editor absent at the couture shows this week. British Vogue editor-in-chief Alexandra Schulman was also MIA from the action.
Is haute couture becoming irrelevant due to the problems with the economy or does their absence signal that closing the September issues in today's climate have proved particularly difficult?
