In The News (Page 8)

The Internet and luxury have always been sort of mutually exclusive. The Internet is broad, democratic, and welcomes all kinds; it has changed the way that consumers interact with corporations in fundamental ways that are constantly evolving. Luxury brands are narrow, elitist, and target a very specific clientele. They require a bit of mystery and aloofness in order to be aspirational and make their traditional brand identities work, and they’re generally not interested in changing how their companies interact with…well, anyone. “The way it has always been done” is idealized and worshiped in an almost religious way, and even though many below-the-surface practices have evolved in recent years (most notably, manufacturing), the way that brands want you to perceive them has remained largely untouched for decades.

But the problem with this whole Internet thingamabob is that it’s kind of insidious and it’s changing the way that people of a variety of incomes and social standings shop and inform themselves about potential purchases. Fashion shows are no longer private events for an elite group of celebrities, editors, and clients; they’re presentations of goods that can often be seen in their entirety by average customers within minutes of their completion. There may be exclusivity left in the invitation to attend a show, but not in the information that one gains by attending.

I am trying to be as open minded as possible but truly having a hard time. I came across this video and had to share with you all as I saw it being a very interesting blog debate. Pet groomer, Danelle German, found many of her clients bringing in their Persian cats and asking for their hair to be shaved off. Danelle German thought it was a waste to let the Persian hair go into the garbage can, so she decided to turn the cat hair into a handbag. After borrowing a spinning wheel from a friend, she began spinning the hair into yarn and then knitted the cat hair yarn into a handbag.

Another major design house has joined the world of social media. As of August 1st, Yves Saint Laurent became official on both Twitter and Facebook to reach out with their fans and share news on fashion shows, products, special products and events, campaigns, and celebrity dressing.

Also, Yves Saint Laurent released the fifth edition of Manifesto featuring Christy Turlington, which was photographed by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin. The Manifesto will be distributed in the streets of Paris, New York, Milan, London, Tokyo, Hong Kong and for the first time in Seoul on Saturday, September 12, 2009. We will bring you more on the Manifesto when it goes live.

Barneys New York took a major leap in a recent window display. But the chances they took on this window display may have cost them more than they thought. The mannequins in the Barneys window were dressed to kill, with a blood splattered window display and mannequins being attacked while wearing Helmut Lang and A.L.C..

The display did not stay up long. Once Racked.com covered the display, news stations were calling Barneys to ask about it. Though Simon Doonan, creative director of Barneys, was out of town as the display went up, he said this crossed the line and compared it to “someone seeing a bad Hitchcock movie.” Be assured heads will be rolling from creative display team after this incident. [More via NY Daily News]

With all the recent news about swine flu, everyone has clean hands on their mind. We use our hands all day everyday. There was a recent study that is not entirely shocking but rather disturbing. I am going to go out on a limb and say that most handbag lovers on Purse Blog and Purse Forum are entirely conscious of keeping their bags clean and off the ground. Either way, our hands pick up germs everyday and our handbags are on the receiving end of man-handling our most prized accessories. So keep your hands clean and your handbags in turn may stay a bit cleaner. The other other advice given is to wipe down your bag with a sanitizing wipe and not place your bag on the ground. What do you think?

We wanted to find out what kind of germs a woman’s bag might pick up along the course of a day. A lab tested more than two dozen handbags for traces of various bacteria. Even the scientist who conducted the tests was surprised at what she found.

“I had no idea that it would be that much bacteria,” said microbiologist Amy Karren of Nelson Labs.

This was not just the harmless kind of bacteria you find around your house, this was the kind that makes you sick.

“We found pseudomonas, staphylococcus aureus, E-coli family and salmonella”, she said.

Pseudomonas can cause eye infections, staph aureus can cause skin infections and E-coli and salmonella can cause serious intestinal problems.

The test found leather or vinyl purses were generally cleaner than cloth bags and women with kids tend to have dirtier purses than singles.

[Article Via]

Yesterday the world lost arguably the biggest pop star in the world. A man that redefined the music industry as we know it today, the world is remembering Michael Jackson. While many mourn, many are playing his music and remember the musical genius. Michael Jackson sold 3/4 of a billion albums, was known for his moonwalk, was in the music scene for 40 years of his 50 year life, and became known for his fashion choices such as his glittered glove. His influence on the music industry can be seen by many of the artists we listen to today and his fashion choices influenced the world of fashion as well.

The Rebecca Minkoff Matinee flaps on either end of the bag were designed after the legendary red leather jacket Michael Jackson wore in his Thriller video. We covered this bag before when we first saw the resemblance, which was then affirmed by Rebecca. Without knowing it, Michael Jackson’s influence made its way into the handbag world.

A small way for us to say we will remember the King of Pop. Rest in peace Michael Jackson.

What are we buying when we buy a luxury good? Are we buying a brand name, a well-made product, or an item to ensure that others think a certain way about us when they see it? For most high-end consumers, it’s probably some combination of those options.

Many customers would claim that they buy only for the quality that these products provide, but the reaction of some customers to the recent announcement of Jimmy Choo’s collaboration with H&M seems to run contrary to those claims. Some people were excited to see what the partnership would create, but many Choo loyalists voiced the opinion that the brand was losing something by creating a temporary line for a low-end retailer.

Choo’s fans aren’t the first to scowl at the idea of their favorite label creating an inexpensive product line, and they’ll be far from the last. What seems to be unique about this occasion, though, is that Jimmy Choo is the most broadly known brand yet to dabble in mass-market, low-price retail. So far, many small or independent designers have used the tactic as a way to broaden their name recognition and, potentially, their customer base. Choo, though, is a brand with a pretty clear image in the minds of most women with any sort of fashion consciousness or desire for expensive shoes.

So what happens when a brand with a large following and a seemingly healthy business decides that they want to dabble in the desires of Middle America? Well, according to Robin Givhan of the Washington Post, it means that luxury as we know it is dead.