Growth is global...

The domestic outlook is bleak: the government's widespread spending cuts are all over the papers, we are all feeling the cold (literally) and retail sales are down for the second consecutive month in a row. But is the current frosty spell an indicator that it is set to be a long, cold winter?

Leaders within the retail industry gathered yesterday in Berlin for the World Retail Congress. Reuters reports that while most were downbeat about the outlook within the US and continental Europe, many were looking east for growth opportunities and in particular in the BRIC countries: Brazil, Russia, India and China. Sir Stuart Rose suggested that businesses could use the Internet to test these new markets at relatively low cost.  Drapers confirmed that online is Marks & Spencer’s largest store and that Rose indicated that M&S will use its existing online platform as the launchpad into new international markets. “For international markets the advance guard will go first but we will still open stores,” he told the World Retail Congress.

M&S isn't the only British retailer following this strategy. Drapers reported yesterday on River Island's recent deal with ASOS which will make its trend-led collections available across 170 countries. So, while the UK outlook may be bleak, there are opportunities for growth overseas. Fashionista is looking forward to seeing British fashion businesses make the most of their headstart online to gain entry to new international markets.

"Les Belges" at Paris Fashion Week

The Brussels Fashionista team was excited to have the opportunity to visit the Showroom "Les Belges" at the Paris Fashion Week.

For the first time, the Flanders Fashion Institute (FFI) and Wallonie-Bruxelles Design/Mode (WBDM) joined their forces to offer a common platform to young upcoming Belgian designers including NOOR D*IZAR, Marko Galovic and Schipper/Arques.

In total 14 designers, each with their own identity, presented their collections to international media and potential buyers. The Brussels Fashionista team was able to talk to most of the designers. All were aware that the key to success is not only talent, but a strong business sense - including understanding how best to protect their designs- are essential to make it in the competitive world of fashion. Their major concerns were reflected in their questions: "How can we protect our designs? How can we protect our brand? What are the legal implications of setting up an online store".

To help young emerging Belgian talent, the Brussels Fashionista team
will be working alongside the FFI to offer the much needed legal support to upcoming Belgian designers. Fashionista and the FFI will together, organize seminars for new design talent topics such as "Protection of creativity in Fashion" and "The opportunities and threats of online stores and social media". 

Fashionista is delighted to be working with the next generation of fashion designers on both sides of the Channel, both in the UK and Brussels.



BIBA is back!

Times may be hard, but it's always nice to read a good news story for a change. Fashionista can't be the only person to notice that the legedary BIBA brand has been revived exclusively at House of Fraser. According to the Guardian, despite the current talk of spending custs and recession, the brand's relaunch has been a hit - with sales of more than £500,000 in the first fortnight.

The new range has been designed by Barbara Hulanicki, the founder of the original BIBA store in Kensington back in 1964. In fact the re-launch has gone so well, House of Fraser has suggested that they may launch stand alone stores. Let's hope the resurgence of the brand continues - it just goes to show that  certain brands can live on even without any trade, and be resuscitated with the right product. With the weather on the turn, Biba's faux-fur coats have caught Fashionista's eye!

London Fashion Week - the story so far . . .

Fashionista was thrilled to receive an invitation to see some of the most awe-inspiring and original catwalk shows at London Fashion Week this week. Donning her Jimmy Choos she hotfooted it to see Louise Gray, Mary Katrantzou and Holly Fulton's Spring/Summer 2011 collections hit the runway and came out positively drooling.

The gorgeous patchwork dresses and bottle top decorated skirts from Louise Gray definitely left Fashionista wanting to "Get Some Stuff" (the name of Louise's show) and Mary Katrantzou blew everyone away in the fabulous venue at the Old Eurostar terminal with her amazing digital print dresses and "lampshade" skirts which were so beautiful Fashionista didn't know whether she should wear them or frame them - although Fashionista has of course opted to do the former!

It was then on to Holly Fulton's show where Fashionista was transported to St. Tropez with the glitterati. Holly's collection invoked thoughts of the sun, sand and of course cocktail hour. Gorgeous wide legged trousers and bold prints were the highlights along with the highly covetable necklaces which Fashionista is already saving up for.

Fashionista is happy to confirm that she is not discriminating and will be checking out what the boys are up to at the Tim Soar and James Long shows tomorrow. It's a hard life!

Emerging design talent at LFW

Fashionista is delighted to learn that top city law firm Olswang is providing much needed legal support to some of London’s best new fashion designers as part of its recent cooperation with the Centre for Fashion Enterprise (CFE), the pioneering business development platform that nurtures emerging fashion design talent. CFE boasts an impressive past roster of high profile names, including Erdem, Peter Pilotto, Richard Nicoll and Marios Schwab, and Olswang is now advising the latest designers on the CFE’s two-year Venture programme as they develop their labels on the international fashion stage.

Designer labels currently on the CFE’s two-year Venture programme include Meadham Kirchhoff, Christopher Raeburn, James Long, Louise Gray, Mary Katrantzou and Tim Soar; all of whom will be presenting their Spring 11 collections at London Fashion Week, having already received international acclaim from fashion buyers and editors alike. Mary Katrantzou and Meadham Kirchoff were recently announced as nominees for this year's British Fashion Awards in the category for "Emerging Talent Award - Ready to Wear".

The CFE's Venture programme was devised to support the growth of designer labels which have already secured an impressive list of stockists, and have created a buzz in the press. The programme encompasses the vital aspects involved in developing a fashion label as a business, and provides mentoring and high growth coaching from experienced industry specialists. In addition, the CFE’s one-season Pioneer programme offers an analytical business review to less mature fashion labels, enabling them to devise a longer term business strategy. Through Olswang's involvement in the scheme, designers benefit from free legal advice on commercial contracts, tax and copyright issues, and attend workshops on IP. As well as working with designers on the Venture and Pioneer schemes, Olswang maintains relationships with the designers post-CFE, including Hannah Marshall whose two year term ended in July. It is good to know that London's emerging design talent is in such capable hands!

It's Shoemania!

For those who missed Channel 4 News last night, Fashionista was very interested to hear that she was not alone in having a shoe addiction. The C4 report referred to data from Bain and Company which showed that in 2009 the overall luxury market shrank by 8 per cent, but that sales of luxury shoes only fell by 0.5 %. In addition, for this year, Bain predicts that luxury shoe sales will bounce back by around 5 %, above other categories of goods in the luxury market.  There could be a number of reasons for this: many women prefer to invest in shoes since, although your weight may fluctuate over the seasons, your shoe size is fairly reliable to remain the same. Also, since most women can't afford to dress themselves head to toe in a their favourite label, by teaming a pair of designer heels with a high street dress, they can achieve the glamorous look for less.

The resilient nature of shoes sale perhaps explains the rationale for Selfridges' decision to expand their shoe department, due to open on 16 September. The new retail space covers 35,000 square foot and will display 4,000 shoes from over 150 brands. A dangerous prospect for the Imelda Marcos inside all of us!

Not such a fairy tale ending for Miss Sixty

Fashionista followers will know that regardless of how beautiful she finds a pair of Jimmy Choos, Fashionista is all too aware that it's unwise to skip paying the rent to pay for that classic kitten heel as the landlord always has the final word.

This point will no doubt be ringing in the ears of the Miss Sixty and Energie fashion chain owners. Indeed the landlord Mourant, which owns the 135,300 sq ft Metquarter shopping centre in Liverpool where Miss Sixty occupied a 3,300 sq ft unit and Energie had a 3,089 sq ft store, of which both were on 10-year leases and guaranteed by Sixty UK's Italian parent company, Sixty SPA, has successfully challenged the Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) entered into by the retail owners. Mourant has claimed that the retail group and its Italian parent adopted a "cynical approach" to the CVA. During his submissions, counsel for Mourant said that Sixty SPA and Sixty UK were "perfectly aware" that the CVA would not work but proceeded with it because they knew that it would take the landlord around 18 months to challenge the CVA, and would take even longer in Italy.

However, lawyers for Vantis plc accountants attempted to put forward some revisions to the CVA which were refused by the High Court. Vantis argued that the claim by Mourant that the CVA "unfairly prejudices" its interests as a creditor of the UK retail group and that there were "material irregularities" in relation to the creditors' meeting would no longer be an issue if the CVA was amended. The judge refused the adjournment application and ruled that he had seen no evidence of the proposed amendments and was being asked to "to proceed on a wholly speculative and uncertain footing". Further, the judge ruled, the application was made at the "59th minute of the eleventh hour" which was far too late for there to be any prospect of the court agreeing to it.

This demonstrates once again that for retailers, getting landlords (usually the most significant unsecured creditor) on side can either make or break a CVA proposal. By way of a brief re-cap, a CVA is an agreement between a debtor and its creditors which, once it has been agreed by the requisite majorities of unsecured creditors (75% in value of those present and voting) and shareholders (a simple majority in value), becomes binding on all unsecured creditors who were entitled to vote at the creditors' meeting to approve it – even if those creditors voted against the proposal, or did not attend the meeting.

Under the CVA proposed by Sixty UK, the landlord did not have the benefit of a guarantor. Had the company gone into liquidation, the guarantor's obligations under the lease would have continued but under the CVA Sixty SPA can simply walk away.

So when Mourant's counsel roared "Fee Fi Fo Fum! I smell the blood of an unfairly prejudicial company voluntary agreement," during his submissions to the judge this week, the owners of Miss Sixty and Energie may have found themselves quaking in their kitten heels…