Portfolio.com: Fashion Inc.

Morning Hemlines: Mervyn's, Fred Leighton, Imitation of Christ, Holidays, Luxury Ads, Vintage

Sara Clemence — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 15:19:02 GMT

Cerberus Capital Management and the other private equity investors in department store chain Mervyn's made $250 million off the deal--even though the company is shutting down, and 18,000 workers being laid off. (WSJ)

Analysts foresee a grim holiday season for retailers. (NY Post)

Fashion firms are cutting costs, like we said months ago. (WWD)

Fred Leighton creditor Merrill Lynch Mortgage Capital says the jeweler could run out of money by the end of the year and wants owner Ralph Esmerian out. (WWD)

Imitation of Christ is folding. (Racked)

New York's vintage and thrift stores are seeing a surge in business. (NY Daily News)

British retailers are stepping up the markdowns. (FT)

Luxury brands, including Graff Diamonds, are cutting back on ad spending. (NY Times)

-Sara Clemence

Morning Hemlines: Steve & Barry's, Limited, Barneys, Marc Jacobs, Hicks, Pilati

Sara Clemence — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 14:24:47 GMT

Steve & Barry's files for bankruptcy for the second time this year. (WWD)

Limited Brands' profits were down 65.7 percent in the third quarter, but still beat analyst expectations. (WWD)

Barneys is considering opening a store in Beijing, talking to architects and scoping out possible sites. (NY Post)

Marc Jacobs has settled a bribery investigation by New York State for $1 million. (WSJ)

Allegra Hicks is in the British equivalent of bankruptcy. (WWD)

Stefano Pilati is launching a new, annual, 26-look evening collection called Edition Soir. (Fashionista)

-Sara Clemence

Morning Hemlines: Saks, Woolworths, Project Runay, Consumer Prices

Sara Clemence — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 15:21:00 GMT

Saks has been hit hard by the economy--consumers are "in frozen mode, shell shocked," said C.E.O. Stephen Sadove. (WSJ)

Woolworths is in discussions to sell its 800-store retail chain to Hilco, which bought the MK One fashion chain earlier in the year. (FT)

October saw a record decline in consumer prices. (NY Times)

Project Runway is stuck in a legal mess. (NY Times)

(Marketwatch)

Morning Hemlines: Wintour, Saks, Burberry, Steve & Barry's, Carrefour, Claiborne, Wang

Sara Clemence — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 14:58:55 GMT

Anna Wintour considering retirement? (NY Post)

Saks takes a $48.2 million loss, with women's clothing hit especially hard. (WWD)

Private-equity firm Bay Harbour Management is shutting down Steve & Barry's, the discount chain it bought out of bankruptcy just three months ago.

The world's second biggest retailer, Carrefour, is replacing C.E.O. José Luis Duran with Lars Olofsson of the Nestlé Group. (FT)

Shares of Liz Claiborne hit a historic low Monday of $3.64. (DNR)

British luxury brand Mulberry is closing two U.S. stores. (DNR)

Burberry's profits were up more than 13 percent in the first half of 2008, but second-half results will be worse. (WWD)

Alexander Wang wins the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund award. (WWD)

Online high-fashion retailer Yoox.com is launching a jewelry section. (Fashion Week Daily)

Morning Hemlines: Penney, A&F. J. Crew, Tom Ford, Brioni, Luxury

Sara Clemence — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 14:46:55 GMT

J.C. Penney and Abercrombie & Fitch both saw profits drop in the third quarter and lowered their outlooks. (WSJ)

High-end jewelers say more browsing than buying is taking place in their stores. (WWD)

Michelle Obama's patronage has helped J. Crew. (NY Times)

Have Tom Ford's designs made for the best-dressed Bond ever? (LA Times)

Italian luxury brand Brioni is looking to sell 20 to 25 percent of the company. (WWD)

The luxe look has fallen out of favor as the economy plunges. (NY Times)

Morning Hemlines: Macy's, Benetton, Richemont, Nordstrom, John Lewis, Alexander

Sara Clemence — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 14:36:54 GMT

Nobody is buying anything: U.S. retail sales sank a record 2.8 percent in October, the fourth drop in a row. (WSJ)

Richemont, owner of Cartier and Chloe, said sales in October were up 1.6 percent, but down 2 percent not taking into account favorable exchange rates. The Americas were mostly to blame, but Europe and Japan were slow too. (WWD)

Benetton's third-quarter profits are up 12 percent. (WWD)

Nordstrom's profits fell 57.2 percent to $71 million in the third quarter. (DNR)

Macy's is thinking about consolidating, combining its four regional divisions into two. (WWD)

John Lewis, the British department store chain, saw sales fall 9.7 percent for the week ended November 8. (FT)

Designer Anand Jon Alexander, who made a guest appearance on "America's Next Top Model," has been found guilty on 20 counts of sexual assault. (Huffington Post)

Morning Hemlines: Tod's, Discounters, Urban Outfitters, Interview Suit

Sara Clemence — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 15:50:52 GMT

With consumer spending down, there are designer deals to be had at discount stores. (WSJ)

Tod's SpA reported a 13.1 percent increase in operating profits for the first three quarters of 2008. (WWD)

Urban Outfitters' earnings rose 30.6 percent rise in the third quarter, to $59.3 million. (WWD)

The interview suit is back. (NY Times)

Morning Hemlines: Macy's, Geen. General Growth, Beijing, Versace

Sara Clemence — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 15:02:30 GMT

Macy's took a loss of $44 million in the third quarter, compared to earnings of $33 million a year ago. (WWD)

Sir Philip Green's family investment company, Warbeck, bought 28 percent of Moss Bros, a British men's chain. (DNR)

General Growth Properties, the second largest mall owner in the U.S., says it may be headed for bankruptcy. (WWD)

Photos from Beijing Fashion Week. (The Guardian)

Lipstick sales are down this year, but hosiery is up. (WSJ)

Asia may supplant the U.S. as Versace's second largest market next year, says C.E.O. Giancarlo Di Risio. (WSJ)

-Sara Clemence

Morning Hemlines: Claiborne, SJP, Fortunoff, Boutiques

Sara Clemence — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 16:00:40 GMT

Liz Claiborne posted a third quarter loss of $68.7 million, down from a gain of $33.1 million for the same period last year. (WWD)

Independent fashion boutiques are getting especially squeezed by the credit crunch. (WSJ)

Sex and the City star Sarah Jessica Parker will be the voice of the first audio guide for the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute. (British Vogue)

Fortunoff, which was bought out of bankruptcy this year by NRDC Equity Partners, will close its Manhattan flagship and reopen on the ground floor of Lord & Taylor, another NRDC property. (NY Post)

-Sara Clemence

Morning Hemlines: Asprey, Marc Jacobs, H&M

Sara Clemence — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 15:21:11 GMT

Marc Jacobs has signed licensing deal for Renzo Rosso to produce and distribute his men's wear collection. (WWD)

More than 2,000 people waited in line for the debut of H&M's Comme des Garçons collection in Tokyo. (WWD)

British luxury brand Asprey will discontinue its ready-to-wear collections at the end of the year, to focus on jewelry, silver, and leather. (Fashion Week Daily)

Sara Clemence