preview Carven Pre Collection S/S 2013

Buying session: See By Chloe in Antwerp

The little-sister line to Chloé took its first (virtual) steps onto the runway today. See by Chloé became the second label, after the relaunched ICB by Prabal Gurung, to strut into the online ether as part of Digitalfashionshows.com, which allows an invite-only crowd to screen prerecorded shows. It's hard to imagine Chloé ever making such a move—especially as it gears up to celebrate its 60th anniversary this year—but little sisters are often more adventurous than their elders. Especially when they've got parents in high places pushing them along. "It felt right to support this strong and directional collection and to promote See by Chloé via an innovative and new digital platform which allows optimum visibility to the label," Chloé CEO Geoffroy de la Bourdonnaye said.

The See aesthetic riffs on that of the Chloé main line, especially in its emphasis on long, fluid lines, soft volumes, and a pretty, feminine bent. For Fall, the femme got flirty with an emphasis on sheer mesh tops and dresses in silk georgette, viscose, and silk, fineness that played off the roughness and slouch of oversize outerwear and,  in denim and wide-wale corduroy. Piece by piece, you could see items that should energize customers on the sales floor, but overall, the message wasn't as distinctive as the medium.

Martin Margiela for H&M

So, looks like that Maison Martin Margiela for H&M collaboration is happening after all. Only a day after the rumors broke, H&M has sent out a press release and posted two promotional videos on Youtube confirming the new partnership. Maison Martin Margiela for H&M will launch November 15, and will feature clothing and accessories for both men and women. It’ll be available in 230 stores worldwide and online (cross your fingers their US ecommerce site has launched by then). While we’re excited to see what the new collection will turn out (hair shirts, please!), we have to say, at first glance, the collaboration seems like an unlikely pairing. A very discerning set of fashion people (Kanye West included) live and die for Maison Martin Margiela, but the label doesn’t have the easy name recognition as say, Versace. The label’s avant garde aesthetic, too, seems like a gamble for the mass retailer. For Maison Martin Margiela’s part, a mass-produced collection for a retail giant like H&M seems antithetical to the house’s niche, fashion cult status. In fact, the two collaborators couldn’t be more different–something the press release sought to highlight, with side-by-side comparisons of their C.V.s: However, there is one thing H&M and Maison Martin Margiela have in common: They both believe fashion should be a democracy. “The democracy of our fashion has always been at the centre of our creativity, and the collaboration with H&M allows us to push this instinct further,” Maison Martin Margiela said in the press release. “We will bring together the contrasting universes of the two houses in ways that will surprise all.” It’s worth noting that mass market retail may not be so far off for the brand, considering it was bought by Diesel in 2002, and that Martin Margiela himself left the house in 2009. Still, die-hard Margiela fans will probably feel a little conflicted about the collaboration. Whether MMM fans queue up or not, the collaboration is one of the most ambitious we’ve ever heard of, and H&M deserves kudos for that. The Swedish retailer is clearly devoted to pushing the envelope with these collaborations, and as the pioneers of designer collabs (they kicked off this crazy trend with Karl Lagerfeld in 2004), they know what they’re doing, and they do it better than anyone else. “This collaboration will be a great and memorable fashion moment,” H&M’s creative advisor, Margareta van den Bosch, said. We don’t doubt it for a second. Will you line up? Videos: Youtube

WOMEN
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSIjEtDaEaE&feature=player_embedded

MEN
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSIjEtDaEaE&feature=player_embedded

June 5, 2012

To Pay or Not to Pay: A Closer Look at the Business of 

Blogging

By RACHEL STRUGATZ

Photo By Courtesy Photo

TheSartorialist.com

There’s been some backlash from designers and brands as they question having to pay bloggers from $5,000 up to $50,000 to work with them. Skeptics question whether paying bloggers results in significant return on investment, especially in comparison to a magazine or television ad. Besides, some brands contend, if bloggers are journalists, journalists aren’t paid for writing about a company.

Bloggers argue back that their fees have substantial ROI because blogs can drive millions of page views a month both on their sites and the brand’s Web site. So why shouldn’t they be paid? And while some bloggers are journalists in the true sense, most of them don’t consider themselves journalists on par with those at The New York Times or the The Wall Street Journal. They are more like columnists, expressing opinions about what they see.

“When you want to work with a blogger in a way that you would with any influencer — whether it’s a photographer, a stylist, a designer for your windows, a public endorser of your brand, advertising or a design collaboration — that’s where you have to compensate because you would compensate anyone for those things,” said Karen Robinovitz, co-founder and chief creative officer of Digital Brand Architects, who considers herself the pioneer of “blogger agents.”

She pointed out that if a brand sends a blogger a box of clothes with the intent of having them create four dedicated full looks that they need shot for posts, the talent has to location scout — and is responsible for styling, hair, makeup, photography, art direction, retouching, copywriting and posting.

“That takes a magazine sometimes 20 people to pull off,” Robinovitz said.

The tension between brands and bloggers is resulting from the ever-evolving world of the Web. As brands increase their involvement with bloggers in terms of coverage and projects, the line between what they should be paid for and what they shouldn’t is growing increasingly blurry.

For between $5,000 and $20,000, a brand can work with an influential blogger to host an event (plus airfare, hotel and entertainment, of course) — one that gets upward of a few million page views a month and will cross-promote the brand on the blogger’s site (although the jury is still out on proving ROI from page views, with sales being the only concrete measure). Starting from $20,000 to $25,000 (and up), a company can book a blogger for various weeklong projects during Fashion Week — with some bloggers fetching nearly $50,000 for even longer-term partnerships. In 2010, Bryanboy’s Bryan Grey Yambao boasted that he made more than $100,000 a year from blogging (and got a lot of flack for it) — which by today’s standards seems quite low for a top-tier blogger, especially when one factors in the partnerships with advertising and other heavily integrated projects.

But how can brands know the money is well spent? Neiman Marcus measures the effectiveness of a campaign by tracking page views, uniques, impressions, referral traffic, as well as engagement through “likes,” comments, retweets, replies, brand mentions, shares and increases in in-bound and out-bound links, according to vice president of corporate public relations Gabrielle de Papp.

She recently voiced a complaint about the going rates for bloggers at a panel with Song of Style’s Aimee Song at the Lucky Blogger Conference in Santa Monica, Calif., where she said, “editorially sized budgets” sometimes hinder the ability to work with bloggers.

continue to read this article:

http://www.wwd.com/media-news/digital/a-closer-look-at-the-business-of-blogging-5942163?full=true

MULTI SENSORY EXPERIENCE HIGH END FASHION STORES

In a world where the average person sees 3,000 advertisements a day, the only way to stand out is by delivering a multi-sensory experience customers won’t forget. Creating, engaging experiences by using music, video and digital signage, messaging, scent, and audio/visual systems to personify and enhance brands to create lasting connections that encourage customer loyalty.

As on 26 April 2012 BURBERRY WORLD LIVE, a 360 immersive experience. Christopher Bailey designed a custom cylindrical space that brought to life the Burberry worlds of British Heritage, Fashion, Music and Weather to celebrate the opening of the Burberry Taiwan flagship store at Taipei 101. This multi sensory experience is the first to blur the physical and digital dimensions of the brand. The iconic British trench coat maker has outdone itself by shown off its ability to use digital technology to spread its brand name around in the past by hosting live 3-D streams of Burberry fashion shows, allowing in-store customers to shop from tablets, and creating animated GIFs of how different collections look.

BURBERRY has merged technology and fashion for Burberry World Live, an immersive experience paying tribute to its longstanding heritage. While the opening featured a slew of Taiwanese stars including singer and actress Jolin Tsai, it also featured an eight-part 360 degree film, a live musical performance and digital weather experience.

The immersive experience will also make stops in Hong Kong, London, and Chicago as well, with the idea of creating “a lavish promotional event that’s essentially bringing to life the online community Burberry created as a digitally elevated audiovisual shopping experience, connecting consumers with not only their products, but integrating music and video as well to engage and entertain.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwJtY_r9rJw

MULTI FASHION EXPERIENCES FOR HIGH END FASHION ;

PRADA

It already started in 2001 when Rem Koolhaas (OMA) designed for Prada their Prada Flagship store in New York. Upon entering the store, which was previously housed the SoHo branch of the Guggenheim Museum. OMA is said to have spent two months of research "investigating ways to reinvent the retail experience." The store's design is more or less a round up of recent technological innovations which work with varying degrees of success in shopping environments. The most interesting are those found in the changing rooms. The changing rooms have sliding glass doors made with SGG's Priva-Lite technology, a glass with liquid crystal film inside that becomes opaque when an electric current through the film is cut off. The technology is impressive, and it started to make space for more technology and experience for innovative retail architecture and shopping experiences.

BALENCIAGA

Also Balenciaga uses for each of the Balenciaga boutique the concept of architectural gestures and uniform visual identity of most international fashion bands. Using an architectural concept based on climate and landscape and fiction and abstraction. Every Balenciaga Boutique is adapted to its city local context and history, creating a mise en scene for each new collection – every season they tell a new story. Bringing the outside, inside for his Balenciaga store back in 2003. The new look, conceived with the help of contemporary artist Dominique Gonzales-Foerster, is based on landscapes, in spite of its hard angles. a luminous, blue-walled underground passage giving the impression of walking through water. The floor is covered with swathes of sand-like flooring, striped wavy carpeting and flags of irregular-shaped matte black basalt. These irregular, multi-sided shapes are also cut into walls as display areas or to allow quick glimpses through a partition. Volcanic rocks erupt out of the floor and visitors are greeted upon arrival by a huge volcanic boulder punctuated with bright aqua blue shelves. This blue reappears on clothes rails and as a wall sculpture. Instead of mannequins in the window the store features a mini desert scene with succulents like sempervivums and sansieveria ("mother-in- law's tongue") growing in pebbles. Every half-hour throughout the day the light will change like real weather, from soft to hot to a shining sun or clouds across the sky.

On Friday Mai 11 and Saterday mai 12 at Cobra Mode high end Fashion Store in Den Bosch the Netherlands.
Paris inspires exclusive promotions!
Invitation Personnelle

Number 4 An attractive and distinctive appearance is not just about beautiful clothes. Also your hair and makeup will help determine. Cobra Mode found a revolutionary and very exclusive hair care line from the United States: Number 4 High Performance Hair Care. Completely vegan, gluten, sodium chloride and sulfate free and paraben Fri
For the designing was Paris city of fashion their great inspiration. 
The team of N4 will be attended at Cobra Mode in Den Bosch end of this week. We invite you for an introduction to N4 on Friday, May 11 and Saturday, May 12 Come on Friday, May 11, Number 4 will perform a free hairanalysis and advice. On this basis, we give you a trial packing gift.

Lanvin and Maison Martin Margiela: gesture of 20%
At Paris also includes Lanvin and Martin Margiela. On May 11 and 12 we can give you 20% off at Maison Martin Margiela and Lanvin. A great opportunity early in this season your wardrobe with beautiful piece of one of the top labels to complete.
http://www.cobramode.nl/

their 

NEW ITEMS FOR SALE, TAKE A LOOK AT VINTAGE JEWELERY


VINTAGE GEMSTONE NECKLACES FOR THE STUNNING PRICE
OF 10 EURO'S 
ALL DIFFERENT KIND OF GEMSTONES LIKE ROSE QUARTS,

AMETHYST, CARNELIAN, AGATE

A gemstone or gem (also called a precious or semi-precious stone, a fine gem, or jewel) is a piece of minerals, but are still used for jewelry, and are therefore often considered to be gemstones as well. Most gemstones are hard, but some soft minerals are used in jewelry because of their luster or other physical properties that have aesthetic value. Rarity is another characteristic that lends value to a gemstone.