District L

"Could someone lead a committee that would make ground rules for retailers when the discounting starts, and then all the retailers can agree to it?" Anna Wintour suggested at a CFDA 'town hall' meeting.

"That's illegal," reponded President Diane von Furstenberg.

"We have friends in the White House now," came back Wintour.

Scene Two: The fashion writers of the world go nuts, calling Wintour "ridiculous" and "power-tripping."

To be honest, I applauded Wintour's immediate thought to pull some strings and get her way. Besides, planning specific days for discounting is already commonplace in most European countries. Not that I agree with going against capitalism and the free market, but in no way was Wintour being "ridiculous."

"Punk? It's only rock 'n' roll, but you wear it." - WWD, December 1977

Hussein Chalayan talks to WWD about his trip to New York to collaborate with J Brand Jeans, creating three styles of exclusive jeans for Barneys New York.

"I am a designer's designer," he tells Women's Wear, and explained how he hates the phrase avant-garde. "I hate that term. It's a real hindrance because I don't think it expresses what we're about. It makes it sound like we can't appeal to people or something, and it's absolutely rubbish."

WWD writes: If the idea of a desginer known for his experimental runway shows [...] designing jeans registers to some as selling out, to others, it's the ultimate example of fashion's current fixation: Getting down to business.

District L notices the distinction between creating three pairs of high-quality exclusives for Barneys, as opposed to creating repeat lines for Target. Chalayan, in our opinion, is making a great business decision with J Brand Jeans. It is when great designers cheapen their brand by creating a line of low-quality shoes for Payless that leaves a bad taste on our buds.

"There is no way when your in the middle of a tsunami that you can change absolutely everything. But one thing we can do and that I would like to do is make New York Fashion Week the most dynamic fashion week in the world." - Diane von Furstenberg

Charley B. of Fashionista.com Hates Peep-Toes, Elle MacPherson

CFDA is Discusses Whether Fashion Week is Still "Relevent"

Anna Wintour is For Organized Crime

First it was the super successful Project Runway. Next came the fleeting version, The Fashion Show. Now Bravo is introducing Launch My Line. On September 16, the DSquared2 duo will judge a group of designing hopefuls, along with Scoop's Stefani Greenfield. The novice fashionistas will be paired with more experienced designers. The winning newbie will have their clothing line launched, while the victorious fashion expert will recieve $50,000.

Do we have faith in this reality-show-of-the-minute? Um.... we'll stay positive.

Amber Valletta, 35-year-old model, is now taking a new turn in the fashion industry. She is collaborating with LA-based brand, Monrow. The line, Amber Valletta for Monrow, will debut at the upcoming Intermezzo tradeshow in New York.

Just last week, we reported that Dsquared2 just opened a store in Singapore. Burberry also opened its sixth store in the city-state just a few days ago.

Now a luxury mall, ION Orchard, has opened in Singapore, boasting 640,000 square feet and 8 floors. Dior, Armani, Louis Vuitton, Cartier, and Prada are just a sampling of the 333+ stores that reside in ION Orchard.

Saturation? Possibly. But according to WWD, no one has been deterred.

A representative for Prada SpA said, "The opportunities for our brands were excellent."

The opportunities for me to shop sound excellent. I am booking my second visit there as soon as that casino opens in 2010.

When the District L duo lived in Florence, La Rinascente was our sanctuary of all things wonderful.

The brightly lit, spacious department store was my first stop to find the perfect Sonya Rykiel and Cacharel dresses for fashion weeks in Paris and Milan. Now it seems that La Rinascente is offering more, with a new floor for design products at its Duomo flagship.

Carrying a broad assortment of items like frames, vases, lights, mugs, and pens, La Rinascente found the means to nestle its way into every aspect of our design-loving lives.

Courtesy Photo