The Economist fashions a cause for Scottish knitting
Clothes issues can make common cause for us all. How else to interpret The Economist's sudden interest in (and defense of) the Scottish Fair Isle sweater? The mag has taken up the cause of the Shetland...
View ArticleLuxury executive switcheroos
If last week saw creative directors playing musical chairs, with Hannah MacGibbon out at Chloe, to be replaced by Pringle's ex Clare Waight Keller, and Patrick Robinson dumped by the Gap, today it...
View ArticleSamantha Cameron’s dressmaker says less (retail) is more
Yesterday Emilia Wickstead, the woman who has been one of the more consistent, and under-the-radar crafters of Samantha Cameron's image as British First Lady, turned up in my office. She was in town to...
View ArticleWhat’s up with those Qataris?
Let’s do a quick recap here: in the last two years the Qatari soverign wealth fund has bought all of Harrod’s and a 5.2% stake in Tiffany’s; the Qatari royal family bought Valentino; and yesterday, it...
View ArticleMore Middle Eastern money pours into high fashion
Oooooh, I sense another Fashion Week trend! After the Qatari sovereign wealth fund bought Harrod’s in 2010, and an un-named Qatari bought a large minority chunk of Anya Hindmarch in August – and...
View ArticleLondon designers: Who will be acquired next?
I was struck, when reporting the PPR/Christopher Kane deal, by a comment from Hugh Devlin, a lawyer with Withers LLP who acted as a strategic advisor to Mr Kane. Specifically, Mr Devlin said, “We would...
View ArticleDinner with the FT: Anya Hindmarch
Anya Hindmarch is going to be late. I know this because her office emailed me twice on the day of our dinner to alert me to the probability; she is coming from a meeting with Bergdorf Goodman on 57th...
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