GLOOM AND DOOM

I fear my fashion journalistic integrity would seriously be called into question if I failed to acknowledge the impact of the global financial crisis on the fashion industry.  Halas, here it is...

Established and emerging designers are equally affected (NY Fashion Week's cancellations are indicative of their plight), web based shops and physical spaces alike are being decimated...What to do? Shop our way out of the crisis? If you have disposable income, I guess that might be the answer. You'll get ridiculous deals, downright steals, and you'll help the "economy", no? Guilt free shopping at it's best? Shopping for the sake of the world economy? Maybe.

Chanel

Chanel is to lay off 200 Paris staff in an unmistakable a sign that even fashion's elite are not immune from the effects of recession.

Macy's
Department-store operator Macy's Inc. said on January 8, after an abyssmal holiday season--one of the worst in decades, that it would close 11 underperforming stores in 9 states. The store's operator reported a $30 million loss in the first nine months of 2008, with sales dropping 4.3%.

E-Luxury

Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessey's e-commerce site, e-luxury, will be closing up shop within the next 6 months.

Saks
An 80% off sale? Really? This could only mean that bad news is forthcoming...and, this weekend we learned that Saks is axing 1,100 jobs...that's 9% of its workforce!

Té Casan

One of my favorites, mentioned on this blog here, here and here has folded. Recently in the news for their alliance with Natalie Portman and her line of vegan shoes, the boutique closed it's doors the day after Black Friday.

Steve & Barry's
retailer, known for their association with Sarah Jessica Parker's line, Bitten, filed for bankruptcy last July. The owners of the store will liquidate the company's remaining 173 stores.

And, sadly, the list goes on and on... I hope that I will not have to update this post, but the Wall Street Journal doth portend a wave of bankruptcy filings for retailers in the wake of the holidays :(

However, in other news, Versace's CEO, Giancarlo Di Risio, is not having it. He had this to say to Vogue UK: "Our regular client was not queing on January 3-4 in Milan or Rome but was on the slopes in St. Moritz or on a boat in the Caribbean. We want to offer a real luxury and not to open our doors to the consumption of young girls who can put the designer handbag of their dreams on their arm with less than 300 Euros. We are not interested in that." Zing!