Last year, designer Stella McCartney walked away with the prestigious accolade for designer of the year at the British Fashion Awards. This season the awards ceremony supported by Swarovski, will take place on Tuesday, 25th November 2008 at Lawrence Hall in London. Among the invitees are over 500 industry leaders, celebrities, designers, retailers, models and journalists to celebrate the best of British fashion. Nominations and judging in the main categories, including the British Designer of the Year Award, are by leading fashion directors and fashion editors from the UK’s media and designer fashion retailers. Additionally an international panel of fashion opinion formers decides, which designer has been the most influential throughout the course of their career and should receive this year’s award for Outstanding Achievement Award in Fashion Design. (more…)

This week, Milan saw the launch of the first United Colors of Benetton temporary store and a preview of the children collections for AW08. Luciano and Alessandro Benetton, respectively chairman and executive deputy chairman of Benetton Group, inaugurated the temporary store, which is entirely dedicated to children and mothers. The store will be open for two months and will introduce an exclusive preview of the AW08 collection.
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Sponsored by high street fashion brand River Island, Graduate Fashion Week will this year move to Earls Court 2 from 8-12 June 2008. The venue’s newest hall will showcase GFW’s young and upcoming fashion and design talent in a modern and clean manor. Graduate Fashion Week will celebrate the work of more than 1000 BA Degree fashion students from 49 member universities across the UK. For the River Island Gold Award an industry panel will join the audience at the university shows daily to select the best from each show. This selection will be put forward for the final 10 collections for the Gold Award. In addition, the nominated collections from the Pringle Visionary Knitwear Award and Zandra Rhodes Catwalk Textile Awards will also join the selection process. Of the final ten collections the judges choose their menswear and womenswear award winner, in addition to the River Island Gold Award Winner. (more…)

The sales of sporting goods group adidas in Russia and CIS countries are growing by over 50%, and according to Herbert Hainer, CEO and Chairman of adidas, the company is growing so fast in Russia that it potentially will be its most important market in Europe by 2010.
In the first quarter, adidas’ sales in Europe increased 12% and the emerging markets of Russia and CIS countries are a driving force behind this growing development. The adidas Group is the second market leader in Russia. A focus on key accounts and the expansion of mono-brand stores have been the growth driver for both adidas and Reebok. At the end of 2007, the adidas Group operated over 460 stores in Russia and the CIS and is planning to take that number to more than 750 stores in 2008. The adidas Group is also the market leader in the Ukraine and entered the market in Kazakhstan in 2007.
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Always ahead of the game, directional designers label Prada, launched in 2001 its New York ‘epicentre store’ with interactive dressing rooms. According to the latest study by TNS, consumers are ready for more futuristic revolutionary shopping experiences. The ‘New Future In Store’, study tell us, shoppers can’t wait until holographic sales assistance, interactive dressing rooms, biometric fingerprint payments and intelligent shopping carts become true. (more…)

German fashion brand Cecil, formally owned by British companies Apax Partners and Cinven, will launch a separate clothing range for men called Cecil Men. Nowadays part of CBR Fashion Holding, the fashion group which also owns Street One and One Touch. From half July, Cecil Men will be available in stores. It is for the first time CBR aims on the male fashion market between 25-45 years.Cecil Men will be introduced as an independent brand with its own design, sales and marketing departments. Each year, the male fashion label will design 12 collections and will work with a ‘Never-out-of-Stock’ system; delivering products within 24hrs. Prices will range from €9,95 tot €39,95 for T-shirts and from €49,95 to €69,95 for trousers. (more…)

Ferrari today signed an agreement for the opening of the first Ferrari Store in the British market. The Ferrari Store, which will be managed by the Percassi Group, will be located on Regent Street, one of London’s most exclusive thoroughfares, and will cover around 550 square metres spread over two levels. Work on the project will begin within the next few days and the Ferrari Store is scheduled to open this coming autumn. It will stock the entire range of Prancing Horse products aimed at Formula 1 fans, GT enthusiasts, children and collectors.
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A model agency is a firm that represents varied fashion models of all ages, ranging from babies to adults, helping them to find work in the fashion industry. All the reputable agencies make their living from commissions, mainly from deals made for and with the models they represent.Major model agencies work with the bigger budgeted fashion designers and advertising agencies to promote products and services for consumers and private parties. They invest funds into talented models or models with great potential to increase their earning abilities and their overall status in the fashion industry. They train, take shots of, create and publish portfolios and comp cards and other things related to the models they represent. (more…)

Today, fashion meets function in the world of baby. But it wasn’t always that way. A new company, My Designer Baby, believes that new mothers don’t need to trade in their own personal style when they pick out the necessary gear that arrives with a new baby. Gone are the days when blue and pink were the only options.
Heather Sandoval, co-owner of my Designer Baby and mother of two, didn’t want to settle for standard gear found everywhere. After spending hours website hopping for stylish and functional baby items, Sandoval decided to start a company that carried it all. She wanted one-stop shopping for busy, stylish mothers.
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