Gwyneth Paltrow
in
The Talented Mr. Ripley
with
Hayden Harnett
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Really?
Within a matter of minutes after opening at 7:30 AM, everything at luxury e-tailer The Outnet's $1 designer sale sold out.
Millions of girls everywhere were probably kicking themselves that morning for not being quick enough to snag a Proenza Schouler dress for the cost of a cup of coffee, or a pair of coveted Louboutins for a single bone. I, for one, was kicking myself with a pair of steel-toed boots because I had totally forgotten about the sale (though I largely blame the site for not sending out a reminder e-mail the day before). But it looks like it doesn't matter; with orders coming in at a rate of 9 per second, only a lucky handful were able to score.
Said the Outnet:
“Whilst we were prepared for the volume of traffic the sale would deliver, we were overwhelmed by the speed at which people came to the site.
“This remarkable volume – up to nine orders a second – led the site to crash in some markets and I want to say that we are very sorry to all those disappointed people who didn’t get to buy anything at the sale, but delighted for all of those who did.”
For the minority of those who triumphed - I hate you and I hope a bird poops on your bought-for-a-dollar Chloe bag.
For the rest -- a support group.
Millions of girls everywhere were probably kicking themselves that morning for not being quick enough to snag a Proenza Schouler dress for the cost of a cup of coffee, or a pair of coveted Louboutins for a single bone. I, for one, was kicking myself with a pair of steel-toed boots because I had totally forgotten about the sale (though I largely blame the site for not sending out a reminder e-mail the day before). But it looks like it doesn't matter; with orders coming in at a rate of 9 per second, only a lucky handful were able to score.
Said the Outnet:
“Whilst we were prepared for the volume of traffic the sale would deliver, we were overwhelmed by the speed at which people came to the site.
“This remarkable volume – up to nine orders a second – led the site to crash in some markets and I want to say that we are very sorry to all those disappointed people who didn’t get to buy anything at the sale, but delighted for all of those who did.”
For the minority of those who triumphed - I hate you and I hope a bird poops on your bought-for-a-dollar Chloe bag.
For the rest -- a support group.
Friday, April 16, 2010
J.Crew Does It Again
As of late, J.Crew has been partnering with a range of established labels to expand its offerings of affordable luxury. These partnerships have spawned a number of hit items: retro Timex watches, exclusive Redwing boots, and even a selection of Essie nail polishes in adorable colors.Now, the esteemed American retailer has added a new jewelry line to its portfolio of partnerships. Creative director Jenna Lyons handpicked Dana Lorenz of Fenton/Fallon to produce a line of rocker chic jewelry. A longtime Fenton/Fallon fan, Lyons had searched high and low for the line to no avail; then, one day, the stars aligned when she was seated next to the CFDA-nominated designer herself at Maria Cornejo’s private dinner party.
And therein lies the foundation of what is truly a remarkable collection. Lorenz remained true to her roots and brought to life an amazing assortment of ‘tough chic’ jewelry.
“I didn’t water my design down at all,” she told Harper’s Bazaar. “I included all of my iconic Fenton-Fallon things, like the pyramid studs, spikes, and jumbled chains.”
The pieces range from $95 to $295 and can be found in-stores and on jcrew.com
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Fast Fashion
I work in a world where everything has to be done months in advance; we are always at the very least two seasons ahead. In order to sell a pair of jeans in stores in September, the company has to send the order to its factories as early as February. And while we may stipulate that we need the jeans in our DC by, say, August 25th, the factories sometimes can’t even achieve this deadline – even with 7 months notice.
And sometimes, because we need to reach these deadlines, we place our orders to the factories before we can even get market reaction – before we can even get an idea of what the demand would be. Sometimes, we’re spot on with the trends, and other times, it’s a total miss, resulting in a loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
So all this has me thinking – how do fast fashion retailers like Zara, Forever 21, and H&M operate? Unlike the rest of the forward-thinking fashion world, these retailers live in the now. They pick up on current trends and bestselling items from high-end designers, then produce it with cheaper materials and stock their stores within a matter of weeks – and at a fraction of the retail price.
But how is this possible? How can they design, source and produce thousands of styles in a matter of days? It truly boggles me -- so I did some research and actually came across this article from the Harvard Business Review. It is a great, comprehensive explanation of the concept of “fast fashion” and how Zara in particular operates their business. It also points out the intrinsic differences between fast fashion retailers and the rest of the retail world – differences in strategy, structure, product offering, and customer experience.
Click here to read it. It is really quite interesting.
And sometimes, because we need to reach these deadlines, we place our orders to the factories before we can even get market reaction – before we can even get an idea of what the demand would be. Sometimes, we’re spot on with the trends, and other times, it’s a total miss, resulting in a loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
So all this has me thinking – how do fast fashion retailers like Zara, Forever 21, and H&M operate? Unlike the rest of the forward-thinking fashion world, these retailers live in the now. They pick up on current trends and bestselling items from high-end designers, then produce it with cheaper materials and stock their stores within a matter of weeks – and at a fraction of the retail price.
But how is this possible? How can they design, source and produce thousands of styles in a matter of days? It truly boggles me -- so I did some research and actually came across this article from the Harvard Business Review. It is a great, comprehensive explanation of the concept of “fast fashion” and how Zara in particular operates their business. It also points out the intrinsic differences between fast fashion retailers and the rest of the retail world – differences in strategy, structure, product offering, and customer experience.
Click here to read it. It is really quite interesting.
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