Trend Bible: Luxuriance

Luxuriance: This trend has evolved out of the global recession creating a newfound desire to stay at home. It is about trading up, investing in quality pieces, built to last, that create a soothing environment within the home. Introducing calming, peaceful colours and fabrics to the home creates comfort but also instills luxury and glamour.

Trend Bible: Lifestyle Trends for the Home

Trend Bible is a small trend consultancy based in the UK, specialising in forecasting home interior trends up to 18 months ahead of the season. They work with a variety of brands in the UK and USA, providing bespoke trend consultancy and ensuring their clients produce innovative, commercial ranges to excite their customers. They also sell bi-annual trend publications outlining 4 key trends per season and detailing the social and cultural events that influence design trends.

Here, Trend Bible introduce four trends for the Autumn Winter 2010/11 season. The influence of the global financial crisis is creating new spending patterns as consumers start to redefine value and make more considered purchasing decisions. Watch out for a new positive, can-do attitude, where consumers feel empowered, want more for their money and aren’t afraid to complain when standards aren’t met. Faith and beliefs are important as people seek more from life and revert back to traditional family values in times of financial insecurity and political/commercial mistrust.

Gucci opens 3 new stores in China

Gucci celebrates 3 new locations in China during January and accounts about 25 shops in the big country up to now. This commitment is reinforced also with the next opening of the flagship in Shangai, the biggest for Gucci in Asia-Pacific region.

The brand new shops in Beijing, Xiamen e Changsha measures 660, 330 and 280 meters. The one in Beijing is situated in Jinbao Palace. Particularly, the store displayes all the brand categories of Gucci. While the other boutiques are located in the luxury malls like Paragon Centre and Friendship Shop and offer the best selection of bags, suitcases, shoes, scarfs, belts, ties, sunglasses, jewels and presents.

Ferrari's (hi)story in a T-shirt

60 yeas ago, Scuderia of Maranello was born producing its unforgettable car. It was the 166 Inter, which was introduced to the world remarkably on the 6th of the October 1949 at Car Salon in Paris. After all this time, Ferrari factory has created the t-shirt "Daily Courant" for the S/S 09. The long sleeves t-shirt in black, red, green and white is charaterized by the newspaper-like print of an original header of that time. The precious Cavallino Rampante completes it on the front and on the backside the word Ferrari. You can find it in the one-branded store Ferrari for 75 euro.

2357 Sarta tour and temporary store

Due, tre, cinque, sette sono i primi quattro numeri primi, numeri interi indivisibili. Sono gli “Atomi dell’Aritmetica”, gli elementi base con cui si costruiscono tutti gli altri numeri naturali. Basici e unici come i capi della collezione e come ognuno di noi.

2357 nasce a Milano nel 2007 con l'obbiettivo di creare un nuovo standard nell'abbigliamento basico, offrendo un prodotto di altaqualità garantito dalla produzione esclusivamente ed interamente made in Italy. L 'abbigliamento non è tuttavia l'unica prerogativa di 2357; Il brand , è impegnato nel sostegno delle realtà creative emergenti.
Attraverso eventi e iniziative, 2357 mira a stabilire un punto d'incontro tra giovani stilisti, esperti del settore e pubblico, promuovendo una forma d'arte che, non si basa più solo ed esclusivamente sul prodotto ma sul processo creativo nella sua totalità. Ne è un esempio il Temporary Store di via Scaldasole a Milano, inaugurato in occasione del lancio del brand stesso, che per la durata di cinque giorni è stato adibito a spazio espositivo, laboratorio creativo ma soprattutto spazio di interazione tra designer, artisti e visitatori. In questa occasione, 2357, mettendo a disposizione le parti che compongono una felpa in vari colori e una sarta pronta ad assemblarle secondo il desiderio del pubblico, ha così dato via a una serie limitata di capi personalizzati, aggiungendo così un ampio margine di creatività individuale ad un prodotto che resta pur sempre semplice e basico.

Dopo il successo di Milano 2357 replica il Temporary Store scegliendo Verona come tappa; già teatro della seconda campagna pubblicitaria. Il Temporary Store, che vuole dunque essere la seconda fermata di un tour italiano in sintonia con il sapore nostrano del brand, avrà luogo il 6 dicembre dalle 17,30 alle 20,30 all'interno dello store Double5 in via Adua 16, influente multimarca di urbanwear and shoes. A testimonianza di questo eccezionale sodalizio, il capo sarà reso ancora più unico dal ricamo del logo 2357 affiancato a quello
di Double5.

2357
Via Pietro Colletta, 16 - 20135 Milano Italy
Tel. +39 02 45499430/31 Fax. +39 02 45499404
http://www.2357.it

The shadows of crisis on the Fashion Week

Only two days before the start of Milan Male Fashion week miss and the rushing city seems to be the depressed, not-buying capital. Few passersby, half-empty shops and frustated window-watching occupy the high street. Corso Vittorio Emanuele has seen its pillars falling down and also via Berchet has been closed for the ice. For scaramantic ones, the sign of the crisis appears when the city loses its glam pieces.

The crisis pervades all the streets and transforms them. Even 2 stores along the high street has switched to temporary shop, but in the worst, low cost way. And where was Mondadori bookshop in the past, now the mega-window of AN lies.

Crisis changes trends and people behaviour in front of the mirrors and shop windows. The dresses walking down the street are still fashion, but too many times are exceptional fakes, like UGG boots. Sadly, or not, the girl who saved on food to buy a Balengiaca bag is disappearing. While fashion victims and addicteds can't afford their beloved blue chip brands, the fashion conscious ones grow, aware of the possibilies of the outdoor markets. Fashion traverls move all over the world to find branded bargains in the devasted NY or in the well-known Camden Town market in London.

Two days left to the fashion shows and designers are not so optimistic, neither the Fashion Italian Chamber. Indeed, a fee of 60 euros has been put on journalists who wants to being part of the fashion biz in the following 4 days. The president of the the chamber, Boselli, said: " The accreditation tax is not about the crisis: Paris, London and NY already has made it paid for several years." And what about the crisis? Boselli replays: " People still want branded and wonderful clothes, but not at boutique prices." In this statement, he referes to the exstraordinary results gained with outlets, even though Ascomodamilano reports not encouraging data. " This trend is not good for retail, traditional, one brand store in the historical centre." Franco Tomelli explains, secretary of Fashion Federation. And the futures about sales period (2% sold more than the previous year, medium receipt 150 euro) are not enough. " They are going to finish soon and people won't spend until the next ones. There are other priorities in the long run."

On Saturday, Milan Male Fashion Week is going to start for the F/W 09/10 and will be interrupted on the 20th of January: 4 days, one less the usual, because of the YSL event in Paris, designed by Stefano Pilati.

Interactive mirror connecting people

As a person stood in front of the mirror, a camera relayed live video images of her to an Internet site where online participants could view her outfit. When Web viewers responded by sending her comments, their instant messages popped up on the left side of the mirror for her to read. They also selected items for her to try on, causing virtual images of the clothing to appear before her in the middle of the mirror, like life-size holograms. “I think it’s very cool that you could be in a department store and have your friends online at the same time helping you shop. It’s fun,” a customer said as a virtual navy blouse and white pants appeared in the mirror. She took a few steps back to line up her frame with the clothes on the screen.

But pointing to a friend accompanying her, she said the interactive mirror would not inspire her to trade team shopping for Web critics. “You get more personal attention when you shop with a friend live,” she said. For many women, shopping is a task best achieved in the company of other women. And when friends or mothers are not around, shoppers have become accustomed to snapping and sending photos of Coach handbags and Juicy Couture hoodies with their camera phones and soliciting opinions before they buy. But the new mirror, introduced to Nanette Lepore by IconNicholson, an interactive design firm in Manhattan, takes the concept of shopping in tandem one step further by streaming real-time video to the Internet and inviting shoppers to actively involve off-site friends to join the process. It brings fashion into the realm of social networking where people already freely share their opinions and lives via MySpace, Friendster, Facebook, YouTube, blogs and Web cams.

But it raises the question of whether the immediacy and tactile experience of shopping together in person can translate to a virtual audience. “The idea of being able to take your whole social network with you when you shop is a concept that any kid who leaves their house every day with their social network in their phone will understand,” said Tom Nicholson, the chief executive of IconNicholson. “They are already sharing everything with 500 contacts on Friendster, so if five of them happen to be online, why not ask them whether you look good in green?” “We’re all asking each other: `Do I look fat? How does it look from the back? Can I wear this with jeans?’ ” Ms. Lepore said. “If you want the truth, you need to shop with a critic whose opinion you trust.”