Romek Gelard Gello
Billy Hazel
Steve Frous
Millie V R
Mikko Puttonen
Kyung-In Synthetic Corporation (KISCO) is the No.1 dye exporter of Korea, exporting high quality dyes to over 60 countries around the globe and continuously investing in Research & Development. All KISCO products (Reactive, Disperse, Acid, Vat dyes and Optical Brightening Agents) are manufactured in compliance to strict quality control procedures as a bluesign system partner.
A provider of world class technical service, technical excellence and application know-how, provided through Kiscotech. We make every effort to supply high quality, environmentally friendly products to our customers through REACH pre-registration and GOTS certification. As a bluesign system partner and dyestuff supplier, KISCO supports bluesign members to achieve the bluesign label in recognition of quality, which in turn enhances the brand image.
The declared objective of the independent bluesign standard is to put a reliable and proactive tool at the disposal of the entire textile production chain – from raw material and component suppliers who manufacture e.g. yarns, dyes and additives, to textile manufacturers, to retailer and brand companies, to consumers.
Ever since its establishment in 1971, KISCO (KISCO) has been producing world-class successes in research and development of reactive, disperse, fluorescent, and acidic chemical dyes as a pioneer of Korean dye industry. KISCO is indeed the No. 1 dye exporter of Korea, exporting dyes of high quality and technological ingenuity to over 50 countries around the globe.
Calling all designers! Fashion Uncorked is seeking Georgia's fashion designers for a "Project Runway" -style competition to benefit Easter Seals. With the entry deadline drawing near, the clock is ticking on your chance to help improve the life of a child with disabilities by getting involved in the Spring fashion event.
Open to all fashion designers in Georgia who are trained, self-taught, experienced or emerging, the competition is free and will highlight 10 finalists as their designs compete on the runway to win an all-expenses paid trip to New York City.
Hosted by Monica Kaufman Pearson, the evening will revolve around fashion and have an added touch of French flair as participants enjoy the uncorking of an international array of wines, as well as food and fashionable auction items. A surprise celebrity judge, Holly Firfer of CNN and David Goodrowe, the Associate Dean of Fashion at SCAD will pick the evening's Grand Prize Winner. They will also award the People's Choice Award chosen by the voting public during the weeks leading up to the final event on February 19.
Join us at the Artist Trifecta and Wine Shoe as entries are accepted until 10pm on December 31, 2010. Bubbly, Black Tie & Balloons are the themes of the evening as we celebrate the conclusion of the first phase of Fashion Uncorked and ring in the New Year in style.
Far Eastern has recently announced that it proposes to enter into a joint venture with China's Sinopec Yizheng Chemical Fibre Co. Ltd. to establish a PTA firm with a production capacity of one million tons per annum, at Yangzhou in China’s Jiangsu Province.
Both the parties, inked a letter of intent for the joint investment, whereby Yizheng would hold 40 percent stake in the new firm and Far Eastern would be holding the remaining 60 percent stake.
Chinese authorities have already sanctioned the 3.8 billion Chinese Yuan that is US $569 million worth of investments that would be required for the proposed joint venture.
As stated by Far Eastern, construction work in respect of the new facility is likely to be concluded within next two years, and thus the manufacturing work is scheduled to start latest by 2013.
Presently, Far Eastern produces around 1.6 million tons of PTA every year, of which 600,000 tons is produced in China and the remaining one million tons in Taiwan. The firm stated that, as the new facility in Yangzhou goes functional, it is expected to add another 600,000 tons to its total production.
Next spring the V&A will open the first UK solo exhibition celebrating the life and work of Yohji Yamamoto, one of the world's most influential and enigmatic fashion designers. This installation-based retrospective, taking place 30 years after his Paris debut, will feature over 80 garments spanning Yamamoto's career. The exhibition will explore the work of a designer who has challenged, provoked and inspired the fashion world.
Yamamoto's visionary designs will be exhibited on mannequins amongst the treasures of the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A). Placed in hidden corners of the Museum, the silhouettes will create a direct dialogue between Yamamoto's work and the different spaces in which they are displayed. Items will be found on the Leighton corridor, in the Norfolk House Music Room and looking out onto the John Madejski Garden from an alcove in the Hintze Sculpture Galleries. Other pieces will be sited on marble staircases, adjacent to Renaissance sculptures in the Renaissance City Gallery and within the Tapestry Gallery.
The exhibition will run from 12 March until 10 July 2011.
The exhibition will be designed by Yamamoto's long-time collaborator, scenographer and lighting designer Masao Nihei. The main exhibition space will see over 60 garments from Yamamoto's womenswear and menswear collections accompanied by a mixed-media timeline showing excerpts from his fashion shows, films and performances, graphic material and select photographs which will contextualise his career. Following Yamamoto's previous solo exhibitions in Florence Correspondences (2005), Paris Juste des Vêtements (2005) and Antwerp Dream Shop (2006), this UK retrospective will exhibit items from his menswear collections for the first time.
Yohji Yamamoto was born in Tokyo in 1943 and studied at Keio University then Bunka Fashion College, by 1972 he set up his own company Y’s Incorporated. From the start of his career Yamamoto’s work was recognised for challenging the conventions of fashion.
The asymmetric cuts and seemingly unflattering curves of his early work contradicted the Photograph by Ronald Stoops close-fitted styles of the catwalks and he has refused traditional norms of fashion ever since.
Yamamoto's designs have rewritten notions of beauty in fashion, and the playful androgyny of his work creates new modalities of gender identity. His collections are recognised for subverting gender stereotypes and have featured women wearing garments traditionally associated with menswear. Included in the exhibition will be menswear items from the Autumn/Winter 1998 season which was famously modelled on women.
Yamamoto's fabrics are central to his design practise and are a trademark of his work. Supporting craftspeople in and around Kyoto, his textiles are created to specification often employing traditional Japanese dyeing and embroidery techniques such as Shibori and Yu-zen. The selection of works on show will give visitors the opportunity to study examples of Yamamoto's application of traditional Japanese techniques.
The exhibition will also record the breadth of some of Yamamoto's key collaborations achieved through his career. Partnerships with fashion photographer Nick Knight, graphic designer Peter Saville, art director Marc Ascoli and M/M (Paris), choreographer Pina Bausch and filmmakers Takeshi Kitano and Win Wenders amongst many others, will be represented by a mixed-media timeline in the main exhibition space, and will demonstrate an important, creative dialogue which flows through his work. As homage to the catalogues and iconic images they produced for Yohji Yamamoto in the late 1980s, Peter Saville will be Graphic Art Director for the book and exhibition, and Nick Knight will produce the V&A poster image.
As part of the retrospective, Yamamoto's work stretches further across London with exhibitions at the Wapping Project sites, at both Bankside (11 March to 14 May 2011) and Wapping (11 March to 10 July 2011).
Yohji Yamamoto will be on display in the V&A's main exhibition court. A number of mannequins will also be found around the museum in the Dorothy & Michael Hintze Sculpture Galleries, Architecture Staircase, Leighton corridor, Tapestry Gallery, Norfolk House Music Room and the Medieval & Renaissance Galleries. The exhibition will run from 12 March until 10 July 2011.
The Finish Line Inc reported results for the third quarter of fiscal 2011, representing the 13-week period ended November 27, 2010.
Third Quarter Results
Net sales increased 8.7% to $260.9 million in the third quarter compared to $240.1 million one year ago. Comparable store net sales increased 10.1% in the third quarter compared to an increase of 1.7% a year ago.
Finish Line reported third quarter income from continuing operations of $4.1 million, or $0.08 per diluted share compared to income from continuing operations of $6.5 million or $0.12 per diluted share a year ago, a figure that included a one-time $6.5 million tax benefit Finish Line recorded in the third quarter of last year. Without the tax benefit, third
quarter non-GAAP income from continuing operations last year was $16,000 or $0.00 (flat) per diluted share.
Merchandise inventories increased by 10.4% to $262.2 million at the end of the quarter compared to $237.5 million a year ago. On a per-square-foot basis, inventories were up 13.0%. For the same period a year ago, inventory per square foot declined by 11.0%.
At quarter end, the company had no interest-bearing debt and $222.0 million in cash and cash equivalents, up from $149.2 million at the end of the third quarter a year ago.
"Staying focused on the strategic plan we developed last year has again helped Finish Line deliver strong results," said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Glenn Lyon. "We continue to exceed our internal performance targets, yet there is more growth to come within our existing business. We believe that we can achieve annual double digit operating margins in the future by continuing to drive the top line in our stores and by accelerating growth in e-commerce, which will become an increasingly more significant factor in our business moving forward."
Year-to-Date Results
Net sales increased 5.8% to $844.4 million, compared to $797.9 million for the same period a year ago. Year-to-date comparable store net sales increased 7.3% versus a 4.7% decrease last year.
For the 39 weeks ended November 27, 2010, Finish Line reported income from continuing operations of $34.6 million, or $0.63 per diluted share. This compares to income from continuing operations of $20.0 million, or $0.36 per diluted share for the same period a year ago including the one-time $6.5 million tax benefit. Without the tax benefit, the year-to-date non-GAAP income from continuing operations was $13.5 million or $0.24 per diluted share. The $0.63 per diluted share represents a 163% increase over the prior year non-GAAP $0.24 per diluted share.
December Sales Update
Comparable store net sales, on a month-to-date basis for the period of November 28 through December 19, increased 4.5% on top of a 4.9% increase for the same period one year ago.
Finish Line is a premium retailer of athletic shoes, apparel and accessories. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Finish Line operates 669 stores in malls across the United States. More than 11,000 Finish Line sneakerologists help customers each day connect with their sport, their life and their style.
The U.S. Department of Labor announced a grant award of more than $5.3 million to the International Labor Organization to support the global Better Work program by implementing projects in Bangladesh and continuing projects in Cambodia and Vietnam. The grant was awarded by the department's Bureau of International Labor Affairs.
Better Work is a unique partnership program of the International Labor Organization and the International Finance Corp. that seeks to improve labor conditions in global supply chains. The Better Work program monitors conditions in export factories, publishes the results in a transparent manner and assists suppliers to comply with labor standards that many buyers and customers demand.
"The goal is to replicate this highly successful strategy, first developed in Cambodia 10 years ago, in countries that protect their workers' rights while promoting development," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis.
Under the grant, the Better Work program will focus on compliance with labor standards in the garment and other industries in these three countries. The project will engage the ministries of labor, factory managers, multinational buyers, employer organizations and trade unions, and provide guidance and solutions to improve compliance with labor laws in ways that increase the viability of companies, as well as the livelihoods and working conditions of workers.
Through the window of Moscow's premiere department store, home of her new boutique, Stella McCartney can look out at the glitzy shop that, at the peak of Russia's lavish spending, used to be all hers.
The return of the British designer, who on Thursday night opened her concession at TSUM -- prime retail space only steps from fabled Red Square -- cements the revival of the country's love for luxury.
The comeback, via a partnership with TSUM, was more subdued than the grand opening of McCartney's own store in 2007, which closed after only 18 months when the financial crisis halted Russia's seemingly insatiable demand for expensive clothes.
"The current global economic environment has made these companies thrifty. They are not willing to spend that much on a market that may prove risky and volatile for their brand," said Ekaterina Petukhova, head of Esper Group, a Moscow-based fashion consultancy.
Russia's luxury market is set to grow by 16 percent this year, significantly outpacing the world's 10 percent growth rate, according to Esper Group.
This is a huge improvement over the past couple of years when the exuberant spending of the Russian customer -- whose wealth is often rooted in the country's vast natural resources such as oil, gas and metals -- nearly halved.
But the expected growth this year is still some distance away from the gains pocketed by famous designers before the crisis.
"We speak of a quality revival of the market, i.e. customers shopping for luxury and frequenting stores but the foot traffic is still below the pre-crisis level as well as the average bill amount," Petukhova said.
"The market is waiting for new participants and new openings after the crisis," she added.
STELLA LOVES TSUM
A crowd of fashion industry insiders and leggy models gathered for the opening party for McCartney's TSUM concession on Thursday, sipping champagne and eating cheese canopes while some played table football to a soundtrack of Christmas music.
The space was covered in 'Stella Loves TSUM' logos, although the designer herself -- part of France's PPR-owned Gucci Group -- did not make an appearance.
Clothes on display reflected Moscow's current wintry conditions -- thick grey woolen jumpers were selling for around 50,000 roubles ($1,631).
Alla Verber, TSUM's head of fashion, told Reuters sales had picked up in 2010 and that the financial crisis was now a distant memory, although the effects of recent violent riots had taken their toll.
"After the last week with what happened on Manyezh Square, people are a little bit afraid to travel ... to the center of the city, but not because of the crisis," she said, referring to extremist clashes this week.
"We see business picking up," she added.
McCartney's more cautious approach to the Russian customer is also typical of brands that are not at the top end of luxury.
"Russian consumers are still not that literate in terms of high-profile fashion," Esper's Petukhova said.
Prada or Dolce & Gabbana have weathered the crisis well and can still maintain their own outlets, she added.
Li Ning Company Limited, one of the leading sports brand enterprises in China, announced the conclusion of LI-NING Brand Products Trade Fair for the second quarter of the financial year 2011.
Total order value, based on tagged retail prices, was maintained at the same level as last year. Both apparel and footwear products saw their average retail prices increase by more than 8%. Order volumes, meanwhile, declined by more than 7% and 8% respectively. Taking into account of the impact by the Group's adjustment in wholesale discount given to distributors, total order value in sell-in terms declined by 6% compared to the same period last year.
"With regard to the results of this Trade Fair, we have established the view that, the retail environment for the sporting goods industry this year is faced with heavy pressure. On one hand, the previous growth model of heavy reliance on store openings by the sub-distributors is no longer sustainable; on the other hand, operating costs at the retail level are fast escalating. Given this environment, the operations of the Group's independent distributors were inevitably affected. Their forecasts for growth in the coming year had become more conservative, "said Mr. Zhang Zhiyong, Chief Executive Officer of Li Ning.
"We have been adopting a pre-emptive approach for these problems and challenges. The Group initiated earlier reform measures for its distribution channels. The measures include consolidation of low-efficiency sub-distributors, optimization of retail channel structure, enhancement of product lifecycle management and offering more wholesale discounts to distributors.
"These are aimed at addressing the challenges faced with at the retail level in an effort to bring about improvements in the overall retail efficiency, enhancements in same-store sales growth and less aggressive discounting at the retail level, thereby constituting a healthier retail environment as a whole. We believe that these measures, while inflicting pain for the short term, and that the orders for the LI-NING brand in the next two trade fairs may come under pressure, nevertheless, we believe these will contribute positively to the Group's stable and healthy development for the long term.
"Looking forward into 2011, the focuses of the Group's strategies will include 1) advancing further the implementation of the LI-NING brand revitalization strategy to enhance the brand's core competences; 2) endeavoring the best of its efforts in promoting distribution channel reform; 3) strengthening our retail management capabilities. We believe that the Group will be in a better position to embrace the opportunities ahead as the desired outcome of the above measures starts to materialize," concluded Mr. Zhang.
During its 10th edition of Shanghai Fashion Week (SFW), The Shanghai Garment Association, SFW and Shanghai International Fashion Center signed the official representation of the World Fashion Organization (WFO)-Shanghai Regional Chapter for China.
The WFO–Shanghai Regional Chapter will provide a global platform and e-commerce services for the national fashion and textile industries, with a shared commitment to raise awareness to Corporate, Social Responsibility, furthering the reach of the WFO Humanitarian campaign “Fashion for Development and Peace”.
During the celebration, SFW Shanghai Fashion Week showcased outstanding collections from fashion designers from UK, Argentina, India, China and Italy, such as Percy Parker and Amy Molyneaux, head designers of “PPQ” from London, as well as Andrea Cardinale, Head Designer of “Lidia Cardinale” from Italy, Argentinean brand “Cardon”, emerging fashion designer and the new face of India “Paromita Banerjee” from Calcutta, showcasing a collection based on 100% environmentally friendly and organic fabrics, closing with Chinese brands such as Prolivon, La Vie and Ling Yali, celebrating cultural exchange and understanding.
"It's a great honor to embrace this exciting opportunity, committing with corporate and social responsibility within the fashion industry, while generating new commercial opportunities for the Chinese market” says Xi Shiping, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Shangtex Holding Group – Shanghai Garment Association.
"We are very happy to welcome China to join WFO. The Chinese Fashion Industry has so much to offer to the world and the WFO initiative brings new opportunities for regional entrepreneurship within China. Ensuring this is applied in a socially and environmentally responsible manner, it is the WFO’s intention to create sustainability and in so doing, contribute to the realization of the UN’s Development Programme and Millennium goals.” Says Paco De Jaimes, Founder of the WFO.
The WFO also presents all of its member countries with long term opportunities and global services, including the possibility to engage in the First Annual of the World Fashion Week in New York City 2011 and in the World Fashion Awards in Hollywood, both which will be held on an annual basis, commencing in 2011.
The ‘Fashion for Development and Peace’ campaign aims to ensure that the advancement of the global fashion industry is soundly undertaken. The initiative aims to globally enhance the power of fashion as a tool to develop economies and encourage social cohesion through the implementation of Corporate, Social and Environmental Responsibility.
Top seed tennis player, Rafael Nadal is going to model men’s underwear for Giorgio Armani, the famous Italian designer. Soccer players David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo had already modeled the same earlier.
The 24-year old tennis player is likely to pose for Emporio Armani underwear and Armani jeans for the spring as well as summer 2011 collections, this was revealed by the fashion house.
The first promotional campaign projecting Nadal is going to be launched in February, next year.
Rafael Nadal had won the Wimbledon, the French and the US Open titles this year to seize the top ranking from Roger Federer.
