Actress Jessica Alba walks during the "Machete"movie red carpet event at the 67th Venice Film Festival September 1, 2010.
Actress Jessica Alba arrives for the world premiere of "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" at the VUE cinema in Leicester Square in London June 12, 2007.
Actress Jessica Alba poses for photographers as she arrives at the Excelsior Palace in Venice August 31, 2010.
The 19th "Jeanswest Cup" Casual Wear Design Contest of Southern China was held in the Guangzhou Garden Hotel.
In order to promote the idea of low carbon and environmental protection, the organizing committee sets the “green and vitality" as the theme. It is learned that the organizing committee receives 6,125 creations, which hits a record high. Among them, 782 creations are from Southern China. 20 excellent designers present a glorious show with their creations to the audience.
At this contest, 5 designers are selected to compete at the final of 19th "Jeanswest Cup" Casual Wear Design Contest. According to the judge of this contest, Mr. Yang Qibin, this year's contest has following three characters. First, the qualities of these creations are improved a lot. Second, the contest concentrates on material reuse. Third, the positioning of creations is more precise.
Business Exchange Twitter Delicious Digg Facebook LinkedIn Newsvine Propeller Yahoo! Buzz Print China, the biggest cotton grower and buyer, may boost imports as low temperatures and rain hurt crop quality and production, according to a Bloomberg News survey.
The crop may shrink for a second year to between 6.4 million and 6.8 million metric tons, said five China-based analysts. Production tumbled 13 percent to 6.8 million tons last year, according to the China Cotton Association. Heavy rains also soaked open-boll cotton in its final development stage in some areas, said the analysts surveyed in the past week.
Increasing imports may extend gains in New York futures which soared 25 percent since July 20 to a 30-month intraday high on crop damage in Pakistan and concern global demand will outstrip supply. A lack of quality cotton may also fuel a continued rally in local prices. China??s government has been selling from stockpiles to help plug the shortage.
The weather's negative impact on yields and quality has become a concern, Dong Shuzhi, assistant general manager at Jinshi Futures Co., said by phone from Shanghai. Investors are now piling into cotton, as new-crop supply is deemed tight while demand from textile mills remains robust.
China will import 12.5 million bales of 480 pounds each in 2010-2011, 14 percent more than the 10.94 million bales in the previous year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Demand in China may outstrip output by more than 4 million tons this year, which will make the country increasingly reliant on imports, Du Ying, an analyst at Wanda Futures Co., said by phone from Urumqi, Xinjiang. Du estimated output at 6.8 million tons, lower than the USDA prediction of 7.2 million tons.
Rains Hurt Quality
The rainy weather is causing bud- and boll-shedding in Dezhou, Shandong, Yuan Renqing, analyst at Baocheng Futures Co., said by phone from Jinan, Shandong on Sept. 2. Rains caused bolls to become moldy, reducing quality, he said, after a trip to the fields in Dezhou.
Increased production in Xinjiang may help offset losses in places such as Shandong and Henan, according to the survey.
The U.S. has sold more than 1 million tons of exports from the new crop, of which China is taking more than 400,000 tons, according to Jinshi's Dong.
It seems China hasn't bought much yet, maybe due to high prices, but the number showed two things: first, demand outside of China is strong, Dong said. Secondly, China will have to buy if end-users come to realize high prices are here to stay.
Picking is scheduled to begin in mid-September in Shandong, and procurement prices are likely to range from 8 yuan to 10 yuan per kilogram, well above year-ago prices, the China Cotton Association said on its Web site yesterday.
Cold Fronts
Cold fronts arrived Sept. 5 and lowered temperatures in northern China, including Xinjiang and northeastern Inner Mongolia, by 2 degrees to 5 degrees Celsius, the National Meteorological Center said yesterday on its website. They may also bring snow or sleet, it said.
Demand remained strong, the analysts said. Profits in the textile industry nationwide jumped 52 percent in the first seven months, according to the National Statistics Bureau.
Downstream consumption is always highly correlated to the health of the overall economy, Jinshi's Dong said. With the worry of a double-dip recession now behind us, the textile industry continues to look favorably to the future.
Concern about future supply helped drive the daily average price of reserve-auction cotton to 18,552 yuan ($2,732) a ton yesterday, the highest level since the latest round of auctions started Aug. 10. A total of 289,548 tons have been bought, 48 percent of the 600,000 tons up for auction, Cncotton.com said.
The government sold 3.22 million tons from stockpiles in the past two years, depleting its reserve and making the government a less likely source of supply, Wanda??s Du said.
All forward contracts advanced today with the most actively traded May contract gaining as much as 1.4 percent to 19,055 yuan a ton, the highest price since futures started in July 2006.
The survey respondents also included Wang Junjun, analyst at Great Wall Futures Co. in Shanghai, and Wang Yong, analyst at Hongyuan Futures Co. in Beijing.
Branded sportswear enterprise ANTA Sports Products' (2020.HK) order book value for the first quarter of 2011 increased 23% year-on-year, cnfol.com reported September 3. According to the report, average selling price (ASP) of both footwear and apparel rose more than 5% year-on-year. The company attributed the growth in orders and ASP to a combination of product mix optimization and adoption of advanced technologies and better fabrics, the report said.
Anta booked net income of RMB 760.23 million in the first half of 2010, up 25% year-on-year.
According to Wenzhou customs statistics, footwear exports set another monthly record high on the basis of the export value in June. Exports for the first seven months increased to $1.96 billion, up 33.2% from year early.
In terms of exported areas EU still ranked the first for Wenzhou footwear, accounting for 33.2% of total footwear exports in Wenzhou city.
At the same time exports to America and Croatia featured a dramatic growth that stood at the growth of 85.3% and 96.2% respectively.
On latest canton fairs some exhibitors said orders for high-end footwear from EU have been declined for this year, many buyers began to buy shoes in SE Asia countries, and this is because of strong competitions from neighboring countries like Vietnam, India and Indonesia. Some footwear companies also reduced their exports to EU, Dongyi Footwear said they achieved remarkable results on transformation marketing from EU to America. For other footwear companies made more efforts to expand markets in ASEAN countries and Russia, more and more footwear companies plan to open stores in these areas.
Li Ning Group Limited, one of the leading sports brand enterprises in China, announced that the Group and Coolpoint has entered into an agreement ("Master Agreement"), whereby the Coolpoint Group shall provide to the Group services in relation to brand or product endorsement, sponsorship and event management.
The Master Agreement is conditional upon the obtaining of the independent shareholders’ approval in respect of Coolpoint Energy Limited at its extraordinary general meeting which must be held on or before 15 November 2010.
According to the Master Agreement, the maximum annual amounts ("Annual Caps") in respect of the three financial periods ending 31 December 2010, 2011 and 2012 will be RMB21,500,000, RMB100,000,000 and RMB100,000,000 respectively.
The Annual Caps are determined with reference to (1) the marketing expenses of the Group; (2) certain marketing plan of the Group that may require services offered by the Coolpoint Group;(3) services that may be offered by the Coolpoint Group in the future and the expected level of service fees; (4) service fee for similar services in the PRC; and (5) the marketing plans proposed to the Group by the Coolpoint Group.
Through this Master Agreement, the Group will have better access to sports sponsorship resources and events promotion, which is conducive to the long term stability of the Group’s sports sponsorship resources. The Group will also be able to benefit from the synergies and crossover created from other sports resources of the holding platform of the Coolpoint Group.
In addition, the Board of Directors of the Group has been informed that Victory Mind Assets1, Dragon City2 and Alpha Talent3 (as Vendors), entered into the Memorandum of Understanding with Coolpoint, pursuant to which Coolpoint has proposed to acquire from the Vendors an aggregate of 325,181,850 shares, representing approximately 30.9% of the entire issued share capital of the Group as at 31 August 2010. ("Proposed Transaction"). The Proposed Transaction will not result in any change to the existing business strategies, management and day-to-day business of the Group.
"Both the Master Agreement and the Proposed Transaction would help further strengthen the Group’s edge in brand marketing. In addition, the Proposed Transaction would enable the Group and Coolpoint Group to explore more opportunities in strategic development of their businesses. The Group is committed to taking its proven business model of branding, research and development, design, manufacturing, distribution and retail of footwear, apparel, accessories and equipment products for sports and leisure uses to the next level," said Mr. Li Ning.
CLASHING CONVERSATIONALS
MiuMiu's wild mix of conversational prints made a colorful addition to the C/R 2011 collections. These light-hearted, graphic prints revive a mix of atripes and polka dots popular in the 60s-80s and also the bold conversational prints that dominated golf and tennis wear during the late 60s. The innocent glam-pop looks pull together some of the most whimsical vintage inspirations in a bold and successful way.
SPICE MARKET
Ethnic influences surface in the C/R collections with this season's offering in a golden spice palette. Patterns and silhouettes reflected a retro influence, more taken from 50s-70s bohemian fashion than authentic, vintage ethnic garments. The result is a casual, freeform mix that reaches back through the hands of many past designers as well as true indigenous inspiration.
MISSONI MIO
Classic Missoni patterns and knit treatments looked fun and fresh in the C/R 2011 collections. Missoni's signature bold mix of colors and motifs evokes the rich heritage and history of the brand, including their heyday in the early 70s when the label inspired countless imitatiors. The mismatched patterns blend perfectly with current ethnic undertones, and maintain the thread of haute-hippie vintage references.
HEADSCARF
The headscarf was included in many C/R 2011 collections, maintaining the late 60s-70s direction of resort fashion. Printed silk sarves have been growing in popularity whether vintage or contemporary. The hippie-esque headscarf acts very much like the turban of the 40s by chicly covering up the hair when there is no styling time, making it the perfect beach accessory.
Net work Inspiration
UNIQLO CO., LTD. merged its shoe businesses in August, including its VIEW and BIJOUX lines, under its existing CANDISH brand. The CANDISH chain of specialty stores offers UNIQLO shoes, which are already available at select UNIQLO locations, as well as the CANDISH collection.
For the 2010 Fall season, CANDISH presents its new Cushion Series, which features shock-absorbent insoles for additional cushioning and maximum comfort. The Cushion Series shoes come in two different styles and a wide range of colors, at the amazing prize of 1,990 yen per pair. As a manufacturer and retailer, UNIQLO offers high-quality, comfortable casual footwear at affordable prices.
CANDISH: A New Name for UNIQLO'S Shoe Businesses
UNIQLO CO., LTD. integrated all of its specialty shoe brands in August, including its VIEW and BIJOUX lines, to add five new stores to its network of 85 CANDISH stores. CANDISH is a specialty shoe chain offering both UNIQLO SHOES and the CANDISH brand collection under one roof.
The New CANDISH Cushion Series: UNIQLO Comfort, Stylish Footwear
UNIQLO focused on comfort for the 2010 Fall season by offering new shock-absorbent insoles for extra cushioning. These three-layer insoles provide maximum comfort via a mix of materials with varying degrees of softness. The line is available at all CANDISH stores and select UNIQLO stores.
As a specialty shoe retailer, CANDISH also offers a wide range of new items for the fall season. STYLE UP BOOTS feature 3-cm inner heels to create the appearance of long legs, while SYNTHETIC LEATHER BOOTS offer the authentic look and feel of real leather. UNIQLO offers high-quality, ultra-comfortable casual footwear at affordable prices.
NEW Cushion Series: Product Features
We improved the insoles in UNIQLO's popular ROUND PUMPS and RIBBONED BALLET SHOES to produce ultra-comfortable shoes in a wide range of colors for the affordable price of 1,990 yen. Please note that some sizes and colors will be exclusively available at CANDISH specialty shoe stores.
The ROUND PUMPS and the RIBBONED BALLET SHOES will be available at 90 CANDISH stores and 93 large-format UNIQLO stores, as well as UNIQLO's online store.
Style Up Boots: Available in four different styles
The hidden inner heel adds three centimeters to the slender design, making your legs look longer and more attractive. The insole features anti-bacterial, anti-odor and moisture-absorbing properties to provide maximum comfort.
Synthetic Leather Boots: Available in 13 different styles
Our boots are now come in special synthetic leather, the closest approximation of real leather that is currently available. Choose from a broad range of styles, including boots with fashionable faux fur and authentic jockey boots.
As Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week arrives to its new home at Lincoln Center, what remains unchanged is Mercedes-Benz commitment to style and luxury at one of the world's biggest annual fashion events.
Through a collaborative effort with fashion icon Iman and her new IMAN Home designs, and interiors and special events design consultant Carlos Mota, the VIP Mercedes-Benz Star Lounge is a bold design statement and sanctuary for guests taking in the latest fashion looks on the runway during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week spring and summer 2011 season.
IMAN Home designs are inspired by international locales and traditional, yet modern, crafts to bring a beautiful blend of cultural richness in the fabrics. The Mercedes-Benz Star Lounge serves as the first look at these designs from her collection, which launches in late September.
"I am so excited to partner with Mercedes-Benz on this project," said Iman. "We have worked tirelessly in preparation for the launch of IMAN Home and to have this forum, at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, is a great way to unveil the collection."
IMAN Home, in conjunction with P/K Lifestyles, a development and marketing agency specializing in decorative fabric manufacturing for a portfolio of consumer driven brands, marks Iman's first venture into the home decor industry adding to her current businesses, which include cosmetics, fragrance, apparel and accessories.
During the course of her fourteen year modeling career, Iman graced the covers of top fashion magazines around the world and has acted as a muse to many prominent designers including Gianni Versace, Donna Karan, and Yves Saint-Laurent. On June 7, 2010, Iman was recognized for her contributions to the industry over the past thirty years by receiving the Fashion Icon Award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America.
In conjunction with Iman's bold decor elements, acclaimed interior designer and interiors and special events design consultant, Carlos Mota, provides his expertise and artistic direction to bring to life the 30' by 26' Mercedes-Benz Star Lounge. "This is an exciting project for me," said Mota. "It is great to be working with a team so attentive to detail and quality."
No stranger to the fashion community, Mota, whose friends and supporters include many NYC tastemakers and designers, takes a seemingly ordinary room inside Lincoln Center and transforms the space into a safe haven for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week VIPs. Those lucky enough to gain access to the lounge are transported to an exotic, almost tribal oasis equipped with cozy couches, chairs, daybeds, full bar and private sitting area.
The Mercedes-Benz Star Lounge is available to designers, celebrities, VIPs, media and guests, by invitation or through an access card provided by Mercedes-Benz.
Influenced by global culture and contemporary design, the IMAN Home mission is to create elegant, affordable items that mix exotic elements with a new degree of sophistication. In conjunction with P/K lifestyles, IMAN Home will take inspiration from international locales and traditional crafts incorporating modern design elements that create a beautiful blend of cultural richness. IMAN Home will be available at Calico Corner and Calico Home Stores and select retailers across the country.
As Spring Summer comes to an end, we look forward to the cooler months upon us and an exciting new wardrobe for the coming festive season. Iconic has pulled out all the stops to launch a unique catwalk inspired collection perfect for all occasions. Each collection reflects the key trends this season with Vintage Military, Minimal and 70’s for women, while men experience fashion with a vintage heritage twist.
The most exciting news is the launch of the HSY collection, designed by Hasan Shehryar Yasin, one of the most acclaimed fashion designers from Pakistan. Along with this, Iconic also launches 4 local designers showcasing their collection of Abayas and Jalabiyas in the boutique section. All these collections are exclusive to Iconic and cater mainly to the Arab and Eastern women.
Taking its cues from the 20th Century military uniforms, the plush collection of Military Vintage favors confident, bold, yet sophisticated feminity this fall. The accent colour for vintage military is intense burgundy supported by dark military olive, khaki & sand beige. Military is effortlessly tied in with the classic aviation which is an undying source of fashion inspiration and this time creates a strong mood perfect for winter outerwear and separates.
The tough outerwear can be styled with the romanticism of lace and sheer dresses to add feminity and decoration. Embellished in copper and silver, double-breasted jackets and coats, cape coats, t-shirts with military inspired conversational prints, shirts with detailing, blouses and tricots teamed with skinny cargo pants, walking shorts and engineered pencil skirts are the key pieces to don this season.
A restrained mood prevails in the Minimalism trend, where luxe fabrics and clean cuts are combined with tailored separates. A sensuous selection of nude shades from the summer are upgraded to camel and stone grey and are contrasted by neutral black and winter white to enhance the minimalist look.
Silhouettes are clean and sophisticated with shift dresses forming various innovatively styled shapes. Wrap and pencil skirts are back with a bang and can now be paired with seamless tops, minimal shirts and topped up with cropped jackets. Skinny and straight styles along with fitted capris are here to stay as key Autumn/Winter pants.
Touted as one of the most commercial trends for women this season, the 70s influence draws inspiration and plays on mismatched layering creating new proportions. The catwalks have seen typical prints of prince-of-wales checks, chalky florals and ditsy retro prints in bright colours of pink and blue and in classic taupe and chocolate brown, very Charlie’s Angels!
Key trouser shapes for Autumn Winter 2010 will be wide leg pants and denims, teamed with cable knit sweaters, turtle and cowl necks. For comfort with an alpine feel explore the new ankle length skirts or team your winter shorts with pussy-bow blouses.
Trends from Spring Summer like Neo Tribal, Retro & Rock Chick are to stay back this Autumn Winter and will find their audience in the younger generation.
For men this season fabrics, prints and colors all come together with a sharp sense of style and energy to create the Vintage Heritage collection. Drawing inspiration from the classic American Heritage, early autumn calls for a sophisticated yet relaxed look, based on a characteristically masculine palette of wine red, pure blue, cream and olive green.
To create an interesting contrast, the austere hues are paired with checkered shirts with embroidery, epaulettes, striking vintage washes, dip dyes and distinctive pocket details. A dynamic mix of classic eccentricity, the look is accentuated with comfy Chinos and cargos with washed details.
Men witness a come-back of the Rock theme in the denim category. Funky yet casual, the line is available in an array of shredded denim or with marble and stone washes which are detailed with studs and sequins to complete the vintage charm. The skinny fit is still popular but the way forward is a transformed skinny called the ‘Carrot Leg’. Straight off the catwalk the waist is a regular or baggy fit that will shape from the bottom leg into a skinny to create the carrot shape. Denim chambray shirts with vintage washes and dirty stained looks along with denim jackets are again big this season.
This Autumn Winter is all about exploring fashion, and shoes are not to be left behind. A staple in every man’s wardrobe will be boat shoes along with loafers in suede in various colours. Timberland boots will also find feet this season.
Finally as a salute to the sporty fashion enthusiast, ICONIC has housed an energetic collection of smart clothing and footwear from the likes of Reebok and Adidas. Reebok pays tribute to the creative genius of Jean-Michel Basque with a new shoe called the Omni Pump which is covered with the artist trademark of cryptic street scrawl in vivid pink, green and gold, soon to be available at ICONIC. You think sportswear couldn’t get flashier, think again, Adidas has tied up with designer Jeremy Scott to create beautiful pieces with lace as a theme and this exquisite collection is also available at ICONIC.
So this Autumn Winter all you fashion lovers have to do is visit ICONIC to explore the combination of drama, culture and the latest catwalk trends.
ICONIC is a 70,000 square foot fashion-lifestyle store located next to the metro entrance at Deira City Centre, Dubai.