Burberry Forges Ahead with Beauty Range

The Independent

 

As announced by the British success brand last year, Burberry will launch its line of color cosmetics this July, joining a big list of fashion labels that have introduced their own-brand beauty collections recently. So how will it be different?

First of all, products won't be updated every season as opposed to most other ranges be it fast-fashion like Topshop's new line (out May 5) or high-fashion like Dolce & Gabbana's new makeup collection. Instead, creative head Christopher Bailey will start with close to 100 'classic' items for the face, lips, cheeks, and eyes, and then introduce novelties when the time feels right.

"Like the trenchcoat, [the range] can be worn anywhere and at any time," Bailey told Women's Wear Daily. "When we feel it needs a new pop of something, we will start adding things and that will all flow with fashion, as well."

Secondly, judging from the exemplary activity on social media such as Facebook and new website launches such as The Art of the Trench, it is safe to expect a beauty brand that will interact with its customers a lot, and Bailey confirms that the new collection is "completely integrated with everything else we do with the brand and with the company."

The range, which will simply be called Burberry Beauty - a fitting name given that the brand's iconic trenches and check pattern did not only influence the packaging but also the actual product colors (trend-wise, it's a good time to launch beiges and nudes) - will be priced from $25 - $56.

Aussies Remain Big Spenders For Luxury Fashions

WA Today

Bucking a worldwide trend, Melbourne is bracing for a boom in luxury stores, writes Rachel Wells.

When 23-year-old student Nicola Wood returned from a recent trip to New York with a $3400 Chanel handbag dangling from her arm, her mother was not amused.

"She wasn't too happy about it," laughs Wood, pictured. "But I was always going to buy it. I just adore it. I'd been eyeing it off for years. I had put some money aside for it. I was in New York on holidays. It was cheaper than what I could buy it for at home. So I just got it. And I love it."

Wood, it seems, is like many Australian consumers who are bucking the global trend and continuing to pay a small fortune for luxury handbags and shoes despite the economic climate.

While much has been written about the death of luxury in recent months - the latest forecast from consultancy firm Bain & Company predicts global sales of luxury goods will be down 8 per cent this year - Australia seems to be experiencing something of a luxury boom. According to IBIS world, there are expected to be 4917 luxury goods boutiques in Australia, a 2.8 per cent increase from 2008-9.

Melbourne's luxury retail offering is set to almost double when Chadstone officially opens its new luxury retail precinct on November 18. It will have 12 high-end stores including Chanel, Burberry, Coach, Hugo Boss, Louis Vuitton, Omega, Prada, Ralph Lauren and Tiffany, as well as Miu Miu's first Australian store, and the first stand-alone Jimmy Choo store in Victoria.

Crown is also expanding its luxury fashion offering with a new two-storey Versace outlet to be launched later this month. Versace will join existing luxury tenants Prada, Burberry and Louis Vuitton, the latter of which is also undergoing an expansion. Crown management is expected to announce a handful of new luxury retail tenants in the new year.

And if the foot traffic along the Paris end of Collins Street last week was any indication, then luxury, in Melbourne anyway, is far from dead. At Chanel, a security guard turned me away because they were "too busy at the moment". One woman left the crowded boutique with three Chanel shopping bags swinging from her arm. While other shoppers walked along the luxury strip carrying logo-emblazoned shopping bags from Gucci, Prada, Max Mara and Georg Jensen.

All this bodes well for the Australian heads of the world's leading luxury labels who are pinning their hopes on a resilient Australian economy and a growing luxury market to keep the tills ticking over at their new Melbourne stores.

While luxury sales in the US and Europe are predicted to contract 16 and 10 per cent respectively this year, Asia Pacific, excluding Japan (which is expected to slump 10 per cent), is forecast to grow by 10 per cent, boosted by China, which Bain & Co. predicts will grow by 12 per cent.

Many experts believe Australia's proximity to China will also make it a popular hub for brand-conscious Chinese tourists.

"I think Australia is going to be a very important country for Asian tourism and since our presence in China is very strong, we see a lot of potential from not only China but all over Asia to visit Australia," Italian fashion house Ermenegildo Zegna told The Australian Financial Review in July.

Both Chadstone and Crown are confident the Australian luxury market will only strengthen as the economy continues to recover.

"Our (luxury) stores' figures are actually up on last year," says Ann Peacock, Crown's general manager, public relations. "So it's fair to say that they are all trading exceptionally well . . . The fact that Versace has committed to a brand new store and that Louis Vuitton is undergoing a major redevelopment are great signs of things to come."

Chadstone shopping centre manager Stephen DeWaele says the launch of 12 luxury retailers in a suburban shopping centre, which is a first for many of the luxury brands in Australia, will only expand their customer reach. It is a move many believe is part of a global strategy for luxury brands to target "masstige" customers - aspirational shoppers who are keen on luxury items but without the disposable income to match - with "masstige lines", which offer prestige products at affordable prices.

"Certainly the sense is that the shopping centre environment does make it (luxury) a little bit more accessible," DeWaele says. "There are two types of customer. You know there are one-off luxury purchases that people make, whether it's for a 21st, 30th or 40th birthday, or someone who has saved up to buy that one piece that's a real aspirational piece for them. At the same time there's absolutely going to be that core luxury customer."

Philip Corne, chief executive of Louis Vuitton Oceania, agrees. "We're opening at Chadstone for two reasons. One, of course, is to be closer to where our existing customers live. And the other opportunity is to introduce the brand to a new customer."

Wood will be among the tens of thousands expected to visit the new luxury precinct when it opens at Chadstone.

"I will definitely go and check it out, though I'm a bit scared of the crowds. I'm not sure quite what to expect," she says.

If current trends are any indication, she can expect a lot of eager shoppers looking for that little piece of luxury.

Burberry Bringing The Stars Along

AP

Burberry and its creative director Christopher Bailey made a triumphant return to London on Tuesday night, winning over a star-studded audience at the glitziest event of the capital's fashion week.

Bailey, who has helped transform the once staid brand into a fashion powerhouse, showed a series of short dresses, including many with a trench coat theme familiar to longtime fans of Burberry.

There was just enough of the traditional Burberry plaid to keep traditionalists happy, while younger fans were drawn to the soft, sexy lines of the dresses, most of them in beige (long associated with Burberry) and pale greens and yellows.

Victoria Beckham arrives for the show by designer
Burberry during Fashion Week, in London

"I thought it was beautiful, and very poetic," said Hilary Alexander, fashion director of The Daily Telegraph newspaper. "The heritage was there, but it was like a ballet, a dance."

The crowd, including Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow, former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham and "Harry Potter" star Emma Watson seemed impressed with the variety and vision of the show.

The front row also included American Vogue editor Anna Wintour, "Slumdog Millionaire" stars Dev Patel and Freida Pinto — and Business Secretary Peter Mandelson, a prominent member of the British government known for his snappy dress. He said the show brought Burberry from the past into the future.

Korean actress Lee Na Young arrives for the show by
designer Burberry during Fashion Week, in London

"It was a reinvention of the Burberry look," Mandelson said. "The fabrics were great. It's 21st century Burberry at its best."

Bailey used sequins and bright metallic silver fabric to set off some of his jackets and tops, adding glitter to the look, and also used padded shoulders for emphasis on several of the combination trench-dresses that were an important theme of the show.

Belts were used for shape, and the models looked extremely feminine, their long flowing hair and natural makeup bucking a trend toward androgyny seen in other shows this week.

The Burberry show was the largest and most eagerly anticipated of London Fashion week thus far, and the crowd arrived early to sip champagne or elderflower coolers on the steps of the Chelsea College of Art and Design near the River Thames. Harold Tillman, chairman of the British Fashion Council, said the week has been a tremendous success, with large crowds filling many shows. He said the trend toward prints had been noticeable.

"There have been so many good, good shows," he said. "There are great designers, showing freshness, fearlessness. It's so exciting, it really is."

Burberry chief executive office Angela Ahrendt said before the show began that it was an honor to be back on the catwalks in London, where the company has long been based.

"It's a phenomenal honor," she said, gesturing to the gathered crowd. "We are a British brand. For Christopher Bailey, who's British, he can finally come home and share his talent with the rest of the country."

The show marked the return of Burberry, long an iconic British brand, to the London Fashion Weeks catwalk. In the past, the heritage brand has preferred to launch Milan.

Other British designers have followed suit — including Jonathan Saunders, whose show earlier Tuesday featured dollops of vibrant color alongside some of his signature geometric prints.

Saunders trotted out vibrant pink, day-glow yellow, and neon green fabrics softened by translucent white dresses, while fellow fashionista Amanda Wakeley showed why she was queen of the soft fluid drape in an Indian-inspired collection.

Wakeley's collection drew on monochrome desert hues of saffron, copper, sand and cinnamon. The maxi dresses in viscose jersey, satin and chiffon reflected a light and airy touch, accented by oversize gold and silver coils around the neck or waist by designer Maria Francesca Pepe.

Some of the shortest dresses did not have enough length to complement the flowing fabric and too much sand can make any woman's outfit a bit dull, but the show was still a master class in timeless elegance.

A Look At London Fashion Week

Story from the Wall Street Journal

London fashion week went out with a bang Tuesday night, with a celebrity-packed Burberry Prorsum show and after-party at the brand's plaid-infused headquarters.

It was a homecoming for this most British of British brands, which has shown at Milan fashion week since 2001. It was also a coup for London fashion week, which was expanded and hyped up this year in celebration of its 25th anniversary. Other highlights included the presence of Vogue editor Anna Wintour, a Brit, in the front row after a two-year absence, as well as the return of designers Pringle of Scotland and Matthew Williamson from the New York and Milan runways to showcase their latest wares.

Still, it was hard to say whether the shows will fulfill organizers' hopes of putting London back on the fashion industry's map. In recent years, promising designers like Giles Deacon and Gareth Pugh have departed and buyer attendance has slumped, leaving the event a mere sideshow—complete with often outlandish designs—to the big fashion circuses of New York, Milan and Paris.

The main shows this week, however, served as a reminder of the reach of U.K. fashion. At Burberry, creative director Christopher Bailey took the label's classic trench coats, as well as a collection of dresses, skirts and tops, and pulled, knotted and looped the fabric into swirling layers that oozed luxury.

Pringle, like Burberry, has remained true to its British roots despite its Italian home away from home. And designer Clare Waight Keller's spring collection was no exception. She updated the luxury brand's iconic knitwear by shrinking it into delicate lace-like layers and enlarging it into chunky, 3-D cable knits. Skirts, with cascading tiers of fabric, replicated kilts.

Matthew Williamson, known for his brightly colored prints, showed a more structured collection that moved his aesthetic and brand forward. The designer drew on Glaswegian artist Jim Lambie's synthetic colors and graphic lines to create unique, eye-catching pieces that Mr. Williamson hopes will entice recession-wary shoppers to take out their pocketbooks. "I want customers to feel they've got something that's timeless," he said.

Smaller brands, the bread and butter—or, rather, the beans on toast—of London fashion, benefited from the hype brought by the return of the bigger labels, with Ms. Wintour showing up at the shows of emerging designers Meadham Kirchhoff and Marios Schwab. The British Fashion Council, which organizes the event, says far more buyers attended the shows than in years past, though data weren't available. But the question on most people's minds was whether the heavy hitters would remain past this jubilee season.

"Showing in London has been incredibly exciting," said Pringle Chief Executive Mary-Adair Macaire. "We will take a decision on our main runway show later this year, but have no immediate plans to move away from London." In coming weeks, Pringle will have showroom presentations in both Paris and Milan, where key buyers will get a chance to see the full collection.

Matthew Williamson said he hadn't made a decision yet and was waiting to see reaction from the show. "You take each season as it comes," said Joseph Velosa, the label's chief executive as well as a member of the British Fashion Council's board. He added that the label would also be doing presentations in Paris and Milan, because "that's still where most of the buyers are."

Burberry is also awaiting reactions. "We haven't made any firm decisions concerning next year's venue yet," Burberry said. But a person familiar with the matter said the company would likely move its show back to Milan next season. This fall, buyers will be able to look at the collection in the company's Milan showroom.

London fashion week, even after its expansion to five days this year, is shorter than sister shows in New York, Milan and Paris. It also lacks a strong buyer presence, leaving the city with some distance to go to build up the support network that would make it a viable alternative for big labels. Many decamped in the late 1990s and early 2000s in search of the higher profile that comes with showing alongside established brands like Prada and Louis Vuitton in other fashion capitals.

A three-year, $6.9 million funding package from the London Development Agency has helped fund the British Fashion Council's efforts to raise the city's profile, which include a showroom in Paris and programs to support emerging designers. But the package runs out next year, and while the agency plans to put forward another proposal, some doubt that the funding will be as generous. The country, like most, is in a recession, and the city is gearing up to host the 2012 Olympics.

Colin McDowell, who founded the talent-search program Fashion Fringe at Covent Garden, said he didn't think funding would be renewed at the previous level anytime soon—"not necessarily because they don't think the British Fashion Council is doing a good job," he said, "but because they don't have the money. We've got the Olympics. And that's a thing that can't be done badly."

Mr. Velosa, however, disagreed, saying that fashion has become increasingly important for the city and, more broadly, for the country. "I think fashion is being seen quite rightly by U.K. politicians as a way to promote the U.K.," he said.

He added that the reception for British designers hosted by Sarah Brown, the prime minister's wife, at No. 10 Downing Street last Friday was a "clear signal" of support. When asked how a possible shift in power to a Conservative-led government in the next year would affect that support, Mr. Velosa simply replied: "Samantha Cameron [wife of Conservative leader David Cameron] works in fashion." (She is the creative director of luxury stationer Smythson of Bond Street.)

Even as it seeks to compete on par with New York, Milan and Paris, London still holds a unique position in the world of fashion. The city, with its melting pot of nationalities and strong street culture, has always been seen as a place of possibility and ideas. Precisely because of the dearth of strong commercial interests at the shows, freedom of design has flourished, producing often outrageous looks that eventually trickle down in altered forms to mainstream fashion. This year saw American designer Jeremy Scott, in his London debut, present a collection inspired by "The Flintstones," with jagged hems, one-shoulder dresses and cartoonish cave prints. And Mr. Schwab turned out thoughtful and thought-provoking designs that mixed and matched pieces from different eras to produce an endless assortment of combinations.

London will have to find a balance between its commercial ambitions and its creative freedom—something the fashion industry has struggled with for years—if it is to move forward. But this week, the city was able to show off both strengths to an attentive fashion audience.