Eley Kishimoto and Cacharel are teaming up and Fall/Winter 08/09 will be their first collection.

Eley Kishimoto takes the Artistic Direction of Cacharel women ready-to-wear. The partnership between Cacharel, renowned for its prints like the label Eley Kishimoto seems obvious.

Mark Eley and Wakako Kishimoto met in the early 90’s; the design team quickly gained a reputation for incisive and intelligent print design. They have worked for big names such as Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs and Alexander McQueen, to name but a few.

In the mid 90’s they launched their own label, which is one of the high lights on the London Fashion Week schedule. The creative team is also involved in other fields such as interiors and architecture.

The Chinese Olympic games may set to become the most controversial to date, however it hasn’t stopped Nike from showing its product for the games in Beijing.

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Ranging from a BMX line to an ice vest, Nike will be endorsing thousands of athletes at the tournament. Kris Aman, Nike’s global general manager for the Beijing Olympics, told the Associated Press he “truly believed 2008 will be a defining moment for the industry, the brand, the athletes and the consumer.”

Nike is not an official Olympic sponsor, unlike its rival adidas, but its brand will nonetheless have a huge presence at the games and it will be hoping to build on iconic moments such as Michael Jordan wearing gold Nike shoes when winning two gold medals in Atlanta.

Nike’s line, which includes products designed to reduce drag, also features its lightest track and basketball shoes ever.

The Nike Hyperdunk basketball shoe weighs 13 ounces, is 18% lighter than the average Nike basketb! all shoe, and combines two new Nike technologies. Flywire footwear construction cuts weight and adds strength, while Lunarlite foam features a cell structure that makes it lightweight and ultra responsive as a cushioning system.

Source: WGSN

Department store group John Lewis has reported an 18.7% rise in 2007’s pre-tax profits to £379.8m despite tough trading conditions. Its 69,000 partners, the staff who co-own the business, received bonuses totalling £181.1m, equivalent to about 20% of salary or 10 weeks’ pay. The partnership “had a successful year in a challenging trading environment”, chairman Charlie Mayfield said. John Lewis, which also owns Waitrose supermarkets, forecasts a tough 2008. Like-for-like sales at John Lewis department stores were up 5%, the group said. The business increased its share of the market store sector by 0.5% to 19.3%. Waitrose saw like-for-like sales rise by 3.6%. The general slowdown in the housing market in the second half of the year “depressed sales of large purchases in the home market and this trend has continued into the new financial year,” the group said.

“We expect trading conditions to be very challenging this year as consumers continue to respond to concerns about the housing market, higher food and energy costs and tighter credit conditions,” it added. The harsher economic climate can already be seen in this year’s sales figures. Sales for the five weeks to 1 March were up 2% at John Lewis stores.

However, sales at Waitrose – which the group said was less affected by changes in consumer confidence – were up 8%. The John Lewis partnership operates 26 department stores across the UK, the website John Lewis direct, 187 Waitrose supermarkets and Greenbee.com, a direct services company.

Image: John Lewis Oxford Street

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What is that bar code in the Ralph Lauren window display or magazine ad? It is Ralph Lauren breaking into mobile commerce, m-commerce. Scan and download the code (called a QR, and rather chicly techno-ethnic-looking) with your phone, and the site m.ralphlauren.com allows a mobile phone user to enter the Ralph Lauren website, where you can buy the clothes in the ads. All the shopper needs to do is type in his credit card information, shipping address and billing address.

Ralph Lauren is the first American luxury retailer using the QR technology, which is already popular in Asia and Europe. U.S. cell phones do now come with the necessary reader software.

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Initially, the site will sell Ralph Lauren Classics alongside the new U.S. Open collection; shipping will be free. The merchandise will expand in the coming months.

Debuting its ready-to-wear collection in September, artisan London label Theatre de la Mode (TDLM) is selected for Vauxhall Fashion Scout 2008. The fashion initiative identified Chris Kelly and Sara Flamm among one of the best emerging fashion designers. For SS09, TDLM will present ‘Undertone’, a capsule range for both men and women focusing on contemporary, neo-classic designs of loosely structured silhouettes.

TDLM not shy of challenging the conventional status quo, will present its debut collection via a short film. The set will resemble a shadow puppet theatre and the short reel will unveil the design process of TDLM, working in layers combining animation and film. The final image will be one of a stop frame, creating an overall understanding of the Theatre de la Mode concept.

Dutch fashion brand Claudia Sträter announced it is looking to expand into the English and Irish markets within the next 18 months. By August this year, the fashion house will open 20 shop-in-shops, of which the first eight will be located in London, Manchester, Birmingham and Dundrum.

With the opening of the House of Fraser shop-in-shop, the company wants to enter the UK at the higher end of the fashion market. Part of the expansion of the Claudia Sträter label is challenging its designs and the introduction of new creations. Currently, new Icelandic owner Baugur is investing in the refurbishments at House of Fraser to meet the customer’s expectations. Claudia Sträter will also launch concessions stores in Belgium at the INNO department store chain.

By August 2008, the Dutch fashion label is looking to launch thirteen concessions in the Netherlands, ten in Belgium and eight in the United Kingdom.

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Creditors to Sadie Frost’s clothing company FrostFrench are expected to receive less than 10p in the £1 after the company called in  the administrators last week. The lingerie and accessories brand collapsed owing more than £4m and its subsequent sale for a ‘six-figure’ sum fell far short of the amount needed to settle its debts. Asher Miller, of accountant David Rubin & Partners, which is running the administration, said the proceeds from the rescue deal brokered with a Norwegian consortium would mean a ‘small’ dividend payout to investors, but refused to comment on its size. The brand’s future has been safeguarded by the new backers, who include John Joakim, a Norwegian film producer and property investor.

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The British Fashion Council (BFC) last week announced its NEWGEN sponsorship for Autumn Winter 2009. The scheme, which was set up in 1993, aims to support the emerging generation of British fashion designers. Devoted to nurturing and promoting up and coming design talent, the BFC’s merit-based scheme was the first of its kind.

Recipients of BFC NEWGEN show sponsorship receive substantial financial support each season. Recipients of Exhibition support receive a free stand at the London Fashion Week Exhibition. Recognising the need for consistent support, the BFC aims to give NEWGEN sponsorship for three seasons.

A prestigious launch pad, NEWGEN acts as a showcase promoting the best of British design talent globally. It also provides a crucial introduction to key members of the press and buyers from across the globe. Today NEWGEN sponsored by TOPSHOP is seen as the definitive validation of up-and-coming design talent. Its recipients are internationally regarded as the must-see designers of London Fashion Week.

NEWGEN has helped launch the careers of some of Britain’s top designers, including Alexander McQueen, Clements Ribeiro, Matthew Williamson, Julien Macdonald and Sophia Kokosalaki.

Next season’s catwalk recipients include Danielle Shutt, House of Holland, Louise Goldin and Neadham Kirchhoff. Recipients of exhibition sponsorship include Felder Felder, Kokon to Zai, Louise Gray and Peter Pilotto amongst others.

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This year XeBusiness, a specialist IT systems supplier to Apparel and Textile sector has seen a great growth in their number of contracts. Orders for new modules, Upgrades, Customisation, and Professional services were taken from a number of companies including Henri-Lloyd International, Wensum Tailoring, Corona Manufacturing, Golf Chics, Praybourne Workwear, Orla Kiely and Influence.

David Cullis, MD of XeBusiness commented: “During these recessionary times it is even more important for companies to leverage their IT resource to improve service levels to retain customers and to increase productivity and reduce unit cost to tender competitively for repeat and new business. Doing more with less through effective use of IT becomes even more important to survive and then grow. To suppliers in this sector who are simply cutting costs and deferring spend without looking to improve their competitiveness, the message is stark: Have lunch or be lunch.”

XeBusiness supplies computer based simple and economic supply chain solutions. The company is a leading business-to-business provider of supply chain solutions to the textile and apparel sector. The solution systems allow client companies to automate their in-house functional processes and to integrate these with systems in use at their customers, suppliers and business partners to improve service levels and reduce operating cost.

The owner of Karen Millen, Oasis and Principles is poised to begin crunch talks with its lenders in a desperate attempt to secure the long-term future of the company. Mosaic, part-owned by Icelandic investor Baugur, is to start talks with the Icelandic bank Kaupthing about its working capital needs amid sliding sales and tough negotiations with suppliers. The business has been hit for months by the withdrawal of credit insurance and now some suppliers are demanding upfront payments, putting pressure on Mosaic’s balance sheet. The company is not currently making any interest payments on its estimated £400m debt pile because its loans are under the control of a government-appointed committee now running Kaupthing, following the failure of Iceland’s banking system.

Mosaic Fashions is the parent company of eight design-led fashion brands, who’s portfolio brands separately design, originate and procure all the merchandise which is sold in their stores. These ranges are sold through 1,760 stores and concessions in the UK, Ireland, Europe and the USA, through 234 Franchise stores in 44 countries and through 93 joint venture stores including 84 concessions in China.

Growth for the Group is through the expansion of its brands internationally, providing a multi-channel offer in all brands by delivering solid performance in existing markets. This development is underpinned by the Group’s ability to leverage key skills and experience to drive margin and cost-efficiencies as well as set strategy, allocate resources and manage performance.