Arnault on the Attack: Blasts Gucci’s Strategy as LVMH Net Leaps 49%

NEW YORK — Jesse Nicely and Frenel Morris have been friends for five years and business partners for almost two. In 2003 they started the boutique design firm Double Penny Collection, and headed projects for advertising agencies True Agency and…

Tocca’s first collection of swimwear, similar to its spring dresses and sportswear, has a breezy feel using pastel colors and embroidery.

MISS SPEEDO U.S.A.: Now that the Olympics are over, Speedo is looking to outfit an entirely different class of competitor with its new sponsorship of the Miss America Pageant. As part of the two-year deal, the contestants will parade before the…

NEW YORK — Gap Inc. this week disclosed it will target women aged 35 and older with a new concept, but its president and chief executive Paul Pressler on Wednesday acknowledged it could be up to two years before there is any significant rollout…

NEW YORK — When Jennifer Elster was working as a fashion stylist in the Nineties for publications such as The Face and Rolling Stone, she spent much of the time before a photo shoot developing complex plots and subplots for an elaborate cast of…

NEW YORK — A memorial service is planned for Rea Lubar, a longtime fashion industry publicist, on Tuesday at 12:45 p.m. at the Fashion Institute of Technology, 227 West 27th Street here.

The service is being coordinated by Trends, a…

NEW YORK — Bolstered by domestic wholesale sales as well as a shift toward higher-priced goods, St. John Knits International Inc. on Wednesday posted robust third-quarter results.

The Irvine, Calif.-based firm reported a 55 percent jump in…

Where would retailers be without the pressure and anxiety students feel to own items that represent all the newest trends? According to the National Retail Federation, the amount of spending on back-to-school clothing and accessories is expected to…

JENSEN NEWS: Georg Jensen is turning to former Gucci Group executive Toshiaki Tashiro and industrial designer Karim Rashid to help the Danish jeweler become a household name internationally. The Copenhagen-based firm added Tashiro to its board…

In the second quarter last year, J. Crew’s net income of $15 million included a one-time gain of $43 million from the exchange of debt. Excluding that gain, the company would have swung to an operating profit of $8 million in this year’s…

Actor — and frequent sight on the New York Fashion Week scene — Alan Cumming is taking another step toward pop notoriety with the February launch of his own scent, Cumming The Fragrance.

And so the fashion machine rolled to a close…Chado’s Ralph Rucci and Nanette Lepore did their respective things…Carmen Marc Valvo surprised everyone with fabulous swimsuits…Peter Som journeyed to northern California…and,…

These days, Daryl Kerrigan is her own chief designer, sales woman, press agent and, while we’re at it, cook and bottle washer. And she’s all the

better for it.

Since Kerrigan returned from fashion purgatory last September,…

New York Fashion Week wrapped up with collections from Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Narciso Rodriguez and Chado Ralph Rucci.

While reporting that first-half net profits at LVMH soared 49 percent, chairman Bernard Arnault said he doesn’t regret losing Gucci to PPR.

PARIS — Bernard Arnault, chairman of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, proved to be a man of relatively few words during his protracted and bitter takeover battle for Gucci. But here is a sampling of some of his remarks on the Italian firm…

Sarah Jessica Parker swooned into the Trump World Tower penthouse for Bottega Veneta’s bash for Tomas Maier’s new store.

Ralph Lauren’s ladies had a silver-screen glamour…Francisco Costa’s Calvin Klein girl possessed a minimalist beauty…and Narciso Rodriguez’s women combined provocation with a little relaxation.

CAPTAIN AMERICA: Gwyneth Paltrow took a moment to dispel the latest rumors about her leaving the public eye (as if!) at the premiere of “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow” Tuesday night in L.A.

“No, no, no. I think…

Voters in Glendale, Calif., approved a referendum allowing zoning changes for the construction of a $300 million lifestyle mall.

Tanya Sarne celebrated Ghost’s 20th anniversary…Alex Grant was experimental…and Shelley Steffee was inspired by a Symbolist.

Each season presents an opportunity for new and developing designers to debut a line or to prove their mettle once again with follow-up collections. Travis Wells and Leila Azar-Kia of Dimmer/D’Vrsi, for example, avoided the sophomore…

NEW YORK — Fabrics on the spring runways have been a study in contrasts: borderline minimalism against all-out decoration. One major trend, white, turned up in the forms of delicate cottons and filmy silks, as well as structured jacquards and…

Shamask: By all accounts, it seemed that Eighties fashion darling Ron Shamask, known for his dramatic clothes, had fallen off the radar. Yes, he has occasionally emerged into public view, as he did with the knockout collection he showed in…

Levi’s Takes an Apprentice…Getting Handsblue.com., a denim Webzine…Advice from The Blue Hound…Taking Chicago’s Pulse.

It’s a new day at Joie, where Sean Barron now owns the name and has brought in Serge Azria to take the company to a new level.

NEW YORK — Marc Ecko Enterprises entered an exclusive U.S. and Canadian licensing agreement with Avirex Ltd., best known for its aviation-inspired leather outerwear, for the launch of an Avirex-branded junior sportswear line.

Under the…

Designer Adriano Goldschmied has sold the trademark of his AG Adriano Goldschmied label to Koos Mfg. and plans to launch a sportswear line.