Vogue UKreports that Bulgari has hired Matthew Williamson to create a handbag collection for spring/summer 2010. The handbags will be unveiled at Milan Fashion Week in September. Bulgari also has its own in-house handbags, which can be seen in its current ad campaign with actress Julianne Moore.
Francesco Trapani, Bulgari's CEO, told WWD they chose Williamson "for the great sense of color and design he brings to his work."
Louis Vuitton is suing carmaker Huyndai for using its trademarked logo without permission in an ad it ran during the Super Bowl. The logo appears briefly on a basketball.
In a trademark infringement suit filed in Manhattan Federal Court, Louis Vuitton described its logo as "famous and incontestable."
The lawyers argued that Hyundai could have gotten its point across without using the posh pattern -- a registered trademark since 1932.
It was the only logo used in the ads. The other scenes featured cops eating caviar, a yacht parked between modest homes, blue-collar workers lunching on lobster and a Hyundai driving under street lights transformed into chandeliers.
If you look closely at the photo, you'll see that the basketball is not actually covered with the real Louis Vuitton logo -- that's the fake, Canal street version which has an "LZ" instead of an "LV." The other graphic elements are also incorrect, although you can't see that in the film version because it is onscreen for so little time. It is quite clear that Huyndai meant for consumers to think it was a real Louis Vuitton logo. This was Huyndai's (or the ad firm's) way of trying to get around having to ask Louis Vuitton for permission to use its logo (which certainly would have been denied).
So, to sum up: Huyndai used a fake Louis Vuitton logo to deliberately confuse viewers into thinking it was seeing a real Louis Vuitton logo. Besides being really tacky, it also constitutes the intentional use of someone else's trademark (okay, the perception of its trademark) to create confusion in the marketplace and make a profit. Should be an interesting case.
Bulgari has released some of the photographs from its campaign featuring actress Julianne Moore and cockatoos. The campaign showcases Bulgari jewelry and handbags. The print campaign was shot by Mert & Marcus. A video teaser was released last month that showed a lucky cockato being adorned with bejweled gold Bulgari necklace.
Horchow sells three cakes that resemble handbags. They include the Quilted Chocolate Handbag Cake, a white chocolate butter cake filled with chocolate ganache and white chocolate buttercream. The other two bags include the Zebra-Striped Handbag Cake and the Sassy Satchel Cake. The handbag cakes range in price from $235 to $280 and can be found here on Horchow's website.
Kylie Minogue is a handbag magician in a fun new campaign for Tous. She saws herself into pieces and does magic tricks with Tous handbags. The campaign was photographed by Ellen Von Unwerth. Kylie wrote in a tweet on her Twitter account, @kylieminogue, "Hello peeps!! Am in the middle of photo-shoot for the next Tous campaign, photographed by Ellen Von Unwerth. It's all about...*m*a*g*i*c!!"
WWD reports that a number of luxury handbag makers are lowering their prices due to the recession and customers' new resistance to constant price increases.
Cynthia O'Connor, ceo of Cynthia O'Connor + Co., a sales showroom that represents Kooba, Treesje, Botkier and C.C. Skye, among others, believes contemporary brands are taking a realistic pricing approach. "Two years ago, contemporary handbags were selling at $700, and $650 to $700 was a very average price to be. That's not our target anymore. We still have to offer some of those things-it just doesn't give enough depth to the collection if we don't-but we are trying to make the core lower than that."
Dean Khial, vice president of Southern California retailer Kitson, where bags average around $395, has noticed consumers expect more from their bags. "The bottom line is that the consumer wants value for the price," he says. "A lot of companies are making bags that are on the cusp of the trend for a much better price, and that has caused the majors to bring prices down. Most consumers felt they were overpaying before."
Melissa Richardson Akkaway, owner of Beckley, a boutique in West Hollywood, Calif., where Rebecca Minkoff, Lauren Merkin, and Lyla Black are the bestselling handbag brands and the average handbag price is $250, concurs. "The bag really needs to be special and on trend, and not too expensive where it's not a huge investment," she says.
Coach completely retooled all the price points for its bags last year and launched the lower-priced, youthful Poppy line. Different lines are taking different approaches: some are adding less expensive bags to entice the aspirational shopper, with the hopes that as her income increases she will buy the line's more expensive items. This is the approach that is working quite well for Tiffany's. Other brands are simply cutting prices a bit across the board. In any event, it's a welcome trend: handbag prices have been out of control for the past five years.
Actress Scarlett Johansson has designed a handbag to help raise funds for Oxfam's response to the Haiti earthquake. The print on the handbag represents the ancient cartography of Haiti. It contains the message "supporting the people of Haiti" and is signed by Scarlett.
Scarlett Johansson's Haiti handbag will be sold in all Mango stores worldwide. The selling price will be $29.90. Scarlett Johansson is also the face of Mango. You can see her recent Mango campaigns here and here.
Scarlett Johansson says, "I'm thrilled to be collaborating with Mango to promote conscious consumerism and to benefit Oxfam's Haiti Earthquake Response Fund. By purchasing this bag, which I specially designed, you are helping to provide life saving assistance like clean water to the people of Haiti."
Kate Moss launched her new Longchamp handbag collection in Paris on Wednesday. Longchamp artistic director Sophie Delafontaine worked with Kate Moss on the collection that is called Kate Moss for Longchamp. The handbags will arrive in Longchamp boutiques and select department stores next month. You can see photographs of the handbags on Longchamp's website.
The Center for Environmental Health recently tested handbags from 100 of the nation's top retailers and found many of the handbags contain high levels of lead. Gretchen Carlson from Fox News did a segment on the lead in handbags, purses and wallets. Gretchen says unlike children's products there is no law requiring low levels of lead in handbags. She invited Jennifer Taggert, author of Smart Mama's Green Guide, on the show to talk about the risk from handbags. Jennifer Taggart says the vinyl bags are the most likely to contain high levels of lead. Take a look:
WWD revealed a new ad for Louis Vuitton which stars photographer Annie Leibovitz and ballet legend Mikhail Baryshnikov. Annie usually shoots campaigns for Louis Vuitton, and was surprised to be asked to star in one instead of being a photographer. She agreed to do it only if she could pick one famous person to be in the ad with her. She chose Baryshnikov.
Communication director Antoine Arnault had originally just wanted to feature Annie in the spot, but was more than happy to add Baryshnikov to the the ad.
Taken in Leibovitz's New York studio, the photo depicts the dancer barefoot on a podium, and the photographer eying her subject, her own three-year-old monogram Neverfull bag next to her and stuffed with books. The tag line reads: "The journey of a star, captured in a flash." Arnault said the image exemplifies the "moment of quiet and calm" Leibovitz achieves with her sitters. "She just gets in their souls," he said. "This campaign has really become almost a saga."
WWDreports that Kate Moss will be designing two handbag collections for Longchamp. Longchamp artistic director Sophie Delafontaine worked with Kate Moss on the first collection that will be called Kate Moss for Longchamp. It will arrive in Longchamp boutiques and select department stores next month. WWD says there will two Kate Moss for Longchamp collections per year.
Kate Moss has been modeling for Longchamp for several years. Kate Moss has also been designing clothing collctions for Topshop for the past few years.
The Wall Street Journalreports that Coach's second-quarter earnings climbed 11% thanks to improved sales during the holidays. The discounts on handbags likely helped Coach this holiday season. The company's same-store sales were up 3%.
Coach has been cutting handbag prices and introducing new styles in an effort to improve sales of shoes and accessories as consumers continue to cut spending on luxury goods. Efforts to boost its North American operations showed some success in the prior quarter. Coach also has been working with its suppliers to avoid hurting margins, as stores remain cautious about building up inventories despite signs the economy is stabilizing.
Chairman and Chief Executive Lew Frankfort on Wednesday said Coach was especially pleased with the rebound at its North American stores from the holidays, with same-store sales up 3%
Bloomberg has a less rosy article on Coach. Bloomberg says Coach's North American sales during the second quarter were lower than some analysts' estimates and that Coach's department-store sales fell.
Jimmy Choo is currently running a sale online on new arrivals. There are around 130 shoes and handbags that are discounted by 50%. The Bargainist says the end date for this sale is unknown.
You can find more sales and deals here on shoppersshop.com.
Christina Ricci is the star of a short film for Donna Karan produced by Jake Silver. The film will be shown online and in DKNY boutiques. The video short at the Soho Grand has Ricci playing four different personalities: the paramour, the dreamer, the expressionist and the voyeur. In the end Ricci's four personalties merge into one. Donna Karan's Eldridge bag also features prominently in the film. Take a look:
Endless.com is running a sale on designer shoes and handbags today with 40% off on over one thousand selected styles. Some of the discount designer brands include Betsey Johnson, L.A.M.B., Badgley Mischka, Dolce & Gabbana and Giuseppe Zanotti. You can see the items on sale here. Endless.com is Amazon.com's online apparel and shoe store.
Vogue UK 
WWD 
The Wall Street Journal 
Endless.com is running a sale on designer shoes and handbags today with 40% off on over one thousand selected styles. Some of the discount designer brands include Betsey Johnson, L.A.M.B., Badgley Mischka, Dolce & Gabbana and Giuseppe Zanotti. You can see the items on sale 
