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Jil Sander - who sold her fashion house to Prada four years ago, left four months later, then made a dramatic comeback in 2003 - has left the company again, Prada said yesterday in Milan.
In a terse statement, Prada said that the decision by Patrizio Bertelli, chief executive of Prada, and Ms. Sander to end her involvement in the company was amicable. Separately, a Prada spokesman, Jason Jacobs, said: "They had a difference in opinion about the future financial plans for the Jil Sander brand. It was not about creativity".
Ms. Sander, who was at her home in Hamburg, Germany, could not be reached for comment. She had hinted to retailers in recent months of frustrations with Prada's strategies with her brand, which she started in 1973. "When you've been your own boss for 30 years, it's difficult to work with Big Brother watching you," said Janet Brown, whose boutique in Port Washington, N.Y., carries the Sander label. "They are both strong individuals and they're not used to running a relay race."
In 2000, Ms. Sander sold 75 percent of her company to Prada, largely with the expectation, she said at the time, of having Prada's expertise in leather goods and shoe-making to build her accessories business. Four months later, she resigned as creative director of the company, citing differences with Mr. Bertelli.
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'Reality is stranger than prediction'. Sales growth in the European retail business recovered in September, but there is no merry-making from retailers.
A steady rise in interest rates over the last few months, coupled with growing uncertainty over the economy and the housing market has influenced the behaviour of shoppers.
The 'under the line' trend remains sluggish, stemming from European consumers who remain resilient but are cautious in spending on big-ticket purchases.
In UK, the heightened impact of weather on sales is further testament to the fragility of growth and the need for the Bank of England to refrain from further rate rises in the coming months.
Retail sales in the UK during September increased by 2.0% on a like-for-like basis and showed growth of 4.6% on a total basis, which is better than sale figures achieved a year earlier.
The figures are also better, considering where the market was at the end of August and is much stronger than what most experts were expecting. The statistics saw the fastest pace in eight months, casting doubts on the view that the economy is slowing and keeping the door open for another hike in interest rate.
Sales were particular strong in the second half of the month when autumn ranges began to take off, helped by the cooler weather.
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The young assume temporary immunity from the "middle-age crazies," expecting the affliction to hit somewhere between the ages of 40 and 45, and suspecting that, like lightning, measles or chickenpox, it never strikes twice in the same place.
Those older and wiser come to realize that the midlife-crisis phenomenon not only has the audacity to strike at any age, but can appear decade after decade, and as many as two or three times within a decade.
The symptoms are self-doubt, dissatisfaction and insecurity, occurring when one measures one's life in terms of successes and failures, wealth and status, counting up more negatives than positives.
The designer Takeo admits relying too heavily on standard measures of success when he was younger. Over the years he's won accolades for his creations, which often bear intricate beadwork and detailed embroidery. His gowns -- running the gamut from sedate to provocative -- have been worn by beauty queens, entertainers and Hawaii's first ladies. But, in marking his 20th year as a fashion designer, he says it doesn't matter whether others perceive his creations as beautiful or ugly, impressive or not. All that matters is his journey as an artist and human being, and what he becomes at the end of it.
A retrospective of Takeo's works, including photographs of his gowns and a handful o
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Hussein Chalayan has fashioned clothing of unrippable paper that can be folded into envelopes, a dress designed like a kite that can actually fly and a coffee table of malleable wood that swirls into a skirt. What saves his fanciful designs from unraveling into mere novelty is the fact that Chalayan, 29, an exquisite tailor, uses the show pieces to inspire his eminently more wearable clothes.
"These pieces might not sell," he says, "but they express the concept behind each collection." The result is feminine clothes that are spare, clean and architecturally constructed to create volume without frills.
Rather than reference styles from past eras, Chalayan, who is Turkish Cypriot and based in London, molds each collection around a concept derived from outside the fashion world, whether it be the role of women in Islamic society (chadors of varying lengths) or the plight of families forced to leave their homes in times of war (the inspiration for the table skirt).
He is equally dedicated to exploring technology (plastic dresses with shifting mechanized panels, and fabrics adorned with computer-generated prints). "The only new work you can do in fashion is via technology," he says. "It lets you create something you couldn't have done in the past."
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Following a trend toward "fuller figure" mannequins highlighted in yesterday's New York Times, Goldsmith, a New York based mannequin manufacturer, has rounded out and lowered the derriere in his new line.
On CNBC's Bull's Eye Report, broadcast live on Friday night, Dwight Critchfield, creative director at Goldsmith, said "seeing J. Lo flaunt her curves" inspired the company to design mannequins with "a little more back."
The continued trend toward jeans as a best-selling fashion, and the growth of the American consumer, also influenced the new design.
"It's no secret that Americans are getting bigger," said Critchfield. "The clothing industry definitely has corrected sizes, and it's our business to help retailers sell clothing." Other mannequin makers that have noticed and followed in the shift to bigger backed babes include Greneker, Los Angeles, Adel Rootstein, London and Ralph Pucci International, New York. Mr. Pucci, who recently released the curvier size 8 "Goddess" line, told the New York Times, "People with these types of bodies are flaunting it. They're comfortable with it."
He continued, "If you have your eyes open, you see this type of body becoming more relevant."
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