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Fashion chain French Connection has scotched rumours that it is about to ditch its FCUK logo despite issuing a profits warning after poor autumn trading.
The group said it had no plans to axe the branding after saying it expected full year pre-tax profits to fall 15pc following a disappointing take-up of its winter clothing offer.
Speculation about the future of the FCUK brand has been rife recently, with one market watcher reportedly describing it as "tired and tacky".
But French Connection operations director Neil Williams said the group believed its problems lay in the appeal of its clothing, rather than its branding.
"We don't fundamentally think this is a brand thing - it's more to do with the fashion product range."
The company attributed an 18pc fall in like-for-like sales in the UK and continental Europe in the three months since August to issues with the make-up of its winter clothing ranges, which it described as "not sufficiently attractive".
An improvement in the sales trend during the remainder of the season was unlikely, the group said in a trading update.
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With a strong four-decade track record, Giorgio Armani has earned the right to do just about anything he wants in the field of fashion.
If he wants to try his hand at writing about the Academy Awards instead of sketching gowns for the red carpet, he can.
If he wants to abandon the sleek gowns and chic suits that made him a fashion legend in favor of Asian-floral silk pants, cropped mandarin jackets and coolie hats, he can.
If he wants to invite regular folks to see his runway fashion show instead of only boldface names, he can.
And he did.
In fact, on a recent -- and rare -- trip to the United States from his Milan home base, he did all of the above.
The designer explains that the time has come to tweak the successful Armani formula, even if it's to satisfy only his own creative cravings.
"In the past, I already had created some special collections that were seen as not so 'Armani,' but the specialized press was a bit superficial and they did not forgive me for those differences. The press only wanted to think of the typical suit or the working woman and that was it, and that kind of clipped my wings," he says. "But now that I have more experience, I realize that in order to be gratified one has to do things that one loves and, therefore, one must not be so preoccupied with criticism."
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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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