This week was filled with ups and downs. Starting at the bottom, the iconic 30-year-old fashion house Escada has filed for bankruptcy in Germany after months of struggling to find a solution to their financial problems. It’s hard to believe that a company that was once the world’s largest maker of women’s fashion is now only worth 20.7 million euros after experiencing a 72% drop in share value over the last three days.
In the same bad news boat is Ralph Lauren. Hi namesake company was just sued by Lifeguard Licensing Corp. for trademark infringement for printing the word “lifeguard” on T-shirts and polo shirts. Lifeguard Licensing Corp. claims that they own the right to label swimsuits, apparel and accessories with the word which they first trademarked back in 1937. The litigation is still pending, and RL has yet to comment publicly.
Moving up the meter, some will cringe and some will delight at the fact that Katie Holmes has just revealed her first fashion collection. Called Holmes & Yang, she created the collection, which consists of women’s wear and children’s wear inspired by the actress’ personal style and her daughter, with the help of her stylist, Jeanne Yang. It will be launched exclusively at designer boutique Maxfield in Los Angeles this fall.
The best tidbit this week? High-end UK lingerie brand Agent Provocateur – founded by Vivienne Westwood’s son, Joseph Corré and Serena Rees – will stage what is sure to be an electric show when they debut their Agent Provocateur Soirée couture line during New York Fashion Week. The line is priced between $190 and $4,900 and hits stores in November.
