Looking Forward To:Lanvin x Acne Capsule Collection

Alber Elbaz, collaborating with the Swedish design firm ACNE (Ambition to Create Novel Expressions) on a 28-piece denim collection, sought to “go back to a product that has a dream to it,” he’d told The Daily. The head designer at Lanvin wanted to craft “desirable denim, from raincoats, tuxedos, corsets, and shrugs,” he explained to style.com in Paris at the Blue Soirée in the Hôtel de Crillon salon, where London DJ team Horse Meat Disco spun some tunes for the transvestites, Parisian A-listers, models and more gathered to celebrate the collaboration.
The purpose of the partnership wasn’t about “signing hardcore contracts,” he said, rather about something mutually fun and creative with the “young, energetic, sexy Swedes” Elbaz detailed to The Daily. (See ‘em for yourself.)
The Lanvin x Acne denim capsule collection will have a line of jeans ranging from $550 to $650, coats running $1,200 to $1,500 and jewelry and handbags upwards of $1,500 and more. Find pieces at Barney's and Bergdorf Goodman this November.
And while the guys get the short end of the stick on number of pieces from the collaboration, there’s these sick all-denim high-tops from the capsule collection at Sarah/Colette's blog will make the want of many. ...Lanvin and Acne, did you really see them screwing this up?

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Economy, The Hemline and You

Paris Fashion week concluded this Sunday, and the media played scrutiny to how designers would approach luxury designs during a period of economic downturn. "Recession was the talk of the town," The Houston Chronicle reported on Milan Fashion Week, just previous to Paris. "[T]he strong euro was visibly taking its toll," says reporter Daniela Petroff  describing the bleak week for shops and shows in Milan.

How will the economy trickle to affect you and your shopping?

Averyl Oates, fashion director at Harvey Nichols, tells the Portfolio that lower priced goods are first to suffer in recessions in stores. "It's simply too easy for people to trade down to the high street for their jeans and casual clothes," Oates tells Portfolio. This may mean lower numbers of generic-seeming denim and accessory pieces in retail stores. You might be able to expect more wow-pieces on shop racks in stores. 

In a store on the other side of the pond, Saks Fifth Avenue fashion director Michael Fink is doing just that. He is "focused on finding clothes women don't already have in their closets," reports USA Today. The New York luxury department director even has a mantra in mind for Saks — "no basics." 

The chief executive officer of Saks Steve Sadov is witnessing "more pressure on the aspirational luxury consumer at our entry-price points," he tells BusinessWeek. The article reports "sales at stores open for a year or more slowed to a miniscule 0.8% gain in December, compared with a 25.7% increase in the previous month." 

Via, The Business of Fashion, economic problems are predicted to "spill over into the luxury sector," affecting companies like Coach and Gucci.

Who's gaining? Companies like TJ Maxx, Wal-Mart and Target reports USA Today. 

Don't go buy your Spring Break swimsuit at Wal-Mart just yet, though. This week, MONDblog will introduce stores with winter and spring pieces at marked down prices ...so you can start spending that economy stimulus check right away.