Marc by Marc Jacobs Store in Paris

• Scarfs for 15 euros.
  
• Rubber Marc by Marc Jacobs boots 5 euros.
• An excuse to keep shopping? Priceless.

Two new Marc by Marc Jacobs stores in Paris (one for men and the other for women) have opened up their doors with products starting as low as €2.00 (euros for those of you that don't know the symbol).
What is the World is coming too!! Can we see Valentino for a 5ver?

"Suits You Sir" - Tailored-made to Recession

The Amerikan luxury department store, Saks Fifth Avenue has announced a new service of made to order mens suits with "accessible prices.

The suits will be made from pre-existing patterns which then will be tailored to fit a customer's measurements and tastes. Prices in this new made-to-measure program will range from $1,195 to $1,395, compared to $1,600 and $1,900 for designer versions.

This service will be available in 12 Saks stores and will offer five styles and more than 200 Italian fabrics. Sport coats will cost $795 to $995 and trousers $295 to $395.
The average turnaround time for a made-to-measure item is three to four weeks.

Suits You Sir!

These Boots are Made for Walking

Louboutin’s Made to Order - The Ultimate Luxury

I don't think that we need to do a formal introduction when we speak about Christian Louboutin. Every woman in this planet knows about him and his sexy creations! Renowned both for his flattering stilettos and his sparkling personality, Christian Louboutin has become a darling of the chic-shod set.

Yet, the restless designer has ratcheted up his luxury profile even higher by quietly opening a Made-to-Measure salon on a courtyard across the street from his rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau headquarters.

“I was scared,” Louboutin says; At first I thought, What if I don’t have any clients?” Au contraire. In the past six months, 70 of Louboutin’s most faithful regulars—Sofia Coppola, Zoe Cassavetes, Arielle Dombasle, Liliane Bettencourt and Nobel laureate Toni Morrison among them—have given his bespoke service a whirl.

“This is a world of standardization,” he says. “So when a woman comes to me with a wish, it’s exciting to be able to realize it. To fulfill a woman’s precise desire—that is the ultimate luxury.”

And what can be more indulgent then your very own Custom made Louboutins!

If it's too Good to be true...EBay's Faux Case

Ever heard the expression: "If it's too Good to be true..."!

On June 4, a French court ruled against eBay in a case brought against it by French ultra-chic luxury retailer Hermès over the sale of three Hermès bags, including two fakes, for a total of 3,000 euros ($4,715.50).

It's not so much the size of the fine that's likely to be keeping eBay executives awake at night: 20,000 euros ($31,439.30) is relatively small change for a company the market values at $38.5 billion. Rather, it's the precedent that the ruling by the court in Troyes sets, as it could apply to cases that might cost eBay a lot more and force it to rethink its entire selling strategy.

In France, Christian Dior and LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton have pending cases against eBay over counterfeit goods, worth 17 million euros ($26.7 million) and 20 million euros ($31.4 million), respectively, while in the U.S., Tiffany's case against the company completed its hearing stage last December.

Hermès is the first successful case against eBay in France, and the second time an online intermediary has been found liable in relation to counterfeit charges, says Georgie Collins, an intellectual property lawyer at London-based business law firm LG.

Europe is taking a tough look at the responsibilities of online vendors across the board. Last year in Germany, Rolex successfully sued eBay over a breach of its intellectual property rights, using the European Enforcement Directive of 2004, which harmonized intellectual property rights across Europe. The European Commission's e-commerce directive, which looks at the liability of intermediaries, is also under review.

The International Anti Counterfeiting Coalition estimates that counterfeiting has skyrocketed over the past two decades into a $600 billion industry. In her book on the history of luxury, Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster, Newsweek journalist Dana Thomas argues that the multibillion-dollar luxury goods industry has been particularly vulnerable. The democratization of the industry in the early 1990s brought luxury goods within the reach of the world's middle classes, in no small part fueled by China's emergence as a low-cost manufacturing center.

But along with the low-cost goods has come a raft of counterfeits. "The convergence of the two, big demand and big supply," Thomas argues, has had a "cataclysmic" effect on the luxury business.

SWAROVSKI RUNWAY TO ROCK LONDON

Swarovski RUNWAY ROCKS celebrates jewellery design and innovation showcasing the internationally acclaimed couture collection of spectacular catwalk jewels, specially commissioned by Swarovski from the most directional designers around the world!

This is a spectacular couture show with jewels from leading international designers including Manish Arora, Erickson Beamon, Francesca Bristol, Alexandra Byrne, Hussein Chalayan, Ana de Costa, Ligia Dias, Naomi Filmer, Elizabeth Galton, Collada Garcia, Zaha Hadid, Kirt Holmes, Christopher Kane, Farah Khan, Shaun Leane, Julien Macdonald, Hannah Martin, Corto Moltedo, Nusch, Mr Pearl, Johnny Rocket, Marios Schwab, Pippa Small and Rodrigo Otazu Jewellery!

Nadja Swarovski is bringing the company's Runway Rocks presentation — in which jewelry and fashion designers present one-off pieces created from crystallized Swarovski elements — back to London. The event made its debut in the city in 2003, and now designers including Shaun Leane, Christopher Kane, Pippa Small, Ana De Costa and Zaha Hadid , Rodrigo Otazu will produce pieces for this year's runway show, which takes place Wednesday at London's Phillips de Pury gallery. The event is presented in association with Coutts London Jewellery Week, which runs from June 11 to June 15.

After the show, Swarovski will also present its Atelier Swarovski collection of high-end pieces for fall. Designers including Christopher Kane, Giles Deacon, Jonathan Saunders and Doo.Ri have produced jewelry for the line, which is sold at retailers such as Selfridges and Harvey Nichols in London and Colette in Paris. The Atelier pieces, along with the jewelry made for the runway, will be shown at Phillips de Pury & Co. throughout the day Thursday, with the exhibition open to the public. Rock On!

Jean Charles de Castelbajac opens debut UK store

Brand house and supplier Marchpole opened the first UK store for its Jean Charles de Castelbajac brand in London today.

The 2,500 sq ft shop in Conduit Street has a pop-art themed concept and sells the French designer's men's and women's collections, as well as accessories, footwear and luggage.

"The store represents another important step in raising the brand's awareness on the international fashion stage. The JCC label has an established popularity in key brand driven markets and we continue to work with Jean Charles de Castelbajac to build on the success of the brand to date."
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