Givenchy to take a break from Paris Haute Couture Week

The French couture label helmed by Riccardo Tisci won't be presenting a collection in January 2013.

A look from the Givenchy haute couture by Riccardo Tisci autumn/winter 2012 collection

In recent seasons Givenchy had opted for more intimate, still life-style showcases but has planned not to share its spring/summer 2013 with press in January, reports WWD.

The label plans to continue making haute couture gowns and will welcome clients to its atelier, but the only glimpse we'll get of Riccardo Tisci's signature gothic glamour is when celebrities will chose to wear creations on the red carpet. Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway and Beyoncé are loyal wearers of the label.

BURBERRY falling Down!!

Indeed... The market is changing, and so are the market players!

Luxury goods maker Burberry shocked the markets on Wednesday with a warning that sales had stalled in the clearest sign yet that slowing demand from China is having an impact on the booming sector.

The profit warning wiped £1bn off Burberry's market value, sending shares in the 156-year-old fashion house down nearly 21% to £10.87. Following disappointment from Coach and Ralph Lauren in recent weeks, this is the first major disappointment for European luxury brands, analysts said. The shine has also come off sales at New York-based jeweller Tiffany, with Europeans and Asians buying fewer $65,000 (£40,000) diamond necklaces and $10,000 amethyst earrings.

Experts predict the global slowdown will prompt the rise of more affordable luxury lines and lead to Chinese shoppers becoming more discerning in what they buy.

Burberry, known for its trademark camel, red and black check, said like-for-like sales ground to a halt in the 10 weeks to 8 September and have started to fall in recent weeks. Total sales including new space were up 6%. It warned that profits before tax for the year to March 2013 would be at the lower end of City expectations, which ranged from £407m to £455m.

Burberry's chief executive Angela Ahrendts said: "As we stated in July, the external environment is becoming more challenging."

Sales of luxury goods in China tripled in value in the last five years, according to Euromonitor International. Its burgeoning middle classes have become key clientele for Burberry and other international luxury brands including France's LVMH, Hermes and Gucci owner PPR, splurging on western designer fashion and handbags.

Marks & Spencer need to be more stylish!

Lisa Armstrong: 'Marks & Spencer's clothes don't need to get more fashionable - or less fashionable. They just need to be more stylish.'

Poor Marks & Spencer. As if a seven per cent slump in womenswear sales weren't bad enough, it has to endure endless journalists telling it where it went wrong. Too much fashion, not enough editing, is one theory I've read this week. Not enough fashion, is another.

M&S clothes don't need to get more fashionable - or less fashionable. They just need to be more stylish. That starts with the cut. Because it comes to something when your 71-year-old mother says she finds M&S frumpy. And she's not looking for a pair of this summer's hot-pants or crop-tops. At least my 71-year-old mother isn't. She wants well-cut trousers and tops that flatter and fit, in good-quality fabrics. She's a trim size 12 - she's not asking for radical surgical enhancement. And she's not so naïve she expects M&S to compete on price with Primark. If she wants Primark, she'll go to Primark. But she doesn't want Primark.

Can it really be that hard? Remember when M&S's underwear was truly grizzly: cheap-looking lace and satins and ludicrously over-embellished pointy cup-shapes? After years of criticism and slipping sales, the lingerie team finally got its act together and combined its undeniably innovative fabric technology and scale of economy to deliver some excellent bra shapes.