Christmas 2015: Score deals at Zalora's online fashion sale

MANILA – Fashionistas, mark your calendars. On Saturday, December 12, Zalora Philippines will host what it calls the biggest online fashion sale in the country.

At exactly 12 a.m., Zalora Philippines will hold its 12.12 Online Fever, where shoppers can score deals across categories from both local and international brands.

The sale will go live via the Zalora mobile app and this link for only one day.

“This is the one day of the year when customers can expect the best fashion offers from both local and international brands that are available only in Zalora,” said Paulo Campos, co-founder and managing director of Zalora Philippines.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Toddler Harper Beckham's designer clothes go on sale for charity

LONDON - She has been dubbed the world's most stylish toddler with a wardrobe even the most dedicated fashionistas envy.

But on Thursday, fashion fan parents got a chance to dress their own tots in Harper Beckham's clothes after a collection of her outfits went on sale for charity in London.

Spice Girl-turned-fashion designer Victoria Beckham donated 25 of her three-year-old daughter's outfits as part of Save the Children's "Fashion Saves Lives" sale.

On display were dresses, skirts, tops, trousers, coats and shoes - from Doc Martens boots to colorful pumps - by designer names such as Chloe, Marc Jacobs, Gucci, Ralph Lauren, Stella McCartney and Versace with price tags reaching up to 500 pounds($795).

A pink flower and jewel embellished Mischka Aoki dress, retailing at around 3,700 pounds, was placed in an auction, which will run until June 28.

Queues started forming outside the "Mary's living & giving" shop in London's Primrose Hill early Thursday morning, with eager mothers wanting to be the first to get their hands on the designer items.

"Yesterday when we were getting ready for the sale, we had people walking past all day, knocking on the window desperate to find out how they could get their hands on an outfit," Helena Wiltshire, head of PR at Save The Children, told local media.

Save The Children said the first item was sold five minutes after the sale began at 0900 GMT (5.00 a.m. ET).

(1 US dollar = 0.6285 British pound)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

How websites are feeding frenzy for second-hand luxury bags

PARIS - Would you fork out $8,000 for an old handbag? For fashionistas who simply must get their hands on a rare model from an iconic brand, the answer is an emphatic yes.

Thanks in part to the economic downturn, some of the stigma of buying second-hand accessories has eased in recent years -- although many buyers still prefer to use euphemisms like "pre-owned".

The market for used luxury bags, watches and jewellery hit 16 billion euros ($17.5 billion) last year, according to a study by the consultancy Bain and Altagamma, an Italian body representing luxury goods manufacturers.

And while 80 percent of the sales are still in bricks-and-mortar shops, online sales are rocketing, their study found.

"If you add up the sales of all the big luxury groups for the past 20 years, you're talking about two to three trillion euros of merchandise sitting in people's closets," said Loic Bocher, co-founder of Collector Square, a website that touts itself as giving "another life" to luxury items.

The website, which launched just two years ago, did that for 5,000 luxury cast-offs last year.

A quilted blue Chanel, a Gucci made from python-skin, or a brown pony-hair Fendi Baguette: Collector Square has more than 1,600 bags on its site, including over a dozen Birkins, the legendary Hermes model that is by far its most sought-after.

"The Birkin is most difficult to get hold of and often sparks overbidding, but you need to be aware that it is not at all representative of the second-hand market," said Bocher.

The most highly prized second-hand Hermes models can command prices up to 20 percent higher than their brand-new equivalents, while other pre-owned brands sell at a discount of between 30 and 90 percent, according to a study by Exane-BNP Paribas published in March in colloboration with the website InstantLuxe.

For a Birkin, "the market goes crazy: a bag can be sold within a few hours and hit 10,000 or even 14,000 euros. It's the Rolls-Royce of handbags," said Yann Le Floc'h, the founder of InstantLuxe, which saw its business double between 2013 and 2014.

Carefully cultivating desire

Designed for actress and singer Jane Birkin in 1984, the bags are hand-made in France and come in a variety of sizes, colours and leathers. The bags are instantly recognisable by their flap fastener and padlock, with the classic 35-centimetre (10-inch) model in calfskin selling new for 7,400 euros.

It is not hard to see why Birkin fans are taking to the Internet: you can have one hanging off your arm in just a couple of days.

It could take months to find a new one in a Hermes store -- the brand carefully controls supply -- especially if you are set on a particular colour or leather.

"That's the key to luxury: carefully maintain a gap between supply and demand," said Bocher. "And the brands work so hard to cultivate desire."

For Le Floc'h, one explanation for the online second-hand rush is that people's views on luxury products have changed. Today, it is "the state of mind of using a luxury product" that is important, whereas "before it was owning and handing down".

Asian customers in particular are driving the Birkin buying spree, Le Floc'h added.

"It's the Chinese who have dictated the Birkin market," he said. "Two years ago the 35-centimetre model was the norm, but today it's the 30-centimetre model because there are more Asians on the market," and they prefer smaller bags.

Clamour for one particular Birkin led to it setting a record recently for the most expensive handbag ever sold at a Christie's auction.

The fuchsia-coloured crocodile-skin number, with a white gold clasp and padlock encrusted with diamonds, was snapped up by an Asian phone bidder for US$222,912 in an auction that saw "fast-paced bidding from start to finish", Christie's said in a statement.

Luca Solca, an analyst at Exane-BNP Paribas, said much of the European demand for second-hand luxury bags is suspected to be from 'daigou' -- Chinese middlemen who buy second-hand products in excellent condition in order to sell them in China as new.

In order to ensure the authenticity of the items sold on their websites, both Collector Square and InstantLuxe call upon experts, who also evaluate the condition of the bags.

But it remains unclear what impact the thriving online second-hand market will have on luxury brands that go to great lengths to control their sales.

"We give value to these products and prove that they're timeless," says Bocher in defence of websites like Collector Square.

"And for the brands, it's better to have a structured second-hand market with checks on authenticity."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Shopping shorts: Where to buy stylish, comfy shoes

MANILA – Looking for a pair of comfortable yet stylish shoes to add to your collection? Here are some new items that you may want to check out.

These are not endorsed by ABS-CBNnews.com.

Superstar 80s shoes from Adidas

Sportswear brand Adidas has launched its Superstar 80s Pioneer Pack, which features collaborations with skater Mark “Gonz” Gonzales and designer NIGO.

Adidas Originals Superstar 80s by Gonz features an all-white leather upper and a set of markers, inviting the wearer to leave his or her own mark on the sneakers.

On the other hand, the Adidas Originals Superstar 80s by NIGO has the designer’s “Grand Slam” print, which pays homage to sportswear.

Both sneakers are available in Adidas stores, Sneakpeek, Sole Academy and NBA Store at P4,995 each.

Colorful flip-flops from Ipanema

Flip-flop brand Ipanema is encouraging Filipinos to wear their “lucky” colors in the coming Year of the Sheep through their latest collection.

The brand’s flip-flops and sandals come in different colors and designs, each “ergonomically shaped to hug your feet so that they provide comfort when you walk,” said Francisco Elizalde, president of ELRO Retail Corp., which distributes Ipanema products in the Philippines.

Ipanema items are available in the Ipanema Store, Bambu Stores, SM Department Stores, Robinsons Department Stores, Shoe Salon, Landmark, Cinderella, Flatshop and other leading boutiques nationwide.

‘Date night’ shoes from Grendha

Grendha is offering ladies some comfortable shoes that they can use on dates, whether it’s an out-of-town trip or a fancy dinner.

From flats to platform shoes and slip-ons, Grendha’s newest designs put the modern fashionista’s needs in the limelight without sacrificing comfort.

From February to May 14, 2015, those who have a single receipt worth at least P2,500 of Grendha footwear from participating department stores can get a limited edition purse.

For more information, visit Grendha Philippines’ Facebook page.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Models join protest over sweatshops at NY fashion week

NEW YORK CITY - Models joined labor activists on Thursday at New York fashion week to protest clothing brand Nautica over its parent company's failure to sign up to improve conditions in Bangladesh factories.

As Nautica unveiled its spring menswear collection on the catwalks at the Lincoln Center, a handful of people picketed outside, holding boards which read: "no one should die for fashion."

"Nautica don't throw workers overboard," read another, as fashionistas dressed to the nines rushed to the Nautica show.

Liana Foxvog of the International Labor Rights Forum said the protesters were demanding that VF corporation -- which produces scores of popular clothing brands such as Wrangler, Lee Jeans, Timberland and Eastpak -- sign the accord.

In the wake of a series of fatal clothing factory fires, and the devastating factory collapse in April which left 1,129 dead, 86 companies signed the accord to protect the safety of workers who sew their clothing.

They include well-known US brands -- Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Abercrombie & Fitch, American Eagle -- but the majority are European retailers such as H&M and Zara.

Kalpona Akter, executive director of the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity, was also at the Big Apple's premier fashion event, imploring the retailer -- one of the world's largest -- to step up.

She hit out at "retailers like VF who know their factories are unsafe and (are) not taking any action."

On its website, VF states it "did not have a business relationship with any of the factories in the collapsed building" but that it works hard to ensure a "safe working environment" for workers sewing its clothes in Bangladesh.

However according to Foxvog a December 2010 fire that claimed 29 lives took place at a factory that produced clothes for VF.

"They prioritize profits over people's lives," she said.

A handful of models also joined the picket such as Sara Ziff who said unsafe labor practices continue because "people turn a blind eye and its as simple as that."

"Ten years ago, when I modeled for Nautica, I didn't think about the garment workers who made the clothes I was wearing," said Ziff.

However after a visit to the factories in that country she said she felt a moral responsibility to expose "the unsafe working conditions under which our clothes are produced, and the plight of the workers who produce them."

The April disaster highlighted appalling conditions in Bangladesh's 4,500 garment factories, where workers toil for 10-12 hours a day for basic monthly wages of around $40.

Foxvog said initial investigations into factory conditions under the accord were starting this month and initial reports were expected by the end of the year.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com