Industry News – May 6th, 2016

Curated fashion industry news links for Friday,  May 6th, 2016…

TIMES SQUARE TO LOSE ANOTHER HIGH-PROFILE RETAIL FLAGSHIP – RetailingToday
“Aéropostale is closing its 19,000-sq.-ft. flagship in Manhattan’s Times Square. The teen apparel retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on May 4, saying it would close 113 stores in the United States. The Times Square store, which opened amid much hoopla in fall 2010, is located in the heart of Times Square, where retail rents now rank among the highest in the city, running as high $2,000 per square foot, according to Crain’s New York.”

THERE’S SOMETHING AWFULLY FAMILIAR ABOUT ZARA’S NEWEST COLLECTION – GQ
“Zara is one of the biggest, if not the biggest retailer in the world. Inditex Group (the parent company of Zara that also owns Massimo Dutti) is valued at over $100 billion, and its owner, Amancio Ortega, is currently worth $70.7 billion. (Those are all billions, with a B.) The mega-retailer’s success is in large part due to their ability to take high-fashion inspiration and make it affordable. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and all that, right? Well, that and the murky legal rights around things like prints and patterns and silhouettes. But their latest runway-culled inspiration seems to have come from one very specific place: Kanye West’s Yeezy label.”

DIANE VON FURSTENBERG PREDICTS THE FUTURE OF FASHION WEEK – Elle
“We already have fashion weeks all over the world now—I mean there is a Siberia Fashion Week,” said von Furstenberg. “But what does fashion week really mean anymore? That is kind of debatable.” The major issue, said Furstenberg is that “stores are trying to sell you something from six months. That’s a littleconfusing for the consumer.” Furstenberg herself included a few buy-now, wear-now pieces in her most recent collection.”

U.K. RETAIL SALES SPELL GLOOM FOR HIGH STREET – TheWallStreetJournal
“LONDON—The U.K. high street is feeling awfully low. Retail sales on the high street, Britain’s name for the main shopping drags in its towns and urban neighborhoods, plunged 6.1% in April compared with a year earlier, accounting firm BDO said Friday.”

THE SUPREME COURT IS WEIGHING IN ON CHEERLEADER UNIFORMS – YES, CHEERLEADER UNIFORMS – NYMag
“While logos are protected under copyright laws, design elements, like the chevrons and stripes on cheerleaders’ uniforms, aren’t. For example, a Pucci signature-print dress or a belt with Gucci’s interlocking G logo currently qualify as trademark-worthy, while a polka-dotted shirt does not. Everything will hinge on the Court’s decision about whether said elements are integral to the function of the uniforms, or if they can be considered separate entities. If they end up deciding that such motifs can be subject to copyright, then fashion designers might have more leeway to sue over knockoffs that contain similar-looking patterns.”