Global Vibes
FRANCE: Hot on the heels of her collaborations with department store H&M and sportswear brand Adidas, London-based designer Stella McCartney has signed up to do another collaboration. Following the huge success of her own eponymous vegetarian accessories range, McCartney is set to design a line of non-leather travel bags and luggage for French accessories label LeSportsac. She will also help design baby accessories and bags for mothers. The collection will be available from Spring 2008 from Stella McCartney stores and stockists worldwide. For more: stellamccartney.com
Fabric forecasts
HONG KONG: Natural and functional fabrics with vivid colours are expected to be among the key trends presented at the Interstoff Asia Essential Spring 2007/08 fair in Hong Kong next month. The trend forecasts, presented by a high-ranking trend committee that includes representatives from Elementi Moda (Milan), Here & There (New York) and Sachiko Inoue (Tokyo), are expected to name romantic and artistic elements, with textured fabrics and illustrative prints as key looks for the upcoming season. For more: interstoff-asia.com
Choo change
UNITED KINGDOM: Luxury shoe brand Jimmy Choo is set to dramatically alter the way it does business. International private equity firm Towerbrook Capital Partners LP acquired the brand for £185 million earlier this month and has already announced plans to help it explore potential acquisitions in the luxury goods sector. In the statement, the company confirmed it would continue to develop overseas and would be expanding its current offering. It is understood the brand's president and founder of Jimmy Choo, Tamara Mellon, will continue to run the creative side of the business and remain a major shareholder.
Jeans profile
AMERICA: Lifestyle brand Tommy Hilfiger has launched a new line of jeans that promise to revolutionise the way women wear them. Dubbed Profile Jeans, the new pants come in three different bottom 'cup' sizes, so that they are cut differently depending on the shape of your behind. Available in three different cuts, the A-fit jean is cut to enhance a smaller bottom, the B-fit flatters a woman with a rounder curve and the C-fit jean is designed for a more voluptuous bottom and creates a streamlined look. For more: tommy.com
Fake goods on rise
UNITED KINGDOM: The rampant availability of counterfeit fashion goods has executives from some of the world's most powerful companies lobbying governments for global enforcement agencies to support efforts to counter the multi-billion pound piracy of goods, according to a Women's Wear Daily US report. Experts at the third Global Congress Combating Counterfeiting & Piracy noted the scale of the problem was "massive". It said the US last year made 15,000 seizures by customs agents, up 83 percent compared with 2005, and that the same trends were being observed in the European Union. A survey by 48 companies in 27 product categories found China was responsible for two-thirds of all counterfeit goods impounded in the European Union, followed by Russia, Ukraine, Chile and Turkey.