He transformed the business into something more promising by simply focusing on tailoring design applied to the finest of their fabrics. Textile manufacturing is still handled though, but his sensibility is now applied for fashion.

Nino Cerruti first came out as a fashion designer when he created his first collection of men’s wear named the “Hitman”. This product has been considered through the fashion industry as a revolutionary line, but was later surpassed by one of its newest addition, the unisex clothing of 1967.

While designing his men’s wear collections, Cerruti decided to establish a boutique in Paris, allowing him to provide the public the latest in the fashion world. Few months after, new boutiques were opened in other areas in the world, and Nino Cerruti started handling designing lessons with only few of his dedicated talents. Giorgio Armani was one of them.

In 1993, Nino Cerruti showcased his menswear collections still in Paris without any of the dramas involved in the traditional menswear presentations. This principle is maintained in all of his projects, but what is really noted about all of his designs was the use of three-button single-breasted look, which is but natural to Giorgio Armani’s designs. Unlike the other fashion designers, the works of Cerruti all boast a highly textural fabric that appears very luxurious in all aspects.

In an attempt to expand his knowledge in fashion designing, Nino Cerruti began developing a wide selection of dandies. He designed costumes for movie actors, and aside from designing clothes for these people, he also used celebrities as his own models. He experimented on this venture for a number of years, and what later followed was the production of his advertising campaigns and promotions created for his own business.

Nino Cerruti is also known for his popular lines of fragrances. However, unlike his clothing products and accessories, the perfumes and colognes he markets are manufactured not by him, but by Coty, Inc. Included in the list of Cerruti’s most popular perfumes are the following: Nino Cerruti for men, Fair Play for men, Nino Cerruti pour femme for women, Cerruti 1881 for men and women, Cerruti Image for men and women, CerrutiSi, Cerruti 1881 black, pour femme Blanc, Eau d’Ete, and Amber.

All of the products designed and manufactured by Nino Cerruti are currently being sold in different areas in the world. One can find the products in Paris, Milan, London, Cosenza, Madrid, Munich, Athens, Stockholm, Birmingham, Moscow, Riyadh, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and New York, to mention but a few. The prices for these products highly vary, making it important for you to know how much you really can afford to spend for a piece of Nino Cerruti’s fashion items.

Browse all Nino Cerruti Perfumes at our Womens and Mens Fragrance Outlet
Also, read more about Nino Cerruti fragrances

Hennes & Mauritz (well known as H&M) has always worked hard to provide invincible value to the customers via adjoining quality, fashion with competitive price. Today, it exists in 14 countries through 730 stores. The company is planning to expand further, with an average of 100 stores a year.

The expansion will be executed in untouched countries also. The major reasons behind the success can be assigned to the capability of internal designers, examples of piggy-backer style, and ability to quickly identify trends and introducing elegant and exclusive designs at lower price bands.

The development of product is at the centre of evolvement, and worldwide suppliers are greatly involved in order to fulfill increasing amount of product assortment with newly added stores. The focus of the company is balancing both, product development and expansion, to meet the demands of huge customer-base.

Marks & Spencer: Registers come-back with enhanced product assortments
Marks & Spencer has registered its come-back since last year, when the profits were sagging, through its latest ad campaign, which concentrates on adding value to its product assortments. Marks & Spencer has noted increase in profit since its suppliers were directed to raise the discounts to 10% from 5%.

The company registered climb in yearly profits before tax. It said that the profit before tax without exceptional items was GBP 751.4mn ($1.41bn). The company is communicating directly to the suppliers to overwhelm product and cost. Marks & Spencer initiates to have long-term partnerships in supply chain to cater consumer’s demands on fashion at more competitive prices.

In a move to expand further, Marks & Spencer plans to launch its first store in Latvia in the current year, and next store in the Baltic States, following the success of the trial store. The new store in the capital of Latvia, Riga will add 930sqm to its total sales area. This expansion will be result of the agreement with Czech company Coms.

Mango: On a move to expand and brand promotion

Leading women clothing retailer, Mango is planned out well-structured promotion of brands and expansion. The concept of MANGO is a perfect blend of quality product to produce latest fashion trends at affordable prices. In recent years the company has been considerably engaged in franchising its operations. MANGO is planning lucid approach to the media strategies. In a move to expand further the company is looking to enter into brand oriented markets, such as Australia, Italy and also China. The company has already executed expansion plans, opening stores in cities like Paris, London and Vienna.

The product assortments were always been made at the best quality level, and now the company is looking to allure high-end consumers for its exclusive goods. MANGO is endorsing well-known celebrities to add value to its brand. The company is directing its vendors to work with other companies in order to meet the requirements in product assortment.

At present, MANGO runs 885 sales points in over 80 countries worldwide. MANGO registered a turnover of Euro 1144mn in the year 2005 that depicts 8.4% a year on year growth.

Karstadt Quelle: Looking to uphold business via strategic mergers and tie-ups

Performance of leading mail order and department store in Europe, Karsadt Quelle bounced backed after facing bit slow down over the last few years, targets at upper levels. However, Universal Mail Order Germany did not performed well and registered sales below its target. Karsadt Quelle is looking for affirmative sales and revenue climb by reorganizing its mail order business by the year 2007.

After rearranging its business and securing its financial status, the company is entering into the 3rd part of reorganization with enhancing quality and planned shift. Recently Karsadt Quelle has generated Euro 4.5bn from selling its one of the department store properties to British real estate fund Whitehall. The company is also planning sale off other properties to generate Euro 600mn.

The planned re-organization of the company includes mergers and tie-ups of its Department Stores and individual units like recently established Premium Group. Mergers are also possible in Universal Mail Order, in e-commerce or in particular brands. By the end of this year the company will be free of monetary debt. After paying all debt, the accruing profits will be invested in the expansions of Department Stores.

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Copyright © 2006

photo credit: Addictive Picasso

Gianni Versace was born in 1946 in Reggio, Calabria, in Southern Italy. Versace received his love of fashion and first lessons on dress-making from his mother.

Initially Versace trained as an architect, but soon he followed his mother into the fashion business. Versace worked for a number of top Italian fashion houses, but in 1978 with the help of his brother Santo he launched his own label.

Versace was a great fashion pioneer who combined the worlds of high style and pop culture. He was a charismatic and accomplished designer of clothing and theater costumes.

Versace appreciated a range of historic attire which he incorporated into his designs and he was greatly influenced by Andy Warhol and modern abstract art.

Wowzer! Best describes the fashions designed by Gianni Versace. He was notorious for designing garments that would shock and startle our senses. Versace saw his designing as an art form. He initiated clothing that was visually excessive and provocative- fashions that confronted accepted codes of taste, beauty and sexuality.

Fashion became entertainment, to be watched and admired – not simply worn. For Versace nothing was too extravagant too crazy or too risque. Yet no matter how extravagant or provocative Versace’s clothes were always strikingly well designed garments designed to flatter the body.

Versace was the designer of choice for many of the rich and famous: pop stars such as Elton John, and Madonna; film stars such as Will Smith, and Elizabeth Hurley and even royalty – Princess Diana.

The wealthy were drawn to his clothes like magnets, and that enhanced his reputation. However, Vercasse did not design simply for the wealthy his clothes were very much available to the average person.

In 1985 he launched the Istante label in 1985; and after years as Gianni’s muse, his sister Donatella became his co-designer and launched the Versace diffusion range, Versus, in 1989.

These labels featured clothes within the budgets of many consumers; not only were they priced lower than the custom-made clothes, but they were also aimed at younger markets.
In 1988 Versace received the Cutty Sark Award as “the most innovative and creative designer in the world”; and in 1993 the Council of Fashion Designers of America awarded him the American fashion Oscar.

On July 15, 1997 Versace was shot to death outside his South Beach home in Miami, Florida by a crazed gunman name Andrew Cunanan. Since his untimely death in 1997 the Versace fashion house continues to grow under the creative leadership of his sister Donatella and the business acumen of his brother Santo. Donatella’s daughter Allegra inherited 50% of the company last summer when she turned 18. However, Donatella is still very much in charge.

The days of the wet-look, shocking pink PVC and as much flash and flesh as a catwalk can take are long gone. The new Versace is growing up. “I’m not blind,” says Donatella. “I know that most women don’t look like models.

We had to start addressing other parts of a woman’s life. The fashion business is a very different place from when Gianni started the label.” Donatella’s mind is very much on the continued success of Versace.

With Donatella at the helm, and Santo and Allegra at her side, they continue to grow and develop the Versace Product Lines with fabulous designs unveiled for the 2005 Spring Season. The proof is in the Versace spring fashion line – Have a look for yourself!

http://www.newyorkmetro.com/fashion/fashionshows/05/spring/runway/versace/

http://www.milanfashionshows.com/spring2005/versace/photos.htm

http://www.style.com/fashionshows/collections/S2005RTW/review/VERSACE

Sher from Estate Jewelry International has been serving customers for over 20 years, providing fashion, jewelry, and wedding help. Please visit us at http://www.estatejewelryinternational.com/

Profile of Shattered Girlz

I met the designer of a fantastic t-shirt brand the other day that operates under the label “Shattered Girlz.” She has a gripping personal story that instantly inspires one to root for her success. She suffered betrayal from men into whom she poured her heart and soul, and who in one case left her for another woman while she was caring for her terminally ill parents. This designer has an avatar, Dolly Tatume, a tattooed cartoon beauty whose life and loves are chronicled through the various t-shirt designs in the line. Dolly has also been involved in some dead-end relationships with men that have caused her a lot of pain, to the point that she refers to the men in her life as “Piggys.” There are several female tattooed characters in the line that represent different examples of female empowerment, like a dancer, a corporate lawyer, a college student, even a soldier. Shattered Girlz’s tagline at the moment is “Shattered Girlz: I can’t be broken!”

Psychographical Analysis of Shattered Girlz

Wikipedia’s definition of psychographics is as follows:

Psychographic variables are any attributes relating to personality, values, attitudes, interests, or lifestyles. Some categories of psychographic factors used in market segmentation include Social class, Lifestyle, Behavior, Opinions, and Values. Psychographics can also be seen as an equivalent of the concept of “culture” as used most commonly in national segmentation.

Let’s analyze the various aspects of this product line in terms of psychographics. Here’s what I come up with:

* Social class: young, college-aged urban women, perhaps in a street counterculture
* Lifestyle: goth and tattoos
* Behavior: searching for self-expression and empowerment
* Opinions: a negative attitude toward men in general, however fleeting
* Values: Women can rise from the ashes

Now, I don’t know about you, but whenever someone tells me their story of heartbreak, I’m instantly captivated. However, it would be the wrong move in this case to market this product to all women, even though we can all relate. Instead, we need to find a smaller subsection of all women, in this case young women. But can we drill down any further? I think so, and the next subset would be young women who are into the tattoo lifestyle.

Though I myself don’t have one, tattoos are interesting because they provide a deeply personal expression of the wearer’s soul that mere words cannot transmit. Many people get a tattoo after the birth of a child, after the loss of a loved one and other such life-changing events. These are people who find expression in the visual arts; in fact, many of today’s coolest tattoo artists come to the field with technical and fine art training. There are even shows about tattoo studios, like Inked and Miami Ink and LA Ink.

The Plan

Because of tattoo art’s strong graphic element, my suggestion to this designer was to start a comic book. In fact, the plan I built for the beginning stages of her email marketing campaign includes the following: Concentrate on certain keyword themes that resonate with young women who get tattoos: feminine tattoo designs, female ink, lower back tattoos, tramp stamps, broken heart tattoos, girl genius, lost girls, girl’s club, just to name a few.

* Turn her blog into a subscription-based, free comic book.
* Create a pay-per-click (PPC) ad campaign based on the keyword themes to promote the comic book.
* Create a landing page for a subscription to the comic book. Make sure it uses the keyword themes as well.
* Ensure that the comic book site advertises the Shattered Girlz t-shirt line.
* Invite comments or questions about each installment of the comic book. This can spark a dialogue with the readers, inspire suggested storylines or characters from them, thereby creating a rudimentary online community (aka: captive marketing niche). This also appeals to the “goth” community, since they can sometimes trend toward the clannish.
* Create an excuse to email these subscribers regularly via comic book teasers, contests, etc., while also including a sales message in each of these emails.

I am very certain that this sort of targeted activity, which is also very process oriented and methodical, will garner her lots of results. I should point out for the record that this type of list building will take some time, perhaps even as much as three months or more. We’re not talking about get-rich-quick schemes here.

But consider what will happen once she does build a list and eventually markets to it successfully. Sooner or later there will be flocks of beautiful tattooed college-aged young women who sport a Dolly Tatume t-shirt and who, upon crossing paths, will instantly exchange knowing, sympathetic looks. They may even engage each other in conversation, talking about the emotional wreck that used to be their lives and how Dolly and the gang really speak to them. They may even talk about the Shattered Girlz items they each have (ohmigodyouhaveadollyshirttoo!), and if we’ve played our cards right, they’ll even recommend certain Shattered Girlz products to each other.

And this is exactly what we want to happen.

I’ll keep readers posted on the results of this campaign on my blog. Until next time!

Are you an independent fashion designer who struggles with the need to promote your brand but who doesn’t have the money to pay a full-service marketing agency? Learn how to reach out to the consumer to generate sales and strengthen brand recognition by signing up for The Email Diva’s weekly marketing newsletter at http://emaildiva.net EmailDiva.net is led by Andrea Merida, a long-time small-business consultant with particular experience in helping scrappy independent fashion designers break out into the fashion world. Sign up for the Email Diva’s newsletter TODAY at http://emaildiva.net