Editor's note: This article has been updated with comment by lululemon.

In the $14 billion women’s athletic apparel market, heir apparent Lululemon is facing a direct challenge by Ellie, the latest startup incubated by L.A.-based Science.

Pledging the same quality of workout gear at half the price, Ellie's approach eschews sophisticated tech in favor of consumer demand gauged by social media: items are first introduced on Facebook to gauge reaction and test trend strength.

“With an on-site pattern-maker, they can showcase designs they are testing across social media to get users/fans to decide if they like them, and if it’s popular, the outfit is manufactured within four days and available for mass market retail,” a rep told VentureBeat. “That’s lightning speed for clothing manufacturing.”Continue reading...

Editor's note: This article has been updated with comment by lululemon.

In the $14 billion women’s athletic apparel market, heir apparent Lululemon is facing a direct challenge by Ellie, the latest startup incubated by L.A.-based Science.

Pledging the same quality of workout gear at half the price, Ellie's approach eschews sophisticated tech in favor of consumer demand gauged by social media: items are first introduced on Facebook to gauge reaction and test trend strength.

“With an on-site pattern-maker, they can showcase designs they are testing across social media to get users/fans to decide if they like them, and if it’s popular, the outfit is manufactured within four days and available for mass market retail,” a rep told VentureBeat. “That’s lightning speed for clothing manufacturing.”Continue reading...

In the $14 billion women’s athletic apparel market, heir apparent Lululemon is facing a direct challenge by Ellie, the latest startup incubated by L.A.-based Science.

Pledging the same quality of workout gear at half the price, Ellie's approach eschews sophisticated tech in favor of consumer demand gauged by social media: items are first introduced on Facebook to gauge reaction and test trend strength.

“With an onsite pattern-maker, they can showcase designs they are testing across social media to get users/fans to decide if they like them, and if it’s popular, the outfit is manufactured within four days and available for mass market retail,” a rep told VentureBeat. “That’s lightning speed for clothing manufacturing.”Continue reading...

Brands are folding like cards lately. I am saddened to report that Luella is no exception; Luella Bartley announced on Tuesday morning that her eponymous label will no longer trade. Its global licensee has decided "not to invest further" in the brand, and orders for Luella's critically lauded spring 2010 collection will not be filled due to the unexpected closure of its ready-to-wear producer, Carla Carini. British Vogue reports:

"This is a very disappointing situation for everyone involved with the brand," Bartley said in a statement. "It is upsetting not to be able to protect jobs in this difficult economic climate. I love the Luella character and hope that after we have survived this challenging time the Luella girl can have an exciting future ahead of her, whichever incarnation she takes on next. We have a number of options open to us, and are considering these over the coming months."Continue reading...

In an effort to rework its brand structure, La Perla will consolidate its current lines into three core brands. Their newest line, Villa Toscana, which offers lingerie, beachwear and loungewear designed for contemporary, "aspirational" customers, will absorb La Perla's Anna Club, Aquasuit and Joelle brands.

The Black Label, Limited Edition and Bridal labels will be consolidated into the highest-end line, called simply La Perla. La Perla Studio, Malizia and Glamour will combine to form La Perla Studio.

In rethinking its strategy, La Perla's overall goal is to distance the brand itself from its fairly recent, fashion-oriented positioning. Trend-driven lingerie was good for the brand, but was beginning to create a disconnect with consumers.Continue reading...

Stella McCartney has proven herself to be the busiest and most fashionable bee of them all. Most recently, the rockstar offspring expanded her brand with a collaboration with Gap. She continues to do so by debuting her first intimates collection for spring/summer 2010 featuring vintage-inspired styles. As WWD reported today:

“This season we looked at the Twenties and Fifties, which comes through the range in silhouette and specially developed embroidery and gold retro hardware,” said McCartney, who added she thinks of lingerie as “really handmade precious pieces.” She believes lingerie is important when it comes to making a woman feel beautiful and empowered.Continue reading...

"Maybe one day, yes," creative director Riccardo Tisci responded at a Givenchy trunk show at Barneys Tuesday, asked if a diffusion line was in the works.

For now, he's settling for the lower-priced capsule collection Redux by Givenchy that launched in Barneys this week. In the mind of many, there isn't much difference.

This attempt at strengthening the brand occurred after LVMH net profits for the first half of the year fell 23%. The Cut noted that “[The corporation is] slowly broadening their customer base for apparel, to include not only the very wealthy, but just the wealthy folks, too.” Well said. Prices start at around $340.Continue reading...

Am I the only one who thinks that Heidi Klum is honing in on Tyra Banks' territory? Neither supermodel-turned-television-mogul refuses to cease taking over the world. Rather than focus on both and have my head explode, we'll concentrate on the former.

Despite a 2007 lawsuit against her for a collection that looked eerily similar to a Van Cleef & Arpels design, Klum refused to let it get her down. She's joined up with Modern Vintage and Majestic Mills co-founders Rick and Brian Cytrynbaum to create a “pervasive lifestyle collection” set to launch next fall, and will begin with 48 styles of shoes (from stilettos to boots) before moving on to workout clothes, dresses, and bathing suits. That is a whole lot of footwear.Continue reading...