Yearly Archives: 2011

June 28, 2011

Consumer Rights Directive approval heralds changes for retailers

As reported by ZDNet,  last week saw the European Parliament vote through the Consumer Rights Directive. The biggest change for UK retailers (although one most knew was coming) is that consumers will now have 14 days to change their minds and a phone call may be all that’s required to let the retailer know they’re sending [...]
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June 21, 2011

China to cut import tax to boost “home” sales

Wealthy Chinese shoppers who are looking to buy luxury goods have been travelling to Hong Kong, London or Paris where they can get better value for money.  Chinese tourists are the biggest group of foreign shoppers in France, buying 650 million euros ($933.7 million) of duty free items in 2010, a recent survey by Global [...]
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June 13, 2011

Fashion leaders honoured by Palace

Fashionista was pleased to see that representatives from Britain’s fashion industry were included in the Queen’s birthday honours list in the guise of Celia Birtwell, Nick Robertson and Sarah Mower. Celia Birtwell is a celebrated textile designer from the 1960′s who has experienced a resurgence in the last 5 years, first with her 2006 collaboration with [...]
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June 10, 2011

EU abandons controversial clauses in Consumer Rights Directive

As reported in Retail Week the European Parliament has bowed down to pressure from retailers and abandoned plans to force retailers to offer free returns from anywhere in Europe and deliver to all EU countries. The deal which has been agreed between Parliament and the European Council will, subject to formal ratification by the European Parliament, [...]
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June 7, 2011

Letting children be children…

As a Mum herself, this Fashionista welcomes the move by the British Retail Consortium and nine of of its key retailer members including John Lewis, Asda and Marks & Spencer who have taken the initiative and worked together to develop guidelines for childrenwear. The BRC is encouraging other retailers to adopt their Responsible Retailing: BRC (British Retail Consortium) [...]
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June 6, 2011

LFN Event: Investment & Funding

Fashionista headed east last week to the Cantaloupe for the London Fashion Network investment and funding event for what proved to be an insightful and interesting evening. The event saw designers, established brands and start-up companies come together to discuss the funding and investment needed to start a fashion business or move it onto the next [...]
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May 24, 2011

Cookies: Businesses must act now!

As reported in previous posts, Fashionista has been anticipating the new cookies law which comes into force this Thursday 26 May with apprehension, not least because there has been little guidance for businesses about how to bring their e-commerce businesses in line with the new rules. The guidance published by the Information Commissioner’s Office states it is merely the ”starting point for [...]
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May 23, 2011

New EU labelling rules on fur/leather

Autumn 2010 saw an increase in the use of fur on the catwalks, as reported by Drapers. As a result, Fashionista was pleased to see a recent press release from the European Parliament, which has approved new rules that require all use of any animal derived materials, such as leather or fur, to be clearly indicated on labels of [...]
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May 6, 2011

Celebrating British design at its best

Fashionista could not let that wedding pass without mention – her main interest in the event was, of course, the fashion. Like so may of you, this time last week, Fashionista spent an enjoyable day glued to the television waiting to catch the first glimpse of The Dress, which has attracted almost universal praise amongst sartorial commentators [...]
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April 18, 2011

Google credit card – via your mobile?

Fashionista wonders whether she needs another way to max out her credit cards – however Google seems intent on making it even easier. As reported in the Daily Telegraph, Google is moving into the mobile payments market, with Android phones being embedded with Near Field Communication (NFC) technology to enable contactless payments. The technology would [...]
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