WTF

[copacetic]

Insult to injury: the sleeves are too short for the fit model.

http://www.luisaviaroma.com/index.as...seasProdID=54I

...

[michael_kard]

OK, so apparently Ann makes some of her stuff in China.

[Lane]

OK, so apparently Ann makes some of her stuff in China.

location of where things are made don't necessarily correlate with bad quality, though.

[the breaks]

shouldn't cost as much though

[ES3K]

So the Chinese won't buy it. I quote Tyler Brûlé from his FT column:

The Chinese fashion dragon doesn’t want “made in China”: all those private equity firms that bought European brands and shifted production to China are now seeing their sales wither. It’s not exactly surprising that the sophisticated Chinese consumer doesn’t want to buy a European brand that’s stitched together in his own backyard but still comes with a “made in Italy” price tag. This is great news for all those companies who recognised that they’re not just marketing businesses but industrial players as well.

[Macro]

OK, so apparently Italy/Japan makes some of their stuff in China.

Fixed.

[michael_kard]

location of where things are made don't necessarily correlate with bad quality, though.

I never said that, my made in Tunisia wool pants are amazingly constructed, and have some hand stitching too (not sure if that's a really a sign of quality but whatever).

Given Ann's extremely high prices, combined with the fact that she's been an established designer for quite some time, I think it's not a justifiable move at all.

[Lane]

wait, so whats the issue here? We've established many of the designers here have their stuff made in China, not all..but some. You say the prospect that quality is diminished is not your concern, then what exactly is?

[Atom]

This discussions pops up quite often.

I don't feel like paying premium when a product is made in low cost country. China nowadays may not be the cheapest, and the working conditions may not be the worst anymore, but still... at least this should be affected on price I think.

[thehouseofdis]

The only thing I've seen by Ann that was made in China has been the huge knit braided cardigan from fall 2009, which carried a pretty substantial price. I can only assume that making it in any of Ann's usual manufacturing countries would have been cost prohibitive. Most of her sweaters seem to be made in Belgium.

[Faust]

Yes, I think those are hand knit, as you cannot do such a heavy gauge on a machine - hence the cost of labor elsewhere would've made it out of the question. Someone correct me if I am wrong. Same thing with my hand-knit heavy gauge cardigan by Cloak from FW04 - the only item IIRC that was made in China.

But I would not be surprise if some of it is done the same way "made in Italy" is done. Still, I don't know how far we can take this point. The hard reality is that prices of raw materials and labor are going up (the cost of cotton alone jumped 15% this year) and very sadly, the entire industry will have to change. So get your designer gear now, because most of us will be priced out of the market soon enough and H&M will be dancing on everybody's grave.

[michael_kard]

/\ That's exactly what I was thinking. I've been reading your blog for the past few days and in a review of Ann's FW06 collection, you mentioned a few prices. $1500 for outerwear? $700 for a blazer? A blazer from SS11 was 1600 euro, in Europe.

[Lane]

So get your designer gear now, because most of us will be priced out of the market soon enough and H&M will be dancing on everybody's grave.

oh fucking hell, another hobby of mine dying out

[StrAngeRy]

http://www.luisaviaroma.com/index.aspx?#getData.aspx|CallType=Product&prodId=LA43&des=A7U&cat=&gender=men&group=&vendorColor=MDQ1&season=actual&seasProdID=53I

seriously....

[comedyzen]

Just made a purchase at ZEKKA and learned that 1 USD = .98 AUD. Last time I checked the conversion (5+ yrs ago), it was 1 USD to 1.5 AUD....fu@k. Also learned 1 USD = 6.5 Renminbi. It was 1 to 8+ last year when I was there.