The debut of Mr Porter, the biggest ever launch of a men’s luxury-goods website, will be closely watched by the fashion industry to see whether there are enough active male shoppers to support a fashion site.

Mr Porter, a cousin of the successful Net-a-Porter site for women, is aiming to crack the notoriously tough men’s market when it comes to clothes shopping. Men tend to be quickly intimidated and turned off by new fashions being promoted in magazines and stores. And men sharply trail women when it comes to shopping for clothes online. Women’s online apparel sales in the U.S. rose 11% to $10.5 billion in 2010, compared with a 7% rise to $4.5 billion for men, according to NPD Group.

Full story at WSJ

Mulberry have teamed up with digital artist Daniel Brown to create a digital valentine campaign called Love Blossoms.

“The ‘Love Blossoms’ project gave the opportunity to apply cutting edge generative-art principles to an established, heritage luxury brand and create a seasonal and unique gift for each Mulberry follower,” explains Brown. “Using prints from the Spring Summer 2011 collection, each flower is generated so that no two blooms are ever the same.”

The idea allows shoppers to choose their favourite SS11 print and send the flower seed to their Valentine via email – then, on February 14th, the recipient can click on their seed and watch their flower come to life and grow in front of their eyes. And the best part? Each flower chooses it’s own organic shape, so no two flowers will ever be the same.

“We’re publishing content in an authentic way, and if it’s increasing our brand awareness, then it could be defined as advertising. It’s a new way of communicating with consumers,” Miki Berardelli, chief marketing officer at Tory Burch, said of the changing definition of advertising. “It’s taking an editorial approach to telling your brand story, and the social-media space just lends itself so beautifully to that combination.”

Editorial-style content from brands is nothing new — it’s just become a more integral part of marketing in the social era and a fresh way for a company to position itself. And, as magazines cut staff or shutter altogether, the new editorial focus of fashion brands is providing a soft — and sometimes lucrative — landing spot for journalists and editors.

There’s only one hitch: branded editorial content from the likes of Ralph Lauren, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton’s Nowness, A|X Armani Exchange, Diane von Furstenberg, Tory Burch, Donna Karan and Juicy Couture — as well as retailers such as Gilt Groupe, Club Monaco, Barneys New York, Saks Fifth Avenue, Topshop, Net-a-Porter and Urban Outfitters — is, naturally, branded. The more fashion firms and retailers push into “editorial,” the greater the debate gets over that age-old dilemma: what is the line between editorial, advertising and advertorial?

Read the full story at WWD

The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) staged an anti-fur protest on clothing brand DKNY’s Facebook Page Monday morning.

Thirteen different users changed their Facebook profiles photos to block letters and posted in quick succession on the DKNY’s Page to spell out the words “DK Bunny Butcher” in protest of the brand’s use of rabbit fur (screenshot below). Dozens of supporters have since taken to the Page to voice their disdain for the LVMH-owned company’s practices, reaching many of the Page’s 200,000+ fans in the process.

Full story at Mashable

The Official Ralph Lauren 4D Experience – London from Ralph Lauren on Vimeo.

In celebration of 10 years of digital innovation, RalphLauren.com presents the ultimate fusion of art, fashion & technology in a visual feast for the 5 senses. Watch as the London flagship at 1 New Bond Street disappears before your eyes and is then transformed into a series of objects and images rendered in 3-dimensional space.