Tickets to events held during the cutting edge and world famous New York Fashion Week have long been coveted by fans of fashion, but these tickets have almost always been exceptionally tough to get a hold of due to the amount of demand for them and the fashion world’s penchant for exclusivity. This new season of public runway shows will be done a bit differently, though, as the fashion world seeks to bring the public into closer proximity of their events and create a stir and perhaps an increase in sales along the way. Shoppers have been a bit stingy, according to retail analysts, over the past few years due to the intense situation with the global and national economy, so this could prove to stimulate purchases of the latest fashions as designers show off their spring and summer 2011 catalogs in the hopes of getting buyers excited about the latest collections. Retailers and the media will have front row seats for the events which start September 7 and are going to be part of what this year is titled the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week.

This is part of a larger initiative by the editor of famed Vogue fashion magazine, Anna Wintour, and is set to help people come out of the doldrums and get excited about new looks for an economy that everyone hopes is on the recovery path once again. The 2009 event did help to spur sales and this year, Wintour hopes to see even more of an impact from her initiative.

The New York Times’ published glossy fashion monthly, T Magazine, has announced that it has 2 new editors, one of them Sally Singer. She is up and running already, having taken over duties at T just about a month ago. The parent corporation, The Times Company, issues a press release to let the world know that Michelle Sanders will be coming on board as the fashion director and for the features director position they have hired Jacob Brown. While much of publishing continues to struggle thanks to incredible pressure from the web based publishing world, the glossy fashion magazines like T have been able to stay afloat thanks to the more sensory experience they offer that would be harder to replace in an electronic format. Singer has said she is pleased to have Sanders on board because she is a very well respected fashion world leader who offers a fresh and engaging perspective on style, trends and new of the industry and brings her pronounced editor’s eye along with her. Brown, on the other hand, is a very skilled writer and editor who has an ability to bring the public the kind of savvy content that T Magazine has made a name for itself with.

The choices are not typical, say experts in the fashion press, because they thought Singer would have been far more likely to have hired veterans of Vogue where she was once employed. Many in the industry had expected Singer to pull some of the staff from Vogue over to this new magazine in an effort to create for herself a more familiar team, but instead she is working to get the magazine a fresh perspective. She has already worked with Donna Karan, Juicy Couture and Miu Miu so her latest position comes as a shock to none.

It is not at all uncommon to see big name fashion labels begin to partner with other product lines, but the high end luxury designer labels have not yet ventured into the territory that they are now looking to move in on: sports related gear and apparel. This means that there are big names like Armani coming in to partner with already well established athletic clothing makers such as Reebok. This partnership will deliver a one two knock out punch combo that is sure to win over fans of athletic apparel who are into brand names. It turns out that the two brands are pairing up for gym gear that is definitely a cut above and are seeking to change the consumer expectations about how they work out fashions should look. Not only will the duo focus on the warm up and track suits, but they will also put their combined knolwedge together to release a variety of athletic shoes that will range in price from $150 to $165. Emporio and Reebok will be making a variety of shoes that will be priced at the upper end, between $275 and $450. Active wear from Reebok and EA7 will be priced between $65 and $195.

A variety of advantages are expected for both companies as they continue to carve out new territory for fans of athletic clothing and footwear. Consumers know they can trust the high end big name designers to deliver top notch fashions and they trust big name shoe makers like Reebok to deliver high end sports shoes and clothing that will last even in the most intense usage conditions.

For many years now, some in the world of clothing and apparel have been seeking a new way of doing business. Like the trendy coffee shops and other food related businesses, some consumers have wanted to see the so called fair trade standards be applied to fashion, but as most experts will say: even though fashion is first for a great many things, when it comes to major changes this is often the last and most stubborn industry to make a switch. A good example of this is the comparative slowness the induystry took to embrace the digital web and also the use of computers in its design tools. It turns out that from the San Francisco Bay Area of California there is a new United States non profit organization that is stepping forward to certify certain fashion companies as true fair trade businesses. The organization is based in Oakland and called TransFair USA, the 1st in the world to certify clothing companies for the fair trade of cotton. They have developed standards designed to cover the factories used and other worker controlled situations and farm worker collectives.

Apparel and linens are the prime target for the new certification and so far TransFair has managed to certify 2 of the 12 brands it is now working with: Hae Now the organic cotton clothing maker based in El Sobrante and Thompkins Point Apparel that makes cotton men’s shirts. Both of these companies offer their apparel online. TransFair hopes to expand its certification as rapidly as possible in the coming years to help the fashion world shift over to a more sustainable industry model.

The popular TV series Mad Men, based on the ad industry of the mid 20th century, has been a star program for the American Movie Classics channel for quite some time now and managed to pull in a very large audience for a show on a non major network – a first for AMC and these types of channels, as well. The show’s costume designer has been especially praised for helping to create a very distinct look for each character, right down to their clothing and surrounding decor, that is both eye catching and true to the options that would have been available during the show’s time period it is set within. Janie Bryant, the designer in question, has even gone so far as to take a more forward role and speak about the wardrobe of the characters for videos on the AMC site, showing off her choices of design so that fans of the series can get a behind the scenes peek at what all is going on with the program. Now the show is going through some changes as the characters will be reflecting this in their fashion, too. This season, the suits are going to get darker for popular star, Don Draper the ad man.

Each character in the Mad Men series is noted for their incredible looks and this season, the show plans to head more towards the emotional resonance that Bryant is known for in her TV costume designs. She will build on her work which has not only won her Emmy Awards, but includes not just Mad Men, but also Deadwood. Today even Louis Vuitton and Prada are borroing from the period Bryant is so eloquently conveying.

As one of the largest sporting events in the world, the World Cup is a huge deal the world over and attracts more attention to the world of football than any other competition. It symbolizes the coming together of nations in an open competition to determine the best. Until recently, nothing like this existed for fashion, but now, thanks to Very.co.uk there is a brand new global fashion competition where the styles from many nations around the globe can compete. Each week the site unveils 2 styles from 2 of the countries who have football teams going head to head in the World Cup taking place this year in South Africa. Visitors are invited to cast their vote for the winner of this Fashion Face-Off and have their say as to which country they feel should win for that week. Sometimes the fashion reflects the winners on the field, but that’s not always the case. This week, it’s all about the hot, but 2 very distinct flavors of hot. This week it’s all about Australia’s spunky, sassy beach babe fashion and the exotic matador inspired artistry of Spain’s fashion sensibilities. Who will win? As always, it will be hard to say until the last votes come in.

Australia has a lot to offer with fun, upbeat colors and a clear love for the sun, sand and waves washing in. The look celebrates good times had with great friends in an outdoor party type of environment. There’s a natural vitality which is clearly evident in the Aussie style that has a clear zest for life and an emphasis on feminine fun, an almost sporty appeal that practically screams beach bunny. Hats, sunglasses, shorts, sandals and women’s swimwear are all part of the ensemble from Oz, but how will it fair against its decidedly more serious competition?

From Spain comes a slender look that is all about symmetry and grace. There’s a poise to the dancer-esque lines and subtle curves of the Spanish style that isn’t afraid to embrace lace, cropped jacket styles and the sort of accessories that definitely appeal to the inner artist in all of us. Where the Aussie style speaks of girly good times, Spain offers up the look of the seductress completely in control of her own look and very much prepared to turn away unsuitable suitors. Is it arrogance or aristocratic grace?

Will it be surf chic Down Under or the sleek temptations of Spain?

Leading United States retail giant Sears Holdings Corp. has been a consistent innovator in recent years as it attempts to correct its past business issues in the face of incredibly stiff competition, even at the fashion market level, with world giant Wal-Mart. Sears has turned to looking for ways to leverage its real estate to its advantage and one of the ways it does this is by renting out what it owns to complimentary retailers. Now, Sears is turning an eye towards Fashion 21 Inc. since it is known to be a fast fashion choice for the fashion crowd. By testing the pairing out in a prominent mall in California, Sears and Forever 21 hope to see if they will be able to profit together in the new pairing. Negotiations are now in progress to move the 40,000 square foot Forever 21 store in Costa Mesa, just outside of Los Angeles, into the 300,000 square foot Sears location in the South Coast Plaza mall. This would offer the ability for Forever 21 to have their own entrance to the mall.

Should an agreement be reached with the fashion and accessories store, Sears would stand to gain a foothold in the elusive fashion market and diversify its offerings for fashion fans in the market that Forever 21 caters to. The smaller retailer has done well by expanding all through the recession due to a reputation for offering bargains that exceed its rivals Zara and H&M, both of whom are already set up inside the mall along with stores like Christian Louboutin, Harry Winston, Chanel, Prada and Burberry.

A Victoria, Canada fashion show being thrown to raise funds for a local charity got an ugly surprise when lawyers for Vogue fashion magazine made claims that the event is using a trademark of Vogue without the publication’s express written permission. The Victoria Fashion’s Night Out event was set to include a large number of local businesses from the downtown area that were going to show case brand new fashions, but it appears that things have been brought to a halt with the letter from Vogue’s high powered team of lawyers. If the event, whether for charity or not, does not immediately change its name then the lawyers have stated that they will bring a lawsuit against the team holding it on the grounds of intellectual property breach. Maneuvers such as this have been popular by the recorded music industry in defense of their artists and record labels and even by Disney which has threatened lawsuits against day care centers for their unlicensed use of its characters on the walls of their facilities, but it is a definite first for a fashion magazine to sue a charity over a name that many critics argue does not give consumers the impression that Vogue is hosting or present.

The issue that lawyers are upset over is the fact that Vogue has previously used the title Fashion’s Night Out in New York City in 2009. This year, the event will take place in a large number of cities so the confusion, Vogue fears, could cause issues with the magazine’s readership. Since the trademark is literally Fashion’s Night Out, the charity now plans to change the name of the Victoria event to Victoria’s Fashion Night to avoid problems.

Web surfers have become an audience for fashion companies that is quite used to having things as rapidly as possible and this is certainly the case when it comes to getting advice. Many surfers find that they are able to get a huge range of tips via search engines, but a new site is coming online that will offer 24 hour advice services as part of its presentation. By including a panel of expe3rts that range from fashion magazine staff member sot celebrity stylists, the new site will be called What to Wear and offer users a Q & A style experience that offers fashion advice in about 10 minutes time from live people. According to reviewers, the site functions similarly to the way micro blogging site Twitter does, giving photo based question and answers which help users make a decision on what to wear, even allowing other participants at the site to be able to comment on the selections being given as advice.

The stable of advisers is certainly looking quite keen in the eyes of many reviewers, with Scarlett Johannson and Rachel Bilson stylist Nicole Chavez taking part, along with Claire Danes and Beyonce stylist Nick Steele, Katy Perry stylist Johnny Wujeck and Mary Kate Olsen stylist Tammy Eckenswiller who also dresses pop singer Rihanna. Some critics have pointed to the site’s approach of offering advice that links directly to retail websites offering clothes for sale as perhaps not in the best interest of advice seekers, but it remains to be seen how consumers will take to the site’s new approach.