Pop Quiz | This Week's Answers

Answer 1
Choice (c) is the answer. Angelica Cheung recently said, "I thought I would go back to becoming a lawyer. That's what I was trying to do when Condé Nast came and asked me to launch Vogue. It took me awhile because at first I was like, 'I've had enough of fashion magazines!' I was actually [planning on] quitting the business. And they said, 'But it's Vogue.' And I said, yeah but it's still another fashion magazine. And then it was something they said — 'You are going to regret it if you don't.'

Answer 2
Choice (b) is the answer. According to a Bain study, menswear is the fastest growing category in fashion and is set to continue growing at a faster rate than womenswear globally. Men are already the dominant purchasing power in emerging markets and menswear is becoming as important a category as womenswear in developed markets.

Answer 3
Choice (a) is correct. L'Wren Scott referred to André Leon Talley as a 'fashion wizard' in a conversation with one of her family members.

Answer 4
Choice (d) is correct. Michael Kors' sleek and sporty womenswear gained traction with customers, buoyed by the 'jet set' lifestyle that formed the core of the brand's DNA. "The simple truth is, we're plugged in 24/7. We're always on the go. We're moving quickly. But at the same time we don't want to wear things that are banal and utilitarian," Kors explained. "We still want indulgence, we still want glamour, and 'jet set' is the perfect way to sum up how you have both."

Answer 5
Choice (d) is correct. The foundation of Tamara Mellon's strategy is "buy now, wear now," an approach that dispenses with shows and aims to realign fashion's retail seasons with the real seasons, meaning that winter coats hit stores in September, not July, and Spring dresses launch in the Spring.

Answer 6
Choice (a) is correct. Andrew Keith of Lane Crawford recently said, "We don't simply sell things. It's about bringing the best product, exceptional personalised service and dynamic presentation together to create an experience. We don't dictate to our customers; we encourage discovery. As a retailer, the product that we sell is available globally through all sorts of different distribution channels. What we do is bring that product alive, tell stories and connect with the community and our customer in a way that makes sense to them. Our buyers create our edit, our perspective on fashion and lifestyle. Our visual and creative teams are very important in creating the magic of our brand — we give them the freedom to express, and they are involved in planning our stores, our customer engagement and our communications. We marry creativity and commerciality and celebrate them equally in our business."

Answer 7
Choice (c) is correct. Sir Hardy Amies, the British Queen's couturier, who knew Charles James well, referred to James as "the Pythagoras of fashion; the Michelangelo of fashion; the Einstein of fashion."

Answer 8
Choice (c) is correct. According to Livia Firth, creative director of Eco Age, "Fashion encompasses a wide spectrum of activities — from agriculture to communications — so it is perhaps not surprising that it also has a huge impact on people, places and the planet. Eighty billion garments are produced every year."

Answer 9
Choice (b) is correct. After nine months at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, Michael Kors dropped out. Encouraged by a teacher who urged him to seek employment, Kors earned a different kind of education, in retail, at a boutique called Lothar's on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue. "I got to design, I got to merchandise, I got to sell, I got to do displays, I really got to think about the whole experience, 360. That was my education. And retail will always be my education," he said.

Answer 10
Choice (b) is correct. The Prada Group owns Church's, LVMH owns Berluti, and Hermès owns John Lobb.