The BBC is reporting that Amy Winehouse, famous as much for her problems with drinking and drugs as her music and fashion hits, has died at the age of 27. The cause of death is still being reported as undetermined, but Winehouse recently cancelled a number of appearances after visible signs of alcoholism, and was previously warned that her drug use could lead to death.

Winehouse received critical acclaim even prior to Frank, her 2003 debut album. Initially signed by former Spice Girls manager Simon Fuller’s 19 Management, Winehouse’s smoky vocals and jazz infused songs led to interest from multiple record labels. Her second album, Back to Black, was released in October 2006 and spawned hits like “You Know I’m No Good” and “Rehab,” the latter dubbed the Best Song of 2007 by Time.  The album topped music charts in the US and UK and earned 5 Grammy awards for Winehouse – a first for a British singer. A fan following quickly developed around Winehouse both for her retro pop music and appearance.

The Amy Winehouse Style Influence

A Chanel ad from the Fall/Winter 2008 collection where Amy Winehouse was a muse to Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld

Following the success of Back to Black, Winehouse’s haphazard beehive and exaggerated cat-eye eyeliner became as identifiable as her songs. Her ’60s styling made her a muse to Karl Lagerfeld, who sent models down the Chanel runway and into advertisements with messy, upswept hair and winged liner that immediately brought to mind the image of the singer. Not to be outdone, Louis Vuitton paid $1 million for Winehouse to perform at their fashion show during Paris Fashion Week in March 2008.

Multiple trips to rehab facilities and ongoing battles with alcohol and drugs gradually killed hopes for a new studio album, but Winehouse still managed to release a collection for UK sportswear label Fred Perry in 2010. A beauty line that was to include hairspray, head scarves and black eyeliner never materialized.

A look from Amy Winehouse's clothing line for Fred Perry

The singer’s death also places her among a different group of icons: entertainers who didn’t make it to their 28th birthday.

Winehouse now has the unfortunate honor of joining Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, and Jean-Michel Basquiat in the list of influential musicians and artists who died at 27.

Stella McCartney in Stella McCartney

Do you remember your elementary school diorama project where you cut a hole in a box and dropped in figurines? This is like that, but with a nice pair of legs in place of the figurines. The oddly bulky top doesn’t help either, and as gorgeous as a lot of the attendees looked in Stella McCartney, we’re really not sure about the designer’s own fashion diorama.

Carolyn Murphy in Tom Ford

Granted, it’s the Costume Institue Gala, but this purple ensemble would be more at home on a theater stage or the costume rack for Burlesque. Tom Ford is pretty much the best accessory anyone could have, but between the weird tassel neckpiece and our feeling that Carolyn Murphy is making a silent prayer not to have a wardrobe malfunction – that strap is clinging for dear life – this really should have been left in a wardrobe trailer.

Frieda Pinto in Chanel

Everyone in fashion loves Karl Lagerfeld, but this is an homage too far.

Christina Hendricks in Carolina Herrera

Sigh. Christina Hendricks is absolutely gorgeous, this giant rust stain is absolutely not. We’re going to imagine Christina Hendricks in the nude for completely sartorial reasons.

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley in Burberry

We know Duchess Catherine has kicked off a bit of a trend with sleeves, but we just can’t with these extra shiny, slouchy gauntlet/arm warmer combos.

Kristin Stewart in Proenza Schouler

At an event celebrating a designer who was known for his skill in tailoring, we just can’t get over these frumpty dump dresses, and this one is no exception.

Julianna Margulies in Narciso Rodriguez

Since we’ve established by now that we’re not feeling the baggy bodices, we’ll continue directly to the side cutouts. If there’s anything that can make a designer gown look like a prom dress you’ll be embarrassed to be seen in 10 years down the road, it’s side cutouts. They’re so miss or miss (really, the hits can probably be tallied on one hand, with a few fingers remaining), and particularly so on this dress. Again, gorgeous woman, who should not have been subjected to this ruffled baggy crop top monstrosity.

Serena Williams in feathers & Demi Moore in Prabal Gurung

Dear Ms. Williams and Ms. Moore, the event you’re looking for was across the Atlantic, and it ended a few days ago.

Lady in red

Really, there’s not much to say about the First Lady’s look besides wow. Vera Wang, in one of her own designs, was more understated but still elegant. We have to say the biggest surprise came from Wintour though. Perhaps it was out of deference for the First Lady, but the Vogue editor seemed a bit under dressed. Yes, Chanel suits are elegant and classic, but among the gowns of the evening – not just Michelle Obama’s either – it seemed like something better reserved for a cocktail gathering than a formal affair.

No one wants to be accused of trying to upstage the Michelle Obama or the first family (just ask Desiree Rogers), but did Wintour take that directive too far? We’ve seen the Met Gala photos so we know she has some gorgeous gowns in the closet, and we can’t imagine many designers refusing to lend a gown to the editor of the leading fashion magazine. Being low key is a good way to ensure an invitation to the next event, but we hope that Wintour doesn’t play it quite as safe the next time around.

Anna Wintour, Vera Wang and Christianne Amanpour (wearing an Armani suit that seems like a better choice for a formal dinner)

Simon Doonan at Barneys Co-Op in Brooklyn

This week, Barneys celebrated the opening of its first Brooklyn Co-op on Atlantic Avenue in the Cobble Hill section of town. The doors opened at 10 a.m. without a line of anxiously waiting shoppers, but a large crowd eventually made its way through the doors once they were open. {Racked NY}

Much has been made of what the reaction among Brooklyn residents will be to the high-end retailerâ€s presence in their neck of the woods. Brooklyn has become a hot spot for luxury fashion labels in the past few months, as brands like Swarovski Crystal and Anthropologie have been reportedly scouting out locations there, but it has been smaller, trendy shops like Jonathan Adler and Urban Outfitters that have actually been cropping up along Atlantic Avenue of late. {New York Post}

It is still too early to tell exactly what the lasting impact of the Barneys†presence among these admittedly cooler, more laid-back shops will be, but Barneys Creative Director Simon Doonan seems confident it will be a success.

“The Co-op has always had a certain edgy sensibility. The fit with Brooklyn is a natural one,” he said. {New York Post}

Doonan also told Racked NY that the store made no adjustments to its aesthetic for the Brooklyn Co-op, which carries all the designer brands like Alexander Wang, Richard Chai Love, Helmut Lang and Rag & Bone that you would expect to find at any other Barneys.

Apparently Doonan was quite an active presence at the opening as well, chatting with shoppers and even helping to carry baby strollers down the staircase to the storeâ€s lower level. {Racked NY} He also tried easing the minds of skeptical area residents who worry that the store will bring with it a pretentiousness, telling the New York Post, “”It’s not like we’re opening a Chanel.”

We previously reported that Cobble Hillâ€s economics are not actually that far off from the more notoriously wealthy Upper East Side and Upper West Side Manhattan neighborhoods, and a Barneys should not be impossible to sustain in the area, though the state of the economy will likely create challenges even with wealthy shoppers living close by. Today, we feel there is one more barrier to success for Barneys: Cobble Hill may have the wealth for a Barneys, but does it have the right vibe? Just because a certain demographic has money does not mean they want to spend it on luxury fashion, and we wonder if people in Brooklyn even want to shop at Barneys.

Success at the Barneys Brooklyn Co-op will likely prove to be somewhat of a challenge. Doonan and Co. should be up for it, but only time will tell how they fare. We actually applaud Barneys for taking a risk in a time when the economy has many retailers in a panic – because taking chances on new ventures will probably be necessary to remain sustainable into the future for fashion retailers. Someone has to lead the way, and Barneys should be commended for stepping up.

Additional photos at Racked NY

The error page displayed when typing in robertocavalli.com from Google Chrome. That is not gifted.

L2, a luxury think tank focusing on digital innovation, recently published their second annual Digital IQ index, a ranking of luxury brands’ online initiatives. It’s a balanced report that takes into account things like the brand website, online marketing, social media presence and influence, and mobile offerings.

So it’s no surprise to see brands like Burberry, who took hits from critics for their strong internet engagement, labeled as digital “geniuses.”  Ralph Lauren, one of the first fashion labels with a dedicated mobile shop, and Coach, who’ve been aggressively pursuing blogger and social media engagement, also understandably fall into the genius category. Louis Vuitton’s site isn’t the best for search, but there’s a real commitment to online content via Nowness and Gucci’s relaunched digital flagship takes advantage of HTML5 to mostly replace an overdependence on Flash that still hobbles many fashion brand websites.

While the exact order of the top 10 or so sites could be up for discussion, they seem to be fairly accurately positioned. Past the top 10, however, things get strange and seem to prop up some of fashion’s idiot savants. Brands who offer beautiful products that generate buzz and desire, but fail at the basics: an attractive website that’s accessible to users across various devices.

Imran Amed, editor of the Business of Fashion, points out that Chanel – ranked number 11 and classified as “gifted,” has extremely limited e-commerce (fragrance and beauty products in the US only). Perhaps 10 years ago, e-commerce would be an innovative “extra,” but in 2010 we’re well past maturity for online shopping. Overlooking that does seem a bit odd.  Christian Louboutin, whose slow, Flash-heavy site (not viewable on the iPad, iPhone and many mobile devices) drags on a high-speed internet connection with not one, but two kitschy intros, recently launched e-commerce. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to find from the homepage (if you’re patient enough to give it the 2 minutes or so it takes to load), not to mention the fact that counterfeiters are still doing e-commerce and social media better than the brand itself. The online store doesn’t appear in a search for “Christian Louboutin” on Google or Bing in either the paid or unpaid sections, and YouTube videos haven’t changed that. That they’re classified in the same category as Calvin Klein, who along with QR-code billboards that bridge mobile and offline marketing, has livestreamed shows and made obvious integrated efforts with Facebook and social media is frankly a disservice to both brands.

Roberto Cavalli, who can’t figure out how to do a simple redirect (type in robertocavalli.com without the www. and you end up with a 404 page not found message), is the lowest “gifted” brand, but really? This is what we’re letting pass as gifted?

Social media, and thousands or even millions of followers can’t excuse or make up for a dated website lacking basic functionality. The Digital IQ index is needed, and a good step towards getting brands to put some effort into their online efforts. Rewarding the companies who are failing at the basics with extra credit for playing well with others (via social media) won’t help change the fact that they’re failing at the online basics though.

The rollout is considered a test case, and if successful, could mean a wider range of sizes in other Saks locations around the country.

The clothes won’t be in a special section, they’ll be included on the same racks as the 0-12 sizes that most items already come in. With any hope, this could be a step towards blurring the line between straight sized and plus sized fashion.

Saks and the labels haven’t rushed to comment, which may be a sign that the labels are still grappling with how to promote the expanded size options to a group of customers who’ve long been ignored. {Jezebel} But a baby step is still a step in the right direction.

The Chanel 2.55, now .2x more expensive?

Hermès posted second quarter sales results that were up 20% (must be the magic number), noting increased demand in Asia and the US, where a weaker Euro may have worked in the company’s favor. Groupe Laurent Perrier, a champagne maker, had a sales increase of 17% compared to the previous year, and Swiss watchmakers outpaced both for a 35% increase in exports compared to the previous year. {WSJ} Chanel recently opened a Korean store that set a one-day sales record of nearly $375,000. {JoongAng Daily}

Still, is now the best time to hike prices – particularly at a double digit rate? We’ll have to wait a few more weeks to see if the Chanel rumors pan out, but a recent report from MasterCard Advisors’ SpendingPulse showed a 3.9% decrease in spending compared to last June. With a few notable exceptions, even the good news isn’t entirely good. While sales are up, for many retailers this is an increase over sharp declines last year, so it’s not straight line growth.

What’s more, consumers with household incomes over $150,000 per year – the approximate entry level to be included among the top 20% of US households, account for almost 40% of spending. Luxury sales, which likely rely on $150k+ shoppers for a more significant portion of sales tend to fluctuate with the stock market. {Google News} Lately, the Dow Jones hasn’t been doing so well and may be an early sign of wealthy spenders becoming more conservative with their purchases in coming months.

The good news? Well, for the luxury retailers finally coming around to e-commerce, it may be better late than never. Online sales were up 9.7% overall. Apparel was the best performing category with growth of 18.6%, marking the seventh month of double digit gains. {Internet Retailer}

We know that Chanel has plans to finally offer a wider range of products to online shoppers – expanding on their existing beauty e-commerce area, and giving real competition to web savvy counterfeiters for the first time. Yet somehow we’re not sure if that will be enough if luxury shoppers start questioning why the same bag that was 20% less 2 weeks ago is suddenly more expensive. The Euro hit significant lows against the dollar this year, after laying off hundreds of workers at the height of the crisis we know they’re operating with a leaner workforce, and many brands cut production to respond to lowered demand. While Chanel is certainly one of the brands that can rely on its heritage to lend its products “investment” status, we’ll have to see if shoppers accept a price hike tied more to image than actual costs – or if they decide to invest elsewhere.

Disney's Beautiful Villains: Ursula (top left), Cruella de Vil (top right), Maleficent (bottom)

MAC announced it took inspiration from four Disney devils for its Venomous Villains collection, and that is just about all they are revealing about the line to debut late this September in all MAC locations. {WWD}

Lipstick, lip gloss, powder and blushes priced between $12 and $29.50 will be featured in this limited edition set, so weâ€re thinking the pink complexion of the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland may have inspired blushes to appear alongside products thought of with the more obvious muse, Cruella De Vil (weâ€ll be shocked if sheâ€s not one of MACâ€s evil motivators).

Styleite is predicting Cruella red lipstick, but does anyone remember the scene in The Little Mermaid where Ursuala the malicious octopus applies red lipstick with a clam shell? Weâ€re hoping for a cool, Ursula-inspired clam shell compact with bright red shades. Judging by the power pouts on Disney’s evil leading ladies, some serious rouge shades are probably a safe bet.

And what else might we get? Since the villainous stare seem to come down to those extremely arched eyebrows, we’d love to see brow pencils, wax or other grooming tools make it into the collection alongside smokey mauve shadows to create the kind of gaze that can instill fear in puppies, mermaids and sleeping beauties.

Disney has been popping up all over the fashion scene lately. Disney Couture recently launched a Little Mermaid-inspired jewelry line, and collaborations to promote Spring 2010’s Alice in Wonderland included a ring design partnership with H. Stern and costume jewelry made by Stella McCartney and inspired by Alice. {Stylelist}

In addition, the April issue of Spanish Elle featured Karl Lagerfeld, John Galliano, Marc Jacobs, John Paul Gaultier, Dolce & Gabbana, Donnatella Versace and other fashion elite in cartoon, Disney-inspired form. Donnatella Versace appears in the likeness of Daisy Duck with Karl Lagerfeld channeling Goofy, while Alber Elbaz, also in Disney duck form, admires a red dress created for Minnie Mouse. {The Fashion Spot}

We bet the element of magic and fantasy is what draws fashion and Disney together. Whatever the common denominator, anything that encourages people to have fun with makeup is a winner in our book!

Not to be captain obvious, but this is good news for the luxury hotel business. And what is good for one luxury market may be good for another, no? Could the news signify an upturn for the struggling luxury fashion market?

Abercrombie and Fitch store

Chain stores like Saks and even Abercrombie and Fitch – who famously held out on discounting merchandise during the worst of the recession, have reported growing sales so perhaps demand for luxury fashion items will follow. {The Cut, StockMarketsReview}

High end fashion marketers and retailers in the U.S. have attempted to remain relevant by focusing their attention on understanding generation Y and what the tendencies of those born roughly between 1977 and 1994 mean for the future of luxury. The L2 Generation Next Forum, held in New York City last week for fashion professionals to gain “insight into tomorrowâ€s affluent consumer,” discussed the next coming of luxury fashion with tips in the form of a speech from 14-year-old fashion blogger Tavi Gevinson (aka The Style Rookie). {Stylelist}

“Just as Boomers drove the luxury sector for the last 20 years, brands that resonate with generation Y, whose purchasing power will surpass that of Boomers by 2017, will be the new icons of prestige,” Scott Galloway says. Galloway is a New York University Stern clinical associate professor of marketing who founded L2. Estimated at 70 to 85 million people, generation Y is the largest consumer group the U.S. has ever seen. {MediaPost}

Will today's Little Marc Jacobs girl be tomorrow's Louis Vuitton loyalist?

Tavi advised the luxury fashion insiders to whom she spoke that generation Y is “over trends in two seconds” and that teens “want to be cultured” and “know the story behind a brand” in addition to feeling part of a group, while the L2 Generation Y Prestige Brand Rankings found Chanel, Cartier and Ralph Lauren dominated as the most popular high end fashion brands for generation Y.

Absorbing all things generation Y is a smart move for luxury marketers and retailers, but we wonder whether it will pay dividends all that quickly. By 2017, when much of generation Y is well established enough to afford high end brands, the best way to market to this group may have changed.

Louis Vuitton had asserted that Google’s practice of allowing anyone to bid on trademarked names opened the door to the sale of counterfeit items. In the US and the UK, the system even extended the right to advertisers to include trademarked brands within their ads. So if you were to search for “Louis Vuitton”, nothing would prevent Chanel from running an ad saying “Louis Vuitton is good, but Chanel is great.” That’s only an example, the luxury houses seem to have a gentleman’s agreement to not bid on their rivals names, even if the practice is legal.

While the new ruling protects Google’s ability to sell trademarked search terms, it does reverse a previous ruling which opened the doors to allowing advertisers to include trademarked names within search results. The European Court of Justice decided that advertisers who don’t make it clear that they aren’t commercially affiliated with the trademark holder can find themselves on the receiving end of a lawsuit from the brand.

This case settled trademark issues with paid search marketing,  but it also exposes the failings of Louis Vuitton and other brands when it comes to online reputation management and search engine optimization.

In US search results, all but two of the unpaid listings go to replica (read: counterfeit) sites. The two exceptions? The official Louis Vuitton site, and the brand’s Wikipedia entry. With the recent headlines, news and shopping search results push anything beyond the 2nd organic listing down, and depending on location so too does a map. Since Google doesn’t accept money for these algorithmically selected results, they don’t have the same responsibility to police what the sites sell, but there’s little doubt that the $219 purses offered at the second site listed are not authentic.

A local search result appearing to California users searching for "Louis Vuitton"

A closer look at the local results show that even there, replica sites are leading the listings. In the case of this local search result in California, they appear ahead of actual Louis Vuitton stores. In France, where trademark laws are more stringent and have favored brands more heavily, the results aren’t as bad: only four of the top 10 results go to replica websites, and half of the top listings go to authentic Louis Vuitton sites or to LVMH’s corporate site. The results in Germany, Italy and many other European countries are similar.

Even this, however, may simply be a matter of luck. If replica sites were ever to translate their content to target the approximately 5.7 million searches done outside the US, there’s a strong chance that their search ranking success could be replicated in higher positions in more non-English language searches.

To understand why this is a failing on the part of Louis Vuitton, you have to take a look at other luxury brands who’ve made online marketing a cornerstone of their branding strategy. While Louis Vuitton hasn’t exactly been sitting on the sidelines – Nowness, live runway broadcasts and other initiatives signal a real effort at strengthening their digital offerings, a look at more tech entrenched rivals show cracks in a strategy that does not consider organic search optimization.

Worldwide, Google puts the estimated number of searches for Chanel at 13 million, 9 million for Louis Vuitton and 6 million for Burberry.

Chanel, which only began selling beauty products online in recent years, and just announced plans to sell handbags online, is surprisingly strong in results. Local results show only actual Chanel boutiques, in the US, paid search ads direct users to authorized beauty retailers such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus. There are only 2 ads for replica websites, and of the 6 results that don’t go to official Chanel websites, 4 point to information websites like Wikipedia, About.com (a biography on Coco Chanel) and the Purse Blog.

For Burberry, who has made a strong online effort with livestream broadcasts and social media via the Art of the Trench, the results are even better. A mere 3 sites in the top 10 results are not owned by Burberry. Of those 3, two (ShopStyle and Wikipedia) point back to authorized resellers. The paid search listings are dominated by retailers, like Net-a-Porter and the Outnet, selling authentic products and not a single replica website rears its ugly head on the first page.

So what should Louis Vuitton do to reclaim their results?

Put a strategy in place that recognizes branding does not conquer all, especially when it comes to search.

While shuttering eLuxury to focus on Nowness may have been an exercise in branding, it was a mistake as far as search. The top result for anyone looking for eLuxury is now a poorly designed counterfeit site, while eluxury.com still has thousands of links from people who haven’t updated their list of authentic Louis Vuitton purchase points.

Partner up.

The only way Louis Vuitton will win the battle against counterfeiters is to embrace online partners who have a vested interest in promoting the brand. We can already hear the screams of terror about loss of control coming from luxury fanatics, but allow us to explain. Chanel, a company whose brand is as tightly controlled as any other luxury house, has done it through fragrance and beauty products. Bergdorf Goodman, Saks, Neiman Marcus are all selling the same goods, at the same prices. But it’s in their best interest to ensure that fake bottles of Chanel No 5 aren’t further diluting their opportunity at sales.

Louis Vuitton would be smart to explore distribution of sunglasses and small non-handbag accessories with online partners. eLuxury used to be that place for blogs and smaller websites, but Net-a-Porter, Saks, Neiman Marcus and many others could step in to bolster authentic distribution points without eating into market share for key items like handbags and luggage.

For Burberry, it’s distributing content through multiple media partners – fashion blogs and general interest sites alike. Very likely part of the reason live.burberry.com, the home of the brand’s livestream runway shows, appears in the top 10 results on a search of their brand name.

We understand the need to aggressively protect the brand against infringement, but all the trademark enforcements in the world will not be enough to replace an online strategy that fails to include search marketing at its core.