A few months ago, we defended Baileyâ€s collection (after all, at least he made an attempt to take advantage of modern technology and business practices), but for his Fall 2011 Burberry Prorsum show, which took place this week in London, we thought there would be no need for Signature9 to come to Baileyâ€s defense. The clothes he turned out are overtly fall (Cathy Horyn at The New York Times dinged Bailey for ignoring spring influences in favor of clothes that could be worn right away last season), colorful, 60s-inspired and overall quite charming (love the cow print!). It seems, though, that many fashion critics are still unimpressed by Burberry and still complaining that Baileyâ€s embrace of technology has left his creativity in the dust.

Booth Moore at the Los Angeles Times said the show was “cute” and that “Bailey was right to keep the focus on outerwear,” but criticized Baileyâ€s clothes for being too far from the seasonless looks shoppers crave these days, which is funny considering Bailey was criticized last season precisely for being seasonless.

Suzy Menkes at The New York Times said Burberry was thinking too big, writing that “what [Burberry] gained in bombast, the once-quirky line lost in charm, cheek and irony that the designer Christopher Bailey has previously brought to the Burberry Prorsum brand.” She also said, “Burberry has to be careful that its brilliant and forward-looking embrace of the Internet does not leave too much behind — especially that ironic take on tradition, the British countryside and the brand heritage that Mr. Bailey can tweak so well.”

Looks like we need to weigh in again. Lucky for Bailey, though, it seems the general consensus among smaller fashion bloggers is that Burberryâ€s recent collection was highly impressive, and not just in comparison to the last show. We know we little old bloggers arenâ€t Anna Wintour or anything, but Fashionista, for instance, called Bailey “a master of the brand he has brought into the 21st century with ease.”

We wonâ€t go on a rant about the importance of digital technology and the urgent need for fashion types to make like Bailey and embrace it already, but we will say this: thank goodness for Christopher Bailey. The showâ€s coats looked warm and realistic for winter, the tweeds and tights were just what we want to be wearing come fall and there was the perfect amount of bright colors mixed with snowy whites and neutrals – and Baileyâ€s managed to do this all while catering to the modern need for instant gratification by making the collection available very soon, not months from now like most other brands†clothes. Bravo, Bailey!

Burberry models were forced to remove their killer heels to make it down the runway at London Fashion Week

The fashion business being what it is (and by “what it is,” we mean obsessively terrified of the Internet and of the firm belief that if everyone ignores it, it will go away), the other general consensus is that Burberry produced a sub-par collection because the label was too focused on its online push and embrace of Internet business tools to create a high quality, inspired line.

Indeed Burberry has been one of the few members of the fashion community to embrace technology and work to use the Internet to its advantage. In addition to broadcasting past shows live in 3-D for a worldwide audience, they have an entire site devoted to the Art of the Trench and once enlisted Elle‘s Joe Zee, a top Twitter user in the fashion biz, to hijack their feed and tweet coverage of a Burberry show. Their recent show in London was available in live-stream online, with many of the clothes made available for purchase immediately afterward and set to be delivered in a few months. {The Cut}

Stupid question alert: why on earth do these smart initiatives mean Bailey cannot turn out a high quality, impressive collection? Weâ€re not mad that critics, as a whole, did not like the clothes. That is fair enough. Weâ€re just wondering how anyone comes to the conclusion that the cause is Bailey focusing too much attention on Internet business tools.

For one thing, Bailey probably does not have much to do with creating Burberryâ€s online presence. The label likely has a public relations and digital marketing team that is responsible for their push into cyber land. For another, fashion designers have been juggling creativity and business management for decades. Their ability to do so should not change just because certain business practices are evolving.

Cathy Horyn at The New York Times made the only legitimate argument for why focusing on Internet initiatives would cause a designer to turn out a less impressive collection:

“Indeed, the many leather jackets and coats — plain, studded and in gold snakeskin with stretch pants and skimpy dresses — seemed primed for Web sales; much of the collection was to be offered for immediate sale and delivered in about two months. Hence a style that was seasonless rather than overtly spring.”

That makes perfect sense. So maybe Bailey and Burberry did get this one wrong, but you know what? The Internet is the future, and everyone in fashion cannot run and hide from it forever. Those that refuse to embrace it will likely end up irrelevant very soon. Therefore, we applaud Bailey and his team at Burberry for at least making an attempt to adapt to the times. After all, what good is a high quality, outstandingly creative collection if no one outside a few magazine editors knows about it or wants to buy the clothes from it?

First up: the taxi cab as marketing tool trend.

A few months back, we wrote about Penhaligonâ€s scented taxi cab promotion that was happening in London as the latest in a string of brandâ€s using the taxi to push their products.

Today, we have news of the latest weird marketing idea.

Now that we think about it, if you double down a few times too often the comfortable sweatpants may come in handy.

KFC (a.k.a. Kentucky Fried Chicken) is offering $500 to college girls at selected universities to wear a pair of red sweatpants with the name of one of their sandwiches, “Double Down,” printed on the butt. {the gloss}

This is not just weird. Itâ€s stupid. Because scores of brands from Abercrombie and Fitch to Juicy Couture and Armani Exchange have successfully gotten women and men alike from all over the world to wear their brand name printed across some part of their body already. And these walking billboards paid the brand for the clothing, not the other way around. Then again, weâ€re not so sure “Double Down” butt sweatpants would exactly be the hottest commodity at any clothing store. Youâ€d certainly have to pay us to wear them.

Next topic: branded nail art.

Besides using your nails to show off the logos for your favorite Internet browser and junk foods (or an image of your fiancee), now you can pay tribute to your favorite rock band, as the gal here did with her KISS themed nail art. How hysterical is the red tongue bleeding up her finger?

Finally, we give you one new IEJ little tidbit.

“Haute Coffurier” and Lady Gaga hair stylist Charlie le Mindu showed at London Fashion Week a few days ago, and he sent models that were completely naked save for his hats and wigs and a few accessories down the runway. {the gloss} Expect to see a similarly themed challenge appear on America’s Next Top Model in 3, 2… (hey, a few photo shoots have already come close). We probably don’t have to tell you (yes ladies, even those of you who claim to not have any desire at all to look at any other naked woman) why the attempt at showcasing his designs without any other distractions didn’t exactly happen that way.

We donâ€t know yet if this will turn into a trend for accessories designers, but the absurdity of it was just too good not to share. It did grab attention though, so perhaps the results were exactly as intended.

We recently reported on the unfortunate circumstances leading up to the disbandment of the Luella brand, but Luella lovers all over the world have been banding together to help a much-beloved company.

There is already a “Save Luella” group on Facebook (which we have already joined and pimped on Twitter!), but the best way to show support is to skip over to the Luella website, where prices have been slashed — with some items lowered to half-price!

Now we’re confident (yet still crossing fingers!) that the company will be able to find a financial backer and will be [re]stoking the creative fires before the year’s end, but with prices like this it would be silly not to run — not walk — over to the shop and get a little slice of Luella pie.

Read the full story {Grazia}

Lauded by by Queen Anna herself as “a poster child for London cool,” Bartley was forced to close up shop when company investor Club 21 recently withdrew its financial backing.  Despite the popularity of Luella with celebrities and the fashion set, the company amassed a great deal of debt over the past year and the Club 21 decision was the final blow.

We will sincerely miss Luella and hope this mess will be sorted out soon.  As for Bartley, she has high hopes for brand rebirth: “The Luella girl,” she says optimistically, “can have an exciting future, whichever incarnation she takes on next.”

Read the full story {Times Online}