And in Non-New York
In the fashion world outside the Big Apple, Coach, the leather goods retailer, has announced that it will be opening its first global flagship store this summer in Hong Kong. According to FashionWeekDaily.com, the announcement comes in tandem with the company’s plans to expand its Asian store count from 50 locations today to over 80 in the next few years. Coach executives believe the company can replicate the level of success achieved in North America and Japan, where the brand rivals luxury retailers Louis Vuitton, Prada, and Gucci. The store will be designed by Reed Krakoff, president and executive creative director of Coach, and will feature both limited-edition pieces and a series of limited-edition, exotic bags.

Interestingly, WWD.com also reported this month that Coach plans to open its first store in Russia this April. There, the company hopes to expand from its first store to 15 as part of its five-year plan.

And Not So Coach
Speaking of Louis Vuitton, FashionWeekDaily.com announced earlier this month that the luxury retailer launched its first-ever television commercial in Paris on February 15, 2008. The 90-second film will air on TV and cinema screens worldwide this year, and intriguingly, features no product, focusing instead on promoting the theme “Where will life take you?” Looks like the ad campaign starring Mikhail Gorbachev, Catherine Deneuve, and tennis couple Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi was just the beginning of Louis Vuitton’s more creative approach to advertising.

Trouble in Shoe-Land
Now for another fun interruption: looks like Tamara Mellon, the founder of shoe empire Jimmy Choo, has filed a $10 million (USD)-lawsuit against her estranged mother, former Chanel model Anne Yeardye. Mellon alleges breach of contract arising from the proceeds of the sale of the Jimmy Choo company in 2004 for $350 million (USD). Apparently, sale of shares intended for Mellon were issued to her mother by mistake, who now refuses to return them. But is it all for money? FashionWatch.com says not; that spite, rather than greed, appears to be driving the showdown between the two famously wealthy women.