I had to share with you Diane Pernet’s op-ed piece on fashion critics called, “Who Watches the Watchmen,” from the blog, The Business of Fashion. Pernet covers lots of ground like the relationship between advertising and editorial coverage:

“It is no wonder that most ‘critics’ are not critics, but just give a report of what goes down the runway, without voicing any real opinion. It is also no secret that for more than the past decade, editorials have been ruled by advertisers. You place an ad, you get an editorial page, and if the advertiser does not get proper coverage, they pick up the phone and demand editorial coverage or they will pull their money. So, can you really expect a critic for a publication that thrives on that ad money to say that the Chanel or the Louis Vuitton show was crap? Not likely.”

Pernet concludes with her appreciation of bloggers, another reason why the woman is a #Boss:

“I find it amusing the way so many seasoned journalists are still threatened by bloggers. The bloggers are not masquerading as mature journalists. They are more like consumers excited to find themselves suddenly given access to the shows and along with that, a certain degree of credibility. The ones that write their content based on who is paying the bills are no better/or worse than the magazines that only report on their advertisers.”

Read the complete feature here.

Their resume reads like a best of fashion and art  royalty, Inez and Vinoodh originators of  of the most compelling  and noteworthy imagery have been featured on B0F:

While the duo continues to push the boundaries of fashion editorial, Lamsweerde has seen the space become increasingly confined. “Editorially, there used to be so much freedom that nobody would ask you to shoot a big advertiser for a story. We would, as a joke, put an outfit from Chanel in an editorial, but that was very tongue-in-cheek,” she said. “Now, basically all the editorial pages are infused by the advertisers. To us, it sometimes feels like there is more freedom shooting an advertising campaign, because you sort of strategise the whole thing together with them and understand who they are representing or wanting to reach out to. Whereas, with the editorials, in one story you are covering twelve different designers and it all has to make sense together,” she added. “Sometimes it’s not easy.”

Read the complete feature here.

Kate Moss arrives at Christian Dior show, Paris | Photo: Imran Amed

As self-described snobs and fashion geeks, we love the depth of  analysis that comes not just from taste and  opinion but also from hard cold business facts. Imran Ahmed from Business Of Fashion ( a must read), sums up some of the big  themes of this Spring/ Summer 2011 in a way that  just makes us weak in the knees. Read the feature here.

Net-a-Porter is  one of my favorite retailers of high end fashion.Their assortment is always current , noteworthy and well styled.The Chairman and founder of net-a porter Nathalie Massenet talked to Business of fashion.You can read the whole feature here