I believe in luxury e-commerce, even if it hasn't experienced the renaissance that's been heralded repeatedly since the early days of the internet. Today it's experiencing a bit of a quandary: it's better established, yet feels less dynamic, with many companies relying on enterprise solutions or trying to port their vision into generic systems. There's a long way to go. RICHEMONT offered 2.8 billion EUROS for YOOX-NET-A-PORTER, and if approved by shareholders, the deal will bring Richemont's roughly 49 percent stake in YNAP up to full control. Multi-brand e-commerce will always have the competitive advantage bringing customers a more diverse offering—a point of view and a more dynamic sense of what's available each season. Thus far, I haven't seen many luxury labels differentiating themselves from experiences found at e-tailers like NET-A-PORTER or MODA OPERANDI. There's still a lot of CMS-junk loading and clunkiness in e-commerce. Why? Execution, details, timing, and agility are crucial in the current environment, without giving in to every internet whim. Shareholders in the these companies would love for luxury e-tail to become a winner-takes-all game, but it won't work out that way. Smaller, independent retailers with an eclectic, idiosyncratic point-of-view improve the entire ecosystem and can serve as a catalyst for young, innovative designers. There's still a lot of potential for the space if companies don't fall into lockstep. 24SÈVRES remains one of the better efforts in e-commerce, and a cursory look at CÉLINE's new e-commerce storefront looks decent (watch for the animated product snapshots). There's still an opportunity to take the best aspects of the top e-commerce stores and put them into one store, but no one has figured that out yet... The haute couture shows in PARIS have begun, and the first triple-A couture house to show was CHRISTIAN DIOR. I'm rooting for MARIA GRAZIA CHIURI even as I sometimes wish all the consideration and details in her collections could be pulled together into a more unified vision. Sidenote: the masks framing the models' eyes were stunning... Briefs: If you're in search of some '90s nostalgia, here's some airport style and "it" bags of the past... HIGHSNOBIETY raises $8.5 million... The MUJI hotel opens in SHENZHEN.