A Global Roundup

Saks merchandising chief Ron Frasch talks on the prevailing stress of buying European products. (AP) 

Paul Smith will open a discount shop in Williamsburg this month — the first major designer to enter the hipster 'hood thick with offbeat boutiques and vintage stores. (WWD)

Robin Givhan forecasts the new challenge facing designers: creating looks that speak of luxury without being uncomfortably extravagant in a tough retail environment. (The Washington Post)

Wool from the Peruvian vicuña — a high fashion delicacy — is usually tended to by the impoverished indigenous people of the country, but age-old Italian house Loro Piana keeps an ethical approach to knitwear. (The Guardian)

WWD sits down with Sonya Rykiel, whose namesake label is celebrating 40 years in fashion. (WWD)

— Staff