even more bad news for chanel...

The global recession seems to be kicking the French marque de grand luxe while it's down, with the house showing 200 of its Paris staff the door. Le Parisien newspaper reports “In the little world of luxury goods, the news has had the impact of a bombshell”.

Up until recently, high-end fashion labels have claimed to be weathering the storm, attributing their success to continuing demand for luxury products from China, Russia, and other emerging economic powers.

But it would appear that the honeymoon is finally over, with even the nouveaux riches steering clearing of Paris' 'golden triangle' boutiques, located off the Champs Élysées. Equivalent high-end fashion locations in New York and London have been similarly deserted, and business in Japan has hit a new low.

Looks like Chanel might have to tighten the belt further still in coming months.

give me 2.55!

... or not. the credit crunch has claimed its latest victim: Chanel's Mobile Art tour. The brainchild of Karl Lagerfeld, this was a touring exhibition of artworks inspired by the design house's iconic 2.55 bag, with Daniel Buren, Sylvie Fleury, Yoko Ono and Wim Delvoye all contributing.

The exhibition, which is housed in a space-age-inspired structure designed by architectural darling Zaha Hadid, made it to Hong Kong, Tokyo and New York, but the tour has faltered before reaching London.

A spokeswoman for Chanel has stated to WWD "Considering the current economic crisis, we decided it was best to stop the project. We will [instead] be concentrating on strategic growth investments."

Despite this setback, Lagerfeld remains unfazed: "Today, everyone can say that something is for financial reasons when they want. For me, artistic reasons are more important. I always thought the building was a sculpture. I prefer it empty."

Luckily for the designer it looks like every bag does have a silver lining. Having said this, the whole financial crisis is getting very boring; does it really have to ruin all our fun? Not impressed.