2010: Record Earnings for LVMH, Multimillion-Dollar Losses for American Apparel

On distant ends of the style spectrum, the fashion business is going through some serious ups and downs.

At the top of the luxury pinnacle, megalith LVMH is toasting its record earnings in the last year and confidently looking at continued worldwide growth, with limited concern for the financial repercussions of the Japanese market in the wake of disaster, WWD reports.

At a shareholder's meeting, company chief Bernard Arnault reportedly addressed the search for a replacement at Dior—"nothing has been decided yet"—and pointed to a focus on brands like Louis Vuitton, as well as Loewe and Celine in the coming year. According to the report, Arnault's comments regarding the house's hostile relationship with rival Hermes and his 20.2 stake in the company were peaceful: "We don't intend to take control of this magnificent company," said Arnault, who also expressed interest in building a "more constructive" relationship.

Meanwhile, SoCal's street-corner purveyor of hipster cottons, American Apparel, suffered a $20-million loss in the fourth quarter, intensifying concerns over its ability to stay afloat. Founder and CEO Dov Charney, in the midst of multiple sexual-harrassment lawsuts, continues to pump some of his own money into the company.

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