By MARC KARIMZADEH

NEW YORK — The transformation of Gucci’s North America business is in full motion.

During an exclusive interview here last week, Patrizio di Marco, Gucci’s worldwide president and chief executive officer, outlined key changes the brand has been making here — a strategy aimed at strengthening its U.S. presence with the ultimate goal of surpassing $1 billion in sales in the region.

Mainly, Gucci started looking to “drastically change our presence in the country by taking over the wholesale partners that we had,” di Marco said. “Our intention wasn’t to cut the stores out of the pro-cess, because they have been our partners for many years and they’re still our partners. There’s simply a change in the relationship, from coming to us and buying our merchandise to, together with us, manag-ing the business, although the business is run directly by the company here.”

The takeover of the Gucci business at Saks Fifth Avenue is now complete, having converted its whole-sale presence into directly operated departments. Now the company is looking to study its presence in its Saks doors to maximize opportunities.

“The first step was to take over our presence there, and the second step is to consolidate our presence [at Saks], because sometimes we don’t need to have, say, three different points of sale in the same depart-ment,” di Marco said. “We can actually consolidate categories under one roof, because that’s much more efficient saleswise and, most importantly, because

WWDThe SuitGets Cute

Dial down the serious power suit — way down. For spring, contemporary designers turned up the fun with playful shorts suits like this linen one by Harlyn worn with Levi’s Made & Crafted’s silk top. Collina Strada clutch; Calleen Cordero shoes. For more shorts suits, see WWD.com/fashion-news.

JOINING THE LVMH STABLE

Ghesquière EraDawns at Vuitton

By MILES SOCHA

PARIS — Nicolas Ghesquière is expected to bring a gust of experimental fashion — and that all-important buzz factor — to Louis Vuitton as the brand’s new ar-tistic director of women’s collections.

Confirming a widely expected hire, Vuitton said the designer — who catapulted Balenciaga to the forefront of the Paris fashion agenda — would show his first collection here next March.

The appointment on Monday afternoon came al-most a year to the day that the Frenchman exited Balenciaga after a 15-year career, sparking a guessing game about where he might land. He had also con-ducted talks with Japanese retail giant Fast Retailing Ltd., parent of the Uniqlo chain, as reported.

Vuitton said Ghesquière would bring “a modern, creative vision to the house’s women’s collections, building on the values of refinement, savoir faire and extreme quality.”

He is the latest fortysomething fashion modern-ist tapped by luxury kingpin Bernard Arnault, who last year named Belgian Raf Simons to become Christian Dior’s sixth couturier, and who in recent years brought in British designer Phoebe Philo to energize Céline.

Known for his exacting, couturelike approach, Ghesquière could help Vuitton in its quest to build a more upscale and elite reputation after years of rapid global expansion and a heavy reliance on monogram canvas.

Reporting third-quarter results last month, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton said revenues in the fashion and leather goods division slipped 3.8 per-cent to 2.43 billion euros, or $3.22 billion, with Vuitton “slightly” underperforming other brands in the busi-ness group, which includes such names as Fendi, Givenchy and Berluti.

Signaling an upscale drive designed to stem that sales slide, last month Vuitton tapped accessories

SEE PAGE 4

Gucci’s U.S. Push

SEE PAGE 8

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013 $3.00 WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY

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FLAGSHIP ON MADISON AVENUE. PAGE 5

SIR PHILIP GREEN AND NORDSTROM EXECUTIVES CROSS THE U.S. FOR TOPSHOP SHOPS-IN-SHOP IN NORDSTROM. PAGE 12

WESTERN WAYBLOOMINGDALE’S UNVEILS A FULL-LINE

STORE IN GLENDALE, CALIF. PAGE 5

WWD.COM2 WWD TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013

TO E-MAIL REPORTERS AND EDITORS AT WWD, THE ADDRESS IS FIRSTNAME_LASTNAME@FAIRCHILDFASHION.COM, USING THE INDIVIDUAL’S NAME. WWD IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF ADVANCE MAGAZINE PUBLISHERS INC. COPYRIGHT ©2013 FAIRCHILD FASHION MEDIA. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.VOLUME 206, NO. 93. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013. WWD (ISSN 0149–5380) is published daily (except Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, with one additional issue in March, May, June, August, October and December, and two additional issues in February, April, September and November) by Fairchild Fashion Media, which is a division of Advance Magazine Publishers Inc. PRINCIPAL OFFICE: 750 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017. Shared Services provided by Condé Nast: S.I. Newhouse, Jr., Chairman; Charles H. Townsend, Chief Executive Officer; Robert A. Sauerberg Jr., President; John W. Bellando, Chief Operating Officer & Chief Financial Officer; Jill Bright, Chief Administrative Officer. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY, and at additional mailing offices. Canada Post Publications Mail Agreement No. 40644503. Canadian Goods and Services Tax Registration No. 886549096-RT0001. Canada Post: return undeliverable Canadian addresses to P.O. Box 503, RPO West Beaver Cre, Rich-Hill, ON L4B 4R6. POSTMASTER: SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY, P.O. Box 15008, North Hollywood, CA 91615 5008. FOR SUBSCRIPTIONS, ADDRESS CHANGES, ADJUSTMENTS, OR BACK ISSUE INQUIRIES: Please write to WWD, P.O. Box 15008, North Hollywood, CA 91615-5008, call 800-289-0273, or visit www.subnow.com/wd. Please give both new and old addresses as printed on most recent label. For New York Hand Delivery Service address changes or inquiries, please contact Mitchell’s NY at 1-800-662-2275, option 7. Subscribers: If the Post Office alerts us that your magazine is undeliverable, we have no further obligation unless we receive a corrected address within one year. If during your subscription term or up to one year after the magazine becomes undeliverable, you are ever dissatisfied with your subscription, let us know. You will receive a full refund on all unmailed issues. First copy of new subscription will be mailed within four weeks after receipt of order. Address all editorial, business, and production correspondence to WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY, 750 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017. For permissions requests, please call 212-630-5656 or fax the request to 212-630-5883. For all request for reprints of articles please contact The YGS Group at condenast@theygsgroup.com, or call 800-501-9571. Visit us online at www.wwd.com. To subscribe to other Fairchild Fashion Media magazines on the World Wide Web, visit www.fairchildpub.com. Occasionally, we make our subscriber list available to carefully screened companies that offer products and services that we believe would interest our readers. If you do not want to receive these offers and/or information, please advise us at P.O. Box 15008, North Hollywood, CA 91615-5008 or call 800-289-0273. WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE RETURN OR LOSS OF, OR FOR DAMAGE OR ANY OTHER INJURY TO, UNSOLICITED MANUSCRIPTS, UNSOLICITED ART WORK (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DRAWINGS, PHOTOGRAPHS, AND TRANSPARENCIES), OR ANY OTHER UNSOLICITED MATERIALS. THOSE SUBMITTING MANUSCRIPTS, PHOTOGRAPHS, ART WORK, OR OTHER MATERIALS FOR CONSIDERATION SHOULD NOT SEND ORIGINALS, UNLESS SPECIFICALLY REQUESTED TO DO SO BY WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY IN WRITING. MANUSCRIPTS, PHOTOGRAPHS, AND OTHER MATERIALS SUBMITTED MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY A SELF-ADDRESSED STAMPED ENVELOPE.

ON WWD.COM

THE BRIEFING BOXIN TODAY’S WWD

Louis Vuitton has named Nicolas Ghesquière its new artistic director of women’s collections. Page 1 The transformation of Gucci’s North America business is in full motion. Page 1 Dennis Basso has opened a store on Madison Avenue which is triple the size of his old store a few blocks away. Page 5 Bloomingdale’s on Friday will open a 115,000-square-foot unit in the Glendale Galleria in Los Angeles. Page 5 Sweet Pea’s manufacturing capabilities have shot up like Jack’s giant beanstalk. Page 6 Marvin Klapper, who had an illustrious 45-year career with Fairchild Publications and WWD, died on Sunday. Page 7 IMG Fashion plans to outsource production of its fashion week events in New York and Miami. Page 7 The Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s Art + Film Gala on Saturday night drew stars from both worlds. Page 9 Fred Segal next year will launch its first designer collaboration with Kravitz Design called Fred Segal x Kravitz Design. Page 10 The Wall Street Journal on Friday launched “WSJ Shops,” an e-commerce site. Page 10 AmfAR will launch its first foray into India when it hosts amfAR India in Mumbai on Nov. 17. Page 11 Sir Philip Green and his team last week visited around 25 Nordstrom stores with Topshop departments. Page 12 A Fendi eyewear capsule collection designed by Thierry Lasry will bow for spring 2015. Page 12 Didier Dubot Joaillerie today in New York will present the Nicola Formichetti x Didier Dubot collection. Page 12

Tina Veshaguri is the subject of “Model Call” on WWD.com.

MODEL CALL: WWD recently sat down with 20-year-old Tina Veshaguri, fresh off her debut New York season, where she walked the likes of Theyskens’ Theory, A Détacher and Delpozo. For more, see WWD.com.

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By MAYU SAINI

THE WAGE BOARD set up in June in Bangladesh on Monday recommended a 77 percent increase in the minimum wage for textiles and apparel industry work-ers to 5,300 taka, or $68, a month, from $38 a month.

The second-largest garment exporter in the world after China, the garment industry in Bangladesh has been under pressure from workers as well as international organizations after a series of disasters in the past year have taken the lives of more than 1,250 workers.

Workers have been demanding higher wages and better working conditions with a series of protests that have intensified over the last two months. They have been seeking 8,112 takas, or $102, as a minimum wage, a figure that employers say is unacceptable. The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association had proposed a minimum wage of 4,200 takas, or $54, on Friday, prompting a fresh round of discussion before coming up with the 5,300 takas.

The six-member wage board, which is made up of representatives of the government, labor and the BGMEA, has been attempting to negotiate a rate that would be acceptable to the different stakeholders.

“The board proposed this amount considering the present reality both from the point of owners and workers,” said A.K. Roy, chairman of the wage board.

After the BGMEA made its latest proposal on Friday, workers again staged protests, with blockades on the highway on Sunday as well as violent attacks on factories. Meanwhile, employers feel that this amount is higher than what they can factor into their budgets.

The wage board’s proposal on Monday was met by the garment industry with a mixture of silence, relief and downright disapproval and threats of protest.

“It is a reasonable increase, and the workers’ representative should be happy with this,” Rubana Huq, managing director of the Mohammadi Group, said. “The wage market is not standardized in Bangladesh, and many sectors draw a lot less, and many don’t even have a minimum wage ceiling.”

Industry analysts said the final number will be ap-proved by the Ministry of Labour and Employment, which could have a say in raising or lowering the proposed amount. Given that elections in Bangladesh are coming up in the next three months, the government must factor in the financial support of the business community as well as a large mass of votes from the four million workers employed by the garment industry, according to analysts.

The wage has been calculated to include various ex-penses, including 3,200 takas as the basic salary, 1,280 takas as house rent, 300 takas for food subsidy, 320 takas as medical expenses and 200 takas for transport.

Wages were last increased in 2010, when they went up from 1,662 takas ($21.39) to the present 3,000 takas ($38.62).

Reactions to the plan will be tempered over the next few days by the 60-hour shutdown that has been called by the opposition — the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, led by Khaleda Zia. Government officials told WWD that they were hoping for more temperance from both sides.

The wage increase was partially based on a visit to Cambodia and Vietnam that representatives of the board took in October. Organized by the International Labor Organization, “the study tour was a good opportu-nity for us to better understand each other’s arguments,” said Fazlul Haque Montu, executive president of the Jatiya Sramik League, who is a member of the board.

The minimum wage increase is expected to be-come effective as of Nov. 1.

By EVAN CLARK

SAKS FIFTH AVENUE has moved into its new home at Hudson’s Bay Co.

Hudson’s Bay said its deal to buy Saks Inc. for $3 billion, which includes debt and expenses, closed today. Saks stockholders get $16 for each of their shares, and Hudson’s Bay’s chief executive offi-cer Richard Baker gets a third, and more upscale, chain for his retail business, which already included Hudson’s Bay and Lord & Taylor.

Much of the money from the sale will go to Mexican telecom billionaire Carlos Slim Helú, who held 23.1 million Saks shares, valued at $370 mil-lion, and Tod’s SpA chairman and ceo Diego Della Valle, who held 22.7 million shares, valued at $362.4 million, as of last count.

All together, the Toronto-based Hudson’s Bay now has 320 doors, including 179 full-line specialty de-partment stores, 72 outlet stores and 69 home stores.

Hudson’s Bay expects the deal will create roughly $100 million in annual cost savings within three years.

To fund the all-cash buyout, Hudson’s Bay sold about $1 billion in equity, which included common stock and warrants that were issued to HS Investment L.P., an affiliate of Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, and funds advised by West Face Capital Inc.

The debt financing included a $2 billion senior secured term loan, a $300 million junior secured term loan and a $950 million asset-based loan.

Saks shareholders gave the final thumbs-up to the deal on Friday, after which the retailer de-tailed which executives would leave the firm, fol-lowing Stephen I. Sadove, chairman and ceo, and Ron Frasch, president and chief merchant. Among those moving on were Robert Wallstrom, executive vice president and president of Saks Off 5th; Denise Incandela, executive vice president and chief mar-keting officer, and Terron Schaefer, executive vice president and chief creative officer.

Saks will remain headquartered in New York.

THE POSSIBILITY of a sweeter offer from Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. hasn’t altered The Men’s Wearhouse Inc.’s firm opposition to its competitor’s takeover bid or the idea of letting its suitor see its books.

Men’s Wearhouse said Monday that, after consulta-tion with its financial and legal advisers, it concluded “it is not in the best interest of the company’s share-holders to provide Jos. A. Bank with access to non-public information concerning Men’s Wearhouse.”

The retailer reiterated its earlier position that the $48 a share, or about $2.4 billion, offered for the com-pany “significantly undervalues Men’s Wearhouse.”

Jos. A. Bank Thursday said it would consider raising its original bid if provided with the opportu-nity to conduct “limited due diligence” of its archri-val men’s specialty store chain. Jos. A. Bank said the offer to boost the price would expire on Nov. 14 if “good faith discussions” with MW hadn’t begun.

“Our board and management teams are committed to creating value for our shareholders,” said Douglas Ewert, president, chief executive officer and a director of MW. “We are enthusiastic about Men’s Wearhouse’s prospects and are confident that our strategic plan will deliver more value to our shareholders than Jos. A. Bank’s inadequate, highly conditional proposal.”

The unsolicited $48-a-share offer, originally proposed on Sept. 18 and made public on Oct. 9, would be funded from cash on hand, financing and $250 million in new equity capital from private equity firm Golden Gate Capital. MW rejected the bid at the time it became public. The original offer

represented a 42.4 percent premium to MW’s clos-ing price of $33.71 on Sept. 17.

Shares of MW closed Monday at $42.14, down 2.8 percent. Bank shares declined 0.5 percent to $47.71.

Robert Wildrick, chairman of Jos. A. Bank, said the company was “disappointed” by MW’s refusal to supply a limited amount of information and its choice “not to explore the potential of Jos. A. Bank’s proposal for the benefit of their sharehold-ers. Their board’s position is a matter for consider-ation by the shareholders of Men’s Wearhouse.

“For our part, we stand by our previous state-ment and will keep our proposal open until Nov. 14, 2013,” he concluded.

“It is difficult to understand why the board took this position, especially in view of the many Men’s Wearhouse shareholders who have asked that the company meet with our client,” said Gilbert Harrison, chairman of Financo Inc., which is advis-ing Jos. A. Bank on the offer.

Harrison said Jos. A. Bank is not walking away just yet. “It’s not over until the fat lady sings, and we’re not singing yet,” he said.

Wildrick said last week that there are no plans to launch a hostile takeover bid should MW adhere to its earlier rejection of Jos. A. Bank’s offer. Men’s Wearhouse is receiving financial guidance from BofA Merrill Lynch and J.P. Morgan Securities and legal advice from Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP.

— ARNOLD J. KARR, WITH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM JEAN E. PALMIERI

Men’s Wearhouse Rejects Latest Offer

Hudson’s Bay Closes on Saks Deal

Bangladesh Board Proposes 77% Wage Hike

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4 WWD TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013

Ghesquière Takes the Reins at Vuittondesigner Darren Spaziani to spearhead new lines of “very high-end” leather goods to complement existing collec-tions. Spaziani, who worked at Vuitton from 2004 to 2006, was previously di-rector of accessories design at Proenza Schouler, and he had also been design director of accessories at Balenciaga under Ghesquière.

“Louis Vuitton has always incarnated for me the symbol of ultimate luxury, inno-vation and exploration,” Ghesquière said Monday. “I am very honored of the mission that I am entrusted with, and proud to join the history of this great maison. We share common values and a vision.”

Ghesquière, 42, succeeds Marc Jacobs, the American designer who stepped down from Vuitton last month after a storied 16-year tenure to focus on developing his signature brand and ready his namesake company for an initial public offering.

Hired by Vuitton in 1997 to bring the company into the modern fashion age, Jacobs introduced ready-to-wear, shoes, fashion jewelry and eyewear to a brand known primarily for luggage and handbags.

A darling of the media, Jacobs brought lots of attention and fashion credibility to the brand, tapping celebrity pitchwom-en including Madonna, Jennifer Lopez, Uma Thurman and Sofia Coppola. The American designer took a freewheel-ing approach to Vuitton’s women’s rtw, trotting out lacy French confections one season; hip-hop-inspired streetwear the next. His all-black swan song collection last month was inspired by showgirls and featured dramatic feathered headdresses.

Ghesquière is expected to crystallize a new feminine image for the heritage brand, which will mark its 160th anniver-sary in 2014.

While leather goods continue to ac-count for the vast majority of Vuitton’s sales — estimated at as much as 90 per-cent — it is understood the rtw business operates at a slight profit and ranks as one of the most sizable in the LVMH empire.

At Balenciaga, Ghesquière cultivated an aura of hyper-exclusivity, staging rap-id-fire shows, accentuating an experimen-tal approach that widely influenced other runways and made him a popular figure among editors and retailers — at least the happy few invited to his fashion party.

The Frenchman’s challenge will be to adapt to Vuitton’s massive scale, vast global audience and a brand image some-times linked to travel and sporty pursuits, including sailing and fine automobiles.

Analysts peg Vuitton’s 2012 rev-enues at around 7.4 billion euros, or $10.2 billion at average exchange, mak-ing it the luxury sector’s biggest brand by sales — and roughly 25 to 30 times the size of Balenciaga.

Vuitton accounts for roughly half of LVMH’s earnings before interest and taxes, analysts estimate, and boasts an EBIT margin of around 42 percent.

Ghesquière must also acclimatize to a sprawling company with many creative and business chiefs across a plethora of product categories.

Among Vuitton’s visible designers are Kim Jones, men’s studio and style direc-tor; Julie de Libran, women’s creative director and the front woman for cruise and other collections; Lorenz Baümer, fine jewelry designer, and Jacques Cavallier-Belletrud, a master perfumer brought in to thrust Vuitton into the fra-grance arena, though a launch is not ex-pected before 2016.

Sources said they expect Ghesquière to bring some of his key collaborators, including designer Natacha Ramsay-Levi and stylist Marie-Amélie Sauvé. Footwear guru Pierre Hardy is also part of his inner circle. (Fabrizio Viti is cur-rently Vuitton’s style director of shoes.)

Ghesquière’s arrival at Vuitton com-pletes an overhaul in top leadership

at the cash-cow brand of LVMH. Last December, Vuitton welcomed a new chief executive officer, LVMH veteran Michael Burke, previously ceo at Bulgari and Fendi, and with prior experience at Vuitton in the U.S.

Burke in turn tapped Delphine Arnault, daughter of Bernard Arnault and longtime deputy general manager at Dior, to become his second-in-command at Vuitton, responsible for all product-related activities.

A key talent scout within LVMH, she is said to have championed Ghesquière for the linchpin Vuitton post. Arnault was also instrumental in recent transactions that brought buzzy British designers Nicholas Kirkwood and J.W. Anderson into the LVMH fold.

Sources suggested Ghesquière, a tough negotiator, likely fought for the right at LVMH to launch a signature fash-ion house, long an ambition of his. His most recent contracts at Balenciaga in-cluded a clause permitting him to pursue a namesake brand, giving parent Kering first right of refusal in the event the de-signer found another business partner willing to set up a fashion house for him.

In a 2005 interview, the designer spoke openly about that eventuality.

“It’s one of my dreams. I would love to do my own line. I don’t know when and I don’t know how, but I would like to do it.

And today I would say it would be in ad-dition to Balenciaga,” he said at the time. “If I want to start my own line, I have to find a very specific and special concept. We are far from this.”

One of the stars of the brand reinven-tion era, Ghesquière exited Balenciaga last November after clashing with man-agement about the future direction of the company.

Hailing from the small French town of Loudun and without any formal fash-ion training, Ghesquière got his start in fashion by filing, photocopying and cata-loguing fabrics at Jean Paul Gaultier, ultimately landing at Balenciaga and de-signing lowly licensed lines, including of-fice uniforms, bridal gowns and widows’ dresses for Japan.

Once promoted to the helm of the main rtw line in 1997, succeeding Josephus Thimister, he quickly won ac-claim for sculpted designs straddling fu-turistic and Parisian chic. For three sea-sons, he also designed collections for the Milan-based house of Callaghan.

At Balenciaga, he had a penchant for futurism and the Eighties, while ex-ploring key silhouettes and themes from Cristóbal Balenciaga, a Spaniard who founded his couture house in 1919 and established himself in Paris in 1936.

LVMH has had its eye on Ghesquière for some years, making overtures to him more

than a decade ago for Givenchy. As reported in WWD, Dior heavily courted Ghesquière as it sought to replace its disgraced coutu-rier John Galliano, ousted in the wake of racist and anti-Semitic outbursts.

Ghesquière joins LVMH as a legal battle with his former employer is slowly grinding its way through French courts. Balenciaga is seeking damages of 7 million euros, or $9.2 million at cur-rent exchange, for published remarks by Ghesquière it deemed harmful and in violation of its separation agreement with the designer.

On Oct. 15, a legal representative for Ghesquière and Sauvé, who is also named in the suit, appeared before the Tribunal de Grande Instance of Paris to table its defense.

A date for pleadings has yet to be set, but sources familiar with the case said it could take up to two years before it winds up completely.

Court documents say the French fash-ion designer was paid 6.6 million euros, or $8.7 million at current exchange, as compensation for breaking his latest employment contracts with Balenciaga, signed in 2010 and 2012.

He also walked away with 32 million euros, or $42.3 million, for the purchase of his 10 percent stake in the company, granted to him when then-parent Gucci Group bought Balenciaga in 2001.

{Continued from page one}

Nicolas Ghesquière

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By RosemaRy FeitelbeRg

NeW yoRK — Having had a madison avenue store here for the past 10 of the 30 years he has been in business, Dennis basso has upped the ante by re-locating a few blocks north to a 10,500-square-foot space.

over the weekend, the de-signer quietly opened the doors to 825 madison avenue. While a shopper browsed through the fur jackets, sequined evenin-gwear and crocodile clutches on the first floor on monday morn-ing, a crew of contractors was busy plastering and hammering the three floors above. During a walk-through — which at times was a bit precarious — basso motioned toward what he de-scribed as a floating glass stair-case, an expansive area for his first mink-covered midcentury furniture and a residential-type, fourth-floor office with a Juliet balcony. “it’s going to be like a mini Dennis basso department store,” he said. “being a true salesman, the dressing rooms are already in.”

With a 15-year lease that will be nearly a $3 million commit-

ment in rent this year, basso is far from winding down his career. “most people would be looking to ease up after 30 years in business, but i have never felt more excited,” he said. “i always say that when you are doing something that you love, it’s not work. When i moved to madison avenue 10 years ago, i thought that was the pinnacle of my busi-ness career. Now here i am in a space three times the size with an expanded accessories line.”

His wholesale showroom will be housed on the fourth floor, and on-site seamstresses were sewing away in what will be an atelier, which he noted was uncommon for the neighbor-hood, “very much like Paris in the Fifties,” said basso, adding that an attendant will always be at the ready with silver-tray espresso service for shoppers. “We’re back to customers really wanting to be treated like cus-tomers again. When customers are treated well, they really want to return to that store, or maybe even call before to see if that salesperson is working,” he said.

basso has enlisted four archi-tectural and interior specialists to design the landmark building,

which previously was occupied by a Dolce & gabbana store. sawicki tarella is handling the historic facade, John lindell is taking care of the interior and Kenneth alpert will handle the interior design of the offices. alpert has created all of basso’s homes. each of the three sales floors will have dark gray slate floors and glass walls so that the emphasis is on the clothes, and the first floor features screens playing runway show footage. the boutique also has 30 feet of frontage on madison avenue.

the new monochromatic contemporary layout should help boost 2014 sales by 10 per-cent, according to basso, who is predicting a 6 percent gain this year. the midcentury home fur-nishings, blankets and throws — something basso has done on a customized basis for interior designers in the past — will now be offered to shoppers.

Having introduced ready-to-wear six years ago, which now includes resort and pre-fall, the designer plans to introduce more daytime pieces. a bridge line for department stores and specialty stores is also in the works po-tentially for next year, but basso

was quick to note “not a navy blazer because you don’t need to come to Dennis basso for a navy blazer.” (Retail prices would range from about $150 to $500.)

the boutique will be open seven days a week through the holidays, and its grand opening party is set for Dec. 10. While 16 staffers are based in the uptown location, the company also has a 30,000-square-foot facility in long island City that

is used for a design studio and manufacturing. With five other boutiques and concept shops, the designer is still getting used to his new madison avenue ad-dress. “this location is signifi-cant to where the Dennis basso brand is going,” he said. “let’s put it this way: the day i went into business in 1983, i did not imagine having a store next to Dolce & gabbana and Valentino a door away.”

5WWD TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013

By DaViD moiN

bloomiNgDale’s is back on the ex-pansion path, with a 115,000-square-foot unit in the glendale galleria in los angeles set to open Friday.

the glendale site advances bloomingdale’s strategy for opening scaled-down department stores and for trading up. it also marks the retail-er’s first department store opening in three years.

With 86,500 square feet of selling space and two levels, glendale is ex-pected to generate about $40 million in annual volume. the store is comparable in size to bloomingdale’s units in santa monica, Calif., and New york’s soHo neighborhood. aside from that, the ap-proach is different: there is greater glamour inherent in the store design and in the assortment at glendale. the tone is set right at the outset with louis Vuitton and gucci boutiques, 1,800 and 1,600 square feet, respectively, flanking the entrance from inside the mall, where the highest traffic is anticipated.

“those are two big statements,” said michael gould, bloomingdale’s chairman and chief executive officer, who is step-ping down on Feb. 1. “From an assort-ment point of view, the store is dramati-cally more upscale than santa monica. the quality of the lines parallels our san Francisco flagship,” where the appeal is also decidedly elevated. “glendale shows very clearly how the luxury market views the evolution of bloomingdale’s, how we continue to trade up in value and ser-vice, and how we continue to evolve as an upscale, accessible luxury brand,”

beyond gucci and Vuitton, brand bou-tiques continue to reign. the store is filled with them, 48 to be precise, primar-ily situated around the store’s perime-ters. Key designer accessories boutiques include Chloé, burberry, tory burch and Ferragamo. in cosmetics, there are bou-tiques for Chanel, illamasqua, la mer, la Prairie, maC, sisley and Jo malone.

Women’s ready-to-wear shops in-clude all saints, burberry, Diane von Furstenberg, Helmut lang, Karen millen, maje, Rag & bone, sandro, ted baker, theory, tory burch and Vince. men’s

shops include boss Hugo boss, moncler and John Varvatos.

by comparison, the santa monica store has three vendor shops. the con-centration in glendale, explained Jack Hruska, executive vice president of creative services, elevates the appeal to shoppers in the area, particularly all the film and television studio work-ers at Disney, DreamWorks, Pixar and Universal studios. “Customers in this market are very brand-conscious,” Hruska said. “this is more of a flagship presentation. Usually in our smaller locations we don’t have this degree of brand penetration.”

“the challenge is always how do you bring the excitement of our 59th street store [in manhattan] to a building that is 15 percent of the size,” gould added. “it’s not simple. you have to be sensitive to the local tastes and the customer.”

still, executives say the new bloomingdale’s sustains its own brand DNa and energy, and isn’t getting over-run by brand boutiques. “We still have strong classification presentations in denim, t-shirts, shoes and jewelry,” observed tony spring, president and chief operating officer, who will succeed gould as ceo.

they also cited the familiar checker-

board tiling running through the b’way beauty area with the skylight above, gold-trimmed fixtures, and 30- to 40-foot-high ceilings above women’s footwear on the second level. at 4,000 square feet, the jewelry department is pro-portionally larger than those in other bloomingdale’s locations. there are gen-erously spaced classification areas for shoes, with 8,500 square feet, as well as for denim and t-shirts.

boutiques occupy about 40 percent of the center core space (cosmetics, foot-wear, jewelry and accessories) while 80 percent of the ready-to-wear floor is oc-cupied by boutiques, and the remainder is for men’s and kids. the store will be manned with personal shoppers called style advisers, in addition to the sales associates, as well as a studio services department to help movie studios outfit their actors and actresses.

bloomingdale’s in glendale took over a former mervyn’s store, gutted the box and expanded the footprint deeper into the mall, giving it greater space and tak-ing over an existing skylight. at night, the store will be visible from afar, with a combination of leD illuminated squares and pale gray, silver, green and black tiles. inside, associates will be equipped with mobile checkout devices and digital

look books, and a “denim seeker” to help find the best jean fit. a by-invitation pri-vate preview day will donate a portion of the proceeds to 10 local charities.

bloomingdale’s executives said they’ve eyed the glendale galleria for years. the turning point came when the mall began a major redevelopment and upgrading. the 1.5-million-square-foot mall, owned by general growth Properties inc., created an outdoor pub-lic plaza, new entrances, new restau-rants and signs, and modernized the food court, the floors, lighting, elevators, esca-lators and added chandeliers and water features. the mall was built in 1976, and is known for housing the first apple store and the first Disney store.

the last department store opened by bloomingdale’s, which generated north of $3 billion in revenues last year in 36 locations, was in santa monica in august 2010. that same month, bloomingdale’s began opening outlets and currently has 13. earlier in 2010, bloomingdale’s opened its first and only international store, in Dubai.

glendale is bloomingdale’s eighth unit in southern California, 10th in the state, and 37th in the entire chain. after glendale, the next bloomingdale’s open-ing will be in stanford, Calif., in fall 2014, replacing an existing unit. in fall 2015, a store will open in the ala moana mall in Hawaii.

“People are talking to bloomingdale’s about locations in lots of places. We’ve had good growth over the last number of years, so why not? We have fewer stores than either Nordstrom or Neiman’s,” gould said. the Neiman marcus group operates 41 Neiman marcus stores, two bergdorf goodman stores and 36 last Call clearance centers. Nordstrom has 117 full-line stores and 131 Nordstrom Rack outlets. “We have opportunities.”

among the most likely targets are the Pacific Northwest, arizona and texas, where bloomingdale’s has no depart-ment stores.

the retailer could also open addi-tional freestanding home stores, like the medinah unit in Chicago, gould suggest-ed. “We don’t have a separate home-store strategy but that doesn’t mean there isn’t an opportunity.”

Dennis Basso Reveals Madison Ave. Unit

Bloomingdale’s Glendale Store Sets New Focus

Dennis Basso wants to put the emphasis on the clothes in the new unit.

The Los Angeles unit marks Bloomingdale’s first department store opening in three years.

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6 WWD TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013

By REBECCA KLEINMAN

MIAMI — Sweet Pea’s manufacturing capabilities have shot up like Jack’s giant beanstalk.

In February, the Miami-based women’s apparel firm relocated from a 40,000-square-foot factory where it had produced a portion of its signature nylon mesh separates and private label since the late Nineties, to a nearby 140,000-square-foot vertical operation on the border of Miami proper and Hialeah, a city to the northwest that was once a re-gional hub of manufacturing.

Though assembly continues to be outsourced to Latin America, the $26 million investment in state-of-the-art, green technology and machinery made in Italy and Germany gives founders Mario and Stacy Frati hands-on control of raw materials, from spinning of yarn to cutting garments.

Like many U.S. companies, the Fratis had grown disillusioned with the infe-rior quality and late deliveries that can often result from outsourcing. Forced to choose between retiring and going vertical, they bet that others were will-ing to spend a few extra dollars a unit for top-notch quality control and speed to market, particularly fill-in orders, which have become their calling cards.

That their own collection has been car-ried at Bloomingdale’s, Nordstrom and Anthropologie for many years cemented their reputation.

“We are truly fast in the fast-fashion era,” said Mario. “We’re influenced by

the Zara model to turn around garments in weeks versus months.”

Beyond reorders and scrambling to jump on missed trends — the fac-tory holds a position on other fabrics including rayon spandex jersey and polyester chiffon — retailers can tweak Sweet Pea designs for a desired look such as cropping peplums or lowering necklines. Executives with their design teams in tow turned the factory and its 3,000-square-foot showroom into a hot spot during Miami swim week this sum-mer. Many visitors had never seen a fac-tory and when showing them around, Mario, a fourth-generation textile manu-facturer whose Florentine family owned factories making fabrics for markets from automotive interiors to cashmere world-wide, compared before-and-after results between his new and old machines.

“This Brazzoli dyeing machine re-duces water by 90 percent and cuts the process in half, the warper’s RPMs have been increased from 400 to 1,000, and fabric printers have gone from 10 to 21 yards per minute on a quarter less electricity,” he said.

The switchover has created more demand for technicians, while some departments have been downsized. Whereas extracting water from dyed fabric ropes formerly required two workers, a single employee merely ob-serves the step’s new computerized Corino machine. A few steps must still be done by hand: Fabric spreaders train six to 12 months to qualify as an assis-tant, while a cutter takes even longer. Many of the 74 full-time employees have worked there for 20 years.

“Our biggest challenge is filling labor positions,” Mario said. “If I place a clas-sified ad for a dyer, no one under 75 would apply.”

The Fratis said a key factor in firms like theirs successfully competing against global sourcing Goliaths is to guarantee the same level of code compli-ance. Their desks are piled with exhaus-tively thick contracts regarding safety, ethics and garment testing.

“Dotting your i’s and crossing your t’s to become a validated vendor is how you stay in this game,” Stacy said. “Exceeding these expectations is our slingshot.”

Beyond their current annual pro-duction of 2.1 million units with five to eight times growth capacity, the Fratis consider their mission much more than business-minded. They don’t believe all manufacturing is lost to Asia, but that the U.S. has a greater opportunity than Europe to reclaim a piece of the pie if entrepreneurs pony up and take risks.

“We’re already proving you can beat China in Miami, and we’re not even at our best level yet,” said Mario.

TEXTILES

Sweet Pea Embraces Made in USA

By ARTHUR FRIEDMAN

NEW YORK — The ongoing rejuvenation of the city’s apparel manufacturing and design communities will serve up a special event — “Fashion on the Factory Floor” — taking place for two weekends this month in the Sunset Park area of Brooklyn.

The event is being organized and curated by the Pratt Center’s Made in NYC initiative with support from Manufacture New York, Save the Garment Center and other leaders in New York’s fashion industry. “Fashion on the Factory Floor” will present an opportunity for up-and-coming designers who are committed to local manu-facturing to sell their goods directly to a large consumer audience. Jamestown Properties, one of New York’s largest owner of industrial real estate, will host the event at Industry City, a six-million-square-foot industrial waterfront campus at 241 37th Street in Sunset Park. The event will run for two weekends, Nov. 23 and 24 and Nov. 30 (Small Business Saturday) and Dec. 1.

About 80 designers will showcase their ap-parel, accessories and jewelry at the event. Interested designers can apply through an on-line, open-call application form, and a group of leaders from New York’s fashion industry will make the selection. The event aims to promote the Made in NYC brand and drive sales to local manufacturers during one of the most important consumer spending periods of the year.

Bob Bland, founder and chief executive of-

ficer of Manufacture New York, said, “There is such a talented generation of new fashion entre-preneurs.…These designers want their products to say ‘Made in USA,’ and to be manufactured in a sustainable and socially responsible manner. This event will introduce shoppers to a wide range of cutting-edge emerging designers, which will have the added benefit of creating and supporting skilled jobs in New York City. What a great gift for the holiday season.”

New York City is home to a diverse and vibrant manufacturing sector with nearly 6,000 manufac-turing businesses employing about 75,000 people, organizers noted. These jobs pay an average of $54,000 a year, significantly higher than service sector or retail jobs.

In addition to being able to purchase goods at the Factory Floor, visitors will learn about the manufacturing sector through live demonstrations, information sessions and interactions with an in-dustrial landscape. This exposure to manufactur-ing processes is intended to inform visitors on the importance of local manufacturing and what it takes to make a product in New York City.

Made in NYC is the leading hub for industrial and manufacturing information in the city, with a comprehensive directory of businesses that manufacture within the five boroughs. The group supports more than 1,000 designers and manu-facturers by connecting them with customers and services to grow business and create jobs. More information about the programs and event can be found at madeinnyc.org, factoryfloorbrooklyn.com and manufactureny.org.

‘Factory Floor’ Event Features NYC Firms

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WWD.COM

By ARTHUR FRIEDMAN

MARvIN KlAppER, who retired in 1992 after a 45-year career with Fairchild publications and WWD, died Sunday at the age of 91.

His daughter, Sherry, said Klapper succumbed to a multitude of ailments at Grandelle Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in long Beach, N.Y.

Klapper was a fixture in the WWD newsroom, a mentor to many young re-porters, liked by all and affectionately called “The Great One” by some for his vivacious and amiable personality, his booming voice and his resemblance to Jackie Gleason, with whom he shared the nickname.

When he retired, Klapper was an as-sociate editor and senior textile editor for WWD.

Born in New York City on Sept. 5, 1922, Klapper served with the U.S. Army artillery in World War II before gradu-ating from New York University with a bachelor of science degree in biology in 1946. He started at Fairchild on Jan. 2, 1947, as a member of the research de-partment. He moved to the editorial staff in 1951 as a reporter and a year later found his true calling when he moved to the textile department.

In 1996, Klapper was named editor of HFD, or Home Furnishings Daily, guid-ing that newspaper until he returned to WWD three years later to direct coverage of the textile industry. Klapper embraced this position with grace and aplomb, and his writing was prolific and informative. Klapper wrote “Fabric Almanac,” a glos-

sary of the industry’s language and a guide to its intricacies, and several other industry books.

“As an editor, Marvin was among Fairchild’s best,” said Edward Nardoza, editor in chief of WWD. “Aside from his journalistic talents, his colleagues loved him. We remember his wonderfully bois-terous personality and those famous Klapper business lunches — typically at Nicola paone — of multiple courses and wide-ranging conversation, always in-corporating some kind of fish story. His natural warmth and gravelly wit man-aged to take the tension right out of any pressured situation, inside or outside the newsroom.

“In addition to his insightful coverage of the tug-of-war between free trade and protectionism, or the high-stakes battle between man-made and natural fibers, Marvin’s instincts were uncanny. In fact, he was the first to seize upon the techno-logical revolution that transformed not only the global supply chain but the en-tire industry,” added Nardoza.

Mort Sheinman, retired managing editor of WWD and a longtime col-league of Klapper’s, said, “Marvin Klapper was one of the main reasons I loved working at WWD. When I joined the paper in 1960, he was a one-man welcoming committee, a mentor to me and to many others who came after, and one of the great storytellers, an ebullient, joyous man who made every-one smile. I always looked forward to having lunch with him, and he always looked forward to having lunch.

“He knew the textile industry as few people did, he reported what he knew,

and he didn’t worry about stubbing the toes of major advertisers as long as he got the story right. He once covered a luncheon where some big-shot textile ex-ecutive made a speech railing against im-ports and saying how important it was to buy American. Everyone at the lunch got some cheap little tchotchke as a souve-nir. Marvin looked at it closely and real-ized it was made in Japan, a fact that did not go unreported in his article.”

Klapper built a reputation in the in-dustry for his wide expertise and large personality. He could often be heard across the newsroom as he discussed in-tricate textile issues with sources, or lis-tened to their jokes.

“Marvin epitomized the industry dur-ing that era, which was all about interper-sonal relationships and understanding and communicating the complexities that were going on,” said Nicholas Hahn, who now runs his own consulting company but knew Klapper as president and chief executive officer of Cotton Incorporated. “When you had a question or had an opinion that needed to be expressed, you called Marvin. He had a great sense of humor and could present complex issues in a light-hearted but meaningful way. He was a great guy and an institution for so many years at WWD.”

Bruce Roberts, former president of the Textile Distributors Association, said, “Marvin was a real people person. He was a guy you could trust — when you told him something was off the record, you knew that would be honored. He really knew the industry so well. He was also one of the great lunch people of all time.”

When he retired, Klapper said, “I am leaving the world of fashion for the world of fish.” He owned an 18-foot Sea Ox that was berthed in Freeport, N.Y., on long Island, near his home. The name of the boat was Marvelous Marv.

After he retired, Klapper was the guiding spirit behind a memoir enti-tled “Fashion, Retailing and a Bygone Era: Inside WWD,” published in 2005 by Beard Books. It was a look back by Klapper and six other former edi-tors: Isadore Barmash, Ed Gold, Sandy parker, Sid Rutberg, Sheinman and Stanley Siegelman.

In addition to his daughter, Klapper is survived by a sister, Bertine Fields. He was predeceased by his wife, Blanche, who died in 2002. The family said a private, graveside service will be held on Tuesday.

7WWD TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013

obituary

Marvin Klapper, WWD Textile Editor, 91 Marvin Klapper

By ROSEMARY FEITElBERG

NEW YORK — IMG Fashion on Monday informed designers of plans to outsource production of its Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week events in New York and Miami.

As a result, longtime New York-based IMG Fashion production staff-ers Christina Neault and Jason Brandt have been laid off, as well as Heather Stamm. Taryn O’Meara will help through the transition, according to an e-mail from senior vice president and manag-ing director Catherine Bennett of IMG Fashion & Retail properties. The deci-sions were made after completing com-prehensive due diligence, she wrote.

“We view this as a key step in trans-forming our business and major progress towards delivering our vision: Our vision is to be the global gateway of fashion. We aim to inspire, present and unite fash-ion’s key constituents from creation to end consumer,” Bennett wrote.

“As part of this transformation, it was necessary for IMG Fashion to immediately

reduce our U.S.-based management produc-tion staff,” Bennett wrote. “While it’s tough to see longtime members of our team leave, we are excited to continue growing our net-work and strengthening our division.”

An IMG spokesman declined to comment other than to say additional announcements will be made in the coming weeks.

Another staffer, Jarrad Clark, is now vice president, creative director.

Going forward, IMG Fashion will tighten its ties to longtime partner laurie DeJong and her firm, lDJ productions. DeJong will take on a more prominent role, overseeing all key aspects of production for MBFW in New York and Miami. Reached via e-mail Monday in Rwanda, where lDJ is working on an initiative to help build a school for the arts and a fashion week, DeJong said, “lDJ has been providing venue and lobby management for many years and [we] look forward to our expanded role that now con-sists of overseeing all key areas of produc-tion. The IMG Fashion team will be unveil-ing some exciting plans in the next couple weeks and we look forward to sharing them with the fashion community.”

PVH, G-III Close on Bass Deal

IMG Sets Fashion Week Changes

pvH CORp. said Monday it completed the $50 million sale of its G.H. Bass & Co. foot-wear division to G-III Apparel Group ltd.

The firm opted to sell Bass following its acquisition of The Warnaco Group Inc. in February in order to focus on the Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger brands, which have provided the bulk of its growth in recent years.

Kristin Burrows, president of Bass, will report to Bill Hutchison, president of G-III’s Wilsons leather unit.

Emanuel Chirico, chairman and chief executive officer of pvH, told WWD last month that Bass “is a heritage brand that is well known, but we have not been investing in the brand from a marketing point of view. That has the ramification

of putting sales and gross margin pres-sure on the business.”

Bass’ 160 outlet stores generated about $250 million in volume, accounting for about 40 percent of the retail sales of pvH’s heritage brands retail business. That heritage retail business suffered a 9 percent drop in same-store sales during the first six months of 2013, with softness at Bass the leading contributor to the decline.

G-III projected the acquisition would subtract 10 cents a share from its earnings for the year but be accretive afterward.

pvH expects to incur a pretax loss of about $20 million in connection with the transaction. The divestiture will dilute fourth-quarter earnings by 5 cents a share on a non-GAAp basis. — ARNOLD J. KARR

w05a007a;9.indd 7 11/4/13 7:31 PM11042013193308

it gives the right and proper presentation of the brand. That’s the process we started and will be continuing in the next months and years.”

Asked how he envisioned such in-store consoli-dation, di Marco elaborated, “It depends on stores and space. At the end of the day, you have hand-bags and small leather goods, and you have belts in another spot on the floor, and then silks and jewel-ry. If you combine these categories, you walk into a store and there’s a proposition which says who you

are as a brand. Saleswise, it’s also much more efficient to have cross-selling opportunities.”

A similar change in ap-proach has taken place at Holt Renfrew in Canada.

“The most important thing is that at Saks and at Holt Renfrew, what we’re seeing is just the beginning of the story, and we are seeing double-digit growth,” di Marco noted.

Gucci is currently in nego-tiations with Neiman Marcus for the same kind of takeover and consolidation to ultimately strengthen the Gucci business at the specialty store chain.

“The end result will be a net number of stores which is lower than the number we have now in terms of presence within Neiman’s, but a much higher consolidation so that, at the end, the pres-ence will be more significant and the business will still be quite healthy,” di Marco noted.

In January, the company moved Christophe de Pous, previously president and ceo of Gucci Japan, to the same role at Gucci America Inc.

De Pous said of Neiman’s, “We will keep some wholesale and convert some to leased operations. We will create the world of Gucci where the consumer finds the Gucci environment, not only one category.” But, he added, “the shoes remain mostly a wholesale business because of the business model in America.

“The business in the U.S. has been very good,” de Pous said. “If you look at the U.S. business as a

whole, the signs have been positive. The only reason why the sign is not as positive as it could be is be-cause in the States you also have Hawaii, which has obviously been affected by the decrease in Japanese traffic and the depreciation of the yen. But if you look at mainland U.S., it’s been positive. What is interesting to note is that our growth with the local clientele is over 14 percent in North America.”

De Pous said that in the product mix in the U.S., “Ready-to-wear is actually one of the stron-gest categories in growth for both men and wom-

en’s. We still have potential for double-digit growth.”

Gucci is planning to add sev-eral new stores in the near fu-ture. Next year, it is set to open a second unit in Seattle, at The Shops at The Bravern in the up-scale Bellevue area of the city. Gucci has plans for four addi-tional freestanding stores in 2015, and six more in 2016.

Next year, the company will also renovate its Beverly Hills store on Rodeo Drive, which still features an interior concept from 1999, when Tom Ford was at the brand’s creative helm. There are also plans to recon-figure the Chicago location by designating its second floor for retail, which is how the store was when it first opened during the Aldo Gucci era of the brand.

“We’re planning to reach and possibly exceed the $1 billion mark in the country, which I think is achievable,” di Marco said.

To better serve customers, Gucci is fine-tuning the shopping experience. “Inevitably, you have certain customers who want to have a certain shopping expe-rience,” di Marco said. “We all talk about traffic, and traffic is definitely important…sometimes you walk into a store and want to have a shopping experience. This goes beyond VIP rooms.

“We have great sales associ-ates, we have great artisans,” he added. “The best thing would be to have our own people meet our customers, and offer them whatever we could.”

That could include opening stores during special hours just

for specific customers. Improving the company’s communication — from its humanitarian efforts to corporate social responsibility — provides anoth-er channel to connect with consumers. The Chime for Change campaign, which kicked off in London earlier this year, is planning to mark its first anni-versary next year in the U.S., though the company didn’t disclose further details.

Another way the brand has been reaching consum-ers is Gucci Kids, which is largely a wholesale busi-ness but, stressed di Marco, one that didn’t exist two years ago and now rakes in more than $100 million. Asked whether his baby daughter Greta, who was born in early March, has a closet full of Gucci, di Marco hes-itated. “Well, actually no,” he said. “Her mom [Gucci creative director Frida Giannini] is quite democratic. She is choosing a number of different brands, but yes, we placed an order with the company just recently and should be receiving some Gucci soon.”

WWD.COM8 WWD tuesday, november 5, 2013

’’

’’We all talk about traffic, and traffic is definitely important...sometimes

you walk into a store and want to have a shopping experience. This goes beyond VIP rooms.

— Patrizio di Marco, Gucci

Gucci’s di Marco OutlinesPlans for North America

{Continued from page one}

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HONORING David Hockney and Martin Scorsese, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s third annual Art + Film Gala on Saturday night, chaired by Eva Chow and Leonardo DiCaprio and sponsored by Gucci, drew stars from both worlds. On the Hollywood team were the likes of DiCaprio, Jane Fonda, James Caan, Kate Hudson, Jake Gyllenhaal, Amy Adams, Michael B. Jordan, Olivia Wilde and Jason Sudeikis, Evan Rachel Wood and Jamie Bell, Fergie and Josh Duhamel, Drew Barrymore and Will Kopelman, Kate Beckinsale and Len Wiseman, Dakota Johnson, Salma Hayek and Zoe Saldana. The art world came out in full force with John Baldessari, Roy Dowell, Urs Fischer, Barbara Kruger, Catherine Opie and Ed Ruscha.

The evening raised $4.1 million for the museum’s film programs with the help of heavy hitters like Wallis Annenberg, Jerry Bruckheimer, Terry Semel, Larry Gagosian, Brian Grazer, Bryan Lourd,

Brad Grey, Les Moonves and Bob Iger.Inside the specially constructed dinner

pavilion, Duhamel showed Hudson iPhone photos of his son, while an expectant Wilde and Sudeikis also talked babies with new parents Wood and Bell.

“It’s great having the opportunity to bring together the communities of fashion, arts and movies, like a dream for me that became real,” said Gucci creative director Frida Giannini, who designed custom gowns for Hudson, Beckinsale and Wood for the occasion. “We are all passionate about the arts and movies, so the LACMA event is the perfect link between everything we do.”

On a more personal note, Giannini added that she was also looking forward to chatting up her dinner partner and the evening’s performer, Sting. “I love music and Sting has always been my idol so I can’t wait to have a conversation

with him,” she smiled.For Adams, the event

has become a yearly date night for her and fiancé Darren LeGallo. “It really is our annual tradition,” she said.

“It’s so elegant and fun, and I wouldn’t miss a chance to honor Martin Scorsese,” said Beckinsale, who played Ava Gardner in his film “The Aviator.”

DiCaprio, who has starred in five Scorsese films, introduced his friend and mentor by saying, “When you walk into a museum like LACMA, you are faced with precious works of art. When you meet Marty, you feel the same way because spending time with him is like walking into a world-class film museum. When you work with him, you have the privilege of becoming part of history.”

Scorsese had screened a newly restored version of “Rebel Without a Cause” at

the museum the night before. He said he had spent many hours at the museum in the Seventies watching films, and that Hockney was also a great influence on his work, particularly in “Taxi Driver.” “Cinema exists in the ongoing conversation of our lives. That’s why for me it’s so important to preserve it,” he said.

Hockney, who had been absent from Los Angeles for some time, made a return for the gala and

the opening of the exhibition at LACMA. “I was only on location in England,” he said. Some of his most famous works were painted in Los Angeles, a city he arrived in almost 50 years ago when the museum was first being built.

Afterward, DiCaprio went to congratulate him, saying, “I’m a collector of art myself, but I haven’t had the privilege of buying one of

your paintings because they’re so goddamned expensive.” — MARCY MEDINA

Frida’s Friends

eye

FOR MORE PHOTOS, SEE

WWD.com/eye.

Amy Adams in Gucci.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese, both in Gucci.

Zoe Saldana in Gucci.

Kate Beckinsale in Gucci.

Drew Barrymore

Laura and Kate Mulleavy

Tom Hanks with Mary J. Blige in Gucci.

Salma Hayek in Gucci.

Fergie and Josh Duhamel

Nicole Richie in Dolce & Gabbana.

Frida Giannini in Gucci.

By LISA LOCKWOOD

FRED SEGAL, the California re-tailer owned by Sandow, will next year launch its first designer col-laboration with Kravitz Design called Fred Segal x Kravitz Design.

The offering will feature at least 10 unisex items span-ning fashion accessories, cloth-ing, travel accessories and a limited-edition motorcycle. Each item will be designed by Kravitz Design as envisioned by Lenny Kravitz. Prices range from $100 for accessories up to $100,000 for the limited-edi-tion motorcycle.

Supporting the launch is Mark Styler Co. Ltd., which is opening several Fred Segal retail locations in Japan be-ginning next year. Fred Segal x Kravitz Design will be sold at Fred Segal stores in Tokyo and Los Angeles, as well as the Philippe Starck-designed SLS Las Vegas, where Fred Segal will open seven boutiques next year, including stores for wom-en’s, men’s jeans, jewelry, shoes and home. The collection will also be sold at fredsegal.com.

“When we thought about launching Fred Segal’s first designer collaboration in 50 years, we approached Lenny and his team at Kravitz Design,” said Adam I. Sandow, chairman and chief executive officer of Sandow. “With his L.A. roots, sense of style and impec-cable eye for design, Lenny really understands the Fred Segal brand and aesthetic. He was the perfect partner for our inaugural exclu-sive collection.”

Sandow said the first products will be launched in the stores in the second quarter of next year. There will be 10 products on a rolling schedule over the course of 12 months. Eventually, they plan to build a wholesale business around it, starting in 2015, said Sandow.

The collection marks Kravitz Design’s first collaboration with a retailer. “I grew up shopping at Fred Segal and have always felt connected to the brand and what it stands for — a vibe of laid-back luxury that resonates far beyond Los Angeles,” said Kravitz, found-er of Kravitz Design, who wears many hats as a rock musician, writer, producer, designer and

actor. (He plays the role of Cinna in “The Hunger Games” films).

Kravitz Design has done multiple projects ranging from chandeliers for Swarovski’s Crystal Palace Collection to re-inventing Starck’s classic Kartell Mademoiselle chair. It has also designed suites at the SLS Hotel Miami Beach, as well as a two-story penthouse recording studio at the Setai Hotel and Residences and the 47-story bayfront condo-minium project Paramount Bay, both in Miami.

The deal between Fred Segal and Kravitz Design was brokered by Culture + Commerce, a Sandow company and design management agency that represents both brands.

“With a shared pulse on the lat-est trends and a background in California style, putting Kravitz and Fred Segal together was a natural connection,” said Michele Caniato, president of Culture + Commerce.

Fred Segal, known for dressing celebrities, rock stars and locals, is rooted in Hollywood culture. Founded in 1961, the retailer was ac-quired by Sandow in 2012. Last month, it opened a 2,200-square-foot location at the new international terminal at Los Angeles International Airport. In the works are branded products, e-commerce and lifestyle des-tinations around the world, starting with Tokyo in fall 2014. Sandow said Fred Segal plans to open another store in Los Angeles next year and is actively looking for space in Miami. As for the Los Angeles stores, he said, “Santa Monica is doing well, and Melrose is doing even better.”

Sandow said the Fred Segal store at LAX is the largest store in the airport, except for the multibrand duty-free mall. He noted that LAX is at 40 per-cent retail capacity and it’s al-ready exceeding expectations.

Over the next 12 months, it will be at 100 percent capacity. “It’s been a huge success so far,” said Sandow. “Price does not seem to be a barri-er,” he said, citing strong sales with custom leather jackets by Gregory Siff retailing for between $2,000 and $3,000, and sunglasses by Anna-Karin Karlsson and Leisure Society, ranging in price from $600 to $900. He said the store is mostly catering to international travelers who are leaving Los Angeles. “They want to take a piece of L.A. home with them,” he said.

By ROXANNE ROBINSON

FOR CARLOS FALCHI, the second time around is in the bag.Two years after the Brazilian designer launched a contem-

porary collection with sourcing firm Li & Fung that failed to take off, Falchi is at it again, this time with new partner L & Leung, which also produces handbags for brands that include Iris by Iris Apfel, Carlos by Carlos Santana and Emma Fox.

The former Falchi by Falchi contemporary line of bags, shoes and jewelry had one shipment to Macy’s for its Brazil promotion. Falchi had also tapped Li & Fung to take on production and distribution for his main “cou-

ture” collection. “The Macy’s promotion did well at retail, but when it came to

production, we both realized that small U.S. production was not their niche and my couture line has al-ways been made in the U.S.,” said

Falchi, who also sells his moderately priced Chi by Falchi brand of bags,

jackets, watches and hats exclusively on HSN.

For Falchi’s second go at contemporary, he’s

focusing exclu-sively on bags

with leather

and calf hair looks that mimic his main collection’s concepts (even the brand name is the same) but with prices that retail from $228 for a cross-body camera style to $348 for a North/South tote, capping out at $598 for an oversize calf hair bag. L & Leung president Lisa Nunziata said her goal is to cre-ate a collection that’s strong on brand, leather and function. When asked if she was concerned that customers might con-fuse the main line and the contemporary one, she replied, “We don’t want them to know the difference.”

Design director Steve Quiles, formerly of Lucky Brand, said the contemporary line’s interest is in the details, from the adjustable buckle on the Y-shaped shoulder straps of a cross-body style to an appliqué in a chevron pattern on a crescent-shaped hobo. A python print, a croc embossment and a cobra pattern burnout have a similar exotic look of the main collection. All the leathers are sourced in Brazil, with the bags produced in China.

The line makes its debut in market this week and is slated to hit retail for a May-June transitional delivery.

10 WWD TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013

Carlos Falchi Returns To Contemporary Arena

BLURRED LINES: The Wall Street Journal is selling more than the news. On Friday, the newspaper launched “WSJ Shops,” an e-commerce site that is now a permanent addition to its homepage and the broader Dow Jones family of publications.

Running year-round, “The Shops” is essentially a souped-up version of the e-commerce gift guide the newspaper unveiled last holiday, according to Zachary Martz, WSJ retail development manager, who noted that the site may be accessed from the homepage of a variety of Dow Jones’ properties.

Calling the site a “second step,” Martz noted that the online catalogue showcases “curated” picks from the newspaper’s various staff members — including its editorial team. Asked how the newspaper intends to remain objective with editors handpicking items from their favorite brands, Martz said: “There is a definitive line between church and state, between editorial and content.”

Martz added, “We’re still exploring the line between editorial and content. We are not accepting money from brands or retailers.”

Underscoring the importance of “curation” over “brand recognition,” he added that shoppers won’t be aware of the product’s label until they click specifically on the desired ware.

That aside, the larger question has to do with revenue. Just how much is the

Journal bringing in from this project, which already exists at a handful of consumer magazines, including Harper’s Bazaar and Lucky?

“We aren’t the type of place to throw money into the wind and hope it sticks,” said Martz, who declined to provide revenue projections. He did offer that, in addition to product sales, business is garnered from advertisers — and those advertisers, for the most part, are not selling their wares on the site.

“It kind of goes back to that separation of church and state thing,” he said. “We make news first. Everything that is digital is a complement to it.”

— ALEXANDRA STEIGRAD

PARTY TIME: A holiday ad campaign ushering in the arrival of Banana Republic L’Wren Scott kicks off this week. Carter Smith photographed the ads, featuring party shots of L’Wren Scott surrounded by a bevy of models including Svieta Nemkova, Ashley Scott, Maritza, Lydia Carron, Ryan Bertroche, Sean Altemose and Bobby N.

Scott and Banana Republic have collaborated on a 50-piece holiday collection that hits stores worldwide and online on Dec. 5.

Catherine Sadler, global chief marketing officer of Banana Republic, said that “L’Wren is very much about glamour,” and the collaboration is based on party dressing. The campaign was photographed at The Plaza hotel in New York and styled by Adam Glassman, creative director of O, The Oprah Magazine. The collection has a glamorous holiday-at-home theme and includes black velvet jackets, ruffled blouses, sequin

cardigans, skinny jeans, tweed jackets, shift dresses and pajama sets. Prices retail from $39.50 to $165. Accessories, including clutch bags, chains, berets and totes, are priced from $39.50 to $198.

Ads will break in the December fashion magazines and in People, and there will be an outdoor component in major cities. Sadler declined to reveal the ad budget. The campaign will also feature an hour-long Twitter chat with Scott. The exact date hasn’t been set. — LISA LOCKWOOD

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Fred Segal to Team With Kravitz

Bags from the new collection.

L’Wren Scott and models in an ad for her Banana Republic line.

Lenny Kravitz

A screenshot of WSJ Shops.

WWD.COM

HEADING EAST: AmfAR will launch its first foray into India when the Foundation for AIDS Research will host amfAR India, its inaugural fund-raising gala in Mumbai on Nov. 17. The centerpiece of the Love Gold and American Airlines-sponsored evening will be a gold-themed fashion show showcasing wares from top Indian designers. The bash, which will take place at the Taj Mahal Palace, will be hosted by Sharon Stone with amfAR chairman Kenneth Cole in attendance. Ke$ha is slated to perform.

— TAYLOR HARRIS

ROWLEY DOES BEAUTY: After dipping her feet into the e-commerce world with an eyewear business she launched this summer, Cynthia Rowley is taking on color cosmetics in a similar fashion. Beginning today, consumers will be able to preorder debut items from a new makeup range by Rowley, exclusively via the online shop Birchbox. She will roll out additional items, including a spring collection, in a monthly Birchbox for subscribers as well as through the subscription service’s e-commerce site.

“The eyewear site is a very similar model to what we are doing now in beauty,” said Rowley, who was also Birchbox’s first designer collaborator. “We’re launching only online, creating a dialogue with our consumer, so we’re able to react and gather data and really use social media to have immediate feedback. Rather than just throwing more product in the world, it’s about influencing design in a new way.”

Cynthia Rowley Beauty will launch with three products: a 12-hour liquid eyeliner for $18, as well as two limited-edition items, a $24 Eye Shadow Palette and a $15 Gilded Canvas Bag.

Rowley said she is open to growing her range into “a cohesive collection” that could be more widely available over the next year or two. — BELISA SILVA

COMINGS AND GOINGS: Coach Inc. named Iana dos Reis Nunes vice president of public relations, a new role effective Dec. 2. She will join from The Row,

where she has served as vice president of global communication since August 2012. Prior to The Row, dos Reis Nunes spent two-and-a-half years as executive director of public relations at Chanel Inc., and, before, rising to public relations director for Louis Vuitton North America. At Coach, she will report to senior vice president of global brand communications Jason Weisenfeld.

Also at Coach, Sandra Hill, executive vice president of women’s design, is leaving the company to pursue other interests. Stuart Vevers recently took over the creative helm of the company as Coach’s executive creative director.

— MARC KARIMZADEH

GALA NIGHT: The American Friends of the Israel Museum held its annual gala at New York’s Cipriani 42nd Street on Oct. 28. Among the 450 guests were Charles Bronfman, Stacey and Matthew

Bronfman, James Carpenter and Toshiko Mori, Ambassador Ron Dermer, Luis Gispert, Ninah and Michael Lynne, Linda and Harry Macklowe, Madge and Martin Miller, Eleanor Heyman Propp, Ambassador Ron Prosor, Ingeborg and Ira Leon Rennert, Doug and Mike Starn, Judy and Michael Steinhardt, Liz Swig and Alice Tisch. This year’s event raised more than $2.2 million for the Israel Museum, Jerusalem and the event’s theme, “Time & Again,” highlighted precious treasures from the museum’s collections, which include unique prehistoric objects and cutting edge works of contemporary art and design. — WWD STAFF

RETAIL PALACE: The Benetton family’s real estate holding, Edizione Property, confirmed Monday it is in advanced negotiations with an undisclosed retailer to rent Venice’s Palazzo Fontego dei Tedeschi. According to market sources, DFS Group, the luxury and duty-free retailer majority-owned by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, could be in pole position to secure the lease for the 18th-century palazzo, which the Benetton family bought from the Italian postal service in 2008 for about 60 million euros, or $84 million at average exchange.

After a five-year negotiation with Venice’s municipality, the Benetton family last March got authorization to restore the 101,507-square-foot palazzo. The restoration project, valued at 18 million euros, or about $24 million at current exchange, has been given to Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas.

— ALESSANDRA TURRA

PHILIPPINES PROJECT: The Armani Group has inked a partnership with real estate developer Century Properties, based

in the Philippines, to design luxury residential units, common areas and amenities for its latest landmark project, Century Spire. The project is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2018.

Located in Makati, Century Spire is being designed by Studio Daniel Libeskind.

“If the architect’s aim is to create remarkable spaces, then it is my aim to bring these to life through my interior-design aesthetic,” said Giorgio Armani, president and chief executive officer of his group, adding that he felt the combination of

Daniel Libeskind’s vision and his own “will result in a truly remarkable place to live, full of elegance and wonder.”

Some of the Armani/Casa Interior Design Studio’s most recent projects include the Maçka Residences in Istanbul and The World Towers in Mumbai. — LUISA ZARGANI

VIVIENNE’S VALUABLES: Vivienne Westwood has teamed with five British heritage brands for a capsule “collaboration” collection, called Vivienne Westwood [Heart], which celebrates British quality and craftsmanship.

Luggage brand Globe Trotter; outerwear specialist Gloverall; cashmere and knitwear label Johnstons of Elgin; traditional hatter Lock & Co., and luxury sock brand Pantherella are Westwood’s chosen brands, all of which are between 75 and 346 years old. According to Westwood, these brands were chosen because they “epitomize Vivienne’s ‘quality over quantity — buy less, choose well, make it last’ ethos.”

The collaborative items will be available from next week in Westwood’s Conduit Street and King’s Road stores in London, at selected international stores and at viviennewestwood.com.

— JULIA NEEL

11WWD tuesday, november 5, 2013

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The American Friends of the Israel Museum gala raised more than $2.2 million.

Macy’s Meets With Sharpton Over Racial Profiling Issue

By LISA LOCKWOOD

NEW YORK — The Rev. Al Sharpton met with Macy’s officials at the Herald Square flagship Monday over racial pro-filing allegations at the retailer.

The meeting follows one last Tuesday that Sharpton had with Barneys New York officials at the Harlem headquar-ters of National Action Network, a civil rights organization he founded.

As reported, Robert Brown, an actor who stars in the HBO series “Treme,” said he was racially profiled at Macy’s Herald Square on June 8. He alleged he was stopped by at least three plain-clothes police officers, accused of using a fraudulent credit card and was de-tained at the store. He has filed a lawsuit against Macy’s and the New York Police Department. Macy’s has said that pre-liminary findings of its own investigation showed no involvement of store person-nel in Brown’s detention, which was char-acterized as an NYPD action.

The retailer said Monday, “Macy’s ex-ecutives, led by chairman, president and chief executive officer Terry Lundgren, met this afternoon with a group of com-munity leaders from the National Action Network, National Urban League and other organizations to discuss recent po-

lice apprehension cases in and around Macy’s Herald Square store. The meet-ing included a healthy exchange of in-formation and ideas for continuing to foster equal treatment for all customers. Macy’s considers its loss prevention poli-cies to be among the very best and most progressive in the retailing industry, and the company expressed its intention to continue to hold itself to a very high stan-dard in its relationships with customers and law enforcement authorities toward an objective of providing the best possible shopping experience. The company reit-erated its deep commitment to diversity and inclusion, and that it does not toler-ate discrimination of any kind.”

After the meeting, Sharpton told the Associated Press that he had a “brutally honest” meeting with Macy’s and that Macy’s needs to quickly make clear how it can guarantee racial profiling won’t happen because “we are not going to go through the holidays and have people shop where they are going to be profiled.” NAN had no further comment, and of-ficials at the National Urban League couldn’t be reached at press time.

New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman, who is investigating racial profiling at both Macy’s and Barneys, has begun receiving documents from both retail-ers and is actively interviewing witnesses.

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By RACHEL BROWN

LOS ANGELES — A little more than a year since Topshop en-tered Nordstrom, executives from both retailers put in some serious face time last week dur-ing a tour of Topshop locations at Nordstrom to take stock of their partnership and improve joint efforts going forward as Topshop’s presence within the department store expands.

Sir Philip Green, chief ex-ecutive officer of Topshop par-ent Arcadia Group, and his team visited around 25 Nordstrom stores with Topshop depart-ments, and Pete Nordstrom, president of merchandising for Nordstrom Inc., met up with the traveling Topshop crew on Friday at Nordstrom stores in the Orange County, Calif., shop-ping centers Irvine Spectrum Center, South Coast Plaza and Fashion Island.

Nordstrom explained those stores have Topshop setups from different phases of the British retailer’s short history with Nordstrom that began with 14 doors in September 2012 and has spread to a total of 41 Topshop and 18 Topman locations, including Nordstrom stores that have only Topman shops and no Topshop units.

“It is necessary for us to spend this kind of time togeth-er,” said Nordstrom. “It can feel tedious at times, but they are in London and we are in Seattle, and this is not a model that has really ever been done. This is a unique partnership. It is not like buying a line from a vendor. It is much more of a collabora-tive process. We were basically coming together saying, ‘We are doing well, but if we did these things better, how much better can the business be?’”

He said Green was keen to check out the Topshop brand-ing, which has been elevated with enhanced imagery, and get a sense of how the merchandise is performing. “He cares first and foremost about his brand and the presentation of his brand in our stores. That’s part of it, the visual merchandising part,” said Nordstrom. “But he is a real merchant. He wants to know what’s selling well. He always engages with the depart-ment manager to know what is

selling or what could be selling better, and he uses those as liv-ing examples.”

In one such example, Green chatted with a Nordstrom em-ployee in Irvine Spectrum at the shoe section about Topshop’s products. “Everyone was there: Pete and his team. The girl came over and I said, ‘How can I help?’ She said, ‘We want more.’ I said, ‘We like girls like you.’ In 10 minutes, I named her Miss More,” recounted Green. “We are in the early days, and we are not delivering enough inventory. Where we have quite a tight col-lection, it is quite easy to see that we could do a lot more busi-ness. It is learning about alloca-tion, how do we react quicker, how do we get the data.”

Part of the solution to re-acting quicker and leverag-ing Nordstrom sales data at Topshop will be building an organization at the U.K. chain to specifically manage the Nordstrom business. “Now that we’ve scaled up, it’s going to have a dedicated owner on our side. That has to be somebody’s job,” said Green. “Some people have to come in to work at 4 in the afternoon and work the night shift. I want to have some people open when they’re open, so we’re not playing catch-up.

We need to be live.” Those people will be cru-

cial as Topshop takes its next steps at Nordstrom. The U.S. retailer hasn’t disclosed the exact number of doors Topshop will increase to in upcoming seasons, but it is considering up to 10 for spring and another spate of doors for late fall. Pete Nordstrom said the department store is taking “reasonable bites at a time so that we can execute better. We are going to add more

stores together in the spring, and really what we are looking at is twice a year adding new stores. It should be in the ma-jority of our stores. There is no doubt about that.”

Also expected in the spring are pop-up shops to house the Kate Moss collection that Topshop is launching in April. Green told WWD last month that he’d like 60 to 70 pop-ups at Nordstrom for the collec-tion. Asked about that amount

on Saturday, when he was at a Topshop at Los Angeles shop-ping center The Grove for an early holiday party that featured a performance by Natalia Kills and was attended by Mandy Moore, Erin Wasson and Ashley Madekwe, Green said, “We haven’t quite decided how we are going to do it. Yesterday, we left on the basis of they were going to think about how many stores, and do we do it on the existing mat or separate? We are not quite finalized with the plan, but the answer is yes, it is going to be in Nordstrom.”

Elaborating further on the rollout of the Kate Moss collec-tion, Green revealed the launch would be in all of Topshop’s 39 countries simultaneously. “I want to get everything delivered, all built and ready to go on the same day. I just think there will be more impact. This time, it is the right way to do it,” he said. “There’s going to be one drop. No replenishment. We could sell it in two days or a week.”

The kind of buzz that Topshop intends to gener-ate with the launch of the Kate Moss collection is what Nordstrom is trying to capture at its stores with the brand. “We wanted to do a better job of being more relevant to young women. This brand has a lot of resonance and credibility with young fashionable women, so that was a great opportunity for us to bring this product in and attract new customers. It has worked for us that way. It has made our existing custom-ers happy and has brought in a lot of new customers,” said Nordstrom, adding, “The fact that we are continuing to grow together suggests that we are encouraged by the results that we already have.”

For Topshop, Nordstrom pro-vides exposure to consumers in the U.S. market, where it aims to generate $1 billion in sales in the not-too-distant future. Green, who noted Topshop is currently in negotiations for four or five stores to enlarge its U.S. fleet of four freestanding locations, proclaimed Topshop has “a shot” at reaching that revenue target “if we find the right locations. We are not run-ning at 100 miles an hour. We want to be careful and take a little bit of time.”

12

MILAN — A Fendi eyewear capsule collection designed by Thierry Lasry will bow for spring 2015. This is the first such venture for Fendi and the first time Lasry will collaborate with a luxury brand.

Pietro Beccari, chairman and chief executive officer of Fendi, defined Lasry as “one of the most creative and coolest eyewear designers of the mo-ment.” He said the Rome-based luxury brand shares with Lasry “common val-ues, such as savoir faire, innovation, tradition and experimentation, which are at the core of Fendi’s DNA. We are sure this partnership will bring further energy to our brand.”

The capsule will be produced by Safilo, Fendi’s eyewear licensee. “At Safilo, we feel truly inspired to contribute the very best of our long-

standing eyewear savoir faire and innovative product expertise to our trendsetting partnership with Fendi,” said Luisa Delgado, ceo of the Italian eyewear producer, describing this as “an exceptional opportunity to further enrich the extremely precious Fendi eyewear collection.”

Lasry, the son of an optician and a designer, launched his namesake line of sunglasses in 2006, and they are entirely handmade in France. His designs are marked by a futuris-tic twist on retro shapes, often with an Eighties vibe and a rock ’n’ roll touch. The collections are available at stores ranging from Colette, Bergdorf Goodman and Barneys New York to Lane Crawford, Dover Street Market, Liberty, Boon the Shop and 10 Corso Como in Seoul. — L.Z.

By LUISA ZARGANI

MILAN — Didier Dubot Joaillerie will present its signature collection and a capsule line in collaboration with Nicola Formichetti at New York’s The Standard today.

The Didier Dubot line of fine jewelry was launched in March 2013 with ac-tress Lea Seydoux fronting its advertis-ing campaign.

The collection draws inspiration from the poppy flower and Parisian women. Bracelets and rings are shaped like sculpted corsets in pink gold and silver, and the brand’s initials embellish the necklaces. Prices for the sig-nature line range from $400 to $700 depend-ing on the diamonds, but there are also more expensive items, such as a diamond-encrust-ed bracelet that retails at $3,500.

“The Nicola Formichetti x Didier Dubot capsule collection is inspired by cultural contrasts between punk and prettiness, Western and Eastern iconog-raphy, and the 2013 Year of the Snake in the Chinese calendar,” said the com-pany. Gold snakes are entwined around poppies, and Formichetti’s Nico Panda avatar charm is juxtaposed with inter-locking silver safety pins, bejeweled poppies, a lock and key, and pearl tear-drops, adding a whimsical, punk tone to the line.

Prices for the capsule collection range from $1,800 for just silver and gold pieces, going up to $2,200 for pieces with pearls or diamonds.

The capsule line is available at L.H.P. in Tokyo and, in New York at Michele Varian and Otte, together with the signature collection.

Green and Topshop Team Tour Nordstrom

Didier Dubot Teams With Formichetti Fendi Links With Lasry for Eyewear

Sir Philip Green at the Topman unit at

The Grove.

Topshop units can be found in 41 Nordstrom doors.

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