retailing`s great showman

UPTOWN BOYS
PROENZA SCHOULER’S
LAZARO HERNANDEZ AND
JACK MCCOLLOUGH ON THEIR
BIGGEST MOVE YET.
PAGE 12
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NEW AND
NOTEWORTHY AT
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TRADE SHOWS
IN MANHATTAN.
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$3.00 ■ WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY
Marvin Traub, flanked
by models for a
Bloomingdale’s Spanish
promotion in 1990.
■ THURSDAY, JULY 12, 2012
Marvin Traub, 1925-2012
RETAILING’S
GREAT SHOWMAN
Marvin Traub, one of retailing’s most famous and innovative merchants who led
Bloomingdale’s to its trendiest, most fashionable heights, and added excitement to an often
formulaic industry, died at age 87 at his home in New York. After retiring as Bloomingdale’s
chairman and chief executive officer in 1991, Traub, a tireless worker, parlayed his
experience into a second career as an author and a consultant touching brands, stores and
executives worldwide with his wealth of knowledge. For more, see pages 4 to 8.
PHOTO BY DAVID TURNER
WWD THURSDAY, JULY 12, 2012
Burberry Sales Growth Slows
LONDON — In what could be a
harbinger of tougher times ahead
for the luxury sector, Burberry
Group plc reported a slowdown
in sales growth for the first quarter, citing “a more challenging
external environment.”
On Wednesday, Burberry
shares closed down 7.4 percent to
11.89 pounds, or $18.43 at current
exchange, after the company said
in a trading update that revenue
in the three months to June 30
climbed 11.2 percent to 408 million
pounds, or $644.6 million at average exchange rates for the period.
The revenue figure fell at the
bottom end of the market consensus, and landed just short of
some analysts’ targets. In the previous quarter Burberry’s sales
grew 16.1 percent.
The news dragged down other
luxury stocks at the close of trading on Wednesday, including Tod’s,
which sank 4.8 percent, Ferragamo,
down 6.6 percent, and Richemont,
which retreated 3.4 percent.
“Say what you want, but
the reality is that growth has
slowed,” said one Paris-based analyst who spoke on condition of
anonymity. “Virtually all the luxury players I have spoken to have
flagged a slowdown in Mainland
China and a stagnant Europe.
“The markets are also assuming
that things have gotten tougher, and
I think it’s fair to expect a cautious
Burberry
looks on the
runway.
PHOTO BY IAN GAVAN/GETTY IMAGES
By SAMANTHA CONTI
message from the luxury brands
probably through the third quarter.”
Other analysts were more
upbeat.
Seymour Pierce Research
said that it was expecting
Burberry’s shares to be weaker
on Wednesday, but it still considered the company to be a “strong,
long-term growth story and with
significant geographical and product mix opportunities as well as
operational leverage to come.”
A London-based analyst who
follows Burberry pointed out that
the first quarter is traditionally
the brand’s smallest quarter with
the most difficult comparatives.
“A low, single-digit percentage
point miss on what is the smallest,
toughest quarter of the year for
Burberry is not dramatic — we’re
not talking about a 10 percent
miss,” said the analyst, who also
spoke on condition of anonymity.
Indeed, Burberry has left its
full-year guidance unchanged:
Pretax profits are still set to hit
440 million pounds, or $682 million, for the 2012-2013 fiscal year.
Burberry chief executive
Angela Ahrendts called the firstquarter performance “robust,”
despite what she referred to
as a more challenging external
environment. In a phone call
with WWD, Stacey Cartwright,
Burberry’s chief financial officer,
talked about the impact of the
macro-economic environment:
“You look at the upcoming
elections in the U.S., the euro crisis, China. Things
are happening everywhere, markets
are uneven and
it’s hard to discern
trends,” she said.
In the first quarter, retail sales —
which now generate 70 percent of
the business — increased by 14 percent and the fastestgrowing categories
remain core out-
erwear, large leather goods, men’s
tailoring and accessories.
Burberry said the quarterly
growth came partly from AsiaPacific, where sales advanced 20.6
percent, and Europe, where sales
were up 10.3 percent. Cartwright
added that, in China, comparative retail growth was in the “midteens,” while in Europe — and
especially the U.K., France and
Germany —tourists were driving
the revenue increases.
“It’s the traveling luxury consumer who is fueling growth in
Europe — the growth is not coming from domestic customers,” she
said. Italy and Korea remain weak.
In the Americas — where
quarterly growth was 3.4 percent
— Cartwright acknowledged that
the brand continued to cull the
number of wholesale accounts in
favor of retail stores. “We’re managing inventory more tightly, and
focusing on the top doors with
the right adjacencies,” she said.
In
the
first
q u a r t e r,
Burberry’s average selling price
increased in the mid- to highsingle digits, as Burberry continues to de-emphasize its opening
price point products in favor of
higher-price categories.
As reported in May, Burberry
plans to terminate its Nova
Check, one of the firm’s early
iconic patterns with a khaki
background and burgundy, black
and white stripes. The company
said the Asia-made Nova Check
accessories line is still a big,
highly profitable business, but is
no longer right for the brand.
“That has diluted some of the
first-quarter figures,” said an industry observer. “But it was a deliberate choice by Burberry as they
become more of a luxury brand.”
The company said global product licenses delivered double-digit growth, and that Japanese apparel royalty income was broadly
unchanged. However, Japanese
nonapparel income was down,
largely reflecting the termination
of certain licenses in June 2011.
THE BRIEFING BOX
IN TODAY’S WWD
A view of the new Proenza
Schouler store.
PHOTO BY LEXIE MORELAND
2
Marvin S. Traub, 87, one of the 20th century’s most
visionary retailers acclaimed for his merchandising and
marketing showmanship, died on Wednesday. PAGE 1
Ready-to-wear designer Brian Reyes has been
appointed vice president and head of global design at
Calvin Klein Underwear. PAGE 9
Jennifer Lopez is among the group that today launches
Teeology.com, an online shopping destination for limitededition luxury T-shirts. PAGE 9
Aria Partners has sent a letter to the board of
Christopher & Banks Corp., this time in response to the
retailer’s adoption last week of a poison pill. PAGE 9
An estimated 250,000 visitors hit nine trade fairs and
more than 60 runway and studio presentations during
Berlin Fashion Week. PAGE 10
A restructuring of the Condé Nast Media Group is under
way and 12 people will be let go as a result. PAGE 11
D. Porthault’s new owner says he plans to invest
$5.5 million in the firm during the next four years in a
turnaround bid. PAGE 11
Proenza Schouler on Friday will open its first store,
a 2,000-square-foot space at 822 Madison Avenue in
Manhattan. PAGE 12
Canadian clothing brand Jack Victor will produce
a special capsule collection for its centennial that will
launch for spring. PAGE MW1
New and noteworthy brands to check out at the men’s
wear trade shows in Manhattan. PAGE MW4
BEAUTY BEAT
Frédéric Fekkai to Exit International Markets
THE FRÉDÉRIC FEKKAI brand
plans to bid adieu to its overseas
markets.
The Procter & Gamble Co.
owned hair care brand will exit its
international markets in January,
with plans to relaunch business
overseas in the future, confirmed
a P&G spokesman. Fekkai is carried in 25 countries outside the
U.S., primarily across Europe.
“We are pulling back so we
can go back and look at the business model, get the right proposition and continue to grow
[the brand],” he said, adding
that Fekkai’s business has been
strong since P&G acquired the
brand in 2008, growing at a rate
of high single digits. Rough estimates by industry sources put
the global sales total at upward
of $150 million.
In the U.S., Fekkai has lines
both in higher-end stores, including Bloomingdale’s, Ulta and
Bluemercury, and in drugstores,
such as Walgreens.
A financial source said
Fekkai’s business overseas is
small, and that P&G has more
pressing concerns.
The company is feeling the
squeeze from slowing growth in
developed markets. In June, Bob
McDonald, the company’s presi-
dent, chairman and chief executive
officer, said P&G will tighten its
focus on the biggest opportunities.
“We are targeting our 40 largest and most profitable businesses, the 20 largest and most promising innovations, and the 10
most important developing markets, where the growth potential
is the highest,” said McDonald.
“We do business in 1,000 category-country combinations. The top
40 represents about 50 percent of
our sales and about 70 percent of
our profit. Twenty of these are in
the household care business, and
20 are in the beauty and grooming business.”
— MOLLY PRIOR
Hanrahan Tapped as Regis President and CEO
REGIS CORP. — the world’s largest global hair salon chain — has
named a new president and chief
executive officer.
Dan Hanrahan, who will take
on his new post on Aug. 6, will
also become a member of the
board on that date. Hanrahan
most recently served as president and ceo of Celebrity Cruises
for Royal Caribbean and is cred-
ited with improving the customer
experience and overseeing the
company’s growth strategy.
“Dan is a proven, results-oriented leader who understands the
value of the customer experience
and will be a great asset to Regis,”
said chairman Joel Conner. “With
his operational background and
extensive experience across a
wide spectrum of consumer-facing
brands, Dan is the ideal candidate
to drive Regis’ comprehensive
strategy to improve the salon experience and enhance value for
our shareholders.”
Prior to his time at Royal
Caribbean, Hanrahan worked
for Polaroid Corp., Reebok
International Ltd. and Nestlé
Food Corp.
— BELISA SILVA
ON WWD.COM
RETAIL: On Friday, Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough
will open their first Proenza Schouler store, a 2,000-squarefoot space at 822 Madison Avenue. For more photos, see
WWD.com/retail-news.
CLARIFICATION
The Fashion Industry Gallery has changed its August market
dates from those that ran in the Domestic Trade Shows calendar
on June 20, Section II, page 9. The new dates are Aug. 16 to 18.
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MARVIN TRAUB
A P R I L 1 4 , 1 9 2 5 – J U LY 1 1 , 2 0 1 2
We are saddened by the loss of our friend, colleague and
former Chief Executive Officer. In a Bloomingdale’s career spanning
41 years, he made our company “like no other store in the world.”
WWD THURSDAY, JULY 12, 2012
Traub at the opening celebration of the
Madame Grès exhibition at the Museum
of FIT in New York in 2008.
··
4
Creating something is more
satisfying than doing the deal
itself. I have much curiosity.
But when we execute, that’s
really the satisfaction.
— MARVIN TRAUB
··
MARVIN TRAUB,
RETAILING LEGEND,
DEAD AT 87
PHOTO BY SCOTT RUDD
WWD THURSDAY, JULY 12, 2012 5
WWD.COM
MARVIN S. TRAUB, one of the
20th century’s most visionary
retailers, acclaimed for his merchandising and marketing showmanship, died at his home in
New York on Wednesday. He was
87 and had been working up until
June despite declining health.
He had been suffering from bladder cancer.
The former Bloomingdale’s
chairman and chief executive
officer was a tireless champion
of theatrical retailing, having energized the store’s selling floors with exotic import
promotions, glitzy galas and
designer shops. He transcended the competition by bringing glamour and sex appeal to
Bloomingdale’s, making it a
magnet for East Side singles,
tourists worldwide and high
society, shopped by the likes
of Jacqueline Kennedy, Lady
Bird Johnson, Faye Dunaway
and Diana Ross. They all had
Bloomingdale’s charge cards.
Traub was an avid supporter of designers and launched
several, most notably Ralph
Lauren. Decades ago, Traub gave
Lauren his first big break by getting Bloomingdale’s to place an
order with him when he was just
designing ties. The decision has
become industry lore.
“I will miss his hand on my
shoulder,” Lauren said. “Marvin
has been part of my life for over
45 years. His support and loyalty
extended way beyond my professional life. When I opened
our store on Madison Avenue
and 72nd Street, Marvin was
my first customer. When he left
Bloomingdale’s over 20 years
ago, our relationship was just as
strong. He and his beloved wife,
Lee, have always been friends.
Marvin was not only an icon in
the world of retail, but a great
supporter of the culture of this
city.”
“He was a giant, not just in
our industry but in general,”
said Mortimer Singer, president
of Marvin Traub Associates.
“What made him so special is
that he cared about so many
things — people, places and
products. He had an amazing
level of curiosity, and it was infectious.
“I remember the first time I
met him in his office, 10 years
ago. He was sitting on a chair
opposite me. He liked to put his
feet on furniture. So he had one
leg up on his coffee table and
was wearing these beautiful
Kieselstein-Cord cuff links and
this impeccable suit. He was incredibly put together. It was an
interview, but it didn’t feel like
one. He was curious about me,
my family, my work. He put me
at ease.”
Traub spent 41 years at
Bloomingdale’s, starting as
a merchandise assistant. He
served as ceo for 13 years, until
1991, and was also president
of the store for nine years. In
recent years he reinvented his
career as an impresario of the
global deal through his consultancy Marvin Traub Associates,
where he became one of the
industry’s most astute — and
peripatetic — analysts of emerging markets, including Russia,
China and the Middle East.
As a retailer, he was instr umental
in
elevating
Bloomingdale’s reputation from
a mainstream department store
to a chic emporium with wide
brand recognition, building on
the groundwork for the upscaling of the business that had
been laid by other executives
there since the late Forties, including Jim Schoff Sr., a president, and Jed Davidson, Larry
Lachman and Harold Krensky,
all chairmen at various times.
Yet it was Traub who really
took it to its flashy heights. Like
a theatrical producer, he staged
extravagant store promotions in
the late Seventies through the
Eighties revolving around ex-
and off the beaten path in advance of these import promotions. If the team couldn’t find
enough products, Traub had the
merchandise made. The import
promotions became a tradition,
kicking off the fall fashion season with designers, celebrities
and even heads of state visiting Bloomingdale’s 59th Street
flagship, and burnishing the
store’s reputation for innovative
merchandising and excitement.
After each promotion, Traub
··
By DAVID MOIN
Entertainment” and out of the
sky appeared 12 helicopters,
in fleet formation, “Apocalypse
Now” style. They landed by the
store and, one by one, designers
emerged from the choppers —
Calvin Klein, Bill Blass, Donna
Karan and Louis Dell’Olio
among them. As an encore a
year later, Traub brought the
Big Apple Circus to the Willow
Grove, Pa., branch opening, with
jugglers, clowns and designers
parading in, led by Diane von
People are happier
and healthier
and live longer by
being involved.
··
— MARVIN TRAUB,
FEBRUARY 2012
PHOTO BY TONY PALMIERI
clusive and rare products from
around the world, introducing
to the U.S. centuries-old ceremonial robes from Beijing’s
Forbidden City for a 1980 China
promotion, for example. Or for
the “Mediterranean Odyssey”
in 1987, he imported a $15,000
Christian Lacroix Provencalinspired satin dress even though
the store didn’t sell couture.
Traub sent some of his team to
Kennedy Airport to pick up the
dress, with security.
It was typical for Traub’s
buyers to spend weeks scouring ateliers in fashion capitals
Traub, flanked by models wearing (right) an
ivory and white silk and linen dress by Perry
Ellis and (left) a white and black linen dress
by Isaac Mizrahi circa 1990.
would adorn his office and home
with posters and products marking the occasion. They were his
trophies. While some of the promotions were profitable and others weren’t, for Traub, they were
all worth it as image builders
that made Bloomingdale’s fun
and successful.
Traub was equally sensational with store openings. One of his
most dramatic was for the King
of Prussia, Pa., branch opening
in the mid-Eighties. A black-tie
crowd waited in the parking lot
as the Philadelphia Mummers
marching band played “That’s
Furstenberg riding an elephant.
“He made me ride the elephant,” said von Furstenberg.
“He was such a showman. He
loved that, and embraced it.
Marvin was so incredibly important to fashion, to promoting
fashion, and to retail. He invented the showbiz for retail. It was
endless…the things he would do,
and everybody always did it for
him.”
Traub considered his most
memorable moment on the job
when Queen Elizabeth II of
England visited the 59th Street
flagship. She had just one day
to spend in the U.S., in 1976, to
mark the nation’s bicentennial,
and had a full itinerary, first
visiting Washington, D.C., then
meeting New York City’s Mayor
Abraham Beame and lunching
at the Waldorf-Astoria. Yet by
going through proper channels,
Traub managed to escort the
Queen on a half-hour tour of the
store, and arranged a commemorative exhibit of British and
U.S. fashion just for her visit.
For the way he could romance product, Traub was often
compared with the late Stanley
Marcus of Neiman Marcus,
who pioneered the country
promotion strategy, though
former Vogue editor in chief
Grace Mirabella preferred to
call Traub “the Sol Hurok of
retailing.” According to some
retail experts, the term “retailing as theater” was inspired by
Traub’s work at Bloomingdale’s.
He received the Gold Medal of
the National Retail Federation
in 1991, as well as the Légion
d’Honneur and Ordre National
du Mérite from France and was
awarded the Commendatore
della Repubblica by Italy.
After leaving Bloomingdale’s
in 1991, Traub formed Marvin
Traub Associates, establishing his second career as a
dealmaker and consultant and
thriving on a different kind of
industry action. With his vast
network of contacts from his
Bloomingdale’s days — store executives, manufacturers, designers, distributors and dignitaries
— Traub generated a steady flurry of cross-border licensing and
retail projects, embodying the
spirit of globalization. Though
gone from Bloomingdale’s, he
still lived and breathed fashion
and retail and stayed in the center of it all, even as an octogenarian. “Creating something is
more satisfying than doing the
deal itself,” he once told WWD.
“I have much curiosity. But
when we execute, that’s really
the satisfaction. Not when you
make a deal.”
Traub loved to travel and explore different cultures, particularly India and France, his favorite two countries outside the
U.S. Almost up to the very end,
he maintained a schedule as
rigorous as anyone half his age,
defying the notion that aging
means losing touch. Traveling
to places like Paris, Dubai and
Mumbai was like commuting
for Traub. “People are happier
and healthier and live longer by
being involved,” Traub said in
a February WWD interview. “I
have two partners whose combined age is less than mine. If
you get pleasure at what you are
doing, and are surrounded by a
talented staff of young people,
that helps supply the energy. I
like to think I push the young
people when I travel or anything
else.” Singer, his business partner, has taken over the reins at
MTA, as expected.
Traub often wore Giorgio
Armani, Canali and Ralph
Lauren suits, and had an understated manner and a nasally
voice that belied his strong will
and aggressive tactics. Yet he
basked in the limelight of his
business exploits and wealth of
connections and was never shy
about celebrating his achievements, his personal milestones
or name-dropping his guest
for breakfast at the Regency.
Whether it was his 80th birthday
party held at the Rainbow Room
or his 40th wedding anniversary
{Continued on page 6}
6
WWD THURSDAY, JULY 12, 2012
{Continued from page 5}
at Madame Tussauds in Times Square, the
industry would come out in force. Few industry figures were as well known or commanded such attention.
At Bloomingdale’s, Traub’s philosophy
was to “seek and create,” give the store a
museum character at times, and support
designers. In addition to launching Ralph
Lauren, he launched Perry Ellis as well
as Norma Kamali, with whom he struck
an unusual deal in the Eighties to become
an in-house Bloomingdale’s designer, with
Bloomingdale’s doing the manufacturing
and Kamali designing swimsuits, readyto-wear and hosiery. Traub also opened
in-store boutiques for Yves Saint Laurent
and Calvin Klein, among others. He built
an extremely aggressive, tough team of
buyers and, for years, had some of the
best industry talent, including the late Kal
Ruttenstein, the legendary fashion director who was instrumental in furthering
Traub’s splashy promotions, innovative
merchandising and designer strategy, as
well as Barbara D’Arcy White, the interior
designer whose model rooms at the store
burnished the store’s reputation for fashion and product development.
Bringing sex appeal to the store was
part of the Traub doctrine. By catering to
young and trendy East Siders, the store
became a singles’ hangout where supposed customers could be seen exchanging
phone numbers for dates. Once he told a
newspaper: “On Saturdays, Bloomingdale’s
is the biggest party in town.” He liked that
people affectionately called the store
“Bloomies” and encouraged his merchants
to put the Bloomies logo on more and more
products, including panties. It mattered
more to him that anything with the mark
can it be?’ When I was the men’s fragrance
buyer, Marvin wanted to position men with
spritzers near the doors and escalators for
a Calvin Klein launch. I looked in restaurants for handsome men because that’s
where you find unemployed actors. There
were all these gorgeous men.
“And Marvin’s energy — you had to run
behind him.”
“He’s been a wonderful mentor to
me throughout my career, beginning at
Bloomingdale’s, as well as a mentor to
many designers and generations of executives in the fashion business,” said
Denise Seegal, executive director of M
Magtague Holdings Ltd., Magaschoni Inc.
“As a very young person — 26 years old
— I was brought into this incredibly exciting world of designers. Marvin took us to
Europe to the shows. I was going to Yves
Saint Laurent, Valentino and Sonia Rykiel
as a buyer at such an early age, and having
meetings at the Meurice hotel with Marvin,
Kal Ruttenstein, with all the buyers, divisionals and [general merchandise managers]. Marvin wanted insight from all his
team. What did you see? What was exciting?
He helped shaped a lot of designer businesses and introduced them to the U.S.”
“I first met Marvin when I joined
Bloomingdale’s training program in 1986,”
recalled Jim Gold, president of specialty
retailing at Neiman Marcus Group. “I was
immediately struck by his passion for the
business. It was a thrill to see him on the
selling floor and talk to him about product
in my area of responsibility. Marvin cared
about everyone’s opinion, even those of
us who were just out of college. When I
decided to apply to Harvard Business
School, Marvin was incredibly supportive. Even though I had only been with
▲ Marvin Traub and Inès de la Fressange at the
launch of Traub’s book, “Like No Other Career,”
at the American Embassy in Paris in 2008.
Traub’s enormous energy some attributed
to early-morning workouts with a personal
trainer; others said he was driven. But Traub
liked to say it was simply good genes.
became popular souvenirs, at least for a
time.
Though he focused on building the status and business of the 59th Street flagship,
Traub did expand the chain with mixed
success. Some of the branches he opened,
such as King of Prussia, have endured, but
the Valley View, Tex., and Fresh Meadows,
N.Y., locations were closed. Traub also
closed the Stamford, Conn., store, which
opened in the Fifties. He had been involved in planning that store. But the
Manhattan flagship always took the lion’s
share of his attention.
Traub himself received much attention from the media, and was perceived
as a one-man show, with executives reporting to him very much in his shadow.
However, Traub would make a point of
relating how he helped nurture the careers of many who, after spending years
at Bloomingdale’s, rose to higher posts at
other companies. Within fashion and retail
circles, many individuals, from designers
to ceo’s, say they owe much to Traub.
“When I think about starting in 1974 on
the Bloomingdale’s training squad right out
of college, it truly was like no other store
in the world,” said Robin Burns-McNeill,
chairman of Batallure Beauty. “Marvin was
the leader and the visionary. He put into
place the culture and mode of operation.
You were taught not to just imagine the
impossible, but to go after it and deliver
it. The lessons I learned from Marvin are
some of the most valuable I took with me
for the rest of my career. One was making
the product and customer experience extraordinary. I remember going to the market and walking into a showroom. I wasn’t
concerned about a competitive store beating us to the punch, I was concerned about
another buyer from Bloomingdale’s getting
there first. I also learned how to optimize a
winner. Take Giorgio of Beverly Hills. We
had no idea the demand would be so high.
I remember Marvin and Lester Gribetz saying, ‘What have we got here and how big
Bloomingdale’s for three years at that
point, he agreed to write a letter of recommendation on my behalf. Typical of Marvin,
he did so with tremendous purpose and
professionalism, even taking the time to interview me before writing the letter.”
Traub’s career in the late Eighties
took a more difficult turn. In 1988,
Bloomingdale’s and its then parent company, Federated Department Stores Inc., were
taken over by Canadian developer Robert
Campeau. In the months ahead, Campeau
and his retail concerns began to sink
under the weight of heavy debt from the
Federated acquisition and the 1986 purchase of Allied Stores Corp., so he desperately put Bloomingdale’s up for sale to try
to save the company. Traub made a valiant
effort to buy Bloomingdale’s, but couldn’t
arrange financing after being rebuffed by
U.S. and Japanese bankers and retailers. It
was a big disappointment for him.
In 1990, Federated filed for Chapter
11 reorganization, and the next year,
Traub would be disappointed again. With
Campeau out and new management running Federated, Traub was asked to retire
from the store, which he did reluctantly.
Federated felt the chain needed new leadership and direction.
Initially, Traub wasn’t pleased with the
choice of his successor at Bloomingdale’s,
Michael Gould, who took the business on a
more profitable path of expansion with less
of the glitz and glam, greater emphasis on
branches, and by honing Bloomingdale’s in
a niche priced below Neiman Marcus and
Saks Fifth Avenue, and above Macy’s. Two
years earlier, Gould, then ceo of Giorgio
Inc., accused Bloomingdale’s of diverting
the Giorgio fragrance, putting the two on
uneasy footing.
After a strained, three-and-a-half month
transition, Traub’s final day had come, in a
manner he was used to. Pom-pom girls and
a marching band bid him farewell as he exited the first floor with the staff bidding him
farewell. Meanwhile, the new chairman
Traub receives the Légion d’honneur
award in 1986, accompanied by
Karl Lagerfeld and Lee Traub.
With Queen
Elizabeth II during
her historic visit
to the store.
With George
Balanchine.
Traub with
Bill Blass and
Oscar de la
Renta after
a helicopter
landing for a
Bloomingdale’s
store opening.
Imelda Marcos shops at Bloomingdale’s with Traub and Lester Gribetz.
PHOTOS BY STEVE EICHNER, SONIA MOSKOWITZ, MURRAY FEIERBERG, GUY DE LORT, HARRY MORRISON, DOMINIQUE MAITRE AND FAIRCHILD ARCHIVE
WWD THURSDAY, JULY 12, 2012 7
WWD.COM
Marvin and Lee
Traub with Ralph
and Ricky Lauren
in 1990.
Marvin and Lee Traub
at their wedding.
With the
Missonis
during the
Missoni Party
in 1974.
and ceo was quietly escorting Calvin Klein
through the bridge floor discussing changes
in the Calvin Klein boutique. It was a sign
that Bloomingdale’s was about to head in a
different, more subdued direction.
Traub had let go of the reins, yet it
seemed hard for him to let go emotionally. In 1996, he was insistent on touring a
Bloomingdale’s store in Century City, Los
Angeles, before it opened. He was so eager
that he arrived a day before ceo Gould
would arrive for the last-minute tweaking.
Store officials asked Traub to return later
and informed him that Gould hadn’t yet
seen the store in its final state, but Traub
persisted and was granted access.
Right after leaving Bloomingdale’s,
Traub became a vice chairman of
Federated for a short time and then formed
Marvin Traub Associates, his marketing and consulting firm. At MTA, he became involved in the expansion of Harvey
Nichols in the Middle East, mall projects
in Panama City and Athens, and the Time
Warner Center at New York’s Columbus
Circle. He helped reshape Moscow’s largest department store, Tsum, into a designer
emporium, with Giorgio Armani, Bottega
Veneta, Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent,
among others. And he was most gratified
when, in a consulting capacity, he helped
Bloomingdale’s open its first international
store in Dubai. It was like coming home for
him.
Most of Traub’s efforts post-Bloomingdale’s bore fruit, if not always. In late 1992,
he led an investment group that acquired
Conran’s from London-based Storehouse
plc, and tried to build up the business
in the U.S., but the venture failed. He
once launched a strategy of introducing
··
Traub in 1981 with Martha Graham,
Halston and Shirley MacLaine at a
benefit for the Martha Graham Co.
business school, he married Lee Laufer, a
dancer who studied under Martha Graham
in the Forties and was typically at his side
at store parties and accompanying him on
overseas buying trips.
Some attributed Traub’s enormous energy to early-morning workouts with a personal trainer; others said he was driven.
But Traub liked to say it was simply good
genes. His mother had the same kind of energy, and his great-great-grandfather took
his fifth wife at the age of 78. Marvin did
have a pacemaker installed when he was in
his 80s, and needed to use a cane, but he
loved work too much to retire. When he had
an operation to get a tumor removed from
an intestine, Traub conducted conference
calls from his hospital bed.
Edward Meyer, chairman, president
and ceo of the Grey Global Group, once
said he and Traub started working at
Bloomingdale’s around the same time.
But after three years, Meyer departed. “I
thought, ‘What am I hanging around here
for? This guy is going to be chairman.’” And
he was right.
“He crams more meetings in a hour than
anyone does in a day,” Andy Traub, one of
Marvin’s three children, said at his father’s
75th birthday party held at Bloomingdale’s.
“I don’t know what I can say about
Marvin that he hasn’t already said about
himself,” joked Lauren at the same party. “I
started out younger than Marvin. Now I’m
older than him.” Turning serious, Lauren,
whose Polo empire got off the ground when
he sold Traub neckties some 30 years ago,
added, “More than anybody else, Marvin is
responsible for developing my career.”
At his 80th birthday party, another retail powerhouse, Allen Questrom, said,
More than anybody else, Marvin is
responsible for developing my career.
— RALPH LAUREN
The Traubs in India in 1958.
With Estée
Lauder in
1974.
American and European brands and designers to India, in partnership with Mohan
Murjani, but that venture also failed after
some disagreements. He also advised Kira
Plastinina, the teenage Russian designer,
on expanding into the U.S. After a dozen
U.S. openings, financial difficulties forced
the designer to close the stores.
Traub always forged ahead, forming
new partnerships and business deals. In
1994, he joined Financo Inc., an investment banking firm, as senior adviser, while
operating his consulting firm. Traub and
Financo chairman Gilbert Harrison were
inseparable at industry functions and were
able to bring each other clients, though ultimately the partnership dissolved.
In 2008, Traub helped establish a fund
for investing, called TSM Capital, which
took stakes in Ellen Tracy, Rachel Roy
and Matthew Williamson. In May 2009,
Windsong Brands LLC, the Westport, Conn.based private equity firm, teamed up with
Marvin Traub Associates to form Falchi
Holdings LLC, which acquired Carlos
Falchi, the accessories brand.
Traub was born April 14, 1925, in the
Bronx, and lived for several years on the
Upper West Side of Manhattan. He was the
son of Sam Traub, an executive at Lily of
France lingerie, and Bea, a personal shopper at Bonwit Teller. They were a stylish
couple, driven by their careers and high
society. They spent most of their evenings
on the town at business-related dinners,
rather than at home. Their flair for product and showmanship, however, was passed
down to their son.
In World War II, Traub participated in
the Normandy Invasion, landing at Utah
Beach in 1944, and was shot in the leg at
Metz by a German sniper. The mayor of
Metz discovered some years ago that he’d
been shot in the town and invited Traub to
visit and then decorated him for his valor.
Over the years, the pain from the wound
would flare on occasion. Before the war,
he attended Harvard University, from
which he graduated in 1947. After the war,
he attended Harvard Business School,
from which he graduated in 1949. While at
··
“The best part about Marvin is that he is
always going somewhere. Every time I sit
down with him for breakfast he says he has
to catch a plane to Russia, China or some
place I have never heard of.”
Harrison recalled a 48-hour trip to
Europe with Traub and a 20-year-old business associate last year: “After 24 hours, I
was exhausted, the 20-year-old was beyond
exhausted, and Marvin just kept on going.”
Traub cowrote two books, the first titled
“Like No Other Store,” chronicled his upbringing, his early retail days and his career at Bloomingdale’s. The second, “Like
No Other Career,” summarized his life
after Bloomingdale’s — highlights and low
lights. The first section of the book has 30
sketches from designers and accompanying testimonials from Traub’s farewell to
Bloomingdale’s party in Paris in 1991. For
the book launch, Gould hosted a cocktail
party at the store and said he was “bedazzled” by what Traub accomplished
post Bloomingdale’s. “To strike out and
say I am going to start over — I am really
blown away by his boundless energy.…He
sees things differently. He sees the youth
in something.” It was apparent then that
Traub and Gould had resolved their differences.
Traub is immediately survived by his
wife Lee: his daughter, Margaret, who
founded and runs the lighting company
Adesso; sons Andrew, a retail consultant
and a former executive at Macy’s, and
James, a journalist, and four grandchildren.
Services will be held at the Central
Synagogue, 652 Lexington Avenue and
55th Street, on Sunday, 10 a.m. Donations
may be made to the Marvin and Lee Traub
Flexible Financial Aid Fund, c/o Mary
Preston, Harvard University, 124 Mount
Auburn Street, Cambridge, Mass., 02138,
and Pin Down Bladder Cancer, c/o Marvin
Traub Associates, 410 Park Avenue, Suite
910, New York, N.Y., 10022, or pindownbladdercancer.org.
FOR INDUSTRY REACTION,
SEE PAGE 8
8
WWD THURSDAY, JULY 12, 2012
Remembering Marvin
WWD.COM
Recollections of the merchant and the man from around the industry and around the world.
Ralph Lauren: “Marvin Traub has
been part of my life for over 45 years.
His support and loyalty extended way
beyond my professional life. When I
opened our store on Madison Avenue
and 72nd, Marvin was my first customer. When he left Bloomingdale’s
over 20 years ago, our relationship
was just as strong. He and his beloved wife, Lee, have always been our
friends, sharing so much, watching
each other’s children grow up. Marvin
was not only an icon in the world of
retail, but a great supporter of the
culture of this city. He was a rare person and a rare friend. I will miss his
hand on my shoulder.”
Bloomingdale’s, it was always a given
that you were never to walk into a
showroom or a factory and just take
and buy what was there. You had to
make it different and better.”
Marvin and Lee Traub
being honored by the
Martha Graham Dance
Company in March.
Glen Senk, ceo, David Yurman: “A
and his wife were the nicest couple
in the business. He was great, so
cheerful, so friendly. He is somebody
I will always remember. He was a key
figure in retail when it was a fairy
tale. His innovation was to make a
store that was not so noteworthy into
the trendiest shop in town.”
Donna Karan: “He was a man of
fashion. He really understood the
soul of it and the spirit. For me, the
most memorable thing is how he’d
take a country, such as India, and
go on a journey. There was nothing
he couldn’t handle. He had such
passion and set standards for what
retail was all about. He had amazing relationships with designers.…
You couldn’t say no to Marvin.
When I met the Queen of England,
I was with Marvin. Only Marvin
could have the Queen of England at
Bloomingdale’s with Calvin, Ralph
and myself. Only Marvin could turn
Lexington Avenue instead of running
downtown to uptown.”
Diane von Furstenberg: “It’s very
sad. Marvin was so incredibly important to fashion, to promoting
fashion, and to retail. He invented
the showbiz for retail. He was such
a showman. He loved that, and embraced it. He invented the Indian
promotion and the Chinese promotion. He was so ahead of his time.
For the opening of Bloomingdale’s at
King of Prussia, he made me ride on
an elephant.”
Leonard A. Lauder: “The world may
never see a broadbanded merchant
like Marvin Traub again. He almost
singlehandedly led the conversion of Bloomingdale’s from a local
department store to a national
brand. He created the concept of
Saturday’s Generation during the
Sixties and Seventies. The opening of
Bloomingdale’s decorator rooms became the social event of the season.”
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg: “I am
saddened by the passing of Marvin
Traub, a proud New Yorker and a true
symbol of what one can accomplish in
New York City through hard work and
creativity. Under Marvin’s leadership,
Bloomingdale’s became much more
than a local department store, and
thanks to his vision, today it stands as
an iconic piece of New York.”
Hubert de Givenchy: “I liked Marvin
very much. He was…an absolutely
charming man. He always supported
the Givenchy label and gave us the
possibilities to do a lot of things together at Bloomingdale’s. I had a lot
of admiration for his work, for him,
and he was a great friend.”
Rosita Missoni: “He was one of the
PHOTO BY STEVE EICHNER
Karl Lagerfeld: “I’m really sad. He
first to believe in us and we jokingly
called him ‘the godfather’ because
he opened the doors to America
for us and paved the way for our
international success. He helped so
many other designers, too — he believed in young people and in talent.
And he had an incredible charisma.
Whenever we met, it was a feast, full
of memories.”
Terry J. Lundgren, chairman, president and chief executive officer,
Macy’s Inc.: “I was close to Marvin
for many years, and his guidance
and advice were invaluable to me
as well as to other members of
our company’s management team.
Marvin was a visionary and innovator. He was a true master of fashion
retailing, and we all learned so much
from him. I continued to meet with
Marvin for regular updates over the
years. In fact, we had a meeting
planned for yesterday that he was
unable to attend. Marvin meant
so much to me. I will miss him.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to
Marvin’s family.”
Allen Questrom, former chairman
of J.C. Penney, Macy’s and Barneys
New York: “Marvin certainly led
more than a complete life. He was
quite a character, a total optimist.
He was the most enthusiastic guy
on any subject, with the energy of
a person 25 years younger. I would
run into him at the Regency, where
he always ate breakfast, and he
was always either on his way or just
coming back from India or China.
He was a real merchant. When
I was a home furnishings buyer
at Abraham & Straus, I visited
Bloomingdale’s, and I remember
seeing Marvin walking the floors. He
was always there talking to people.
He focused on the theater of the
business. He will be missed.”
Tommy Hilfiger: “I remember when
I met him with Joel Horowitz. We
were showing at the Holiday Inn in
downtown L.A. because we couldn’t
afford to show at MAGIC. We set up
in a run-down conference room. He
came in and sat on a broken couch
and loved the line. He put us in
Bloomingdale’s and really launched
us and stood behind us. When he
walked into the room, it was like God
was arriving. We remained friends
ever since. He understood the value
of theater in the stores and launching and standing behind designers.”
FOR MORE
REACTION, SEE
WWD.com/
fashion-news.
Michael Gould, chairman and ceo
of Bloomingdale’s: “I remember a
year ago flying to Dubai with Marvin
and his associate Kelsey [Scroggins]
to visit Bloomingdale’s in Dubai,
which was doing a New York event.
Marvin played an important role
introducing us to the Al Tayer Group
[which is licensed to operate the
store]…and planning the store and
this event. Imagine at 85, he was
telling them he didn’t think they
were buying enough. So at dinner, I recall asking him of all the
projects he’s done since leaving
Bloomingdale’s, which is the one...
and before I even had a chance to
finish the question, Marvin’s comment was ‘Bloomingdale’s.’ There
was just something that he felt
was so special to be working with
Bloomingdale’s again.”
Ron Johnson, chairman and ceo,
J.C. Penney Co. Inc.: “Marvin’s had
an extraordinarily positive impact on
our industry for the past 50 years
and was one of the most innovative
merchants in the world. He shared
his wisdom with others. Earlier
this year, when I asked him about
our transformation at J.C. Penney,
he told me, “Don’t blink. Stay the
course.’ Those were his exact words.
He encouraged me. He said we were
on the right track.”
Elie Tahari: “There are not too many
people in this industry I was as close
to as Marvin. He started my career.
He invited me to lunch in the conference room at Bloomingdale’s. In
the middle of the lunch, I got upset
and walked out and said, ‘I’d never
sell Bloomingdale’s.’ We were fighting over a location. He wanted to put
me in contemporary and I wanted
to be in designer. But he had no
ego at all. He called me the next
day and wanted to have breakfast
since lunch didn’t work out. He said,
‘Let’s start from the beginning,’ and
he walked me through the store. It
became the biggest success I ever
had in one store.
“He was the most gentlemanly
and generous man, and very professional. I think he was the Prince
of Retail.”
Arnold Aronson, managing director
of retail strategies, Kurt Salmon:
“It is hard to imagine the retail
world without the daily presence of
Marvin…but he leaves a legacy of
iconic proportions.…He invented the
concept of the ‘store as theater’ with
international fairs, exciting merchandise from all over the world, unparalleled displays and presentation. He
introduced and nurtured new designers, like Ralph Lauren, the Missonis,
Sonia Rykiel and many more, and he
made the 59th Street flagship store
mantra — ‘Like no other store in the
world’ — a fact, not just a claim.”
Burt Tansky: “The most important
thing I can say is that it’s been a
privilege to have known Marvin
over these many, many years and
to admire the work he’d done at
Bloomingdale’s. He created a role
model for retailers in this country and
all over the world. I send my sympathy to his wife, Lee, and his family.
We were always competitors but very
friendly competitors. I was a great admirer of Marvin as a retailer and then
in his consulting business. He was a
terrific guy. He will be missed.”
Guy Peyrelongue, retired ceo of
L’Oréal’s Cosmair Division: “For me,
I was so touched by his great love for
France and its art and craftsmanship.
That came from when he served in
the American army in Europe.
“[He was] a very great merchant
and a great talent. The man had
great style, great heart and a youthful attitude. When he retired, Traub
did not stop working. He pursued
projects and new ventures. He was a
most wonderful family man [and] a
great example.”
Norma Kamali: “Marvin inaugurat-
ed the idea of a designer having a
license with a store. I had a license
with Bloomingdale’s in the Eighties
and we did so well. This was when
stores used to be stores, and the
buyers were on the floor interacting
with the customers, and you could
see the energy. Nobody’s come near
to what he did. Bloomingdale’s was
the center of the universe. He was
an incredible man and lived an
incredible life.”
Robert Chavez, president and ceo,
Hermès of Paris: “I spent almost
10 years working for Marvin at
Bloomingdale’s in its heyday. He
not only set the standard, he always
raised the bar to a new level, and
always made it more dynamic and
more exciting than anybody else had
ever made it. He made it so exciting that you wanted to do it with
him. I learned in those days how, at
one in a million human being —
kind and nurturing. He had higher
standards both for himself and everyone working for him. He taught
me so much. He just has so much
energy, passion, curiosity and drive.
He had such a profound impact on
so many people. He taught everybody to be the very best. He would
take risks on people. He made me
head of Bloomingdale’s By Mail
when I was 29. He’d be very clear
with what the expectations were
and then he just let you do it. In the
early days, he walked the floor and
he knew the sales staff by name and
they called him Mr. Traub.”
Gilbert Harrison, chairman, Financo
Inc.: “[Marvin] was truly one of the
great merchant princes. He truly
loved every minute of his life and
was at home with any retailer or apparel company you can imagine. He
was a senior advisor to Financo for
10 years…[and] he taught me more
than you’d ever know.
“Marvin left to build his own consulting firm in 2004. He reinvented
the way people shopped. He never
abandoned being a hands-on merchant. He wore out our vice presidents and young associates in their
20s. He’d get off the plane, take a
shower and run to a meeting.”
Laurence C. Leeds Jr., chairman,
Buckingham Capital Management:
“He was a best friend and a marvelous human being. He was a professional and brilliant retailer who took
Bloomingdale’s from a mediocre,
run-of-the-mill store and made it
into the most dynamic and most
exciting retailer in America. And he
was a magnificent husband and father, and had many great friends and
a personal life that was warm and
intense. He and Lee had a great romance that lasted all their lives. I’ll
never forget when his chauffeur was
dying of AIDS. He used to drive up
to the Bronx to bring him food.”
Andrew Rosen, president, Theory:
“I go so far back with Marvin. I
was a young boy, and I remember
sitting in Marvin’s dining room
at Bloomingdale’s with my father
and Marvin. He was a giant and
a real innovator. He really made
Bloomingdale’s an exciting shopping
experience and a cool place.”
Lew Frankfort, ceo, Coach Inc.: “I
went to a meeting with him and my
team at Bloomingdale’s in 1981 to
discuss our wholesale business. He
had learned that I was opening our
first retail store on Madison Avenue
and 65th Street. Marvin stopped
me outside the conference room
and said, “Lou, I’m going to scream
at you in front of your staff and
my team. What I’m going to say is
that you’re being a very bad partner
for opening your own retail store.
But off the record, I want you to
know it’s one of the smartest things
you could ever do.’ We went into
the conference room and he said,
‘Before we talk about our business
at Bloomingdale’s, I can’t believe
you’re opening your own store.…’ He
had great vision. He wanted me to
know I had a lot of courage.”
WWD thursday, july 12, 2012 9
WWD.COM
READY-TO-WEAR designer Brian Reyes
has been appointed vice president and head
of global design at Calvin Klein Underwear,
a division of the Warnaco Group Inc.
The post had been vacant for
several months.
In his responsibilities, Reyes will
lead the global design team and will be
responsible for the development of all
products for the Calvin Klein Underwear
men’s and women’s collection.
He will report to Bob Mazzoli, chief creative officer of Calvin Klein Underwear.
Mazzoli described Reyes as an “exceptional talent who brings tremendous experience and keen awareness of current fashion trends in men’s and women’s design.”
Reyes, who most recently served as
a creative consultant at Tse Cashmere
House, said he is looking forward to “providing long-term creative direction for
this quintessential iconic global brand.”
“The underwear category is unique
in that it is a fundamental basic but has
so much possibility to be intriguing, sexy
and desirable. Calvin Klein in particular
has such incredible history and brand
power,” said Reyes.
Reyes has an extensive and diverse
background in fashion, spanning more
than 10 years. He began his career at
Polo Ralph Lauren and went on to contribute to a number of top fashion houses, including Michael Kors and Oscar
de la Renta. While at Kors, he helped
relaunch and build the men’s business,
working directly under Kors’ direction.
He received his first exposure to intimate apparel while serving as the director of design licensing at Oscar de la
Renta, which sparked his affinity for the
intimates category.
Reyes launched his own, namesake
collection with much hype in 2006 which
included a small lingerie line with a celebrity following, but shuttered it after the
2010 resort season. Before joining Tse, he
Brian Reyes
had taken a year-long absence from the
world of fashion, during which he traveled to such places as Patagonia “with a
backpack…to be inspired by nature.”
“Over the past decade, Brian has established himself as a fashion innovator with broad customer appeal. His
addition to the team will heighten our
focus on the consumer as we build on
Warnaco’s commitment to be brand,
product and consumer focused in everything we do,” stated Martha Olson,
Warnaco’s group president.
Mazzoli noted that Reyes’ apparel
background will lend a fresh eye to the
underwear category.
“We certainly have plenty of underwear
category experts in the house, me and
Martha among them, but with that level of
creativity in terms of how he sees things,
it’s a wonderful dynamic,” said Mazzoli.
Aria Replies to C&B Poison Pill
By VICKI M. YOUNG
ARIA PARTNERS HAS sent a letter to
the board of Christopher & Banks Corp.,
this time in response to the retailer’s
adoption last week of a poison pill.
Edward Latessa, partner at hedge fund
Aria, on Wednesday disclosed that he sent
the letter to Paul Snyder, the nonexecutive chairman of Christopher & Banks.
Latessa, who said his firm is “simply
trying to protect shareholders from the
company’s current board of directors,”
told Snyder in the letter that Aria is not
the hostile opportunist that the poisonpill strategy is typically designed to
protect shareholders from. Rather, the
opportunists are board members of the
retailer, whom Latessa said have “received more than 100 percent of the company’s earnings in director fees.”
Using an analogy concerning the
“farcical plot of ‘The Producers’ [in a]
scheme to get rich by overselling interests in a Broadway flop,” Latessa went
on to question the retailer’s contention
that a turnaround is under way and that
its current strategy is better than Aria’s
offer to acquire the firm at $1.75 a share.
Latessa stated that the “board’s credibility when it comes to setting strategy is
worthless based on its record so far….”
The Aria partner concluded: “Here
are the facts: Christopher & Banks is not
financially stable. Its financial condition
is deteriorating rapidly. We believe you
need to act and urge you to put this company up for sale. You’ve engaged credible
bankers and lawyers. Put them to work
running a sale process and let the market
decide who should manage and own this
company. This is what we and the rest of
your shareholders demand.”
Aria on July 3 publicly disclosed its unsolicited $64 million offer in May for the
retailer. That first bid was rejected by the
retailer’s board on May 21, which prompted Aria earlier this month to make public a second offer for the company. The
retailer’s board rejected the second offer
as well, because the “proposal [was] not in
the best interests of Christopher & Banks
and its stockholders.” In support of management’s efforts to stabilize the business,
the board also implemented a stockholder
rights plan, also known as a poison pill, to
make it more difficult for a potential acquirer to gain control of the company.
As for the latest Aria letter, a spokesman for the retailer said, “The board believes that the new management team’s
plan will yield improved sales, margins
and cash flow going forward. Therefore,
the interests of all stockholders are best
served through the continued focus on
the current strategy.”
The nonbinding $1.75 per share offer
from Aria that’s currently on the table
represents a 20.7 percent premium to
the closing price of Christopher & Banks
shares on Wednesday. Shares of the retailer closed at $1.45, up 4.3 percent, in
trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
Fashion scoops
Photo by StePhen Sullivan
By KARYN MONGET
Photo by Steve eichner
Calvin Klein Underwear
Taps Reyes to Head Design
Jennifer
Lopez
J.LO TEES IT UP: Jennifer Lopez, along with
tech entrepreneurs MJ Eng and Brian
Lee, and fashion entrepreneurs Erica
Zohar and Jeff Marine, are launching
Teeology.com, an online shopping
destination for limited-edition luxury
T-shirts, today. Using innovative
technology and social networking tools
to disrupt the traditional retail model,
Teeology will place a curated selection
of high-end printed T-shirts, designed
by various artists and designers, up
for vote by its members, with the
winning designs going into immediate
production. The site also offers a
permanent collection of basics for men
and women starting at $20 in addition
to the limited-edition styles, which
start at $29. — MARCY MEDINA
BATTER UP: The Council of Fashion
Designers of America has teamed
with the New York Mets to create an
exclusive Mets apparel line to mark
the fiftieth anniversaries of both
groups. The starting lineup, so to
speak, includes Billy Reid, Yigal Azrouël,
Loomstate’s Rogan Gregory and Scott
Hahn, and Shipley & Halmos’ Sam Shipley
and Jeff Halmos. They have designed
an assortment of tanks, T-shirts and
Henleys that will be sold for a limited
time exclusively at Citi Field and
through the e-tailer Edition01.com. Net
proceeds will be divided between the
Mets Foundation and the CFDA.
— ROSEMARY FEITELBERG
RENA’S TRUE BLUE: Rena Sindi still knows
how to throw a serious party. In the years
since she exited Manhattan’s social scene
and took up residence in London, the “Be
My Guest” author divorced her husband
Sami Sindi and recently remarried.
Late last month, she married the
financial mover-and-shaker Makram
Abboud privately in London. But Sindi
later threw a five-day blowout in
Beirut. Adam Lippes, Colin Cowie, Eva
Lorenzotti, Ashley and Jeff McDermott,
Serena Boardman, Dennis Basso and Michael
Cominotto were among the revelers
who checked into The Four Seasons
for the festivities. The celebration was
capped off with an ocean side dinner
and dance for nearly 500 guests at The
Orchid Beach Club by the Sea. Sindi
wore a pale blue to dark blue ombré
Roberto Cavalli dress for the finale,
and her two daughters followed her
lead, also wearing blue dresses from
the designer. — R.F.
CHECKOUT PAPER: For founder Kim
Hastreiter, Paper magazine’s Super
Duper Market is as much about a
cultural shift in consumerism as it is
about helping out little-known foodies.
She handpicked the 40 artisanal
vendors who will hawk their culinary
goods at the three-day pop-up store in
Chelsea Market, which opens to the
public Friday. Hastreiter cooked up the
idea after meeting all sorts of “super-
stylish” budding gourmands, while
driving from Los Angeles to Vancouver.
“In my generation, they would have
been doing art or in a band, but these
kids are all about farming, cooking
and making God knows all types of
chocolate,” she said. “To me, the food
thing is so interesting as a cultural
movement. It represents a whole new
young generation that is shopping
and buying things in a different way,”
she said. “They are a new kind of
consumer who really care about how
and where things are made. They want
them to be ethical, sustainable, local
and artisanal. They apply these ideas
to everything they buy.”
Target and American Express are
sponsoring this weekend’s market
but Hastreiter said vendors will keep
all of the money they make. And no
one could buy a booth no matter how
tasty their horseradish, Gefilte fish or
kombucha is. “Everything that is being
sold has provenance from where the
cows are from to how the milk is from
cows that were grazing looking at the
ocean,” Hastreiter said.
Dedicated as she is to raising up
indie foodies, especially West Coast
ones like Cowgirl Creamery, Humphry
Slocombe Ice Cream and Scribe
Winery, Hastreiter couldn’t resist
inviting a few big names. Norma Kamali
will be selling her signature olive oil
and juices, The Red Rooster’s Marcus
Samuelsson will serve up corn bread
and Red Velvet cake and illustrator
Maira Kalman will sell vintage egg slicers
as well as copies of Michael Pollan’s
“Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual,”
which she provided the drawings for.
Tartine Bakery’s Elisabeth Prueitt and
her husband Chad Robertson will have
an outpost as will Modern Appealing
Clothing though their assortment will
be food provisions, not designer labels.
YummyFun’s Clare Crespo will be on
hand to keep the kiddies entertained.
“I love putting people together and
then 10 years from now they will say,
‘That was the best.’” Hastreiter said. “I
like having things be open and then it’s
gone.” — R.F.
BRIT POP: Opening Ceremony has
tapped needlepoint accessories
experts Tucker Blair and HardingLane to design capsule collections for
its new London pop-up store set to
open on July 19.
The 3,000-square-foot store on
Covent Garden’s King Street will
open its doors as the Olympic Games
start up, and will feature exclusive
merchandise. The capsule collection
includes a set of belts from Tucker
Blair and hats from Harding-Lane,
both with the same designs.
This includes hats and belts with
six needlepoint designs including, a
rose, eyes, an alien, a broken heart and
various smiley faces.
“It’s a fun way to take the idea of
needlepoint, which is traditional,
and give it a twist,” said Sarah Gifford,
Harding Lane cofounder.
The hats, which are currently
available at Opening Ceremony’s New
York pop-up store on 10 Greene Street,
retail for $35.
Tucker Blair, which had previously
collaborated with Opening Ceremony
on a similar collection last year, will
offer belts for $110.
“We’re able to take our handstitched needlepoint construction and
combine it with the amazing design eye
of the Opening Ceremony team,” said
Taylor Llewellyn, Tucker Blair founder.
“The collaboration has really allowed
Tucker Blair to stretch our brand
identity well beyond the typically
preppy needlepoint belt product
category.” — ALEXANDRA STEIGRAD
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10 WWD thursday, july 12, 2012
Kaviar
Gauche
A Busy Week in Berlin
Michael
Sontag
By WWD Staff
For more
PHoToS, See
Dawid
Tomaszewski
WWD.com/
fashion-news.
ING 201
R
P
3
S
Schumacher
COLLECTIONS
BERLIN
Rena Lange
Getting a head
start on the
season, MercedesBenz Fashion
Week Berlin
showed its spring
collections last
week. Here, eight
of the top looks.
Blame
Augustin Teboul
PHOTOS BY DAN AND CORINA LECCA
Perret Schaad
BERLIN — the euro crisis
didn’t seem to hamper Berlin
fashion Week. the city drew an
estimated 250,000 domestic and
international visitors to a crosscity marathon of nine trade
fairs, plus more than 60 runway
and studio presentations at
Mercedes-Benz fashion Week
Berlin, which closed its fourday run here Saturday.
Despite the turnout, some
are wondering if it isn’t all too
much, especially in a three-day
time frame and with a 10th fair
for the more volume-oriented
segment — Panorama — waiting in the wings for January.
With the action scattered all
over town, and the MBfWB
tent moved to a taxi-scarce
site, transportation issues further frayed the nerves of those
attempting to broadly sample
the offerings. those who remember how slim the fashion
pickings used to be suggest too
much might not be the worst
problem to have. Still, the consensus is that, in the future, a
sharpened focus will be called
for if show organizers, brands,
designers and retailers are to
increase their relevance.
the strength remains in the
contemporary and urban fashion
sector with the Bread & Butter,
Premium, Seek, Capsule and
Show & Order shows. Bread &
Butter’s Berlin-tempel of Denim
won kudos for its moves to pinpoint and reinspire denim innovation. Overall, the show’s 684
brands and visitors, placed at a
steady 90,000 by industry observers, were in a fairly upbeat mood,
and the show moved to its typically bustling beat. Nevertheless,
there were some rumblings.
though he had no complaints with attendance, noting the stand had more visitors
this season than last, tommy
Hilfiger’s Europe chief executive officer Daniel Grieder expressed concern about a possible watering down of the B&B
brand portfolio: “When I look
around, there are labels I’m
surprised to see here. this was
meant to be a more exclusive
fair with the best brands and I
have a feeling that the door is
more open than in the past.”
as for the proliferation of
new trade shows in Berlin, especially by Munich and Düsseldorfbased organizers, B&B chief
Karl-Heinz Müller was openly
not amused at the B&B press
conference. this could explain
published rumors that have
Müller eyeing Istanbul, despite
the show’s long-term lease for
tempelhof and Müller’s constant
denials of wanderlust.
attendance at Premium was
up 10 percent, which would
bring visitors up to about
55,000 based on last July’s figures. Premium said international visitors, which make up
more than 60 percent of the
total, were on the rise, particularly from asia, southern
Europe, Benelux and france.
“Premium offers an enormous overview of bridge and
small designer collections. a
broader perspective doesn’t
exist and, for retailers who live
from that market, it’s a must,”
commented Klaus Ritzenhöfer,
owner of the designer oriented
apropos Concept stores in
Cologne and Düsseldorf.
Ritzenhöfer was also favorably impressed by Show &
Order though, in general, said
he was surprised to see color
and prints still going so strong.
So Youn Kim, buyer for LG
fashion in Seoul who was at
Premium for the first time, said,
“We’ve found exactly the kind of
thing we are looking for: avantgarde, Scandinavian brands,
dark clothes in cool interesting
cuts such as those from David
anderson — these are the kinds
of things that sell well in our store.
“What’s interesting,” she
added, “is that we used to see
these brands in Paris and now
they’re here. Paris was too
high end for them. Berlin —
and Premium specifically —
seems a much better fit.”
the third time was a
charm for Capsule in Berlin,
the international trade fair
for emerging designers.
Now housed in the roomy
Postbahnhof — which is quite
a hike from the other main
venues — attendance nonetheless grew 30 percent. Based on
last year’s numbers, this would
be 3,000 plus. Buyers ranged
from global retailers including
Japan’s Isetan and Liberty of
London to small trend shops.
“Berlin has a really unique
Berlin hosted
nine trade fairs,
plus more than
60 runway
and studio
presentations.
point of view on fashion and
that’s why we love to come to
the city,” said Hannah Kim of
Dune, a tokyo-based fashion
agency and retailer whose
shop, N id, features edgy
brands including Berlin-based
Boessert/Schorn, Butterfly
Soulfire and C. Neeon.
Neither Capsule nor the
other Berlin fairs are particularly German-centric; the labels, like the visitors, represent
an international mix. Yet, as
Kim noted, Berlin fashion as a
concept has become a valuable
marker. Berlin press and sales
agent arne Eberle hosted his
Collect showroom as a showin-show at Capsule for the
second time, with Berlin upand-comers including Hien Le,
Raphael Hauber, Sissi Goetze
and Reality Studio.
“a lot of big brands like
Hugo Boss, adidas and Puma
visited us, which will hopefully lead to cooperation with
the younger brands,” Eberle
said. He added representatives from key German retailers
such as Breuninger and Peek &
Cloppenburg dropped by, as did
smaller domestic shops, a new
and welcome development. “I
think it’s really important that
the German market begins to accept and order German designers because, so far, most of the
German shops feature very little
German design,” he explained.
WWD thursday, july 12, 2012 11
WWD.COM
MeMo pad
CONDE MEDIA REBOOTS: A restructuring of
the Condé Nast Media Group is under
way and 12 people will be let go as a
result, including Thomas Hartman, senior
vice president, corporate sales and
Robert Silverstone, senior vice president,
finance. In a memo to the group, chief
marketing officer Lou Cona told staffers on
Wednesday afternoon that Josh Stinchcomb
has been named vice president,
corporate partnerships. Stinchcomb will
lead the corporate sales team across all
revenue streams, including print, digital,
mobile, video and marketing services.
He had previously been in charge of
digital sales.
Pat Connolly has been named vice
president, marketing solutions, and
he will oversee a newly combined
integrated marketing and marketing
services team as well as The Studio and
creative development. Daniella Wells will
become vice president, insights and
brand strategy and Judy Safir succeeds
Silverstone as vice president, finance.
The changes come to Condé Nast
Media Group as Cona looks to more
fully integrate digital and print, which
have often been sold separately.
Publishers at Condé Nast titles are
feeling the pinch as well. The September
issues — typically the biggest and
most profitable of the year for many
magazines at the company — didn’t do
as well as hoped. As a result, publishers
have been advised to cut their budgets
by 10 percent for the remainder of the
year. This is in line with McKinsey’s
suggestions for the business, according to
sources. A spokeswoman at Condé Nast
had no comment regarding the budget
cuts. — AMY WICKS
LORD & TAYLOR’S PROJECT: Lord & Taylor
will be the exclusive retail sponsor of
“Project Runway” for the show’s 10th
anniversary season.
As part of the partnership, L&T will
provide a wall of shoes, handbags and
accessories that contestants will use
to complete their looks during each
challenge, and host a fashion challenge
at its Fifth Avenue flagship, which will
air Aug. 30. The winner of the “Project
Runway” challenge will be able to sell
its collection at the store.
“The mission of the show is very
much in alignment with Lord &
Taylor’s legacy of launching the careers
of major American designers,” said
Bonnie Brooks, president of Hudson’s
Bay Co., the parent of L&T. The store’s
windows, Web site and social media
platforms will be promoting the show,
and past and present “Project Runway”
contestants will be at the store for
Fashion’s Night Out. — DAVID MOIN
PRIME CUT: New York Magazine’s plans
to expand its signature fashion blog The
Cut have been evident since May, when
it hired Gawker sex and scandal blogger
Maureen O’Connor as features editor.
It looked like the blog would grow
to cover other women’s interests
besides fashion and beauty products,
but management had been coy about
its plans.
This week, the magazine finally
confirmed the blog would relaunch in
August with a broad mandate to cover
women’s issues. Besides its staple
interests, relationships, sex, health and
politics are also part of the mix in a
new section it’s christened Love & War.
Its main contributor is a new hire —
Kat Stoeffel, the media reporter at the
New York Observer.
A spokeswoman said the expansion
plans have been in the works for
18 months.
The Cut, when it relaunches August
13, does a number of things for the
magazine, starting with a an expanded
platform to capitalize on fashion
advertising. It’s also a chance to groom
the plucky fashion blog into a traffic
beast like its pop culture blog, Vulture,
which has its own vertical. The Cut will
still be under nymag.com.
And it catches nymag.com up with
popular blogs Jezebel and Slate’s
Double X, which launched five years
ago with the aim of writing for and
about women, and The Awl’s The
Hairpin, now two years old.
One of The Cut’s original staffers,
Amy Odell, fled to Buzzfeed in February
to start that site’s own women’s-interest
blog. Not quite caught up is Newsweek:
their new blog, FashionBeast, has a
singular focus.
Stoeffel says she’s a fan of those
blogs, but noted there’s still “space to
cover politics and straight news from
a female perspective without being
all about the ladies.” Like Jezebel, the
relaunched blog won’t “shy away from
celebrity news,” Stoeffel said.
She’ll be the main contributor to
Love & War, and a spokeswoman said
freelancers will also be driving daily
content. The blog’s will also give upand-coming photographers a platform
to show off original images.
Stoeffel started two years ago
as a media blogger at the Observer,
and took over its media column, Off
The fall Diesel campaign breaks in August magazines.
the Record, after Nick Summers left for
Newsweek in January 2011. Her last
column runs next week. — ERIK MAZA
MEISEL’S DIESEL: Diesel has tapped
Steven Meisel for the first time to shoot
its fall campaign, which breaks in
August magazines. The print and online
advertisements feature a bevy of models
— including Karen Elson, Coco Rocha, Hanne
Gaby Odiele, Fei Fei Sun, Mirte Maas, Sallieu
Jalloh, Jamie Bochart, Sid Ellisdon, Ethan James,
Yuri Pleskun and Dae Na — in a series of
mock screen tests, arranged in a grid
layout. Props like vintage microphones
and Polaroid cameras brought a retro
look to the shoot, which took place in
May at Highline Studios in New York.
The digital campaign incorporates
cinemagraphs that add an element of
animation to the images. — DAVID LIPKE
ALL ABOUT ANNA: Banana Republic is
traveling back in time to 19th-century
Russia for a line launching in October
and inspired by the film “Anna Karenina,”
opening Nov. 9 and starring Keira Knightley
and Jude Law. “It’s a very different take
For more career opportunities log on to WWDCareers.com.
Spaces
New Porthault Owner Plans Expansion
by JOeLLe DIDeRICH
PARIS — The new owner of French luxury linens firm D. Porthault says he plans
to invest 4.5 million euros, or $5.5 million
at current exchange, over the next four
years to turn around the brand, which
struggled for several years before being
liquidated in April.
French entrepreneur Bernard Djian
said he had taken over the firm in partnership with French real estate developer BlueStone Group, though he declined
to detail the terms of their association.
This contradicts earlier information
provided by Joan and Bernard Carl, the
owners of the parent holding company
of Société Nouvelle D. Porthault Inc.,
who retain the rights to the D. Porthault
brand and designs in the U.S. and a
number of other markets.
They said Djian had partnered with
Jean-Patrick Canivet, the former president of the firm’s French subsidiary.
The couple plan to file lawsuits in the
U.S., the U.K. and France “concerning
the qualifications of the winning syndicate, the respective rights of the companies in certain secondary markets and
the apparent misfeasance of the former
executives participating in the syndicate during and immediately following
their tenure at the French subsidiary.”
Djian said an audit would determine the owner of the rights to the D.
Porthault brands in different markets,
but he would forge ahead with plans to
grow the company. This includes keeping on 71 people, out of a total staff of
just over 80.
“As far as I am concerned, I am now
at the head of this firm which I will run
as I see fit. If [Mr. Carl] wants to sue the
entire planet, that’s his problem. I harbor absolutely no aggressive feelings towards him. On the contrary, I hope we
can meet, since he is in charge of the
Porthault brand for the United States,
and it would be great if we could develop that business,” Djian said.
The executive said he had a background in fashion that included launching
the Per Spook brand in the eighties, and
bringing British men’s wear label Hackett
to France. His plan for Porthault includes
reviving the brand’s hotel business and
launching a new store concept in Paris,
which — if successful — would provide a
model for international expansion.
on ‘Anna Karenina,’” Banana Republic’s
creative director and executive vice
president of design Simon Kneen, said of the
film. “Costume designer Jacqueline Durran
said her brief was using a bit more Fiftiesinfluence of Dior’s New Look. It was
historical but had a twist to it as well.”
Durran pulled various pieces from
the Banana Republic collection, which
became the capsule. Banana Republic
produced the collection in partnership
with Focus Features.
“We’re going to pull it together in a way
that feels wearable,” Kneen said. Fake fur
on collars, hats and coats fall under the
spell of Romantic Russian Imperialism,
while richly textured fabrics in black
and dove gray betray the Dior influence.
Knightley in the film wears piles of pearls
and crystal jewelry that Banana Republic
reinterpreted. Prices range from $39.50
for a blouse to $325 for a coat. Jewelry
and accessories range in price from
$29.50 for jewelry to $250 for a handbag.
The collection will be featured in
Banana Republic’s October advertising
campaign, while images from the film will
be used in stores. — SHARON EDELSON
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12 WWD THURSDAY, JULY 12, 2012
WWD.COM
FOR MORE
PHOTOS, SEE
The designers
inside their
Madison
Avenue store.
WWD.com/
retail-news.
IT’S BEEN 10 YEARS since Lazaro
Hernandez and Jack McCollough became
living legends to every fashion student
on the planet when their entire senior
collection for Parsons School of Design
was picked up by Barneys New York. The
Proenza Schouler designers are crossing
the decade threshold in tandem with another major milestone: On Friday, they
will open their first store, a 2,000-squarefoot space at 822 Madison Avenue in
Manhattan. It’s a game changer in terms
of their business, not only because it
signals a retail strategy, but because
the address is an impressive statement
unto itself. “[Opening a store] is definitely a grown-up move and being on
Madison is that much more grown-up,”
said Hernandez during a walk-through
of the store Wednesday. “All these classic designers are up here — the Chanels,
Celine, Jil Sander, with Dolce & Gabbana
and Cartier across the street. It just
seems kind of big-league.”
Whatever intimidation factor has
been pounded into the pavement of their
new neighborhood does not seem to
phase Hernandez, 34, and McCollough,
33, who appear to get a kick out of the improbability of two designers perpetually
described as “downtown” (also, “young”
and “emerging”) landing in the prime of
the Upper East Side retail landscape.
“It just felt wrong in a good way to open
uptown,” said Hernandez, noting that,
though their collections impart a youthful attitude, “the reality is, the clothes
are expensive and the customer is here.”
The store is a platform to present
their undiluted vision to that customer,
and the designers have approached it
meticulously. What was formerly a sushi
restaurant has, under the aesthetic vision of architect David Adjaye, been
transformed into a two-story matrix of
Proenza Schouler cool. Longtime admirers of Adjaye’s work, Hernandez and
McCollough struck up a friendship with
him on a pit stop in Marfa, Tex., during
a road trip several years ago. “We ended
up hanging out and kind of clicked, but
then he kind of disappeared and we
didn’t see him for a number of years,”
said McCollough. “When it came time to
pick an architect for the store, we were
like, ‘We wonder if he would do it.’”
Adjaye, who recently completed
Proenza Schouler’s downtown studio, had
never worked on a retail space before.
Like the designers’ clothes, the store’s
design is edgy and sophisticated but not
overtly feminine. Raw yet slick, it’s set behind a steel gate done in a graphic pattern
— “part of our language,” said Hernandez
— that leads into a small courtyard where
··
By JESSICA IREDALE
The store comes almost exactly a year
after the designers and their longtime
chief executive officer Shirley Cook finalized a new financial structure, severing
ties with the Valentino Fashion Group,
which in 2007 acquired a 45 percent
stake in the label. In July 2011, Proenza
Schouler announced a partnership with a
group of 20 investors led by financier John
Howard and Andrew Rosen, the Theory
founder and co-ceo who’s known for nurturing emerging talent toward a stable
and hopefully profitable business structure. Rosen is responsible for installing
Olivier Theyskens as creative director of
Theory, and has additional stakes in Rag
& Bone, Alice + Olivia and Gryphon.
“One of the reasons we chose to part-
“It just felt wrong in a good way to open
uptown…the reality is, the clothes are
expensive and the customer is here.
··
— LAZARO HERNANDEZ, PROENZA SCHOULER
a flat-screen TV will display their most
recent runway show. A sliding glass door
leads to the ground floor where the walls
and ceiling are lined with exposed beams.
Thin steel shelves will showcase accessories. “We wanted it to be the antithesis
of a high-gloss Madison Avenue store,”
said McCollough. Upstairs, where readyto-wear is housed, is “a room made out of
sidewalk,” Hernandez noted of the concrete walls and pipe fixtures. Strategically
placed cactuses add a little greenery to the
atmosphere, further softened in the dressing rooms which are replete with padded
leather walls done in chocolate brown.
For at least the first few seasons,
McCollough and Hernandez are doing
the buy for the store themselves; they
plan to stock nearly all the runway looks
as well as offer ample exclusives.
ner with him specifically was his expertise in retail,” said Hernandez. “Andrew
really believes in retail as a business
model, so we knew opening multiple
stores was on the horizon.” As for stabilizing their production and delivery structure, “We had to get to a point
where we could have a constant influx of
merchandise and not have empty racks,”
said McCollough, noting that even as little as two years ago, they would not have
had the full pre-fall collection — which
is what will open the store — delivered
and ready to go. Now, their stockrooms
are full.
For his part, Rosen said he’s pleased
with how the label has performed and
evolved over the last year. He described
a freestanding store as “critically important for [Hernandez and McCollough] to
PHOTO BY LEXIE MORELAND
Proenza Schouler:
Grown-Up and Uptown
have their own expression and the authority of the official place where the
brand comes from.” Rosen also mentioned retail expansion, saying that a
second New York store, likely located
downtown, would be next.
“We started this business when we
were quite young,” said Cook. “So much
of the growing up that we did was in front
of everybody. It takes time to formulate a
strong sense of what you want to say and
be able to commit to it. We have really
wonderful partners, and they’ve afforded
us so much of the ability to do this. It’s
the financial structure, but also having
the advice of our board that has been absolutely incredible. So we’re not making
decisions that are uneducated.” Cook declined to give sales projections or figures.
Proenza Schouler is carried in 250
doors worldwide and some of its biggest
retail partners report robust volume and
growth. “They are strongly positioned in
our stores,” said Ron Frasch, chief merchandising officer of Saks Fifth Avenue,
adding that Saks will begin carrying
Proenza Schouler handbags for fall.
“They’re a significant presence in
terms of influence,” said Daniela Vitale,
chief merchant and executive vice president of Barneys New York. “It’s nice to see
some American designers within Barneys
who are really making both a significant
impact in terms of aesthetics but also in
terms of business. They are one of our
top ready-to-wear brands. I think as they
mature as designers it’s becoming a much
more balanced collection.” Vitale added
that, as of now, the label is fairly equitable in terms of accessories versus rtw, but
she sees a big opportunity for the label’s
growth in shoes. Barneys, she said, made
a significant investment in the different iterations of the PS1 handbag beginning last
spring “that has really paid off.”
The designers appear to be betting on
bags for their own store, too. The inaugural window installation, designed by
McCollough’s sister Kate, features a blue
python PS1 bag in a block of melting ice.
MAN OF THE WEEK
PLUS:
Hard to Bear
Hugo Boss folds its
top-of-the-line Boss
Selection men’s range
into the Boss core
brand. Page MW2
Seth MacFarlane might have a hit on his hands with his new
movie “Ted” but when it comes to style he’s a miss. Page MW7
July 12, 2012
Market
Ready
The marriage of classic forms with
younger fits and unexpected
elements is an ongoing theme
in modern men’s wear, as
encapsulated by the designer
Mark McNairy, who will show
his collection — including
the look seen here — at the
upcoming Capsule show in
New York. “My ideas come
from anything. I might see
a scrap of fabric on the
factory floor and an idea will
hit me. Once it does, I just
make it,” he explained. For
a preview of other new and
notable brands at the spring
2013 editions of ENKNYC,
Project, MRket and Capsule,
see pages MW4 and MW5.
PHOTO BY GEORGE CHINSEE
100 YEARS AND COUNTING
Jack Victor
Preps for
Centennial
Celebration
Clothing brand will produce
special capsule collection.
byJEAN E. PALMIERI
ON FRIDAY AT NOON, more than 850
people will exit the Jack Victor offices and
manufacturing facility in Montreal for their
annual three-week summer vacation. But
instead of racing off, they’re going to be
asked to stick around for an hour while the
city of Montreal closes the street and the
entire company dons a Jack Victor T-shirt
and poses outside the offices for a group picture. That photo will be featured in a commemorative book that will be published in
January to celebrate the centennial of the
tailored clothing brand.
Today, the brand, which is still family
owned and operated, remains a major player
in the North American men’s wear market,
with its branded and private label clothing
carried at more than 650 better department
and specialty stores including Saks Fifth
Avenue, Nordstrom and Barneys New York.
In addition to the Jack Victor collection, the
company also owns the Riviera brand and
has the license for Ted Baker clothing.
To celebrate its milestone birthday, the
company has produced a centennial collection of men’s suits, sport coats and trousers
for the spring season that will have its debut
at the MRket show in New York City on July
22. The limited-edition collection features
semitraditional, half-canvas garments that
will retail for about 20 percent higher than the
company’s regular line. It will be offered in an
exclusive array of 50 high-end fabrics from
such mills as Loro Piana, Ermenegildo Zegna
and Carlo Barbera. The garments will have
a special label and lots of bells and whistles.
It will be hung on a purple velvet hangar and
delivered in its own customized garment bag.
The collection will have its launch at
the Saks Fifth Avenue flagship in New York
this spring.
“They produce a very nice garment with
a lot of value and an exceptional make,” said
Tom Ott, senior vice president and general
merchandise manager of men’s wear for Saks.
“Their factory in Montreal is fantastic. They
employ a lot of Italian workers, so there’s authenticity there and they make a top-quality
garment. They’ve been a great business partner and we thought we’d do something nice
to celebrate their 100th anniversary.” Ott said
the flagship will offer the centennial collection, feature it in its windows and host an
event at the store this fall. “It’s a really great
offering. There’s a lot of hand detailing, special labeling and the fabric selection is great.”
Alan Victor, grandson of the founder and
{Continued on page MW6}
MW2
Men’s Week
WWD thursday, july 12, 2012
Hugo Boss Closes Selection Label Thomas Pink Lands
BERLIN — Hugo Boss has folded its
top-of-the-line Boss Selection men’s
range into the Boss core brand.
Claus-Dietrich Lahrs, chief executive officer and chairman of
the managing board, said the move
“underscores the luxury and premium standards of our core brand,
Boss,” and would contribute to a
clearer global Boss brand image.
He added that the group was
also responding to the wishes of
its customers — especially in the
important growth market of China
— who have been eager to find a
range of luxury products within
ClausDietrich
Lahrs
Photo by Patrick dembski
by MELISSA DRIER
the Boss core range.
Boss pointed out that the streamlined branding has already been im-
plemented in the new Boss flagships
in Paris, Beijing, London and Taipei.
Under the new structure, the
creative departments are being
centralized. Bernd Keller, who recently joined the group as designer
of Boss Orange men’s wear, will
now oversee men’s sportswear for
Boss, with Kevin Lobo responsible
for clothing/dress furnishings.
The company had projected
that Selection, which rang up sales
of $65 million last year, would be
a $130 million business by 2015.
In April, the company reported
that first-quarter sales for the Boss
Black brand rose 13 percent while
Selection sales jumped 45 percent.
Del Toro Grows With Slipper Trend
by DAVID LIPKE
Photos by steve eichner
Matthew Chevallard
WITH ONCE fuddy-duddy
at the Five Story
Prince Albert slippers
boutique in New York.
being adopted by youthful trendsetters, Miamibased Del Toro is on a
growth swing. Cofounded
by Matthew Chevallard,
who oversees the company, the footwear brand’s
fresh take on the slipper
has been picked up by
Saks Fifth Avenue for this
holiday season — which
will bring Del Toro’s distribution up to about 35
doors in the fall, from 25
this past spring.
Last month, the company opened a new headquarters and showroom
space in the Wynwood design district in Miami and
is currently in negotiations
to open its first freestanding store in Miami Beach.
“My intent is to
bridge the gap between
the sneaker world, the
branched out to encompass driving
elegant Italian world and the
loafers, wing tips and sneakers — all
prep world,” said Chevallard, 26,
incorporating Del Toro’s unorthodox
who was born in Torino, Italy —
use of color, patterns and materials,
hence the brand’s name — and
like a pair of navy suede wing tips
moved to Palm Beach when he
with kelly green soles or loafers in
was seven. The preppie influence
yellow linen with red laces.
comes naturally to the graduate
“Del Toro has developed a great
of Lawrenceville School in New
following — I almost want to say
of cult proportions,” said Laure
Jersey, as does an affinity for
Heriard Dubreuil, owner of The
sneakers, 200 pairs of which once
Webster in Miami, which was one
filled his closets as a teen.
of Del Toro’s first
Del Toro targets a new
wholesale accounts,
generation of slipper fans.
picking up the line
in 2010. “Del Toro is
very classic yet fashion-forward and this
unique balance is a
testament to Miami.
Miami is a melting
pot of nations and
styles and Del Toro
represents this to
the fullest.”
Other retail partners for the
Del Toro produces a prolific
brand include Scoop, Five Story,
stream of limited-edition styles,
American Rag, Kith, Tsum in
which are mostly sold on its e-comMoscow and Wism in Tokyo.
merce site, to keep fans hooked on
However, Del Toro’s own Web
the inventive offerings. Most desite generates about 75 percent of
signs are produced in batches of
sales. Men’s accounts for 70 perless than 50 units, with production
cent of total sales and women’s for
in a high-end factory in Marche,
30 percent.
Italy. Apart from the popular
The brand’s highest-profile afiblack velvet slippers with skullcionado is probably Miami Heat
and-crossbones embroidery, other
star Dwyane Wade, who can often
styles are fashioned from unexbe spotted wearing a pair, such
pected materials like raffia and in
as the wing tips he wore on “The
eye-catching patterns such as camView” on June 27. Wade has colouflage, tartan and tapestry.
laborated with Del Toro on custom
Price range mostly from $295 to
designs, as have Pharrell Williams
$325 for slippers and the brand has
and Theophilus London.
“I’ve always liked how
a slipper can come off effortless and extremely stylish at the same time,” said
London. “In my travels
back and forth to Miami,
I finally met Matthew. He
immediately got my vision
and we knew we could
make something really
sexy together.”
The path to celebrity
collaborations and distribution in influential
retailers wasn’t easy for
Chevallard. “A lot of doors
were slammed in my face,”
he remembers of the early
days of trying to sell slippers from an unknown
brand to retailers. The
more established Stubbs
& Wootton pretty much
owned the slipper market
at the time.
Chevallard initially
started the company with
two Palm Beach friends,
James Bohannon and
Nathaniel Wish, with the
idea of customizing velvet slippers
to herald their respective graduations from boarding school. When
that proposition turned out to be too
expensive and time consuming, the
trio saw a business opportunity. The
friends ordered 800 black velvet slippers from Spain, but soon discovered
it was impossible to custom embroider premade shoes — the first of
many obstacles that left the business
sputtering for a few years. Bohannon
and Wish eventually exited the business, leaving Chevallard at the helm.
After graduating from the
University of Miami in 2010,
Chevallard focused full-time on
building the brand and establishing
a toehold in the fashion space, winning his first breakthrough orders
from The Webster and Scoop that
year. He built brand recognition by
working closely with a host of style
bloggers like Unabashedly Prep and
Street Etiquette, which Chevallard
credits with much of Del Toro’s early
exposure to fashion influencers.
So far, the company is self-financed and Chevallard prefers solidifying the brand before seeking
outside investors. “The company
runs on cash flow. Everything I
do is leveraged to the next thing,”
explained Chevallard, who is now
making belts and is aiming to expand into bags, backpacks and jewelry, such as bracelets.
“He has a vision and I think he
is confidently seeking it out in establishing Del Toro as a luxury lifestyle,” said The Webster’s Dubreuil.
In South Africa
by BAMBINA WISE
JOHANNESBURG — The shirt
choices of the sartorially minded
South African male just got a
significant boost with the formal
opening last week of the first
Thomas Pink store on African
soil, in Johannebsurg’s upmarket
Hyde Park Corner.
Featuring the new store design concept already in use in
Thomas Pink stores in Shanghai
and Washington, D.C., the
Johannesburg store channels a
classic London town house with
a contemporary touch. Think
herringbone-patterned floor laid
in granite, walnut wood paneling, leather-trimmed upholstery,
pigeonhole shelving and the signature white shirt bar.
“We offer as many as 12 variations on the classic white shirt
to suit every taste and every occasion,” said London-based buying and merchandising director,
Melanie Traub, who flew in for
the opening. “You do a classic
fit with a double cuff and button
cuff, a slim fit with a double cuff
and button cuff, and then you do
one with stretch and superslim,
one without stretch and superslim. And then you have your evening shirts, which are
white….You’ve got the
wing-tip collar in various fits, then the textured fabric….There
are so many available
options, which is why
we have a whole wall
in our stores devoted
to the white shirt.”
It’s also the bestselling product in
all stores around the
world. “It’s still the
classic-cut, two-fold
cotton button-cuff
double-cuff white
shirt,” she added,
which retails in South
Africa for 1,295 rands
(around $157 at current exchange).
The Johannesburg
store carries a thorough range of merchandise, from shirts
and ties to boxers and
socks to cuff links and
pocket squares, as well
as a small women’s
collection. “Basically, the shirt
and everything that goes with
it,” said Mickey Walker, executive manager of Thomas Pink in
South Africa. Together with his
father and brother, Walker runs
the family business, McCullagh
& Bothwell, which has the local
franchise for Thomas Pink. Like
Thomas Pink, McCullagh &
Bothwell boasts quite a long and
storied heritage. Established by
two Irishmen in 1896, McCullagh
& Bothwell began as a men’s apparel store in the Kimberley mining fields. Today, the Hyde Park
flagship is better known as a purveyor of quality school uniforms,
with a small selection of men’s
wear, which includes, among
other brands, Gant. Walker is a
fourth-generation Bothwell.
Walker, who does the buying, admitted that “one of the
trickier challenges of being in
the Southern Hemisphere is that
we’re buying a season behind.”
He was in London in mid-April for
the fall 2012-2013 buy, for delivery
in October, which will be springtime in South Africa. “It makes it
easier from some perspectives because we have time to see what’s
worked and what hasn’t worked.”
Pricing is another challenge.
“The import duties in South
Africa are so high — 45 percent
on clothing — and a lot of people who know Thomas Pink will
travel internationally to buy the
shirts. So we are really working to
keep our prices competitive. But I
think our consumer is broadly educated on that and understands.”
He is counting on the immediacy
of stock availability to win over
customers who otherwise might
have waited until they traveled to
London to purchase their shirts.
The store also offers several amenities, such as “Pink
Privileges,” which include ironing your new shirt while you wait,
altering shirts if necessary and
monogramming them as required.
“And there’s also a very elegant
gift packaging service included.”
Asked to describe the typical
Thomas Pink man, Traub said
“there’s not any one type. I think
we catch men at different ages
and stages in their lives. It could
White shirts
are a focal
point of the
store.
be the young guy out of university who wants his first interview
shirt; it could be when he gets
married, so he wants that special
dress shirt for his wedding. Or
it’s the ceo of a company who’s
at the other end who wants our
Imperial shirt, which is over 3,000
rands ($363), because it feels fabulous and he feels fabulous in it.”
The Johannesburg store is
the 90th Thomas Pink store
worldwide. The brand has experienced significant expansion
since being acquired by LVMH
Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton
10 years ago. Walker said he
hopes to open more stores within
South Africa, but it’s all a matter of finding the right location.
Among the locations that would
be most desirable are Sandton,
a Johannesburg suburb, where
Hackett, Ben Sherman, Paul &
Shark and Zara have stores. Cape
Town is also a possibility, but that
would be “a seasonal market.”
MW4
Men’s Week
WWD THURSDAY, JULY 12, 2012
ONES TO WATCH:
Jean
Machine
FRESH FINDS FROM THE
NEW YORK MARKET
New and noteworthy brands to check out at
the upcoming trade shows in Manhattan.
JOHNNIE-O
When it comes to fashion, John
O’Donnell is just a regular guy. He
grew up in suburban Illinois, went
to college at UCLA, where he was
a top-ranked amateur golfer, and
sold radio advertising after graduation before he decided to dip
his toe into the apparel industry.
O’Donnell, whose brother is the
actor Chris O’Donnell of “NCIS: Los
Angeles” fame, came up with the
idea of a line of men’s wear with a
West Coast preppie air. He created
a logo of a guy standing on a beach
holding a surfboard and stuck it
on a polo shirt. He named the line
after his nickname, Johnnie-O.
Since the line was conceived
with that simple premise in 2005,
O’Donnell has found a ready audience. In fact, Johnnie-O will rack
up sales of $2 million this year, a
number that surprises the entrepreneur who founded the line.
“We’re not reinventing the wheel,”
he said, “but people seem to love
our brand and want to wear it in
different places. So we’re working
on giving them more Johnnie-O in
their closet.”
At the MRket show in New York,
O’Donnell will introduce his latest
invention — a traditional buttondown shirt with a twist. “We’re calling it the tweener button,” he said.
For most guys, if they close the top
button it’s too constricting, but leaving it open is a little too revealing.
So he came up with the idea of adding a small button between the two
with different color stitching. The
shirt, which will retail for $95, will
be offered in gingham or tattersall patterns, as well as solids. “It
gives us something different to talk
about,” he said.
Spring will also mark the introduction of sweaters, another new
category for the brand. “They’ve got
a high V neck that won’t choke you
but is high enough for a woven shirt
to be worn under it,” O’Donnell
said. The spring sweaters will be a
cotton-wool blend and will feature
the surfer dude logo on the back of
the collar. They will retail for $98.
O’Donnell will also continue
to show his original and most successful product, the four-button
polo, in a variety of colors in both
long- and short-sleeve versions.
“That’s our home run,” he said,
noting that he will expand the offering to include a moisture-wicking version as well that he named
the Prep-formance model. The signature wedge-collar pique polos
will also be offered.
A quarter-zip fleece pullover
will also be in the mix. “So many
pullovers make you look like the
Michelin Man,” he said. O’Donnell’s
will have minor tapering and other
details such as zippers that don’t pull
on men’s beards when they close it.
Also on the drawing board for
the brand is a swimwear collection,
as well as expanded offerings for
children. — JEAN E. PALMIERI
VICOMTE A.
Arthur de Soultrait has been in
the news a lot lately, but it’s not
all related to his apparel line. The
French aristocrat and close friend
of Pippa Middleton was at the center of a tabloid scandal in April
after photos surfaced of the two riding through the streets of Paris in
an Audi convertible with its driver
brandishing what police called
“a realistic-looking weapon.” The
gun turned out to be a toy that de
Soultrait’s friend thought would
help scare away the paparazzi who
have been hounding the Duchess
of Cambridge’s sister, who was in
Paris to help de Soultrait celebrate
his 30th birthday and the seventh
anniversary of his polo-inspired
sportswear line, Vicomte A.
The scandal created an international stir and more than a little
publicity for de Soultrait’s colorful
apparel collection that got its start
with silk ties, belts and brightly
colored polo shirts, but has since
expanded into a full collection of
men’s, women’s and children’s apparel and accessories with annual
sales of over $49 million. It operates
stores throughout France, as well
as in Madrid, Stockholm, Prague,
Luxembourg, London and Salzburg,
Austria; there are also units in
Kuwait City and Palm Beach, Fla.
The company recently inked a
licensing deal with Los Angelesbased Benecci Corp. to help it increase its exposure in the U.S. market and it will be showing at MRket.
James Benton, who heads the sales
efforts for the collection, said the
line will offer a full collection with
products ranging from lightweight
linen jackets and shorts to dress
shirts. Bright colors will continue
to be a hallmark of the line.
“Vicomte A. had a lot of logo
pieces early on, geared to polo
players,” he said, “but we toned
that down for the U.S. market. It’s
much more accessible.”
Prices include polos for $38 to
$58, trousers from $54 to $74 and
sweaters from $45 to $65, and it
will be targeted to the “upper tier,”
with retailers such as Nordstrom,
Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth
Avenue the “focal points” for distribution of the collection. Although
prices for the U.S. line have not
been finalized, Benton said. — J.E.P.
W.R.K
Matteo Gottardi brings a multifaceted
background to his W.R.K collection.
Gottardi started his career in
fashion working for Diesel, followed by Armani, and, in 2005, he
launched Operations, a store in
SoHo that showcased workwear
as fashion. Next up was a wholesale collection for men and women
under the Operations name, followed by a second store in the
Meatpacking District and eventually two additional collections:
Incorporated by Operations and
Operations for Levi Strauss.
Two years ago, Gottardi, in
partnership with brand strategist
Maurizio Marchiori, decided to
inject his own unique take into the
contemporary designer market by
launching W.R.K, which stands for
Work, Rest, Karma. “Simple words
but incredibly important,” said
Gottardi. “The world has changed.
People are looking for honesty,
integrity and tangible value. They
are tired of buying into false promises, romanticized ideals and vanity. They are looking for something
pure, something everyone can
relate to. Not what we should be,
but what we are.” W.R.K is not a
fashion brand, he said, but “bridges functionality with aesthetics,
where neither aspect is compromised,” he said.
Spring will mark the fifth collection for the label, which is carried
at Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus,
Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale’s,
Butch Blum, Gary’s and Von Maur.
However, this season marks the first
where distribution of the collection
will be handled directly, without
the aid of a distributor, and it will
show at ENKNYC. “The design and
product quality haven’t changed,”
said Colin Gillooly, sales and marketing director, “but the price-value
relationship is now more in line.”
Gillooly said the spring collection is inspired by the American
road trip. “Matteo found a vintage
image of a Wagoneer,” he said, noting that the “ethos of the brand” continues to be the meeting of form and
function. “For spring, it’s the same
thing, but with a travel overtone.”
The collection is work-inspired and
also centers around tailored clothing with “updated twists,” he said.
Prices include blazers for $395,
outerwear for $295 to $395, longsleeve wovens for $128 to $148, trousers for $148 to $168, shorts for $78
to $98, sweaters for $148 to $178 and
T-shirts for $58. — J.E.P.
CHIEF
Theodore Yemc can thank his
grandfather for being the catalyst
behind Chief, his pocket square
and handkerchief collection.
After graduating from the
Rhode Island School of Design in
2007 with a degree in printmaking,
the Connecticut native got a job at
an artist’s studio, where he spent
his days working — and sweating.
He had inherited a drawer full of
handkerchiefs from his grandfather
and quickly “wore through them”
mopping his brow during long
hours at the studio, he said.
One day, he decided to cut up
some old shirts and use them as
handkerchiefs instead. He showed
them to his mother and girlfriend,
who were impressed with the creativity and innovation his handkerchiefs displayed and encouraged
him to start selling his creations.
He took their advice and, last summer, he launched Chief.
Yemc, who is based in Brooklyn,
Johnnie-O
Men’s Week
WWD Thursday, July 12, 2012
chief
Ohw
W.R.K
Photo by GeorGe Chinsee
Mark
Mcnairy
Vicomte a.
Photo by Lenny Pier ramos
sidian, ersatz & Vanes
now offers handkerchiefs, pocket
squares and kerchiefs in patchwork designs. They’re available
in 13 inches for $55, 16 inches
for $60 and 19 inches for $65.
Currently, the collection is being
sold at Madewell in its Labels We
Love section, as well as at Smith
+ Butler in Carroll Gardens, N.Y.,
and Incu Clothing in Melbourne,
Australia. Yemc will also show the
collection for the first time at the
Black Dog showroom at ENKNYC.
“I don’t really see anything like
this out there in the world,” Yemc
said. “So I took that as an opportunity to fill a void.”
The collection is designed in
Brooklyn and made in America
from Japanese fabrics. While most
handkerchiefs are white linen and
pocket squares are silk, Yemc opts
for a variety of patterns and fabrics
including cotton-linen or cottonwool blends and dobby prints in
stripes and checks.
“We try to use more interesting
fabrics like you’d wear as a shirt,”
he said. “We like to push the envelope.” — J.e.P.
JIMMy’Z
Eighties surf brand Jimmy’Z,
whose trademark was most recently owned and operated by teen
retailer Aéropostale Inc., has been
reborn under new owner and licensee Blake Harrington and original founder Jim Ganzer. The duo
have returned the brand to its West
Coast lifestyle roots, brought back
its “Woody” car and surfboard logo
and revived the brand’s signature
size-tab Velcro “EZ In, EZ Out”
shorts and boardshorts with an adjustable gusset.
Harrington, who previously
worked on the relaunch of another Eighties surf brand, Maui
and Sons — which was acquired
by his father, Richard Harrington,
in 1989 — owns the international
trademarks for Jimmy’Z and has a
five-year license from Aéropostale
for the brand in the U.S. and
Canada. His long-term goal is to
acquire the brand in total from
the retail chain.
Aéropostale shuttered a group
of Jimmy’Z concept shops in 2009,
after launching them in 2005.
The company had acquired the
Jimmy’Z name in 2004 after it had
changed hands from Ocean Pacific
to Trends Clothing Corp.
“They didn’t get the brand
DNA, they took away the logo and
the core West Coast lifestyle attitude. It was a bunch of guys in
New York trying to make a West
Coast brand,” said Harrington
of Aéropostale’s aborted efforts
with Jimmy’Z. The brand made
a name for itself in the Eighties
with evocative advertising featuring the likes of a young Cindy
Crawford, Gary Busey and musician Stevie Ray Vaughan.
Harrington has based the brand
in Pacific Palisades, Calif., and
first relaunched last year in Japan
and Europe. This spring, Opening
Ceremony picked up the brand in
the U.S. and retailers can shop the
spring line at the Capsule show.
The surf shorts, which have no
buttons or zippers to make them
more comfortable when laying
on a surfboard, retail for $65 to
$75. The line also encompasses
logo T-shirts, zippered hoodies,
chambray shirts, tank tops and
hats, with everything designed
by Ganzer, who first founded the
brand in 1984. Men’s comprises
about 80 percent of sales while
a juniors line, including wrap
skirts, tank tops and crop tops, is
20 percent of sales. For fall 2013,
Harrington plans to launch a boys’
line. — DaViD liPKe
OHW
New shoe line Ohw may have a
somewhat abstruse name — it’s
“who” spelled backward — but the
designs themselves are clean and
straightforward. The England-based
company operates its own factory
in Zhuhai, China, that makes highquality footwear for a number of
well-known brands and last season
launched Ohw as its own label.
“These are casual shoes that
aren’t overly designed — the emphasis is really on the materials,
comfort and quality of construction,” said Paul Conrad, owner of
the Medium Concepts showroom
in New York, which is representing
the line and showing at Capsule.
With retail prices from $145 to
$210, Ohw offers casual city shoes
and boots in leather and suede,
with details like hand-stitched
seams and pyramid-tread soles.
Founders Stephen Gill and
Hiro Chen, who are English and
Taiwanese, respectively, have over
40 years of footwear experience
between them. The two split their
time between company headquarters outside of London and the
Chinese factory — where each
shoe is hand-signed by the final
quality-control inspector.
The line has been carried in
some British stores for one season and this holiday will be the
first time it’s available in the U.S.
Conrad is targeting fashion retailers initially to build brand awareness — Steven Alan is likely to be
the first retailer to pick it up —
and then will expand distribution
to footwear stores. “The designs
are perfect for the casual guy in
a shirt, tie and chinos who wants
to wear something comfortable
and sporty, but not a pair of New
Balance. I can see architects and
design professionals geeking out
over these,” said Conrad. — D.l.
JEAN MACHINE
Chloe Lonsdale has denim in her
blood. Her father, Tony Lonsdale,
owned the iconic Seventies
London emporium Jean Machine;
her mother, Chekkie, was a top
jeans model of the era; and her
godfather, Tony O’Gorman, was
the founder of the British denim
brand Made in Heaven. In 2005,
the Central Saint Martins grad
relaunched Made in Heaven as a
women’s-only denim maker, under
the acronym MiH.
This year, she turned her attention to the guys, taking her father’s
Jean Machine name for a line of
understated men’s denim via an
exclusive distribution deal with
Mr. Porter for spring, as well as
on its own e-commerce site. This
fall, Jean Machine will expand to
Scoop stores and for next spring
the company is opening up distribution to other retailers, which can
shop the line at Project.
Jean Machine denim retails
from between $170 to $250 and
is cut in three fits: slim, straight
and relaxed. A complementary
sportswear collection includes
slim-fit jean jackets, jean shorts,
chino-style trousers, outerwear,
long- and short-sleeve shirts,
polos, hooded sweatshirts, pocket
T-shirts and leather belts.
Some styles of the jeans are
fashioned from organic cotton and
hemp, with color options including indigo, black and white. All the
washes and details in the collection hew to the brand’s clean, sophisticated aesthetic. — D.l.
MW5
MARK MCNAIRy
Mark McNairy can seem omnipresent when walking through
some trade shows, as he’s recently
completed collaborations with
Timberland, PF Flyers, Keds and
Garrett Leight eyewear. He also
designs the Woolrich Woolen Mills
and Billionaire Boys Club Bee
lines. However, his home base
is his own Mark McNairy New
Amsterdam label, which is carried
in about 50 stores worldwide, with
another 50 carrying just his footwear. Key retail partners include
Odin, Bodega, Colette, Dover Street
Market, Beams and Isetan.
McNairy often uses traditional
American silhouettes and bodies,
but adds his own spin via unexpected fabrics, prints and color
schemes. For spring, look for lots
of polka dots, cheetah prints and
zebra stripes in the line, which will
show at Capsule.
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. But
if you’re not moving forward then
you’re gonna be pretty boring,”
said McNairy of his approach to
melding the classic with the progressive — as seen in a pair of
quilted neon shorts or a plaid shirt
with embroidered daisies.
McNairy’s suits are fashioned
from durable, but breathable, cotton
with a series of five zippered pockets
on the inner jacket to hold a modern
male’s panoply of electronic devices,
wallets, card holders, cigarettes and
other essentials. Suit jackets retail
from $388 to $625, shirts from $218
to $278, pants from $250 to $430 and
outerwear from $200 to $625.
Rapper Danny Brown models in McNairy’s spring look book,
after the designer recruited him
via Twitter. “Just learning that he’s
a 51-year-old designer competing in
a young man’s game made me feel a
connection with him ’cause I feel I’m
sort of the same way. We’re both just
taking classic pieces and adding new
color to them,” said Brown. — D.l.
SIdIAN, ERSATZ & VANES
The three British partners who
founded the Sidian, Ersatz & Vanes
line of shirts have remained anonymous and mysterious, refusing to
divulge their identities, in the vein
of Martin Margiela. What is known
about the trio is that they have
other professions in creative industries — thus their professed need
for secrecy — and they dreamed
up the project during a road trip to
Cape Mendocino in California.
The shirt assortments, which
come in either a regular or slim fit,
have a fashion-forward attitude,
incorporating artsy themes like
colorblocking, irregular horizontal stripe motifs and micro patterns, as well as signature details
like double chest pockets. All of
the fabrics are exclusive to Sidian,
Ersatz & Vanes, which manufactures the collection in Macedonia.
“The shirts are a little more
advanced and directional than a
typical shirt line. I think the whole
workwear and heritage trend has
been so overdone, so this is something a bit different for that relatively conservative, but style-conscious,
customer,” said Paul Conrad, owner
of the Medium Concepts showroom
in New York, which is representing
the line and showing it at Capsule
for the first time.
The shirts will retail from $230
to $275. For spring, the company is
adding a small number of ties and
zippered blouson jackets to the
lineup. Sidian, Ersatz & Vanes is
carried in a handful of U.S. stores,
including Barneys New York,
Opening Ceremony, Assembly and
Boylston Trading Co. — D.l.
MW6
Men’s Week
WWD thursday, july 12, 2012
Jack Victor’s Centennial Line Set for Spring
{Continued from page one}
the current president of the company, said
the collaboration with Saks is a “tremendous vote of confidence for us.” He said he’s
hoping to forge a similar partnership with a
major Canadian retailer as well.
“Less than 1 percent of companies make
it to the third generation,” Victor said. “But
we’ve adhered to the same principals of
value, quality and conservative prudent
management that my grandfather established. There’s really no secret to these
kinds of things. It’s just a matter of being
consistent through 100 years.”
The company’s story began in 1913
when Jack Victor emigrated from Europe
to Canada and started traveling the countryside selling clothes out of a knapsack. He
opened a store and was successful as a retailer until one of his vendors convinced him
and we bought Riviera trousers and are expanding it into a lifestyle sportswear line.
We’re not just sitting here waiting for the
bell to ring.”
In Diamond’s opinion, Jack Victor produces the “best value and quality garment
for the price.” The off-the-rack suits retail
for $695 to $1,100, which represents the
opening price point for luxury stores and
the high-end offering for midtier retailers,
according to Nelson Suriel, vice president of
U.S. sales.
In addition, the company, which does
two-thirds of its business in the States and
one-third in Canada, has an extensive instock assortment of suits, sport coats, trousers and separates. “We hang millions of dollars worth of inventory,” Diamond said.
The biggest growth category for the company is its custom offering, where suits can
be delivered in as few as 10 days.
“We do very modern clothing
and that’s growing in the U.S.,”
said Diamond. “Canada is more
fashion-forward, so that’s our
forte.” The company is known for
its soft shoulder and light construction in a variety of silhouettes and linings. Interior components include canvas chest pieces,
interlinings and shoulder pads,
and the garments sport genuine
horn buttons.
“We also do more traditional
clothing for the rest of America,”
Diamond said. “So we can fill any
need for any customer who walks
to move to Montreal and work for him. Victor
eventually bought the business and has been
producing in that city ever since.
In 1958, Jack’s son Herschel was convinced to give up his dream of working in
show business to join the family business and
he remained active until his death in 2010, at
which point his son Alan took the reins.
Despite its age, Jack Victor has managed to keep up with the times. “We’re not
an old-fashioned clothing company,” said
Paul Diamond, president of Jack Victor
USA. “We’re importing soft sport coats from
Portugal, we have a license with Ted Baker
Looks from the
Centennial
Collection.
in the door. For specialty stores, we offer a
large variety [of styles and fabrics] so they
don’t have to run to 10 different places. And
the almost-400 specialty stores who sell our
goods appreciate that.”
In addition to Saks, Jack Victor will be
offering the centennial collection to all its
accounts. There will be one model of suit,
which Suriel said will be a “fusion of classic and modern” styling, with a three-inch
lapel, a 30-inch jacket, 6 1/2-inch drop,
suppression around the waist, a rounder
shoulder, slimmer sleeve and flat-front
pants. “It’s modern, but not designer,”
Suriel said.
The fabric collection will range from super
160s from Zegna to super 150s from Barbera
in solids, stripes and plaids, and super 140s in
bird’s-eye and windowpane patterns.
“There’s a lot of old-world engineering as opposed to an engineered garment,”
Suriel said.
The suits will sport the brand’s signature purple lining embossed with the Jack
Victor name, scalloped facing, contrast
stitching, viscose sleeve linings, engraved
buttons, contrasting pen and cell phone
pockets, and pick stitching. The garments
will be delivered with custom basting thread
on the shoulders and vents to “give it a be-
spoke look,” Suriel said.
Trousers will feature a
split waistband with pick
stitching, legs lined halfway down with the same
fabric used in the sleeves,
and other details such as
reinforced pockets.
Sport coats will be
offered in fabrics ranging from Loro Piana’s
Cashmere Cloud blend of
93 percent cashmere and
7 percent silk in herringbones, soft windowpanes
and plaids; 100 percent
worsted cashmeres from
Italy in an array of soft
blues and grays; super
170s from E. Thomas in
solid navy, and super 130s
from Piacenza in linenwool-silk blends.
All of the product will
feature a Limited Edition
Cennential Collection
label, signed by Alan
Victor. Suits will retail for
$895 to $1,095 and sport
coats will sell for $750 to
$1,095. There will also be
a small offering of trousers in cashmere cotton
blends and wool fancies.
The centennial collection will be produced
for two seasons, Alan Victor said, but if successful, will be continued beyond that, albeit
without the centennial moniker.
“This will take us to a whole new level,”
Suriel said. “We’re the kings of the under$1,000 suit, but this puts us into the over$1,000 market.”
In addition to the collection and the commemorative book, Jack Victor has formed
a collaboration with the Juvenile Diabetes
Research Foundation, a charity active in
both the U.S. and Canada. In September of
2013, the company will donate a percentage
of its sales to the foundation. Jack Victor also
expects to throw itself a party in New York
next summer during market week.
Looking ahead to the next century,
Victor said the company hopes to expand
into Asia, South America and Europe.
“Everything is becoming more international and the world is getting smaller and
smaller,” he said. “We believe we have a
special and unique product that will be accepted well around the world. We’ve always
been seen as just a North American manufacturer of tailored clothing, but in the next
100 years, we want to change that vision to
a purveyor of men’s fashion, and not just in
North America.”
by DEVORAH LAUTER
PARIS — Treading cautiously following a mixed year in sales, price
proved the make-or-break factor for
buyers attending the recent Capsule
and Tranoï men’s fairs in Paris,
though it didn’t stop creativity and
a positive outlook from triumphing.
Buyers attending the show in
a new, larger venue located at the
Cité de la Mode, kept their budgets
mostly stable and praised the array
of summery colors and creative
prints on offer. Following the modern tailoring trend, classic silhouettes carried subtle fashion details
and whimsical twists.
“We are experiencing a great
men’s wear momentum, and I
expect that to continue. I’m really positive,” said Bloomingdale’s
vice president of men’s fashion,
Kevin Harter, whose budget was
up “slightly. I think this is the best
Capsule I’ve ever been to in Paris,”
he enthused, citing “really fresh
new trends,” including “stronger
patterns,” and “more sophisticated
coloring that is still bright,” like a
prevalent sun palette.
Courting the average, cash-tight
male who tends mainly to shop
based on need, vendors consistently offered multiuse, high-value
items with special details that bypassed seasonal trends. Light jackets transformed into warmer coats,
while simple business shirts with
interchangeable cuffs and collars
could also work for a dinner date.
At Tranoï, Norwegian Rain’s
popular line of slim, light, highly
technical and eco-friendly coats
with breathable waterproofing
oozed elegance. Each item had
detailed tailoring for multiuse
fits, and hidden magnets fastened
sweeping, face-framing collars.
“This is the result of daily life in
Norway, where, even if the weather is stormy, we don’t want to look
it. We want to stay comfortable
and fashionable,” said codesigner
Alexander Helle.
Wanda R. Colon, vice president
and divisional merchandise manager of men’s Co-op for Barneys New
York, lauded Norwegian Rain’s
“really sophisticated aesthetic and
phenomenal fabric choices.
“We’re still focusing on the tailoring part of our business, and we
really want to dress up our casualwear,” she said. “You can dress [a
tailored look] to go with chinos or
business attire.”
At Tranoï, young Parisian brand
La Comédie Humaine launched its
Photo by xavier granet
Multitasking Ruled at Tranoï, Capsule
A look by Customellow, which showed
at Capsule.
men’s wear line inspired by Balzac
and 19th-century etchings.
Ruling vibes at Capsule included the Fifties and Sixties American
surfer trend, awash with tropical
prints, as well as playful African
tribal themes. High-waisted rolledup trousers with pleats were widespread, along with Bermudas.
Hentsch Man introduced its
own Hawaiian prints, plus “James
Dean-y details” on shirts such as a
special comb pocket, touching on a
trend of unusually shaped pockets
for traveling men.
Both shows emphasized smart,
light preppy looks. Other trends
included neon pops on accessories, balanced with washed linens.
Structured, minimalist leather
bags were popular.
Tranoï this season also hosted
a catwalk show by Pierre Cardin,
as the first guest of honor in
the fair’s new program of fashion shows. Next fall, Cardin will
show a new line and an exhibit at
Tranoï women’s.
Men’s Week
WWD THURSDAY, JULY 12, 2012
Tailored
looks
from
Nautica.
PHOTO BY KYLE ERICKSEN
NAUTICA HAS inked new licenses for
its tailored clothing and dress shirt businesses, both of which were previously licensed to Smart Apparel U.S. Inc. under
an agreement that expires on Dec. 31. The
new Nautica tailored clothing license is
with the Levy Group and expands on an
existing tailored outerwear license with
that company. The new dress shirt license
is with LF USA.
Both licenses will begin with the spring
2013 season, with product available in department and specialty stores as well as
on nautica.com. The clothing offering will
include both classic and slim fits with a
focus on soft-casual sport jackets and travel-friendly suits. Bruce Zeitlin will lead
the Nautica tailored clothing and tailored
outerwear business at the Levy Group.
Dress shirt fits will be available in classic and athletic models in an array of traditional and modern patterns and colors.
Man of
THE WEEK
Jodie Yorke, director of sales, will lead the
Nautica dress shirt division at LF USA.
“The Nautica license represents a significant step in our effort to build a strong
portfolio of brands in our men’s area and
upgrade our dress shirt capabilities,” said
Rick Darling, president of LF USA.
— DAVID LIPKE
Haspel, Blue Lion to Part Ways
HASPEL HAS ended its licensing agreement with Blue Lion and will not produce
a spring collection as it searches for a new
manufacturing partner.
According to market sources, Haspel’s
deal with Blue Lion expires at the end of
2012 and will not be renewed. The label,
which typically shows at the MRket show,
will not be taking a booth at this edition.
Laurie Haspel Aronson, president of the
family-owned Haspel brand, could not be
reached for comment Wednesday.
Last October, Neema Clothing Ltd.
wound down its branded business and sold
its inventory to the Samsung Group. Jeffrey
Ammeen, the son of former Neema chief
executive officer James Ammeen, launched
Blue Lion at that time to handle the sales
and marketing for Neema’s licensed businesses, which included Haspel.
The 100-plus-year-old Haspel, whose
roots are in men’s seasonal suits, has been
working to revitalize the label and turn it
into a lifestyle brand with multiple categories of merchandise.
— JEAN E. PALMIERI
SETH MACFARLANE C+
The “Family Guy” creator, whose movie “Ted” is
the sleeper hit of the summer, might be a comedic
genius, but he needs to get serious
about his sartorial choices.
His well-manicured, strangely fake hair and lack of
wrinkles is very reminiscent of a famous fashion
designer known for his intense image control.
Droopy oversize shoulders with lack of structure
and a boxy silhouette might work for a cartoon
character, but not for the red carpet.
It’s a good idea to have tonal black on
black, but it’s poorly executed here. Make
sure to buy the same shade of black next
time, or go for white.
It’s an oversize suit all over so the excess fabric creates a
sea of wrinkles. At least the length is OK.
A major sartorial faux pas. Take a lesson from King
Edward VII and leave the second button open.
PHOTO BY JEFF KRAVITZ/FILMMAGIC
Nautica Signs Tailored Licenses
For some strange reason they’re too short, with no
break. It adds a level of tragic comedy to the outfit.
Very appropriate and very shiny.
Slowear Launches New Collection
MILAN — Italian luxury men’s clothing
group Slowear has launched a new line
called Ricerca.
The collection will consist of a number of
pieces from the different brands under the
Slowear umbrella, including Incotex pants,
Zanone high-end knitwear, Montedoro outerwear and Glanshirt shirts, which will feature a distinctive beige cotton label.
“This line shows more fashionable
touches than the others,” said Slowear
chief executive officer Mario Griariotto.
“It has been conceived for a contemporary,
stylish man who appreciates details but
never looks over the top.”
The sophisticated spring 2013 lineup, showing vintage-inspired workwear
and military references, includes men’s
wear staples in high-end fabrics, such as
Japanese canvas, textured blends of cotton
and linen, lightweight wrinkled wool and
gabardine. A hooded parka and a sporty
blouson are paired with comfortable pants
available in three fits — slim, regular and
loose. There are also seersucker shirts with
chestnut buttons, a cardigan and a roundneck sweater, along with informal and de-
Living a Dream
LAST SUMMER was no picnic for 14-yearold Keilah Hieb. She spent most of the time
in pain, dropping weight and undergoing
tests to see what was wrong. Turns out it
was non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
The course of treatment was seven
weeks of chemotherapy and lots of sleepless nights. But things are looking up. She’s
in remission and feeling good again, good
enough to visit New York City courtesy of
Toby’s Dream Foundation, which fulfills
wishes for children in the Hampton Bays,
Va., area. The visit, which was organized
by Peerless Clothing, afforded the teen
the opportunity to visit with several highprofile fashion designers during her family’s visit to New York City. “I want to be
a fashion designer when I grow up,” she
said, clutching her sketch book filled with
constructed three-button blazers.
“In line with the niche positioning of
Ricerca, the distribution will be limited to
100 top stores worldwide in addition to our
flagship stores,” Griariotto said.
Slowear, which closed 2011 with revenues of 72 million euros, or $88 million at
current exchange rates, aims “to continue
growing at the same pace,” said Griariotto.
In order to reach the goal, the group is focusing on a retail expansion strategy, which
includes the opening of several stores this
summer, including one in Beirut, another in
Paris’ Marais district, along with a corner at
United Arrows in Tokyo, where Slowear will
unveil a boutique in March 2013.
“The United States is the next step, because we aren’t really international without
a store in New York,” said Griariotto, who
revealed he wished to find a space on Fifth
or Madison Avenue by the end of 2013.
According to the company, Slowear is
also working to develop franchise agreements with international partners, such as
Grupo Axo, which opened a Slowear store
in Mexico City last March.
— ALESSANDRA TURRA
designs for girls and teens. “I like to see
fashion and go shopping.”
During her time in New York, Hieb
visited with Elie Tahari, who gave her
a private tour of his studio and showroom, as well as the Fashion Institute of
Technology costume collection and the
fashion closets at Vogue. Michael Kors
sat with her for 30 minutes and gave her
an autographed leather bag that said she
was “talented and stylish.” The visit was
capped off with a stop by Nanette Lepore,
who gave her a dress from the Project
Runway collection, a visit to the set of
the television show for a taping, and a
one-on-one with Isaac Mizrahi before she
headed home.
So what did she find most memorable?
“I can’t decide. They’re all so cool,” she
said. “But what I don’t understand is why
the cars here honk all the time.”
— J.E.P.
MW7
Supporting
great British
design talent
Brits
IN NEW YORK
Mrket
July 22 – 24 2012
Man
July 22 – 24 2012
Alfred Sargent
Barbour
Begg Scotland
Codis Maya
Corgi
Daines & Hathaway
Derek Rose
Drake’s
Duchamp London
Edward Green
Elizabeth Parker
John Laing
Johnstons of Elgin
LBB London
Loake
Naturally
Pantherella
PD Man England
Penrose London
Scott & Charters
Seaward & Stearn London
Simon Carter
Tateossian
WD London
Without Prejuidice
AMH Ashley Marc Hovelle
YMC
Javits Center
655 W 34th St
Capsule
July 23 – 24 2012
Industria Superstudio
775 Washington St
Project
July 22 – 24 2012
82 Mercer St
Barbour
French Connection
ENK NYC
July 22 – 24 2012
Basketball City
Pier 36 at South St/
Montgomery St
Bstore
Garbstore
Gloverall
Grenson
Lazy Oaf
Natural Selection Denim
Northern Cobbler
Okun
Sunspel
Supremebeing
The Tunnel
W 28th St at 11th Ave
Ben Sherman Footwear
D.S. Dundee
Fred Perry
Superdry
Ted Baker London
in association with
www.uktradeinvest.gov.uk
info@ukft.org
tel. 011 44 20 7843 9460
UKFT represents designers and manufacturers of menswear, womenswear, childrenswear, lingerie,
accessories, footwear and textiles. We promote exports, help with skills and training, and if you are
a buyer or an agent we can put you in touch with UK companies offering great products.
RetURNs
09.24.12
the NeW CLASS OF MAN
Close DAte: 8.15.12
FoR MoRe INFoRMAtIoN ABoUt M MAGAZINe:
MARC BeRGeR Vice President & Publisher | 212.630.4831 | marc_berger@fairchildfashion.com