The Shophound

The Spree: Christian Audigier To Show In Paris (snicker) + More Posh & Becks and Other Stories

Designer Christian Audigier has announced, among other things, that he will be showing his next collection on the Paris runways.
We know! Right? Hilaaaaariooous!
Big change from the MAGIC show in Vegas. Seriously, people are chortling all over town about this one. Apparently the man thinks that his t-shirt lines will hold up against Dior, Chanel and Lanvin. Well, he is French. We have to give him that.
Of course, we have been lambasting him since the first Ed Hardy store appeared in the West Village, and he keeps getting bigger and bigger, so clearly it hasn't held him back. In fact, the more that we (and hordes of others, we can assure you) go on about how tacky and crass his clothes are, the bigger he gets. His mysterious rise is incomprehensible, but there it is. We wonder if the Paris runway audiences will actually boo? Throw things? According to British Vogue (via The Cut), Audigier claims he will have a performance by a huge (but yet to named) superstar at his show, which may be the only way he will get people to come.
All we can say is that if it looks like Anna Wintour is getting anywhere near that crap, we may have to throw in the towel. Fashion will really be dead then.
Also, he has announced that he will be the next tenant of the Holmby Hills mansion where Michael Jackson met his end last week.
Ick.
We did say crass, didn't we?
As for Posh & Becks (above), these are the latest shots from their Emporio Armani Underwear campaign by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott. We are posting them just because everyone else totally is, and we don't want to be left out. Also, wouldn't you rather look at them than another Ed Hardy picture?
In other news:

• Brooklyn's Beehive Salon will be offering you the most iconic celebrity hairstyle in the history of such things for $50 on Friday July 10. The “Farrah Blow-Out” in honor of the late Angel will benefit Sanctuary for Families, a New York State organization that provides assistance to victims of domestic abuse, a cause that Farrah herself supported (remember "The Burning Bed"?). (Chic Report)
• Kelly Osbourne gets a makeover...again. (Fashionista)
• Roberto Cavalli is fixing to join the ranks of Haute Couturiers. Will money and nerve be enough for him to get him accepted into that dwindling group? (Fashionologie)
• Beloved West Village diner Joe Jr's is being forced out of its corner location after 35 years. First Florent, and now this? (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)
• Ann-Sofie Back débuts her tattered '80s collection for Cheap Monday. (Refinery 29)
• Does the Times cover Muji so frequently because it's right downstairs? Can we blame them? (The Choosy Beggar & The Moment)

Cintra Wilson Goes Shopping:Five-Dollar-Word Edition

Each Critical Shopper column in the Thursday Styles reveals a bit more of its author's inner character. This week's visit to Solange Azagury-Partridge's new Madison Avenue jewel salon exposes a surprising new facet of Cintra Wilson's personality (See what we did there? Facet —get it). Apparently the acerbic shopper is a closet geometer.
If The Shophound were more competitive, we would have found far more syllables to express that thought, but how could we compete with La Cintra's prodigious word application this week? For example:

The designer did sneak a couple of Archimedean solids into her Platonic line. (Naughty girl. I bet she thought her shoppers wouldn’t notice an extra polygon here and there.) But I was delighted, because I can’t tell you how many times I’ve said that there just aren’t enough truncated cuboctahedrons and rhombicuboctahedrons to be found in jewelry today.

We hear you sister!
Clearly our shopper brought her own jeweler's loupe (not exactly the greatest form when visiting an haute joaillerie), or else she has uncommonly sharp vision. How else to identify Archimedean solid with eight triangular and eighteen square faces through the glass of a display case. As for cuboctahedrons, well, quasiregular solids like that are a little easier to spot for sure, but still.
Of course, none of this technical jargon masks the main point of the story which is that La Cintra is no more immune to the charms of the shiny and sparkly than anyone else.
Critical Shopper | Solange Azagury-Partridge Riches at Rainbow’s End By Cintra Wilson (NYTimes)
Solange Azagury-Partridge 809 Madison Avenue at 68th Street, Upper East Side

Thom Browne Ready To Turn A Corner

Eyebrows were raised a few months ago when reports surfaced that acclaimed menswear designer Thom Browne's business was on shaky legs after he pared his staff down to the bare minimum and was said to be furiously searching for investors.
It appears he has succeeded, as WWD reports that Browne has hired a new CEO and taken on a Japanese based minority investor. New president Josh Sparks helped broker the deal and has set out on a program to expand and strengthen the label. High on the list of priorities is lowering opening price points by 20 to 30 percent, which couldn't hurt, and expanding retail distribution as well as adding licenses.
Lower prices will be an unsurprising but most welcome improvement. Now if Sparks can do something about Browne's meager size range and constricting fit, we'll really have something to write about.
We know. baby steps.
New Thom Browne CEO Maps Growth Strategy (WWD)
Previously: Thom Browne In Trouble? ...And Other Stories

Cupcake Alert: Eating Trumps Seeing At Grand Central Terminal

Apparently, what Grand Central Terminal needed was cupcakes.
Sure, there are already plenty of cupcakes in that place between all the any food shops inside, but none of them are cupcake specialists. That's where Crumbs comes in. With 10 shops in Manhattan already, this location in the Graybar Building on Lexington Avenue is one of three in the works for the city.
it takes the place of the displaced For Eyes Optical. We know, the place should have been closed for the name alone, but with several competitors nearby, there's no shortage of eyewear in the neighborhood.
After all, you only need so many pairs of glasses, but cupcakes, you can eat those very day! Crumbs has been aggressively expanding throughout New York, (and the U.S.) far overtaking rivals and original cupcake proselytizers Magnolia Bakery and Buttercup Bake Shop. Pricey sweets are apparently weathering the economy quite nicely.
While not technically in the terminal, Crumbs' arrival joins several changes on that side of Grand Central, particularly in the Lexington Avenue Corridor shopping arcade where stores have recently been shuffling now that leases dating from the station's renovation in the '90s have come up for renewal. The switch is on to bigger shops and more recognizable brands as L'Occitane and Tumi have hopped the aisle for more room leaving space for a M·A·C makeup store to open soon right next to a unit from fellow Estée Lauder brand Origins that has also been relocated. While trendier neighborhoods that until recently were considered hot (Lower East Side anyone?) continue to slide, nothing beats a good commuter location.
Crumbs (Official Site)

Resort Previews: Ports 1961 Braves The Storm For Resort

It was just our luck that the Ports 1961 Resort/Pre-Spring preview would take place at the exact time of yesterday's downpour, but adverse weather didn't seem keep anyone from the brand's Meatpacking district boutique to see designer Tia Cibani's latest efforts.
We always look forward to the Ports show because somehow Cibani always manages to transform the generic tent with a captivating ambiance and surprise performers, but in the showroom, she relied on brownies (just the regular kind, thank you very much) which gave us an opportunity to get a close look at all the inventive, hand crafted details Ports has become known for.
This collection's inspiration was the architect and designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh and his wife Margaret MacDonald, so there was a whiff of retro nostalgia from about a century ago or so, interpreted in imaginative draping and geometric beaded trims. Cibani has always skillfully walked the line between artsy bohemian and "art teacher", so this collection has its quirks and surprises without looking like a visit to the crafts fair. The best news is that like many brands, Ports has done an excellent job at keeping prices under control for the season without sacrificing quality, and that's really what's on everyone's mind.

Today In Liquidation: Bankruptcy For Best & Co. Shutters Children's Shop At Bergdorf's

It's back to the trash heap of long lost stores for Best & Co. as Connecticut based retailer which has also been operating the children's department at Bergdorf Goodman is liquidating. The company which though a series of acquisitions is now part of Toys R Us, filed a Chapter 7 petition for liquidation Friday in New Jersey.
Originally remembered as a great Fifth Avenue department store, the Best & Co. name was revived in the late '90s by Susie (the former Mrs. Tommy) Hilfiger in Greenwich, Connecticut as a high end children's store featuring luxury clothes for children, often attracting designers to make special collections. It was a natural fit to take over a leased space on Bergdorf's 7^th floor where children's clothing had been eliminated years before. The Greenwich store was precipitously shut on Saturday, and the Bergdorf's space will also close.
Hilfiger sold her company to FAO Schwarz in 2007, and Schwarz was acquired by Toys R Us last month. Presumably, the toy behemoth wanted little to do with a money-losing, exclusive specialty apparel business (can you blame them?). Bergdorf's is now listed among the company's creditors. From all reports, Toys R Us will continue operating the FAO Schwarz stores in New York and Las Vegas, but, for now, it's curtains for Best & Co.
Best & Co. Files Chapter 7 Liquidation (WWD)

Brooklyn Departures: Yoko Deveraux Folds After Times Spotlight

We have heard stories from retailers about how coverage in the Times' Critical Shopper column can add a nice boost to business, but it doesn't seem to have been enough to save Williamsburg hipster boutique Yoko Deveraux.
Only a few weeks after being showcased by Mike Albo in the Thursday Styles, The label has announced that it is folding due to its parent company's financial troubles. Perhaps Mike should have left out the part where he found the brand at a thrift shop down the street for a fraction of the price.
Putting a positive spin on things, the label is holding a "Liquidation Celebration" on its website right now at giveaway prices. The sale will open up to the Brooklyn store tomorrow through Thursday or until everything is gone including fixtures.
Get it while you can, skinny Williamsburg boys!
Discontinued: Hipster Ambassador Yoko Devereaux Shuts Down (Racked)
Critical Shopper | Yoko Devereaux: Walk a Mile in Their Droopy Cardigans (NYTimes)
Previously: Mike Albo Goes Shopping: Hipster Defense Edition

Weekend Specials: A Pop-Up Flea Hits Nolita

We can barely keep up with all the pop-up stores this city has to offer now, but the folks at the fine menswear blog A Continuous Lean have tipped us off to one that looks like it's worth checking out this weekend.
THE POP-UP FLEA will happen this afternoon at 4 PM and continue through Sunday at the Openhouse Gallery in Nolita. It features mostly guy stuff (sorry ladies) including offerings from Billykirk, Mark McNairy, Hattan, Alexander West, One Trip Pass, Alexander Olch, Aether, Aprix, 3Sixteen, Gitman Brothers Vintage, C’H'C’M and others. Food will be provided by Café Select, and there will be barbers from the buzzy new Lower East Side salon Tommy Guns for shaves and haircuts.
The Pop-Up Flea at Openhouse Gallery 201 Mulberry Street Between Spring & Kenmare Streets, Nolita

Click the picture for more info

Today in Semi-Permanent: BLACK Comme des Garçons Sneaks Open Under The High Line

Well, Comme des Garçons couldn't have picked a drearier week to open a store called "Black"
As you may have heard, the revered Japanese label has quietly opened a non-permanent boutique for its special collection celebrating the brand's 40^th anniversary. The shop's installation has been remarkably speedy, because we walked by about a week ago and the store was completely empty. The tiny boutique has been created from a series of (apparently prefabricated) black panel fixtures holding racks placed to create shopping alcoves and dressing areas. The sales staff was quick to point out that new goods would be arriving periodically, and that the store was "sort of" temporary. It would be there for at least 18 months, and possibly more which makes it more than a Pop-Up, but less than a flagship. At any rate, CDG fans can rest easy that the shop will be there long after the "Black" in-store shop at Barneys is whisked away after a couple of weeks.
As for the merchandise, what we could see was a healthy selection of Comme Classics like cropped swallowtail jackets and boxy trousers in fairly basic black materials. There are purposely no innovative fabric treatments or complicated constructions here, which keeps the prices down. While about $500 for a jacket is not cheap by any stretch, it's a great price by typical Comme des Garçons standards.
Although it's tough to tell on a drizzly Wednesday afternoon, it looks like the die-hard fans have yet to find the store tucked away under the High Line. We hear Barneys' shop has been jammed, so anyone looking for a more civilized experience should head to Chelsea posthaste. They should know the neighborhood since the place is only a few blocks south of the main CDG store on 22^nd Street.
The staff was careful to describe the collection to us as unisex, noting that the trousers and t-shirts in particular ran big enough for male customers (though we know that it was originally intended as a women's collection with the possibility of men's deliveries down the line). That distinction, however, is barely significant to a Comme customer, who is likely not to care as long as whatever it is looks and fits right. "Black" looks like the kind of signature basics collection that also serves as a great entry point for a brand that can be intimidating. We're betting that it will hang around longer than 18 months.
Black Comme des Garçons through ? at the Southeast Corner of 10^th Avenue at 17^th Street, Chelsea
Previously:
Unexpected Recession Dividend: Comme des Garçons To Paint Barneys And Chelsea Black

The Spree: Bartlett's Claiborne Pop-Up Extended & Other News

Our replacement swag polo shirt has arrived and it fits perfectly thanks to the fine folks at Claiborne by John Bartlett. We aren't the only ones who are pleased with the newly revamped label. The Claiborne Pop-up has been such a success at Bartlett's West Village store that it has been extended through this weekend. John promises to be on hand this Friday to work the register at 143 Seventh Avenue South at Charles Street. (Shophound Inbox)
And in other news:
• Starting this weekend, SoHo's Madewell will be bolstering its offerings with a special department of merchandise drawn from the Brooklyn Flea. (The Cut)
• Tell us something we don't know: Male models diet too. Surprise! (NYTimes)
• Jennifer Lopez has shuttered her U.S. apparel business, but don't worry. You can still get J.Lo sweats overseas. (WWD)
• Hollister is getting ready to out-Abercrombie itself with all sorts of titillating/offensive promotional measures building up to the big (sorry, "EPIC") store opening next month in SoHo. (RACKED)
• Aside from their usual sample sales, this Saturday, Gilt Groupe will be holding sale of special merchandise from the CFDA's Health is Beauty collection designed by Diane von Furstenberg, Michael Kors, Donna Karan, Patrick Robinson and Talbots. Proceeds will benefit the CFDA's two health initiatives. Click HERE for the exclusive invitation you will need to shop the collection, and while you are there, check out the upcoming sales including Amrita Sing's jewelry, Zac Posen Handbags, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Hunter Boots wellies and, next Monday, Christian Lacroix.

Mike Albo Goes Shopping: Outer Borough Sale Shop Edition

This week's critical shopper Mike Albo discovers that in the world of Paul Smith, service levels directly correlate to discounts in the designer's various boutiques around the city.
The longtime Smith fan finds disappointment at the designer's recently opened sale shop in Williamsburg when the discounts are underwhelming and the sales staff's demeanor and storekeeping skills are downright disagreeable.

When I walked up to the new Paul Smith store in Williamsburg, one of the salesclerks, a young woman, was busy texting in the doorway. She looked up from her keypad. “Hihowareyou,” she said under her breath, with a dead face. (I am fluent in the language of retail, and this means: “Oh, great. A person.”)
“Oh, don’t worry!” I said, like the overfriendly doormat that I am. “You can keep texting!” She glared at me, turned and walked into the store.

Welcome to Williamsburg!
And yet, a few days, a bit of tidying up and, most importantly, a jump in the discount from 30% to 70% makes all the difference for Mike, just as it would for us.
We have to wonder, however, if Smith's year-round clearance store has anything to do with the vexing absence of a Paul Smith sample sale this season, which would be a bummer for us provincial Manhattanites. Are we now to trek to Williamsburg for our seasonal Paul Smith fix instead of having it practically carted to our doorstep via a jumbled room of bargains at the Chelsea Market? Such are the trials we have to suffer for our vocation.
Critical Shopper | Paul Smith Sale Shop: Where Happiness Is on Clearance By Mike Albo (NYTimes)
Paul Smith Sale Shop 280 Grand Street between Roebling and Havermeyer Streets, Williamsburg

Dueling Fashion Exhibitions: Models Uptown VS. Isabel Toledo Downtown

New York has something of an embarrassment of riches when it comes to fashion museums with a continuing roster exhibits not only from The Costume Institute at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, but also The Museum at FIT as well as occasional shows from the likes of the Museum of the City of New York and others. We are currently graced with two major shows including the Met's "The Model As Muse" extravaganza and FIT's "Isabel Toledo: Fashion from the Inside Out". The two shows are so different that it is almost pointless to compare them, except that one succeeds admirably, and the other sadly disappoints.
Isabel Toledo's profile has risen dramatically since Michelle Obama chose the designer's now famous lemongrass wool lace ensemble to wear at her husband's inauguration in January. Curators Valerie Steele and Patricia Mears get that famous outfit out of the way quickly, showcasing it alone in the exhibit's anteroom. Famous as it is, it is not Toledo's most interesting work, although photos showing its creation reveal that the original design was slightly more elaborate.
The show really starts in the museum's cavernous main room. While she has been well known to the public for only a few months, the designer has been admired by fashion insiders since her first show in 1985, and this presentation focuses on her rigorous design philosophy and innovative techniques, not unlike FIT's previous shows on Madame Grès and Ralph Rucci.
Most examples are accompanied by abstract flat sketches of the garments' patterns, illuminating Toledo's ingenious cutting methods. For all the focus on the technical details of dressmaking, the show could run the risk of becoming a dry academic exercise if it weren't for the gorgeous clothes. Toledo's style runs the gamut from puritanical to erotic (sometimes within the same outfit), and her wit and humor comes through in the mysterious alchemy that great designers work with their creations.
Her inventive hand with materials and sculpting garments puts her on a par with Rucci and Azzedine Alaïa, another Obama favorite. The show almost skips over Toledo's brief but promising tenure as the designer for a revived but aborted Anne Klein Collection (the accompanying catalogue goes into greater detail) except for a painstakingly tailored coat in pink wool and a series of silk pongee "Broomstick Librarian" dresses handpainted by the designer's husband and collaborator, Reuben. He also provides a 500 foot paper frieze filled with his inimitable drawings and paintings of his wife's work circling above the exhibition spaces.
It's their collaboration that is at the heart of the show –another strong and thoughtful showing from the team at FIT
And now uptown to the Met.

More about the Costume Institute after the jump as well as videos about both shows from The Met and New York Magazine.

Ralph, Marc & Bloomingdale's Commemorate As Gay Pride Hits Middle Age

Click Images For A Larger View In A New Window

It has become traditional as June wears on for Bleecker Street's boutiques to give a nod to the West Village's traditional but slowly vanishing character. This year, the 1969 Stonewall riots, which started the modern Gay Rights movement and took place only a few blocks from Bleecker, hit their big 40^th anniversary.
Marc Jacobs, for one, has typically recognized Gay Pride, and this year he has festooned his women's and Accessory stores with rainbow graffiti and slogans. Thankfully, it appears that he has avoided revisiting last year's poorly received "Rebel Pride" t-shirt.

Now that he has even more Bleecker frontage, Ralph Lauren has upgraded his displays from the clever but spare racks of Polo shirts arranged in rainbow formation he has used in recent years. This year, he has added a more dynamic window design promoting a $10 "Live Colorful" tote bag his stores are selling to benefit the Hetrick Martin Institute. The bags read "I Kiss Girls" or "I Kiss Boys" depending on whom you feel like kissing (presumably, bisexuals will be encouraged to buy both).

Interestingly, the most respectful commemoration is not in the West Village, but a neighborhood away in SoHo, where Bloomingdale's has installed windows specifically referencing the uprisings that began at the Stonewall Inn. Mannequins free of merchandise depicting a retro Christopher Street scene are affectionately styled as West Village stereotypes (OK, the Madonna t-shirt is slightly less retro, but entirely appropriate) recalling some of the recently republished photographs of the riots including a protesting drag queen carrying a placard with her rebel cry:

We are the Stonewall Girls
We wear our hair in curls!
We wear our dungarees
Above our nelly knees!

Silly, yes, but still apparently effective.
Marc Jacobs 385 & 403-405 Bleecker Street
Ralph Lauren 381 & 383 Bleecker Street, West Village
Bloomingdale's 504 Broadway, SoHo

International Additions: Desigual Erupts In SoHo

Ever wonder what it would look like if one of those old Putumayo stores got wasted on mushrooms and threw up all over the place? (and really, who hasn't?)
Ladies and Gentlemen we give you Desigual, the newest inhabitant of the Broadway storefront that most recently housed the reviled Kira Plastinina.
We're beginning to think this space is cursed.
Desigual is a Spanish sportswear company with stores throughout Europe that sells through department stores like Macy's and is making its New York début with this store. There may, in fact, be one or two attractive items of clothing in this place, but you would need the sharpest of eyes and instincts to pick them out through the cacophony of prints and bedazzling that fills this shop.
As an improvement, Desigual has blacked out Kira's pink and white fantasia décor, but then graffiti'd its walls with self consciously cheery phrases like "It is not the same since 1984", and "Happy ideas all the time!!".
Up on the mezzanine there is a men's or "Man-kid" department offering only slightly more subdued options that made us shudder a little. If this were a cheap, throwaway kind of store, we could understand it for teenagers or anyone with an affinity for LSD or other psychedelia, but unlike its compatriot, Zara, the prices at Desigual are more like those at Diesel, and by that we mean curiously high.
For now, the store is mostly hidden under scaffolding, which may be just as well. After being graced with more successful international imports like Topshop, Mango and even Eryn Brinié, we suppose it was only a matter of time until this sort of thing washed up on our shores.
Desigual 594 Broadway between Houston & Prince Streets, SoHo.

The Spree Charity Shopping On Fire Island This Weekend & Other Stories

The Summer Charity Shopping tour usually stays in the Hamptons, but this weekend it will be jumping the bay to Fire Island Pines with Shopping On Sunday where a host of designers including Calvin Klein, Diesel, DSQUARED², Michael Kors and Prada will be offering more than 2000 discounted items for sale to benefit various LGBT charitable organizations. In addition, fashion shows will be staged throughout the afternoon by Project Runway alums, and up and coming designer Kai D will be offering 100 special t-shirts for the event.
Oh, and since it's the Pines there will obviously be an open bar, so drink up.
S.O.S. 11 AM - 3 PM, Fradd Theatre and Lepage Pavilion, Whyte Hall, Fire Island Pines (Shophound Inbox)

• An Australian Designer named Katie Perry who has been in business for two years is getting trademark heat from singer Katy Perry who may be starting a clothing line of her own... because that will help her sing better, of course. (Fashionista)
• Columnist Michael Musto was unceremoniously dumped from an ad campaign for Daffy's. Dodged a bullet there, Musto. (Village Voice)
• The crowd at the Dyptique sale is full of unruly, greedy candle freaks! (RACKED)
• The economy strikes: Adam Lippes ditches menswear for now. He better not stop making those t-shirts. (WWD)
• You like model Tao Okamoto's cute little haircut? Thank 81-year-old Vidal Sassoon who basically invented it in the '60s and was just made a CBE (that's Commander of the British Empire -not quite a Sir) by Her Royal Majesty. (BBC)
• Phillip Lim's Los Angeles  boutique looks even more dramatic than the SoHo one. Undulating walls are the new minimalist white box. (Selectism)
• Iconic British coatmaker Crombie will be rescuing iconic British trench coatmaker Aquascutum from oblivion. (Financial Times)
• A look backstage at a Dolce & Gabbana underwear shoot starring the Italian Swim Team. Yes, that's the Italian Swim Team. There's video too. You're welcome. (SWIDE)
• The Strand Bookstore has finally eliminated that pesky bag check as legions of literary murse carriers rejoice! (RACKED)
• Coach designer Reed Krakoff, ever in search of exclusive prestige, is said to be developing an eponymous line at the company. (Fashion Week Daily)
• Get ready to channel your inner Norma Desmond. Turbans are coming back! (Refinery 29)
• In the event that it keeps raining (and it looks like it will), you will probably find yourself surfing Gilt Groupe who will be offering sales from Geren Ford , Richard Chai Men's, Habitual, INHABIT and Barton Perreira Sunglasses among others over the weekend. Click HERE for your exclusive invitation.