The Shophound

Shopping Party Redux: Fashion's Night Out Returns In 2010

Like any blockbuster, Fashion's Night Out is getting a sequel.
The immense shopping and entertainment event will be restaged again on the eve of Fashion Week on September 9^th, 2010, with every indication of it becoming an annual occasion. While last September's inaugural edition snowballed into a behemoth including 700 stores in New York alone, the plan is to make it even bigger, which hardly seems possible. The CFDA's goal is to expand the event beyond New York to other cities. Though many participating stores reported more drinking and partying than actual shopping, most retailers appreciated the positive attention on their businesses, though many designers would surely have preferred a bit more distance from Fashion Week. For them, it's like having to throw a big party while they cram for final exams.
On the plus side, everyone agrees that a much longer lead time will allow for better planning and organization. In other words, they'll know exactly how much booze to order.
Fashion's Night Out to Be Repeated in 2010 (WWD)

Gilt Groupe Update:Gilt Man Débuts Monday As Offerings Expand

Gilt Groupe customers got some good news in their inboxes today as the expanding online retailer announced the launch of Gilt Man this coming Monday, October 19^th. The new subsite will collect and expand the company's menswear offerings promising more accessories, sports and home items like Bogner skiwear, Smith Optical snow goggles and Strida folding bikes. The site will continue to be available to anyone with a Gilt membership (click HERE for an invitation). Upcoming sales on both sites include Leonello Borghi, Ike Behar, Rogue's Gallery, Tocca, Valentino Roma, Monarchy, and Bally.
It’s a Gilt Man’s World (Gilt Blog & Shophound Inbox)

Today In Underpants: Armani Switches Footballers Beckham Out. Ronaldo In.

Giorgio Armani has a new sports icon to plaster all over town.
Portuguese football star and international heartthrob Christiano Ronaldo (right) has been named the new "official worldwide testimonial" for Emporio Armani Underwear and Armani Jeans. We assume this means he will be appearing in his underpants on billboards all over the world starting early next year. He replaces David Beckham who declined to renew his contract with the designer. So far no new images have been released, so we have to rerun these old Beckham pictures. We know it pains you to have to look at them again, but as soon as we have the fresh media we promise to get it out to you as soon as possible. Beckham is said to be pursuing an underwear deal of his own, so you can still expect to see him in him in his skivvies for years to come.
Basically it's a win-win.
Fashion Scoops: Beckham Said Seeking Underwear Deal (WWD) & Shophound Inbox

Liz Claiborne Follow Up: Macy's Is An 800 Pound Gorilla

Of course, this headline isn't really news to anybody, but reading WWD's more detailed report this morning on the shift of the Liz Claiborne label to a JCPenney exclusive brand, one thing is clear: The decision was all about Macy's.
The failure of the relaunched line to gain traction at the behemoth department store chain sealed its fate, regardless of how it may have been selling in other stores like Dillard's or BonTon.
The article suggest that Claiborne executives were having difficulty getting the label into Macy's most favorable locations despite a large presence in the Herald Square Flagship. “You make your money in 20 percent of the doors and we weren’t in them,” Liz Claiborne CEO William L. McComb tells the publication. Without Macy's support, there was no possible future for the brand as a stand-alone business, and so the decision to make a deal with JCPenney was the only option for keeping the label alive. Penney's agreement includes an option to buy the Liz Claiborne name outright after five years, and the retailer will now replace its existing Liz & Co. and Concepts by Claiborne menswear branded lines with the Liz Claiborne and Claiborne labels.
While Isaac Mizrahi's association with the name will continue via an exclusive arrangement with QVC, the Claiborne by John Bartlett menswear label will be folded, and we don't yet know if the Spring 2010 collection he showed last month will be produced at all. Macy's was particularly resistant to carrying this line despite strong reviews from the press and the few customers who could get their hands on it, and only carried a small selection online.
As for Macy's, they don't seem to sorry to see the line go, having signed an exclusive deal themselves this week to take the famous Ellen Tracy brand from the bridge down to the moderate department, and it is expected that the label will take up most of the lost Claiborne space and then some. Today's Macy's is actually comprised of the remnants of more than 60 local, regional and national department store chains (seriously, we counted them one day when we had too much time on our hands), and the Claiborne news proves in the most high profile way that without their support, there is no future for any major moderate-level brand.
New Life for Liz: Claiborne Goes Exclusive to Penney’s, QVC (WWD)
Breaking: Claiborne by John Bartlett to Close (RACKED)

Saved By A Sheikh: Lacroix Lives

We never really thought that the house of Christian Lacroix would disappear entirely. It was just a matter of how it would survive, and in what form. Today brings word that, as has been rumored, the maison will be sold to Al Hassan Bin Al Nuaimi, an Ajman sheikh who reportedly plans to preserve the core Haute Couture operations of the infamously loss producing label. No further details have been released, and this is all pending the approval of French courts. Many will be relieved that Lacroix will not have to miss a single Couture season, and, hopefully, a new prêt-à-porter line will be in the works soon.
Lacroix Inks Deal with Ajman Sheikh (WWD)

Appreciation: Irving Penn, 1917—2009

As a photography fan, we would be remiss in not recognizing the death yesterday morning of Irving Penn, one of the pillars of 20^th Century Photography whose influence and reputation were matched only by Richard Avedon. The New Jersey native's career also flourished at Vogue under Alexander Liberman, who encouraged him to move from graphic design to photography when, astonishingly, he was having difficulty attracting others to shoot the magazine's covers to his liking. Penn moved nimbly from fashion to portraiture to still life. It would be nearly impossible for us to publish a portfolio of his work here, which is where Google Images comes in so handy. Just type in 'Irving Penn' and enjoy the work of a true master.
Irving Penn, Fashion Photographer, Is Dead at 92 (NYTimes)

Brand Bulletin: Liz Claiborne To Become JCPenney Exclusive Next Year While Premier Collection Goes To QVC

Liz Claiborne will be giving its customers another reason to hit the lower levels of the Manhattan Mall next year as its flagship line becomes an exclusive collection with JCPenney next Fall. WWD reports that a licensing deal has been struck that will remove the Liz Claiborne label from Macy's, Dillard's, BonTon, Belk and all the other moderate department stores around the U.S., and send it directly to Penney's. The premium, Liz Claiborne New York collection designed by Isaac Mizrahi, which was launched with much fanfare earlier this year, will now be available exclusively through QVC. We're not sure that's exactly what Isaac signed on for, but he has been known to roll with the punches pretty well. Both exclusivity deals have Liz Claiborne providing design with the retailers handling production and marketing for their respective labels. JCPenney already has an exclusive arrangement to sell the Liz & Co. label in its stores.
No word on how this deal affects the Claiborne by John Bartlett men's collection which has had more challenges in gaining retail exposure, but had strong response for Spring 2010. More details should become available soon.
Liz Claiborne Goes Exclusive to Penney’s, QVC (WWD)

Collaboration Update: Sonia Rykiel To Spend Holidays With H&M

WWD tells us that the ultimate Parisienne, Sonia Rykiel, will provide H&M's next designer collaboration collection, appearing in stores only weeks after the chain's upcoming Jimmy Choo collaboration launch. The retailer's first co-branded lingerie line with the renowned French designer will hit the floors at 1,500 of the Swedish chain's stores on December 5^th for Holiday selling, to be followed by an accessories and knitwear line, described as "iconic", for women and girls for Spring 2010. The Spring collection will début in a much more restricted 250 doors worldwide on February 20^th.
In a first for H&M, the lingerie line will also be made available outside of the chain. Rykiel's devoted cult of customers will not have to brave the masses at the chain's branches, as the collection will also be sold through Rykiel's own boutiques around the world.
H&M Taps Rykiel As Its Next Guest Designer (WWD)

Today In Head Scratchers: Ungaro Officially Taps Lohan For Consulting Post

In what is either a brilliant marketing move or a cynical, last-ditch effort to save a floundering label (probably the latter, we are sorry to say), the House of Emanuel Ungaro has confirmed the longstanding rumor that tabloid queen Lindsay Lohan has been hired as an "Artistic Advisor". This news would tend to overshadow the rather more significant development that the little known Estrella Archs has been appointed Chief Designer for Ungaro. Though her website lists only five wholesale accounts, a look at Archs' collections suggests a style that could potentially work well with what is left of the famously sexy, colorful Ungaro aesthetic. Since the house has installed one of fashion's most notorious revolving doors, we expect that there is plenty of good will out there for the designer to finally revive the label. The same, however, is not likely to be said for her co-appointee.
Lohan's rumored involvement at Ungaro is reportedly one of the things that led to the tortured departure of previous designer Esteban Cortazar, another young in a string of young, well liked designers who have passed through the legendary house. Exactly what Lohan's role is remains fuzzy, although WWD reports that her multi-year contract includes appearances at trunk shows and “be where the activities of the brand are,” according to Ungaro CEO Mounir Moufarrige.
Also on the line is Moufarrige's professional reputation. Admired for successfully reviving the Chloé label a decade ago, he has found the same task at Ungaro challenging to say the least.
Archs and Lohan's first collection will be presented on October 4^th in Paris. Brace yourselves.
Ungaro Taps Lindsay Lohan, Archs (WWD)

Bankruptcy Du Jour: Will Escada's Trip To SoHo Get Canceled?

The huge German fashion concern known as Escada has been under pressure since long before the recession added more stress last year. It's main problem has been an identity crisis so severe that younger design teams and ad campaigns by the likes of Steven Meisel have not been able to deliver the label from its image as a luxurious but glitzy and occasionally matronly brand. In other words, despite some well placed red carpet coverage, they were never able to convince younger customers that it was not "your mother's Escada" so to speak.
Now, the company is on the verge of filing for planned insolvency, the closest thing to Chapter 11 bankruptcy that German laws allow. Its most recent creative director, Damiano Biella, left the company shortly after the lavish party launching a new in-store shop at Saks Fifth Avenue. We like think of that night as the last extravagant store party before the bottom fell out of luxury retail last Fall.
Anyway, what does this mean for Escada stores around here?
The company's upcoming Escada Sport boutique on Broadway in SoHo has had its construction delayed by permits and approvals only recently granted, so progress there is limited. We tend to wonder if it will ever open now. If Escada is completely liquidated, then the highly desirable space will be up for grabs. More likely is the possibility that the brand will be sold, though there is no guarantee that a new owner will want to invest in a costly SoHo boutique, or if there even will be a Sport label for the brand at all in the future.
Call it developing.
Escada Close to Insolvency Filing/Escada's Financial Woes Mount (WWD)