« October 2014 | Main | December 2014 »

COLLABORATION AFTERMATH:

There's A Surprising Amount Of Alexander Wang x H&M Left In Stores

  • AWANGxHM-48th5th
  • AWANGxHM-ColumbusCircle
AWANGxHM-ColumbusCircle

As regular readers know, The Shophound sat out last weeks coverage of the Alexander Wang x H&M in-store launch because, at this point, we felt like we had a pretty good idea what kind of frenzy to expect, and by all reports we were right. Our friends at RACKED noted yesterday that there was a small trove of the collaboration spotted in one of the SoHo H&M stores, so when we were passing through The Shops at Columbus Circle, we stopped in to see what dregs were left in that store. Well, there were more than just dregs. We saw three racks packed with goods and while it was fairly random, we saw multiple units of a few major pieces incluing the Padded Leather Jackets for both men and women and quite a few shoe boxes. Today, when we were out checking on the big new TOPSHOP on Fifth Avenue (more on that later), we popped into the current biggest H&M Flagship in the world (or North America, or whatever) at 48th Street and found a whole corner of the main floor packed with leftover Wang. Possibly some of it is returned goods from customers with second thoughts, but there's enough there for customers who think they totally missed out on the event to get some nice pieces without resorting to eBay scalpers selling the collection at inflated prices. Again, it's a random mix, but there were a good amount of the Women's Parka and the Men's Windbreaker with removable down vests, several stretchy dresses, a bunch of Whistle Rings and quite a few of the leather pieces and various sweats and tanks amongst the racks. Also, tons of shoes. The other Fifth Avenue store at 52nd Street had nothing, so clearly there's some consolidation going on. While we would love to canvas the entire city to see what's left at all the other branches, well, we aren't going to, but at this point, it seems likely that the other larger branches will have a few racks of the collection left, at least for the moment. Of course, none of it has been marked down yet, but it's worth noting that H&M tends not to like having these big collaborations linger in stores for too long, so price reductions could come sooner than you might expect. Keep your eyes peeled for that, but in the meantime, if you thought you totally missed out on anything good from this collection, it's worth taking another look this weekend.

Previously:
Collabortation Anticipation: It's WANG Day At H&M And It's Going To Be Crazy


THE HOLIDAY SHOPHOUND:

Capsule Market Square Returns
In Three Weeks

CapsuleMarketSquare
The Shophound's favorite Holiday Shopping event of last year has announced its return, so mark your calendars. Capsule Market Square, a special three-day shopping event organized by the Capsule trade shows, will be held from December 5 - 8. This time it has moved from SoHo to Chelsea at Center 548, which will be familiar as a former location for the show in its earlier, smaller days. Once again, instead of a wholesale trade show, Capsule Market Square will feature 100 vendors with goods ready to buy and open to the general public including men’s and women’s ap­parel, accessories, home goods, art and furniture. The offerings are expected to include one-of-a-kind pieces, overstock, sam­ples, current merchandise and special products made just for the event. This would normally be enough of an attraction, but the big surprise last year was that many of the vendors were offering great discounts, so it turned out to be something of a very well-appointed sample sale including labels like Mark McNairy and Naked & Famous and many more who aren't often found on the regular sale circuit.
Okay, so we really only wound up buying gifts for ourself, but still, it was one of the best shopping opportunities of the season.
The vendor list is yet to be posted, but if it is anything like last year's, it should be quite an impressive collection, discounted or not. Friday night's session is a ticket VIP-only event with tickets available HERE. Saturday and Sunday will be open to all comers, but if the sale offers are repeated, the $50 VIP ticket will be more than covered by the savings on great items that might be gone before public shopping starts. We'll have more information as it is released, but this one is definitely worth a mark on your calendars and a return visit this year.

Capsule Market Square December 5 - 7 at Center 548, 548 West 22nd Street, Chelsea


JON CARAMANICA GOES SHOPPING:

SoHo Fraternal Twins Edition

13zCRITICAL5-articleLargeThe Critical Shopper is still alive in today's Thursday Styles after a three week hiatus. This week, Jon Caramanica alerts us to a pair of stores in SoHo that have quietly opened on what is apparently an "inhospitable" block of Greene Street. We didn't know that SoHo had an inhospitable block, but perhaps this is his way of saying that The Real McCoy's and Blue in Green both imports from Japan, are not meant for the high profile, brand building spotlight of Broadway or even Prince and Spring Streets. They are for connoisseurs, and to prove it, our shopper takes a pre-emptive prelude to the Kinokuniya bookstore in Midtown to visit its stock of men's fashion magazines peculiar to Japan which are obsessively focused on the arcane details of American workwear and vintage denim.

"Oh no," The Shophound thought, "More heritage stuff." Yes, the menswear "Heritage Brand" movement of the past few years has revived many a dormant brand and revived domestic apparel production on an encouraging level, but, as it has crested, it has also become something of a creative rabbit hole that put its biggest fans at risk of becoming walking archival projects. It's no wonder that current trends center around athletic wear, the most technologically advanced fashion category, as if everyone suddenly realized that that stiff down-to-the-last-stitch replica of a 1940s work jacket would never actually be comfortable or flattering and looked to the future. Still, taken in moderation, Heritage fashion does have its charms, and The Real McCoy is just that kind of place where you can spend hundreds of dollars on a pedigreed pair of jeans with the consistency of cardboard. "I tried on the narrowest fit, which was still wide enough to hide ankle weights. A salesclerk said that he once drew blood trying them on, and it was by no means clear if he was joking," he tells us, and we can just picture delightful process of braking them in over the course of... how long? A year? Two years? Next door, however is Blue in Green the sibling shop, a multi-brand store with a less rigid sense of historical verisimilitude that actually gave birth to and spun off The Real McCoys. Our shopper is particularly taken with its stock of the Japanese label Kapital.

If everyone in the world had to live in Berkeley, this would be the clothing of the elite. One denim shirt had colorful embroidered cats, and there was a phenomenally formless coat made of melton wool that was able to be worn at least four different ways ($1,120), at least during the five minutes I indulged in wearing it around the store.

So, still, not quite the store for every guy, but tucked away in SoHo exactly where it's adventurous customers are most likely to find it.

Critical Shopper: For the Hard Work of Looking Good By Jon Caramanica (NYTimes)
Blue in Green 8 Greene Street
The Real McCoy's 10 Greene Street both between Canal & Grand Streets, SoHo


THE WINDOW WATCHER:

Barneys' Baz-Dazzled Holiday Promotion To Debut On Thursday
+
Unveiling Dates For Lord & Taylor,
Saks & Bergdorf's

Bazz-bazzled01
Thanksgiving is kinda late-ish this year, which seems to have given New York's retailers license to unveil their Holiday windows as early as possible. Walk past Manhattan's big stores this week and see all the windows conspicuously shrouded as the visual teams furiously work to get those lights and tinsel trees in place. Barneys' highly publicized promotion with film director Baz Luhrmann is set to be unveiled tomorrow, just as the weather is finally expected to cool down to something reasonably appropriate for the Holiday season (it is currently 61˚F  outside as we type this). 
Barneys has a lot riding on the Luhrmann collaboration. It's Holiday promotions have hit sour notes for the past three years running which is particularly embarrassing for a store whose hilarious Holiday windows were once the talk of the town and one of the store's signature elements. This time, under Luhrmann's direction, the store will be going big and reintroducing some glitter and whimsy back into its newly super-serious minimalistic store. The Madison Avenue storefront will be covered with an elaborate façade (rendering pictured above), and, beyond just having animated displays, Luhrmann, is wife and creative partner Catherine Martin and designer Zaldy have been creating elaborate costumes for live performers who will appear in the windows and on the store's balconies throughout the season. Shoppers can look forward to ice skaters in the windows and a dancer/contortionist called Elphresh who will appear in a glittering gold romper. Weekends will bring the Queens of Night and Light appearing hourly on the store's second floor balconies in voluminous ballgowns to serenade the Madison Avenue crowds and more. We are cautiously optimistic that, after forays into celebrity, cartoons, ostentatious hip-hop-tinged special items and pretentious artsy-fartsy-ness, the folks currently running Barneys may have finally found their way back to the kind of sensibility that originally endeared New Yorkers to Barneys in the first place. If this Holiday promotion resonates with customers, maybe they will re-evaluate that "Taste! Luxury! Humor!" slogan they were so quick to dismiss.
Anyway, Barneys isn't the only store throwing itself a party tomorrow. Lord & Taylor, which is undergoing its own ongoing rejuvenation program, will be lighting up its windows on Thursday as well.
Bergdorf Goodman will be unveiling its windows, currently the city's most acclaimed, on Monday the 17th. The UNICEF Snowflake over the intersection of Fifth Avenue and 57th Street will also be lit simultaneously, and 10% of the evening's proceeds will be donated to the U.S. fund for UNICEF.
Saks Fifth Avenue is conservatively holding its Holiday window reveal back until Monday November 24. With new ownership and management, the store is also looking to make a splash, so say goodbye to those illuminated dancing snowflakes on the façade that the store has presented in the past seasons. This year, Saks is promising The Rockettes themselves at the unveiling as well as a display from Fireworks by Grucci. The windows will pay tribute to the Roaring '20s and include brand new high-tech projections and lighting schemes. The launch will be live-streamed at Saks.com.
Bloomingdale's will be celebrating its windows on Monday as well with a live performance from Broadway star Idina Menzel at 5 PM on the Beacon Court of the Bloomberg Building across 59th Street along with the cast of the Off-Broadway show Illuminate.
Plan to leave work early.

Previously:
The Holiday Race: Barneys Taps Baz Luhrmann For One More Shot At Holiday Glory


SAMPLE CIRCUIT:

Another Packed Sale Week With
Steven Alan, Public School, &
A Giorgio Armani Finale

There is no rest for the hungry sale shopper in November.
There is a full helping of seasonal faves this week in the SALE ROLL at left, so here are some key highlights,

After some rumored confusion, the CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN appears to be actually happening starting today. As always, entry sans exclusive invite will probably get easier as the week wears on, so time your visit carefully. Official end date is on Friday, so look left to see the updated details.

Today also marks the opening of contemporary favorite REBECCA TAYLOR's sale at 260 Fifth Avenue. This one always draws crowds, but there should be enough merchandise to last through Saturday the 15th.

Is this the season's first HELMUT LANG sale or its third? We can't keep track of these guys, but usually when their sales are at Chelsea Market, the goods seem fresher. This time, the newly revived men's collection designed by Alexandre Plokhov will be included, so that should draw a new element to the sale. Runs through Sunday the 16th.

Thursday the 13th should bring a long line to THE NEWS showroom in SoHo whose stable of brands has only gotten hotter in the past few years. CHEAP MONDAY has always been a draw, but marquee names this season are PUBLIC SCHOOL, COMMON PROJECTS, SACAI and TIM COPPENS among a host of other up-and-coming labels. This one is a three day affair ending on Saturday, but it's also one where the best stuff goes fast, especially from the most coveted designers.

Thursday will also bring a line to STEVEN ALAN's place in TriBeCa for what has become an annual sale. The house brand gets the best discount at 70% off. Other labels will be a mere half price, but prepare to contend with the multitudes pawing through those racks of great shirts. Runs through Sunday.

Finally, the week's heavy hitter makes his dramatic entrance on Saturday when Soiffer Haskin opens the doors to GIORGIO ARMANI's big multi-label sale for men and women. Every label except A|X will be represented including the main Collection, Emporio, Collezioni, and Armani Jeans, so there should be a nice range of price points. Expect the facility's strict checkroom policy to be in full effect so don't bring bags with you and leave the kids at home. This sale is serious business. Runs through Wednesday the 19th.

Of course, that's not nearly everything. there are also big sales from ADAM LIPPES, TIBI, SHOSHANNA, TRACY REESE, BOTKIER, JENNY PACKHAM, YIGAL AZROUËL and WOOLRICH, so there's a major bargain to be found every day. Keep an eye on the SALE ROLL for breaking new sales, and remember not to buy anything we wouldn't buy.


FASHION ON THE AIR:

If You Are Disappointed
By E!'s House Of DVF, Then Watch Ovation's The Fashion Fund

HouseofDVFLast week, the E! Network debuted a highly anticipated reality show, House of DVF, featuring a group of young women vying to be the next "Brand Ambassador" for Diane von Furstenberg. The hook here was supposed to be a fashion based reality show set in an actual, successful designer firm with the added bonus of appearances from one of the industry's most widely admired designers and businesswomen. The presence of the beloved and sage DVF herself would have to elevate the show out of the usual morass of reality show clichés, right?
Oh, well, better luck next time.
It turns out that you need a lot more than a venerable eminence grise on hand to bring some dignity to the proceedings.
First of all, what is a "Brand Ambassador" anyway? So far it looks like it is a glorified intern, and the girls in competition for the supposedly plum job are still more like reality show contestants than serious, aspiring businesswomen. While DVF makes her appearances and eliminations much like Tyra Banks still does in the not terribly dissimilar Americas Next Top Model (yes, apparently somebody is still watching this) running the competition seems to be relegated to the company's Creative Brand Director Stefani Greenfield, also known as the founder of Scoop NYC and a fairly accomplished person in her own right. Here, however she seems to be reduced to directing a group of clueless ninnies who are encouraged to bitch about each other in the petty ways that reality stars will. By the end of the first hour, the whole enterprise of the show is swiftly revealed to be nothing more than the same old reality competition schtick as the most vacuous of the girls is sent packing, and good riddance. 

Nominees-cvffWhat a waste of an hour, but then there is already a much better fashion reality fashion show that started its second season only a few days after The House of DVF made its regrettable premiere. You still have a few opportunities to catch this season's first episode of The Fashion Fund on Ovation before the second installment is broadcast in its usual time slot on Wednesday at 10 PM. This show follows the actual young designers vying for the annual CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund prize as they proceed through a series of challenges and meetings with the fund board lead by Anna Wintour herself and CFDA CEO Steven Kolb and including prominent industry figures like Theory's Andrew Rosen, Neiman Marcus's Ken Downing, Nordstrom and Jeffrey's Jeffrey Kalinsky, J.Crew's Jenna Lyons, Reed Krakoff, Rag & Bone's Marcus Wainwright and David Neville and, of course, Diane von Furstenberg, the CFDA President. The main difference between the shows is that the contestants here are real hardworking people (pictured above left) with going, though in many cases tiny, businesses spanning the industry including men's and women's fashion, shoes, accessories and even hats. Some of them are operating on a shoestring, and some of them are competing for the second time, but the stakes are real, and they haven't been cast for their looks, personalities or propensitiy to stir up drama and conflict. They have been chosen for their creative skills and talents. They aren't competing for a contrived job but for funds and mentorships from the CFDA to help them develop their real brands. There is no scolding contestants for bad behavior, just watching them work earnestly to solve the challenges they have been handed. The judges are as much cheerleaders as they are arbiters, and another of the show's pleasures is getting to see how real, influential fashion designers, executives and editors make their decisions, and what they are looking for in new talent. Here you will find the inspiring DVF who seems to be missing from her own show, funny, smart and insightful. The only drawback to the show is that the finale gets spoiled before the first episode has aired, robbing it of some essential suspense.
But then, this show is more about the journey than the destination.
Take that hour you might have wasted on House of DVF and give it to The Fashion Fund instead. The-Fashion-Fund-banner-I7-0JHY-4D3N-6QGV-origYour brain will thank you for it.

The Fashion Fund (Official Ovation Web Page)
House of DVF (Official E! Web Page)


THIS WEEK ONLINE:

Victoria Beckham, Vera Wang, Alexander McQueen, Elie Tahari, Jimmy Choo, Rebecca Minkoff, Bottega Veneta, Salvatore Ferragamo, Filson

Here is your weekly sampling of some of the brands you can expect to find on the bigger online Flash Sale Sites this week. You should click over to the sites themselves for a full schedule of events, and be sure to check for the correct start time for each sale. Happy clicking!

GILT GROUPE
Vera Wang, Tracy Anderson, Céline, Alexander McQueen, Swarovski, 7 for All Mankind, Sandro, Eberjey, Moncler, La Roche-Posay, Jenni Kayne, Kooba, TOD's, Portolano, Lucien Piccard, Eleven Paris, Garrett Leight, John Varvatos ★ USA, Bruno Magli, Barque, Ben Sherman, Garnier Thiebault, Luigi Bormioli, Brown Jordan, Kitchen Aid, D.L. & Co., Tivoli Audio, Sferra —join HERE
RUE LA LA
Elie Tahari, TailorByrd, Gorjana, ALEX Toys, Kokin Hats, Badgley Mischka, Dr. Brandt, Akribos XXIV Watches, Andrew Marc, Zobha Yoga, Ike Behar, Miriam Merenfeld Jewelry, Taryn Rose, June Basch, C.Wonder, Helen Jon Swimwear, Miriam Salat, Safavieh, Susana Monaco, Brera Oroligi, Tahari ASL, Sharper Image, Porsamo Bleu Watches, Shoshanna, Huckberry —join HERE
BELLE & CLIVE
Burberry, Fendi, Gucci, IKase by Murano, Jimmy Choo, Rebecca Minkoff, Badgley Mischka, JILL Jill Stuart, Bottega Veneta, 525 America, Teilla, Just Cavalli, Kenneth Cole, Raven Denim —join HERE
HAUTE LOOK
Frankie B, UGG Australia, Ella Moss, Big Star, Tommy HIlfiger, NYDJ, Elie Tahari, Kier & J Cashmere, Miz Mooz, Wusthof, Calvin Klein Rugs, Kenneth Cole Reaction, Madden Girl, Schutz, Façonnable, Gola UK, C-IN2, Tateossian, James Jeans, Versace Scarves, GANT by Michael Bastian, Stone Rose, Antonio Maurizi, Diesel, Filson, Vinc Camuto, Giorgio Fedon 1919 —join HERE
MY HABIT
Fendi, Tracy Reese, Charlotte Olympia, Kooba, Nic+Zoe, Rockport, BlankNYC, Joe's Jeans, ESQ Movado, Phyto, Sofia Cashmere, Nautica, Geox, Kenneth Cole, Rogue, Steeltime Jewelry, Mont Blanc, Maker & Co., English Laundry, Mezlan, Cole Haan, Kalorik, Miu France —join HERE
VENTE PRIVEE
Victoria Beckham, Salvatore Ferragamo, Luciano Barbera, Oakley, A&R Cashmere, Zanetti, Catherine Malandrino, French Connection, Current/Elliott, Ecco, Farberware, Belle Fare —join HERE

TECH TIME:

The Michael Bastian x Hewlett Packard Smartwatch Launches Today

MBxHP1
You may be waiting for the AppleWatch to become available in the coming months, but for those with less patience and less affection for futuristically styled timepieces, the smartwatch designed by Michael Bastian for Hewlett-Packard is available now on Gilt.com. Created with the objective of marrying smart technology with elegant style, it is a rugged alternative to the space-age styling that many tech-savvy yet fashionable folks may not care to sport on their wrists every day. The Chronowing, as it is called, after Bastian's wing insignia, may not have the capacity for third party apps that the AppleWatch is promising, but it will sync with iOS and Android, bringing email, texts and other data to your easily accessible wrist. It will also hold its charge for up to a week, which seems to be way longer than Apple is promising, and comes in two stylish versions including the basic stainless steel with three interchangeable straps for $349 and a limited edition all-black version with an alligator strap made in a limited run of 300 with an authenticity card hand signed by the designer himself for $649. Both are available exclusively through Gilt.com. Have a look at the gallery below for more images.

Chronowing Smartwatch (Official Site)
Michael Bastian x Hewlett-Packard (Gilt.com)
Previously:
Tech Race: Will Michael Bastian's Smartwatch Beat Apple's To Market?

  • MBxHP2
  • MBxHP3
  • MBxHP4
  • MBxHP5
MBxHP5

RETAIL REVAMP:

An All-New Eddie Bauer Appears
In The Flatiron District

EddieBauer5thave
A couple of years ago, The Shophound was invited to some press previews for retailer Eddie Bauer which was trying to revamp itself after a bankruptcy that closed its large but dull Manhattan stores along with many others around the country. As it usually does at such events, the merchandise looked fresh and appealing, and we wondered how long it would be before Eddie Bauer could bring its new self back to the city.
About four years, apparently.
This week, the Seattle based chain came back to New York with a 1,500 square foot store at Fifth Avenue and 15th Street where a Bebe unit once stood. People who remember the bland Eddie Bauer stores in SoHo and Midtown that closed during the last decade should be pleasantly surprised at the new version of the brand which is really more like more like the original version. In its re-invention, the company went back to its roots as an outfitter and a pioneer in down-filled outerwear. Gone are the tables and racks of watered down khakis and pullovers. In their place you'll find some robust flannel shirts and apparel designed to withstand more serious expeditions. The store that just opened is not in its permanent incarnation, however. It will remain open through Valentine's Day when it will shut down for a full renovation that will take it to 4,000 square feet to showcase the brand's full range of product. For the moment, it is showcasing a capsule of the brand's best merchandise including it's burgeoning shoe collection, but the highlight here is the outerwear, which has been the revamped brand's greatest strength under the proprietary First Ascent label. There are plenty of down jackets, but smartly designed with functional details and eye catching designs that separate them from your basic Michelin Man puffer. The new Eddie Bauer is positioned to compete with Patagonia, L.L.Bean and The North Face, but now it has the heritage based credibility that it had been ignoring in its previous quest for mass-market domination. When it reopens later next year, we should see more of the bags and accessories as well as the fishing, expedition and camping gear that brought the brand its initial success. In the meantime, it's the perfect place to pick up a brightly colored micro-weight down vest to slip under your coat for when the Polar Vortex decides to visit us again this winter.

Eddie Bauer 100 Fifth Avenue at 15th Street, Flatiron District
Previously,
Don't Call It A Comeback: Eddie Bauer Revamps And Upgrades For Fall 2011
Eddie Bauer Charges Ahead With A New Look for Spring
Eddiebauer5thaveinside


COLLABORATION ANTICIPATION:

It's WANG Day At H&M
And It's Going To Be Crazy

RackedWangPreviewThe Shophound will not be reporting from various H&M locations around the city for the simple reason that it seems clear that the launch of the Swedish chain's collaboration with Alexander Wang looks to be the biggest, craziest, most popular collaboration it has had since, well, probably since 2004 when they first started doing them. Our friends at Racked hit the special VIP preview shopping session for press last night (at left) and reported that the racks were picked clean within an hour. It's not surprising at all. This appears to be one of the most heavily promoted collaborations the chain has ever done including not only the obligatory TV commercials and subway and outdoor advertising, but a huge celebrity pre-launch party a couple of weeks ago that included a heavily produced runway show featuring more top models than any Fashion Week runway show had on hand last season plus a rare performing appearance from Missy Elliott. So, there's all that plus the fact that of all the designers H&M has joined forces with, Alexander Wang is, so far, the most wildly popular among the young customers whose business the chain cultivates. On top of that, rather than presenting new versions of tried and true signature pieces, this collection includes brand new designs that Wang fans won't already have in their closets. The participating stores carrying the collection will open at 8 AM today, and though H&M will be implementing the color-coded bracelet timed shopping session system that has worked for past collabs, it will probably still be pandemonium. Our advice, if you want to buy any of the collection,  is to be on the retailer's website when online shopping commences and act as fast as you can.
Best of luck to you.
It's going to be a madhouse.

The Alexander Wang X H&M Preview Went Down in a Real Way (Racked NY)