SAMPLE CIRCUIT: A Rare Brooks Brothers Warehouse Sale Kicks The Sample Sale Schedule Back Into Gear With Proenza Schouler, Ghurka, Saturdays NYC & More

it's been a relatively quiet few months on the Sample Sale front, but it's about time for that to change as retailers are closing in on cancellation dates for Spring deliveries, and designers are getting ready to unload overstock and empty out their warehouses. One such warehouse is that bastion of classicism, BROOKS BROTHERS, who launched a three day shoe and accessory warehouse today just around the corner from its Midtown flagship. While the venerated retailer's elevated fare may still bee too stodgy for the fashion-y crown, it's shoe offerings have always had fans across the boars, and with most of the offerings at this sale priced at 80% off the original retail price, this will be a blowout for as long as the stock lasts. A visit this morning showed that selection may vary depending on size, so if you are a very popular size (sorry 9Ds) there may not be as many styles available as you would hope. Bog and tiny-footed folk may fare better, and the makers available include Red Wing, Allen Edmonds, the exclusive English label Peal & Co., and shoe connoisseur favorite Edward Green, whose pricey label the retailer appears to be dropping.
If shoes aren't your bag, then there are plenty of other bargains to be found like chunky knitted cashmere mufflers for under $50, hats from Stetson and Locke & Co. and various leathergoods from wallets to formal briefcases. While there is a selection of women's merchandise, the vast majority of the offerings are for men. You will immediately know if this is a sale you can't miss, and you have until Thursday to shop.

Also along the classic line, traditional leather brand GHURKA has returned to the sale schedule this week through Thursday offering up to 75% off bags and accessories for men and women, and promising enough product to fill Soiffer Haskin's cavernous facility.

Back to clothes, British contemporary sportswear chain REISS LONDON is at 260 Fifth Avenue starting today through Sunday featuring up to 70% off its men's and women's collections.

For a little bit more rarefied tastes, the celebrated PROENZA SCHOULER will be offering up to 70% off its apparel, shoes and accessories on Wooster Street in SoHo starting on Wednesday the 21st. Look for long lines of style obsessed shoppers.

Also on Wednesday, men's casual label SATURDAYS NYC will be taking up residence in Chelsea Market offering sportswear, shoes and beach basics through Sunday .

Bridal and Evening specialist ROMONA KEVEZA has become a red carpet regular, but her bridal wear also fuels her business. Both are expected to be on offer starting on Thursday for three days on Greene Street in SoHo.

Finally, Sunday brings the return of JOHN HARDY to Soiffer Haskin for the brand's seasonal clearance featuring Sterling silver, gold and precious gemstones at up to 65% off regular prices.

See our SALE ROLL sidebar for hours and locations as well as late-breaking events. Coming up, look for big names like Versace along with popular brands like Milly, The Kooples, Desigual and more.

COLLABORATION ANTICIPATION: UNIQLO's Tomas Maier Collection Arrives In 2 Months—See The Lookbook Now

All Images: UNIQLO.com

It's a collection for fans made by a fan. Uniqlo's announcement that it was collaborating with Bottega Veneta creative director Tomas Maier has caused a stir of excitement among the quiet but expansive base of customers who like casual but stylish clothing that may not turn heads like the latest Paris runway confection, but express sophisticated style in subtler ways. Most of these individuals are already Uniqlo customers, drawn in by their well priced basic cashmeres in other prosaic items as well as the erstwhile +J collection that the designer Jil Sander designed between luxury gigs and, more recently, the Lemaire collaboration that morphed into a permanent, premium Uniqlo U "LifeWear" line. It turns out that Maier himself is a Uniqlo fan as well, so who better than he to merge the style of his own signature label with the mind-boggling production capabilities of the Japanese mega-chain. Maier and Uniqlo fans will be waiting and ready when the Tomas Maier x Uniqlo collection arrives online on the evening of May 17th, and in stores on the 18th.
While he is best known for his extravagant Bottega Veneta designs, the collaboration will be done under Maier's own label. While it has been a niche brand, it actually predates his Bottega days, and is now being more heavily supported as a result of the designer's most recent contract renewal with the owners of his day job. This collaboration appears to be part of the program to raise Maier's own profile, and it expresses the casual, beachy look of his brand. The color palette includes recognizable hues from earthy neutrals as a base with shots of vibrant reds, oranges and purples. The military fatigues he has interpreted so many times make an appearance in versions of a multi pocketed jacket for men and women, meant to top swimwear for both. Maier's palm tree insignia is incorporated into prints and discreetly embroidered at the hem of tees and polo shirts, while other military details abound on shorts, and women's skirts. As with other designer collaborations from the chain, the styles will appear familiar to those who have followed Maier's label, but they will come in at Uniqlo prices, so be prepared for multiple purchases to stock up. It will be perfectly timed to provide a smart summer brach wardrobe, giving us two solid months to save up. See the collection in action below with the entire lookbook below, or click HERE to see each item in the complete collection (with prices) online to make your early picks. 

Scroll horizontally & Click each image for a larger view

Tomas Maier x Uniqlo SS18

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HUMAN RESOURCES: Riccardo Tisci To Take On Burberry Design Job ASAP

Well, you cannot say that he doesn't take full advantage of the element of surprise.
Riccardo Tisci, who exited his star-making creative role at Givenchy just over a year ago, will step into the Chief Creative Officer role at Burberry, ending speculation about what the next moves would be for both the designer and the brand. Burberry's much admired former creative leader Christopher Bailey presented his farewell collection just weeks ago, and it was expected that the next collection for the British heritage house would be created by an anonymous design team, but Tisci will be on the job fast enough to present his first collection in September, to great anticipation. The move re-unites Tisci with former Givenchy CEO Marco Gobbetti, who currently serves in the same role at Burberry. 
The move raises a few questions about Burberry's future direction. Over the past few years, the brand has merged its luxury "Prorsum" runway collection with its more accessible Burberry London and Brit labels for a unified brand presentation that pulled the label out of the top tier luxury segment, a move that has had mixed results for several brands who have executed similar consolidations. Last year, Gobbetti promised to reposition Burberry at the top of luxury segment, which would fit with the strategy of bringing in an experienced couturier like Tisci as creative director. That could mean some changes in distribution strategies for the brand which might affect its retail partners. As for Tisci, he managed to transform Givenchy with a combination of opulent women's collections and increasingly sporty men's presentations with an aesthetic ranging from the most ornate, Goth inspired ballgowns and Oscar red-carpet fare to sweatshirts festooned with intriguing prints and patterns. The breadth of his design aesthetic should serve him well at Burberry which has offered a similar range of products alongside its core product line, the ultra-classic trench coat. Upon his surprise departure from Givenchy last year, where things seemed to be chugging along nicely for all parties, rumors were strong that he would be joining Versace as its design chief as soon as his non-compete requirement had expired, but that presumption seemed to falter in recent months as some suspected that Tisci might revive his own short-lived label fueled with the fame and design clout he had built up while at Givenchy. He had been designing a sneaker and sportswear collaboration under his own name with Nike that had been well received, but it is likely that that team-up is finished with Tisci's new position. "I have an enormous respect for Burberry's British heritage and global appeal and I am excited about the potential of this exceptional brand,” says the designer in a statement. “I am honoured and delighted to be joining Burberry and reuniting with Marco Gobbetti." Fashion fans will be waiting anxiously to see what the new collaboration has to offer as one more of the industry's "orphan" star designers finally finds a home.

EXIT STAGE LEFT: Barneys Has Ditched The Upper West Side

While the imminent arrival of Nordstrom near Columbus Circle has retailers reevaluating the retail potential of the Upper West Side, Barneys New York has quietly shuttered its location at Broadway between 75th and 76th Streets. The store was originally born in 2004 as a co-ed Co-op location and then transformed into a more luxe Barneys New York branded boutique exclusively offering women's merchandise featuring more expensive designer-level apparel, footwear and handbags. The problem, however, even in the store's initial Co-op days, has always been the mantra of real estate agents everywhere: Location, location location.
You don't have to be a real estate savant to know that an upscale apparel shop on the Upper West Side would belong not on Broadway, a stone's throw from Fairway, Zabar's and Citarella, but two blocks east on Columbus Avenue amongst the Rag & Bone and Theory boutiques. While Brooks Brothers appears to have found some success near Lincoln Center and also on Broadway in the 80s, fashion on Broadway has tended to top out at chain stores like Banana Republic and Gap. Even the fabled, sprawling Upper West Side mini-chain Charivari of decades ago kept its casual unit on Broadway while its directional designer boutiques were on Columbus —and that was in the go-go 1980s.
The location was never a winner for Barneys in either of its incarnations. As a Co-op store, it was the smallest of the spin-off chain's Manhattan branches, and made for a cramped shopping experience, even if its premium denim and somewhat more affordable contemporary fare was well-suited to the general demographics of the area. Despite only a smattering of upscale apparel retail north of Columbus Circle, The Upper West Side provides a wealthy customer base that has been traditionally under-served when it comes to fashion. As Barneys revamped its direction in 2013, the transformation of its Upper West Side shop into a more minimalistic women's-only boutique with luxurious designer offerings felt much more out of place with its four-figure handbags and stock of Manolo Blahnik heels on Broadway flanked by Lululemon and other more prosaic food and service merchants —the right store in the right neighborhood on the wrong street. Additionally, the store was never really big enough to reflect the full expression of the Barneys New York brand, which is associated with large, department-store sized locations. It was like a tiny Barneys that wasn't really much of a Barneys.
As you can see in the photo above, the former micro-Barneys' shelves and racks are now bare. Commercial Observer tells us that it closed on February 18th, but that the lease runs through the end of 2023. One would hope that a replacement tenant can be installed soon, but given glut of overpriced retail space that stands empty for extended periods of time all over Manhattan, the potential for it to become another white elephant storefront is unfortunately high.