1. style and fashion

BRRR, WINTER
THE TOUGH WINTER DRAGGED DOWN FEBRUARY
COMPARABLE-STORE SALES. PAGE 2
WWD
FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2015 ■ $3.00 ■ WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY
Square
Roots
Alber Elbaz
referenced the
shapes and
COLLECTIONS
proportions of
his homeland,
Morocco,
FALL 2015
in designing
a highly
personal and
multilayered fall
collection for Lanvin. Here, he
pairs a boxy jacket — whose
only embellishment is an elegant,
oversize tassel — with an
asymmetric navy skirt trimmed in
delicate feathers. For more from
Paris, see pages 4 to 6.
PARIS
GETTING
INTENSE
POLO RED UNVEILS AN
EXTENSION THAT IS
MORE POWERFUL THAN
THE ORIGINAL. PAGE 9
BIGGER
MAISON
MAISON KITSUNÉ
IS EXPANDING INTO
ACCESSORIES, STARTING
WITH WOMEN’S
FOOTWEAR. PAGE 11
BLASTS SITE’S COUNTERFEITS
USTR Latest Agency
To Review Alibaba
By KRISTI ELLIS
WASHINGTON — Alibaba’s troubles just keep mounting.
While chairman and founder Jack Ma earlier this
week said the greatest threat to the Chinese Web giant
is itself, government regulatory agencies are putting
it under increasing scrutiny. The latest is the U.S.
Trade Representative’s Office, which said in a report
Thursday that the agency is growing concerned about
recent allegations of counterfeiting and digital piracy
on Alibaba’s consumer-to-consumer platform Taobao.
Trade officials cited several steps the company
and the Chinese government have taken to address
the concerns, which is why USTR has declined to relist the online marketplace on its annual “Notorious
Markets” report and list. The list does not represent
findings of legal violations or reflect an analysis by
the U.S. government of general intellectual property
protections or enforcement activities in a country.
Instead, the study is aimed at prodding foreign governments to address intellectual property allegations
raised, intensify efforts to combat piracy and counterfeiting and to pursue legal actions where warranted.
The report had little impact on Alibaba’s shares,
which closed up 0.6 percent Thursday at $86.10.
Details about new steps Alibaba plans to take to
combat counterfeiting and piracy, including a new
rights holder complaint system and a separate penalty system, also came to light on Thursday.
In the USTR report, officials pointed to a Chinese
State Administration for Industry and Commerce
white paper that raised concerns about the sale of
counterfeit products on Alibaba’s e-commerce platforms. The white paper was later retracted after
Alibaba agreed to cooperate with the SAIC.
Another concern cited in the USTR report was
the appearance of Taobao in three of the top 10 cases
named by the National Copyright Administration of
China in its “Sword Net Action Campaign” last year,
SEE PAGE 12
Balenciaga’s Wang Era
Enters a New Phase
By MILES SOCHA
PHOTO BY GIOVANNI GIANNONI
PARIS — The Alexander Wang era at Balenciaga is
gathering steam.
Coming off a year of accelerating double-digit
growth, the French house with roots in Spain is to officially christen its first boutique in its spiritual homeland this month — and later this year start moving into
a spectacular new home: Parent Kering’s forthcoming
headquarters in a complex boasting a series of 17thcentury stone buildings in cross formations.
“I feel we’re already a globally recognized house,
and a top luxury leader. We’re well on our way,” an
upbeat Wang told WWD ahead of his Balenciaga show
here tonight.
In separate interviews, Wang and Balenciaga chief
executive officer Isabelle Guichot unfurled a host of
development plans, citing men’s wear and knitwear
among chief growth opportunities.
Wang and Guichot are slated to attend an opening
event for the 1,500-square-foot Madrid store on March
13. “We’ve always been a little bit shy in that country,”
the ceo acknowledged.
In fact, it was Wang who got a bee in his bonnet about Spain. Founding couturier Cristóbal
Balenciaga opened his first boutique in Madrid in
1933, making Wang’s retail statement — with the marble-heavy concept done in collaboration with Ryan
Korban — a significant homecoming.
Guichot said the minute the hoarding went up, she
received a call from the founder’s nephew, Agustín
Medina, asking: “When is it opening?”
SEE PAGE 7
2 WWD FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2015
WWD.COM
Comps Soft in February
DIGITAL BRIEFING BOX
FOR MORE COVERAGE, FIND US ON WWD.COM, SOCIAL AND MOBILE.
By ARNOLD J. KARR
Caption ON
here INSTAGRAM
@WWD
Instagrams
from Paris
Fashion
Week.
PHOTO BY GEORGE CHINSEE
RETAILERS CAN’T MOVE on to
spring fast enough.
For the small sample of publicly held companies that still
report monthly comparable sales
as well as the broader U.S. retail
market, numerous blasts of bitter
winter weather severely limited
sales in February, the secondlowest sales month of the year
behind January, even under better climatic circumstances.
But virtually the entire eastern half of the U.S. felt winter’s
wrath during February and the
result was a month marked by
disappointing sales.
Only two of the 10 retail
brands tracked by WWD beat
the sales estimates of analysts
surveyed by Thomson Reuters
— Victoria’s Secret with its 7 percent comp increase and Zumiez
Inc. with its 6.9 percent gain —
while seven came up short and
only one, Victoria’s Secret’s sister brand at L Brands Inc., Bath
& Body Works, met them.
Gap Inc., expected to post a
1.4 percent comp increase, instead registered a 4 percent decline, with all three of its nameplates falling below estimates.
Even its hot Old Navy brand,
expected to post a 5.1 percent
increase, only managed a flat finish, while Banana Republic and
the struggling namesake brand
were down 5 and 7 percent, respectively, against expectations
of a 1.7 percent increase and a
1.1 percent decrease.
“Recognizing that February
is a relatively small sales month,
we’re focused on the spring shopping months ahead and delivering on our full-year goals,” said
Sabrina Simmons, Gap Inc.’s
chief financial officer.
Thomson Reuters expected a
2.1 percent median gain among
the comp reporters, but instead
saw the group post a 1.2 percent
increase.
Stein Mart Inc., up 2.6 percent versus an expected gain
of 3 percent, reported that its
sales were strongest in the three
states not touched by winter’s
fury — California, Arizona and
Florida — where comps were up
Bad weather around the country took a toll on store traffic in February.
at a rate three times the overall
company figure.
Expected to register a 5 percent gain, Cato Corp. instead
tallied a 10 percent decline,
both the biggest “miss” and the
worst result among the retailers reporting results. The company is based in Charlotte, N.C.,
with a concentration of its 1,346
stores in the Southeast. John
Cato, chairman and chief executive officer, said sales were “significantly impacted by winter
storms during the last two weeks
of the month.”
Digging into more than 14
million shopping trips to an
array of brick-and-mortar stores
last month, retail analytics firm
RetailNext measured a 10.4 percent drop in sales and a 12.5 percent decline in traffic, among the
worst results of the past year.
The second week of the
month — perhaps the one least
affected by inclement weather
— was probably the weakest of
the period, according to Shelley
Kohan, vice president of retail
consulting.
“By just about every metric —
conversion, sales, traffic, sales
per shoppers — week two, even
with Valentine’s Day at the end,
was just bad across the board,”
she said. “And there’s no way you
can make up a traffic decrease
like that online.”
Once committed to a shopping trip, consumers elevated
certain metrics, Kohan said.
Conversion rates rose 0.5 percent from year-ago levels while
average transaction value and
sales-per-shoppers had their best
marks in recent months, growing 2.3 and 2.8 percent, respectively. By region, sales declines
for the month, like the weather,
were mildest in the West, where
they dropped 10.6 percent.
Sales in the Midwest, South and
Northeast were down 13.5, 13.4
and 12.7 percent, respectively.
Kohan noted that March
sales will derive a calendar
benefit with the earlier timing
of Easter this year versus last,
as well as to the clock shift coming this Sunday.
“Sales frequently improve
with the arrival of daylight saving
time,” she added. “It’s one of the
signs of spring and people are
very anxious for those right now.”
Bloomingdale’s Outlet Set for Manhattan
By SHARON EDELSON
NEW YORK — Bloomingdale’s on Thursday confirmed that it will open a 25,000-square-foot outlet
store at 2085 Broadway, on the northwest corner
of 72nd Street. The Bloomingdale’s Outlet, which
will open in the fall, will be the company’s first in
Manhattan and the first in a major urban center.
Bloomingdale’s, which operates 13 outlets in the
U.S., lags behind competitors such as Nordstrom,
Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus in the sector. Nordstrom plans to grow its Rack off-price
chain from 100 stores to more than 300 locations
by 2022, and will begin opening Rack units in
Canada in 2017. Saks Fifth Avenue has 79 Saks
Off 5th stores in the U.S. and plans to open up to
25 in Canada. Neiman Marcus, which operates 38
Neiman Marcus Last Call outlets, has another offprice format, Last Call Studio, which is located in
urban areas.
“We see Bloomingdale’s Outlet as a growth vehicle for our company as we continue to refine and
roll out stores based on our learnings over the past
several years,” said Tony Spring, chairman and
chief executive officer of Bloomingdale’s. “The
growing outlet business is an exciting marketplace
and part of the overall Bloomingdale’s strategy.”
Asked whether the Bloomingdale’s Outlet concept is exportable internationally, Spring said, “Our
focus is on the opportunity in the U.S. and in markets where we have opportunity for growth. At 14
stores, we have plenty of room to explore.”
Bloomingdale’s Outlets offer 35 to 70 percent off
full price for brands such as Michael Kors, Calvin
Klein, Coach and True Religion.
“The merchandise of the outlets is a composition of great opportunistic buys from the market
and from merchandise that is transferred after the
regular selling season from our stores,” Spring said.
“Ninety percent of our brand and assortment mix
in the outlets is comparable to our full-line store.
The merchandise is bought directly from manufacturers or transferred from our stores, including
Bloomingdale’s own exclusive brands.”
Spring said Bloomingdale’s will also manufacture products for the outlets. “We expect over time
to be able to offer additional merchandise that is
exclusive to the outlets,” he said.
The Broadway outlet will be located at one
of the busiest intersections in Manhattan, with
a major subway located footsteps away. “This is
a premier, flagship location for Bloomingdale’s
Outlet,” Spring said.
FOLLOW OUR FEED FROM #PFW
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA
@ WWD.com/social
TO E-MAIL REPORTERS AND EDITORS AT WWD, THE ADDRESS IS
[email protected], USING THE INDIVIDUAL’S NAME.
WWD IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF FAIRCHILD PUBLISHING, LLC.
COPYRIGHT ©2014 FAIRCHILD PUBLISHING, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.
VOLUME 209, NO. 47. FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2015. WWD (ISSN 0149-5380) is published daily (except Saturdays, Sundays
and holidays, with one additional issue in January, June, August, September, October, November and December, and two
additional issues in April and three additional issues in February) by Fairchild Media, LLC, which is a division of Penske
Business Media, LLC. PRINCIPAL OFFICE: 11175 Santa Monica Blvd., 9th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90025. Periodicals
postage paid at Los Angeles, CA, and at additional mailing offices. Canada Post: return undeliverable Canadian addresses
to P.O. Box 503, RPO West Beaver Cre, Rich-Hill, ON L4B 4R6. POSTMASTER: SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO WWD,
P.O. Box 6356, Harlan, IA, 51593. FOR SUBSCRIPTIONS, ADDRESS CHANGES, ADJUSTMENTS, OR BACK ISSUE
INQUIRIES: Please write to WWD, P.O. Box 6356, Harlan, IA, 51593, call 866-401-7801, or e-mail customer service at
[email protected]. Please include both new and old addresses as printed on most recent label. For New York
Hand Delivery Service address changes or inquiries, please contact Mitchell’s NY at 1-800-662-2275, option 7. Subscribers:
If the Post Office alerts us that your magazine is undeliverable, we have no further obligation unless we receive a corrected
address within one year. If during your subscription term or up to one year after the magazine becomes undeliverable, you
are ever dissatisfied with your subscription, let us know. You will receive a full refund on all unmailed issues. First copy of
new subscription will be mailed within four weeks after receipt of order. We reserve the right to change the number of issues
contained in a subscription term and/or the way the product is delivered. Address all editorial, business and production
correspondence to WWD, 475 Fifth Ave., 15th Floor, New York, NY 10017. For permissions requests, please call 212-630-5656,
or fax request to 212-630-5883. For reprints, please e-mail [email protected] or call Wright’s Media 877-652-5295.
For reuse permissions, please e-mail [email protected] or call 800-897-8666.Visit us online at www.wwd.com.
To subscribe to other Fairchild Media, LLC magazines on the World Wide Web, visit www.wwd.com/subscriptions.
WWD IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE RETURN OR LOSS OF, OR FOR DAMAGE OR ANY OTHER INJURY TO, UNSOLICITED
MANUSCRIPTS, UNSOLICITED ART WORK (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DRAWINGS, PHOTOGRAPHS, AND
TRANSPARENCIES), OR ANY OTHER UNSOLICITED MATERIALS. THOSE SUBMITTING MANUSCRIPTS, PHOTOGRAPHS, ART
WORK, OR OTHER MATERIALS FOR CONSIDERATION SHOULD NOT SEND ORIGINALS, UNLESS SPECIFICALLY REQUESTED
TO DO SO BY WWD IN WRITING. MANUSCRIPTS, PHOTOGRAPHS, AND OTHER MATERIALS SUBMITTED MUST BE
ACCOMPANIED BY A SELF-ADDRESSED STAMPED ENVELOPE.
BEAUTY
J U NE
SUMMIT
9- 10 ,
20 15
PAT H FI N DERS
cr e a ting ne w
fo r gro wth
avenu es
T H E
C O NR AD
SUMMITS.WWD.COM
ATTEND: [email protected], 646.356.4722
EVENT
SPONSORS
H O T EL
|
NY C
SPONSOR: [email protected], 646.356.4718
4
WWD FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2015
Lanvin
Lanvin: Simultaneously working on the Jeanne Lanvin
exhibition opening today, in which he refused to include his
own designs for the label, and his fall collection, Alber Elbaz
pondered his own roots. “It’s the 125-year anniversary of the
house. What is my story?” he asked himself. “I went back to
the place that’s my [birthplace], which is Morocco. I started
to think shapes and squares and volume and the whole idea
of dressing there.” Yet Elbaz is a rare breed of romantic
pragmatist. “The idea was to start with something totally
nomad and urbanize it,” he said.
He opened with a boxy navy jacket over tuxedo-striped
pants tucked into high boots. Tasseled ropes tied at the
waist, the look projected a decidedly military flair, though
Elbaz copped to a different uniform designation. “I prefer
orchestra to army,” he said. If a soupçon theatrical in its
simplicity, he dispelled immediately the notion of costumery
with a paneled dress and skirt that were as unassuming as
could be.
Elbaz has all but rejected the concept of the one-note
show, and the ideas came with speed and daring. Moroccaninspired square constructions were a major motif, from wrap
skirts worn with lovely blouses or the most arresting version,
a simple tank, to trim jackets and shifts. Often, he decorated
lavishly, whether via pilings of rich materials and textures or
with passementeries and 3-D embroideries on relatively clean
silhouettes.
Asymmetric leather harnesses gave shape and visual
interest to voluminous dresses. Archival prints were
reimagined as intricate intarsia furs over languid dresses.
Fringe flew off the facing of a big red coat, and feathers, from
an intricately constructed navy skirt. For evening, Elbaz
showed beautiful fluid gowns in solid chiffon and a glorious
patchwork of metallic jacquards. As one might expect of
their Moroccan inspiration, these descended from the regal
peasantry of Yves Saint Laurent.
In fact, this collection was uncharacteristically retro for
Elbaz. Yet he handled the direction deftly, embracing and
retreating from his body of references as each look demanded,
ultimately achieving a balance of au courant chic.
Rick Owens
— BRIDGET FOLEY
Rick Owens: Rick Owens seeks, often successfully, to provoke
with his runway. After his most recent men’s fashion show/
peep show, during which several of the models’ genitals were
exposed, Owens chose to dial down the shock value for his fall
women’s lineup to a mere “surprise”: He used sequins for the
first time.
“I thought, ‘What the hell? Maybe now’s the time,’” said
Owens backstage. “Especially after the men’s show, it was nice
to do something sentimental and a little naïve.”
Owens displays his softer side from time to time, though it’s
often overshadowed by the dark stuff, and it’s worth seeing.
Here, the graceful expansion of his decorative scope was
unexpected, as he intended, and also quite personal. He did
not throw glitter around without purpose. Owens said his work
is always autobiographical, but this collection delved into his
Mexican heritage on his mother’s side. A key reference was
the Mayan Revival style of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Hollyhock
House in Los Angeles, prompting the measured use of gold
and silver sequins carefully placed in geometric and linear
configurations on generously draped wool felt shapes done
in mineral colors, both rich and drab. The combination was
beautiful, strong and raw.
Some of the tops looked like blankets draped around the
front of the body and closed into folds in the back, while skirts
were crudely cut short in the back and long in the front. Owens
stressed the collection’s ease, despite its ample shapes, and
the generous proportions did seem comfortable. There were
even fairly ordinary puffer jackets amid the nomadic armour,
which was shown plain and with the graphic, modern-tribal
embellishments enhanced by gold-leaf masks some models
had painted on their faces, just like Mayan deities did.
— JESSICA IREDALE
Carven: Carven was off to a fresh start for fall, both in terms
of its new designers, Adrien Caillaudaud and Alexis Martial
(although Martial, whose official tenure at the house began
Monday after he showed his final collection for Iceberg on
Feb. 27, reportedly only helped finalize details for the lineup)
and the point of view expressed in their first collection. By the
looks of it, they’re the right guys for the job.
The duo didn’t reject the aesthetic established by their
predecessor, Guillaume Henry — rightly so, it was quite
successful — but adjusted its attitude in a sportier, more
active direction. They kept alive the Sixties, feminine
Parisian spirit favored by Henry with short, neat A-line
skirts and nifty psychedelic floral jacquards, but distanced
themselves from its strictly ladylike aspect with leaner cuts
and one very important idea: “The new Carven girl is wearing
pants,” said Martial.
Pants are hardly a novel concept, but they liberated the
collection. The fit was sharp and modern: high-waisted
and worn with skinny belts, with a bit of stretch and tight,
streamlined straight legs that hit above the ankle. These
were shown in sophisticated trippy colors — lilac, aubergine,
tomato red, cobalt blue, as well as black — that electrified the
look while grounding it in wearable cool for the contemporary
market. On top, there were fitted après-ski sweaters, crisp
shirts with graphic gold disks decorating the collars, and an
array of great tailored coats, cropped and long, some classic,
some in nice textured leather. Here’s to successful succession.
— J.I.
Par
FOR MORE IMAGES, SEE
WWD.com/
runway.
WWD FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2015 5
WWD.COM
Jeanne Lanvin’s World
Carven
PHOTO BY FRANÇOIS GOIZE
By MILES SOCHA
aris Collections
PHOTOS BY GIOVANNI GIANNONI
Fall 2015
PARIS — When Lanvin owner Shaw-Lan Wang hired Alber
Elbaz as artistic director in 2001, she invited the Moroccanborn designer to come wake up a “sleeping beauty.”
And when Elbaz began working on the “Jeanne Lanvin”
retrospective at the Palais Galliera here, he was reminded
of Wang’s words as he plunged into drawers and boxes and
gazed at scores of beautiful dresses at rest.
He and curator Olivier Saillard opted to display fashion
treasures mostly from the Twenties and Thirties flat in mirrored cases propped open like a piano, reflecting the museum’s ornate ceilings, visitors and the couturier’s delicate
wizardry.
“The exhibition is whispering. It’s so silent,” Elbaz said
Thursday morning as he led a tour, pausing at cases to scatter the dresses more haphazardly, as if a woman just tossed
them on a bed.
The showcase, which opens to the public Sunday and
runs through Aug. 23, calls attention to an often underappreciated figure in early French fashion sometimes overshadowed by the “virtuosity” of Madeleine Vionnet and the
“artistry” of Elsa
Schiaparelli, acA dress
cording to Saillard,
from
who considers
1933
Lanvin a key torchdisplayed
bearer for French
with a
elegance, and an
triple
innovator with her
mirror.
“lifestyle” approach
to design.
More important,
her dresses exemplify quiet chic and
haute refinement,
he said, noting
that the couturier
housed three internal embroidery
ateliers capable of
the most delicate
beading and metallic filigrees on
gossamer silks. “It’s
light, very feminine,
timeless, never
overpowering,”
Saillard marveled.
While thematic rather than
chronological, the
exhibition demonstrates how fashion
changed markedly
after 1910, with
Elbaz and Saillard
repeating the refrain — “Look at
that, it’s so modern”
— as the tour alighted on countless
looks that could be
worn today: A black
slip style squiggled
with ivory ribbons;
an austere T-shirt dress in black silk, or a bohemian caftan
in pale green — a shade that reappears frequently — along
with black and ivory.
“It doesn’t feel like a period exhibition, even though it’s
100 years ago,” Elbaz said.
Happening upon a velvet swimsuit from 1924, beaded
to the hilt with mirrored embroideries, he remarked:
“Beyoncé would love that.”
The showcase, part of the house’s 125th anniversary
festivities that spilled over into 2015, is also an ode to elite
savoir-faire.
“Look at the workmanship, look at the fragility,” Elbaz
said as he inspected an evening ensemble in silk crepe embroidered with silvered tubes and crystals by Swarovski, a
key sponsor of the exhibition. “Of course, we live in a world
of computers, but we are still an industry that depends on
seamstresses and a needle and thread. We are a human industry and that’s what we show in this exhibition.”
Elbaz included none of his Lanvin designs, preferring
to leave the spotlight to the founder, an homage that spans
dozens of photos, scrapbooks, sketches and even the triptych
mirror she kept in her office for fittings.
Jeanne Lanvin started out in 1889 with a millinery shop
on Rue Boissy d’Anglas, later branching out to women’s
wear, children’s clothes, bridal fashions, lingerie, furs, interior decoration and men’s wear. Renowned for her drive and
intuition, she died in 1946.
About 100 dresses — nearly two-thirds from Galliera, the
balance from Lanvin’s archives — are displayed along with
hats, perfume bottles and two dolls from her office that represent the house’s mother-and-daughter logo.
WWD FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2015
Roland
Mouret
Christian
Wijnants
Manish
Arora
Balmain
FOR MORE IMAGES, SEE
WWD.com/
runway.
Ann Demeulemeester: Forgetting the
downer soundtrack and the mostly black
palette, this was a sultry collection from
Sébastien Meunier, Mirjam van den
Akker and Patrick van Ommeslaeghe,
the design trio that succeeded Ann
Demeulemeester, with Meunier also
acting as the company’s art director.
Belts were key: slim ones cinching
robelike jackets, blousons and scarflike
tops just under the rib cage; and wide,
multizip ones uncoiling over jersey
gowns or padded bed jackets paired
with lapping, full-legged pants. Plunging
necklines or backs exposed slivers
of flesh; chiffon blouses that whorled
over bare torsos veiled it. Variegated
pinstripes and a flash of red silk seemed
like afterthoughts in a collection that
handily moved the house heritage
beyond its usual dandy allure.
Ann Demeulemeester
Paco Rabanne
— MILES SOCHA
Paco Rabanne: Since taking over Paco
DEMEULEMEESTER, MOURET, WIJNANTS AND BALMAIN PHOTOS BY GIOVANNI GIANNONI; ARORA AND RABANNE BY DOMINIQUE MAÎTRE
6
Rabanne a year and a half ago, Julien
Dossena has refreshed and reengineered
the house’s narrow Space Age focus,
establishing a ready-to-wear identity
with an edgy athletic currency without
abandoning Rabanne’s futuristic
codes. Rather, he has savvily pulled
the label’s signature circular plastic
disk decorations into the orbit of
today’s world. The motif was the most
interesting thing on his fall runway, well
handled on wearable apron shift dresses
and tanks in blue, green and gray plastic
circles that had a sci-fi hippie vibe when
paired with classic tailored outerwear
and techy takes on denim.
Mastering Rabanne’s language
seems to be less difficult for the
designer than disassociating with the
vocabulary he learned during his time
with Nicolas Ghesquière at Balenciaga.
The influence has thus far had a mostly
positive effect on Dossena’s runway,
but its overbearing presence in fall’s
rubberized black leather outerwear in
exaggerated baby-doll shapes and tough
deconstructed tailoring made for an
uneven collection.
— JESSICA IREDALE
Roland Mouret: “How do you make an
A-shape as strong as a pencil skirt?”
Roland Mouret asked backstage before
his show. “With a fold and with a
definition of the body,” was his answer.
Mouret works within a well-defined
vocabulary focused on shapes, noting
“it’s always interesting for me to
define new silhouettes and make them
recognizable as Roland Mouret. The
volume of skirts was really important,
approaching the A-shape and to make
it mine.” He added spark to his figureflattering looks with highly graphic color
blocks incorporating shades such as
Bordeaux, orange, powder blue and red.
Mouret often used a sheer layer of
knitted fabric as part of the clothing —
either on models’ arms or décolletés
— for a cozy contrast. The dresses were
especially appealing and wearable, with
artful touches such as origamilike folds.
nonchalantly wrapped around the body.
The idea of wrapping continued
on luscious scarves, which the models
sported as oversize capes that trailed
behind them on the soil runway. Although
rural at heart and done in earthy colors,
the clothes were surprisingly compatible
with an urban lifestyle, especially tank
dresses made of various fabrics including
plain wool, leopard-print tulle and
gingham patchworked to approximate
tribal insignia.
— PAULINA SZMYDKE
Balmain: It’s both daring and dicey to
project world events onto the fashion
screen. Not that major events don’t
impact the mind-sets of creative people,
— JENNIFER WEIL
but it’s a nuanced relationship that
requires deft invocation, especially when
Manish Arora: One of the ornately
you’re about to present a snazzy-jazzy
embellished sweatshirts in Manish
collection filled with flamboyant
Arora’s fall line featured a rainbow
pleats and flying fringe.
harlequin motif merged with a
Backstage before his
photo of an electrical storm.
Balmain show, Olivier
It might be a pretty accurate
Rousteing spoke about “what
picture of what was going
COLLECTIONS
happened [in January],”
through his brain as he
referring obviously to the
designed the collection
Charlie Hebdo shootings.
— perhaps after binge
He noted the importance of
watching episodes of
FALL
2015
celebrating Paris’ history as
“Game of Thrones.”
a center for artistic freedom
The Indian designer
and a melting pot of exotic
is known for his no-holdscultures. The city, he said, is
barred style, but this was overknown for its “global feeling, the mix
the-top even by his standards,
of different origins. I wanted to go back
depicting the fantasy world of the
to that and still keep the richness of the
hugely popular HBO series through a
Seventies in Paris.”
Bollywood filter. Outfits in multicolor
Lovely thought from an earnest
patterns were piled high with feathers,
young man, but it took a wayward turn
sequins, pearls, crystals and patches
on its way to the runway. Moroccan
of fake fur and even artificial grass.
palette, orientalism, Seventies flou,
Intarsia knits proclaimed “Winter Is
Eighties sexpots, florals, color blocks,
Coming” in teletype script, while the
peekaboo lace, endless renditions
soundtrack featured a techno remix of
of sparkle and shine, and enough
the show’s theme song.
foot-long bugle-beaded fringe doing
Arora’s eye for detail was
precision swings from bodices to
extraordinary and extended to his
outfit a competitive team of retro glam
accessories, which included fur-lined
majorettes — Rousteing sent them out
backpacks, tribal nose jewels and
with dizzying vigor, but to what end? He
handbags shaped like life-sized skulls.
loves to talk about young women and his
It was frenzied, wacky and somehow,
generation, but really? These clothes
totally fierce.
are not young. Nor does one imagine
— JOELLE DIDERICH
tony, chic adults making a run for them.
Paris is a glorious city, and Rousteing
Christian Wijnants: Jackie Nickerson and
her photos of African agricultural farmers may well contribute to its artistic
diversity in a significant way. His more
inspired Christian Wijnants to produce
immediate concern: tempering his retro
a cute and easy collection. Without
enthusiasm in a manner that suits a
taking the cues too literally, the designer
modern luxury customer.
reworked traditional African prints on
woolen skirts and dresses that were
— BRIDGET FOLEY
PARIS
WWD FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2015 7
WWD.COM
Wang Puts His Stamp on Balenciaga
{Continued from page one}
The interior of the Madrid store.
understand the impulses that fed
the late couturier, who closed his
house in 1968 and died in 1972.
Wang insisted Balenciaga
should open a flagship in Spain
as it is integral to its “heritage
and legacy,” he said. “It’s a
beautiful store, and there’s a lot
of natural light. It culminates
with a small room at the back
with a little courtyard section.”
Discussing some of the behindthe-scenes work, Wang initially
plunged himself into the house’s
patrimony to understand its heritage and legacy. “It was important
for me at the beginning to explore
the archive. Now it’s time to write
the next chapter of the story and
get into what the brand stands for
today and make it a top leader in
luxury,” Wang said.
A more “irreverent approach” to luxury for a new
generation is part of his prescription. “I also feel it has a
subversive elegance I like to
bring to each collection...a more
casual way to wear precious
things,” he explained.
Beyond his runway shows
and pre-collections, Wang
delved into a range of categories
— jewelry, scarves, eyewear and
leather goods among them — to
bolster “anchor products,” balance out the offer, and ensure
coherence across the brand. He
also spied an opportunity with
fur, introducing a capsule range
for pre-fall, and expanded the
footwear category to a “full lifestyle offer” spanning sneakers,
sandals and espadrilles in addition to dressier shoes.
Given how integral knitwear
is to Wang’s signature business,
with his T by Alexander Wang
subbrand dedicated to slouchy
knitwear, tapered track pants and
the like, expanding Balenciaga’s
offer was a no-brainer.
“I started in knitwear, so it’s
something I’m really passionate
about and something that was
not really part of the house archives,” he said, noting the category would be “not only driven
by runway concepts” but include
a “rollover program of diverse
bodies the house can establish.
“The core offering of the knitwear has expanded tremendously and it’s something we’ve seen
great results in,” Wang added.
MILAN — Margherita Maccapani Missoni
Amos is about to give birth in two ways:
Her second child is due in May and she
is unveiling a new children’s wear line,
called Margherita, today in Paris.
“The world of children is the one that
interests me the most now, and I want to
build a brand around my life and be able to
decide [how to use] my time,” she said. The
colorful and fun line is produced by the Los
Angeles-based Neige firm and is entirely
separate from her family’s fashion business. But there is no conflict: Amos said her
mother, Angela Missoni, ventured out on
her own before becoming creative director
of the Italian fashion house. “She is happy
for me and supports me,” she said.
Margherita is a collection of easy
pieces that combines fabrics and colors,
’’
and it shows in the perception,”
Guichot said.
Balenciaga counts a dedicated men’s store in Paris, another
in New York and several in
Japan, and the executive hinted
at a further rollout.
The brand added about 10
stores in 2014, and also has a
program of refurbishments,
enlargements and relocations.
Guichot said its retail is now “entering a phase where it’s more
tactical.” Key openings this year
include a boutique in Florence.
Dressing celebrities is another strategic focus for the brand,
with recent credits including
Julianne Moore at the “Hunger
Games” premiere in London in
November, and Felicity Jones
and Naomi Watts at the SAG
Awards last January.
“We have a special red-carpet
team,” Wang said. “We’re developing one-of-a-kind, special pieces.”
Guichot declined to give
figures but said the “company
is profitable.”
Market sources estimate the
brand generates revenues north
of 350 million euros, or $391.5
million at current exchange rates.
Meanwhile, the move to
Laennec telegraphs its importance to Kering — and it was a
natural fit as most of the company was already located on the
Left Bank, offices scattered on
I like to bring to each collection...a more
casual way to wear precious things.
— ALEXANDER WANG
Guichot said the double-digit
gains last year were fueled by
“almost all categories, from retail and a very healthy wholesale business.” Balenciaga
counts about 500 wholesale
doors in the world.
More than half of company
revenues now stem from directly owned retail, a threshold
reached last year, when it closed
out the calendar with about 90
freestanding stores and shop in
shops — a quantum leap from
Margherita Missoni Amos’ New Baby
By LUISA ZARGANI
the three stores it had seven
years ago.
“It’s been a change of business model for the brand,” said
Guichot, a methodical executive
with a fun-loving streak.
“We’re becoming a player in
women’s footwear,” according to
Guichot, also trumpeting progress in the leather goods category,
building beyond historic “pillars”
like the motorcycle bag, which
was launched 15 years ago.
such as classic stripes or checks generally used for shirts, Bali-inspired or naïf
prints, and cute characters modeled
after the logo, a smiling daisy — Amos’
name in English.
“I like it when children open up their
wardrobe and pick what they want to
wear. We, too, as kids were free to dress
how we wanted, it helps to be creative,
it gives a sense of open possibilities,”
she said, adding that she feels the kids’
market is saturated with super-classic or
“chic delavé” looks.
“I’ve always had a strong attraction
for children’s wear; I bought pieces and
stored them away, even before I had Otto
[her first child, now 18 months]. After Otto
arrived, I realized I didn’t know anything
about children’s clothes,” Amos said.
She believes children’s wear often
seems made by “people who don’t have
kids, with difficult sleeves, for example.”
“It’s still a very important
product,” she said, while trumpeting traction with newer styles like
the Cable, Le Dix and Nude bags.
Besides knitwear, the men’s
wear offers expansion potential. The fall collection, unveiled in Paris last January,
pointed to a more sophisticated
and “elevated” approach that
reflects a “better balance” of
tailoring and casualwear.
“We’ve found our positioning
in men’s: It shows in the figures,
Looks
from the
Margherita
line.
PHOTO BY TIERNEY GEARON
PHOTO BY DOMINIQUE MAÎTRE
Isabelle
Guichot
’’
The company was also
flooded with applications in a
country where unemployment
remains at almost 24 percent,
leaving it spoiled for choice for
sales associates.
In 2017, Balenciaga is to celebrate its centenary, an occasion
the Prado plans to mark with a
major exhibition. “So it’s a very
good moment to come to Spain,”
said Guichot, noting the brand is
currently present in the country
via select distribution and that
the boutique would “catalyze
the presence of the brand.”
Shortly after New York-based
Wang was named creative director at the house, succeeding Nicolas Ghesquière, the
American designer traveled
with his team to Getaria, the
seaside birthplace of Cristóbal
Balenciaga, where the rugged
landscape was a fount of inspiration — for example, spawning the
founder’s iconic fisherman hats.
Wang also visited the Getaria
Museum and Cristóbal’s home to
For this reason, soft washable fabrics and
comfort, such as batwing sleeves, are priorities in her new line.
The collection, which debuts for
spring, retails at between $30 and $80.
For fall, she is planning to expand the
line with more categories and accessories such as bibs, little necklaces, scarves,
A soft Le Dix bag from pre-fall.
streets in the vicinity of its Rue
Cassette showroom, once the
site of its fashion shows.
About 250 employees are to
be based at the new complex,
including the design studio,
atelier and showrooms, making
it “an important company project,” according to Guichot. “The
place is quite unique in Paris.”
As for Wang, who has
been designing his office at
Laennec, Guichot said, “I think
he’s settled.”
gloves, diaper bags or layettes.
The collection caters to boys from
infancy to two years old, and girls from
infancy to seven years old. Margherita
will be available to consumers beginning Saturday through two exclusive retail partners, Nordstrom and its online
store in the U.S., and Yoox.com globally.
The collection will also be carried on
Margheritakids.com. For fall, the collection will be rolled out to specialty stores.
“The collection’s whimsical prints and
wearable fabrics along with the accessible
price point make it a great addition to our
kids’ wear offering,” said Jennifer Kovacs,
divisional merchandise manager for kids’
wear at Nordstrom.
“Ever since we heard Margherita was
creating her own label, we believed Yoox.
com would be the perfect match to globally manage the collection’s e-commerce,
a further step in a collaboration which
started several years ago,” said Maia
Guarnaccia, group global brand marketing and communications director at Yoox.
8
WWD FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2015
beauty
Thia Breen Opens a New Era for PCPC
— almost half of the total export of U.S.
cosmetics and personal-care exports,”
Holleyman said. “We think this agreement would provide accelerated opportunities to sell and export into those
markets.” Tariffs as high as 30 percent
would be eliminated in some TPP partner countries, he said, and difficult regulatory and customs procedures would be
eased. The TPP also has an e-commerce
component that will prevent future market access limitations and opportunities to expand in digital trade, he said.
“When concluded, the TPP will give the
companies in this room greater access to
some of the fastest-growing, most dynamic markets and economies in the world,”
he said. “The economies that are part
of the TPP are the source of 40 percent
of the world’s total economic outlook.
We think that fact alone is worth getting
excited about.” He also pointed out that
95 percent of the world’s consumers live
outside the U.S., and that exports have
played a crucial role in jumpstarting the
U.S. economic recovery over the past six
years, generating one-third of the growth
of the U.S. economy since 2009 and accounting for nearly record-high 13 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product.
Holleyman noted that the U.S. is
looking to forge a similar agreement
By JULIE NAUGHTON
Outgoing PCPC Chairman
E. Scott Beattie.
PHOTOS BY STEPHEN LEEK
PALM BEACH, FLA. — At its 121st annual
meeting here last week, the Personal Care
Products Council took an enlarged global
view of the beauty industry through the
eyes of the smallest of companies.
Before taking over as chairman
of PCPC, Thia Breen, group president of North America for the Estée
Lauder Cos. Inc., sat down for a farranging discussion of industry issues.
Approximately 461 people, down slightly
from 2014’s 497, attended.
Breen acknowledged the role played
by outgoing chairman E. Scott Beattie,
chairman and chief executive officer of
Elizabeth Arden, in bringing more of a
global focus to the organization. Breen
plans to continue that international harmonization while also giving every business, large or small, an equal voice in her
regime, and sharpening the industry’s
digital focus.
Queens,” Breen said. “Wherever she
Before her speech, Breen discussed
sees it, she’s involved in it, whether she’s
challenges and opportunities for the
walking through the aisles of Duane
market as she assumes her new role, notReade and sees lipsticks or whether
ing that 14 countries, including the U.S.,
she’s walking through Bergdorf ’s. In
Canada, Australia and the European
many other businesses, you compartmenUnion, were represented.
talize — where you get your shoes, for
“As we look at the global beauty busiinstance. In beauty, you don’t stop
ness, and the growth engines of it,
being involved in the category.”
we know our products are safe,
Thia Breen
A hot legislative topic domestibut the regulations that we have
cally was related to microbeads,
on a global basis have to be unwhich are used in products such
derstood by all of our members,”
as facial scrubs and toothpaste.
Breen said. “And we have to have a
About 19 states to date have introcoalition to collaborate on some of
duced legislation regarding this
these important issues, because it
ingredient. When products conisn’t just our federal government,
taining microbeads are used in the
because this is many governments.
home, the beads are rinsed down
And I want to make sure we’re
the drain and into the sewer sysserving small companies as well
tems. Because of their small size
as large companies. It’s very imand buoyancy, microbeads escape
portant in this industry and in this
treatment by sewage plants and
country that we realize the power
are discharged into rivers, lakes
of small businesses. Their innovaand oceans, say advocates of elimition has changed how some beaunating them. They were banned
ty categories do business — and
first in New York State in May, with
plenty of them are not going to stay
New York State Attorney General
small.” This is particularly imporEric T. Schneiderman’s Microbeadtant in an era where indie upstarts
Free Waters Act. Advocates say
are proliferating rapidly.
that when seabirds and fish ingest
Breen would like to see all comthem, they are often contaminated
panies be able to capitalize on the
with PCBs.
growing global market, the topic
of a speech by Ambassador Robert
Digital is also changing the
landscape of the beauty industry,
Holleyman, Deputy U.S. Trade
and PCPC members must adapt
Representative, who oversees
to move forward, Breen assertU.S. trading in China, India and
ed. “These days, it’s about your
Central Asia. “We are looking at
iPhone,” she said. “The consumer
the most ambitious market openuses her iPhone even when she’s
ing agenda in at least a generation
standing in the aisle in front of the
or more,” Holleyman said. “The
product, because she’s compariU.S. currently exports in excess
son shopping. That’s just
of $11 billion a year for
the new normal in shopcosmetics and personping.” This is a seismic shift
al-care products interfrom the beauty industry
nationally.…There are
of the late Nineties, she
new agreements that
noted, when many compawill allow you to capinies were afraid of selling
talize on those market
online and on TV shopping
opportunities in the
channels. “You have to be
years ahead.”
in all the channels and you
The Trans-Pacific
have to provide a different
Partnership is at the
sort of experience, because
top of Holleyman’s list.
the consumer is going to be
“It’s the foundation on
— THIA BREEN, ESTÉE LAUDER COS. INC.
in all those channels — dewhich we’re building
partment stores, specialty
much of our current activity,” he said. The TPP, he noted, is an across the Atlantic, and is in discussions stores, online. The most recent numinitiative that the U.S. has been involved with the European Union for a trans- bers we’ve looked at indicate that if a
with for the past five years that would Atlantic version of the TPP. Once that consumer has a dozen beauty products
expand America’s free trade opportuni- agreement is worked out, the U.S. would in her cart, maybe eight of them will be
ties with 11 countries, including Japan, have access to two-thirds of the world mass and four prestige. If she were to lay
out everything she has in her handbag
Australia, Malaysia, Vietnam and Chile. population, he said.
And the world is increasingly more today, she doesn’t see it as mass or pres“In 2014, the U.S. exported more than $5
billion in essential oils, perfumery and global. “We’re dealing with a traveling tige. She looks at it as she has a lipstick,
cosmetics to the TPP countries alone consumer, from Shanghai to Flushing, an eye shadow or whatever. She may see
’’
’’
We’re dealing with a traveling
consumer, from Shanghai to
Flushing, Queens. Wherever she
sees [beauty], she’s involved in it.
Ambassador
Robert Holleyman
a difference between a $16 and $60 product, but to her it’s not quite as compartmentalized as we [in the beauty industry]
would see it.”
One of Breen’s first priorities is meeting with the heads of global beauty associations to identify the key issues in their
particular markets.
“Working together globally is a critical component to the future success of
the industry,” said Beattie, noting that
recent global collaborative successes
have included sharply increasing the
number of ingredients on China’s safe
ingredients list and the International
Cooperation on Cosmetics Regulation.
The ICCR is a voluntary partnership among the health authorities of
Canada, Europe, Japan and the U.S.,
with participation and technical support from the cosmetics industry as-
$11B
ANNUAL U.S. EXPORTS OF COSMETICS
AND PERSONAL-CARE PRODUCTS.
sociations of the four jurisdictions.
The multilateral framework provides a
forum for discussions on alignment of
cosmetics regulations within the member jurisdictions, said Lezlee Westine,
PCPC’s president and ceo.
“These provide a strong foundation
for improved global regulatory harmonization,” said Beattie. The effort
is also bearing fruit domestically, he
said. “Over the last 10 months, we have
worked with Sen. Dianne Feinstein [D.,
Ca.] and multiple stakeholders on proposed cosmetic legislation that would
update the 1938 law that currently governs our industry. While the bill has not
yet been introduced, we will continue
to work collaboratively with Senator
Feinstein and key groups on appropriate legislation. At the state level, the
Council prevented over 200 state bills
that would have had a negative impact
on our industry. We can all agree that
one strong national standard is better
than 50 individual state laws.”
“It is imperative that our industry
continue to drive the conversation about
the issues affecting our companies,”
Westine said. “We must come together to
set priorities and to collaborate on ways
we can continue to provide safe, innovative products that families around the
world use every day.”
WWD FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2015 9
WWD.COM
’’
Ralph Lauren Bets Big on Polo Red Intense
and African-Americans. With its
more powerful juice, Intense is
expected to appeal more strongly to Hispanics, he added.
Another trend is being driven
by the emergence of “statement”
fragrances that are designed to
satiate customers looking for
a stronger, more pronounced
scent, and Intense is meant to fit
the bill. “A lot of people are asking for stronger, more robust fragrances,” de Lesquen observed.
In a nod to the new generation of artisanal indie brands,
de Lesquen added, “we see
worldwide a very strong trend
behind those fragrances driven
by ingredients.”
PHOTO BY JOHN AQUINO
Polo Red
Intense
By PETE BORN
Polo Red Intense is more than
Polo Red with a racing stripe on
the fragrance’s bottle.
Intense, a line extension of
the briskly selling Polo Red
men’s fragrance, embodies a
number of trends now percolating through the men’s fragrance
market. First, the new version
of Red, which is due out next
week, is an eau de parfum, a
more powerful concentration
than the eau de toilette of the
original scent. Intense’s formula has a 14 percent juice
strength, compared to Polo
Red’s 10 percent. “The idea is to
supercharge,” said Guillaume
de Lesquen, president of Ralph
Lauren Fragrances Worldwide
at L’Oréal USA. The intensity
is built into the formula, which
was created by Olivier Gillotin
of Givaudan. The new fragrance
is an oriental spicy, a more aggressive version of the original,
which is a woodsy spicy scent.
“For us, it’s the first oriental juice [for Polo] that we have
done,” de Lesquen said.
Gillotin added three ingredients to the Red olfactive architecture — ginger, leather and coffee — to create a “supercharged
sensation of red ingredients,”
the perfumer said. Top notes include grapefruit, cranberry and
ginger, followed by saffron, sage
and orange flower in the midrange. Woods, roasted coffee and
leather notes comprise the base.
The grapefruit, saffron and cedarwood notes were borrowed
from the original fragrance. The
line-up includes a 125 ml. edp,
priced $86; a 75 ml. size for $69,
and a 40 ml. version for $50.
De Lesquen described the new
scent as “sweeter, warmer and
rounder. It has a little bit of a gourmand feeling,” he said, noting that
those characteristics constitute a
new trend in men’s fragrances. “It
will help us to create new users.
We want to gain market share.”
Alex Choueiri, president
of the International Designer
Collections Division at L’Oréal
USA, noted that Polo Red had
done well with both Caucasians
’’
The original Polo Red, launched is expected to be done in the U.S., Middle East and Asia, plus the
duty-free channel.
in 2013, is the largest of the Polo a 20 percent increase.
Intense is expected to shadow
L’Oréal is betting so heavbrands, ranking third among men’s
ily on the juices of the
fragrances in the U.S. detwo scents that they are
partment stores, behind
launching an aggressive
L’Oréal’s Acqua di Gio
campaign of scented
Pour Homme and Bleu
strips, amounting to 14.5
de Chanel. According to
million strips through
industry sources, Polo Red
June, often featuring
generated $33 million at
dual strips on a doubleretail in it first year and
page magazine spreads,
gained 30 percent last year.
in a total of at least 11
While Polo does not
— GUILLAUME DE LESQUEN,
fashion and lifestyle
break out projections,
L’ORÉAL USA
publications. The list insources estimate that Red
cludes ads in Hispanic
and Red Intense together
could generate as much as $130 Red’s distribution pattern around magazines, like Glamour Belleza
million in worldwide retail sales the world — throughout the U.S. and Latina, which are expected to
for 2015. Of that total, $60 million and the Americas, Europe, the break next week.
A lot of people are asking
for stronger, more robust
fragrances.
10 WWD FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2015
Adidas Proclaims U.S. ‘a Priority’ for 2015
PHOTO BY JOHN AQUINO
PARIS — Adidas ended a tough
2014 on a negative note, posting
a loss in the year’s final quarter. Yet the German activewear
giant is in a combative mood,
wanting to take
on America in
2015, where it’s
been outplayed
by rivals Nike and
Under Armour.
“We want and
we need to win in
that market. It’s
our competitors’
home turf, and
we have not been
spending enough
Herbert
here. We will inHainer
vest more into
advertising and
young athletes,
and we will grow
again in 2015,” said the firm’s
chief executive officer Herbert
Hainer, declaring the region his
key priority for the year.
Discussing the brand’s financial results for the full year on a
’’
By PAULINA SZMYDKE
conference call with journalists
on Thursday, the ceo was overtly
optimistic about the company’s
future, predicting net income
from continuing operations to
grow at a rate of 7 to 10 percent
in 2015.
He said “the Adidas group is
and will remain a
growth company.
In 2015, we will
see sales increases across all our
The sporting goods firm’s loss
in the fourth quarter amounted to
139 million euros, or $173.6 million, due to goodwill impairment
losses of 79 million euros, or
$101.9 million, and discontinued
operations related to the planned
Rockport divestiture, as the company is refocusing on sports as its
core activity — much like nextdoor neighbor Puma.
All dollar rates are calculated at average exchange rates for
’’
While we grew our business
by almost 20 percent in local
currency in 2014, we lost all of
it in currency translation.
— HERBERT HAINER, ADIDAS
brands, despite tough comparison with the 2014 World Cup year
as well as the geopolitical crisis
in Ukraine.”
Adidas shares closed up 3
percent on Thursday.
tion of North America, where
sales slipped 4 percent, mostly
strained by double-digit declines in the golf category.
For the full year, net profit
stood at 496 million euros, or $659
million, down 37 percent, though
double-digit sales increases at
Adidas and Reebok drove total
sales up 2 percent, or 6 percent
in currency-neutral terms, to 14.5
billion euros, or $19.3 billion.
“While I am as disappointed
as you are that we did not reach
all our financial goals set out at
the beginning of last year, there
were many bright spots in our
performance throughout 2014,”
contended Hainer.
He pointed to the group’s
core brand Adidas, which set
a new sales record of 11.8 billion euros, or $14.3 billion; he
singled out the soccer business
with its record of 2.1 billion
euros, or $2.5 million, in sales,
and said Reebok advanced for
the seventh consecutive quarter.
At the same time, he acknowledged that “2014 was a
year with ups and downs,” identifying three key weaknesses:
the period concerned.
Sales advanced 6 percent in
the fourth quarter to 3.6 billion
euros, or $4.5 billion, driven
by a strong performance in all
geographies with the excep-
the ailing golf-market, where
TaylorMade Adidas-Golf is a
global leader; depressed consumer sentiments in Russia and
currency headwinds.
While the golf category is expected to return to profitability in
2015, following measures to clean
inventory and lower the cost
base, in Russia, “the political and
macro-economic situation caused
us to be victims of our own success,” Hainer lamented, adding:
“While we grew our business by
almost 20 percent in local currency in 2014, we lost all of it in
currency translation.”
The group is now banking on
the upcoming 2018 FIFA World
Cup to boost sales and defend its
pole position in the region, which
it holds ahead of Nike and with
Reebok as “a strong number 3.”
Currency movements negatively impacted the brand’s
top-line result by more than 550
million euros, or $731 million,
in 2014.
Hainer, whose contract expires in March 2017, is to present a new strategic business
plan at the end of this month.
Carrefour Makes Progress Italian Industry Sees Gains in ’14
By ALEX WYNNE
PARIS — Carrefour SA is continuing to see the fruit of its turnaround plan implemented two
years ago.
Recurring operating profits
for the retailer, the world’s second largest behind Wal-Mart
Stores Inc., saw a 6.7 percent rise
year-on-year in 2014 to 2.39 billion euros, or $3.18 billion, in line
with previous guidance.
“[The
year]
confirms
Carrefour’s dynamism,” chief
financial officer Pierre-Jean
Sivignon said at the firm’s annual results conference here
Thursday. “The group saw its best
progress in five years.”
Carrefour said improved profitability in France and the rest of
Europe stemmed from its efforts
to enhance its multiformat offer
to be less reliant on hypermarkets, as well as from an improving
economic climate in Spain.
“France illustrated the dynamism of the multiformat model,”
Sivignon continued. “In Europe,
the recovery is encouraging. In
emerging markets, our performance, carried by Latin America,
is remarkable. In China, we are
evolving our model in order to
adapt to the context of frugality
in consumption.”
In France, the firm’s recurring
operating income increased 6.1
percent to 1.27 billion euros, or
$1.69 billion, while in the rest of
Europe, it grew 9.6 percent to 425
million euros, or $564.9 million.
In Asia, recurring operating
income fell 25.5 percent to 97
million euros, or $128.9 million,
largely due to wage increases and
a weak environment for consumption in China, where the retailer
is reviewing its model.
In Latin America, operating
income grew 9.4 percent to 685
million euros, or $910.4 million,
thanks to improved profitability
in Brazil and resilient business in
Argentina, and despite the strong
impact of currency depreciation
in both markets.
While net income from continuing operations surged 22.9 percent
last year to 1.3 billion euros, or
$1.73 billion, the firm’s overall net
income grew just 0.2 percent to
1.37 billion euros, or $1.82 billion.
Carrefour registered sales excluding VAT of 74.71 billion euros,
or $99.3 billion, a 0.2 percent decline in reported terms but up 2.9
percent at constant currency.
Non-food sales, including textiles, have been a key part of the
turnaround effort, Sivignon said.
Carrefour is focusing its apparel
offer on basics, rather than seasonal items, he continued, and is
seeing this strategy pay off with
increased sales.
Sivignon added that the company would increase its investments in 2015 and was planning
to spend between 2.5 billion and
2.6 billion euros, or between $2.78
billion and $2.9 billion at current
exchange, compared with 2.4 billion euros, or $3.19 billion, in 2014.
Dollar rates for 2014 are calculated at average exchange rates
for the period.
Much of the investment will be
dedicated to the continuing remodeling its stores, he said — some 60
hypermarkets in China will get a
revamp this year. Carrefour also
plans to transform French Dia
stores, which it acquired last year,
to its existing banners, abandoning
the discount channel.
Further priorities for the retailer include the rollout of clickand-collect services, the relaunch
of e-commerce in Brazil, plus improved logistics and IT systems.
Sivignon confirmed that the
firm would be ready to launch
an IPO for its Brazilian activity,
its second largest, this year. “We
have never said we will launch an
IPO in Brazil in 2015, but we will
be ready to,” affirmed Sivignon.
In a separate announcement,
Carrefour said that its chief executive officer Georges Plassat, widely
described as the architect of its
turnaround, will be back at work
before late April. He is recovering
from surgery, as reported.
The market responded well to
the results, with shares closing
up 2.4 percent at 30.36 euros, or
$33.81 at current exchange, on the
Paris Bourse on Thursday.
By LUISA ZARGANI
MILAN — Exports continue to
boost Italy’s textile and fashion industry, which is turning
to the U.S. to help offset a decrease in the Russian market.
In 2014, industry sales were
up 3.3 percent to 52.4 billion
euros, or $69.7 billion at average exchange, and exports
climbed 3.9 percent to 28.5
billion euros, or $38 billion.
According to textile and fashion association Sistema Moda
Italia, sell-out figures in Italy
dropped 3 percent, while
“apparent spending” rose 2.5
percent. “This refers to business-to-business demand,”
explained president Claudio
Marenzi, of the figure.
After losing almost 96,000
jobs in the industry in the
2008 to 2013 period, the rate
of job losses decelerated in
2014, with a 0.3 percent drop,
or 1,200 employees. Last year,
780 companies closed down.
According to SMI, in the
first half of 2015, textile and
fashion sales are expected to
grow 2.8 percent: the textile
industry is forecast to gain 2.5
percent and fashion is expected to grow 2.9 percent.
In the first six months of the
year, exports are forecast to
grow 3.3 percent, slightly down
compared to a 4.3 percent increase in the first half of 2014.
“Over 2015, the European
Union is expected to continue to grow, as well as China,”
Marenzi said. Significant demand is seen coming from
the U.S., and an “even bigger
growth” is expected in 2015.
Marenzi said that, between
2015 and 2016, there “will be
a big promotion of Made in
3.9%
INCREASE IN INDUSTRY EXPORTS
FOR ITALY IN 2014.
Italy” in the U.S. in collaboration with a department store.
He declined to name the retailer as negotiations are still
going on.
In 2015, Japan will be stable, while it will take at least
two years for Russia to exit its
Cesare Paciotti to Show in Paris
MILAN — Cesare Paciotti is
returning to Paris. The Italian
footwear brand will hold a
presentation in the French
capital on Saturday and
chief executive officer Marco
Calcinaro said the move marks
the next stage for the company,
after a financial setback.
“This will show that
nothing has changed,” said
Calcinaro during an interview
at the Paciotti showroom here.
After filing a petition
for composition with creditors, the company, which was
founded in 1948 in Civitanova
Marche, has set up a new strategic plan, reorganized its
structure and streamlined its
wholesale accounts.
Calcinaro underscored that
the family is behind the relaunch and that the namesake
designer remains president,
with 50 percent of its shares,
while his sister, Paola, holds
the remaining stake, and that
a new board has been set up.
Calcinaro said the firm was
overexposed to the Italian market, which had grown to account
for 65 percent of sales. Now,
sales in Italy account for 33
percent of revenues. The company is “strongly represented
in Europe and Russia. Despite
the crisis, Russia remains important,” said the executive,
noting that wholesale is “working well” in the Far East, where
retail “must be strengthened.”
economic crisis. In 2013, exports of textiles and fashion to
Russia totaled almost 1.5 billion euros, or $2 billion, up 4.4
percent compared with 2012.
In the first 11 months of 2014,
exports to the area decreased
12.2 percent.
Marenzi
underscored
that Russians “are very loyal
to Made in Italy labels.”
Establishing a stable ruble is
now the country’s main concern, he added.
Given the sociopolitical issues today and the crisis in
Russia, among other issues,
the “flexibility that characterizes the companies in the industry, their speed and skills
in setting changes in motion,
will once again be a crucial
success factor that will be
able to guarantee growth in
2015,” he noted.
Marenzi urged cooperation
between the country’s leading trade fairs, citing examples such as Chic, Unica and
Micam banding together for an
exhibition in Shanghai. One of
the main goals going forward
is to add eyewear and jewelry
to ready-to-wear, textiles and
shoe fairs.
Paciotti entered the Middle
East in 1998 in Dubai, and the
region continues to be important for the brand. Calcinaro
also pointed to Bal Harbour
and Los Angeles as two key
markets in the U.S. for the
brand. The company has stores
in Milan, Rome, London, Paris,
Miami and Los Angeles, as
well as 26 franchised units.
In terms of product, the
executive said the company
has refocused on its design
guidelines. “There had been
some dispersion. We can’t be
liked by everyone,” he explained. The firm also has a
strong men’s business, which
accounts for 65 percent of total
revenues. An expansion in
handbags is also a major project for the company, he said.
— L.Z.
WWD FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2015 11
WWD.COM
MEMO PAD
MILLION-VIEW MAN: Olivier Rousteing did it:
Balmain’s artistic director hit the onemillion mark on Instagram, becoming
the most-followed French fashion
designer on the social media platform.
Rousteing, who famously posts videos
of himself wishing his followers good
night, says people are drawn to the
reality factor of his Instagram account.
“I’m young, I’m black, I’m a designer,
I have famous friends, but I also eat
hamburgers and have both feet on
the ground. It’s real life and reality
always excites people,” he offered as an
explanation for his success.
Asked whether this meant more fun
or more pressure, Rousteing said: “I feel
like being myself.”
After four years at the helm of the
Parisian house, he finally understands
who he is, Rousteing added, willing
to share his personality with fans and
followers. Rousteing did not think
posing nude for the cover of French Tetu
magazine helped his score, but rather
what was inside the magazine, where he
got personal. “I was honest and sincere
— I didn’t hide anything,” he said. “I’m
not getting naked to sell but to express
myself. For me, that’s a sign of maturity.”
The 28-year-old has also been voted
fourth-most influential French person
on Instagram, according to French
media reports.
— PAULINA SZMYDKE
CHANGES AT ARMANI AND BRIONI: The
Giorgio Armani company has tapped
Claudio Calò to coordinate the company’s
communication activities. He will be
based in Milan and will report directly
to Giorgio Armani.
paraphrasing chief executive Smith,
who relayed his company’s credo in a
2013 New Yorker profile as laid out by
Vice magazine cofounder Gavin McInnes.
(“McInnes told me, ‘My big thing was
I want you to do stupid in a smart way
and smart in a stupid way,’” Smith said).
For Broadly, that mantra will translate
to originally reported stories on
political issues that include abortion,
rape on college campuses and in the
— ALESSANDRA TURRA
military, reproductive policy and other
women’s issues.
BROADLY SPEAKING: Vice Media is
“I don’t want to just focus on rape
starting a new chapter of expansion,
and abortion,” said Morrissey, catching
following its September infusion of $500
herself. “Women
million from minority
aren’t just the
investors, and it’s
consequence of sh-looking to an unlikely
-y sex that happens
target for growth —
to them. We’re going
women. Last week,
to do humor pieces
the Brooklyn-based
that harken back to
company said it hired
the old days of Vice,
Jezebel veteran Tracie
but not in a raunchy
Egan Morrissey to head
way. We’re bringing
up its new femaleback nuance.” (Not
centric channel,
exactly a word
Broadly — a new site
associated with a site
that was her idea.
whose headlines on
Morrissey told
Thursday included
WWD that she
“Tattooing Away
approached Vice
the Pain” and “The
cofounders Shane Smith
Money Shot: Product
and Suroosh Alvi six
Placement in Porn is
months ago with her
Now a Thing.”)
“special vision.”
Morrissey said Vice
It included
would fold in fashion
speaking to women on
and beauty coverage,
issues in a very Vice
but not from a
way, which, for those
Tracie Egan Morrissey
product-centric stance
not familiar, is part of
(unless it’s talking
the company’s “ethos,”
about porn, presumably).
Morrissey explained. For clarity, she
Although she didn’t elaborate how,
added: “It’s smart done in a stupid way
she explained: “I would rather talk
and stupid done in a smart way.”
about people than things. The people
The editor, who started at Jezebel
who make the clothes, not the clothes,
when it launched in 2007, was (smartly)
Previously, Calò was marketing
director at Emilio Pucci, a position he
has held since 2012.
Changes are also taking place in
Brioni’s communications department,
where, according to industry sources,
Paola Milani, after a little more than
a year, has left her role as global
communications director. The position
has not been filled yet.
not the reviews of fashion week — it’s
less on the product and more on the
cultural implications.”
Broadly, which will debut at a yetto-be determined date in the spring, is
the fourth channel launch for Vice in
12 months. The three prior channels
include News, Sports and Munchies, a
food-centric site.
With Broadly, Vice continues on
its path of “evolving” beyond a media
company targeting testosterone-fueled
young men. A spokesman was unable
to provide a gender breakdown of
audience by presstime, but he did not
deny that Vice still serves a largely
male viewership.
Although Vice frequently reports on
gender issues on its site and in its HBO
series, the media company is just now
making a more overt grab for female
followers. Case in point: recently, WWD
learned that Vice, which owns British
fashion title i-D, was in the process of
expanding its presence in New York
and Asia. This came shortly after Vice
tapped Ellis Jones as the namesake
magazine’s first female editor-in-chief
in its 20-year history. Earlier this year,
the company hired former White House
deputy chief of staff Alyssa Mastromonaco
as chief operating officer — a move that
was viewed by many as a deliberate step
to help transform its image.
The moves at Vice, the magazine,
mirror a similar strategy at Maxim,
which also has named its first female
editor in chief, Kate Lanphear, as it
attempts to reinvent itself from a lad
mag filled with bodacious babes into
a more “mature” title. The goal in
both cases is to gain more upmarket
advertising and perhaps capture the
thirtysomething reader who deserted
the titles as they grew up.
— ALEXANDRA STEIGRAD
Maison Kitsuné Explores Accessories
They have employed a veteran of Tila
March and Delvaux to steer production.
The first collection will be manufactured in Italy, though Loaëc said that
MAISON KITSUNÉ, a clothing and
the brand is also looking into producmusic label that prides itself on strong
ing in Portugal for future accessory outParisian roots, is applying its classic
ings — which will soon follow. A Maison
Gallic persona to accessories, beginning
Kitsuné handbag is in the works — with
with footwear for fall.
a Boston bag early prototype appearing
The inaugural collection features four
in the brand’s fall look book. Shown in
women’s styles — two flats, one boot, and
navy leather with minimal gold hardware
one pair of heels — and will retail excluand a diminutive “Maison Kitsuné” logo
sively in Maison Kitsuné stores starting in
stamp, Loaëc said a finished design will
October. The label’s previous footwear ofmake its retail debut in early 2016 and will
ferings — aside from a single tennis-style
be priced around $1,000. A small range of
sneaker — were produced in collaboramen’s shoes will also launch around that
tion with French brands including
time, he added.
Pierre Hardy and Michel Vivien.
By the time the
“It’s really completing the
brand’s shoes make their
look and giving a wider perspecretail debut, Loaëc and
tive to the brand. I think you
Kuroki will be operating
are a true clothes label when
eight freestanding stores
you have shoes — they are
worldwide — counting
really important,” said
the forthcoming openGildas Loaëc, who coings of a Hong Kong lofounded the brand with
cation, a second store in
Masaya Kuroki.
New York and a fourth in
The shoes are exParis, all opening by sumpected to retail bemer’s end. The brand
tween $350 and $600,
also operates a small enand they reflect the refined,
clave of branded cafés in
collegiate style the brand is
Paris and Tokyo.
known for. A pair of ankle
For Loaëc, Kitsuné’s
boots, furnished with a modest,
entry into the women’s
pedestrian-friendly heel, will
accessory realm repbe offered in leather or pony
resents a larger push
hair. There’s also an anklefor the label’s women’s
strap heel with a curt pointed
line. Currently, women’s
toe, and two flat styles — a laceready-to-wear accounts
up oxford and a penny loafer.
for 40 percent of the
“We wanted to make
Maison
Kitsuné
fall
looks,
brand’s business. “A
something that is not trendy,
including
shoe
designs
women’s shoe line is
that we could work with between
giving us more credit
different seasons and follow-up on and a bag prototype.
in the women’s industry instead of being
the concept, it’s something we do with the
largely seen as a men’s brand,” he said.
women’s [apparel] line,” said Loaëc.
Kitsuné’s apparel business had sales
A former artistic director for Daft
of $16 million last year, and the aim is to
Punk who also oversees the development
increase that figure to $18 million in 2015.
of Kitsuné’s in-house music label, he
The label says it is interested in taking on
said that he and Kuroki decided to enter
investors to help further growth.
the accessories space nearly a year ago.
By MISTY WHITE SIDELL
REACH THE
FASHION INDUSTRY’S
TOP TALENT
WWDCAREERS.COM
PRINT & ONLINE PACKAGES AVAILABLE
Contact Christen Cosmas, WWD Classified/Careers
at 212.630.3937 or [email protected]
12 WWD FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2015
Alibaba’s Taobao Under USTR’s Spotlight
{Continued from page one}
involving pirated movies and
other audiovisual products and
software.
“USTR is concerned about
these developments but does
not relist Taobao at this time,”
the agency said. “USTR encourages the company to continue
working with all stakeholders
to address ongoing complaints
[and] will continue to monitor
the situation.”
USTR removed Taobao from
its report in 2012 in what it said
was a “recognition of efforts to
address rights holder and consumer complaints.”
Alibaba has been under
intense scrutiny in the past
several months for its business practices, most recently
drawing attention from the
U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission. According to
Alibaba, the SEC has asked for
information about a meeting the
company had last summer with
a Chinese regulator over allegations of selling counterfeit
goods, before it made a public
offering in New York last fall.
The Chinese government
has taken a carrot-and-stick
approach recently to Alibaba
— criticizing its business practices on the one hand and then
praising them on the other. Ma
has responded by adopting a
humble approach, at one point
admitting that Alibaba wasn’t
“too big to fail.”
U.S. trade officials, who
briefed reporters under the
condition of anonymity on
Thursday, said they have
been encouraged by Alibaba’s
stakeholder engagement as
well as the assurances the
Chinese company has provided, noting that the group has
reportedly removed millions
of listings of counterfeit and
pirated products from its ecommerce platforms.
One U.S. trade official said
the USTR list is intended to
prod foreign governments to
address IPR challenges and
praised the Chinese government for being actively engaged
with Alibaba.
Meanwhile, Alibaba is
going on the offensive to combat counterfeiters.
“Alibaba Group is dedicated
to the fight against counterfeits. We work closely with our
government partners, brands
and industry associations to
tackle this issue at its source,”
a spokesman said in an e-mail
in response to the report. “We
also utilize technology like data
mining and big data to scrub our
platforms of counterfeits.”
James Wilkinson, senior vice
president and head of corporate
international affairs at Alibaba
Group, submitted public comments to USTR on Oct. 24.
“Taobao continues to engage
in dialogue with U.S. rightsholders both with respect to individual take-down requests and on
ways to refine and streamline
the notice and take-down system,” Wilkinson said in a letter
to Susan Wilson, director for intellectual property and innovation at USTR.
He told U.S. trade officials
that Alibaba will introduce a
new “three-strike” penalty sys-
FASHION SCOOPS
PHOTOS BY STÉPHANE FEUGÈRE
BLONDE SALADE: Kim Kardashian’s
first Paris Fashion Week
appearance did not go
unnoticed at the Balmain show
on Thursday, visible as she was
with her newly blonde hair and
entourage that included hubby
Kanye West and mum Kris Jenner.
Jared Leto, on the other hand,
slipped into the front row
almost unnoticed due to his
short, blonde Billy Idol-esque
crop. “Who’s that?” Alessandra
Ambrosio asked backstage, when
Leto greeted her from behind
his mirrored aviators. “What
the f--k,” squealed the model,
when she realized who it was.
Leto said he
cut and dyed his
hair two days ago
for a film role. “I’m
playing the Joker,”
explained the actor,
who is to start filming
supervillain movie
“Suicide Squad.” He
is certainly enjoying
the shock factor of
his dramatic new
look. “It’s kind of fun,
Kim
you can walk down
Kardashian
the street incognito,”
Leto said.
Solange Knowles arrived in style —
that is, early. The multihyphenate
was operating on a strict agenda
with one goal on top of her list:
“Dance the way I want to,” she
said. “I always enjoy myself when I
come to fashion week in Paris, but
there’s definitely never that sweaty
hot dance moment.”
Knowles said she would
try to get a chance later, DJing
for Eleven Paris, whose new
campaign she’s fronting.
Meanwhile, Knowles’ next
footwear collection with
Puma — where the musician
said she was hired to produce
campaigns and actively recruit
designers for the brand — is
due in May.
— MILES SOCHA AND
PAULINA SZMYDKE
BLONDE AMBITION: Things got
a little frenzied at the Lanvin
show in Paris on Thursday,
as photographers jostled to
get pictures of
guests including
Kanye West, Kim
Kardashian, Kris
Jenner, Kelly
Rowland and
Solange Knowles.
Words were
exchanged with
security guards,
and French Vogue
photographer
Saskia Lawaks was
attempting to
maneuver into the
fray to get a shot
of Rowland and Knowles, who
greeted each other with a warm
embrace. Observing the scene,
Jared Leto decided it was time
for some crowd control.
“Excusez-moi!” he hollered
at the pack of snappers. “Look
at the one lady here. Come on!
The one lady. Let her get in
The USTR said in a report that it is concerned about recent allegations of
counterfeiting and digital piracy on Alibaba’s platform Taobao.
tem and a new tiered complaint
system for expedited takedowns on Taobao some time in
the first quarter.
Under the “three-strike”
system, a merchant will accrue
one strike each time a justified complaint about a listing
on the merchant’s storefront
is submitted. If a merchant accumulates three strikes stemming from complaints from the
same rightsholder for the same
intellectual property right, the
merchant will be banned from
the Taobao platform.
Wilkinson said the new penalty system will supplement
Taobao’s existing point-based
penalty system, which could potentially “ban merchants from
the platform for repeated sales
of counterfeit products that infringe on multiple intellectual
property rights.”
The new tiered complaint
system will be accessible
to rightsholders that have a
track record of making “justi-
fied requests,” which he described as “either uncontested or that are resolved in the
rightsholder’s favor.”
Rightsholders will need to
register their IP with Taobao
to submit take-down requests,
an existing requirement under
the current system. They must
also sign a commitment letter pledging to cooperate with
Taobao, “dedicate the resources necessary” to submit “justified” requests and work with
Taobao if legal action results
from a take-down.
Under the new tiered system,
rightsholders will be grouped
into tiers, including an A-plus
tier, he said.
Rightsholders in this tier
must have a “very good” record
of submitting justified requests
and will only need to “identify
allegedly infringing listings and
provide an explanation justifying the allegation,” including
choosing an explanation from a
drop-down list.
there.” Lawaks moved into her
spot and took the picture, but
not before executing a little
celebratory fist pump.
Rowland was in town without
her husband Tim Weatherspoon and
keeping warm in a corner of La
Grenouille. She cut through an
intimate space heaving with a
distinguished crowd — Carolina
and Reinaldo Herrera, Mercedes
Bass, Mica Ertegun, Mark Lyall
Grant, the British ambassador to
the United Nations — to reach
her destination, right by the
side of Nicky Haslam. The interior
designer has just published
another coffee-table book —
a collection of reminisces,
clippings and sketches titled
“A Designer’s Life” — and so
it was time again for another
gathering of his long-devoted
fan club, New York chapter.
The leader of this cheering
squad is, indisputably, Radziwill.
“He’s terribly witty, terribly
well-read,” she said, sounding
like she could have gone on for
a lot longer. They first met in
London and Haslam later stayed
at her home in Sicily during
the summers, one of several
memories he revisits in a book
covering 75 years of his life.
Radziwill herself couldn’t
remember where or when they
first met, though she does recall
those Italian summers, but it
was clear that the reason for
their long friendship is a mutual
admiration for each other. “He’s
stayed with me for many, many
summers, and he adores my dogs
and he adores me,” she said.
“I’ve seen him go through many,
many, many different phases.”
“Remember the punk phase?”
the writer Bob Colacello added,
helpfully. Finally, it seemed,
he had joined her ranks as an
éminence grise. “Absolutely,”
Radziwill said. — ERIK MAZA
Solange Knowles
and Kelly Rowland
son Titan. “I do miss my baby. He’s
back in Los Angeles with his dad,
but I’m good and I’m here with
[Solange]. Thank God she’s here,
because I feel like I’m good, I’m
balanced now,” said the former
Destiny’s Child singer, who
recently lost her mother.
After snapping a selfie
with Leto, Jenner dished on
her daughter’s dramatic new
platinum hairstyle, unveiled
earlier that day at the Balmain
show. “I think she just wanted
to experience being a blonde
and wanted to have a great look
for the week. I’m not really
sure. I was as surprised as you
when she showed up in Paris
today. I was very excited, I think
it looks fantastic,” she said.
— JOELLE DIDERICH
CHEERS FOR NICKY: On a cold
night in New York City, Lee
Radziwill, regal, resilient,
impeccably coiffured, was
Taobao will conduct a review and expects to remove
allegedly infringing listings
within one to three working
days, where warranted.
This top tier will also include
rightsholders with few takedown requests until they “develop a track record that would
justify placing them in a different tier,” Wilkinson said.
There is also a “common
complaint tier ” for rightsholders that do not have a
strong record of submitting
“justified” requests, who
must provide proof of alleged
infringement. Those listings,
if deemed the take-down request is justified, will be removed within about five to
seven working days.
The third tier is a “special
complaints” tier that all other
rightsholders will be placed in.
Wilkinson said Taobao
took down 99.2 million allegedly infringing listings between Januar y and
September 2014. Of those,
33.1 million were removed
as a result of “special campaigns” Taobao conducted
with 1,208 U.S. rightsholders,
which resulted in the imposition of penalties on 200,000
sellers, he said.
In addition, Alibaba and
several major U.S. brands
worked in conjunction with
authorities in China targeting
eight counterfeiting rings during that time period. To date,
21 suspects have been arrested and nine counterfeiting
rings have been disbanded,
Wilkinson said.
JACK OF ALL TRADES: Jack Huston
is adding a new title to his CV:
eyewear designer. The British
actor serves as the face of
Oliver Peoples, and for spring
will increase his involvement
by codesigning a pair of frames.
“I’m a sunglass fanatic,” Huston
told WWD, calling from set in
Italy, where he is filming the
upcoming “Ben-Hur” remake.
“They approached me about
collaborating on a frame and I
was like, ‘Are you kidding? That
sounds awesome.’”
The one-off style, which is
named after the actor, features
a thick acetate frame with
three pin detailing along the
front temples, and will be
available as both a sunglass
and optical frame. The frames
will be available in four colors:
Ebonywood, Raintree, which
is a light brown, Cocobolo
— which is a reddish-brown
— and black. The Ebonywood
and Raintree glasses will
feature a new style of lenses
for the brand: the VFX Plus,
a polarized glass lens that
features rare earth materials
and infrared coating, which
aims to keep eyes cool and
less strained than with typical
lenses. The Jack Huston
sunglass frame, which retails
for $475, will be available for
purchase at Oliver Peoples
boutiques and additional select
stores beginning later this
month, with the optical frame
coming to retail for summer.
Additionally, the sunglasses will
be available on oliverpeoples.
com beginning Monday.
— LAUREN MCCARTHY