WWD.COM

Hana Soukupova

2 WWD, TUESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2010

By Arnold J. Karr

Belk Inc. has Installed a woman from outside the Belk family in a top executive post.

kathryn Bufano, who has been president of merchandising and marketing since joining the charlotte, n.c.-based department store group in January 2008, has been promoted to president and chief merchandising officer.

she succeeds mckay Belk, who has decided to extend his yearlong sabbatical and relin-quish the title. he remains with the compa-ny founded in 1888 by his grandfather, william henry Belk, as vice chair-man and a director. according to the firm, he “will provide…advice and counsel on merchandising and vendor relations.”

Belk’s decision to leave re-tailing, at least temporarily, in favor of christian ministry-re-lated service came in June 2009, and he was uncertain of whether he’d return to full-time work in the family business at that time.

“that remains to be seen,” he said. “that door is open. It will be de-pendent on what occurs over the next 12 months. I will have the [vice chairman] title regardless of whether I come back.”

following Belk’s departure, Bufano had reported to tim Belk, chairman and chief ex-ecutive officer, and she will continue to do so in her new role. the ceo described her as “an outstanding merchant who understands our southern lifestyle and is providing excellent strategic leadership to enable Belk to deliver the fashion, style and service that our customers expect and deserve.”

although Bufano is the first woman and the first person outside the Belk family to hold the title of president and chief merchant of the retailer, she was preceded by a woman, mary delk, in her most recent post. her new title was first assigned in 2004, when it was given to mckay Belk at the same time that tim Belk became chairman and ceo and John “Johnny”

Belk became president and chief operating of-ficer. those appointments, passing the gavel to a third generation within the Belk fam-ily, came upon the retirement of John Belk as chairman and ceo after more than 50 years at the helm of the firm. the three Belk brothers are nephews of the former ceo, who died in 2007, and sons of thomas Belk, former presi-dent, who died in 1997.

Bufano told wwd that Belk’s business “has been good. we’ve had a record-breaking spring

and are optimistic about the future. I do be-lieve very much that we are the author-

ity in our 16-state footprint in terms of understanding the southern

lifestyle, and we’ve added a lot of head count to support the busi-ness.”

Private label has about a 30 percent penetration at Belk, she said, and the company recently concluded a study with kantar

retail of 35,000 of its custom-ers showing that awareness of

and loyalty to the retailer’s private brands had grown substantially since

the last study in 2008. meanwhile, she said, the company

is enjoying a “very strong” back-to-school business in young men’s,

children’s and denim.“we like being a good-better-

best department store,” she said. “we have a very strong moderate business and can flex within our organization to go where the customers want us

to be.”Bufano joined Belk after serv-

ing as ceo of Vanity shops, a junior specialty chain based in fargo, n.d.

earlier in her career, she held merchandise management roles with sears, roebuck & co.; dress Barn Inc.; macy’s Inc., and lord & taylor.

with 306 stores in 16 states in the south and southeast, Belk is the largest privately held depart-ment store company in the U.s. In 2009, it reversed a prior-year loss with a $67.1 million net profit and generated revenues of $3.35 billion. first-quarter profits increased fiftyfold to $25.2 million on a 5.7 percent increase in sales to $760.9 million.

By Kelly Wetherille

TOKYO — london’s favorite fashion mecca, topshop, is ex-panding in Japan.

the chain will open its sec-ond store in tokyo on sept. 16, the company said monday. the 1,000-square-foot flagship will join the brand’s three existing stores in Japan — in tokyo’s harajuku district, Yokohama and sapporo.

the new tokyo store, which will be located in the lively shop-ping district of shinjuku, will act as the company’s Japan flagship. the topshop/topman will fea-ture women’s wear, men’s wear, cosmetics, a shoe lounge and

personal shopping suites. modeled after topshop’s

flagships in london and new York, the shinjuku store will aim to have a more exclusive, premium atmosphere than that of other branches in Japan, the company said.

the second floor shoe lounge will be decorated with chandeliers and gilded bronze mirrors. the shinjuku location will also mark the introduction of the company’s personal-shopping services to Japanese consumers. the service, which is free of charge, allows cus-tomers to relax with sweets and drinks while a personal shopper puts together a selec-

tion of items chosen specifi-cally for them.

the company is also plan-ning a range of exclusive items for the store’s opening.

the topman floor will showcase a new project called Japan collaboration, which will aim to introduce up-and-coming tokyo men’s wear de-signers such as heath, ambush and roc star to customers not only in Japan but also in london and new York.

In addition to shopping space, the store will include a permanent dJ booth, and topshop plans to invite dJs and rock bands to perform for intimate in-store events.

Topshop Opening Flagship in Tokyo

WWD IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF ADVANCE MAGAZINE PUBLISHERS INC. COPYRIGHT ©2010 FAIRCHILD FASHION GROUP. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.VOLUME 200, NO. 29. WWD (ISSN 0149–5380) is published daily (except for Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, with one additional issue in January, May, June, October and December, two additional issues in March, April, August, September and November, and three additional issues in February) by Fairchild Fashion Group, which is a division of Advance Magazine Publishers Inc. PRINCIPAL OFFICE: 750 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017. Shared Services provided by Condé Nast: S. I. Newhouse, Jr., Chairman; Charles H. Townsend, President/CEO; John W. Bellando, Executive Vice President/COO; Jill Bright, Executive Vice President/Human Resources. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY, and at additional mailing offices. Canada Post Publications Mail Agreement No. 40644503. Canadian Goods and Services Tax Registration No. 886549096-RT0001. 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 WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY, P.O. Box 15008, North Hollywood, CA 91615–5008. FOR SUBSCRIPTIONS, ADDRESS CHANGES, ADJUSTMENTS, OR BACK ISSUE INQUIRIES: Please write to WWD, P.O. Box 15008, North Hollywood, CA 91615-5008, call 800-289-0273, or visit www.subnow.com/wd. Please give both new and old addresses as printed on most recent label. 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. Address all editorial, business, and production correspondence to WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY, 750 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017. For permissions and reprint requests, please call 212-630-4274 or fax requests to 212-630-4280. Visit us online at www.wwd.com. To subscribe to other Fairchild magazines on the World Wide Web, visit www.fairchildpub.com. Occasionally, we make our subscriber list available to carefully screened companies that offer products and services that we believe would interest our readers. If you do not want to receive these offers and/or information, please advise us at P.O. Box 15008, North Hollywood, CA 91615-5008 or call 800-289-0273. WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY 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 WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY IN WRITING. MANUSCRIPTS, PHOTOGRAPHS, AND OTHER MATERIALS SUBMITTED MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY A SELF-ADDRESSED STAMPED ENVELOPE.

To e-mail reporTers and ediTors aT WWd, The address is firsTname.lasTname@fairchildpub.com, using The individual’s name.

Classified Advertisements.................................................................................................11

4FASHIONGiorgio Armani’s spring Armani Collezioni lineup featured a key trend: novelty patterns, which ranged from a jacquard camouflage motif to a graphic floral.

GENERALFashion players and retailers are trying to get smart, and quick, on everything from social media and mobile commerce to celebrity — and they’re willing to think differently to do it.

Kathryn Bufano has been promoted to president and chief merchandising officer of Belk.

The Aisle New York, a luxury e-commerce site that makes its debut late next month, is all about getting brides designer gowns within a premium price range.

TEXTILES: Retailers and brands are broadening their scrutiny of global textile suppliers after an initiative with an environmental group led to greater efficiencies and pollution control in China.

EYEAnyone in the Hamptons with a hankering for free Champagne on Saturday night was in luck — there were at least three well-stocked events in the area.

1

2

5

7

12

“This is like the geek trying to get the hot

cheerleader to become cool at the high school dance.” — Sherif Mityas, A.T. Kearney partner, on the rush

of companies seeking businesses that have the pulse of new consumers. Page one.

s

WWDTUESDayReady-to-Wear/Textiles

• Additional images from the screening of “The Big C” and the Water Mill party

• More looks from Armani Collezioni’s spring lineup and Collette by Collette Dinnigan • WWD Blog: The RFID Myth

• Model Call: Shena Moult

TODAY ON

.comWWD

PHoT

o BY

STe

ve e

iCHN

eR

QUOTEDAILY

Kathryn Bufano

McKay Belk

Belk operates 306 stores.

Bufano Named Belk President

November 1962 | Diana VreelandNNoo vvee mm bb ee rr 11 99 66 22 || DDiiaa nn aa VV rr ee ee ll aa nn ddNovember 1962 | Diana Vreeland

PH

OTO

B

Y J

OSIE

MIN

ER

PH

OTO

BY T

ON

Y P

ALM

IER

I

WE MEAN BUSINESS.

SINCE 1910

CELEBRATE FALL 2010

@100

WWD.COM4 WWD, TUESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2010

A Novel IdeaSpring is in the air. It started last week with Giorgio Armani, who opened market for his Armani Collezioni lineup in New York. A key trend: novelty

patterns, which ranged from a jacquard camouflage motif to a graphic floral. Armani also focused on his new suit — walking shorts and sleeveless

kimono-style jackets — all with his sophisticated tailored touch.

phot

os b

y jo

hn a

quin

o

For more looks from

Armani Collezioni,

see WWD.com/fashion-news.

Looks from Armani Collezioni.

WWD.COM5WWD, TUESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2010

By Rosemary Feitelberg

Never miNd gettiNg to the church oN time. the Aisle New York, a luxury e-commerce site that makes its debut late next month, is all about getting brides designer gowns within a premium price range — and building a genuine fashion profile along the way.

Partners david Yassky, Shara Levy, deborah moses and mark ingram — all of whom have their own wed-ding-related expertise — are launching their site at a serendipitous moment. chelsea clinton’s uberpubli-cized wedding is expected to give the $40 billion bridal category a real jolt, welcome news for a business that was among the first to slide during the recession.

the Aisle New York’s innovative platform is entic-ing in its own right. the site will feature labels such as oscar de la renta, monique Lhuillier, marchesa, Angel Sanchez, Alberta Ferretti and elizabeth Fillmore, many of whom have signed 18-month e-commerce ex-clusivity agreements. the site’s splash page is now up and open for pre-regis-tration. membership is free, requiring the registrant’s name, e-mail address and zip code, with wedding and birth dates optional.

most of the Aisle’s merchandise is not current season and is therefore promo-tionally priced, typically at 50 percent off original retail, the average of which was $5,900. the site will open with a range that extends to an original retail of $14,000. the Aisle works directly with the design houses, who are supplying overages, returns and, in some cases, one-of-a-kind archival pieces. Sizes run from 2 to 12.

Some merchandise is current and full price. in this category falls the site’s en-try-level price point, Notte by marchesa, with $695 dresses, and a range of oscar de la renta jewelry. in most cases, de-livery is immediate or at the bride’s dis-cretion — the longest wait is seven to 10 days for dresses from a custom-cut pro-gram with ulla-maija.

the site will launch with wedding gowns, veils, headpieces, costume jew-elry, evening bags and shoes. textile his-torian Pat Kerr has provided some one-of-a-kind lace pieces, and Sanchez and Fillmore, wraps and bed jackets. down the road, bridesmaid and mother-of-the-bride dresses, tabletop and an online registry will be added.

Levy, a former corporate lawyer who worked in finance, met Yassky, a styl-ist and former bridal editor at WWd, through a mutual friend a few years ago. An avid online shopper, Levy helped a host of friends plan their weddings. She and Yassky wondered why high-end bridal gowns were not sold online and later posed the question to ingram, who owns the eponymously named boutique on east 55th Street in manhattan. they decided to change that and developed a business plan. moses of moses media soon joined the nascent venture, which is privately financed. A former editor in chief of elegant Bride and a creative director, moses spent several years on staff at vera Wang and has done work for, among others, reem Acra, carolina herrera and Badgley mischka. Levy and Yassky are co-presidents; ingram, chief merchandising officer, and moses, chief creative officer.

their goal is to cast bridal in a rel-evant fashion context. “it’s so important that we showcase bridal that way and we take it out of being a stepchild of fashion,” Yassky said. to that end, he noted that proper “aspirational” photography is es-sential, as is editorial-type content, much of it service oriented, to accompany the sales element.

“this is not going to be for every bride,” Yassky acknowledged. “there are girls that are comfortable shopping online and girls who aren’t. But there are girls in every demographic who don’t mind getting a bargain and will stand on line for hours at mark’s sam-ple sale or vera’s sample sale. they will even camp out at night. And there are those girls also who live in places where they don’t have access to sample sales. that’s going to be one of our core customers — girls who aren’t afraid.”

According to moses, such customers are out there.

“the thing about bridal customers is they’ve done their research,” she said. “they’ve shopped everywhere. they know which designer fits [their body type]. they know what they want.”

many such brides live in areas where getting what they want presents a significant challenge. ingram noted the recent closings of numerous bridal doors by both Neiman marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue. he said some of his store’s customers are out-of-state brides who fly to New York in search of their dresses. Similarly, many brides travel from mexico and Latin America to miami in search of the perfect dress. By shopping online, these women could save the travel money and potentially funnel it elsewhere into their wedding budgets.

“there are so many brides that i don’t reach through my store. this [site] is for that other bride,” ingram said. “the aim is not to compete directly with stores. i would not be doing this if i were competing against myself.

designers are working in tandem with us because they [understand this]. they don’t want to destroy their geo-graphical distribution and retail partners.”

the site is organized into designer boutiques, which will offer “sales.” these will last for 72 hours on aver-age, or until the gowns are sold. typically, each sale will feature eight to 10 styles. “We don’t want to overwhelm girls,” Yassky said. “every gown we sell we have seen and have handpicked. Shopping for a wedding dress can be intimidating at times, so the selection is small.”

At launch time, two to four sales will run concurrent-ly. oscar de la renta and monique Lhuillier likely will be among the firsts, along with the Notte by marchesa program. A drop-down menu will indicate current sales, and a calendar will list those planned for the next week. through the site’s time-sale format, members will re-

ceive e-mails announcing sales.once a shopper clicks on a dress, she will see in-

depth product information, including a detailed fashion description, three views of the look and highly specific sizing measurements as well as shipping options. the site’s Aisle Partners section will provide recommenda-tions for bridal necessities such as tailors, dry cleaners and restorers.

While designer gowns at appealing prices are the Aisle’s primary draw, its principals have incorporated an additional incentive: a philanthropic component. each featured designer will select a charity that will be highlighted with a first-person testimonial. the Aisle will donate 2 percent of every dress sale to that charity, and the designers have the option to match the donation.

None of which will matter if the bride doesn’t love her dress. to ensure that buying online doesn’t require too big a leap of faith, the Aisle New York offers the

option of return insurance for $175 to $225, depending upon the dress. Should a woman keep the dress, that amount is deducted from the ticket price. “We want to encourage serious shopping. this is not the Zappos model where they send a 6, a 6.5 and a 7 to try and then you take whatever one you want and send the rest back,” Yassky said.

each gown will be shipped in a gift box designed to create a feeling for the bride reminiscent of carrie Bradshaw when she opened her vivienne Westwood dress in the film “Sex and the city.” For an added per-sonal touch, designers are providing thank-you notes. “We want to change the perception that bridal is com-mercial and mass,” Yassky said. “We want to cast it in an exciting fashion context. the four of us love bridal. that’s it: We’re doing this with love.”

PHOT

O BY

KYL

E ER

ICKS

EN

The Aisle New York founders Mark Ingram, Shara Levy, David

Yassky and Deborah Moses.

The Aisle New York founders Mark Ingram, Shara Levy, David

Yassky and Deborah Moses.

Notte by Marchesa’s silk satin and organza dress. A current-season offering, The Aisle’s price is full retail, $695.

Elizabeth Fillmore’s silk satin gown, original retail: $13,750. The Aisle price: $5,900.

The site’s splash page.

Site’s Goal to Marry Bride With Perfect Dress

WWD.COM6 WWD, TUESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2010

Now, VoyagerNEW YORK — Not long after launching a lingerie collection with Marks & Spencer, which bowed in May, Australian designer Collette Dinnigan is set to introduce another line; this time, she’s targeting the contemporary market. “I’ve always wanted to do a diffusion line,” says Dinnigan, who will celebrate her 20th anniversary this year. “This felt like the right moment to do it.”

Collette by Collette Dinnigan, the name of the label, which also happens to be that of her Marks & Spencer line, wholesales from $70 to $150; the designer’s main collection runs from $465 to $1,250. But while the designs keep to Dinnigan’s feminine signatures — intricate embroideries and pretty prints — they’re more than just watered-down versions of her core offerings. There’s a very specific premise here. “It’s very much a travel-leisure collection — much more relaxed and bohemian,” explains Dinnigan. “I call it city-to-surf.”

To that end, the 35-piece lineup features plenty of resort-friendly cottons and linens, cut into smocks and swingy dresses and tops. Girlish eyelets trim one cotton frock, while another features a colorful array of paisley prints. “It’s the way I dress, actually,” Dinnigan notes. “When you’re a working mom in the country, you want to wear very loose and easy clothes.”

— Venessa Lau

FASHION SCOOPSPH

OTOs

BY

KYLE

ERI

CKsE

N

Looks from Collette

by Collette Dinnigan.

By Rachel Brown

BCBG MAx AzrIA Group IS opeNING four Hervé Léger stores in the u.S. this year and seven abroad — more than any other year in the brand’s history — to push the worldwide door count to 19.

Last month, units opened at South Coast plaza in Costa Mesa, Calif., and at Los Angeles’ Westfield Century City shopping center, which has an Hervé Léger by Max Azria concept stocking Max Azria as well as Hervé Léger. Those stores precede an anticipated october launch of an Hervé Léger by Max Azria store at Atlanta’s Lenox Square Mall, and follow another that opened at Garden State plaza in paramus, N.J., on May 27.

outside the u.S., Hervé Léger will expand with five new licensed stores in Lebanon, Singapore, Taiwan, the united Arab emirates and Kuwait between September and July. The brand recently opened stores in Singapore’s Ion orchard shopping center and the Dubai Mall, its only international retail representation to date.

BCBG Max Azria Group’s creative direc-tor, Lubov Azria, said the retail expansion is a response to strong consumer demand for Hervé Léger, which was officially relaunched in 2008 after stylist rachel zoe plucked Hervé Léger pieces from BCBG Max Azria Group’s li-brary and sparked a celebrity fascination with the brand. Azria predicted Hervé Léger could match the number of stores unveiled this year in 2011, but stressed BCBG Max Azria Group care-fully controls Hervé Léger’s retail spread.

“I am very protective of the brand,” she said. “I am not interested in having a store in every city. We have to protect our partners who do sell the brand as well. We try to open locations where we don’t have other stores that compete with the brand. We are very aware of keeping it low-profile.”

Azria declined to discuss Hervé Léger’s re-tail revenues, but units at South Coast plaza and Century City would each be expected to exceed $1 million in annual sales based on their square

footage and the shopping centers’ estimated an-nual sales per square foot. Azria, as well as shop-ping center executives, contend Hervé Léger’s appeal to 18- to 50-year-old women confident in their fashion choices will be well received by Century City’s working-professional shoppers, as well as the tourists and local brand admirers at South Coast plaza.

“Hervé Léger’s iconic body-hugging looks are not only a natural fit for our orange County cus-tomers, but for our international clientele who have seen the styles in magazines and at premieres around the globe,” said Debra Gunn Downing, ex-ecutive director of marketing at South Coast plaza.

The look of Hervé Léger stores has evolved considerably since BCBG Max Azria Group ac-

quired the fashion house in 1995 from GH Mumm & Cie, a subsidiary of The Seagram Co. Ltd. The lat-est store design is meant to marry modern and clas-sic aesthetics with chrome and glass facades, gray oak floors, floor-to-ceiling wood moldings, decora-tive fireplaces flanked by white leather library cases and chrome garland lighting elements mount-ed on the ceiling.

As Hervé Léger’s retail portfolio swells, Azria said the amount of wholesale accounts is not growing. The brand wholesales to

roughly 75 doors, including Bergdorf Goodman, Intermix, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Saks fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale’s and Net-a-porter.com, and Azria imagines that figure will remain constant in the near future.

Within its existing wholesale accounts, how-ever, she said Hervé Léger wants to enlarge its presence by rolling out a broader accessories collection next year. Currently, the brand has a limited selection of handbags in its own stores that aren’t widely available. Although details of the collection are still being worked out, Azria explained the pieces would reflect the DNA of the brand and feature the logo used elsewhere.

“The biggest growth is going to come from accessories,” said Azria. “Whenever something doesn’t have size [in other categories], it sells much better with the bags.”

For more looks from the line, see WWD.com/fashion-news

IN THE BUSH? If you are Chelsea Clinton and Marc Mezvinsky and you’ve just had one of the most-publicized (but yet private) weddings in recent memory, where do you escape for a honeymoon away from the prying eyes of the paparazzi? Well, sources say the newlyweds have headed into the wild — South Africa. While a spokesman for President Clinton declined to comment Monday, speculation is the couple is on safari in South Africa, which, if true, would make perfect sense. First, few people would recognize them in South Africa. And second, what paparazzi is going to risk being attacked by a lion or rhino just to get a photo of the couple?

TOMMY, A LEGEND: Tommy Hilfiger is celebrating the 25th anniversary of his fashion business this year, which should offer ample reason for legend status — at least according to the folks at the Pratt Institute. On Oct. 20, Pratt is honoring Hilfiger at its Legends 2010 scholarship benefit alongside artist Ellsworth Kelly and philanthropist and arts patron Emily Fisher Landau. Pratt president Thomas F. Schutte and board of trustees chair Mike Pratt will host the gala event at 7 World Trade Center, with Kurt Andersen, Amy Cappellazzo and Marjorie Kuhn serving as the night’s co-chairs.

Hilfiger is joining an extensive list of fashion types to be receiving the school’s honor. The Legends Awards were founded by Pratt in 1999, and past honorees include Marc Jacobs, Pauline Trigère, Emanuel Ungaro, Cathy Hardwick, Kenneth Jay Lane, Mary McFadden, Takashi Murakami, Stephan Weiss and Joan Rivers.

BCBG Boosts Hervé Léger Openings

Fashion Front will not appear today. Bridget Foley is on assignment.

WWD.COM7WWD, TUESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2010

NRDC Expands Environmental Factory ProgramTextile & Trade Report

By Kristi Ellis

WASHINGTON — Retailers and brands are broadening their scrutiny of global textile suppliers after an initiative with an environmental group led to greater efficiencies and pollution control in China.

Some of the six companies that have partnered with the National Resources Defense Council, a nonprofi t environmental protection organization, have already seen improvements in the textile supply chain in China and they are ready to turn next to a new pilot project in Bangladesh.

The textile industry shares the mantle of being the worst water polluter in China with the chemical industry, according to the NRDC, while the steel, cement and pe-troleum sectors have a bigger impact on the environment through air pollution.

“We followed the pounds and what our analysis lead us to was the biggest polluters in the country,” said Linda Greer, director of the NRDC’s health and environmental program. “Based on the information from one industrialized province in China, we picked the industry that had the highest percentage of factories hav-ing pollution problems and that is what drove us to the tex-tile industry. I knew nothing about the textile industry and I was amazed it was the textile industry.”

There are more than 50,000 textile mills in China, using as much as 200 tons of water for every ton of fab-ric produced and using steam often generated by coal-fi red industrial boilers, which pollute the environment heavily, as do the chemicals used in the processing of dyes and fi nishes for textiles.

The sheer size of the textile industry in China and its environmental impact caused the NRDC to launch the Responsible Sourcing Initiative in China in 2008, which drew in major industry players, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Levi Strauss & Co., Gap Inc., H&M, Nike Inc. and Li & Fung Ltd. The by-product of the fi rst initiative and audits of fi ve textile fi rms in China was a list of the 10 best practices that would reduce the environmental impact of textile factories and save them money within a year of being implemented.

The 10 guidelines range from fi nding and preventing leaks to reusing steam and water used in bleaching to installing proper insulation and recovering heat from smokestacks. The NRDC said each of the steps could reduce costs for textile factories from $1,500 to $95,000.

“The results have been really encouraging,” said Leslie Croshaw, senior manager of social and environmental sustainability at Levi’s. “One of our textile mills that participated [in the original audits] implemented three of the 10 best practices identifi ed by the NRDC and their estimated sav-ings per year are 112 tons of water (23 percent of the water they were using) and 208,000 tons of coal per year (11 percent of what they were using) and this translated into $840,000 over a year. That’s huge.”

Croshaw said the NRDC estimated an eight-month return on in-vestment for the 10 best practices, but it only took the textile mill in the audit one month to recoup its investment.

Levi’s plans to roll out the best practices to all of its fabric mills globally after developing some “practical tools” with the NRDC to help mills implement the guidelines, she said. The company is also participating with the environmental group in Bangladesh to de-velop methods at textile mills to reduce water usage and pollution.

Gap Inc. also anticipates positive results from the initiative and has plans to take the guidelines to its entire supply chain, according to Kindley Walsh Lawlor, the company’s vice president of social and environmental responsibility. Gap’s apparel production in China represents 30 percent of its total global manufacturing, she noted.

“We think the idea of best practices is the best way to dialogue with mills that have never been approached in this manner,” Lawlor said. “It is an opportunity for them to be trained to do…something they may not be aware of that is bigger than only relighting their tex-tile mills, such as reusing dye baths or scheduling dyes in a different capacity, like not using a black dye before a white dye.”

Gap has given textile mill suppliers in China until the end of the year to learn the new best practices and start implementing them.

Sourcing giant Li & Fung has also seen benefi ts from the initia-tive in China and is in the process of sharing the guidelines with global suppliers, said Bruce Bergstrom, vice president of vendor compliance at Li & Fung.

“Global environmental issues are complex in nature and require multifaceted and multistakeholder approaches to effect positive change,” said Bergstrom. “Perhaps the biggest challenge to over-come is building suppliers’ awareness and understanding of the issues and opportunities that eco-manufacturing holds for them.”

Bergstrom said the NRDC initiative was “an ideal platform to partner with a well-regarded NGO [nongovernmental organization] and like-minded companies” to fi nd “eco-effi ciencies” within the apparel and textile supply chains.

He said Li & Fung will next work with the NRDC on a project in Changshu, China, as well as customer-specifi c dye mill initiatives and in the joint NRDC/World Bank project in Bangladesh.

The NRDC launched what Greer calls a “copycat initiative” in the textile industry in Bangladesh last November and there are plans to expand in China, as well. The organization has budgeted in-depth audits for another 10 textile mills in China to develop more case studies and ultimately hopes to have 100 mills partici-pate in the pilot project over the next two years.

Bangladesh is a new frontier for the NRDC and the brands and retailers. The World Bank approached them for help in fi nding solu-tions to large-scale water pollution and a massive water shortage in the Dhaka watershed.

“The World Bank has been very concerned because the popula-tion of Dhaka, 12 million, is basically drinking from the same water

supply as the industrial factories use,” said Greer. “What they are facing is the prospect of the textile industry in particular sucking away the drinking water of Bangladesh, which puts the whole country in a tremendous crisis.”

The NRDC and the six companies are gearing up to select fi ve textile fac-tories for audits and follow a parallel track of developing best practices and

spreading them to textile mills throughout the country.Looking beyond the pilot projects in China and Bangladesh, Greer said the initia-

tive will have global ramifi cations.“If in the fi nal stages of this project, these multinational companies develop supply

chain policies that somehow reward factories that do environmental improvements, this could have a global impact with the NRDC not even having to go to these coun-tries,” said Greer. “We wouldn’t have to go country by country because we could rely on the global supply chain of the industry and I think that is the most effective way of doing global environmental protection.”

200 200 TONS200 OF WATER IS ESTIMATED TO BE USED FOR EVERY TON OF FABRIC PRODUCED.SOURCE: NATIONAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL

The Jiangsu Redbud Textile Co. in China

participated in NRDC’s audit and put the best practices to the test.

WWD.COMWWD, TUESDAY, AUGUST 10, 20108

By Lauren Benet Stephenson

Flirty sportswear brand Milly has launched a nautical-inspired handbag line and is ramping up its profile in jewelry.

“i set out…with the same philosophy and aesthetic as my ready-to-wear collection: smart, sexy and glamorous…a mod-ern sensibility with a vintage vibe,” said the brand’s designer, Michelle smith.

the handbags, which eventu-ally will include 19 silhouettes, including tote, clutch, hobo, cross-body, satchel and framed styles, adhere to Milly’s playful aesthet-ic, with a color palette consist-ing primarily of white, navy and coral. the signature Milly bag is crafted of italian patent leather, with a magnetic-closure flap top and a convertible leather and resin strap. smith incorporated hardware detailing, such as oversize nonfunction-ing buttons, a tapestry-inspired turnstile closure and discreet Milly charms through-out the line.

smith, who honed her attention to detail while working at Hermès, Christian dior and louis Vuitton, said she is her “own toughest customer. My goal has been to create a truly designer-level handbag in terms of design detail, quality mate-rials and finishing, but at a contemporary price point. this philosophy has set Milly apart from its competition in ready-to-wear, and i believe it will do the same for our handbag collection.”

about 80 percent of the bag line is leather, and the rest is a sampling of nylon and canvas. the items will retail from $250 to $525.

the handbags will share their formal debut with Milly jewelry, which was soft launched ear-lier this spring. the brand’s spring runway show will herald the full rollout of the jewelry collec-tion, as well as the official handbag launch.

andy oshrin, smith’s husband and president and chief executive officer of Milly, estimated total accessories wholesale sales will reach $5 million within the first 18 to 24 months. “our jew-elry allows the aspirational shopper that can’t necessarily afford Milly clothing to buy some nice-ly designed pieces,” he said.

the jewelry collection continues the nautical theme and features whimsical seaside

nods, such as a white rope bracelet interlaced with gold and rhinestones — a play on the braid-ed surfer bracelets popular in summer. the line, which retails from $85 to $275, includes white and gold resin chains; red, white and blue striped ban-gles, and starfish pendants.

the Milly signature print is incorporated throughout, either with fabric-wrapped beading or a bangle with the tapestry pattern silhouetted in gold.

the handbags and jewelry will be delivered to retailers monthly, beginning in January.

smith and oshrin founded Milly in 2000 as a preppy, feminine collection. the brand has grown steadily and does about 75 percent of its busi-ness domestically, 15 percent in europe and 5 to 10 percent in asia. Milly opened its first interna-tional, freestanding store last year in tokyo, and launched an e-commerce site in March.

Carol diMaio-lucas, former president of Furla’s U.s. subsidiary, was hired in June as vice president of accessories to manage the handbag and jewelry offerings. diMaio-lucas’ career in ac-cessories has included working for brands such as dKny and Cole Haan.

tHe CHanCe to exHibit one’s designs in a MUseUM, let alone one in paris, is rare, but Mi Jong lee is having her moment in the City of light next month.

lee, who is based in new york and designs a collection under the emmelle label, created several one-of-a-kind gowns in a collabora-tion with photographer ernestine ruben, which will be showcased alongside ruben’s photographs at the “images au Corps” exhibit at paris’ Maison européenne de la photographie from sept. 8 to oct. 31.

lee’s mandate was to interpret ruben’s photographs, which often depict human figures and touch on such themes as “air,” “water,” “Moss” and “Fire.” rather than pursue a literal approach by transposing the images onto the fabrics, she decided to use ruben’s powerful images as a loose inspiration, employing special cutting and printing techniques and fabric textures to evoke the imagery. For instance, ruben’s “Moss” photograph inspired her to create a vertically pieced gown made of silk crinkle gauze with a matching cocoon coat; “air” became a billowing silk organza gown with an opaque black bodice and a white, tiered skirt with a ruched hemline, and “Fire” is viewed by lee as a four-ply black duchess satin dress with a tuxedo tail coat that is accentuated with a cluster of buttons covered in dyed silk. the gowns will be exhib-ited adjacent to the photographs.

For lee, the project represents a moment in her 28-year career. she left her native Korea at a young age and lived in several coun-tries with her diplomat family before studying sociology at Cornell University, and, later, fashion at parsons school of design. “when i came out of parsons, i decided to start with retail first with a tiny store on Madison avenue and 79th street,” lee recalled.

today, she caters to her clientele from three emmelle stores in Manhattan, and about 60 specialty stores nationwide. “Unbeknownst to me, ernestine was a customer of mine, and she was in one of my stores, and asked to meet the owner of the line, so i did,” lee said.

the collaboration has made lee think about fashion in new ways. “Fashion, i feel, is a medium of art, but it’s also a business,” she said. “to combine the two can be the challenge, and the fun.”

— Marc Karimzadeh

MEMO PAD Milly Branches Out With Accessories

Mi Jong Lee Takes Designs to ParisMi Jong Lee’s “Water” dress.

The Milly handbag.

WHITE DEPARTS: EBay’s style director, Constance White, is leaving the company. The former New York Times writer told WWD that while it was exciting to marry the Internet with fashion (she’s been at eBay for seven years, way before a majority of fashion brands joined the Web), it’s time to move on. She declined to provide more information, adding her new gig will be unveiled soon. Sources said the timing of White’s departure comes as the company moves from trying to upgrade its fashion coverage to now making it more about creating an outlet-type store online. But there’s a possibility White might not be completely severing ties with the company. An eBay spokeswoman pointed out that a new, enhanced shopping experience for clothing, shoes and accessories made its debut during the spring on the eBay Marketplace. As eBay’s fashion category continues to evolve, the spokeswoman continued, the company is exploring a “redefined role” for White, “as we look to diversify our roster of style experts and editorial contributors to include other taste makers such as Annabel

Tollman, Rebecca Weinberg, Kate Young, Estee Stanley and Britt Bardo.” — Amy Wicks

I-D’S NEW EDITOR: London style magazine i-D has named Holly Shackleton as its new editor. Shackleton succeeds Ben Reardon, whose appointment as editor of GQ Style — the men’s fashion biannual published by British GQ — was revealed last week. “I’m excited to further develop i-D’s position at the forefront of the style press,” said Shackleton. The title celebrates its 30th anniversary with its pre-fall issue, which goes on sale Aug. 12, and later this year will publish a book, in

collaboration with Taschen, called “30 Years of i-D Covers.”Reardon, meanwhile, will take up his editorship at GQ Style as

of the beginning of September. He succeeds David Bradshaw, who launched the Condé Nast title in 2005. — Nina Jones

COMING AND GOING: It might be the dog days of August, but human resources departments across the city are going at it full tilt, as the revolving door of the media world spins on. Deborah Needleman, the newly minted editor in chief of WSJ. and a consultant on The Wall Street Journal’s forthcoming lifestyle section, has brought aboard her old Domino fashion director, Lauren Goodman, to consult on the section’s fashion coverage.

Meanwhile, Town & Country has hired another staffer away from W magazine. The Hearst title has tapped Jamie Rosen, beauty and health editor at W, as its new beauty director, effective Aug. 30. Rosen succeeds Janet Carlson, who exited last month. — Nick Axelrod

FROM THE HEART: French designer Jean Paul Gaultier has joined forces with Carla Bruni-Sarkozy by designing a T-shirt to raise awareness for the “Born HIV Free” campaign spearheaded by France’s first lady. The Breton-style short-sleeve shirt, featuring a heart logo over one breast, is being sold with the French issue of Elle magazine that hit newsstands Friday. Véronique Philipponnat, editor in chief of Elle France, said 40,000 issues of the magazine — or 15 to 20 percent of the entire print run — would come packaged with the T-shirt, at a cover price of 4.90 euros, or $6.45, compared with a regular cover price of 2 euros, or $2.65. Like Bruni-Sarkozy, whose brother died of AIDS, Gaultier has been personally affected by the disease. “Like all those who have lost a loved one, I feel, of course, closely concerned by the fight against AIDS. I myself lost the love of my life because of this disease,” he told the magazine, referring to his partner Francis Menuge, who died in 1990. — Joelle Diderich

KMART ROCKS THE RUNWAY: To promote its three new brands for juniors, Dream Out Loud by Selena Gomez, Bongo and Rebecca Bonbon, Kmart staged a runway show of back-to-school styles last week in Chicago and Los Angeles. “The runway shows are designed to show our capabilities and the type of fashions we have,” said Mark Snyder, chief marketing officer of Kmart. “Customers believed we didn’t have enough brands or the right brands. We always had a great selection of private labels. Bongo, Dream Out Loud and Rebecca Bonbon are real brands. Those help customers say, ‘Kmart is changing and adding things to increase its relevance and provide the confidence that it’s on trend.’” Kmart has been promoting the two runway shows on radio in the local markets and via Twitter. The retailer, which has held contests to find consumers with the best style, will “pluck one customer from the audience at the runway shows and do an ambush [style makeover].” In addition to the new brands, Kmart is “developing microsites for all our apparel offerings and for all consumer segments,” Snyder said. The retailer has “a new engagement with rich media,” Snyder said, referring to a shoppable video for Jaclyn Smith at Kmart.com. Shot at her home in Holmby Hills, Calif., the actress is seen sitting on a green sofa with her poodle. A click on her coral dress allows shoppers to browse and buy the beaded shift for $29.99. — Sharon Edelson

Constance White

WWD.COMWWD, TUESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2010 9

By Khanh T.L. Tran

SOUTH GATE, Calif. — Koos Manufacturing Inc., the denim company that produces jeans under the labels Big Star and AG Adriano Goldschmied, is bolstering its brand port-folio with two launches.

For fall, Koos is preparing to ship 1974, a moderate-price jeans label that will be a sister brand to Big Star. It also will introduce knit tops for Big Star and AG Adriano Goldschmied for next spring.

The launch of 1974 comes after Koos’ recent acqui-sition of the trademark for Big Star in the U.S., Japan, Central America and parts of Asia from Switzerland’s Outpost Trading. Koos, which did not disclose the pur-chase price the brand, held the license for Big Star in the U.S. for the last seven years. With $70 million in annual sales, the largest of Big Star’s 300 retail accounts is The Buckle Inc., the Kearney, Neb.-based teen chain that has 412 stores in 41 states.

With 1974, which like Big Star retails for $88 to $150, Koos hopes to appeal to 18- to 25-year-old customers who prefer clean, refined styles over Big Star’s distressed jeans embellished with thick rope stitching and flashy back pock-ets. Named for the year that Big Star was started, 1974 will offer men’s styles in slim and boot cut, in addition to wom-en’s looks in skinny, boot, slim and straight legs. The washes are subtle, in hues of gray and dark indigo.

Retailers that have ordered 1974 include Nordstrom, Urban Outfitters, Atrium in New York and E Street Denim Co. in Highland Park, Ill.

“A lot of people asked for a cleaner jean,” said Evelyn Song, brand manager at Big Star.

Koos has hired sales teams in Los Angeles and New York in an effort to increase sales of Big Star to specialty stores, which now make up 20 percent of the brand’s volume. Yul Ku, Koos’ chief executive officer, said he aims to have spe-cialty stores contribute to half of Big Star’s revenues in two years. His goal is to more than double the brand’s total annual sales in five years. However, his ambition stops at opening signature stores for Big Star and 1974.

“I want to stay in the wholesale business,” Ku said.Separately, Koos is preparing to offer a full collection of

tops for Big Star and AG Adriano Goldschmied next year.Sandy Oh, a former designer for Los Angeles knits label

Zooey, is creating Big Star’s collection of woven and knit tops retailing for $32 to $77. The men’s styles include vin-tage T-shirts, Henley tops, long-sleeve shirts with raglan sleeves and raw-edge baseball Ts. The women’s group fea-tures as many as 16 designs, ranging from striped tanks with slouchy pockets stitched above an asymmetric hem to blouses accentuated with snaps down the back.

For AG Adriano Goldschmied’s knits line, Sam Ku, AG’s de-sign director, has teamed with the founders of T Los Angeles. Joseph Krafka is managing sales, merchandising and pro-duction for AG Knits, and his wife, Jacqueline, is designing the men’s and women’s tops. With as many as 15 styles, the men’s collection includes basics such as polos, pullovers, Henley tops and cardigans and exclusive fabrics like a new heathered fabric blended from recycled denim and cotton.

The women’s 40 styles are anything but basic with their boxy silhouettes, supple fabrics that drape well, and de-tails like shirring and pintucks. For example, there’s a linen Henley shirt enhanced with pintucking in the front, a maxidress cut from a Supima-cotton-Modal slub jersey with pleats on the neckline and a nautical-striped, long-sleeve top with cutout shoulders.

Wholesale prices for AG Knits run from $24 for a top to $74 for a dress to between $110 and $180 for cashmere pieces. Everything is intended to be “denim friendly,” said Joseph Krafka.

“It’s a complement to the bottom,” Jacqueline Krafka said. “It’s not a competition to the bottom.”

IN BRIEF• STERLING ADDITION: Nasim Siddiqi, previously senior vice president of Anchor Finance Group, has joined Sterling Trade Capital as vice president and director of business development. A division of Sterling Factors, Sterling Trade specializes in import trade finance. Siddiqi is responsible for developing new business, as well as the cross-selling of other Sterling products. John La Lota, president of Sterling Factors, said Siddiqi will allow Sterling to expand its import letter of credit business in what is now again a growing market. Renamed Sterling Trade Capital, its predecessor was DCD Capital, a small factor with expertise in the Southeast Asian market acquired by Sterling last year.

Koos Broadens Reach With New Lines

Koos is expanding with a new knits line from Big Star and a new jeans label called 1974.

SPONSORED BY:

FORUM

OCTOBER 26, 2010 // NYC

- Developing flexible sourcing alternatives - Capitalizing on unpredictable geo-political trends - Mitigating currency and inflation risk - Building sustainable business success

SOURCING & SUPPLY CHAIN

SpeakerS:

VF Corp.

Tom Glaser

President, Supply Chain Europe/Asia

Guess Inc.

Jeff Streader

Senior Vice President, Global Sourcing

Ann Taylor Stores Inc.

Paula Zusi

Executive Vice President, Chief Supply Chain Officer

Gap Inc.

Kindley Walsh Lawlor

Vice President of Social & Environmental Responsibility

Synergies Worldwide

Munir Mashooqullah

President & Founder

GLOBAL OPPORTUNITIES:

For more information on attending or sponsoring, call 212.630.4803 or email jessica.introna@fairchildpub.com

Take Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which bought video down-load site Vudu. Denim brand J Brand sold a majority interest, said to be worth more than $50 million, to Star Avenue Capital, a partnership between talent agency Creative Artists Agency and Irving Place Capital. And the Estée Lauder Cos Inc. acquired Smashbox, picking up expertise in digital, social media and television dis-tribution, as well as a photo studio to boot.

Looking beyond the traditional boundaries of fashion can lead to a big payoff.

“These are beyond syner-gistic type of opportunities,” said Mityas. “The opportunity will allow an organization to completely shift and create a new customer demographic, a new customer pool.”

Mityas described inno-vation as the “holy grail” of growth and said the industry is beginning to see innovation through M&A. “This type of acquisition, in certain cases, allows you to leapfrog your competitor,” he said.

This emerging M&A model is a distinct departure from the traditional one, where retailer A buys retailer B, reaching new customers while “realiz-ing synergies” — firing people in the back office and dump-ing duplicate operations. The same can be done with brands and the model, at least on paper, leads to a larger compa-ny that is more profitable than the sum of its two parts.

Most of fashion’s dealmak-ing is expected to proceed along these lines, but the great recession has changed things. Being big doesn’t seem as im-portant as being in the right spot as consumers evolve and technology advances.

But there are plenty of risks. Venturing into new areas can lead to cultural clashes and taking on a disparate busi-ness can distract management and pull them away from their core competencies.

Hot companies with new ideas and lots of growth ahead of them can also be pricy. Take Under Armour Inc. and Lululemon Athletica Inc. in the fashion world. Both public companies, while not neces-sarily for sale, have successfully tapped into very spe-cific customer niches, giving them leverage to drive up the price for any possible suitors.

“I don’t think it’s about being bigger,” said Michelle Cherrick, chief executive officer of investment bank-ing firm Demeter Group. “I think it’s now about growth. You’re seeing some young companies break glass as to how they’re going to grow.” For instance, television via HSN and QVC has turned out to be a successful launch pad for beauty brands.

“For a brand or concept to get a premium valuation, there’s going to have to be something truly unique they can offer,” Cherrick said. “If you’re just going to be a brand and launch in traditional channels, you’re going to get a traditional multiple. People are going to say, ‘I’ve seen that movie.’”

The fashion establishment can be resistant to new ideas and several investment bankers told WWD that fashion companies have no business looking too far be-yond their traditional boundaries.

But futurist Edie Weiner, president of Weiner, Edrich, Brown Inc., said financial specialists, like ex-perts in any area, develop an “educated incapacity. They know too much about a topic to have truly break-through ideas. In a sense, they can’t see the forest through the trees,” she said.

Weiner said society is changing ever more rapidly and that meeting the needs of future consumers will re-quire new thinking.

“Many of the ways we did things in the prior econo-my will die out as whole new ways of living and working and shopping emerge,” she said. “This is a fundamental

transformation. The options are greatly multiplying and the players are just so diverse and the dollars in many of them are so huge.”

Yet observers say that while the corner-office rheto-ric from many of fashion’s biggest players is innovation-heavy, the true strategy is light on new ideas, especially given the downturn that still has everyone frightened.

“They’re all talking the talk but I don’t see any-one really doing it,” said Elsa Berry, an M&A expert who this year ended a 20-year stint at BNP Paribas,

where she had been head of corporate finance for North America.

“What they should be doing is buying companies that are younger and leaner and less traditional,” she said. “If they were to acquire such targets, the buyers would be integrating this new sensibility. I am surprised by how stodgy and how heavy-handed a lot of the larger consumer goods companies are.

“There’s a real opportunity for some of these giants that have huge advantages of market share and scale and resources and brain power to think different,” Berry said. “What’s it going to take?”

WWD.COM10 WWD, TUESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2010

Continued from page one

3.25 2.97 LJIntl.(JADE) 13.4 834562 3.22 9.15

1.50 1.39 AmericanApparel(APP) 9.3 619742 1.50 7.91

30.09 28.25 DestinationMaternity(DEST) 14.2 17171 30.09 7.50

4.36 4.18 CharmingShoppes(CHRS) - 285438 4.36 5.31

4.49 4.25 TandyLeatherFactory(TLF) 12.6 7659 4.49 4.91

DAILY COMPANIES P/E VOLuME AMt

HIgH LOw LASt%CHANgE

33.51 30.00 Skechers(SKX) 10.7 4268776 30.20 -8.79

1.00 0.93 Frederick’sofHollywood(FOH) - 36600 0.94 -6.00

2.23 2.10 Bluefly(BFLY) - 2123 2.20 -4.35

13.25 12.59 Duckwall-Alco(DUCK) 51.0 11575 12.92 -2.49

11.72 11.13 K-Swiss(KSWS) - 118367 11.30 -2.42

5WORSTPERFORMERS DAILY COMPANIES P/E VOLuME AMt

HIgH LOw LASt%CHANgE

* Editor’s note: European stocks are quoted in the currency of their principal exchanges. Shares on the London Stock Exchange are quoted in pence, Richemont and The Swatch Group are quoted in Swiss francs and Hennes & Mauritz is quoted in Swedish kronor. All other European stocks are in euros.

5BESTPERFORMERS

Financial For full daily stock changes and more financial news, see WWD.com / business-news.

Industry Aims to Break New M&A Ground

…STAR AvEnuE CApiTAL AnD ACquiRE A MAjoRiTy inTEREST in

pREMiuM DEniM CoMpAny…

innovATion in ACquiSiTion LEADS To STRAnGE BEDFELLoWS

j BRAnD.

iRvinG pLACE CApiTAL

WAL-MART

vuDu.

Which invests in fashion brands such as neW York & companY

…WEnT DiGiTAL AnD BouGHT viDEo DoWnLoAD SiTE…

CREATivE ARTiSTS AGEnCy

…pARTnERED WiTH…

…To FoRM…

Which represents celebrities

ESTéE LAuDER…WEnT viRAL, piCkED up…

SMASHBox.

Agui

lerA

pho

to b

y Am

y gr

Aves

; lAu

der

stor

e by

tim

jen

kins

WWD.COMWWD, TUESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2010 11

By Joelle Diderich

PARIS — Bernard Perris, the French designer known for producing ready-to-wear with a couture flourish, has died of cancer at the age of 73.

Perris had retired from fashion since leaving his post as artistic director of Jean-Louis Scherrer in 1997, devoting himself to the upkeep of the spec-tacular garden at his property in Eygalières in the Provence region of France.

Growing up, Perris was strongly influenced by his mother Emma, an impeccably groomed figure who owned a clothing boutique in his native Millau. His elegant style, honed by stints at Guy Laroche, Jacques Heim and Christian Dior, was popular with celebrities including Faye Dunaway, Joan Collins and Diana Ross, but his most stalwart supporter was Baroness Inès Reille, who was his muse and unoffi-cial brand ambassador for 25 years.

“I was the kind of woman he liked: pulled-back hair, very thin with a long neck,” Reille said. “He became a very close friend and someone I appreciated immensely, because he was al-ways very thoughtful and kind. That’s why he had a lot of friends, because he was very genuine. In that sense, he stood out a little in the world of fashion.”

Nicole Fischelis, group vice president and fashion director at Macy’s Inc., worked for Saks Fifth Avenue at the time. She recalled Perris as a jovial, cultivated man with a knack for tailoring and a strong feel for fabrics.

“We used to do a lot of trunk shows with him. He had a very elegant clientele,” she said. “His clients were often his friends, so he had a very good sense of their lifestyle and their needs.”

Maryline Bellieud Vigouroux, president of the Institut Mode Méditerranée, staged an exhibition at the Museum of Fashion in Marseille in 2001 featur-ing some 60 outfits designed by Perris and donated by Reille. “His style was like an illustration by [René] Gruau,” she said. “It was all about bold strokes and a very strict silhouette.”

Perris launched his label in 1969 with his long-time life and business partner Jean Lacourrège. At the height of its commercial success, the brand had 25 stores — including a unit on Madison Avenue in

New York — and was available in 1,250 points of sale worldwide.

Perris left the house he founded in 1994, when the brand name was sold to Japanese group Coronet.

A ceremony is scheduled to be held for family and close friends in Eygalières on Sept. 4. Perris is survived by his mother and brother.

HARALD VoGT, FouNDER AND PRESI-dent of the Scent Marketing Institute, died July 28 of a heart attack. He was 51.

Vogt, a native of Germany, was also founder and president of Vogt Communications Management.

Friends described Vogt as “solid and strong, funny and engaging, inventive and endlessly patient,” one who “combined un-wavering determination and perfectionism with creative flair.”

The New York-based Scent Marketing Institute aims to promote the benefits, awareness and value of scent marketing in business and facilitate product and service quality through professional development and education, among other initiatives.

In addition to its existing office in Poland, the organization in the spring

opened an office in Zeist, the Netherlands, headed by Bas de Haan, who is chief execu-tive officer of Intersense BV, and advises domestic and international brands on their scent marketing activities. It also opened an office in Finland, where Antti Pasila, ceo of Ideair in Helsinki, is in charge of representing the Scent Marketing Institute throughout Scandinavia.

Vogt is survived by his wife, Caroline Pieper-Vogt, who is the president and ceo of beauty firm Fusion Brands Inc., and twin six-year-old children, Raffaella and Palmer.

Memorial services were held Aug. 3 in White Plains, N.Y.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Preventive Medicine Research Institute, 900 Bridgeway, Sausalito, Calif.

— M.W.E.

NEW YoRk-BASED FRA-grance producer Inter Parfums Inc. said Monday afternoon it registered second-quarter prof-its of $5.4 million, or 18 cents a diluted share, up 26.7 percent from $4.2 million, or 14 cents a share, a year ago, beating con-sensus estimates by 1 cent.

Sales for the quarter ended June 30 reached $107.8 million, a 21.6 percent increase from $88.6 million in the same period last year.

The firm attributed the re-sults to “the strength of [its] ex-isting brand portfolio,” which is being expanded “with new, high-value brands.”

Inter Parfums announced new specialty retail and li-censing agreements with the Betsey Johnson and Nine West brands last month, noted Jean Madar, chairman and chief executive officer, who added: “Following the successful launch and global distribu-tion of the Bebe signature fra-grance that began [in] summer 2009, the second scent, Bebe Sheer, debuts this month.”

For the first half, Inter Parfums turned a net profit of $11.9 million, or 39 cents a share, compared with profits of $9.7 million, or 32 cents, in the six months last year, an increase of 23.3 percent. The top line was up as well, with revenues com-ing in at $227.1 million, a 26.9 percent jump from $179 million in 2009.

— Matthew W. Evans

French Designer Bernard Perris

Harald Vogt, Scent Marketing Institute Founder

Inter Parfums Posts Increase In 2nd-Qtr. Net

BEAUTY BEAT OBITUARIES

Harald Vogt

Bernard Perris, circa 1984.

Phot

o by

Guy

Mar

inea

u

COMMERCIALREAL ESTATE

WWD.COM/CLASSIFIEDS

For more career opportunities log on to WWDCareers.com.

FAIRCHILD CLASSIFIED IS NOW SELF SERVICE!To place a print ad, go to www.fairchildclassified.com For online-only recruitment ads, go to wwdcareers.com

Spaces

Showrooms & LoftsBWAY 7TH AVE SIDE STREETS

Great ’New’ Office Space AvailADAMS & CO. 212-679-5500

Showroom/Office, Immediate. Fullyfurnished 425sf. 1384 Broadway.Under market and under $1500/mo.Steal it now. 16 month sublease or newlease. Call 516-297-7998

25 million Royalty-Free, CAD-ReadyTextile Designs — 100% EditableRe-color & Visualize in Products!

DRAPERWell known Special Occasion DressManufacturer seeking experiencedDraper for Junior Division; min 5years experience required.Fax Resume to 212-302-9325 or email:

STACYS@BBXCO.com

FIT MODEL NEEDEDWomen’s Contemporary Woven, KnitsBust 35 ¼" Waist 28 ½", High Hip 34 ¼",Low hip 38 ½", Thigh 21 ½", Inseam 34"

Measurements, height, comp card &availability to fitmodelstb@gmail.com

Exact measurements only!

Experienced Sales ExecutiveSuccessful Ladies Sportswear manu-facturer has career opportunities inmidtown. Showroom offices for highlymotivated team player with experiencein the industry following. Email re-sume to: Lily@sandrolight.com

SALES EXECUTIVELeading Outerwear Company seeksSales Executive w/min 5 years exp,private label a plus. Excellent oppor-tunity to work with such leadingbrands as DKNY and Tommy Hilfiger.Ideal candidate must be a highlymotivated self-starter with strongfollow-up skills. Salary commensuratewith experience. Send resume to:

mhresumes2010@gmail.com

Anyone in the hAmptons with A hAnkering for free ChAmpAgne on sAturdAy night wAs in luCk — there were at least three well-stocked events in the area, each with its own personality. here’s the skinny.

Cocktails to celebrate photographer Priscilla Rattazzi’s new book, “Luna and Lola” Venue: ralph lauren boutique, east hampton, n.y.Crowd: Kerry Washington, rattazzi and her children, locals and clients.Dress: Clean and casual chic — sandals, not stilettos.Takeaway: Born in rome and a niece of gianni Agnelli, rattazzi has shot for italian Vogue, new york magazine and the new york times magazine. her next book is centered around trees.

Benefit for the Princess Grace Foundation-USA co-hosted by Louis VuittonVenue: Jay McInerney and Anne Hearst McInerney’s expansive water mill estate, replete with wandering emu.Crowd: Prince Albert II and fiancée Charlene Wittstock, Amanda Hearst, Christie Brinkley, Nina Griscom and Bettina Zilkha.Dress: official code was “white with a floral accent.” interpretations ranged from hearst’s crisp white shirt paired with a sparkling Vuitton skirt to one guest’s ill-fitting hervé léger dress and heavily highlighted hairdo. is that a Bumpit?Takeaway: All eyes were on the betrothed royal couple, who are planning to wed next spring. while her fiancé patiently posed for photos with fans, including Ramona Singer of “the real housewives of new york City,” who literally tripped over herself to get to him, wittstock said she hasn’t started planning the nuptials, but she isn’t “one of those girls who imagined themselves walking down the aisle in a big dress.”

Cinema Society- and Urban Zen-hosted screening of Showtime’s “The Big C” Venue: Donna Karan’s property on gardiners Bay in east hampton.Crowd: Celeb central, relatively speaking — co-stars Laura Linney, Oliver Platt and Gabourey Sidibe, Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick, Sunrise and Mark Ruffalo, Andy Cohen, Calvin Klein, Edie Falco, Martha Stewart and James Lipton.Dress: stylishly laid back, accessorized with a bronzed tan. (so what if the cable series is about a melanoma patient?)Takeaway: the show’s not as depressing as it sounds, although one small group opted to skip the viewing and said they were going elsewhere to smoke a joint instead.

WWD.COM12 WWD, TUESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2010

Shore circuits Andrea Whittle with her mom, Priscilla Rattazzi; Laura Linney in vintage Valentino.

s Prince Albert II in Louis Vuitton with his fiancée, Charlene Wittstock.

s Calvin Klein with Gabby Karan de Felice; Gabourey Sidibe in an NW dress.

s Kerry Washington in Ralph Lauren; Donna Karan with her granddaughter, Stefania de Felice; Amanda Hearst in Louis Vuitton; Sunrise Coigney with her husband, Mark Ruffalo.

For more pictures, see WWD.com/eyescoop.Al

l ph

otos

by

stev

e ei

chne

r