WWDTinted LoveFull of vivid color and challenging patterns and textures, the collections in London are not for shrinking violets. At Burberry, Christopher Bailey showed waist-cinched trenchcoats and capes galore in candy-wrapper metallics, lustrous satins and exotic feathers. Here, one of his roomier coats in searing red and fuchsia.

KEY IN WHITE HOUSE RACE

China-U.S. Trade Sees Tensions Rise

SEE PAGE 12

Gap Taps Creative Director

SEE PAGE 12

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2012 ■ $3.00 ■ WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY

PHOTO BY GIOVANNI GIANNONI

SPRING 2013COLLECTIONS

LONDON

LONDON COLLECTIONS

CUE MCQJONATHAN SAUNDERS, PAUL SMITH, MARY

KATRANTZOU AND MORE. PAGES 4 AND 5 BRAND OPENS NEW-LOOK LONDON FLAGSHIP. PAGE 7

By KRISTI ELLIS

WASHINGTON — China is becoming more of a politi-cal football than ever.

The trade relationship between the U.S. and China hit a new low Monday as the two countries exchanged World Trade Organization cases, while President Barack Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney sparred over who has the best approach to reining in the Asian giant.

The heightened political rhetoric and new WTO cases escalated the tensions between the two countries and reinforced the potential of a trade war if the tough stance on China becomes more entrenched or puni-tive, trade experts said.

The WTO complaint fi led by the U.S. alleges that China illegally subsidizes the export of auto and auto parts. China countered with a WTO case of its own claiming that U.S. countervailing duty and antidump-ing laws are not consistent with WTO rules.

While the two WTO complaints do not directly in-volve the fashion industry, apparel importers and re-tailers have a lot of exposure in potential trade dis-putes with China. Companies imported $41 billion in apparel and textiles to the U.S. from China in the year ended July 31, according to government data.

Experts said the tit for tat is all part of the process of raising trade issues and disputes within the WTO, which serves to tamp down escalating tensions.

But the latest heated trade dispute comes at a criti-cal time for both the U.S. and China. The Republican Party, in its party platform for the presidential elec-tion, called on a tougher stance against China regard-ing its currency and trade policy. Meanwhile, China has been struggling with its own issues ranging from questions over leadership succession at the upcoming Party Congress next month to a dispute with Japan (see related story on page 12) to economic slowdown and rising labor costs. These have forced many companies to move production out of the country either to other

By DAVID MOIN

GAP, THE ALL-AMERICAN casual brand, has decided that it’s vision for the future should be fi ltered through a European designer with a Scandinavian aesthetic.

Nevertheless, Rebekka Bay, a former top designer at H&M who on Monday was named creative director and executive vice president for Gap Global Design, said in an exclusive interview with WWD on Monday that her mission will be to build upon the heritage of the brand. “Gap has great potential as a lifestyle brand,” said Bay, who was born and schooled in design in Denmark. But she emphasized that with Gap, “It’s important to con-tinue to [build upon] the product’s American heritage. Gap is the brand that owns casual fashion. It can take more ownership over casual.”

She sees the opportunity to introduce a more sophis-ticated range of colors to Gap, more prints, more wash-es, and said that, long term, the company will be able to add lines to broaden the range of styles. She said the mission will be to deliver high-quality, well-priced prod-ucts, not just seasonally but trans-seasonally. Gap, while recently performing well, has for about a decade found it diffi cult to deliver consistent, stylish, quality product.

“I am superexcited about joining Gap and I don’t know if I fully understand the size of the task,” Bay said.

The stock market applauded Bay’s appointment, though, sending Gap Inc’s shares up 2.4 percent to $36.05 in a generally tough day for retail shares.

Over the next few weeks, Bay will relocate to New York with her husband and 7-year-old son, and will be based at Gap’s Global Creative Center on Thomas

WWD.COM2 WWD TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2012

Van Cleef Wins Key Design Ruling

To e-mail reporTers and ediTors aT WWd, The address is firsTname_lasTname@fairchildfashion.com, using The individual’s name. WWD IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF ADVANCE MAGAZINE PUBLISHERS INC. COPYRIGHT ©2012 FAIRCHILD FASHION MEDIA. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.VOLUME 204, NO. 59. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2012. WWD (ISSN 0149–5380) is published daily (except Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, with one additional issue in May, June, October and December, and two additional issues in February, March, April, August, September and November) by Fairchild Fashion Media, 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, Chief Executive Officer; Robert A. Sauerberg Jr., President; John W. Bellando, Chief Operating Officer & Chief Financial Officer; Jill Bright, Chief Administrative Officer. 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. 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. Address all editorial, business, and production correspondence to WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY, 750 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017. For permissions requests, please call 212-630-5656 or fax the request to 212-630-5883. For all request for reprints of articles please contact The YGS Group at condenast@theygsgroup.com, or call 800-501-9571. Visit us online at www.wwd.com. To subscribe to other Fairchild Fashion Media 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.

on WWD.CoM

the Briefing Boxin Today’s WWd

The trade relationship between the U.S. and China hit a new low Monday as the two countries exchanged World Trade Organization cases. PAGE 1 Rebekka Bay, a former top designer at H&M, on Monday was named creative director and executive vice president for Gap Global Design. PAGE 1 Experts at the Sourcing at MAGIC show said consumer interest and attention from politicians has raised the focus on where textile and apparel are manufactured. PAGE 6 The Obama campaign has lined up nine new designers and celebrities to help create products to support its reelection efforts. PAGE 7 McQ, the younger, more commercial line from Alexander McQueen, has planted a flag on London’s Dover Street with a new 3,000-square-foot store. PAGE 7 Retail integration is the winning formula for luxury brands, according to Italy’s Fondazione Altagamma. PAGE 8 Poppy Delevingne and Arizona Muse were among the revelers at a Rag & Bone party as the fashion-crowd action moved onto the European stage. PAGE 9 VFiles, a social-media site centered on fashion and style conceived and developed by former V magazine executive editor Julie Anne Quay, launched last week. PAGE 9 Brazilian design duo Fernando and Humberto Campana discuss their many projects, including the current exhibition of furniture pieces at Les Arts Décoratifs. PAGE 10

Model Call: Valery Kaufman

MODEL CALL: Bursting into the room all smiles and air-kisses, you would never guess that 18-year-old Valery Kaufman had just finished an impressive New York Fashion Week run. For more photos, see WWD.com/fashion-news.

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By Joelle DiDerich

PAriS — in a ruling that could have major implications for luxury-goods brands world-wide, French fine-jewelry house Van cleef & Arpels on Monday claimed a landmark victory in a court case pitting it against one of its former designers.

The court of Appeals in Paris ruled late Friday that designs made by an employee of a jew-elry firm should be considered a simple contribution to collective works owned by the company, rather than the intellectual prop-erty of the individual designer.

The ruling came after the plaintiff, Thierry Berthelot, ap-pealed a previous decision by the Paris prosecutor’s office, which ruled that he did not have enough evidence to prove that he owned the rights to the designs.

The court of Appeals not only affirmed the concept of collective works but went one step further, sentencing Berthelot to damages of 10,000 euros, or $12,500 at cur-rent exchange, for withholding his drawings for the duration of the seven-year legal battle, saying this amounted to “malicious behavior.”

Berthelot’s lawyer said he now plans to appeal the court of Appeals decision to France’s highest court.

Stanislas de Quercize, chief executive officer of Van cleef & Arpels, said the company was comforted by the verdict.

“it has brought much-needed clarity for all of us in the luxury-goods industry in France. certainty is always crucial for business, but in this case, the lack of clarity caused consternation for many years, in all artisanal and creative businesses in France. The judgment provides a positive message to all companies who create in France,” he stated.

Berthelot’s lawyers had argued in court that his creative process had been performed independently of any instructions or supervision from his employer. Berthelot, who kept more than 500 sketches made during his time at Van cleef, said he was the designer of the brand’s Frivole collection, among others.

Susan Scafidi, professor of law at Fordham University School of law in New York, said, “Fashion houses can breathe a sigh of re-lief….The [French] ruling says that the rights belong to the fashion house. it’s not so much a transfer of rights, but a clarifica-tion of what was a gray area.”

The French court ruling per-tains solely to full-time employees of fashion houses, and it allows fashion firms to specifically state that they are the “director of the process, and the employee was hired as part of the team to cre-ate the design,” said Scafidi. The rationale is that since the fashion house directs and originates the process, it is therefore the first holder of the copyright.

As for implications on a grander scale, Scafidi said that celebrity designers, such as Tom Ford, who once worked at Gucci, or Karl lagerfeld, if he ever left chanel, can no longer claim — if they had ever wanted to — that designs they worked on belonged to them individually.

“You’ll see careful papering by fashion houses with respect to employment agreements signed by designers that they hire, and employee manuals will refer to participation in the creation of collective works in different ways, and how it is part of a team effort,” the law professor concluded.

elisabeth Ponsolle des Portes, president of French luxury asso-ciation comité colbert, said the ruling was welcome news for its 75 members, which range from fashion house chanel to jeweler cartier and perfumer Guerlain.

“This ruling truly recognizes the concept of collective works, which is clearly a very important element for the luxury sector as a whole, since many luxury houses have based their economic model on this notion of collective works — from the manager to the de-signer, the artisan, the prototype maker and so forth,” she said.

“What is also interesting is that the court has shown that effec-tively, the heritage of a company, which is going to determine the style of a brand, is important, and that preserving the archives that constitute this heritage is also something important,” Ponsolle des Portes added.

Vincent Fauchoux, the lawyer who represented Van cleef in the case, called the decision unprec-edented in its depth and clarity.

“it applies an existing provi-sion in French intellectual prop-erty law, but this application is so precise and so realistic from an economic perspective that it pro-vides a blueprint for all French creative industries, not just fash-ion or luxury,” said Fauchoux, who is a partner at Paris law firm Deprez Guignot & Associés.

he noted that Van cleef had

won a similar case against another one of its designers, cécile Arnaud-chevillard, in 2010, but said that ruling was far less explicit.

in particular, the court detailed the various elements that deter-mine whether a work should be considered collective. This ranged from the house’s heritage to the amount of instructions given to employees and the role of inter-nal committees and organizations in assigning tasks, said Fauchoux.

French law contrasts with the system in place in many other juris-dictions, where employees automat-ically relinquish their rights to their employer under the terms of their employment contract, a mechanism known as “work made for hire.”

in France, intellectual property rights on works created collective-ly belong, from their conception, to the person or employer who initi-ates the creation, supervises the creative process and then presents the creation to the public.

Fauchoux said the Van cleef ruling put France on a more even footing with other countries.

“By affirming the notion of col-lective works in the luxury uni-verse, it creates a bridge between French and other foreign laws, even if the basic notions remain very different, since collective works remain a French specificity. it shows that this French specific-ity can be very efficient and that French law can be very attractive and protective toward product creation,” he concluded.

But emmanuel Gouesse, a part-ner at law firm Pech de laclause, Bathmanabane & Associés, which represented Berthelot, said the former Van cleef employee would now take the case to the cour de cassation, France’s highest court. Gouesse said two other related court cases had been resolved in his client’s favor.

A labor court ruled that the designer was unfairly dismissed by Van cleef in october 2005, a decision upheld in May by the Paris court of Appeals’ social di-vision, which awarded Berthelot damages totaling 300,000 euros, or $385,000 at average exchange rates for the month in question.

Separately, a criminal court in January found him not guilty of charges of breach of trust brought by Van cleef, Gouesse said.

“We are very surprised by this ruling, the grounds for which are partially in contradiction with the ruling handed down by the social division of the same court several months ago,” said the lawyer.

By VicKi M. YoUNG

NeW YorK — The Judith leiber division of the Schottenstein luxury Group has found a possi-ble buyer in harry Adjmi after two years on the market, sources said.

Adjmi is in discussions to pur-chase the brand, according to market sources, although terms of the deal have not been finalized. it was unclear at press time how the Adjmi purchase will be structured, although sources believe it will be a separate firm similar to his acqui-sition of Jane cosmetics from the estée lauder cos. inc. in February 2004 via Jane & co. Adjmi is the chairman and president of one Step Up, an apparel manufacturer for women’s and kids.

Judith leiber founded her firm in 1963. The brand is most famous for crystal minaudières, often in animal shapes, that average $5,000 each. leiber also has a lower price collection called overture by Judith leiber, and offers a small selection of accessories that in-cludes eyewear, jewelry and fra-grance. According to the company, there is one store on North rodeo Drive in Beverly hills.

leiber sold her company to Time Products, a london watch company, in 1993, and retired five years later. Time sold the firm to Pegasus Apparel Group in September 2000, which sold a ma-jority stake to Schottenstein in May 2008. it couldn’t be determined at press time whether Pegasus retains a minority stake and, if so, whether

Adjmi was acquiring that as well. Schottenstein luxury Group

is the private equity arm of Schottenstein Stores. The group was started in 2008, when it ac-quired Adrienne Vittadini, fol-lowed by leiber. it has since ac-quired footwear firm Taryn rose.

Schottenstein put the leiber brand up for sale two years ago. Market sources said the brand does annual volume of no more than $18 million.

Adjmi’s one Step Up sells pri-vate label lines to discounters such as Wal-Mart and Kmart, as well as specialty and department stores.

Neither Mary Gleason, presi-dent of Schottenstein luxury Group and brand president for leiber, nor Adjmi returned calls for comment.

Judith Leiber Said Close to a Saleit is the affordable Karl women’s collection that can be purchased exclusively online at karl.com, through a link to Net-a-porter. The name of the collection was incorrect in a Fashion Scoop on page 11, Monday.

CorreCtion

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The exclusive world of haute couture seems a long way from high-tech engineering. But the same design and collaboration software that keeps our phones smart and our planes in the air is also used by pioneers in the fashion industry to keep our heads turning at fashion shows.

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4 WWD TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2012

The laTesT Trends from The runways? VibranT colors, bold paTTerns and a melange of maTerials.

LONDON COLLECTIONS

Spring 2013

Burberry Prorsum: Christopher Bailey was like a kid in a candy shop, turning out a collection full of intense color and sweetie wrapper shine — as well as flourishes of feather and lace. “I wanted it playful, sassy and joyous with colors so intense you wring them out,” the designer said after the show.

Keeping things upbeat is key for Bailey right now. Asked backstage about the company’s recent warning of a slowdown in worldwide retail sales, he said: “You need to do things that make people smile, to have a point of view. And if you work with integrity and honesty, you can ride out the challenges.”

Burberry’s treats came in the shape of trenches and dresses fashioned from emerald green lace, with a jaunty fishtail flair at the hem; a curvy dress plastered with teal feathers, and a deep pink and red trench. Purple and hot pink fabrics with the look and texture of foil wrappers were cut into a short-sleeve shirt or pleated strapless dress, while shiny, cotton sateen trenches came in shades such as midnight blue, raspberry and acid green.

Every once in a while, Bailey took a break from all the color, sending out cool, white trenches or Champagne-colored ones worn with rose gold capelets. The collection was packed with tiny capes that hit midway down the arm (a tricky proposition) and longer ones with a grown-up sense of drama.

Jonathan Saunders: This arresting collection proved that Jonathan Saunders can evolve his look beyond the graphic prints that have become his calling card in recent seasons.

The designer tapped into a more seductive vein with styles that nodded to the Seventies while steering clear of pastiche. Models slinked down the runway in swingy dresses with slashed necklines, done in color-blocked, jewel-toned silks, metallic leather chevron stripes or dense sequins in jade green or deep blue.

The prints were still there, but more subtle this time around, as in silk water droplets appliquéd onto a black chiffon slipdress, and a similar motif in ombré shades of blue on a

silk T-shirt and trouser combo.Meanwhile, sleek pantsuits worn

with chiffon and silk triangle bras, along with the models’ glossy purple lips and mussed-up hair, added to the slightly subversive Seventies feel.

Paul Smith: Paul Smith revisited a familiar theme — boy meets girl — for a colorful collection that took its cues from midcentury modern interiors and the artists who painted during that time. The designer worked with blocks of color and texture, opening the show with a Piet Mondrian-inspired dress with orange, black and flesh-colored panels. Similar ones followed, some with lace sections thrown into the mix, and others with pleats, resembling Twenties tennis dresses. Trousers — which were high on the waist and cropped at the ankle — came in shades of mustard and dark green, while others were two-tone (resembling university scarves) and worn with navy blazers. Other jackets were matte on top and shiny at the bottom, adding a touch of feminine glamour to the androgynous lineup.

Burberry Prorsum

Jonathan Saunders

Paul Smith

Mary Katrantzou

Christopher Kane

Philip Treacy

For more coverage, see

WWD.com/runway.

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WWD.COM5WWD TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2012

Mary Katrantzou: Mary Katrantzou used postage stamps from far-flung destinations such as Mongolia, Venezuela and Finland, and the aesthetic elements of international banknotes as the visual fodder for her collection. It gave fresh currency to the designer’s signature prints, presented on white backgrounds. Her silhouettes were clean, with bold A-line dresses making a big statement. Gorgeous evening gowns were made from twinkling Swarovski crystal-mesh that had been fused to silk brocade and printed with intricate patterns. A couple of damask trouser suits in navy and pearl were glamorously understated and had an androgynous appeal.

Tom Ford: Tom Ford talks about bondage knots as others might the weather — like it’s the most normal subject in the world. And so he should, as tough chic is fashion territory the American designer has claimed for years. For spring, he went for “a mix of chastity and perversity,” which meant the bondage knots that wrapped up silky tops and dresses were tied using silk cord, and slithery black patent pencil skirts were often teamed with roll-neck sweaters or loose, blouson tops.

But make no mistake: This collection was fierce and often brazenly sexy. There were glossy, patent trenchcoats with demonstrative collars in black and nude; skintight pants composed of tiny strips of cobalt blue leather, and slinky gowns made up of beaded mesh bands unstitched here and there to reveal flashes of thigh.

Asked if the languid viscose hoodies and tight knee pants were meant to impart a sporty undercurrent, Ford seemed a bit wounded, preferring to talk about the perverse elements, including a swimsuit with a jockstraplike bottom and killer metallic heels with zip-on shin guards. (As in previous seasons, press was not allowed to photograph the collection.)

To be sure, his sleek and dressy fashions are targeted at confident women who want to be noticed coming and going. For the latter occasion, Ford created striking cocktail dresses and gowns in papery taffeta or liquid jersey with billowing, couture backs.

Philip Treacy: “Ladies and gentlemen, the greatest milliner in the world: Philip Treacy,” Lady Gaga declared from beneath a fuchsia shroud that once belonged to Isabella Blow, kicking off Treacy’s explosive catwalk debut in London.

Models — including Joan Smalls, under a giant smiley face headpiece, Alek Wek and Jourdan Dunn — sported the designer’s wild creations, which were teamed with the original clothes from Michael Jackson’s tours and music videos, which Treacy had secured from Jackson’s estate.

The King of Pop’s music also provided the soundtrack

to the show that featured such creations as a gold mask that grew into a tall organic spiral, a silver conch shape that looked like a drop of mercury, a black cornucopia filled with gold roses, a big gold sun that sat in front of one model’s face and what looked like a traditional Thai headdress, covered in a diaphanous black and gold shroud.

It was an emotional outing — the show was dedicated to Blow, Jackson and Lee Alexander McQueen — and as a gospel choir emerged at the end, there were tears in the front row.

“It was based on Africa getting rich,” said Treacy of the extravaganza. “A future Africa and they just happen to be wearing Michael Jackson’s clothes. Jackson was exceptional — his talent, the dancing, the image, and I was touched to be able to work with his clothes. They were at my studio for a month before the show, and they were really freaking me out. I’d lift up a box, and there’d be a sparkly glove.”

Christopher Kane: An unlikely fashion hero — from his neck bolt to his unwieldy footwear — Frankenstein got the full runway treatment, thanks to daring fashion scientist Christopher Kane.

Indeed, bolts and wing nuts in transparent acrylic were the signature detail of this offbeat collection. They clamped the shoulder straps of ladylike luncheon suits, pierced the bows festooning the front of a cocktail dress and anchored the slits on a narrow skirt.

In a similar DIY vein, bits of lace and beading were pasted onto silk gazar coats and dresses with glossy black electrical tape. Purely experimental, too, were rubbery bows pieced together into clunky cardigan jackets or narrow skirts.

The best bets for a jolt of fashion were the stiff biker jackets in embossed leather that opened the show and a cocktail dress dotted with stiff rectangular bows.

Vivienne Westwood Red Label: What a difference a season makes. Vivienne Westwood replaced fall’s hot babes with spring’s prim Ladies Who Lunch. In a strong play on Fifties silhouettes, there were full skirts, tailored dresses in opulent jacquard, twinsets, little white gloves, pillbox and boater hats and cropped cigarette trousers. The palette ranged from crimson and fuchsia to navy, black and gold, while among the fabrics were crisp white cottons, Lurex, diaphanous silks, luxe brocades and jacquards. But don’t be fooled, there was still some of that Dame Viv cheekiness — literally — in the form of two strapless, buttock-baring bathing suits.

Erdem: Are synthetic shades and challenging fabric mixes signposts of modernity? Many London designers seem to think so, including Erdem Moralioglu, who let DayGlo-like colors and busy pattern seep into his ladylike fashion universe.

The designer spliced

together unexpected textures and colors starting with the opening look: a dress and blouson jacket that married brown snakeskin to powder blue satin and lace. Gradually, the collection accrued more artificial-looking elements, from the 3-D flowers on guipure lace tops and A-line skirts embroidered in searing colors, to the vivid gemstones caught on tulle overskirts.

And further heightening the contrast with the natural world, the models paraded under a domed tent in the middle of Manchester Square Gardens.

Peter Pilotto: Competition is intense among purveyors of print in London, and design duo Peter Pilotto and Christopher De Vos met that challenge by adding 3-D embroideries, beading and cutouts to their digitally generated patterns. Complex shapes — undulating peplums, tiered ruffles and jutting, pannierlike extensions on sleeves and skirts — further warped their impression.

While inventive and well executed, the collection felt heavy-handed and overly busy. The best dresses were the simplest, with short, sculpted kimonolike sleeves and graphic necklines that exalted the prints, rather than overwhelming them. To their credit, Pilotto and De Vos know how to cut feminine, flattering and striking clothes. They just need to get the balance right.

Antonio Berardi: Antonio Berardi worked fluidity and volume into his form-fitting aesthetic. The more appealing looks were those that effortlessly melded the two extremes. They included a sporty halter-neck top, its bodice done in a patchwork of electric blue, black and heavy white mesh, paired with a draped miniskirt, and a black maxidress with a cutout halter bodice that graduated into loose mesh skirts. But it was the designer’s beaded and sequin-encrusted eveningwear that had the most impact, with the embellishments sewn in geometric patterns. No doubt they’ll appeal to his growing fan base of red-carpet fashion plates.

Acne: Creative director Jonny Johansson said in his show notes that he wanted to demonstrate that his design team works “in an abstract collage way, clashing inspiration and influences.”

And how. That method yielded some puzzling outfits. Floor-sweeping kilts in pale linen were paired with cap-sleeve T-shirts and accessorized with latex cowboy hats, while leather vests and cotton biker jackets were fastened with straitjacketlike buckles.

It was difficult to relate the looks on the runway to the edgy-yet-easy separates for which the Swedish brand is best known. The most commercial pieces — skinny pants with slits at the ankles, along with a few roomy handbags — were overshadowed by outré designs.

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WWD.COM6 WWD TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2012

By KHANH T.L. TRAN

LAS VEGAS — Country of origin is be-coming a crucial element in making sourcing decisions.

Experts at the Sourcing at MAGIC show said rising interest from consum-ers and escalating attention from politi-cians has heightened the focus on where textiles and apparel are manufactured. In the challenging global economy, buy-ers sought the most advantageous deals, while vendors and the governments backing them promoted free-trade agree-ments, prices and other factors that gave them an edge.

With more than 1,100 apparel, acces-sories and footwear resources from 43 countries, the expo shown a spotlight on certain regions. There was the debut of the ASEAN section, which presented more than 50 exhibitors from Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam. Returning for a sophomore appearance after making its premiere in August 2011, the Americas pavilion featured 40 U.S. textile firms and several from Central and South America, and Mexico. The pavilion also included a new Made in Los Angeles sec-tor, where, thanks to a sponsorship from

the City of Los Angeles, 11 companies tried to fuel the resurgence for domestic production in the nation’s apparel manu-facturing hub.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, along with Francisco Sánchez, undersecretary for inter-national trade at the U.S. Commerce Department, made the case for American manufacturing at a seminar held on the show’s first day. Villaraigosa said Los Angeles is investing billions of dollars in its transportation infrastruc-ture, including $1.2 billion to improve the Port of Los Angeles.

“No city in the country is investing as much,” Villaraigosa said. “With all of these infrastructure investments, we’re making it even easier for L.A. compa-nies to get their apparel products from factory to market, make it easier for em-ployees to get to work or make it easier for customers to get out and buy all the clothes being made in L.A.”

Design Knit Inc., a Los Angeles-based knitting mill that has been in business for 27 years, said it was able to expand the geographical base of potential cus-tomers by participating in the Made in Los Angeles group. In contrast to the designers from Los Angeles and San Francisco it sees at trade shows in

Southern California, it met with custom-ers from Pennsylvania, Florida, Nevada and Washington while in Las Vegas.

“People were shocked that we’re still around,” said Pat Tabassi, product de-velopment and marketing manager at Design Knit. “There really aren’t any L.A. mills anymore.”

Ark Apparel tried to drum up more business for its three-month-old cut-and-sew business from its perch in the Made in Los Angeles pavilion. The firm special-izes in small orders of 50 to 1,000 pieces. Working with denim brands with jeans that retail for $120 and higher, it charges $40 a piece for cutting and sewing basic five-pocket jeans. The entire process from approving production samples to delivering the finished goods takes four

weeks, with an additional week re-quired if washes are involved.

“If you make a quality product, peo-ple will buy it,” said Noah Landis, Ark’s project manager. “But you’ve got to make it on time [in] four weeks. It can’t be four months.”

Still, pricing remains the key fac-tor in shifting production to the U.S. from overseas.

New England Shirt Co. of Fall River, Mass., balanced out its prices that reach up to $85 a shirt with a no-minimum policy and a turnaround of four weeks. Alan Ng, vice president of Dynatex Inc., a contract manufacturer in Brooklyn, N.Y., said the biggest challenge to U.S. manufacturing is convincing customers that “the value of Made in USA is worth it, even if you have to pay more.”

For Brooks Brothers Manufacturing Group, the question is how much more potential customers are willing to pay. Brooks Brothers, which pro-duces apparel for Ralph Lauren and other better brands, said prices start at $22.50 for ties, $40 for shirts and $250 for jackets.

“There definitely seems to be a lot of renewed interest in Made in America,” said Robert Squillaro, a merchandising and sales manager at Brooks Brothers Manufacturing. “When push comes to shove, we’ll see how interested they are when they get the price quote.”

Tiffany Munn, a designer from Anchorage, didn’t need much convinc-ing to decide to manufacture most of her new swim and resort line called Munn & Fields in New York. She balked at the minimum requirement for orders set by foreign factories.

“A lot of minimums [for factories] here are 300 [pieces],” she said, “which is way too much for a startup.”

Competitors to Chinese companies also made their case to potential cus-tomers. JY International, a first-time exhibitor from Seoul, not only capital-ized on the recent free-trade agreement between the U.S. and South Korea, but also adjusted its prices to range be-tween $6 and $15 for tops and $10 to $20 for dresses.

Miracle Fashion Co., another new ex-hibitor that participated in the ASEAN pavilion, displayed samples of its inter-pretation of top trends, including a one-shoulder black gown with sheer draping and a black and white polka dot bodice layered on a pastel floral skirt.

India’s Magnolia Martinique Clothing offered lower prices combined with at-tention to detail. While prices start at $6 a garment, Magnolia produced an intri-cate strapless dress for Anthropologie with an acid-washed cotton-voile body and macramé trim at $90 apiece.

“China has become more expensive,” said Pallavi Mohan, Magnolia’s design director. “People who left India six to seven years ago are coming back.”

Despite rising prices, China’s Guangzhou Piliao Leather Co. received positive responses for its canvas bags that have been waxed, garment-dyed, acid-washed, ombré-dyed and under-gone other trendy treatments. In the past year, workers’ wages increased 30 percent, forcing the company to raise prices. One customer, Urban Outfitters, couldn’t afford to produce a second batch of a top-selling style that already sold 50,000 units due to higher costs. Now charging $6 to $13 an item, Guangzhou Piliao Leather said it re-tains its competitive edge with a mini-mum order of 300 pieces and a produc-tion schedule of 30 to 45 days.

textilesGeography Plays RoleAt Vegas Sourcing Show

Sourcing at MAGIC highlighted more than 800 apparel, accessories and footwear resources from some 40 countries at its show last month in Las Vegas.

Underscoring the interest in domestic manufacturing, the Americas pavilion at Sourcing at MAGIC also included a new Made in Los Angeles section.

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PANTONE® and other Pantone trademarks are the property of Pantone LLC. Clariant is a registered trademark of Clariant Internat ional Ltd. and has a strategic par tnership with Pantone. Pantone LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of X-Rite, Incorporated. © Pantone LLC, 2012. All rights reserved.

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WWD.COM

By RosemaRy FeitelbeRg

With election day just 48 days away, the obama and Romney camps are court-ing their respective contingencies with considerably different products.

building on the popularity of its “Runway to Win” initiative, the obama campaign has lined up nine new de-signers and celebrities to help create products to support its reelection ef-forts. sarah Jessica Parker has pulled together “a gym t,” beyoncé and tina Knowles have created a three-pack of onesies and Ricky martin has designed a crewneck t-shirt.

other products being sold as of today via the Runway to Win Web site include a makeup bag by Rachel Zoe, a custom-ized backpack by chanel iman and over-size scarves by nanette lepore, yigal azrouël and Kerry Washington. Parker

collaborated with tracy l. cox design and Washington got help from stefani greenfield and desiree gruber. the american-made collection retails from $45 to $95, with all proceeds benefiting the obama Victory Fund, a joint fund-raising committee of obama for america, the democratic national committee and several state democratic parties.

taking a break from shooting the sec-ond season of “scandal,” Washington, whose film “We the Peeples” is due out in the spring, said the Runway to Win ef-fort is “kind of a symbolic gesture” of how supporters can lend whatever talents they have. “i don’t necessarily have talent for design, but fashion is a big part of my career and how i live my life,” she said.

Washington, who spoke briefly during the democratic national convention and will soon be back on the campaign trail, said she is eager to wear her Runway to Win scarf when she is out and about.

While the Romney campaign did not return requests for comment monday, its Web site sells an assortment of red, white and blue items including lapel pins, silver-plated “R” earrings, t-shirts and sweatshirts.

launched in February, “Runway to Win” initially showcased the work of 23 american fashion designers who sup-ported the President’s reelection cam-paign. the President has no shortage

of fashion industry supporters. in June, Parker opened up her West Village town-house for a $40,000-a-plate fund-raiser she cohosted with anna Wintour. the Vogue editor in chief reportedly has raised $2.7 million for the obama reelec-tion campaign. tonight obama will be the guest of honor at another $40,000-a-head fund-raiser, hosted by beyoncé and Jay-Z at 40/40, the new york club the hip-hop singer owns.

By nina Jones

london — mcQ, the younger, more commercial line from alexander mcQueen, has planted a flag on mayfair’s dover street with a new 3,000-square-foot store.

the three-floor space has been designed by alexander mcQueen’s creative director, sarah burton, in collabora-tion with david collins studio, the london-based architecture and interior-design agency.

the decor melds in-dustrial and luxurious design elements: the store’s concrete walls, steel columns and metal ceilings contrast with tac-tile details such as deep pile cream carpets, plush red velvet armchairs and latex-coated clothing rails.

burton said: “We wanted to create a story and a home for mcQ, and the flagship on dover street is an extension of this world.”

the opening of the store co-incides with alistair carr’s ap-pointment as head of design for mcQ alexander mcQueen. carr, who was most recently design di-rector at Pringle of scotland, will be responsible for mcQ’s men’s, women’s and accessories collec-tions as of pre-fall 2013. carr re-ports to burton.

discussing the store, Jonathan akeroyd, chief executive officer of alexander mcQueen, noted: “We see mcQ as a brand within its own right. the way sarah and the design teams approach it is as a stand-alone brand within the alexander mcQueen company.”

he said that the label chose dover street because the street’s retail mix — with stores such as dover street market, acne and aPc — stands between a luxury destination and the high street, attracting what akeroyd called a “fashion connoisseur.”

as befits the label’s younger customer, there are plenty of digi-tal details in the store. a mirror on the store’s first floor allows customers to take a picture of themselves in an outfit, which they can send via e-mail. an in-teractive table on the store’s ground floor allows customers to view look-book images and videos of runway shows digitally, and to

project them onto a screen on one of the walls.

customers can also e-mail the images or capture them on a smartphone with a QR code. “We thought very hard about…how we see the customer base, as very

technology savvy,” said akeroyd. “We expect the client to be very well informed and aware of the brand, therefore their expecta-

tion of the store…is that they want to be impressed, and hope-fully we’ll have impressed them.”

the store carries mcQ’s full range of men’s and women’s wear, along with footwear and acces-sories. the store also carries a

number of run-way pieces that were shown at the label’s one-off show in london in February, some of which have been adapted for production and others that are displayed as show pieces.

Prices cur-rently run from 100 pounds, or $161 at current

exchange, for t-shirts and jersey pieces, through to 4,000 pounds, or $6,450, for a runway piece. a spokeswoman for mcQ said that in the future prices for the line will likely peak around 2,000

pounds, or around $3,200.akeroyd noted that the store

represents a “third step” in re-positioning the brand since alexander mcQueen took full control of the mcQ label as of the fall 2011 season. Previously, it was produced under license by the italian firm sinV spa.

“We’ve had the show in london in February, which was very well received, we’ve got much stronger brand imaging and advertising that sarah does with [photographer] david sims and this third element is to have a flagship store,” said akeroyd. “that makes the mcQ brand story much clearer.…People will see it’s more elevated as a brand.”

next up, akeroyd said mcQ will open shops-in-shop in selfridges and harvey nichols in london over the coming months, designed with the same elements as the london store. through its partnership with it in hong Kong, mcQ has recently opened stores within malls in harbour city in hong Kong and sanlitun in beijing, and will soon open a store in shanghai.

akeroyd declined to provide

sales predictions for the new london store but said the plan is for the store’s performance “to be in line with our other alexander mcQueen store densities, and they’re also very healthy.”

7WWD tuesday, september 18, 2012

McQ Opens Dover Street Flagship

Video imagery in the shop.

A look at the new McQ store.

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New Designers Back Obama

A Yigal Azrouël scarf and onesies by Beyoncé and Tina Knowles are part of “Runway to Win.”

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WWD.COM

2x14 (left)

By LUISA ZARGANI

MILAN — Retail integration is the winning formula for luxu-ry brands, according to Italy’s Fondazione Altagamma — a strat-egy that covers all distribution channels, from directly operated boutiques to online stores, shops-in-shop and outlets in both tradi-tional and emerging markets.

And size matters, said Armando Branchini, executive director of the luxury goods association, at the Altagamma Retail Insight 2012 summit held here Monday.

“Big players have a com-petitive advantage in terms of visibility, awareness, growth of sales points, profit-ability and contractual power,” said Branchini.

So much so that small players must turn to al-ternative solutions to face retail’s fixed costs. “Click and mortar,” the integration between physical and online stores, offers a way to re-duce costs with smaller spaces and inventories and increase produc-tivity, he said, pointing to the first Altagamma Retail Evolution study.

“Smaller stores can be the first steps to engage customers to have them go through the shopping experi-ence with smaller as-sortments, reduced space and better service, and even have an Internet connection from the store to order from there,” said Branchini.

The research shows how the development of retail was the main driver for luxury goods brands over the past 20 years, in particular in emerging markets, and how it also allows tighter control of image and a direct re-lation with shoppers. “Retail has helped promote globalization,

and it has been fundamental, especially in China, where there are mainly shopping malls,” said senior luxury analyst Luca Solca. “Retail, though, is a double-edged sword, as it must submit to the tyranny of sales productivity.”

According to the Digital Luxury Experience study by Altagamma and McKinsey & Co., based on a survey of more than 300 firms in the luxury segment, the online channel is the one that is growing the fastest, as shown by companies’ significant increas-es in investments.

Online sales of luxury goods are increasingly significant in the sector, totaling 6.2 billion euros, or $8.6 billion at average ex-change rates, in 2011, or 3.2 per-

cent of the industry’s revenues, up 20 percent compared with 2010, growth that is three times faster than the entire industry. Online sales are expected to grow 20 percent annually and reach 15 billion euros, or $19.7 billion at current exchange, in 2016.

“If you consider the indirect effect — purchases made in stores but generated by online decisions, the digital market increases by 17.5 billion euros, or $23 billion — or 10 percent of total luxury

sales in 2011,” said Marco Mazzù, a McKinsey partner.

Mazzù predicted that, in the next 10 years, the digital channel will be, together with Asia and South America, the most promis-ing “geographic” market for the growth of the luxury goods sector.

That said, companies are chal-lenged by increasingly sophisti-cated online shoppers who rely on information from an average of four different sources — but less from social media and blog-gers — and demand increasing service, such as faster deliveries and dedicated offers.

According to the Altagamma Index of Best Performers in the Luxury Digital World study, based on an analysis of 300 brands

around the world, there were 154 top performers, of which 39 are Italian brands. The best per-formers on the Customer Decision Journey in fash-ion apparel were Burberry for awareness, Loro Piana for consideration and Moncler for loyalty. In Fashion Accessories, they were Louis Vuitton for awareness, Gucci for consideration and Jimmy Choo for loyalty. Other charts focus on a brand’s performance on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Service remains a top priority for brick-and-mor-tar, too, noted Salvatore Ferragamo chief executive officer Michele Norsa.

“Customers are traveling more, and we must have the abil-ity to innovate and improve the quality of space and lighting,” he said. “Retail means capital expenditures. Also in light of the evolution of markets, there is a need now to renovate stores faster, compared to the past when [a store concept] could last even 20 years.”

The executive believes retail needs to account for two thirds of a brand’s total sales.

Altagamma: Retail Integration Key

LEANDRA MEDINE, the witty writer behind the influential fashion blog The Man Repeller, has joined with PJK (formerly Patterson J. Kincaid) to create a contemporary line called MR x PJK…Just Sayin’ for spring.

The collection, which will bow at the Coterie, is a cross between PJK creative director Chelsey Santry’s feminine West Coast-infused aesthetic and Medine’s edgy New York style.

“The collection will be wear-able insanity — in the coolest sense of the word,” said Santry. “It will be whimsical, colorful and playful.”

It can be dressed up for a more serious look or relaxed to look tomboyish, she added. “There are leather jackets you can wear out at night; quirky graphic Ts, and feminine, girly dresses that go under a big army vest.”

The MR x PJK collection will be shown at the Coterie, sporting hangtags that feature a “Repel-ometer” — essentially a tongue-in-cheek rating system attesting to the level of “man repelling” in the item. This is based on Medine’s point of view that trend-driven fashion pieces don’t appeal to the opposite sex.

“I love their young spirit and the accessibility of their brand,” said Medine. “Jane [Siskin, president of parent Jaya Apparel Group] is really smart and committed, and I wanted to align myself with them.” She said she’d love the clothes “to repel” the opposite sex, “but Jane is very smart and said we just can’t put fur pom-poms on everything!”

In 2009, Jaya, former-ly L’Koral Industries, launched Patterson J. Kincaid trendy sports-wear at the opening price point of contemporary. Siskin said the company had been talking about the idea of collaborating with a blog-ger or a stylist for PJK. “We went through our wish list and Leandra was at the top. We have a relationship with Creative Artists Agency,” which repre-sents Medine, she said.

The new brand is priced higher than PJK and includes dresses, skirts, tops and knits in silks, chiffons and cottons. Retail prices for MR x PJK range between $198 and $398, compared to PJK’s tags of $98 to $198.

“Everything has an attitude. Leandra’s personality shines through in every piece,” said Siskin, who said Medine collabo-rated with Santry on design. “She free-associated what girls would want to wear for next spring, and we [came up with] things that embodied her words. It just hap-pened organically.”

The Man Repeller clocks 3.5 million page views a month, and came in at number one on Adweek’s “Fashion’s Power 25” list last September.

MR x PJK will have a limit-ed offering. “We’re teaming up with key retail partners who

are doing events that Leandra will host,” said Siskin, who declined to project first-year

sales. The line will also be sold on pjk.com.

Mitch Grossbach of Creative Artists Agency, who through its Fashion & Beauty division, represents designers and other talent, added: “MR x PJK provides an additional access point for Leandra to connect with her fans and followers, while extending her Man Repeller brand into new areas of business.”

— Lisa Lockwood

’’’’

Man Repeller Teams With PJK

Smaller stores can be the first steps to engage customers to have them go through the shopping experience with smaller

assortments, reduced space and better service.

— ArmAndo BrAnchini, FondAzione AltAgAmmA

A look from the collaboration.

w18a008a.indd 8 9/17/12 3:45 PM09172012154733

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WWDSTYLE

Scene ChangeLONDON — Poppy Delevingne and Arizona Muse

were among the revelers at a Rag & Bone party as the fashion-crowd action moved onto the European

stage of the spring shows. For more on London Fashion Week extracurriculars, see page 11.

BROTHER ACT: Paris can’t seem to get enough of

Fernando and Humberto Campana. PAGE 10

OPENING THE FILE: VFiles, a new social-media site centered on fashion and style, launched last week following a month of beta testing. The site was conceived and developed by Julie Anne Quay, a former executive editor at V magazine. Quay owns a majority stake in the venture, while V is a strategic partner and minority owner. The magazine is lending its name and a library of imagery to VFiles but does not have a direct role in the site.

Quay, who has assembled a team that works out of offices on Mercer Street, calls VFiles “a social platform for fashion entertainment, with a vault of fashion media and original content.” That online vault includes every issue of Visionaire, V, VMan, Project X and Stop magazines. There are select issues and images from a range of independent and out-of-print publications, ranging from the A&F Quarterly to Germany’s Bravo teen magazine. As the site grows, users will be able to upload their own imagery and multimedia files, such as GIFs or videos, with Quay eventually expecting 90 percent of the site to be user generated and 10 percent to come from VFiles editors.

“It’s a go-to place for the fashion community, where people can access multiple media and talk about fashion,” said Quay. The core of the site is its VFiles, which are online folders created by users to compile multimedia items about topics of interest ranging from bare midriffs to androgyny. Each image, video and related item is affixed with searchable tags.

Users can share, follow or like VFiles and tags, as well as comment on them. Early testers of the site included Nicola Formichetti, Karlie Kloss, Calvin Klein men’s designer Italo Zucchelli, Sky Ferreira and A$AP Rocky.

A partner site in China will launch in October, a market that Quay calls “the hungriest fashion market in the world.” That launch is being overseen by Bentham Liu, a media entrepreneur who was a key player in launching various China and Taiwan editions of Vogue, GQ, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle and People.

VFiles encompasses a handful of original video series, such as Model Files, TMI, In Real Life, Xtreme Fashion Week and VFiles Status Update. There is also an e-commerce shop that sells VFiles collaboration product from The Blonds, Hood by Air, Demeter, ORFI and others.

In contrast to V magazine, the site has an accessible, democratic approach to fashion, with a youthful street vibe to its videos and cobranded product. “We are not exclusive, we want everybody,” explained Quay, noting that she’s targeting an 18- to 35-year-old core demographic.

There is no paid advertising on the site as of yet. Going forward, instead of simply banner ads, VFiles plans to partner with companies to create showcases for their brands on the site, generating revenue by early 2013. “It’s a different approach than just selling advertising. We want to find out what a brand needs and how they want to reach the audience and interact with them,” explained Quay, whose husband, Matthew Edmonds, is a veteran hedge-fund investor. “The most important goal right now is building and engaging with our community.” — DAVID LIPKE

The VFiles homepage.

Paris can’t seem to get enough of the campana brothers. through Feb. 24, Les arts Décoratifs is hosting “the campana Brothers, Barroco rococó,” an exhibition of furniture pieces the Brazilian design duo of Fernando and Humberto campana originally produced for the Galleria O in rome last year. Famed for their collaborations with italian manufacturer edra on chairs made from recycled industrial materials, the pair have changed tack with these ornate pieces made from materials such as marble and bronze, using traditional italian handcrafting techniques.

the pieces are shown alongside some other recent projects, such as a polo shirt created for Lacoste from thousands of hand-stitched crocodile logos.

in a ceremony last week, French foreign minister Laurent Fabius handed the brothers the biennial arts and Patrimony prize from luxury goods association comité colbert, whose president, michel Bernardaud, last year hired the duo to design a range of fine porcelain tableware, also featured in the Paris exhibition.

chosen as one of three designers of the year by the maison & Objet trade show, the campana brothers have cemented their status as critical darlings by designing a temporary suite for the Hôtel Lutetia on the Left Bank. WWD sat down with them to discuss their many projects.

— Joelle DiDerich

WWD: You seem to be having a love affair with France.Fernando Campana: Yes, it’s fair to say France is really spoiling us! But i think there has always been this love affair between France and Brazil. in the last few years, France has accounted for 70 percent to 80 percent of our work, between the café we created for the musée d’Orsay, our suite at the Hôtel Lutetia, our collaborations with Lacoste and Bernardaud, the summer design workshops we run in Boisbuchet, and the “Garrafa” exhibition we staged with the

national school of architecture of Versailles. France is curious about other cultures and about integrating them in a positive way using its know-how.

WWD: in the pieces on show at the “Barroco rococó” exhibit at Les arts Décoratifs, you use bronze elements that range from crocodiles to elements of urban waste, like disposable razors and tubes of toothpaste. How did this idea come about?Humberto Campana: i think this work is more narrative [than what we have done previously]. mixing crocodiles with toothpaste tubes is an idea that originated from these moments when, for example, in the middle of the amazon rain forest, i would see a plastic bottle floating on the river. that just offends my eyes. i wanted to create a snapshot of my rejection, as a protest against the lack of respect for the environment.F.C.: each piece of furniture is like a little cabinet of curiosities. We assembled disparate elements in a kind of contemporary archaeology.H.C.: We recycled ornaments and elements of decorative arts from the 1600s to the 1800s, but without any semblance of historical rigor, like a patchwork.

WWD: Previously, you have used “poor” materials, like cardboard, rope or carpet scraps to create products that are ultimately elitist, since they are destined for a very small and sophisticated audience of design aficionados. these pieces come across as more openly elitist, because of the materials used.H.C.: For me, it was more about my passion for manual labor and for techniques that are on the verge of disappearing. this is something i’m very interested in right now, you know, learning these traditions that in many cases don’t exist in Brazil. We have crafts, but nothing sophisticated, like casting bronze or sculpting marble. it’s my mission to reinterpret and preserve technical skills that are in danger of disappearing by approaching them with a fresh eye.

WWD: But is it fair to say this is a time of transition for you?H.C.: i do think it’s a time of transition. When we start to see our work slipping into the mainstream, we like to head off in a different direction, even if we end up getting lost.F.C.: Often, we will pull back, regroup and wait until a new idea pops up. i think it’s important to know when to step back in order to better move forward.

WWD: as part of your exhibit at Les arts Décoratifs, you have designed a collection of jewelry on sale at the 107 rivoli design store. Was this your first foray into jewelry?H.C.: no, we actually did a collection for H.stern, in Brazil, back in 2001.F.C.: We like to break the boundaries between art and

fashion, fashion and jewelry, jewelry and design, design and architecture. Our ambition is to incorporate these various disciplines by focusing on their manual aspects, or trying to take advantage of the best each has to offer in our production processes.

WWD: i would have expected you to be antifashion, since its constant cycle of renewal is not very environmentally friendly, but i hear you are collaborating with Lacoste for the second time on a capsule collection of polo shirts?H.C.: Part of this collection is going to be produced by a nongovernmental organization in são Paulo called Orientavida, which works with prisoners’ spouses.F.C.: it’s going to be a limited edition. For that reason, already, it won’t be very polluting. We’re on our way to Beijing for the launch of the line.

WWD: What about retail stores?F.C.: We are working on a new store for [spanish shoe company] camper, in são Paulo, with a decor using coconut fiber, the same material featured on the wall of this exhibition, in addition to woven straw. We have already designed stores for camper in London, Berlin, Barcelona, new York and Zaragoza [in spain].

WWD: How is designing a store different from your other work?H.C.: the work is on a bigger

scale, so it requires more thought, because if you don’t like an object, you can just throw it in the trash. a house, a store, is something more permanent that will have an impact on its environment, so you need to be more considerate. i think you need to do a lot of them in order to learn, the same way we did with the chairs. You learn by doing.

WWD: What is your most Brazilian characteristic?H.C.: i think it’s our capacity for changing and adapting rapidly to situations. my whole life, i have lived through one crisis after another. so that gives you a lot of flexibility to get on with things without complaining. that adaptability is a very Brazilian trait, i think, whether you are working class or upper class.

WWD: How do you divide the work between you?F.C.: i work on the projects, and he executes them. [Humberto] has spent more time with the pieces than i have, because he was in rome [working on them with local craftsmen.] i also do collages, for instance those featured on the ceramic plates we produced with Bernardaud. they are collages of our furniture pieces designed to look like tropical images, or jungle leaves, or food, or Brazilian historical scenes.

WWD: Fernando, i read that your dream is to build an airplane?F.C.: i would like to make one out of glass, with a transparent section. i love to fly, and it would give you the sensation of flying on your own, without the aid of mechanics.

WWD: Humberto, do you still dream of creating a garden?H.C.: i have already started work on it, in Brotas, the town in são Paulo state where i was born. We also did a vertical garden on the facade [of design store Firma casa in são Paulo.] i’m really interested in green art.

WWD: What other projects are you working on at the moment?F.C.: We are finishing a private residence in são Paulo and the interior of the stedelijk museum in Hertogenbosch in the netherlands.

WWD: are there any hit pieces from the past that you are sick of looking at?H.C.: i feel passionate about the things that made us successful, because they helped take me to the next level and opened doors. i always feel very sentimental about them. i live with the pieces. my house is full of prototypes — it’s a laboratory, the continuation of my studio. i enjoy using them. if i didn’t, it would be cynical. We would just be creating these radical objects, and then what? i think you have to test them, to live with them.

10 WWD tuesday, september 18, 2012

Campana Brothers Take Paris

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A detail of a marble and bronze chandelier designed by the Campana brothers.

The brothers’ Anhanguera sofa.

Fernando and Humberto Campana

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WWD.COM11WWD TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2012

FASHION SCOOPS

BOYS’ NIGHT: Boy George commanded the microphone and performed an acoustic version of “Karma Chameleon” at Annabel’s Saturday night at a party in honor of Rag & Bone, which opened its first London store over the summer and held a runway presentation this week to mark its arrival. “I broke a bottle of Champagne on the door with Anna Wintour — that was a bit of a highlight,” said Marcus Wainwright, who founded the label with David Neville.

Guests at the dinner, which was hosted by Jefferson Hack and Another Magazine, included Poppy Delevingne, Arizona Muse, James Cook and Alison Mosshart, who talked about her expat life in London. “I love America but I hate Florida. It’s hot and muggy, there are poisonous animals everywhere and old people driving Cadillacs. I spent my life trying to get out and I finally did it; I’ve been here for 13 years,” she said. As the evening wore on, Thom Yorke of Radiohead took over the decks and mixed a very enthusiastic set for the rave-ready crowd. — JULIA NEEL

EMMY WARM-UP: Derek Lam and Audi, the official car partner of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, held their annual pre-Emmy bash at West Hollywood restaurant Cecconi’s Sunday night, drawing Emmy nominees Melissa McCarthy, Julie Bowen, Ty Burrell, Eric Stonestreet and Cat Deeley, who were joined by Kate Walsh, Rachael Harris, Ashley Madekwe, Matthew Weiner, Chord Overstreet, Brittany Snow and Yvette Nicole Brown.

“What they’re doing is very similar to what I’m doing in terms of fashion and technology,” said Lam, talking about Audi while relaxing in an ivy-lined lounge area. “There’s something subtle and sleek wrapped in a wonderful package.”

McCarthy, who was chatting with Nia Vardalos in a cozy nook lit with glimmering candlelight, revealed, “A good friend of mine is creating my dress for the Emmy’s, so it’s special.” DJ Michelle Pesce lured Bowen to the dance floor, where she shimmied in a Lela Rose dress with her “Modern Family” costars Stonestreet and Burrell. Although certainly her heart is with “Modern Family,” Bowen was happy to give some love to other television shows. “I watch ‘Breaking Bad’ obsessively. I can talk all night long about ‘Breaking Bad,’” she said.

— FATIMA RIZWAN

FACING FACTS: Could Dev Patel be the next face of Burberry? “Why not?” said the actor from the front row of the Burberry Prorsum show Monday. “If they need a big-eared Indian fellow, then I’m around!” Patel joined Britain’s First Lady Samantha Cameron, Harvey Weinstein, Mario Testino, Andy Murray, Harry Styles, Jeremy Irvine, Dita Von Teese and Alice Eve at the show on Monday.

Weinstein is in the U.K. working on his new musical version of “Finding Neverland,” which opens this weekend, while Testino zipped to London from Capri, where he’s shooting the Light Blue ad campaign for Dolce & Gabbana in Capri.

Irvine, whose latest film “Now Is Good” with Dakota Fanning comes out later this week, joined Patel in the department of self-deprecation. Asked whether he’d be interested in being a face, he said: “I don’t think I’ll be a Burberry boy, as I’m very fashion illiterate.”

But he wasn’t the only one at the show who can’t read the fashion signs. Before the show, U.S. Open champion Murray scuttled away from a WWD reporter, propelling his girlfriend Kim Sears in front of him and muttering: “I don’t know very much about fashion.”

— STEPHANIE HIRSCHMILLER

KIDS HONORS: Kids In Distressed Situations Inc.’s lineup for its gala slated for New York City this December includes Olympic gold medal-winning gymnast Jordyn Wieber as special guest emcee, and Newark Mayor Cory A. Booker will present the keynote address. The 27th annual event will honor the Army & Air Force Exchange Services as its Retailer of the Year and children’s wear brand Kahn Lucas as its Manufacturer of the Year. In addition, Booker will accept the K.I.D.S. Agency Partner Award on behalf of Newark Now, which provides services and programs to more than 15,000 impoverished families in that city. The Donor Partner Award will go to the Toy Industry Foundation. The event will be held at Cipriani 42nd Street on Dec. 6. — JEAN E. PALMIERI

TALE OF TWO CITIES: Expect to see more of Mary Nighy in fashion circles. At the Christopher Kane show on Monday, the actress-turned-director — and daughter of the enduring British heartthrob Bill Nighy — said she just established a company called Falling Boy that specializes in making films for luxury brands. She said talks are under way with several undisclosed firms. Nighy is also in the midst of writing her first feature film — a boy’s coming-of-age tale that takes place between London and Paris during the Sixties. — MILES SOCHA

DIGITAL HIRE: Barneys New York named Matthew Woolsey senior vice president of digital, a new role. Most recently, Woolsey was managing director at Group SJR, a digital, media, design and market research firm. There, he worked with clients like Target Corp., Credit Suisse and General Electric, as well as Barneys as it revamped its e-commerce site and launched the warehouse sale online. Woolsey will now spearhead barneys.com and report to the retailer’s chief operating officer, Daniella Vitale.

— MARC KARIMZADEH

SERVING SERBIA: Fashion met tennis at the first annual benefit gala for the Novak Djokovic Foundation on Wednesday evening at Capitale in New York City. Donna Karan, Tommy Hilfiger, Anna Wintour and John McEnroe helped raise $1.4 million for the nonprofit, which focuses on children’s programs,

particularly early education in Djokovic’s native Serbia. Karlie Kloss helped auction fund-raising items on stage during dinner and Anja Rubik, whose husband is Serbian, vamped for the cameras.

“I come from a small country where not many kids dare to dream and I believe every one of them should have an opportunity to dream,” said Djokovic, wearing a Theory tuxedo in a bit of synergy with on-court apparel sponsor Uniqlo, as both brands are owned by Japan’s Fast Retailing Co.

Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, was there with daughter Princess Beatrice. “I’m still a child at 52 and I think it’s really important to keep the child within you. I so support the 12 kindergarten schools you’re about to build,” she told Djokovic. — DAVID LIPKE

MASTER JONES: Quincy Jones will join the company of previous winners Yoko Ono, Susan Sontag and Prince Charles in receiving this year’s Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award, now in its 21st year, on Oct. 2 at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles. Fran Lebowitz, Michael Bastian and concert pianist Lang Lang made up this year’s American jury. As a recipient, Jones will receive $20,000 to donate to Jazz Foundation of America — of which he sits on the Honorary Founders Board — and a Montblanc Limited-Edition Patron of Art Joseph II writing instrument. — KRISTI GARCED

ROBB TO TOMMY: Amy Robb joined Tommy Hilfiger USA as public relations director for North America. Most recently, Robb was public relations director at Christian Dior Couture in New York. Prior, she held public relations roles at Moschino and Salvatore Ferragamo. At Hilfiger, Robb’s area of responsibility includes men’s and women’s

across all categories, and she will report to senior vice president of marketing and communications for the Americas Heather Vandenberghe. — M.K.

TARGET PAY: The man at the center of the bull’s-eye, Gregg Steinhafel, chairman, president and chief executive officer at Target Corp., exercised an option to buy 200,000 shares of the retailer at $33.80 Friday and turned around to sell off the stock at $64.57, a $6.2 million profit. Steinhafel continues to own 269,924 shares of the company directly and another 368,708 shares indirectly, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. — EVAN CLARK

DESIGNER DRINKS: Beach, sleep, eat, drink, delete — fashion week rehab varies from one person to the next. Over at Peter Som’s offices, the designer will be leading staffers in a three-day Cooler Cleanse detox. As part of its NYFW Get Juiced campaign, Juice Generation helped keep Som and his team running last week with its Supa Dupa Greens juice. Apparently green’s popularity wasn’t just on the runway. Chris Benz went with Essential Greens, Alexander Wang Inc. was all about Mr. Greengenes and Shoshanna Gruss opted for Hail to Kale. While his spring collection was mostly black and white, Yigal Azrouël’s juice of choice last week was considerably brighter — Mucho Mango with Ginger. — ROSEMARY FEITELBERG

POWER PRINTS: Husband-and-wife design duo Mark Eley and Wakako Kishimoto returned to London Fashion Week after four seasons to show their collection at the Aram Gallery in Covent Garden — and clothing is only a part of the story.

Their presentation, “Living With Patterns,” features the duo’s latest prints — which range from pastel cones to tribal zigzags on cotton, silk and viscose shifts and blouses. The colorful show also features a women’s footwear collaboration with Clarks; patterned rugs that have been done exclusively for Aram; bone china for Narumi, and ceramic vases for Moorcroft.

Kishimoto said the collaborations weren’t a big leap for her. “I see clothing as a product you use, rather than as fashion,” she explained, adding that all of her collections start with prints. Eley, meanwhile, confirmed that the label would return to the London catwalk in February. — SAMANTHA CONTI

Alison Mosshart

Jelena Ristic, Novak Djokovic and Donna Karan.

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In that defensive position, China could be more prone to retaliation, which many said was seen in the filing of its own trade case against the U.S. shortly after the U.S. filed its case.

“The tension is relative-ly high anyway,” said Dave Redlawsk, political science professor and director of the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling at Rutgers University. “China is address-ing an economic slowdown themselves.…One of the really telling things in the last few years is that China has contin-ued to do well while the rest of the world economy seemed to tank. China clearly needs the exports to help drive recovery of their economy, so clearly this kind of thing [a WTO case] makes that more difficult.”

Redlawsk said ultimately the two WTO cases might be more about the struggle be-tween a superpower and a ris-ing economic powerhouse than an actual brewing trade war.

“To some degree, the U.S. wants to keep China in its place while China wants to as-sert itself on the world stage,” Redlawsk said. “A lot of this seems like posturing on the world stage, in the case of China, and on the election stage, in the case of the U.S.”

“Certainly from a business perspective we all hope that both sides can avoid a trade war,” said Julia Hughes, presi-dent of the U.S. Association

of Importers of Textiles and Apparel. “Even though there is the traditional heated rhetoric on the campaign trail, every-one in the business commu-nity will be watching it closely. But I do not expect that it will escalate into a trade war.”

Gary Hufbauer, senior fel-low at the Peterson Institute for Economics, said it has definitely gotten the attention of the Chinese government, which is “very intently trying to read the tea leaves to see whether it is a momentary [tool] for the campaigns or whether it presages a worsen-ing economic relationship.

“I don’t think China sees this as representing a funda-mental change in policy,” he said. “However, if either the Obama administration or a new Romney administration goes in for a much more force-ful attack on China by chang-ing subsidy laws to include undervalued currency or bringing a big WTO case that includes everything but the kitchen sink, that would be a different story.”

The timing of the filing of the U.S. case coincided with the final stretch of the presidential campaign and occurred on the same day Obama was campaigning in the industrial state of Ohio, which has been hit hard by manufacturing job losses. Obama and Romney spent Monday sharpening their po-litical attacks over their oppo-nent’s policies toward China.

“Now I understand my opponent has been running around Ohio claiming he’s

going to roll up his sleeves and take the fight to China,” Obama said at a grassroots event in Cincinnati. “But here’s the thing: his experience has been owning companies that were called ‘pioneers’ in the busi-ness of outsourcing jobs to countries like China. Pioneers! Ohio, you can’t stand up to China when all you’ve done is send them our jobs.”

Romney, who has accused Obama of not being tough enough on China on trade and an undervalued currency, dis-missed the administration’s WTO case. “I will not wait until the last months of my presi-dency to stand up to China, or do so only when votes are at stake,” Romney said. “From Day One, I will pursue a com-prehensive strategy to confront China’s unfair trade practices and ensure a level playing field where our businesses can compete and win.”

A senior administration of-ficial, who spoke on the con-dition of anonymity on a con-ference call with reporters Monday, said: “We have said many times that we are not desirous of or seeking a trade war with China.

“China has moved in a di-rection of having industrial policies [such as illegal ex-port subsidies] that have op-erated either to the benefit of their manufacturers or have induced manufacturers to move from the U.S. to China. That is why we made a com-mitment to…say to China, Europe or Mexico [or any other country] that you have to play by the rules,” he said.

Street in lower Manhattan. Her im-pact on the Gap collection will first be felt in the second half of 2013.

Asked what is working at the brand right now, she said the compa-ny has great khakis and great denim, as examples, but potentially could “own more product categories.”

Bay succeeds Patrick Robinson, who left in 2011, but actually has a bigger role since she will be creative director, a title Robinson didn’t have. She will develop the vision for the entire Gap brand, including working on the marketing and communica-tions, and, as execu-tive vice president, will have global re-sponsibility for Gap women’s, men’s, 1969, accessories and body lines.

She will report to Art Peck, presi-dent of the brand’s North American division, and Stephen Sunnucks, president of Gap Inc. International. She will also work closely with Pam Wallack, who leads the Gap Global Creative Center; Seth Farbman, who leads Gap’s market-ing team, and Jennifer Giangualano, head designer for kids and baby. Gap said Tracy Gardner will continue as a creative adviser to Gap.

Like Robinson, Bay will be high profile at the Gap, particularly with the media at fashion shows and pre-sentations, and to convey the brand message, though she is not as gregar-ious as Robinson tended to be.

“I am very hands on,” Bay said during the interview. “I like the behind-the-scenes work. My main focus will be developing the product. That’s what I came here for,” though she added that she is “more than happy” to communicate the vision and serve as a voice for the brand.

She joins Gap Inc. at a relative good time for the $14.5 billion compa-ny, which has experienced two posi-tive quarters and seems to be gain-ing momentum, though it is too soon to say that, after years of negative comparable-store sales and declin-ing traffic, it has been turned around. The Gap brand last month saw com-parable-store sales rise 9 percent.

“We’re confident that Rebekka’s approach to design, along with her considerable international expe-rience, will allow her to help us

build upon the momentum we’re delivering in the business today,” said Sunnucks.

The 42-year-old Bay, accord-ing to Gap, was selected because she has had more than two decades in design and can articulate a vi-sion. In 2006, she conceptualized and developed COS, the higher-priced line of H&M that sells in Europe, Asia and the Middle East and is expected to make its way to H&M in the U.S. Since 2011, she has been with the

Danish brand Bruuns Bazaar as creative director, overseeing the design of women’s and men’s wear. Gap said that at Bruuns Bazaar, Bay was instrumental in creating a strong signature for the BZR and Bruuns Bazaar collections and built upon the strong Scandinavian heri-tage of the brand.

The Danish aesthetic, she said, is in her DNA, and will, to some degree, affect her work and the taste level she brings to Gap. She defined it as “very functional and modern and based on great craftsmanship and de-sign. The approach to design is very craft based. The material itself can carry a good part of the design.”

WWD.COMWWD tuesday, september 18, 201212

Bay Named Creative DirectorTrade Tensions on the Rise

Protests in China Affect Japanese Stores

{Continued from page one}{Continued from page one}

By KRISTI ELLIS

WASHINGTON — China is becoming more of a politi-cal football than ever.

The trade relationship between the U.S. and China hit a new low Monday as the two countries exchanged World Trade Organization cases, while President Barack Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney sparred over who has the best approach to reining in the Asian giant.

The heightened political rhetoric and new WTO cases escalated the tensions between the two countries and reinforced the potential of a trade war if the tough stance on China becomes more entrenched or puni-tive, trade experts said.

The WTO complaint filed by the U.S. alleges that China illegally subsidizes the export of auto and auto parts. China countered with a WTO case of its own claiming that U.S. countervailing duty and antidump-ing laws are not consistent with WTO rules.

While the two WTO complaints do not directly in-volve the fashion industry, apparel importers and re-tailers have a lot of exposure in potential trade dis-putes with China. Companies imported $41 billion in apparel and textiles to the U.S. from China in the year ended July 31, according to government data.

Experts said the tit for tat is all part of the process of raising trade issues and disputes within the WTO, which serves to tamp down escalating tensions.

But the latest heated trade dispute comes at a crit-ical time for both the U.S. and China. The Republican Party, in its party platform for the presidential elec-tion, called on a tougher stance against China regard-ing its currency and trade policy. Meanwhile, China has been struggling with its own issues ranging from questions over leadership succession at the upcoming Party Congress next month to a dispute with Japan (see related story below) to economic slowdown and ris-ing labor costs. These have forced many companies to move production out of the country either to other

SEE PAGE X

SEE PAGE X

By DAvID MOIN

Gap, the all-American casual brand, has decided that it’s vision for the future should be filtered through a European designer with a Scandinavian aesthetic.

Nevertheless, Rebekka Bay, a former top designer at H&M who on Monday was named creative director and executive vice president for Gap Global Design, said in an exclusive interview with WWD on Monday that her mission will be to build upon the heritage of the brand. “Gap has great potential as a lifestyle brand,” said Bay, who was born and schooled in design in Denmark. But she emphasized that with Gap, “It’s important to con-tinue to [build upon] the product’s American heritage. Gap is the brand that owns casual fashion. It can take more ownership over casual.”

She sees the opportunity to introduce a more sophis-ticated range of colors to Gap, more prints, more wash-es, and said that, long term, the company will be able to add lines to broaden the range of styles. She said the mission will be to deliver high-quality, well-priced prod-ucts, not just seasonally but trans-seasonally. Gap, while recently performing well, has for about a decade found it difficult to deliver consistent, stylish, quality product.

“I am superexcited about joining Gap and I don’t know if I fully understand the size of the task,” Bay said.

The stock market applauded Bay’s appointment, though, sending Gap Inc’s shares up 2.4 percent to $36.05 in a generally tough day for retail shares.

Over the next few weeks, Bay will relocate to New York with her husband and seven-year-old son, and will be based at Gap’s Global Creative Center on Thomas

By AMANDA KAISER and LARA FARRAR

TOKYO — Japanese retail-ers and manufacturers are still assessing the aftermath of large-scale protests that took place in several Chinese cities over the weekend amid a growing diplomatic row about the ownership of a small chain of uninhabited islands controlled by Japan but over which both coun-tries claim sovereignty.

According to press reports, thousands of Chinese citizens took to the streets attacking Japanese-run businesses, in-cluding department stores and supermarkets, and demon-strating outside the Japanese embassy in Beijing. Japan-China relations have plunged to fresh lows since a move by Tokyo last week to secure rights to the islands, located in the ocean between the two countries, by buying them from the private Japanese citi-zens who owned them.

One wire image showed protestors breaking the win-dow of a building housing a Seibu department store in Shenzhen. A spokeswom-an for Dickson Concepts International Ltd., the Hong Kong-based parent compa-ny that runs the store, con-firmed that the store was damaged but declined to comment further on the ex-

tent. She said the store was open on Monday.

In Changsha, the capital of Hunan Province, at least one branch of the Japanese-owned Heiwado department store was damaged, according to a local news Web site. Calls to all three of Heiwado’s loca-tions in Changsha went unan-swered Monday.

A Shiseido spokesman said protesters damaged an unspecified number of the company’s sales counters at retailers such as hypermar-ket Jusco, part of Aeon Co. Ltd., and Heiwado. He did not have more information about the scope of the damage, but he said the affected stores are closed for the time being. The spokesman characterized the damage as part of broad-er attacks on the retailers rather than violence targeting Shiseido specifically.

Some major Japanese play-ers in China appear to have survived the protests without major incident — at least for now. A spokesman for Fast Retailing Co. Ltd., which oper-ates about 145 Uniqlo stores in Mainland China, said the com-pany hasn’t received any re-ports of damage to its stores or employees. He acknowledged protests have affected sales but said he could not quantify the impact. A spokesman for Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings Ltd. said the retailer decided to close its Isetan store in Chengdu a cou-

ple hours earlier than normal on Monday and might curtail operating hours on Tuesday as a precautionary measure. He said there have been no reports of damage at the Chengdu store or at the group’s four other stores in China.

Tuesday is the anniversary of a controversial incident that precipitated Japan’s invasion of China in the Thirties, meaning it’s possible that more protests could take place in the com-ing days. China and Japan, the world’s second- and third-largest economies, respectively, have a long and complicated history stretching back centuries and are significant trade partners.

At least 80,000 Chinese partic-ipated in protests in 85 cities over the weekend, with some turn-ing violent in Xi’an, Dongguan, Changsha and Qingdao, where demonstrators smashed win-dows of Japanese stores and overturned cars made in Japan, Chinese media reported.

A front-page editorial in Monday’s edition of the People’s Daily newspaper, which is considered the mouthpiece of the Chinese government, warned that China would consider econom-ic sanctions if Japan does not abandon its claim that islands in the East China Sea are not under Chinese jurisdiction. Last week, Japan decided to buy the islands, which Beijing calls the Diaoyu and Tokyo calls the Senkaku.

TONIGHT, GAP and GQ will join up to introduce their first-ever men’s wear designer collaboration, slated to hit stores Sept. 27.

The limited-edition merchan-dise by GQ’s designated six Best New Menswear Designers in America will range from hats, knit ties and graphic T-shirts to fleece hoodies, chinos, jeans and outerwear. The looks — from BLK DNM, Ian velardi, Mark McNairy New Amsterdam, Ovadia & Sons, Saturdays and Todd Snyder — will retail from $20 for boxer briefs to $348 for a leather bomber jacket and will be available at select Gap stores

worldwide as well as online. They will also be featured in a special insert in GQ’s October issue.

“We’ve done a lot of different collections in women’s, kids and baby,” said Mark Breitbard, head of merchandising for Gap North America, “and we jumped at the opportunity to help expand it to the men’s business. Our men’s busi-ness is very consistent but we think there’s a lot more opportunity.”

He said the designers, working with Gap and GQ, created looks that remained true to their own aesthetic while also “telling the story of casual American sports-wear for men.”

The merchan-dise will be high-lighted in stores as well as online. The Gap Web site will offer be-hind-the-scenes videos with each of the design-ers explaining the process by which they cre-ated the looks.

— JEAN E. PALMIERI

Rebekka Bay

Gap, GQ Team for Men’s Wear

The collaborators.

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