Keeping It WeirdWhile enjoying a popularity resurgence, “Weird Al” Yankovic is still in the fashion doldrums. Page MW8

MAN OF THE WEEK

by DAVID YI

ACTIVEWEAR IS taking a big bite out of the denim business, but jeans brands are fighting back.

After several years of strong increases, men’s jeans sales have struggled with weaken-ing sales and margin-sapping promotions. But knowing that comfort is king with today’s cus-tomers, manufacturers are embracing the jog-ger trend in an attempt to replace some of the business that has migrated to other categories.

For the 12 months ended June 30, total sales of men’s jeans were $5.5 billion, down 2.5 percent from the previous year, according to The NPD Group Inc. Unit sales dropped as well, falling to 206.9 million compared with 213.9 million in 2013. The hardest hit were the 18-to-24 and 35-to-44 age brackets, with sales dips of 5 and 8 percent, respectively.

Enter the “jogger” pant, better known as the sweatpant. If women are purchasing more yoga pants to fit their active lifestyles, men are following suit, looking to these sweats as a versatile apparel item that can take them from the gym to the office.

“It’s a trend, but it’s something that all denim companies are focusing on or should be focusing on,” said Rebecca Duval, vice president equity analyst at BlueFin Research Partners. “There are two versions we’re see-ing in the market now: the uberstretchy jog-ger, which is like denim but very soft, then this denim that looks like it’s woven terry cloth and everyone is going to that.

“It’s a hot trend, but it’s not going to take over all of the other fits. It will be an impor-tant trend for the season that will keep con-sumers interested,” she said. “A lot of retail-ers want it or are chasing it, so much so that the mills can’t even keep up with the sheer amount of volume they’re requesting.”

Silver Jeans Co., founded in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, by Michael Silver, is jumping on the bandwagon with the intro-duction of the Joga. The new pant, which re-tails for $88, is made of a poly-cotton blend with Lycra and is indigo-dyed. It was intro-duced for fall and aims to look like denim but feel like a sweatpant.

“Our whole concept was not to try to hit the customer over the head, but to subtly allow them to feel like they’re cheating,” Silver said. “It’s not OK for guys to know that they have stretch in the fabric. It’s not masculine. You almost have to fool them and can’t tell them it’s not real denim.”

Silver said the company will focus on soft-er, stretchier fabrics but create innovations so the Joga has “a real denim construction that isn’t too limp and too soft and stretchy.”

“Today, the term ‘casual’ has become syn-onymous with activewear and comfort,” said Marshal Cohen, NPD’s chief industry analyst.

BLUE NOTES

{Continued on page MW7}

August 7, 2014

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Denim Brands Getting CasualVendors offer joggers, other options to capitalize on the activewear craze.

Throwback ThursdayRetro-inspired jeans were trending on the runways this season — perfectly complementing American heritage denim staples. Contrast stitching and looser silhouettes were among the key features that are expected to give a boost to the mature denim business. For more on the denim market, see pages MW4 to MW6. Levi’s denim jacket

and Prada’s denim jeans, both in cotton.

PLUSMoncler sees

first-half profits more than double.

Page MW2

A look at a number of interesting

collaborations set for fall retail.

Page MW2

In the SPOTLIGHT

by GORDON SORLINI

MILAN — Italian high-end sports-wear maker Moncler SpA on Wednesday said net profits in the first half of the year more than doubled on the back of strong rev-enue growth in all markets except Italy and strong performance in stores open at least 52 weeks.

In a statement released after the close of trading here, where the company is listed, Moncler said that net profits for the six months ended June 30 reached 18.1 million euros, or $24.8 million, compared to 8.3 million euros, or $10.9 mil-lion, in the year-ago period.

Total revenues increased 19 per-cent in the period, reaching 218.3 million euros, or $299.1 million, while like-for-like sales increased 10 percent, driven by strong perfor-mance in North America and Asia.

In the second quarter, rev-enues jumped 27 percent on the year-earlier period, reaching 72.9 million euros, or $99.9 million, while the net loss narrowed to 5.4 million euros, or $7.4 million, from 8 million euros, or $10.5 mil-lion — a loss linked to the season-ality of the business.

The three months to end June marked “another very good quar-ter for Moncler,” chairman and chief executive officer Remo Ruffini said on a conference call, boosted by the 10 percent com-parable-sales gains as well as the rollout of new stores. In the first half, Moncler opened seven new monobrand retail locations, bring-ing the total to 114 worldwide.

Ruffini pointed to double-digit sales gains in Japan in the second quarter, along with “solid results” in Hong Kong and the U.S. Moncler

also did well in Europe, with the Italian market making a recovery in the second quarter, “in line with our expectations,” he said.

In the three months to end June, sales in Italy increased 14 percent on the year-earlier pe-riod, to 14.9 million euros, or $20.4 million. Italy remained the group’s largest single market, representing 21 percent of total revenues, although this was a bit less than its weight in the second quarter of 2013.

In the first half, sales in Italy expanded by just 1 percent, to 47.5 million euros, or $65.1 million.

Asia and Rest of the World put in the strongest sales growth in the first half, with revenues expanding 38 percent on the year-earlier period, to 66.6 mil-lion euros, or $91.2 million. The Americas followed, with sales up

28 percent, to 21.6 million euros, or $29.6 million, while the Europe, Middle East and Africa (exclud-ing Italy) group revenues grew 16 percent, to 82.6 million euros, or $113.2 million.

In terms of channels, both wholesale and retail put in a strong performance in the first half, with the former registering 9 percent growth, to 96.4 million euros, or $132.1 million, and the latter up 28 percent, to 121.9 mil-lion euros, or $167 million. Retail sales also benefited from the company’s store-opening cam-paign, which will continue into the second half.

On the conference call, chief corporate officer Luciano Santel said Moncler will open another 18 stores by December, with an ad-ditional 10 locations already “se-cured” for 2015.

Santel said that the group’s most important store openings in the second quarter were trav-el-retail locations in airports in Hong Kong, Milan (Malpensa) and Rome (Fiumicino), as well as a new store in Moscow.

Pointing again to the group’s financial performance, Santel pointed out how Moncler’s gross margin — at 155 million euros, or $207.7 million — reached 71 percent of sales in the first six months of the year, up from 70 percent in 2013. The gross mar-gin improved mostly as a result of “channel mix,” which led to higher retail sales. However, Santel added that the flip side to the retail expansion campaign is higher expenses.

The company, meanwhile, is gearing up for a new advertising push, which will include a cam-paign developed with the help of Annie Leibovitz, to start in November and which will also air on digital platforms.

Men’s WeekMW2 WWD THURSDAY, AUGUST 7, 2014

Moncler Profits Jump in First Half

IF TWO HEADS are better than one, that same rule can be applied to apparel brands. Come September, there will be several in-novative collaborations being released at retail. These include an automobile company teaming up with an outdoor heritage brand on luxury goods for the masses, and two sportswear brands pushing the design envelope to revamp a classic footwear silhouette. Here are a few standouts:

NAME: Vault by Vans x Diemme and Horween footwear.HISTORY: The West Coast skate brand Vault by Vans and Italian handcrafted footwear manufacturer Diemme are teaming up on a two-tone sneaker that will come to life in the form of the Sk8-Hi LX and the Era LX. In this fourth installment of the Vault by Vans’ partnership with Diemme, the sneaker will incorporate Chicago-based Horween leather and will be assembled in Italy. Known for its craftsman-ship, Diemme footwear has been manufactured in Montebelluna, Italy, since the 1870s. Horween Leather Co. was founded in 1905 and continues to make all leathers by hand.RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1PRICE POINTS: $300 to $350.KEY TAKEAWAY FOR THE SEASON: A simple and sophis-ticated sneaker that can be worn with trousers or jeans.

NAME: Palladium x Alpha Industries MA-1 flight jacket.HISTORY: Designed to complement the Palladium x Alpha Industries boots, the collaboration will introduce the MA-1 flight jacket in a fresh color-blocked form. Made of the same nylon fabrication used in the boot, the jacket is updated through a slimmer fit and bears Palladium’s rub-ber-patch logo.

Founded in 1920 to make aircraft tires, Palladium later utilized its canvas and rub-ber expertise to dress the French Foreign Legion, birthing the signature canvas

Pampa boot. The boot is co-labeled by the U.S.

Department of Defense, which awarded Alpha Industries the contract to produce military-

inspired outerwear 50 years ago.RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1PRICE POINT: $175.

KEY TAKEAWAY FOR THE SEASON: Color-blocked and military outerwear is the per-fect combination to

combat cold and gloomy weather.

NAME: Stüssy x Timberland Euro Hiker boot.HISTORY: Stüssy teamed up with Timberland to revamp the tradi-tional Euro Hiker boot. The collabo-

ration is comprised of nubuck and features

two colors: wheat with lime green accents and brown with bright orange accents. RELEASE DATE: Sept. 15PRICE POINT: $160

KEY TAKEAWAY FOR THE SEASON: Made of 50 percent recycled plastic bottles and breathable materials, this particular boot has a shock-absorbing EVA midsole, ideal for warm-weather hikes and treks.

NAME: Nau x Snow Peak utensils.HISTORY: Eco-friendly apparel brand

Nau and outdoors brand Snow Peak de-signed a special capsule that marries Nau’s Portland, Ore., roots with Snow Peak’s Tokyo-inspired craft and design. The cu-rated assortment of utensils features Japanese influence and mobil-ity that speak to the road warrior foodie. “Our customer is always moving. They’re in the city, fight-ing the elements, at work, out for a drink. It was impor-tant that the collection be able to move seamlessly between whatever adven-tures your day throws at you,” said Nate Borne, general manager at Snow Peak.RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1PRICE POINTS: $10 to $70.

KEY TAKEAWAY FOR THE SEASON: Armed with the Seppou knife and titani-um spork, the hand-forged Japanese steel blade and durable utensil can be a reus-able option for lunch or camping.

NAME: Wings + Horns x Porter travel collection.HISTORY: To mark its 10-year anniversary, Canadian-based lifestyle brand Wings + Horns partnered with Japanese brand Porter on a travel-inspired custom backpack and

zippered wallet. Made in Japan, the backpack com-bines leather and suede with a waterproof lining, flight satin and canvas; the wallet is made of leather and suede.RELEASE DATE: Aug. 15PRICE POINTS: $175 for the wallet and $875 for the backpack.KEY TAKEAWAY FOR THE SEASON: Wings + Horns was born be-tween trips to Canada

and Japan and the collec-tion reflects those roots.

NAME: Barbour x Land Rover HISTORY: British heritage

brand Barbour and Land Rover partnered for the first time on a collec-tion that reflects rural traditions through a playful and functional apparel line. The collection, for both men and women, is a modern interpretation of rural tradi-tions as evidenced by Country Lux, which was inspired by the British countryside and offers an exclusive new tartan.RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1PRICE POINTS: $729 for the Grindon jacket and $269 for the Craglough sweater.KEY TAKEAWAY FOR THE SEASON: Designed to appeal to city dwellers, the collection focuses on family activities and fitness in the great outdoors.

In the SPOTLIGHT

Vault by Vans x Diemme and

Horween shoes.

Palladium x Alpha Industries MA-1 jacket.

Stüssy x Timberland boot.

Nau x Snow Peak utensils.

Wings + Horns x Porter zippered wallet.

Barbour x Land Rover

jacket.

▲

▲

▲

WWD THURSDAY, AUGUST 7, 2014 Men’s WeekMW4

Denim ForeverThe return of runway denim, blended with the indigo-blue trend and Westernwear references, is shining a new light on the denim arena. — ALEX BADIA

C-of-H Man’s denim jacket and jeans with Michael Bastian’s shirt, all in cotton.

PHOTOS BY KRISTIINA WILSON

Men’s Week

Cult of Individuality’s cotton vest and Dsquared2’s cotton and spandex denim jeans.

Burberry Prorsum’s denim jacket, Palmer Trading Company x Dickies 1922’s shirt, Rag & Bone’s T-shirt and MSGM’s denim jeans, all in cotton.

AG’s denim jacket and Michael Bastian’s denim jeans, both in cotton. Fossil belt.

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MW5WWD THURSDAY, AUGUST 7, 2014

Men’s WeekMW6 WWD THURSDAY, AUGUST 7, 2014

Visvim’s denim jacket, Palmer Trading Company x Dickies 1922’s underjacket and Denim & Supply’s denim jeans, all in cotton.

Acne Studios’ shirt, Mills Supply’s T-shirt and Alex Mill’s denim

jeans, all in cotton.

Levi’s shirt and denim jeans, both in cotton.

G-Star Raw’s shirt, Denim & Supply’s T-shirt and Kenzo’s denim jeans, all in cotton.

FOR MORE IMAGES, SEE

WWD.com/menswear-news.

Men’s Week WWD THURSDAY, AUGUST 7, 2014 MW7

by DAVID YI

Activewear is taking a big bite out of the denim business, but jeans brands are fighting back.

After several years of strong increases, men’s jeans sales have struggled with weak-ening sales and margin-sapping promotions. But knowing that comfort is king with to-day’s customers, manufacturers are embrac-ing the jogger trend in an attempt to replace some of the business that has migrated to other categories.

For the 12 months ended June 30, total sales of men’s jeans were $5.5 billion, down 2.5 percent from the previous year, according to The NPD Group. Unit sales dropped as well, falling to 206.9 million compared with 213.9 million in 2013. The hardest hit were the 18-to-24 and 35-to-44 age brackets, with sales dips of 5 and 8 percent, respectively.

Enter the “jogger” pant, better known as the sweatpant. If women are purchasing more yoga pants to fit their active lifestyles, men are following suit, looking to these sweats as a versatile apparel item that can take them from the gym to the office.

“It’s a trend, but it’s something that all denim companies are focusing on or should be focusing on,” said Rebecca Duval, vice president equity analyst at BlueFin Research Partners. “There are two versions we’re see-ing in the market now: the uberstretchy jog-ger, which is like denim but very soft, then this denim that looks like it’s woven terry cloth and everyone is going to that.

“It’s a hot trend, but it’s not going to take over all of the other fits. It will be an impor-tant trend for the season that will keep con-sumers interested,” she said. “A lot of retail-ers want it or are chasing it, so much so that the mills can’t even keep up with the sheer amount of volume they’re requesting.”

Silver Jeans Co., founded in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, by Michael Silver, is jumping on the bandwagon with the intro-duction of the Joga. The new pant, which re-tails for $88, is made of a poly-cotton blend with Lycra and is indigo-dyed. It was intro-duced for fall and aims to look like denim but feel like a sweatpant.

“Our whole concept was not to try to hit the customer over the head, but to subtly allow them to feel like they’re cheating,” Silver said. “It’s not OK for guys to know that they have stretch in the fabric. It’s not masculine. You almost have to fool them and can’t tell them it’s not real denim.”

Silver said the company will focus on soft-er, stretchier fabrics but create innovations so the Joga has “a real denim construction that isn’t too limp and too soft and stretchy.”

“Today, the term ‘casual’ has become syn-onymous with activewear and comfort,” said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst.

TRACK

{Continued on page MWX}

Xxxx Xxxx Xx xx Xxxx Xxx XXxxx xxxxx xxxxxx xx xxxx xxxxxxxxx xx xxxx xx xxxx xxxx xxx xxx x

“As a country, we’ve gotten so casual that we can wear one step above pajamas out in public now. Denim is now considered dressy, which is one reason that the indus-try has lost its momentum — the consumer is gravitating toward more loose and com-fortable fits.”

Seven For All Mankind, owned by VF Corp., is also seeing the importance of the jogger and introduced a version this sum-mer as it continues to grow its men’s divi-sion. “I think it’s important for us as a fash-ion brand to reflect trends that are right for our customer,” said Barry Miguel, president of Seven For All Mankind.

For fall, the company will move into a cargo jogger.

“We have now in our collection knit-based denim that [has] a lot of attributes of the jogger, but still has the appearance of a jean,” he said.

But the bread and butter for the com-pany remains its mainstay premium denim. Realizing that for the men’s market a con-stant flow of innovation is absolutely nec-essary to maintain excitement and sales, Miguel said the company is researching new technology to keep customers coming back.

For instance, along with cargo denim for fall, Miguel said the brand would introduce a color program for the new season, which

will include shades of khaki, olive and navy. The brand also introduced a No Fade denim line this past spring, which retails for $198 and guarantees the indigo and black colors will stay the same shade for up to 40 washes.

“I’m optimistic about the denim indus-try and we need to continue to innovate and offer something new to continue the conver-sation,” he said. “Our men’s denim is still going strong and we project an optimistic future ahead.”

To stay competitive, brands like Baldwin Denim are no longer focusing solely on jeans. For instance, the company is con-stantly introducing products to its lineup. Three seasons ago, it introduced its ver-

sion of the jogger pant, retailing for $298. For fall, the firm will expand into knitwear, printed shirts and more, while actively using its signature triple-stitch logo for branding purposes.

Matt Baldwin, founder, said that other than jeans, it’s his trouser categories in kha-kis and peppered canvas that keep custom-ers coming back. He also introduced tech-nical fabrics with wicking properties to his five-pocket jeans, while creating utility trou-sers with cell phone pockets, a place for tech equipment, ear buds and pens.

“That’s how we get our customers, by of-fering more sku’s [stockkeeping units] and

more innovation,” he said. Thanks to the new products, the company said Baldwin Denim has grown by 80 percent each year since launching men’s in 2009.

Hudson Jeans, now owned by Joe’s Jeans Inc., saw 16 percent sales growth in the sec-ond quarter, with men’s denim now compris-ing about 20 percent of overall sales.

The biggest and most profitable denim style is the Byron fit, retailing from $165 to $220, which comprises 80 percent of the business. The price points of the entire line range from $175 to $300, with prices of the most expensive jeans rising $40 since 2010.

The rise in price is due to treatments and details, said Dina McCaffrey, senior

vice president of sales at Hudson. “Price has never been an issue with our customers, even with the slight rise,” she said. “With the rest of the brands going up in price, we don’t feel pressured to keep it low.”

Still, affordable denim reigns supreme. Men are becoming a little more wary about buying jeans, and when they do, Cohen said, they are turning to commodity denim with price points of $17 to $25. According to NPD, the under-$25 jeans market has been the only sector of the industry that’s growing, as more upscale jeans, from $75, are taking the biggest hit.

“Men are saying, ‘How many more pairs do

I need?’” said Cohen. “If there’s not innovation or technological advancements, the denim market will continue trending downwards.”

Uniqlo, owned by Fast Retailing Co. Ltd., said it is on the upswing with men’s denim, thanks to technology such as Heat Tech fab-rics, the antiodor line and windproof jeans. In the past year, the company has reported sales growth of 120 percent in its denim cat-egory alone, according to a spokeswoman.

“From our perspective, we see strong growth in this category in the next few years and sales have grown over the past six to 12 months,” said Justin Kerr, Uniqlo’s global se-nior vice president of merchandising. “We’re seeing that our customers aren’t going to

these $300 jeans now and that it’s difficult to justify that price. Instead, they’re spending money on technology as an indulgence.”

The retailer said it is seeing the most in-terest in its Japanese selvage denim, which retails for $39.90.

“We’re very confident in this selvage space,” Kerr said. “There’s so much inno-vation and it’s real Japanese denim. We don’t make a big deal about it, either. For another brand that would be their entire marketing campaign.”

As for joggers, Uniqlo isn’t paying too much attention to the trend: “We’re not fo-cusing on [them] because we don’t need to.”

Denim Brands Branching Out

by MAYU SAINI

NEW DELHI — Indian designer Tarun Tahiliani has teamed with Savile Row tailor Whitcomb & Shaftesbury to bring a new dimen-sion to high-end men’s wear — tra-ditional sherwanis and bandhga-las updated with modern styling.

“The modern man is more fit-ness conscious, he wants his clothes to fit as well,” said Tahiliani. “Also, formalwear for men often has em-broidery and with embroidery, the outfit loses a lot of the give,” he ex-plained, adding that the collabora-tion will bring outfits that are essen-tially plain, and cut so that they feel like “a skin on your body.”

The sherwani is a longer, often knee-length coat, and the bandhga-la is a high-collar, button-down coat with a more Western cut — a sort of British compromise for Indian wear.

Whitcomb & Shaftesbury brings to the concept an inter-esting international connection.

The company was founded 10 years ago by Mahesh and Suresh Ramakrishnan, who are two of a set of Indian triplets. Suresh had been an investment banker in New York, and Mahesh a strategic con-sultant there, living a lifestyle in which they searched for high-end suits for work, hunting through the top department stores, and looking at bespoke options.

“When we went shopping for our suits, we educated ourselves about the options. It started out as a pastime, soon became a hobby and very soon, an obsession,” said Mahesh Ramakrishnan.

The name of their company itself is easily explained, Ramakrishnan told WWD. “Many of the people on Savile Row name their stores after themselves, Henry Poole & Co., for instance. But we could hardly call it Ramakrishnan and Ramakrishnan. So we chose the names of two streets in the vicinity.”

On Savile Row, they stand out

as the only Indian-born, British-driven duo employing the finest tailors to keep up the bespoke tra-dition of the area.

“Savile Row craftsmanship is itself a benchmark of how things should be made; it’s very English; it’s become a kind of a byword in dressing. If you look at what it is, a Savile Row garment is one that conforms to a very exacting set of standards, very much like a Swiss watch,” said Ramakrishnan.

Outside the U.K., the broth-ers started an outpost in Chennai in South India from which they launched a Classic Bespoke line. Still cut in London and tailored in India by specially trained work-men, the Classic Bespoke is about half the price of the Savile Row Bespoke garment, starting out at about 104,000 rupees, or $1,700, for a suit. The Savile Row bespoke is made entirely in London.

The new line will retail at a slight premium over Tahiliani’s

own line, with bandhgalas starting at about 150,000 rupees, or $2,450, and sherwanis from about 200,000 rupees, or $3,275.

Noting the “big changes” in the way men dress today, Ramakrishnan believes things are looking up for the men’s market. “The late 1990s and early 2000s were very disrup-tive — everyone wanted to dress like a teenager. Now people are more health conscious and want clothes that fit them better. Men are embracing color a lot more. The un-derstanding that you don’t have to be a woman to wear color has really begun to come in,” he said.

For this season, royal air force blue will be the color of choice, he said, noting that he believes Indian men are open to experimentation with the color and style of their suits.

“Men’s wear is still a small percentage of our business,” said Tahiliani. “It’s not something we’ve paid enough attention to. But now, it is time.”

Tahiliani Collaborates With Savile Row Tailor

{Continued from page MW1}

FOR MORE IMAGES, SEE

WWD.com/menswear-news.

Seven For All Mankind

Baldwin Denim

Uniqlo

A look from Tarun Tahiliani’s collection.

w07b007b.indd 7 8/6/14 6:51 PM08062014185206

by SHARON EDELSON

TANI, the Hong Kong-based lux-ury underwear and loungewear manufacturer, is expanding its global reach. The company, which operates some 300 branded stores in China and broke into the U.S. this year, is talking to distributors in Spain, the U.K., France and Germany about selling its line in specialty stores.

“We have seen a lot of interest in the product in those countries as well as Canada,” said president Adam Dinkes. Tani, which has a young demographic in Europe and the U.S., is in the process of adding to its e-commerce platform in Spanish, French, Italian and German. Tani is also working on developing a duty-free business.

The brand entered the U.S. market with the launch of Tanius.com in January. Nordstrom.com began sell-ing the line in May. Tani projects first-year U.S. vol-ume of $5 million.

The 11-year-old com-pany, which is known for the fit, modern design and comfort of its men’s prod-ucts, still has a strong focus on the U.S., with plans to launch innerwear and loungewear for women in 2015. In men’s, the big push will be at the luxury level.

“Virtually the entire men’s underwear market is priced at $39 and below with over 150 brands,” said Dinkes. “American men have been taught that underwear is a commodity. There has not been much inno-vation in the category. We see the $40-plus range for men’s under-wear as uncharted territory and

believe it will be the fastest-grow-ing segment of the business.”

Yarden Gagnon, creative direc-tor, said Tani’s customers, who are in the 25- to 30-year-old age range, are “sophisticated men who see underwear not as an accessory or extension of their wardrobe. The market is oversaturated with brands that are all competing for the same market share. That’s

why the department stores all look the same. There has not been much innovation in the category and the customer is bored.”

Tani makes four types of un-derwear: tailored, athletic, natu-ral and innovative. The company’s briefs, boxers and boxer briefs are

priced from $40 to $95. Undershirts and tanks are $60 to $145.

The collection has a simple, clean design with discreet logos. “There are no hidden pouches or panels,” Dinkes said.

The brand uses European per-formance fabrics that deliver a soft hand. Tani’s collections each target a different need and offer a solution, from Air Fitness to

Fresh Cooling Performance to Free Cut.

Everyday Silk Touch, the most popular collection, keeps wearers cool with MicroModal Air, a natural water-wicking fiber. The collection includes con-toured briefs, trunks and boxer briefs in black, white, navy and heather gray with seasonal colors and fashion prints offering variety. The Luxuriance collection is soft with advanced knitting technologies and superfine fibers such as MicroModal and MicroModal Rainbow. Imported from Austria, the fibers are lighter and dens-er, making Luxuriance du-rable and rich in color.

“With our thermal-based loungewear, we see an opportunity for the brand to capture the imagi-nation of the consumer who is looking for comfort-able, luxurious loungewear for travel, work and lei-sure,” Dinkes said.

“We examine every component of our product

to make sure we’re using the finest fabrics and that the prod-ucts are comfortable and long-lasting,” Dinkes said. “Men are more discerning with their taste and more knowledgeable about fabric. Luxury underwear plays perfectly into that.”

Men’s WeekMW8 WWD THURSDAY, AUGUST 7, 2014

{Continued from page one}

Man of THE WEEK

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‘WEIRD AL’ YANKOVIC: C

Although his album was a surprise hit, he continues to fail on the fashion front — although, thankfully, he’s retired his renowned Hawaiian shirts.

Although the Bernadette Peters hairstyle is his trademark, it was never good to start with. A bit of a layered cut would help.

Suspiciously, he has no wrinkles, but he looks eerily like the Mona Lisa.

This is the right length for an untucked shirt.

The skinny straight jean is fine, but it does

nothing to improve the overall look. He

should explore a dressier pant in the

same silhouette.

Although he wore a very similar pair of boots for his hit

“Fat” in 1988, a pair of black sneakers

would be more 2014.

Tani Sets Expansion PlanMen’s Fashion Week In N.Y. Gains Steam

A bit of a rolled-up sleeve would help

improve the casual “I don’t care”

attitude.

If he chooses to wear a shirt as the epicenter

of the outfit, he should choose a

better-fitting option.

A look from Tani.

production costs and more. I feel like I’m halfway there, but I need to get a little bit more there,” he said.

The event also may need a media partner like what British GQ and its editor in chief, Dylan Jones, have done for London Collections: Men. Jim Moore, American GQ’s creative director, who in the past has been vocal about the need for a men’s fashion week in New York, declined to com-ment about the push for one now. But Kolb said the CFDA has reached out to all the major men’s magazines.

“We are open to a media partner. We involved men’s magazines early on in our initial discussions. We got input from editors at GQ, Details, T magazine and Esquire, and also the American retailers,” he said.

American men’s wear designers have been complaining for years about being on the women’s schedules during New York Fashion Week. While the timing is less of a problem in February, since it is only a few weeks after the shows in London, Milan and Paris, the schedule is un-workable in September. Because the men’s buying cycle begins in June with the London runway shows, moves to Pitti Uomo in Florence, then Milan and Paris before returning to New York City for the trade shows in July, waiting until September to show their collections becomes a virtual roadblock for designers and their businesses.

“By the time you get to September, buys are put to bed,” said Billy Reid. “It would be extremely helpful if we were able to get a slot in July.”

Eric Jennings, vice president and men’s fashion director at Saks Fifth Avenue, agreed.

“July is critical from a retailer’s point of view — any later than that and there’s no chance for new designers to get into the store,” said Jennings. “If you want to get press, that’s fine, but if you want to do business in a retailer, it’s impossible. If we’ve been in market since June — to wait for September is ludicrous. It makes no sense for the men’s cal-endar. It kicks [designers] so far past the men’s cal-endar, the brands get zero retail business.”

Jennings said Saks’ team of buyers do not at-tend September men’s fashion shows in New York because their time to place orders has passed.

“There is no point of going to these shows for our buyers,” he said. “It’s not efficient and not a good use of their time.”

For this reason, quintessential American men’s wear brands like Calvin Klein and Thom Browne have chosen to show in Europe. Others including Michael Kors, Rag & Bone and Michael Bastian have recently opted out of September New York Fashion Week for their men’s collections, choosing to hold pre-sentations of their men’s lines in July.

“Look, I love a good show and I would hate to say that we’d never do a show again,” said Bastian. “If we could figure out a men’s week happening in July I’d be the first onboard. I have no intention of showing in Europe. I love New York. We’re a New York brand, we love the models here, the cast-ing directors here. It’d be weird to show outside of New York.”

But would a New York show entice any brands to return across the Atlantic? Representatives for Klein did not respond to requests for comment, but

Browne said, “I am an American designer no matter where I show. But, of course, I am supportive of a men’s fashion week in New York. I am not sure yet what I would do, but I intend to support it in one way or another.”

Even so, timing would still be critical. With the European runway shows nearly blending into the New York trade shows, planning could prove a challenge — especially for European editors and press unwilling to make the trek to New York after a fatiguing summer fashion season.

“I think that it’s quite feasible for this to happen come next July,” said Tommy Fazio, president of the Project trade show. “We always talk about perfect timing, but I think we all agree that the week of the men’s trade shows is the best time, when Europe couture is over and before the August holiday for Europeans.”

Fazio proposed that the trade shows could happen by day, and men’s shows by night.

“Unifying the marketplace is my number-one concern,” he said. According to Nick Sullivan, fashion director of Esquire, “I’d say that if

we were to have a men’s week, which is necessary, my personal opinion would be holding it after the Fourth of July. I know that the earlier you can do it, the better. Some people say maybe before London but I think it’s too early then. But in either case, there is immense interest world-wide regarding American fashion brands, and international buyers and editors would be very supportive.”

Bruce Pask, men’s fashion director at Bergdorf Goodman’s, said a men’s fashion week in New York would create more excitement than ever because of the international interest in American men’s wear designers.

“People have admired the tradition of American sportswear for years as it’s an important and vital part of the men’s wear fashion landscape,” he said. “New York is the fashion capital of fashion and the world. Americans invented the entire sportswear category. That being said, American men’s wear is only growing and there’s been so much buzz in-ternationally about what’s going on here.”

IF YOU WANT TO GET PRESS, THAT’S FINE, BUT IF YOU WANT TO DO BUSINESS IN A RETAILER, IT’S IMPOSSIBLE. IF WE’VE BEEN IN MARKET SINCE JUNE — TO WAIT FOR SEPTEMBER IS LUDICROUS.” — ERIC JENNINGS,

SAKS FIFTH AVENUE

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