Fashion. Beauty. Business.

DAILY EDITION 21 APRIL 2016 1

POWER OF TWOHudson’s Bay Co. begins to meld its Saks Off 5th and Gilt units into what it calls a “Power Couple.” PAGE 7

GOING GRANDReed Krakoff’s Reed for Kohl’s line mounts a pop-up shop in New York’s Grand Central Terminal. PAGE 8

MACKIE HONORBob Mackie hits Chicago to receive the Costume Council’s Designer of Excellence Award. PAGE 6

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● The brand will contribute approximately $35 million in sales, $7 million in operating income and 20 cents a share of earnings.

BY JEAN E. PALMIERI

Oxford Industries Inc. is adding a feel-good member to its corporate family.

On Wednesday, the Atlanta-based manu-facturer said it has acquired Southern Tide, a men’s sportswear brand known for its Skipjack polo, for $85 million.

In the remaining 41 weeks of fiscal 2016, Oxford expects Southern Tide to contrib-ute about $35 million in sales, $7 million in operating income and 20 cents a share of earnings. These amounts exclude transaction expenses, integration costs and the impact of non-cash purchase accounting adjustments required under GAAP. The impact of these items may be significant, particularly in fiscal 2016. The company financed the acquisition with borrowings under its credit facility.

Thomas C. Chubb 3rd, chairman and chief executive officer of Oxford, told WWD that Southern Tide is “a great addition to our small collection of brands. All our brands are happy brands and this fits that mold.”

Oxford, which owns Tommy Bahama and Lilly Pulitzer, started working with Southern Tide in 2009 when the Greenville, S.C.-based label approached it as it was “struggling with

MEN’S

Oxford Industries Buys Southern Tide for $85M

CONTINUED ON PG. 7

● Sixty-nine percent of all retail purchases, excluding groceries, took place over the Internet in 2015, according to a PwC report.

BY EMILY BACKUS

MILAN — China is a crystal ball for divining the future of consumer behav-ior worldwide, according to the PwC Total Retail Survey 2016, which was presented here Wednesday. The com-pany surveyed 23,000 consumers in 25 countries about how they shop.

“China represents what will happen in the Western world and even Italy,” said Massimo Pellegrini, head of digital strategy for PwC.

In China, mobile devices have become the dominant channel for retail pur-chases. Sixty-nine percent of all retail purchases, excluding groceries, took

RETAIL

Mobile DominatesFor Chinese Shoppers

CONTINUED ON PG. 10

FASHION

Slide Down The AisleFollowing a trend from the fall ready-to-wear runways, designers showcased the shoulder during Bridal Fashion Week in New York. Using strategically poised lace and organza sleeves down the arms, Francesca Miranda adds a dash of décolleté to this billowy wedding dress.For more on the trend, see pages 4 and 5.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT PAMELA FIRESTONE, ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER AT 212 256 8103 OR PFIRESTONE@WWD.COM

The Met GalaIssue: May 4

Ad Close: April 20Materials: April 25

Cannes Film FestivalIssue: May 11

Ad Close: April 27Materials: May 2

The CFDA AwardsIssue: May 25

Ad Close: May 11Materials: May 16

Prestige, Praise & Privilege

Red Carpet Coverage from the Year’s Premiere Events.

An Advertising Opportunity

21 APRIL 2016 3

● Some of the winners include Apple, Google, Fitbit, DSW, kohls.com and TJ Maxx.

BY ARTHUR ZACZKIEWICZ

In its annual Harris Poll EquiTrend Study, which measures a brand’s “health over time,” Macy’s Inc. was one of over a dozen biggest gainers in brand equity.

The annual study’s equity index is comprised of three metrics that include quality, familiarity and “purchase con-sideration.” The brands that score the highest are named “Brand of the Year” in its category. This year, there were more than 97,000 consumers polled and more than 3,800 brands assessed from about 500 different categories across the con-sumer discretionary sector.

Some of the “Brand of the Year” win-ners include Apple, Google, Fitbit, DSW, kohls.com and TJ Maxx.

Harris analysts said this year’s survey

revealed 13 brands that increased their brand equity more than six percent over the prior year. Harris said of the 13 big-gest gainers, six are tech brands. Aside from Macy’s, the gainers include: Netflix; Nintendo 3DS/3DS XL; Samsung Galaxy Gear Watch; YouTube, and Sony Home Electronics.

Joan Sinopoli, vice president of brand

solutions at Nielsen, corporate parent of The Harris Poll, said that it is “no secret that technology has completely perme-ated our lives, and this is reflected by the range of technology brands experiencing unusually rapid increases in equity.”

“We watch, we wear, we listen, we play and we connect, using multiple devices to do so,” Sinopoli said. “We’re even shopping for real estate online. As U.S. consumers continue to conduct daily activities via technology, we can expect technology brands delivering on their brand promises to make equity gains.”

Sinopoli went on to say that consum-ers develop impressions of brands “long before they ever use them, based on their perceptions and what they may know from trusted sources. This high-level equity is the gateway to eventual purchase; it also helps to protect brands from the consequences of an occasional misstep. The strength of a company’s brand equity can have direct business and financial outcomes.”

RETAIL

Macy’s Among Top Gainers in Harris ‘Brand Equity’ Survey

Christian Siriano Bridal Spring 2017 ● For his first bridal collection, Christian Siriano looked to France, drawing from vintage interiors, tapestries and Impressionist paintings.

● Fall 2016 Trend: Chic is the New Denim

● Gillian Anderson, in New York and Beyond ‘The X Files’

● The 19 Best Long Shoulder Bags for Fall 2016

● Marchesa Bridal Spring 2017

Global Stock TrackerAs of close April 20, 2016

ADVANCERS

DECLINERS

Sears Holdings Corp. +9.58%

Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group +5.46%

Oxford Industries Inc. +4.10%

Vince Holding Corp. +3.92%

Fossil Group Inc. +3.64%

Shanghai Metersbonwe -8.63%

Ted Baker plc -3.58%

Giordano International Ltd. -3.12%

Pandora AS -2.66%

Debenhams Plc -2.52%

TOP 5TRENDINGON WWD.COM

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● In May, Carolina Herrera will be honored with the Etoile award and her work will be the subject of two museum exhibitions.

BY ROSEMARY FEITELBERG

Carolina Herrera is making her com-pany’s 35th anniversary year one to remember by staging her first major exhibition in two cities simultaneously — Savannah and Atlanta.

Thanks to the Savannah College of Art & Design, “Refined Irreverence” will bow at SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film in Atlanta and SCAD Museum of Art in Savannah. The dual exhibition is a first for the designer, who will be presented with the university’s Etoile award on May 21 at the Savannah campus. Fol-lowing in the footsteps of such previous recipients as Pierre Cardin and Cather-ine Deneuve, Herrera will be celebrated at SCAD’s Trustees Theater prior to the annual SCAD fashion show.

The double-header also marks SCAD’s first concurrent exhibitions at SCAD FASH, the university’s new museum

dedicated to fashion and film in Atlanta, and SCAD MOA, Savannah’s premier destination for progressive arts program-ming since 2011. “Refined Irreverence” bows May 20 on both campuses and will be on view through September.

Rafael Gomes, SCAD director of fashion exhibitions, has curated the retrospective by culling more than 75 garments from the designer’s expansive collection. Visitors will find in the gal-leries an assortment of new and vintage Herrera designs, tracing the designer’s work from her 1981 inaugural collec-tion through more current creations. The presentation will include runway looks, wedding gowns from her bridal collections, red-carpet gowns worn by Michelle Obama, Taylor Swift, Tina Fey, Renée Zellweger and Lucy Liu and even selections from Herrera’s personal collections. Just last month for Presi-dent Barack Obama’s historic arrival in Havana, the First Lady stepped off Air Force One wearing a white, navy and red floral A-line Carolina Herrera dress.

SCAD president and founder Paula Wallace said of Herrera: “Her artistry reflects a refined sensibility that is at once classic and modern. Every woman who wears her designs feels exactly as Carolina intends: beautiful.”

The Venezuelan-born Herrera has taken to a variety of museum-related appearances as of late, and even held her February runway show at The Frick Collection in New York for the second time. In September, she will receive the Neiman Marcus Award for Distinguished Services in the Field of Fashion at the Crystal Charity Ten Best Dressed Fashion Show and Luncheon in Dallas. Last fall Herrera was awarded the Portrait of a Nation Prize at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C.

FASHION

Carolina Herrera To Be Honored By SCAD

4 21 APRIL 2016

● This season, bridal designers exposed shoulders and spotlighted the neck, accentuating it with ruffles, collars and even plastic. Here, some leading looks from the spring 2017 shows. 

BY KRISTI GARCED

FASHION

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Shoulder-To-Shoulder CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4

Delphine Manivet Oscar de la Renta

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● The U.S. market continues to be a driving force in the bridal industry, but more resources are looking globally for growth.

BY ROSEMARY FEITELBERG Bridal companies have their work cut out for them as many customers are looking for more adaptable and in some cases more affordable dresses that they can find quickly, freeing up their time to focus on the reception.

Those were some of the talking points at the latest round of bridal shows in New York, which stretched from April 13 to April 20. Building off the global coverage his wedding gown for Sofía Vergara garnered, Elie Saab launched his first in-house bridal collection. In doing so, his designs were immediately available in select stores in Paris, Beirut, Dubai and Hong Kong, as well as Harrods in London. Perhaps building from the interest First Lady Michelle Obama has helped to create by wearing his designs, Naeem Khan will show his bridal collection during Barcelona Bridal Week for the first time. The designer also showed his collection in New York on April 16.

At the Carolina Herrera presentation, the designer had what looked like an oversize crate built upright to make guests feel as though the gowns being modeled had just been removed from a couture box. At the Oscar de la Renta showroom, Peter Copping took a more straight-forward route, staging a runway show, as did Oleg Cassini at the Plaza Athénée. Vera Wang preferred to hold off until Wednesday, the end of bridal week, to post a short, moody film on her Web site. The designer created “Désir à l’An-glaise,” which was directed by Gordon

von Steiner.Romona Keveza has seen an influx of shop-

pers in her New York atelier from Singapore, London, Dubai, New Delhi and London. A com-pany spokeswoman said, “There is zero sticker shock for them — they will spend $20,000 to $60,000 on a gown.”

In June, Kleinfeld cofounder Mara Urshel will attend Australia’s bridal week for the first time to source new designers. Before that, she will do the same in Barcelona, London and Milan. In New York, she saw a rousing response to Christian Siriano’s debut bridal show. “They felt it was something different, fresh and young, and people like him as a designer,” said Urshel, adding that Siriano will host a number of trunk shows at Kleinfeld.

In its 15th season and eighth year, Kleinfeld’s reality show “Say Yes to the Dress” is now aired in 200 countries, which has bolstered its branding. The company’s 20,000-square-foot store in Toronto has seen strong sales and addi-tional overseas outposts are being considered, Urshel said. In the New York flagship, brides are favoring sexier gowns, especially ones with low backs and detailed arm treatments and appliqués from such Middle Eastern designers as Pnina Tornai.

As for the New York crowd’s new collections, Urshel pointed to dresses with detachable sepa-rate skirts from Amsale, Anne Barge and Lazaro as a sign that brides are looking to switch up their looks for their receptions and really enjoy themselves.

Having done extensive in-person consumer research over the past year with its own customers and some who shop in other stores, David’s Bridal executives learned that “the bride is far less focused on herself now and she wants her wedding guests to have a really good time, which obviously influences the way she

is spending. Maybe she is spending less on her wedding dress and more on an open bar or a band. That is a big shift and it feels glaring,” said Callie Canfield, senior director of marketing and communications.

With more than 300 freestanding stores, including three in the U.K., David’s Bridal plans to open a fourth location there in Birmingham. David’s Bridal is also renovating select stores in the U.S.

The retail chain launched Cheers by Cynthia Rowley, a collection of special occasion and wedding dresses, last month, and the Wonder by Jenny Packham collection in February. The retailer also continues ahead with Truly Zac Posen and White by Vera Wang. Canfield said, “One thing our chief executive officer Pamela Wallack has been clear about is not bringing on designers just for the sake of bringing in design-ers. They have to speak to a certain customer and fill a void in the collection that we might not be speaking to. Jenny is much more ethereal and beaded, and Cynthia’s is more youthful and fun. She only has one long bridal style and two short ones. There are also some two-piece dresses.”

Houghton’s strongest regions are the U.S., the U.K. and Australia, according to designer Katharine Polk, who also noted that a number of consumers fly from the U.K. and Australia to shop in her New York atelier. Brides are com-fortable with buying nontraditional dresses, they often shop alone and as a result tend to make decisions quicker, Polk said.

The fact that their requests can be fulfilled as quickly as a week before a wedding is another selling point, as opposed to months out as is more the norm with other resources. For the first time, the designer offered shoppers the chance to pre-order runway looks immediately after her April 16 show. “It helps our production

with more orders — and we have happy brides,” she said.

Brides Do Good is another resource that is giving the market a new twist. Launched this spring by Chantal Khoueiry, the site resells wedding gowns, giving one-third of the sale to the person who provides the dress, keeping one-third of the purchase to cover shipping and other costs, and donating the remaining one-third to charities that protect the millions of children in developing countries at risk of an early marriage. By collaborating with PLAN International and Too Young to Wed, Brides Do Good aims to help the UN keep its pledge to end child marriage by 2030. On a daily basis, 37,000 girls – or one in three in the developing world – are reportedly married against their will.

THE MARKETS

Bridal Resources Aim to Build Sales

● The designer was in Chicago to receive the Costume Council’s Designer of Excellence Award.

BY KRISTIN LARSON

CHICAGO — It was a celebration befitting a designer who has dressed the stars — Bob Mackie, whose career has spanned six decades.

From socialites to one well-known female impersonator, Mackie’s fans turned out on Tuesday night at the Chicago History Museum to celebrate the designer’s acceptance of the Costume Council’s Designer of Excellence Award.

Many of the 250 guests wore Mackie’s glittery gowns and sparkly frocks from their personal archives. Guests included Nena Ivon and Abra Wilkin, past presidents of the Costume Council; Linda Johnson Rice; Robin

Loewenberg Tebbe and Nina Mariano, event co-chairs; honorary chairs Terri D’Ancona, Susan Higinbotham, Liz Stiffel, Anne Krauss and Mamie Walton; Kristin Noelle Smith, Costume Council president, and Baton Show Lounge female impersonator Chilli Pepper.

“We’ve tried for a long time to get Bob here,” Ivon said. “When I was at Saks Fifth Avenue, I worked with him on many, many fashion shows. He’s such a talented, brilliant man. Of all the designers I have worked with, I have never worked with anyone that knew a woman’s body better. If you don’t have a bosom, you got a bosom. If you have a bosom, it’s reduced. He’s spectacular. That’s just costuming. But he also loves what he does. And he couldn’t be nicer.”

Wilkin, wearing an embroidered black-and-gold suede cape and coordinating boots, circa Mackie Eighties, said she couldn’t recall the first time she met the designer. “We were instantly great friends. I loved his stuff. I think I always wanted to be a show girl or a ‘Solid

Gold’ dancer,” she said.The evening included a conversation

between Mackie and Hal Rubenstein that touched on highlights from the designer’s expansive career — from Hollywood and working with Judy Garland and Carol Burnett to dressing Cher and rock singer Pink to how he defines glamour.

“Glamour has to come from you and it has to come from confidence. The pope is glamorous. There are people who are auto-matically glamorous. Marilyn Monroe was glamorous in a towel. She couldn’t help her-self. Shirley Temple was glamorous,” Mackie said. “The first person that looked glamorous to me was Carmen Miranda. It was 1943 and I was four years old.”

Mackie said he met Burnett, whom he described as one of the most brilliant women he has ever worked with, through his first celebrity client, Mitzi Gaynor. Mackie was the costume designer for Burnett during her show’s entire 11-year run.

“The people on [the show] were amaz-ing and talented and everybody was very together and not crazy at all. We were there to do a good show. And it was my job to make it look good and once in a while get a laugh,” Mackie said.

Rubenstein pointed to the iconic “Went With the Wind!” episode, a parody of “Gone With the Wind,” in which Burnett wears a full set of curtains — including the curtain rod.

“Did the writers ask for this or did you come up with this?” Rubenstein questioned.

“They just said she took the drapes off the window, went up the stairs and came down dressed in the drapes,” Mackie said. “Every-body had seen the movie a million times, but they didn’t know what to expect. We got that laugh. We got one of the biggest laughs ever recorded in television history. That outfit is in the Smithsonian now.”

Cher making the cover of Time magazine in 1975 wearing a Mackie sheer dress bedecked with rhinestones and marabou feathers stands out to this day for the designer.

“That was very special. The magazine was banned from newsstands in the South,” Mackie said earlier that day. “It was just fun and very unexpected. We had been on plenty of magazines but never anything that serious. It was a whole different world then, it was mostly politicians and world leaders on the cover [of Time].”

Celebrating Mackie’s work may not stop with the Costume Council award — a museum retrospective that would bring together his extensive designs over the decades and pos-sibly go on tour is in the early stages of plan-ning. “That would be wonderful,” said Ivon, who works on the archives at the Costume Council, adding she would love if the Chicago History Museum could host the exhibit.

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Bob Mackie on Glamour, Carol Burnett and Cher

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Naeem Khan will show in Barcelona.

Sherrill Bodine, Annette Findling, Bob Mackie and Kristin Noelle Smith.

Three Bob Mackie gowns from the CHM collection. From left: Gowns from circa 1985, 2001 and the early Eighties.

21 APRIL 2016 7

product development, sourcing and produc-tion,” Chubb said. “And we were able to help them out a lot and get them into other catego-ries to round out the business. As the brand matured, it became more self-sufficient, but we maintained our relationship and remained close to them.”

Chubb said Southern Tide “offers a well-dif-ferentiated and comprehensive collection of high-quality apparel and has a growing, multi-channel distribution footprint. We believe this business is an excellent fit and expect our oper-ating platform to facilitate continued growth.”

He said Christopher H. Heyn, chief executive officer of Southern Tide, will remain on board to run the brand, along with chief operating and chief financial officer Rob Iorio.

“They’ve got a good combo there and Chris has brought on some high-quality talent from Abercrombie & Fitch, Kate Spade and Vineyard Vines. He’s built a nice team and the team will remain intact on the front end. The business is still pretty small and it will benefit from being part of a larger company,” said Chubb.

Heyn said he was “very pleased to be joining the Oxford team and believe our business will continue to flourish under its guidance. Oxford has a deep appreciation for lifestyle branding and an excellent track record of growth with brands like ours. We look forward to much success in the future.”

Southern Tide remains primarily a men’s brand with a focus on sport shirts, swimwear, shorts and accessories that has become espe-cially popular with specialty and department stores in the South. It also has a collegiate line for nearly 50 colleges and universities. It is carried in Nordstrom and Von Maur as well as in more than 850 specialty stores.

Southern Tide has begun expanding its wom-en’s offering as well. “It’s a very small business for them,” Chubb said. “We know there’s a big opportunity there for them long-term, but we’re going to be patient. There’s still plenty of room for growth on the men’s side and we won’t push women’s too far or too fast.”

Brazos Private Equity Partners, a Dal-las-based investment firm, bought Southern Tide in 2013.

“We could not be more pleased with the suc-cess of Southern Tide,” said Randall Fojtasek, cofounding partner and co-ceo of Brazos. “Our team was drawn to Southern Tide due to its focus on quality and innovative design and the potential for significant growth fueled by its enthusiastic customer base. Since our investment in 2013, the company has expanded its wholesale distribution channels, grown its e-commerce presence, invested in supply chain and logistics, and continued the development of its men’s and women’s lines. The manage-ment team’s talent, hard work and skillful execution allowed the company to capitalize on these growth opportunities.”

Southern Tide was founded by 23-year-old Allen Stephenson, who saw a need in the mar-ket for high-quality apparel with classic South-ern style. His first product was the Skipjack polo that the company offered in bright colors. Stephenson now has no day-to-day involvement in the brand but remains an adviser to the business, Chubb said.

● The service allows consumers to build their own made-to-order tights.

BY RACHEL STRUGATZ

Alala is taking a cue from Nike.

The activewear brand will today unveil a new service that allows consumers to build their own made-to-order tights at Alalastyle.com.

“This market is getting more and more crowded — and it’s a way for people to make something that they had a hand in creating,” said Denise Lee, founder and chief executive officer, of the “Alala Carte” feature. Industry sources said the brand, which launched in 2014, could bring in $5 million in retail sales this year.

The feature will launch with Alala’s best-sell-ing Captain Ankle Tight, a $110 pair of leggings

with sheer mesh panels across the back of the knees.

Alala Carte is similar to Nike iD, which consumers use to choose colors for the various components of Nike shoes. For Alala, shoppers can select the color of the upper panel, the mesh insert and the lower panel. A monogram can also be added. As the consumer goes through the process, the image of the leggings will change to reflect their choices. Each pair

retails for $185 and will take four weeks to receive once an order is placed.

To start, the colors will rotate seasonally and will always include a combination of neutrals with a few brighter colors that tie back to the brand’s current collection. That will help customers can build an outfit around their custom tight.

Lee hopes the service will help grow the brand’s online business.

And while the ceo said the company will continue to be driven by wholesale — it’s sold in about 100 doors globally from Foot Locker’s Six:02 to Bloomingdale’s in Dubai to Lane Crawford in Hong Kong and Shanghai — she would like the Web site to eventually make up 20 to 25 percent of the business.

“I want to expand the personalized offer-ings. It’s something we see great potential in, not only for leggings,” Lee said. “I would love to offer additional monogramming and roll it out to different styles.”

● General merchandise managers and divisional merchandise managers will work across banners while buyers are kept separate.

BY DAVID MOIN

The Hudson Bay Co. has combined the leadership of Gilt and Saks Off 5th as it seeks to bolster the merchandising and marketing of the two value-oriented divisions and trans-form the Gilt flash sale site into an all-channel business.

Gilt’s first shops-in-shop launched inside the Saks Off 5th that opened in March on 57th Street between Lexington and Park Avenues in Manhattan. HBC purchased the $550 mil-lion Gilt Groupe Holdings Inc. for $250 million last February and is considering additional Gilt shops inside Saks Off 5th units.

“By pairing Gilt with Saks Off 5th we can strengthen both and leverage the Gilt brand into the physical space. That’s been the vision from the beginning,” said Jerry Storch, HBC’s chief executive officer. “The key to success is to create this ‘power couple’ partnership between the two teams,” Storch added, refer-encing the current ad campaign themed “the power couple” to promote Gilt at Saks Off 5th.

Integrating the leadership of Gilt and Saks Off 5th “will lead to increased merchandise authority, purchasing power, shared inven-tories and a stronger value position,” said

Jonathan Greller, president of HBC outlets, who also oversees Gilt. “We’ll have greater access to more brands.”

Among the executive changes are:Kristen Sosa, formerly chief merchant of

Saks Off 5th, has become chief merchant for Gilt and Saks Off 5th.

Aaron Shockey has been appointed senior vice president of marketing for Saks Off 5th and Gilt, as well as Gilt City which offers deals in several cities at restaurants, spas, concerts and other experiences. Shockey was senior vice president of HBC digital marketing and customer insights.

Steve Jacobs has become senior vice pres-ident of digital technology for all of HBC. He was senior vice president of digital technology and demand marketing for Gilt.

In addition, general merchandise managers and divisional merchandise managers are now working for both Gilt and Saks Off 5th. So, for example, one divisional merchandise manager who oversaw shoes, handbags, soft accessories, jewelry and beauty at one division will now oversee shoes, handbags and soft accessories for both divisions, and another would oversee jewelry and beauty for both divisions.

However, Gilt and Saks Off 5th continue to operate with separate buyers. The organiza-tional model now seen at Gilt and Saks Off 5th is similar to how the North American department stores of HBC — Lord & Taylor and Hudson’s Bay — are structured with sepa-rate buyer teams and divisional merchandise managers and general merchandise managers

working across banners.“Many leaders will be taking on larger roles,

but no jobs have been displaced” as a result of the integrations, Greller said. “We’re actually creating some additional jobs that will be filled over the next couple of months.” However, two key Gilt employees, chief executive officer Michelle Peluso and chief merchant Keith George are soon leaving the company after transition periods.

The crossover of brands sold at Saks Off 5th and Gilt could get higher with the integration, though according to Greller, “We will have a point of view in every single channel and where it is appropriate, there will be crossover from one channel to the next.”

Off 5th and Gilt share many of the same customers, though the extent of that is not entirely clear yet. “We’re still working through the data,” Greller said.

He also said the performance of the Gilt shop inside Saks Off 5th is being closely moni-tored. Asked when additional Gilt shops might open, he responded, “It could be sooner or later, but our goal is to really learn from the customer. It’s all about the experience. Shop-ping is very emotional.”

At the 47,333-square-foot Saks Off 5th store on 57th Street, Gilt has a 1,000-square-foot shop at the landing of the escalator to the first below-ground selling floor. There is a “Gilt by Appointment” station so customers can work with stylists and a video wall showing fashion, editorial content and a calendar of sales. Events on Gilt.com are replicated at the shop and customers can buy Gilt products displayed, walk out with Gilt shopping bags which were introduced for the shop and customers can shop Gilt.com in the store with sales associates who have iPads. Gilt has new sales every 36 hours, generally at up to 70 per-cent off. Customers can return Gilt products bought online to the bricks-and-mortar site.

The integration strategy also involves lever-aging Gilt’s technology, particularly the mobile and personalization capabilities, across all HBC banners.

HBC hopes to improve the performance of the once high-flying Gilt. It’s been under pressure because its flash-sale format has been widely copied and luxury sales generally have been tough.

HBC, which last year generated $8.56 billion in revenues, and 11.2 billion Canadian dollars, sees digital and off-price as its two primary growth vehicles, although it has set a string of Saks Fifth Avenue openings this year, including a replacement store in the Houston Galleria next week and, later this year, in Hawaii, lower Manhattan’s Brookfield Place and Brickell City Centre in Miami. In February the first two Saks Fifth Avenues opened in Canada, and in March four Saks Off 5th units opened in Canada.

RETAIL

Hudson’s Bay Integrates Gilt and Saks Off 5th

Oxford Industries Buys Southern Tide for $85M CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Southern Tide’s trademark

Skipjack polo.

THE MARKETS

Alala Debuts Alala Carte

Shoppers can now create customized Alala tights on the brand’s Web site.

HBC is transforming Gilt into an all-channel retailer. Here, the first Gilt shop inside Saks Off 5th on 57th Street.

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● To promote the launch of the collaboration, the designer presided over a larger-than-life pop-up shop at Grand Central.

BY SHARON EDELSON

It was hard to miss the symbolism of the larger-than-life Reed x Kohl’s pop-up shop occupying Grand Central Terminal’s Vanderbilt Hall Wednesday morning.

Prior to designing the Reed x Kohl’s collection, which bows in stores today, Reed Krakoff created a signature line with luxury prices in the $1,200 to $3,000 range.

Grand Central, the most populist of places with 750,000 people passing through daily, was a good fit for a collec-tion priced at $15 to $129 and aimed at Kohl’s broad consumer base.

Krakoff was asked if he felt his career had come full circle. Prior to launching his signature collection in 2010, Krakoff was president and executive creative director of Coach, where he was cred-ited — along with former chairman and chief executive officer Lew Frankfort — with driving the brand to $5 billion in sales from $500 million.

He downplayed the cyclical reference to his career, saying, “I’ve worked in every area of the fashion industry, wom-en’s ready-to-wear, men’s, accessories, shoes.”

“This is the new accessible lux-ury,” Krakoff said of the limited-time Reed x Kohl’s. He added that consum-ers are getting “amazing design and

craftsmanship at reasonable prices.”Women were lined up all the way to

the station’s 42nd Street entrance at 8 a.m. when the shop opened to receive a free handbag.

Women first stopped at a desk where they were given a handbag from the col-lection. Next was a photo-op at the far end of the room. After that, there was a stop at an iPad station, where an image

could be chosen for posterity — and tweeting or Instagramming.

Krakoff estimated that 400 to 500 women had received handbags and the once-over treatment.

“This is a place where so many peo-ple walk by,” he said. “We have such a built-in traffic.” However, the word “shop” is a misnomer, because the mer-chandise wasn’t for sale.

There may be an opportunity to open a transactional pop-up shop, Krakoff said. “We’re talking about a permanent pop-up shop. That’s an idea, if we’re going to continue the collaboration.”

Online sales, which started last Friday, bode well for the success of the line. “It’s been amazing,” Krakoff said. “They sold 5,000 bags on the first day.”

Krakoff planned to visit a Kohl’s store on Thursday, possibly in Connecticut.

An ad campaign for Reed x Kohl’s is running in fashion magazines. A social media campaign for the pop-up event, “See where one bag can take you,” encouraged women to post photos of themselves in a location wearing a hand-bag to #MustReedXKohls.

The collection includes rtw and footwear. The relaxed and casual cloth-ing features colorblocking, statement stripes, novelty fabrics such as per-forated jacquard that looks like chain mail, hand-drawn prints and dip-dyed items.

Krakoff said there’s a big white space at the Reed x Kohl’s price level for designer accessories and handbags. “Rtw is quite crowded in the designer area, but there are not a lot of choices for accessories.”

The Reed for Kohl’s collection was developed in conjunction with Global Brands Group, which partnered with Krakoff and Kohl’s on design, sourcing and production.

“My own brand,” Krakoff said, “As this evolves, I will address the other portions of the brand. I definitely feel there’s going to be a next chapter for my signature collection.”

RETAIL

Reed for Kohl’s Terminal Takeover

● The Fifth Avenue boutique was designed by Peter Marino.

BY JEAN E. PALMIERI

NEW YORK — Two are better than one.That’s the opinion of Hublot, which

opened a 1,500-square-foot store at 743 Fifth Avenue on Tuesday afternoon, not far from its 62nd Street and Madison Avenue unit. But Ricardo Guadalupe, chief executive officer, believes the stores attract two different customers.

“Madison is more of a destination for people who know the brand — and for locals,” he said. “But here, it is 95 per-cent tourists. Hopefully when they come in, we can transform that into sales.”

The store, which is Hublot’s largest in the U.S., was designed by Peter Marino, who also designed the building. The black facade is intended to mimic one of the brand’s watch bands, Marino said. The powder-coated black aluminum panels rise 70 feet and are lit with LED lights.

Inside, the design is contemporary with black lava stone and wood floors, graphite-colored leather furniture, gray suede walls, glass and polished stain-less steel fixtures, “shadow-less” LCD vitrine windows, a wall of monitors, and a “book” with virtual turning “pages,” each showing a part of Hublot’s history, in the main Fifth Avenue window.

Marino, who has been working with the brand since 2010 when he created the design for the Place Vendôme location in Paris, said, “The brand is moving fast and the design is about speed.” In the past, he said there was “a lot of Formica, but that didn’t show the high nature of the brand. It’s a luxury product” and this new design is “based on sporty concepts,” which is integral to the brand.

The store also showcases an untitled 2014 painting by Albrecht Schnider at the back of the boutique that Marino said is “an abstract version of a back of the watch.”

He said since the store had its soft opening earlier this month, 80 people a day are visiting and sales are above expectations.

Guadalupe said the store design will be used at new and revamped units around the world. Hublot operates 80 stand-alone stores worldwide and 12 in the U.S. He said a second location in Tokyo is tops on his wish list for the next store and the company is actively searching for a location on the Ginza. “But it is not easy to find,” he said. A ski resort location in Aspen, Colo., is also of interest.

The opening of the Fifth Avenue store brought brand ambassadors Usain Bolt and soccer legend Pelé to the ribbon cutting, which was prefaced by acrobat dancers floating down the facade of

the adjacent Louis Vuitton store. The dancers, who descended from the roof, presented Bolt with his newest limit-ed-edition watch, the Big Bang UNICO Usain Bolt. The yellow gold watch is accented with green and embossed on the strap with a Jamaican flag in a nod to Bolt’s home country.

At the event, Bolt was in a made-to-measure black Gucci pinstripe suit instead of his more-familiar running togs. But that didn’t stop him from pos-ing in his signature lightning bolt move. He said that when he’s not making pub-lic appearances, he’s a “simple” dresser, opting for “jeans, Puma shoes and white T-shirts.”

In Rio de Janeiro this summer, he said he’ll run the 100- and 200-meter races “and try to defend my title,” he said. “The Olympics are always very com-petitive and are the biggest event for any athlete, so I know it’ll be tough.” In terms of competition, he’s most con-cerned about American Justin Gatlin, who he said “has really been pushing me over the last two seasons,” as well as fellow countryman Yohan Blake.

Regardless of the outcome in Rio, Bolt plans to retire in 2017 after the World Championships in London. After he hangs up his spikes, Bolt said he “wants to stay in sports” and hopes to work internationally “encouraging athletes and building sports facilities in different countries.”

Bolt was joined by Pelé, who is eager to see his native Brazil host the next Olympic Games. But he didn’t venture a guess on which team might take home the most medals, saying the Olympics “is a box of surprises. You never know what’s going to happen.”

He also admitted to having some mixed feelings about the Games. When he played, Brazil never won a gold medal because he was a professional and not permitted to participate. But today, professionals can play, he said, so maybe Brazil will give him his first shot. “This is my opportunity to play in one Olympics,” he said with a smile. “Unfor-tunately, that’s only in my mind.”

FASHION

Hublot Opens Largest U.S. Store

Handbags from the Reed for Kohl’s collection.

Outside the Hublot Fifth Avenue flagship.

● The company is branching into sheet masks for the first time.

BY ALLISON COLLINS

The beauty businesses founded by Prin-cess Marcella Borghese in the Fifties, Bor-ghese, is aiming its new line of mud and sheet masks at a younger consumer as part of a turnaround effort. The new lineup is launching exclusively with Macy’s.

“We’ve been doing mineral masks, mud masks, for 30-plus years,” said Borghese chief executive officer Christopher West, but sheet masks are a new territory for the business. “It still uses the same proprietary ingredients and technology that we have in the mud, it’s just in a format that is much more easy for the woman who is on the go, and frankly, it allows us to accomplish our goal of attracting a younger customer.”

The collection, called Fango Essenziali, consists of four mud masks and four sheet masks called, Moisturize, Purify, Calm and Energize, which aim to provide the stated effects. The masks are sold on Macy’s Web site and will enter 150 Macy’s doors May 1.

“What we see in beauty is that more and more, regardless of the retailer, products that serve the woman on the go are becom-ing more and more popular,” West said.

In line with the company’s “Five minutes to wow” slogan, the products are designed to deliver results within five minutes. “The first time you use it you will feel the difference,” West said.

The Moisturize mud mask contains olive and blood orange oils that aim to mois-turize and balance the skin’s pH levels, and the corresponding sheet mask is infused with avocado, kelp and acai berry. Pink grapefruit and pink peppercorn are infused into the Purify mud mask, with lavender oil and arnica flower as the key ingredients to the sheet mask. The Calm mud mask is made with lavender extract and lemon seed extract; the sheet-mask version is infused with green tea and sage oils. Coffee seed oil, caffeine and activated charcoal are put into the Energy mud mask, while the sheet mask is infused with mango and pomegranate.

Retail prices are set at $32.50 for the sev-en-ounce mud jars, and $7 for individual biocellulose sheet masks. Sheet mask four packs retail for $24.

21 APRIL 2016 9

● The Australian skin and body products company is set to make a splash at select Nordstrom stores amid broader plans to grow the brand Stateside.

BY KARI HAMANAKA

A capsule of calm lands in select Nordstrom stores this week via Australian skin and body products company Aesop.

The latest installment of Nordstrom’s pop-in program brings Aesop to customers as the beauty brand seeks to open more doors in America. The push into Nordstrom is seen by the company as a good way to get into markets not familiar with the brand and its simplistic philosophy on skin care and retailing.

The company fashioned bamboo into archways to create a semi-enclosed space in Nordstrom stores where Aesop consultants — some of whom will be flown in from Austra-lia, France, Germany and the U.K. — will be on hand to assist customers with products.

“The driving thought is to convey our approach to skin care, creating a shelter in which we could explore skin rituals,” said Stuart Millar, Aesop general manager and president of the Americas. “We really wanted to create a space for a moment of pause. All of our retail stores, as they stand now, all kind of aim to offer that moment of pause so that we can almost slow down the pace of the customer service engagement that we have.”

The company’s pop-ins at Nordstrom

range from 450 square feet up to 900 square feet.

The Aesop pop-in runs from Friday through May 22 at Nordstrom stores in downtown Seattle; Bellevue Square in Bellevue, Wash.; San Francisco Center in San Francisco; Pacific Centre in Vancouver, B.C.; Michigan Avenue in Chicago; The Grove in Los Angeles; NorthPark Center in Dallas, and Tysons Corner Center in McLean, Va.

The doors represent Nordstrom flagship and high-profile stores and are the same ones used for all pop-in installations at the retailer, according to Olivia Kim, vice presi-dent of special projects for the retailer. “The whole idea of pop-in was to test and learn,” she said. “We wanted to put it in front of our larger stores.”

Kim launched the pop-in concept about two-and-a-half years ago and had been in talks with Aesop for about a year, during which time she managed to woo the beauty company.

“We basically really enjoy her energy,” Miller said of Kim. “It becomes quite conta-gious and I think she has the ability to break from traditional approaches [to retail].”

For Kim, tapping Aesop was partly personal.

“Aesop is a brand I’ve loved for the past couple of years,” she said. “We wanted to be able to share them with our customers.”

The partnership with Nordstrom is the first for Aesop, which has been in the U.S. for five years and grown to more than 20 stores. A unit at the Culver City, Calif., development Platform and one in Chicago, which marks the company’s first in the Midwest, are among the more recent openings. Another seven or eight doors in the U.S., including

ones in Washington and Houston, are expected to open in the next six months, according to Miller. The company expects to open about 12 stores in the U.S. by the end of the year.

“The pop-in really allows us to connect with customers in areas where we have stores now and where we’ll have in the future,” Miller said. “It’s definitely a good chance for us to further what we started, but

we definitely have a long way to go [in the U.S.].”

He declined to provide projections for the brand’s U.S. retail business.

“I think the potential for Aesop in America is great. We have an ambition but not an agenda,” he said. “We’re about really con-necting to the community rather than chas-ing a number. We’re definitely just evolving the brand at a responsible rate.”

BEAUTY

Aesop to Pop In At Nordstrom

BEAUTY

Borghese Launches Mask Line

10 21 APRIL 2016

place over the Internet — whether by desktop or mobile device — in 2015, Pellegrini said. Twenty percent of Chinese respondents said they made online purchases daily, compared to six percent in Italy and seven percent in the United States.

The digitization of commerce is taking off far faster in emerging markets than many established ones. China is fol-lowed closely by Hong Kong, Turkey and India in terms of daily online purchases, while the bottom rung is occupied by Canada at two percent. Australia and Denmark join Chile at three percent.

Shopping by smartphone could soon overwhelm other channels if, as PwC said, China’s so-called “Singles’ Day” is indeed a sign of things to come. Alibaba registered $14.3 billion in sales during the 24-hour shopping fest on Nov. 11, a 60 percent rise over 2014. Sixty-nine percent of those purchases took place on mobile devices, a 43 percent increase over Singles’ Day in 2014. That figure, however, was facilitated by Alibaba, which offered a discount only for mobile device purchases to encourage that channel. PwC’s point is that Alibaba and other big Chinese e-tailers invest in nudging consumer behavior, and that these investments — whether well-de-signed smartphone apps or discounts

— are paying off.The number of Chinese who said they

had made any purchases on a mobile device leaped from 18 percent in 2014 to 43 percent in 2015. Meanwhile, the global average has gone from 12 to 20 percent.

In terms of encouraging online purchases for retail in general, loyalty programs and other membership sys-tems are very effective, at least in Italy. For 75 percent of Italian respondents, the primary motivation for making an online purchase in the last 12 months was to access exclusive offers.

While social media, customer reviews and the power to make comments all substantially influenced purchasing decisions, PwC found advertising paled in comparison. Eighty-four percent of the global sample surveyed said their online purchasing had been influenced by social media in 2015, up 12 percent compared to 2014. Just 30 percent said the same for advertising.

PwC maintains that while foot traffic to physical stores may be diminishing in many areas, such as the United States, brick-and-mortar is still extremely important and assuming a new role for consumers: an experience in itself to be deeply integrated with the store’s digital incarnation. For example, 43 percent of global respondents said they would like to receive personalized, relevant offers in real-time while they are inside a store, preferably via e-mail as messaging is perceived as too invasive. Pellegrini said this trend was particularly true for price-sensitive Italian consumers.

“This gives an idea of how hybrid the relationship has become. There is no

distinction between the physical and digital experience,” said Pellegrini. “In this case the desire of the consumer is to receive offers that are contextualized and personalized so that they conclude their purchases in a more effective way.”

Pellegrini sees two trends that are becoming particularly important to fashion. Retailers are developing “click-and-collect” services where the client may purchase a product in one place and then pick up the merchandise in the location of their choice. For exam-ple, they might buy something in an airport in London, and arrange pickup at a local store in Shenzhen. Pellegrini said the layout of major retailers will increasingly include areas dedicated to “collect” purchases.

The other digital trend, especially for very high-end fashion, is to use the Internet as a vehicle for customization of the product itself. “Very few do this yet,” he cautioned. Logistical barriers to personalization in production remain prohibitive for most brands.

Although Pellegrini said fashion, like groceries, follows enough rules of its own to merit a separate category from other retail sales, the PwC report found that online sales of clothing nearly tied with books, music and video games in terms of the percentage of consumers who said they bought half or a substan-tial portion (21 to 40 percent) of these kinds of items through the Internet in the last year — a higher percentage than for electronics, appliances, sports equipment or even toys.

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● The tax refund company examines Chinese tourists’ spending habits with a new report.

BY SAMANTHA CONTI

LONDON — Global Blue has swung the spotlight onto Chinese tourists — and their changing shopping habits — with a new report that’s set to be released Wednesday, ahead of China’s Labor Day public holiday.

The tax-free shopping agency plans to release its first Globe Shopper Report: China Edition, combining data from more than 27 million tax-free shopping transac-tions with the opinions of 5,000 regular Chinese travelers about their spending plans for 2016.

It’s shaping up to be a year of transition: As reported, in March Chinese tax-free shopping spend turned negative, falling 24 percent year-on-year. It followed a period of slow growth for the first two months of 2016 and an overall increase of 58 percent in 2015.

Global Blue said the decline was due to a number of factors, including the new and more difficult Schengen biometric visa demands and the terrorist attacks in Europe over the past six months.

A “safe and secure” destination was cited by 56 percent of Chinese respon-dents as an important destination factor, according to the study. Both Burberry

and LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton saw their sales tarnished over the past six months as tourists shunned popular European capital cities for fear of further terrorist attacks.

Growth figures in March also suffered from a tough comparison with 2015. The corresponding month last year saw growth of 122 percent year-on-year, partly due to the Chinese New Year holiday falling later.

Global Blue said the impact of the fluc-tuation of the yuan on tax-free shopping sales is likely to be minimal during the first quarter of this year, as it weakened by just 3 percent against the euro.

However, Global Blue said its research indicated that almost half of those sur-veyed would reconsider their destination or reduce their shopping budgets due to a further weakened yuan.

Despite the recent negative growth, Chi-nese shoppers remain the largest tax-free shopping market, accounting for a third of sales worldwide, according to Global Blue.

“Shopping remains a hugely important part of the holiday experience for regular Chinese travelers, as 81 percent of those planning international travel in 2016 will shop during their trip,” the report said. The average shopping budget will be 3,544 euros, or $4,000, per trip to Europe, and 2,517 euros, or $2,840, per trip to Asia.

May and October set to be busiest months for regular Chinese travelers, with May expected to be the most popular month for travel to Europe, Japan and South Korea. October will be popular for visits to other Asia-Pacific destinations, such as Australia and Singapore.

South Korea and France are the most popular destinations for Asia and for Europe, respectively.

The report said Asia is set to be “the primary recipient” of Chinese visi-tors throughout the year, with almost three-quarters of those planning a holiday in 2016 intending to travel within the region.

South Korea is predicted to become the most visited destination with over a quar-ter of regular Chinese travelers planning a trip this year, while Japan follows with 23 percent.

Within Asia, Japan was the region’s strongest performer with regard to tax-free shopping during the first quarter, with 50 percent growth.

Despite the issues with Europe, 41 percent of regular Chinese travelers who are planning a holiday in 2016 said they intend to visit Europe. France is the most popular European destination followed by Germany, Italy and the U.K.

Global Blue said for about one-third of Chinese shoppers in Europe, the ability to buy products at a better price than they can in China is an important consideration.

BUSINESS

Global Blue Puts Spotlight On Chinese Shoppers

Mobile DominatesFor Chinese Shoppers CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Shoppers inside Shanghai’s IAPM mall.

21 APRIL 2016 11

The Check It is a gang of 14-to-22 year olds who have been shot, have police records and are widely known on the streets in their neighborhoods of Washing-ton, D.C. They also happen to be the only documented LGBT gang in America.

Their story is the subject of a documentary, “Check It,” which debuted at the TriBeCa Film Festival this week from directors Dana Flor and Toby Oppenheimer and executive producers Steve Buscemi and Stanley Tucci. The film follows Tray, Day Day, Star and Skittles, just four of the now 200 members of the gang, as

well as their mentor, Ron “Mo” Moten, an ex-convict who works closely with the group.

“What makes people vi-olent has nothing to do with sexual preference; it’s about circumstances,” Moten says, sitting with the group in Chelsea the morning after the film was first screened during the festival. “And right now there’s nobody dealing with that because people don’t want to associate with anything that’s violent or gay.”

The Check It formed in 2009 when a group of ninth graders from the most violent parts of the nation’s

capital decided to band to-gether in retaliation against the bullying they’d been sub-jected to for being LGBT. Flor and Oppenheimer learned of the group through Moten and first sat down with the now-stars of the film four years ago, at a local Denny’s. “I remember the first time when they came, and it was like OK, we’ve heard this so many times,” Tray says. “People have come to us before but we don’t just trust anybody.”

Day Day agrees: “It’s a matter of time before you can trust people; I have to know who you are and I did a lot of reading up on Ms.

Thang,” he says, pointing to Flor, “and then I knew she was about her business.”

Hope and motivation for a life away from gang violence came through an unusual outlet: fashion. The film shows Day Day, Tray, Star and Skittles as they work to produce a local fashion show and eventually travel to New York Fashion Week to work the shows backstage. A clothing line, Check It Enterprises, was launched afterwards; the unisex clothes are designed

and made by Check It members and, for now, are available only online.

“The movie and the clothing line have them open to a lot of hope,” Moten says. “I think they live for it. Especially with Star — Star is really focused and it’s the fashion aspect more than anything. That’s what most people in life need — they need something to motivate them, to make them want to go to the next level, or to see a way out to where they want to go. [Fashion] was the

hook that kind of made them see the light and I think it’s something that needs to be institutionalized in the city, as far as the arts. They’re using arts and fashion as a way to heal and tell their story.”

Many of the members are working on the line full-time. They came to New York to source mate-rials for their most recent collection, which expanded from T-shirts to include “whole outfits like jumpers, two-pieces, springwear,” Star says, scrolling through iPhone pictures of the collection. “It’s very cute. I used to model, but I’ve never made my own clothes before. But I really like it.”

Fashion has grown from a routine interest into a lifeline for the Check It — and will continue to trickle down, Moten hopes. After the first fashion show in 2013, strangers started calling and praising the members for being open with their story. “People said, ‘It really touched our hearts, y’all had to be brave to tell your story like that,’” says Netta, a Check It member. “Even if we weren’t comfortable, we still made it as if we were com-fortable. I got comfortable with it because some people

can relate to my story and if I go and tell my story, maybe they feel more comfortable telling theirs.”

The film swings between moments of inspiration and uplift, and scenes that show the often tragic reality for black gay and transgender youth in D.C. In one scene, Tray is shown calling for an update on his reporting of a rape, to no avail; another moment shows Day Day visiting with his mother, who struggles with drug use.

“It’s important to give people the opportunity to heal and maybe they can help heal others,” Moten says. “With the fashion line, that’s where they plan on go-ing; not just selling clothing, but also [using it ] as a way to help other people from their community.”

He hopes to introduce outreach training so they can continue changing the course for the younger sec-tor of young LGBT people in Washington. “It shouldn’t be me,” Moten says. “I mean, I can help people, but they’ve got the power. It’s import-ant for the city that didn’t embrace them to embrace them, to wrap their arms around them and help them, right?”. — LEIGH NORDSTROM

The ‘Check It’ Uses Fashion To Escape ViolenceThe members of this black queer youth gang from D.C. use design as a way of expression, and are the subject of a new documentary at the TriBeCa Film Festival.

Tod’s lent its support to Los Angeles-based charity Baby-2Baby on Tuesday, presenting a music-themed lunch in Bunga-low One of Chateau Marmont, a riff off of the brand’s “Tod’s Band” campaign featuring stylish real-life women banding together to front the luxury leather goods.

Hostess and Baby2Baby co-president Kelly Sawyer Patricof invited fellow board members and pals including Milla Jo-vovich, Michelle Monaghan, Molly Sims, Rachel Zoe, Jennifer Meyer, Rosetta and Jacqui Getty, Sara Foster, Selma Blair, Soleil Moon Frye, Jenni Kayne, Shiva Rose, Anita Ko, Estee Stanley, Jamie Schneider, Minnie Mortim-er and Baby2Baby copresident Norah Weinstein.

As the ladies mingled inside the Craftsman bungalow, which was staged with groovy Seven-ties furniture and vintage rock ‘n’ roll tomes, they also took the

opportunity to model the new Wave bag, which featured a little bohemian flair of the sort seen at Coachella. They also chattered about the upcoming Los Angeles Tod’s Band cam-paign being shot today in L.A. with Nathalie Love, Shalice Noel, Chriselle Lim, Daisy Clementine Smith and Mimi Elashiry.

As guests took their seats at a long table in the sunroom, complete with vintage records as place cards, Sawyer Patricof said, “I’m so grateful to Tod’s for hosting, as we sit here in this amazing room we all have to remember that just five miles away babies and children are going without so many things, and we’re very lucky to be able to help.” Afterward, with the rosé flowing on an 84-degree day, things got more rambunctious. “It actually feels more like a din-ner than a lunch,” noted Sawyer Patricof. — MARCY MEDINA

Tod’s and Baby2Baby Lunch Draws CrowdThe Italian luxury house and local charity partnered for a lunch in the spirit of female camaraderie and a new campaign.

Here and below: Scenes from the documentary “Check It”.

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A Different StoryGQ is finding its rhythm between digital and print under chief revenue officer and publisher Howard Mittman.

Mittman was moved from sibling publication Wired to GQ two years ago after he helped initiate a strategy at the tech title that would bring digital and print advertising revenue to a 50-50 split. His move to the fashion glossy was a strategic one since GQ is a focal point for Condé Nast since sources said it has recently become one of the top two most profitable brands at the New York-based publishing company.

Mittman told WWD that after a few fits and starts, he has found a business strategy that works for GQ.

“We stopped chasing the latest technology,” he said flatly. “Sometimes our best digital strategy is deciding what not to do.”

Although GQ derives only 25 percent of its revenue from digital and 75 percent from print, the publisher said the title has seen strong growth since its branded content division, GQ Bespoke, amped up its mobile game. Mittman noted that the branded video unit called GQ Stories, which it devel-oped last month, has become central to the title’s business strategy as more luxury clients have warmed to mobile advertising.

“We’ve seen a really interesting swing over the last 12 months and particularly in the first half of this year,” Mittman said, citing campaigns with Bergdorf Goodman and Hermès. The magazine declined to reveal revenue figures, but said the custom mobile units it made for Hermès and Bergdorf’s saw an increase in traffic and viewabili-ty by three times what it estimated.

Turning to GQ Stories, the company said its first advertiser was Rémy Martin, which re-upped for another campaign. Those initial videos received 400,000 views and garnered more than 32 million impressions. Driving up the high number of impressions are influencers with large social media followings who are tapped by GQ to appear in the videos. These include the likes of Angel Ramos, George Laboda and Kirk Chambers.

Once chosen, Mittman said GQ “acts as a talent agency” for the influencer, which sounds more like a symbiotic relationship than a parasitic one. (You be the judge.)

“There’s a shared level of associa-tion,” he said, noting that the influencers get access to GQ events and a “broader swath of users,” while the magazine makes use of their social reach and benefits by raking in revenue from the advertisers. The influencers do not get a cut of the ad revenue.

Mittman declined to address wheth-er the social influencer model was being adapted across the company, although there are examples of blogger networks at sister publications Bon Ap-pétit and Epicurious. Mittman noted that the business-side strategy has helped increase traffic to GQ.com. According

to Comscore, GQ’s unique views for the six months ended March totaled 7.3 mil-lion. Traffic last spring hovered between three million and four million.

Although Mittman is vigilant about the importance of GQ’s print roots, he noted that he’s “repositioning the brand for the digital future,” and cited a large

campaign with Bombay Sapphire as an example of advertising across all of GQ’s platforms. He wouldn’t divulge how large, but offered: “The seeds we planted are beginning to bear fruit. The goal is to raise the average deal size for GQ.com. It’s already up 37 percent.” — ALEXANDRA STEIGRAD

Memo Pad

GQ Stories Homepage

Di Marco Stays HomeIt was not meant to be. Market sources in Milan say that the match between Patrizio di Marco and Dolce & Gabbana did not crystallize in the end.

In January sources had said the former chairman and chief executive officer of Gucci was set to join Dolce & Gabbana after honoring his one-year non-compete agreement. However, sources in Milan now say that di Marco and the company didn’t reach an agreement over his role and the company’s structure.

Di Marco left Gucci on Jan. 1, 2015, fol-lowed shortly afterward by creative director Frida Giannini, who also was married to di Marco. The executive had joined the Florence-based firm in 2009, succeeding Mark Lee. Prior to that, di Marco played an instrumental role in turning around Bottega Veneta as president and ceo for eight years.

Dolce & Gabbana did not return a request for comment. — LUISA ZARGANI

No SaleA rare 9.54-carat fancy deep blue diamond ring once belonging to Shirley Temple — which Sotheby’s had touted as the star of its spring Magnificent Jewels sale — failed to find a buyer Tuesday.

The ring, flush in its original Art Deco setting, was originally expected to bring be-tween $25 million and $35 million. While rare colored stones such as this have historically incited a craze among bidders, even without

Hollywood provenance, the storied lot found no such luck. Sotheby’s heavily promoted the ring’s sale in the lead-up to Tuesday’s auction, exhibiting it at its bureaus in Hong Kong and Los Angeles and taking it on a major media tour.

A representative for the auction house released a statement to WWD, saying: “The Shirley Temple Blue Diamond is an excep-tional stone in quality, rarity and provenance. It has been an honor to share its story with collectors, connoisseurs and Temple’s loyal fans over the past few months. Unfortunate-ly, tonight wasn’t its night in the sales room, but we remain fully confident that it will find a buyer.” — MISTY WHITE SIDELL

Donna’s New HomeDonna Karan and Linda Fargo, senior vice president, fashion and store presentation director at Bergdorf Goodman, welcomed guests to the Urban Zen shop on the sixth floor of Bergdorf’s Tuesday night. Diane Sawyer, who showed up with a broken foot, was among the crowd, which also included Paola Bacchini Rosenshein, Gabby and Gianpaolo De Felice, ELEW, Susan Fales-Hill, Rebecca Jarvis, Freddie Leiba, Camilla Olsson, Isabel Rattazzi, Nicoletta Santoro and Lacey Schwartz.

Karan’s Urban Zen collection of apparel, accessories and home decor moved into the 600-square-foot shop this month, and the hallway leading up to the shop was lined

with Urban Zen mannequins, sculptures and artwork. “What I love about the collec-tion is there are great pieces that can last forever. It’s not a major fashion statement. It’s a lifestyle,” said Karan, who noted that her upcoming fall line is twice as big as this current spring one. — LISA LOCKWOOD

The Games Are OnThe NBC Sports Group is doing its part to promote American manufacturing when its male broadcast team dons Hardwick Clothes during the upcoming Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. NBC Olympics, a division of NBC Sports Group, revealed that it has selected the Cleveland, Tenn.-based manufacturer to provide in-studio tailored clothing for the Games, which will run from Aug. 5 to 21.

Hardwick is America’s oldest tailor-made clothing manufacturer. Bruce Bellusci, chief executive officer of Hartwick, said the company has an ongoing relationship with NBC and dresses the announcers for both the National Football League and National Hockey League broadcasts. So it was natural to extend the partnership to the Olympics as well.

The Olympics broadcast team, which in-cludes Bob Costas and Al Michaels, among others, will wear looks from the brand’s H-Tech collection of suits and blazers that feature wrinkle resistance, stretch and other performance properties. The looks will in-

clude wool, silk, linen and cashmere blends.Amy Acton of Acton Style Group, the

stylist for NBC, said the broadcasters will be able to choose their Hartwick wardrobe which will allow them to express their individual style, so long as that gels with the others in the booth. Acton also revealed that the women will be dressed by Lafayette 148 which is creating a special made in America capsule for NBC for them to wear during the Olympics. — JEAN E. PALMIERI

Heading WestCapsule is making a move for the Los Angeles fashion market.

After launching its first women-centric trade show in New York in 2010 and following suit with an edition in Paris, the New York-based unit owned by Reed Exhibitions plans to stage its first expo focused on women’s brands in Los Angeles in October.

To be held Oct. 17 and 18 at the California Market Center, Capsule Los Angeles joins a growing list of trade shows that are tar-geting the increasingly important contem-porary women’s market on the West Coast. Brand Assembly, also based in New York, introduced its namesake apparel trade fair in Los Angeles in June 2013. Coeur, which specializes in accessories, gifts and home decor, presented its first semiannual show in 2011. Designers & Agents also has had a long, regular presence in the L.A. market. Moreover, the California Market Center, the two-million-square-foot building in which Capsule Los Angeles will be located, also operates smaller trade shows, such as the contemporary-focused Select and the ath-leisure-leaning ALT.

Created in 2007 by fashion consultancy BPMW, Capsule was acquired by Reed Exhibitions in 2013. Its women’s show in New

York features more than 600 brands. While it sponsors women’s-specific installments in New York, Paris and now Los Angeles, it maintains a dual-gender show in Las Vegas.

Capsule’s new fashion fair expects to bring 100 brands covering apparel as well as activewear, swim, accessories and lifestyle. The emphasis is on labels that are based on the East Coast and in Europe and wish to open West Coast accounts.

“Capsule is heading to Los Angeles in response to a growing demand in our com-munity, particularly from East Coast brands, who wish to show at L.A. Market due to the high caliber of retailers who attend,” said Capsule cofounder Deirdre Maloney. — KHANH T.L. TRAN

Out EastGurney’s, the 90-year-old oceanfront resort in Montauk, Long Island, is upping its fashion game this summer as it completes the third phase of its ongoing renovation. The resort will introduce the Fashion Collective, a rotation of retail pop-ups each weekend from June 16 through Labor Day weekend. Participating brands include Haute Hippie, Fancy, Edie Parker, Maje, Kule, Donni Charm, Otte, Swim Like a Mermaid, LemLem, Kiini, Mara Hoffman, Rebecca Taylor and Sandro. Each label will set up its pop-up on the roof deck of the resort’s spa and will have the space from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. This is the first season the resort is featuring a fashion-fo-cused retail project of this scope. Last summer, Gurney’s worked with Wellthilly on a health and wellness series that included projects with Reebok, BluePrint and Vosges, as well as fitness outlets, including Cyc Fit-ness, Barry’s Bootcamp and AKT In Motion. The hotel plans to continue and expand that programming alongside the Fashion Col-lective with pop-up fitness classes with Bari Studio, Y7 Studio, Dance Body, New York Pilates and more. There will also be panel discussions with Cynthia Rowley, Lifeway ceo Julie Smolyansky, and Bari founder Alexandra Bonetti.

“We had great success with the collab-orations we did last year,” said Gurney’s general manager Michael Nenner. “There are a lot of great, unique shops around Southampton, West Hampton and Montauk, but [our guests] wanted a little more so they didn’t have to leave the resort. We got more into the destination market.”

Additionally, Gurney’s is partnering with hair stylist Ric Pipino for the Ric Pipino Hairspace that will open on the grounds in May. The resort will also open 47 newly redesigned rooms by Michael Kramer this summer. — JESSICA IREDALE

Fashion ScoopsLinda Fargo, Donna Karan and Diane Sawyer

The Shirley Temple Blue Diamond: A 9.54-carat Fancy Deep Blue, Potentially Internally Flawless,

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