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Fashion. Beauty. Business. SEPTEMBER 16, 2016

Weber on Show Bruce Weber talks about his upcoming retrospective in Dallas.

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Ralph on RegentRalph Lauren unveils a Polo flagship on Regent Street in London.

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Narciso and DriesNarciso Rodriguez and Dries Van Noten design NYC Ballet costumes.

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● The collection will launch exclusively with Mr Porter in November before a 2017 rollout.

BY SAMANTHA CONTI

LONDON — The new-generation Kent & Curwen collection will make its retail debut in November and no one is more enthusiastic than David Beckham, who’s not only invested the brand but is more than happy to front it too.

“Because I’m part owner, we were trying to think how not to put me in the cam-paign — it was something we discussed. But I do feel very passionate about it and have been very involved from Day One, so the ad campaign is exciting for me,” said Beckham, whose company Seven Global

● As the first post-referendum LFW opens, the industry is eager to telegraph its message that Britain is open for business.

BY SAMANTHA CONTI

LONDON — Move on.It’s the mind-set of London’s fashion

industry — and other businesses — as many recover from the shock of Britain’s vote to quit the European Union and prepare for the increasing uncertainty the Brexit process will bring.

As the first post-referendum London Fashion Week opens, designers, the British Fashion Council, businesses that serve the industry — and especially Prime Minister Theresa May — are eager to telegraph their message worldwide that Britain is open for business.

In a recent first for a British prime minister, May has ushered in the week, hosting a cocktail at 10 Downing Street on Thursday night with BFC chairman Natalie Massenet and members of the industry in

FASHION

Beckham, Kearns Launch Kent & Curwen

BUSINESS

Post-Brexit:London Looks To Future Of Fashion

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CONTINUED ON PG.10

A focus group studying his brand’s fall advertising found it “alienating,” Marc Jacobs said during a preview. He responded by taking spring in a direction 180 degrees from last season’s big, dark volumes. “I looked around New York City, and it seems like every girl is in tiny short skirts and colorful things and pinks and purples and prints, and all of that kind of summery, girly stuff,” he noted. “So I said, I can do that my way.” Consider it done. For more on Jacobs and the conclusion of New York Fashion Week, see pages 5 to 10.

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SEPTEMBER 16, 2016 3

● Nordstrom x Nike is a women’s-only Nike lifestyle shop featuring merchandise from other brands and categories.

BY JESSICA IREDALE

Nike has been raising its fashion profile for a while, via its designer partnership with Sacai, Kim Jones and Riccardo Tisci; its NikeLab concepts, and design-wise in general in tandem with the rise of ath-leisure.

Now, Nordstrom — specifically its vice president of creative projects, Olivia Kim — is casting Nike directly in a fashion light with a new concept shop called Nordstrom x Nike, opening today in Nordstrom’s new Toronto Eaton Centre store, with addi-tional locations planned to open in Octo-ber and November in Seattle and Chicago.

Women’s only, Nordstrom x Nike is being billed as a lifestyle shop, wherein Nike product — apparel and sneakers — from its sportswear, running and training groups is merchandised from an array of other brands and categories from Nord-strom’s general buy. Kim said the idea came from a fashion rather than perfor-mance and fitness point of view.

“It really reflects the way that a woman wears Nike in her life,” said Kim. “I don’t think people dress in anything head to toe these days and certainly not a brand like Nike. But you can throw on a Nike

sweatshirt with your favorite pair of jeans or wear an amazing Comme des Garçons skirt with a pair of Air Max.”

The concept shops will have their own build-outs within Nordstrom stores and house limited-edition product introduced each month. “We want to be able to talk to the modern girl of fitness and fashion and give her what she wants and needs with a new space and a new service model,” said Cal Dowers, vice president and general manager of Nike Sportswear for North America, noting that Nike has had branded sections in departments stores previously, mostly in training and sports sections, and worked with Nordstrom and Kim on a pop-up shop in 2014. But this is the first self-contained,

co-branded boutique it’s ever done for women.

Kim joined Nordstrom in 2013 from Opening Ceremony, where she was vice president of creative and reported to cofounder Humberto Leon. She’s ush-ered in a new, fashion-forward attitude at Nordstrom, mostly via Space, the in-store concept shop dedicated to designers such as Vetements, Simone Rocha, Rok-sanda, Junya Watanabe and Comme des Garçons. The Nordstrom x Nike shops are separate from Space. For the launch, the stores won’t stock Nike’s designer capsule collections, but Kim said she hopes they will be available in the future, as well as exclusive Nordstrom and Nike collaborations.

Hilfiger, Goldfarb and Mottola Join Forces to Invest in Evine Live ● Hilfiger and Mottola will become advisors to Evine.

● Moody’s Downgrades Sears, Questions Kmart’s Viability

● Victoria Beckham’s Makeup Collection Looks Like a Sellout

● Hudson Yards Unveils Plans for ‘Vessel’ Landmark

● Watch the Marc Jacobs Spring 2017 New York Fashion Week Show Live on WWD

TOP 5TRENDINGON WWD.COM

● The retailer will accept customers’ denim and give it new life in its 110 stores across the U.S.

BY ARTHUR FRIEDMAN

The Limited will launch a recycling pro-gram on Friday in partnership with I:Co, a global solutions provider for apparel reuse and recycling, adding to the push toward textile and apparel repurposing.

Under the program, The Limited will accept old denim and give it new life in its 110 stores through Oct. 10. The Limited has about 250 mall locations throughout the U.S.

The Limited noted that it’s a client-fo-cused brand that strives to develop part-nerships that resonate well with its con-sumers. Throughout 2016, a major focus for the company has been to align the brand with well-known, mission-driven programs.

“A large percentage of our clients have told us that they prefer shopping at a retailer where they can receive a discount on great product, while helping to support a socially responsible cause,” said Diane Ellis, chief executive officer of The Limited.

To help keep denim out of landfills, cus-tomers can drop off any brand of denim at any of The Limited’s participating stores and receive a $20 coupon for each

pair they bring in.Each $20 coupon can be redeemed

toward one new pair of Universal Stretch denim jeans. The Limited recently introduced the line of premium Universal Stretch denim that offers a flattering fit for every body shape. The Limited tested countless premium fabrics to find the perfect one that provides just the right amount of stretch, while conforming to a women’s shape and also has a soft hand. The new denim collection retails from $79.95 to $89.95 and comes in a multitude of washes and leg shapes.

I:Co will rehome the old denim, repur-pose it or recycle it into raw materials for other products such as insulation, carpet padding and even fiber for apparel.

The recycling of denim has become more widespread as the awareness of the amount of textile product that winds up in landfills comes to the front.

Last month, Guess Inc. partnered with Cotton Incorporated’s Blue Jeans Go Green program by launching a fall Denim Recycling Campaign. The campaign is tak-ing place in more than 160 Guess stores in the U.S. and Canada through Oct. The Blue Jeans Go Green denim-recycling program gives recycled denim “new life” and converting it to UltraTouch Denim Insulation.

H&M has a recycled denim collection, while Levis Strauss & Co. teamed with textile technology start-up Evrnu SPC

to create jeans made from regenerated post-consumer cotton waste.

Last year, The North Face’s Clothes the Loop in-store recycling program had as its goal to recycle 100,000 pounds of apparel and footwear in 2015.

A June report from Savers showed that people vastly underestimate the amount of clothing and textiles they throw away each year — at an average of 4.7 trash bags worth, while the actual amount disposed is nearly double, 8.1 trash bags worth.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, an estimated 24 billion pounds of post-consumer textile waste goes to landfills each year, the equivalent of about 70 pounds of textiles per person, accounting for some 5 percent of all space.

The Savers report noted that 54 percent of survey respondents admit to throwing away their clothing and textiles because they don’t think any donation center would take them. About one-third said they didn’t know that 90 percent of textiles and apparel can be reused or recycled.

I:Co’s innovative retail take back system and worldwide infrastructure aims to keep used apparel and footwear in a closed loop production cycle where these goods can be reprocessed and reused continu-ously. This reduces waste, preserves mate-rial resources, protects the environment and enables sustainable consumption. I:Co has take-back programs with more than 60 retail partners on six continents.

MARKETS

The Limited Partners With I:Co to Recycle Old Denim

CATEGORY

Nike and Nordstrom Open Concept Shops-in-Shop

NEWSMAKERSThis Week’s Most Talked About Names In Our Industry

Marc Jacobs, Designer

Bruce Weber, Photographer

Theresa May, Prime Minister of

the U.K.

David Beckham, Athlete

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● The duo goes on a road trip in a short for the campaign for the men’s line, Modern Essentials selected by David Beckham.

BY JOELLE DIDERICH

MODERN BROMANCE: H&M on Thursday released a teaser for the new campaign for its men’s line, Modern Essentials selected by David Beckham, which reunites the British soccer player with comedian Kevin Hart.

The 30-second clip shows the duo hitting the road in a tour bus headed from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, where they plan to meet financiers to pitch “I, Beckham: The Musical” with Hart playing the role of the retired Manchester United player.

In their first campaign together, released last year, Hart was shown shadowing the footballer and style icon as he prepared for

his leading role in a fictional film titled “I, Beckham.”

“I loved shooting the first campaign with Kevin for H&M so much, we just had to do a sequel. This time we’ve pushed the story even further. I hope everyone likes it, we certainly enjoyed filming it,” said Beckham.

“It’s great to have the opportunity once more to show the world what everyone really knows, that I am the true inspira-tion for David Beckham’s style. He copies everything from me,” added Hart.

In both campaigns, the two men wear the same outfit made up of items from the collection. “David and Kevin look so sharp in the campaign. Modern Essentials is a collection for men to have great personal style no matter where they find them-selves,” says Andreas Löwenstam, H&M head of design for men’s wear.

The full commercial, directed by Fredrik Bond, is to be unveiled on Sept. 26 on hm.com, ahead of the launch of the designs in stores on Sept. 29.

Both men shared a picture from the

set in May. “Back together again ❤️❤️ ... @hm @kevinhart4real #selectedbybeckham #ontheroad,” captioned Backham. “We’re back people.... Me & @davidbeckham are about to shake up the world again!!!! #OnTheRoad #selectedbybeckham @hm,”

wrote Hart.Beckham first joined forces with H&M in

2011 for the launch of his Bodywear line for men. Since 2015, he has curated his favor-ite men’s wear pieces from the retailer’s Modern Essentials collection. ■

MEDIA

David Beckham, Kevin Hart Reunite In H&M Teaser

David Beckham and Kevin Hart in the

H&M campaign

has a business partnership with the Trinity Group-owned Kent & Curwen.

Although the campaign has yet to be shot, the collection will make its debut in November exclusively on the Mr Porter web site. Later that month, it will be sold on the Kent & Curwen site, with a full wholesale rollout set for early next year.

The British brand was founded in 1926 and has its roots in the manufacture of sports uniforms for clubs, colleges and universities. Kent & Curwen pioneered the cricket sweater and its archives are packed with regatta jackets, old Eton caps, V-neck knits and sturdy topcoats.

The brand has evolved into a traditional men’s sportswear collection with a $100 million business based mostly in the Far East. With new investment from Trinity Group — and Beckham’s support and inspi-ration — it’s aiming to put a younger, laid-back spin on the archive’s sporty classics and speak to a wider audience.

The latest, seasonless collection has been designed by new creative director Daniel Kearns — a veteran of Louis Vuitton, Alexander McQueen and Façonnable — with the company’s sporty DNA as well as Beckham’s style and aesthetic in mind.

It’s packed with laid-back styles that feel like heirlooms from one very cool older brother or father — someone who rowed at Cambridge, batted for Eton or stalked deer with his pals.

Kearns has done some clever distressing and staining of garments, giving them a vintage feel and an appealing, unpolished preppiness. During an interview along-side Beckham, Kearns said his aim was to embrace Kent & Curwen’s British sporting heritage and spin it into a collection for today — lighter, slimmer, softer and easier.

“We want to answer to an e-commerce, global, social media generation that blends brands and price points, not someone

who’s looking for the latest fashion fix,” said Kearns.

“This should be affordable, aspirational clothing. I think the idea of a new genera-tion lifestyle brand is important — a British one that the new generation can feel akin to. That’s really something we want to re-embrace because so much of the heri-tage going into this makes sense in terms of the idea of lifestyle, from sportswear to tailoring.”

The collection includes outerwear, such as a military greatcoat done either in wool or unlined cotton; a heavy cotton lumber-jack jacket with a shearling collar, and piles of blazers in wool or cotton, some with a subtle regatta stripe sewn on the inside of the lapels.

Rugby shirts with skinny stripes and the brand’s triple-lion logo have faded, slightly yellowed collars — as if they have been in constant use since, maybe, the Sixties — while white T-shirts, including the one Beckham is wearing during the interview, are slightly distressed around the neck, as if they’d gone through many a washing cycle.

The effect is charming, not cheap.Prices range from 95 pounds, or $125,

for a long-sleeve Henley shirt to 1,200 pounds, or $1,585, for the most expensive outerwear.

Beckham said some of his favorite pieces include the rugby shirts and the sweaters with the English rose logo — it’s discreet and often appears around the bottom hem of tops — and pointed to an off-white rugby shirt hanging in a showroom Savile Row.

“That underneath a tailored overcoat would look so cool. It works,” he said, adding that he is adamant the collection should not be about age.

“It’s the casual elegance which is import-ant for the brand and the line. This could be for a young generation — I took some pieces home the other day and Brooklyn [his son] saw them and said, ‘Where are these from? I want to wear them!’

“He’s 17 years old. I’m 41. There’s no age group we’re trying to hit. Any younger or older guy who wants to feel elegant is our target. The inspiration as well has come

from my taste, but also from the people I’m around. I have a lot of friends, and I think a lot of the influence comes from my biker friends, my sporting friends, my older generation of friends who maybe go to the country to go shooting,” said Beckham.

Asked whether the family’s dinner con-versation now revolves around clothing, what with his wife Victoria Beckham’s fashion collections and his collaborations — past and present — with Adidas, Belstaff, Hennes & Mauritz (his latest advertising campaign with Kevin Hart was teased Thursday) and Giorgio Armani, the global sports icon said not too much.

“Victoria talks me through her collection and I talk her through what we’re doing as well, but the lucky thing is that I’ve been able to learn from Victoria with her work ethic,” said Beckham.

“Obviously this is a totally different script to what she does because we have an established brand and Victoria started from scratch. My history in the fashion business has been very different as well. I’ve been very lucky over the years to have

worked with Adidas, with Belstaff and H&M. I’ve also worked with Mr. Armani with underwear too. Seeing the way the fashion world works, I have a lot of ideas and I know where I want to take a business and that’s what I hope to achieve.”

Kent & Curwen is Beckham’s only apparel line. He and his longtime friend and business associate Simon Fuller are 50-50 partners in Seven Global, a venture with Global Brands Group Holding Ltd., a sister company of Trinity. Last year, Seven Global signed a five-year licensing agree-ment with Kent & Curwen.

He said his goal for the brand is to build, build, build and even expand more in Asia, where Kent & Curwen already has more than 100 stores, and he has a solid fan base. Although it’s still early days, Beck-ham said a flagship store is on the cards.

“It’s a huge business in Asia, and we want to continue to keep that and raise it to another level. We want to keep what we have in Asia strong, but also establish the roots here where Kent & Curwen first started. That’s important for us,” said Beckham.

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Kent & Curwen Makes Debut Under Beckham, Kearns CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Daniel Kearns and David Beckham

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Marc JacobsAlienation — a theme in art, literature, middle school and everyday life beyond middle school. It happens. It’s happening at Marc Jacobs, according to the guy with his name on the door. During a preview of his spring collection, Jacobs noted the takeaway gleaned from a vaguely refer-enced focus group: Its members found his fall advertising “alienating.” “Apparently, people who look at advertising aren’t nec-essarily the people who buy the product,” he said. “When they see someone like Susan Sarandon with gorgeous cleavage in one of our dresses or they see perhaps Marilyn Manson or Courtney Love, they’re a little intimidated by the black eyeliner or whatever. I don’t really know.”

What he does know: that his belief in real fashion is resolute, even as the

company continues to reestablish its commercial footing into its single-brand strategy, with a range from intensely imagined and realized high fashion to its contemporary cousin.

What we know: Jacobs is — as he claims — a passionate adherent to real fashion. And he loves a contrast. So even if the alienation theme hadn’t percolated in-house, it’s doubtful he would have con-sidered another big, dark extravaganza. “I felt we should do something friendlier, kinder, pretty, lots of prints. Except,” he deadpanned, “I did it my way.”

His way proved a frenetic rave affair with models done up in abbreviated pilings of color and stuff, their hair in elaborate pas-tel dreads inspired by Jacobs’ friend Lana Wachowski and created by the masterful Guido Palau and web-sourced dreadlocks

expert Jena Counts. The clothes sprung from deliberate banality — jeans; sweats; camouflage; knits; little dresses, and that girl-on-the-street item du jour, the shortest short-shorts — most of the silhouettes translatable across the full gamut of prices.

Yet whether channeling Goth Victorians or raving street-style enthusiasts with a penchant for Seventies cuts and Eighties flash, Jacobs’ perspective is an extravagant one. That extravagance incorporated some trappings of couture — flamboyant feathers sprouting from jacket shoulders; endlessly intricate embroideries sourced from some of haute’s most storied suppliers. He also commissioned his friend, artist Julie Verho-even, with whom he collaborated at Louis Vuitton back when, and whom he called “more twisted than I am” when it comes to exploration of the banal. Together, they

conjured fanciful, random insignias of his party mood: New York skyline, old-fashion phone, hairdryer, electrical outlet, phallic mushrooms. And to capture the “clubby vibe”: pills. In a riot of colors and mate-rials, these decorated jackets, a fabulous snakeskin coat, bags and mile-high plat-form boots, the collection’s most recogniz-able reference to last season. (Despite his thematic swings, in recent seasons, Jacobs has made a point of incorporating the numerous and distinct recurring themes of his work.)

Broken down, many of the clothes were beautiful. In aggregate, it was fun at a fevered pitch, much of it underscored by a clear current of defiance. “I like this very twisted version of what I think is reality,” Jacobs said. “Because reality is just real-ity.” — Bridget Foley

Marc Jacobs

CollectionsThe

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Ralph LaurenWhen Ralph Lauren buys in, he buys in big. And he has bought into Instant Fash-ion. In a major display of power, nimble production capability and most impor-tantly, creative mojo, on Wednesday night Lauren showed his second full collection for fall, available immediately online and beginning on Thursday at five flagship stores around the world.

Though sprung from the populist obsession with fashion and the burgeoning industry yen to feed that beast right now, on the supply side Instant Fashion is far from democratic. While quite a few New York designers are doing it, those garnering the most attention have heralded their partici-pation with big, flashy shows. It takes a lot of money to resurrect the Four Seasons for a night (Tom Ford), install a carnival on a pier (Tommy Hilfiger), or, in Lauren’s case, close down four lanes of an entire block of Madi-son Avenue for four days, under the watch

of the NYPD. It also takes deep pockets to do a full-on Take Two on a season. Lauren committed to Instant Fashion after his show in February, but saw no point in runway regurgitation. Given his brand’s own retail structure he didn’t have to. He could make a whole new collection. He did.

First, the venue. As the clothes will be available at the Madison Avenue women’s store, he wanted to show there — sort of. Actually, he wanted to show outside the store, but wouldn’t risk a weather issue. He thus commissioned a glass extension from the building’s facade out toward the street. This protected both the side-walk-runway and the seating: thick white cushions atop sisal-covered risers.

Getting there wasn’t easy — no such thing as a hassle-free street closure. Once inside the glass edifice, the typical Lauren refinement was in play — warm greetings, plenty of rear-end room on the sisal, post-show Champagne.

On the runway: a real statement collec-tion. There was a great deal riding on this fall lineup. With the first one done and in the stores for weeks, Lauren had to produce something distinctive and signature. Of the favorite themes in his repertoire, he chose the American West, handling it with a savvy balance of flamboyance and restraint.

Lauren introduced the motif with a buffalo plaid shirt and pants with demon-strative embroidery running the length of the leg at the side. From there, it could have gone wrong, had the cowpoke curli-cues gotten too much play. Instead, he pushed forward and pulled back on literal references, introducing disparate elements while keeping it all very rich. Although some looks were all-day (smart pantsuit with jacket based on a Western shirt) or all-evening (second-skin column of micro paillettes with cut-out waist and rustic leather straps), others unsettled norms — a buffalo plaid shirt atop a shimmering silk

IN-STORE¬ In Paris, it was more a case of “see-now-buy-at-some-point-later,” depending on your client status. The brand’s Avenue Montaigne flag-ship rolled out a blue carpet for a selection of VIP clients, who were treated to a projection of the runway show before being presented a selection of around 20 to 30 pieces out of the collection’s 45 looks, staff said. Arriving at the opening time of 10:30 a.m., I was told to come back the next day, with sales staff politely ignoring my pleas of, “But what if I want to buy now?” — KATYA FORMAN

At the Ralph Lauren flagship in Tokyo’s chic Omotesando district, the September see-now-buy-now collection took up an entire room, although not all pieces had come in as of Thursday. Because of the secretive nature of the show and collection, staff were not par-ticularly well-informed. On Wednesday, three different staffers said with conviction that there were no plans to sell the pieces in Tokyo. And even once it was available in the store on Thursday, not all employees were up to speed, with one female sales associate looking confused when asked about it. The customers in the store around lunchtime on Thursday seemed more intent to browse regular-sea-son merchandise. — KELLY WETHERILLE

At the Ralph Lauren Prince’s Building store in Hong Kong, items from the Wednesday show were displayed alongside the rest of the brand’s fall offerings. A video monitor played footage of the runway show; beside it stood a mannequin wearing a fringed dress with a cro-cheted bodice. The store hosted a press event in the morning and had a few appointments with customers lined up for the afternoon, ac-cording to a salesman. He said they had sold a few pieces as of lunchtime Thursday. — AMANDA KAISER

ONLINE¬ Ralph Lauren’s French e-commerce site wasn’t much help. I was greeted by the same page as on the brand’s U.S. site announcing the collection. The only difference was it had been translated into French with a “Discover the Collection” function in lieu of “Shop Now” that led to static images of the collection — without any descriptions or prices — and a message inviting anyone looking to discover the collection to call the Avenue Montaigne store. I was told anyone wishing to order online from France has to order from the American site. — KATYA FOREMAN

WWD spot-checks the system.

Ralph LaurenSHOW: Wednesday, Sept. 14

The Instant Fashion Experience

fringe skirt; distressed leather jacket over a gown in a silvery-bronze print. Patterns derived from Southwestern motifs, and he went overboard only occasionally, with a mega-embroidered rhinestone cowgirl pantsuit. Conversely, a gown with a single graphic near the hem dripped with chic, and an intarsia shearling wrap over a lace dress was drop-dead gorgeous.

One goal Lauren sought to accomplish here was to highlight his brand’s lux-ury quotient. To that end, the materials impressed, particularly the hand-dyed ombréd micro sequins in a range of vibrant colors and an intricate embroidered, engineered jacquard inspired by an old blanket. This was used for a full-sleeve top and long skirt worked in a beautiful, complicated swirl of pattern and fringe that would look great at the Emmys. But it won’t make it. It’s too interesting. — Bridget Foley Ph

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SEPTEMBER 16, 2016 7

Derek Lam The conversation about to show or not to show — and how to show — has gotten to Derek Lam, who decided that maybe the runway isn’t the best outlet for his message. His collections have been some of the best on the New York stage in recent seasons despite never having been highly editorial or theatrically charged. Rather, they are beautiful presentations of clothes that lucky women with great taste and money to spend will buy and wear for their real lives. Lam can reach those customers without a catwalk or a megamarketing event that comes at a hefty price. So he downscaled, inviting three groups of 20 or so editors and retailers to view the collection up close in the penthouse of the Greenwich Hotel, where he talked through his inspiration and process. It was lovely and personal and shed far more light on a fantastic, succinct collection than eight minutes darting down a runway would.

Georgia O’Keeffe was Lam’s main inspiration, for her personality, style and remarkable career of “taking one thing and looking at it again and again,” said Lam. “That’s something that is very fulfilling to me as a designer.” He borrowed lightly from O’Keeffe’s monastic way of dressing and the arid colors of her New Mexico home and treated them with a modern, considered hand. A black eyelet voile

pleated blouse was tucked into a gorgeous natural washed-cotton-twill full skirt with a raw hem. A coatdress came in rose-colored suede and an ivory crepe T-shirt dress was shown with a fringed scarf, a recurring accent piece that infused the lineup with a subtle Western flare.

Lam noted that spring collections pose a unique set of challenges. “You can’t hide using furs and heavy woolens and coats,” he said. “You really have to think about cottons and linens, which can look plain or too simple.” The lineup was anchored in simplicity and a chicly rustic, all-American hand, using blown-up patchwork as decoration and heartland cloths, such as crumpled sheet linen, for a puff-sleeve dress. It was plain, but simply beautiful. — Jessica Iredale

Elie Tahari Elie Tahari was full of surprises for spring. Delicate and elaborate evening clothes would not come swiftly to mind when one considers his past collections. But this season, Tahari was all about embellished gowns — lace, tulle, metallics and three-dimensional details. He couldn’t get enough of all the possibilities that these offered, so he mixed lots of them in a sin-gle look: a brocade jacket with a lace back; a pleated Lurex panel on a pink and white lace dress, and 3-D floral paillettes on a Elie Tahari

Marchesa

Derek Lam

white cashmere sweater. Even his jeans were thoroughly embellished.

Tahari was inspired by the clothes and the mood of St. Tropez in the Sixties and Seventies. In that spirit, he showed knit and crochet looks, short loose tops and peasant blouses. There were also dressy cardigan jackets, some charmingly paired with short print and lace skirts. “I find there’s a real shortage of available evening tops,” he said, noting that his retailers confirmed the need for more. With these peasant and hip-pie looks — as much New York and Tangiers as they were St. Tropez — and his glamor-ous new glitz, Tahari is likely to attract a fresh flock of fans. — Bobbi Queen

MarchesaGeorgina Chapman and Keren Craig don’t have to reinvent the wheel to get noticed. They have successfully mixed a fashion potion of fluffy, ultrafeminine confections for their Marchesa collec-tions. For spring, they opted for a palette that celebrates light — from sunrise to midnight. Corseted bodices, cascading ruffles and sequined 3-D flowers deco-rated a frothy range of organza, tulle and lamé gowns.

While their loyal ladies love the embel-lishments, the designers may attract a younger fan base with their sensual sheaths — some embroidered with relative restraint. One, a mint tulle column with flutter sleeves and an iridescent lamé and lace trim, was beautiful. A fit-and-flare silhouette was perfect for the designers’ calf-length slip in stretch silk crepe, with its cut-out sides, bra-strap back and lace hem. Any description of a Marchesa dress will always seem excessive — there’s typically quite a lot going on — but this season Chap-man and Craig also showed a lovely sense of restraint — here and there. — B.Q.Ph

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See by Chloé The imaginative trip of a girl from Miami Beach through Las Vegas to Palm Springs, Calif., inspired See by Chloé creative director Clare Waight Keller for spring. The signature icy pastels of South Beach, the bleached tones of the desert and the bold hues of Vegas converged in the lineup, which was infused with a feminine, free-spirited vibe.

Silhouettes were ample and breezy — an array of fluid dresses and tops, worked in light, solid tones, as well as varied pat-terns, from a colorful maxi floral motif to a print combining micro stars, pineapples and palm trees. Ruffles gave a romantic twist to most of the pieces, while bright yellow buttons enhanced the playful appeal of a flared overall crafted from multistriped seersucker. In contrast to the languid look of Waight Keller’s effort-less-yet-sensual cotton dresses with plung-ing necklines and slits, a safari-inspired canvas frock with utilitarian pockets had graphic appeal. And she showed denim in lively washes, including a lilac shade that gave charm to flared pants and a raw-cut skirt. — Alessandra Turra

Zac Zac Posen Zac Zac Posen’s feminine spring collection drew inspiration from aquatic life for an eclectic mix of sea-punk glamour and the relaxed sensibility of music-festival fare. The designer took signature elements from his 15-year-old archive — embroideries, fab-ric swatches, techniques — and translated them into beach-appropriate clothing with the whimsy of underwater treasures.

The lineup skewed decidedly youthful with breathable fabrications in a flirty palette of sandy pink, navy, seafoam green and punctuations of pearl white, and lighthearted touches of embroidery. Pearl detailing in the cutouts of slinky dresses and jackets gave a sense of elegant allure, as did other subtle hints of skin through open lace and sheer accents. Touches of delicate coral-patterned lace, water bubble references in eyelets, the netting linking fabric pieces together and jellyfishlike flounce in ruffle pleats were subtle, playful

sale on a distinct UAS web site immediately following the show. The collection is also being sold at Barneys New York, Mr Porter and Under Armour flagship stores.

Titled UAS Collection 01 by Tim Cop-pens, the launch is just the beginning of something Under Armour hopes will be even bigger in the future. “This was two years in the making,” Plank said. “But it’s a long-term conversation and this is just our first handshake.” — Jean E. Palmieri and Bobbi Queen

references to the oceanic theme.There wasn’t anything as overt as a

sequin mermaid gown, but a rainbow paillette minidress reserved for market appointments was both flirty and sexy. New engineered prints featured water creatures, and an intricately beaded pattern of the print could be seen on a floaty dress. More sophisticated offerings included tailored and relaxed outerwear and elegant pajama sets that transitioned day to night. Covetable handbags included small satchels with carabiner hooks and laser-etched clutches done in pony hair. — Andrew Shang

Veronica Beard Veronica Swanson Beard and Veronica Miele Beard had a wildly entertaining spring presentation celebrating all things Americana. They enlisted interior designer Ken Fulk to set up the basement of their new Madison Avenue boutique as a lavish apartment featuring leopard-print walls and festooned with stars and stripes (there were flags everywhere) and images indica-tive of the late Seventies and early Eighties. There were even two rollerskating girls in red leotards in front of the store.

It may have been good kitschy fun — and the experience was a blast — but the sis-ters-in-law were all business when it came to the clothes. Miele Beard noted that the reason they opted to present here was to “show [people] that retail is not dead — stores need to live.”

On offer were the label’s signature dickey jackets, but also some new shapes, such as a double-breasted cutaway look. Great daytime pieces abounded, from chic pantsuits to military jackets with lace appliqués, as well as pretty floral dresses with ruffles, a striped strapless jumpsuit, distressed sweaters and a little gingham skirt — each chic and effortless and designed to take a woman comfortably through the day. — Antonia Sardone

UAS Models speed walked in a circle around a cage of wire-hung pieces — and in under two minutes a new sportswear brand was

born. Others could learn a lot about how to do a fashion show from Under Armour’s fabulous presentation for the launch of UAS, its new collaboration for fall 2016 with designer Tim Coppens. There was a detailed line sheet, of course, in case you missed anything.

“This is the starting point, not the finish line,” said Ben Pruess, senior vice presi-dent of sportswear, who oversees the line. “We have lots more to do.”

Predictably, Coppens mined Under Armour’s expertise in technical perfor-mance — but fused it with fashion elements that took both the men’s and women’s collections into the sportswear realm. For women, there were down-filled (but never bulky) blazers, parkas and bombers, as well as varsity jackets and great-looking cropped trenchcoats. These were teamed and layered with tailored track pants, hockey shorts, hooded sweatshirts, and even a rugby-stripe stretch skirt. Despite all the elements, everything had an easy, lean effect.

For men, key looks included puffer vests, rugby-stripe pants and lightweight trenchcoats — with the trench done in a windowpane pattern with reflective strips, the quilted vest easily doubling as a blazer and rugby pants featuring articulated seams.

“There’s a fluidity that speaks to the athletic element of the line,” said Coppens. “But there are also more suited pieces, such as track jackets and pants that are tailored.”

For Under Armour chief executive officer Kevin Plank, that’s exactly the point. “There are a lot of people who don’t wear Under Armour who should,” he said. “And for people who want to wear it to the office, there needed to be a better alternative.”

So bringing Pruess, a former profes-sional snowboarder who had worked for Adidas Originals and Solomon, on board as the “architect” three years ago allowed the brand to finally expand beyond active-wear, Plank said.

Presented in a raw space at Manhattan’s South Street Seaport that Pruess said “embraced the humble beginning of Under Armour,” the merchandise was offered for

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● Now incorporated, the organization will begin accepting members in January.

BY MISTY WHITE SIDELL

On Tuesday evening, the Black Acces-sory Designer Alliance held its semian-nual New York Fashion Week pop-up.

Hosted by committee founder Wilbur Pack Jr., the event — held at Chelsea arts space Unarthodox — allowed four design-ers (including Pack himself ) to display their designs.

“It’s going really well, we applied for a 501(c)(3), we incorporated and we launched our web site today,” Pack said of BADA’s progression. “We are doing mem-bership starting in January, and that’s when we will do a membership drive. The cost of membership goes from $25 to $75 because they are emerging designers and emerging designers have a lot of other things to worry about.”

According to Pack, enrolling in the organization will provide members a discount on showing in the New York Fashion Week showcase (typically $350), as well as entry to panel discussions and programming.

This season, Pack has cleaned up his label SK Wilbur’s look. “I thought that because my aim [before] was to focus on something different for the ladies, I’ve now made it more unisex and utilitarian,” he said.

Knapsacks and totes — many with patch pockets — range from $165 to $400. “I make everything,” Pack said of his designs. “I haven’t gotten into any new stores, which is part of reason I wanted to change my focus and make it a little more clean,” he said.

Velvet Lattimore, of the Brooklyn store Vedazzling Accessories, was also showing her designs with BADA. In addition to selling T-shirts and jewelry from brands stocked in her boutique, Lattimore debuted her own designs — clutches and satchels made of repurposed leather and suede. “My bags are affordable, $70 and up — I strive to make them at lower price point,” she said.

Diane Davis of D. Pearl Davis crochet design used the BADA event as an oppor-tunity to reinvigorate her hat design busi-ness. Speaking of her wares, Davis said: “I have been doing [hats] since 2004, all of these [new] hats are inspired by my first ideas. I’m into avant-garde type — I call them helmets.”

ACCESSORIES

Black Accessory Designer Alliance Readies for Growth

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ACCESSORIES SPOTLIGHT

Highlights from the Black Accessory Designers Alliance pop-up:

SK Wilbur“I’m pushing the reset button on my aesthetic,” said designer Wilbur Pack Jr., as he initiated new styling for his handmade bags. The key looks include nau-tical influences, much cleaner finishes and an up-dated silhouette. He created bags made of leather and canvas, which offered an on-the-go appeal. His brand is sold locally in New York at outlets including Only Hearts, Vedazzling Accessories Boutique and the Brownstone in Harlem, as well as online at Skwilbur.com.

Vedazzling AccessoriesVelvet Lattimore opened her own boutique in DUMBO for brands like her herself: local and emerg-ing Brooklyn designers. She is slowly developing and increasing her own collection of bags while curating her store's roster of brands. This season, she cre-ated a military green envelope clutch with textured leather, alongside a large suede hobo, with plenty of room for packing all essentials.

D. Pearl CrochetDesigner Diane Davis of D. Pearl Crochet is a woman who designs many hats and wears many hats. Besides running and designing for her burgeoning crochet hat business, she is an actress and book-keeper. She’s expanded her collection into hair pieces, bracelets and bags. D. Pearl’s signature is transforming things Davis sees in street style into crochet. This season’s hallmark is a collection of hel-met-style crochet hats in muted tones.— LORENZO ATKINSON

Vedazzling Accessories

10 SEPTEMBER 16, 2016

attendance.Although former first lady Samantha

Cameron regularly hosted similar events at Downing Street, May’s move on Thursday night spoke volumes about her support for the British fashion business in a new world.

“Fashion is a vibrant and important industry for Britain, contributing 28 billion pounds [$42 billion] to the British econ-omy,” said May, addressing a crowd that included Cameron, and designers such as Erdem Moralioglu, Mary Katrantzou, Sarah Burton, Charlotte Dellal, Giles Deacon, Stephen Jones, Jason Basmajian and Molly Goddard.

May, dressed in a white cotton Palmer Harding for John Lewis blouse, black Amanda Wakeley trousers and Russell & Bromley flats, added that in changing times, “it is really important that we work with you” to help expand sales and exports to ensure that Britain remains “a leading trading nation.”

“Thank you for what you are doing for British business out there, across the world. Long live British fashion,” she said.

May’s words echoed the mood in London, where shows will run from today through Tuesday. Although most designers were disappointed by the result of the vote in June, they’re now looking for future opportunities.

On Friday, the BFC is set to hold a briefing emphasizing that U.K. fashion is ready to do business, with designer Anya

Hindmarch and Justine Simmons, Lon-don’s deputy mayor for culture, among those expected to speak.

Over the summer, the BFC met with designers and organized meetings with law and accountancy firms with the aim of helping them navigate their way through the initial uncertainty. Issues such as the weaker pound, the possibility of manufac-turing more goods in the U.K., future tax breaks, new investment and intellectual property challenges were all on the table.

“The majority of our industry weren’t pro-Brexit, but it’s happened, we live in a democratic country, we have got to move forward. Like anything, you have to look at what positives will come out of it rather than dwelling on what the negatives might be,” said Caroline Rush, the BFC’s chief executive officer.

She said the immediate challenge and opportunity is “reaffirming as an industry that we operate internationally, that we value our international partners, that the U.K. remains open and one of the most collaborative nations and that we want to continue in that vein. The decision by the British public to leave the EU doesn’t fun-damentally change where we sit culturally — and in business.”

Business opportunities outside the EU are already percolating. The Beijing-based e-commerce giant JD.com will hold its first LFW event, an off-schedule fashion show on Monday that will feature several Chi-nese fashion brands. Guests are expected to include Chinese news and business media and international retailers.

Lady Barbara Judge, a U.K. business ambassador and a founding member of the U.K.-China Business Leaders Club, is host-ing the event at the Institute of Directors in St. James’, a business association and

lobby of which she is chairman.“I think that, especially after Brexit, the

U.K. must show the world that it is open for business. China is one of the biggest markets and it’s appropriate for the U.K. and China to be seen to be doing early deals with each other at this time,” she said.

“We [in the U.K.] are very well-respected internationally as a creative place. And the Chinese are also very creative, and to be seen to be working together is one of the best ways to start a new era of the U.K. after Brexit.”

Others argue that British designers’ and creatives’ work will endure, no matter what. “You can’t stop people from talking to each other or teleworking together. Also, by the way, we’re still in Europe. We can’t move the island,” said M&A specialist Beth Pickens, managing director at William Blair, the boutique investment bank.

With regard to M&A activity pre- and post-Brexit, Pickens said investors will continue to rely on the fundamentals of businesses and look for breakout stories. “Those opportunities may be slightly sweetened by a temporarily depressed [British pound], but the thesis should still remain the same,” during and after Brexit.

It’s been business as usual at the property and development company The Crown Estate, which has been pushing ahead with retail deals despite the uncer-tainty after the referendum. This week, Polo Ralph Lauren opened its European flagship on the street, a 17,561-square-foot space spanning three floors.

“It is as if nothing has happened,” said David Shaw, head of the Regent Street portfolio at The Crown Estate, which is owned by the British sovereign with all profits going to the U.K. treasury.

“The level of demand for the space is — luckily — where it was before Brexit. We’ve not had a single transaction go wrong because of Brexit, and most interestingly for me is that there has been no change in the terms of the transactions that we’re doing,” he said.

Designers admit that adjusting to the weaker pound and coping with all the uncertainty has been a challenge, but they are steaming ahead.

Alice Temperley said the weaker pound has been impacting her company’s margins and foreign payments, “although everything is sort of leveling itself out pretty much. The Italian mills produce for us, and we’re still getting all the fabrics there. We’re coping with it,” she said.

Henry Holland said, on a production level, he’s been stung by the weaker pound due to the timing of orders and payments and added that he’s concerned the U.K. will face month after month of uncertainty as it negotiates its way out of the union.

“In business, nobody is good with uncer-tainty and the wholesale market is driven by fear. Wholesalers, department stores, buyers — they’re always nervous — and anything to encourage their neuroses is not good for business,” he said.

Holland remains at least partly optimis-tic. “The global market is so wide-open now with e-commerce, that it’s just about finding new room to market. I think everyone is in a period of adaptation and evolving and Brexit has only served to speed that up.”

Christopher Raeburn said that while he was disappointed by the referendum’s result, “as always you look at everything and work out where the opportunities are. I think for us, as a business, there’s a real agility.”

Post-Brexit: London Looks to Future of Fashion CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

SEPTEMBER 16, 2016 11

● Regent Street is magnetizing American megabrands and the latest one to open shop on the storied British thoroughfare is Polo Ralph Lauren.

BY SAMANTHA CONTI

LONDON – Regent Street is magnetizing American megabrands like no other major European city and the latest one to open shop on the storied British thoroughfare is Polo Ralph Lauren.

The opening of Polo’s first European flagship this week is a homecoming of sorts: Ralph Lauren was one of the first American names to land on nearby Bond Street, and the designer has shops dotted around the capital’s upscale neighbor-hoods, dedicated to different brands.

Regent Street is a different proposition altogether: Spanning 17,561 square feet over three floors, the new London unit for the multibillion-dollar Polo brand is far larger than the first European store for the label, which opened in Rome last November. It has dedicated floors for men’s, women’s and children’s wear as well as the first Create Your Own customi-zation shop.

Although the service has been trialed with pop-ups and one-off projects, the Regent Street space is permanent, and allows customers to jazz up their polo or oxford shirts with national flags, Polo ponies, bears, corgis, English bulldogs, crests, monograms and oversize numbers.

The brand also sees the Regent Street unit as a bridge to a younger audience and to tourists, customers who may not necessarily be making the trip around the corner to Ralph Lauren’s main-line flagship on New Bond Street.

“It’s a big deal for us,” David Lauren, executive vice president of advertising, marketing and communications, told WWD. “Coming to England and opening

up a Polo flagship for this new generation is the culmination of almost 50 years of defining and redefining the brand and perfecting it and making sure that we have a sensibility that resonates there.”

He said the Regent Street location was key.

“Global tourists are coming there and you want to be a part of that energy. You need to step it up and stand out and create something that feels distinctive and special. I think when people walk down Regent Street they’ll stop at Polo and think it’s unusual — and beautiful.”

Polo’s arrival is the latest win for The Crown Estate, the British property com-pany that has been upgrading vast swathes

of Regent Street — and the surrounding ones too — with the aim of attracting big brands with supersize spaces and new-for-mat concept stores.

Michael Kors and Kate Spade New York are among the recent arrivals, while Coach and Stuart Weitzman, will move later this year into the former Jaeger space, which spans 25,500 square feet. In a separate interview, David Shaw, head of the Regent Street portfolio at The Crown Estate, said the company had been talking to Ralph Lauren for a number of years about mov-ing to the street.

Lauren said it was critical that Polo have a larger footprint in the British capital. “London is the coolest city — it’s so hap-pening, fun and creative and it’s an energy we’ve always connected with. Every year we go over for Wimbledon and we’re cele-brating it even if we’re not there. We love being part of the culture — it’s so vibrant on so many levels,” he said.

The store, with its uptown-meets-down-town New York interiors — a mix of warm woods, oriental rugs, butcher’s tiles and an old-style cage elevator — is also the embod-iment of the brand’s new vision under chief executive officer Stefan Larsson, whose focus is on amping up the brand’s aspirational DNA; owning the classic, iconic styles, and making everything more “current and desirable.”

Lauren was particularly enthusiastic about the store’s customization service, which the brand has had success with online — making shirts with various colors, monogramming and ponies galore.

“Now we’re offering up dogs, teddy bears, crests — we can customize your own

crest. And we’ll be adding new surprises — different sports and cars — all kinds of different, fun ideas you can build into your shirt.”

The store is offering a same-day per-sonalization, done by in-house stitching machines, and the service will soon be expanded further into other products — such as caps — and more symbols for the holiday season. Customers can pick their personal elements on an iPad.

“It’s the first of its kind, and over the next six to eight months, we’re going to be evolving it dramatically,” Lauren said.

At the customization counter there are techy touches such as light projections that change the color of the display shirts or beam cartoonish scenes across them — such as a Polo bear hoisting an American flag on a pole, or Polo ponies galloping toward a goal.

“You can really see the product come to life in front of your eyes in a really cool, techy way,” Lauren said.

The lower-floor ground floor houses the customization area and casual men’s wear, while the ground floor is home to haber-dashery and other tailored men’s wear.

Polo women’s apparel and accessories is upstairs, as is Polo Sport for women, which launches fully this fall. Children’s wear is also stocked on the upper level.

Lauren declined to give first-year sales estimates for the store.

According to Shaw of The Crown Estate, prime Zone A rental prices on Regent Street (or the ground-floor areas of a store closest to the street) are currently going for 500 to 600 pounds, or $665 to $800 at current exchange, a square foot. ■

RETAIL

Polo Ralph Lauren Takes Up Residence On Regent Street

Here and below: inside Ralph Lauren’s new Regent Street store.

12 SEPTEMBER 16, 2016

● IDC projected that smartwatch shipments would rise to 50 million by 2020, up from a projected 20.1 million this year.

BY EVAN CLARK

The smartwatch could be something of a sleeper that’s about to wake up.

International Data Corp. projected total smartwatch shipments would rise just 3.9 percent this year, to 20.1 million units, as many of the new products in the market were launched either late in the year or represented modest updates on existing models.

But that growth’s expected to skyrocket, pushing unit volume to 50 million by 2020,

with a total value of $17. 8 billion.“To date, smartwatches have remained

in the realm of brand loyalists and tech cognoscenti, but we expect that to change over the next few years,” said Ramon Llamas, research manager for IDC’s Wear-ables unit.

Llamas said the growth would be driven by designs that look and feel more like traditional watches, versions that don’t require cell phones to connect to cellular networks and lower prices.

Smartwatches, and wearable tech in general, have been simmering on fashion’s back burner for years, promising a big leap forward, but delivering largely niche items that fail to do much more than inspire the imagination.

Apple’s foray into watches last year seemed to be the best chance for a break-through. And although the Apple Watch quickly became the leader — IDC expects Apple’s platform, WatchOS, to account for just over half of total shipments in the category this year — smartwatches have yet to take over.

Fashion brands, perhaps sensing the same kind of growth that IDC is predicting, are marshaling their efforts to get into the budding category.

Michael Kors unveiled smartwatches this month, powered by Google’s Android plat-form and modeled after its own Bradshaw and Dylan styles, with interchangeable leather, silicon or steel wristbands. Fossil started off this year with a big push, and plans to roll out more than 100 connected devices in time for the holidays.

And last week, Apple cut the price of its initial Apple Watch and introduced an update, which is waterproof and includes a speedier processor, improved graphics, a brighter screen and its own GPS to track one’s movements without an iPhone.

IDC’s definition of smartwatches includes devices that can run third-party applications, such as the Apple Watch, Samsung’s Gear S3, Motorola’s Moto 360 and Pebble’s Watch.

The market intelligence and advisory firm said the broader wearable market, which also includes basic wearables such as wristbands, apparel would see unit vol-umes more than double from a projected 102.2 million this year to 224.4 million in 2020, for a five-year compounded annual growth rate of 23.2 percent.

In a relatively stagnant market for fash-ion, that counts as some serious growth potential. ■

● In its expansion, the Gap-owned retailer is treated somewhat as an innovation center.

BY MAGHAN MCDOWELL

San Francisco — Intermix is finally ready to make the San Francisco scene.

Almost four years since its acquisition by Gap Inc., the retailer opened a store in its corporate parent’s hometown Thursday.

The trendy multibrand retailer, which is headquartered in New York, isn’t totally new to the Bay Area. And it arrives with the cushion of considerable brand aware-ness that comes from a store in Marin (to the north) and in tech-centric Palo Alto (to the south). President Jyothi Rao said data gleaned from its e-commerce arm shows that Intermix has a robust client base in San Francisco.

Intermix made its San Francisco home at 2223 Fillmore Street in the city’s posh Fillmore District, which is particularly attractive area, with affluent residents from a range of demographics, including tech-flush transplants dressing for IPO parties, plugged-in international tourists and moneyed Pacific Heights moms.

The chain is also adding doors in Hawaii and in Miami by year’s end, bringing its total to 43, up from 32 when Gap bought it for $130 million in January 2013.

Intermix took its time in coming to San Francisco.

“We were looking for the perfect location, because we were very picky and careful about where we wanted to be,” said Rao, who joined Intermix in 2014. (Founder Khajak Keledjian left the company over a year ago, according to a source).

The Fillmore neighborhood, which is

home to Rebecca Minkoff, Marc Jacobs, Rag & Bone and most recently SpaceNK, is notoriously tricky, because it doesn’t welcome businesses that are perceived as “chains.”

Rao countered: “We don’t consider our-selves a chain store. We consider ourselves a collection of highly localized boutiques.”

Intermix’s offering, store design and marketing is increasingly targeted to the local customer. The Fillmore store’s assortment will be different than the lineup in Marin or Palo Alto. Rao said the San Francisco vibe has an “elevated, cool and feminine” point of view with more edge that will complement staples such as denim and woven shirts. It will be the first on the street to carry brands such as Cinq à Sept, Barbara Bui and Caroline Constas, Rao said. Prices range from $60 to $2,640, and the average price is approximately $400.

The actual store is “very small — a beau-tiful jewel box,” Rao said. It’s about 2,500 square feet, with details such as crown molding, brass and marble. In addition to a redesign, Intermix commissioned a hand-painted mural from local artist Kelly Ording.

Despite choppy waters at Gap Inc. in recent years — sales have been consistently down and the company closed its Piper-lime business in 2015 — Rao sees incredible potential for growth for Intermix both in stores and online.

“We don’t look at our business in this very siloed way,” she said. “That is an out-dated way to look at a business. The store is an extension of the web site and the web site is an extension of the store and we are trying more and more to bring those channels closer together.”

She emphasized the personal styling services of its boutiques, adding that customers can make a stylist appointment on the web site or have items shipped from other stores. In the corporate office, the merchandise is treated as “one pool of inventory,” and very few of the 100 or more employees are dedicated specifically to stores or e-commerce. This, Rao said,

simply reflects how the client looks at the brand. “I very much believe in stores, but not in a huge expansion of the store fleet.”

At a time when experimental in-store technologies have reached fever pitch — smart mirrors, heat-tracking cameras, robot assistants and the like have become all the rage — she said investing in the retail experience isn’t just a matter of technology.

“I believe in leveraging technology in a way that is meaningful to clients that gives them a better experience and helps them achieve what they are trying to achieve,” she said. “It’s not about getting wrapped up in whatever the next hot thing is that everyone is thinking about. If your clients don’t care about it, you’re just wasting money and time.”

And as much as she respects Amazon, which is the clearly established e-com-merce leader, she likes to think of Intermix as the opposite. “We are the anti-endless aisle, and our value proposition is entirely different.”

While the acquisition of the relatively small Intermix was a head-scratcher to some, the chain serves as something of a low-risk incubator for testing retail concepts.

For instance, Intermix’s store in New York’s Meatpacking District unveiled a project this month called “Next Big Things,” which stocked goods from emerg-ing fashion talent in an adjacent space, including handmade shoes by Malone Sou-liers and “envelope-pushing” silhouettes by Beaufille.

“We can write the playbook on what pitfalls to avoid, yet we get to adopt tech-nologies that we might not get to afford as a standalone business of our size,” said Rao, who’s shying away from incessant promotions that plague retail in favor of personalization.

“Department stores are struggling, and they will become more real estate compa-nies than retailers over time,” Rao said. “It’s hard to get a personal experience, and pure-play retailers don’t have stores. And we can provide that.” ■

RETAIL

Bay Area Business: Intermix Opens

The new Intermix store in San Francisco.

IDC projected the smartwatch category would take off after modest growth this year.

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[Néstor] was able to see something else in the pictures he was filming for me. Some-one will say, ‘Why are you photographing the clouds,’ and I say, ‘This is what it’s all about, isn’t it?’”

In Vietnam with Kate Moss for a Vogue story, Weber visited orphanages and photographed street children. He captured Iman and David Bowie on the beach in Cape Town, and shot them with Nelson Mandela. “It was interesting being in South Africa just as apartheid was ending with a couple — one white and the other black,” he says. “Because of their personalities, they were so admired. All that stuff went out the window.”

So does Weber believe that fashion is frivolous? “I enjoyed working with [stylist] Joe McKenna, who’s not just interested in the clothes, he’s interested in the people and what’s going on in the kitchen. We kind of explored houses and gardens together.”

One of those houses in Chatsworth, England, which belongs to the Duke of Devonshire. “I was doing a story with Stella Tenant at the [late] duchess’ house. The duchess and the rest of the family were arguing. They didn’t want her to be in the picture. We bonded over her love of

● From Kate Moss to a Duchess, the veteran lensman proves he takes more than just photos of perfect physiques.

BY SHARON EDELSON

Bruce Weber is about more than just pretty faces and well-toned bodies.

“Far From Home,” the largest exhibition of Weber’s work since a 1999 survey at the National Portrait Gallery in London, opens Saturday at the Dallas Contemporary and examines the photographer’s 40-year plus career through a different lens.

Famed for his iconic advertising images for brands such as Abercrombie & Fitch, Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein — often featuring barely clothed or naked models — Weber says of his style, “I don’t really think about that too much. I’ve been pho-tographing girls and guys in clothes and out of clothes for about 40 years.”

There also is his editorial work for the likes of Vogue, W and GQ and “Far From Home” juxtaposes fashion photos from Weber’s trips to Vietnam, South Africa, Morocco, Brazil, Sweden and more with images of locals working, relaxing and playing. Weber says he thought of his fashion sittings as the starting point for a broader exploration of each place’s culture and unique characters. The show features more than 250 photographs – many of which have never been seen before – as well as a selection of Weber’s short film work.

“When I first started [working for magazines], we’d always take a writer with us and it opened up this whole world,”

Elvis Presley. She said, ‘Come on up. Do you want to start in the bathtub?’”

Weber has strong feelings for Kate Moss. “When I look at some pictures of Kate, she’s still kept that mystery about her,” he says. “She’s never done an interview about her life and that’s why photographers really loved her. We’ll never know another Kate in my lifetime. I was really lucky and honored to do so many trips with her.”

Weber was nostalgic about a shoot with Moss in Vietnam for Vogue. “We had this big ballgown that we carried all over Vietnam,” he recalls. Moss was standing on a grassy lawn wearing the pale blue striped gown with an enormously long train, when serendipitously a white-haired Vietnamese man “just walked out of the mist in his pajamas, which really pretty closely matched Kate’s dress. People were really open to showing a little bit of their lives and also the sadness. So many people suffered so much in the war.”

Weber’s camera was an ice-breaker over the years. “I only felt comfortable travel-ing when I had my camera,” he explains. “You’re more than a tourist then, you can sort of walk up to anyone.”

People are more guarded today, he says. “On my first trip to Italy with Isabella Ros-sellini, so many people embraced us. They came out of the kitchens and came out of stores. They opened their homes and hearts to us because they remembered the romantic time when her mom [Ingrid Berg-man] and dad [Roberto Rossellini] were in love and made the film, ‘Stromboli.’

“We took the car with her family and drove all over Italy,” Weber adds. “Isabella was so open and free, not because she’s an actress, but because she’s that way as a person.”

One thing Weber doesn’t like is when subjects turn up with an entourage. “Actors who used to come to my loft now show up with 10 people,” he says. “If an editor asks me for a portrait of an actor, I can’t promise. I was working for Vanity Fair’s Hollywood issue and a young actor said, ‘I only want to do pictures when I’m promoting something.’” Weber sarcasti-cally replied, “I only do pictures when I’m recording your life.” Luckily, there’s Kim Kardashian, who showed up last summer with only her baby and her mother, Kris.

Weber has some lingering doubt about whether the exhibition will appeal to a public focused more on celebrity than world events. “Maybe the show [at the Dal-las Contemporary] will only mean some-thing to me,” he says, then adds, “Maybe the show is a record of that time.”

Weber is cautious about where he trav-els. “Sometimes I don’t think it’s right to go to a place until you feel it’s emotionally right,” he says. “I like to have a personal reaction to a place.” He’s also cognizant of how transmutable the world has become. Better to keep his memories intact. “Some-times it’s good if you don’t go back,” he says.

EYE

Bruce Weber: ‘Far From Home’

he says. “We’d meet a painter, musician or statesman. I’d do portraits of them and sometimes we’d just throw them into a fashion spread.”

Weber broke editorial conventions with the portraits — and palm trees, balloons and close-ups of craggy old men — and advertisers cried, “Where’s the merch?” But the practice was established. “What is a fashion picture and what isn’t?” he asks. “Portraits are sometimes very much the real fashion picture.”

Working in the late-Eighties on his first commercial for Lauren, filmed by “Sophie’s Choice” cinematographer Néstor Almendros, Weber had an epiphany. “Néstor was filming a gardener, this really handsome guy with his hands and clothes all dirty, who was planting vegetables.

Bruce Weber's crowd at a volleyball match in Rio de Janeiro, 1986, part of "Far

From Home."

Rickson Gracie and his son, Rawkson, Prainha Beach, Rio de Janeiro.

Talisa photographed in Paris.

The late Deborah Mitford, Duchess of Devonshire, with her grandson at Old Vicarage on Chatsworth Estate, England, 2010.

14 SEPTEMBER 16, 2016

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● The exhibit, “The Woman Who Reads,” charts Gabrielle Chanel’s life through her association with artists of her time and her books.

BY LUISA ZARGANI

VENICE — Being connected today has become a way of life, but Chanel’s latest Culture exhibition takes the visitor back to a very different way of being linked to others.

Curator Jean-Louis Froment offers an intimate glimpse into Gabrielle Chanel through her association with artists of her time and her books in the exhibition, which is called “The Woman Who Reads” and which was unveiled Thursday at Ca’ Pesaro, the Venice museum of modern and contemporary art.

“Chanel was part of the world, she was connected in her time,” said Bruno Pavlov-sky, the house’s president of fashion. The designer’s friendship with artists, writers and poets fueled her creativity, he said. He underscored how the exhibition also emphasizes the link with Karl Lagerfeld and his own work at the company.

To be sure, Froment said that by high-lighting what shaped Chanel’s creativity and bridging it to Lagerfeld’s own designs — the only clothes on display — the exhibit is also an homage to the German designer. “It shows what is behind Karl Lagerfeld, too,” said Froment.

For example, in one room of the Baroque palace facing the Grand Canal, a black silk tulle dress embroidered with golden stars from the Métiers d’Art

“Paris-Dallas” 2013-14 collection by Lager-feld was inspired by Chanel’s 1932 dia-mond star brooches and manuscripts and drawings by Jean Cocteau on constellations and jewels.

A handwritten draft letter to Chanel by Igor Stravinsky from 1933 is only one of the pieces displayed near an evening multicol-ored outfit in printed velvet covered with black silk mousseline edged with green beaver fur that Lagerfeld designed for the fall 1997 collection with a Russian feel.

Cocteau’s study for a production of the tragedy “Antigone” from 1922 translated into a jersey coat in light and dark gray cashmere with geometric patterns by Lagerfeld for fall 2004.

“It’s very important to look to the

future, but we also have to remind people that Chanel has roots,” said Pavlovsky.

On display are manuscripts, notes and drawings that were in Chanel’s apartment in Rue Cambon from artists including Salvador Dalí and Pierre Reverdy, as well as books and works by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti and Iliazd, such as a copy of “Afat” illustrated with six original etchings by Pablo Picasso, and miniature crystal trees by Misia Sert. The exhibition also displays rare pieces such as a “Madame Bovary” manuscript by Gustave Flaubert and Picasso’s “Woman Seated in an Arm-chair.” A statue of Aphrodite and an Asian stone that Chanel called “Aérolithe” are among other intriguing items on display.

The first Culture Chanel exhibition

dates back to 10 years ago, but Pavlovsky underscored how relevant it was to stage “The Woman Who Reads” in Venice, the only city that would allow one to explore such “deep” subject matters, he said. The late designer lived in the Italian city after the death of her beloved Arthur Boy Capel, described by Froment as Chanel’s “cultural mentor,” who introduced her to philoso-phy, spiritualism, Indian texts and poetry, for example.

“He understood how intuitive she was,” said the curator. “Chanel is not only a brand, but an object of culture. It could seem abstract but it is not, we go to the root of creativity.”

Asked about future exhibits, Froment responded: “I don’t know if this stops a cycle or if it opens another one. I am rarely dominated by my work, I keep my distance, but this touched me with its plethora of archetypes.”

Keira Knightley and Anna Mouglalis were some of the celebrities expected at a cocktail and dinner event on Thursday to mark the opening of the exhibit, which will run until Jan. 8.

Separately, Ca’ Pesaro executives revealed that Chanel had made two donations of an undisclosed amount to the museum to help restore a staircase and a 1907 work, comprising 14 paintings, called “The Poem of Human Life” by Giulio Aristide Sartorio.

FASHION

Chanel Exhibit Opens in Venice

● He was founder Charles Revson’s handpicked choice of a successor.

BY FAYE BROOKMAN

Michel C. Bergerac, 84, who succeeded Charles Revson as Revlon chairman and chief executive officer in 1975, died Sep-tember 11, 2016 at New York-Presbyterian Hospital after a long illness. Most recently he was chairman of M.C. Bergerac & Co., an investments and advisory company based in New York.

Revson, who hid his cancer diagnoses at the time, courted Bergerac away from International Telephone & Telegraph Corp. where he was head of the European sub-sidiary. “Revson was always an admirer of ITT’s chairman Harold Geneen,” recalled Allan Mottus who covered Bergerac’s appointment for WWD. Bergerac had been considered a contender to succeed

Geneen.Coincidentally, there was already a

Bergerac on the Revlon payroll, Michel’s older brother Jacques, a former actor, headed up the beauty giant’s Paris office.

Revson lured Bergerac with what was then an unusual tactic in business circles — a $1.3 million signing bonus. That earned him the nickname Catfish after baseball’s Catfish Hunter who had signed a massive bonus to join the Yankees. The announce-ment of Bergerac’s appointment was kept under wraps, recalled Mottus. “The big deal then was that Charles passed over and put at risk losing his cosmetic execs,” recalled Mottus of the shroud of secrecy that even included Bergerac’s brother.

Former Revlon executive Stanley Kohlenberg recalled getting a tip from Mot-tus that the story was breaking in WWD. “He said ‘We’re running a story on a guy named Bergerac.’ I said, ‘Who’s he?’ No one knew about it.”

Kohlenberg said Revson handpicked Bergerac to help him achieve his goal of building Revlon into a megacompany like ITT. “He thought he was capable of building Revlon into a conglomerate so the Revson name would live on,” Kohlen-berg said. “Although a good businessman, unfortunately he never seemed to under-stand the cosmetics industry. One thing he wanted was for new product development to take 15 months to one year — can you

imagine a cosmetics company waiting that long?”

Upon Revson’s death in 1975, Bergerac assumed the title of ceo and chairman of the board. He diversified beyond cosmet-ics, overseeing 11 acquisitions including Coburn Optical and Armour Pharmaceuti-cals, and expanded Revlon’s distribution. But during his time, Revlon lost momen-tum against competition from Estée Lauder and L’Oréal.

Bergerac was an avid hunter and Kohlen-berg recalled the display of his conquests mounted in his apartment. But in the end, the prey that got away was Revlon. Bergerac resigned in November 1985 after a hostile takeover by Ronald O. Perelman’s Pantry Pride Inc. It was reported at that time that Perelman paid $1.8 billion for Revlon’s stock. He remains the majority owner.

Bergerac was born in Biarritz, France, on Feb. 13, 1932. He received a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in econom-ics from the University of Paris and then received his MBA from the University of California at Los Angeles on a Fulbright scholarship.

He is survived by his wife Alice and several family members in the U.S., France and South America.

No further memorial service informa-tion was known at press time.

BEAUTY

Ex-Revlon Chief Michel Bergerac, 84

Portrait of Gabrielle Chanel on her sofa, July 1962.

Jean-Louis Froment

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

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ISSUE October 5 | CLOSE September 21 | MATERIALS September 26

An Advertising Opportunity

FASHIONAn in-depth look at what it takes to go from

runway to retail in real time.

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NEW YORK — Frolicking through the halls of New York City Ballet’s Formica underbelly, corps de bal-let members Indiana Woodward and Emilie Gerrity — dressed in airy chiffon costumes by Narciso Rodriguez — have reason to cel-ebrate. Their close friend, Lauren Lovette, has chosen them as stars of her first choreographic effort for the company — set to premiere at City Ballet’s gala on Tuesday with a cast of 17 all dressed in Rodriguez’s designs.

Giddy and lackadaisical are words not oft employed to de-scribe the ordinarily stern ballet environment. But that departure is deliberate, per Lovette, who cast her closest comrades in the piece, titled “For Clara,” and

honed a rehearsal environment where “I thought if I could give people one or two hours a day where they feel good about themselves and remember why they love dancing then I could do something worthwhile, something special,” the 24-year-old says after an afternoon run-through, where she choreographed the piece’s final steps.

A known sunny presence in the company, Lovette — promoted to principal in June 2015 — has spread her wings in the last year, rising to become one of City Ballet’s perennial faces, her angelic disposition gracing Parisian Métro stops this summer in ads to promote the company’s Théâtre du Châtelet residency.

Her tie-up with Rodriguez is a new chapter in City Ballet’s tra-dition for fall fashion galas. Now in its fifth year, the program sees company patron Sarah Jessica Parker pair choreographers with famous fashion designers. This year will also see Jason Wu design costumes for a piece by Peter Walker; Rosie Assoulin for Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, and Dries Van Noten for Justin Peck.

Lovette, who naturally gravi-tates toward clean, simple de-signs in her own wardrobe, found the collaboration with Rodriguez to be organic. “He was my num-ber-one choice; I was ecstatic. I didn’t know who he would be as a person, he is so nice and humble and down-to-earth. Our

first meeting went so smoothly,” she says.

At the time of their initial discus-sions, Lovette only had a rough idea of the steps of “For Clara” — she hesitated to lie out the performance until she had her cast in the studio, leaving only two weeks’ time to map the 15-minute piece. “I knew he would have an idea,” she says of her trust in the designer.

For the occasion, Rodriguez has created a tableau of nude and pale pink with graphic black inlays, “to take the sort of classi-cal romantic things about ballet and give them an edge,” he says.

Key dancers will don flotsam dresses with black mesh under-lays. Rising corps dancer Unity

Phelan will be dressed in a light pink leotard, with black bands cut-ting a sharp figure at her obliques. The corps will uniformly dance in all black, their Empire waist leo-tards paired with a single-ply long chiffon skirt.

While Rodriguez originally envi-sioned the chiffon garments as translucent and rather revealing, an “ongoing debate” has since transpired – leading City Ballet’s costume shop to develop linings for each costume. “I completely understand that there is the illu-sion of someone wearing nothing underneath and then the shock value of that, which I guess they weren’t into,” he concedes.

On his approach to the project, Rodriguez adds: “I think the cos-tumes should be about them and sort of liberate their bodies so you can see them in action, there is the ornamentation of dance — its storytelling aspect — and for me it’s about focusing on their hard work.”

While fun shenanigans may be amok in Lovette’s studio, the work is tedious nonetheless. In “For Clara,” dancers undulate in aquatic formations, spiraling to the ground and leaping cross-stage to a rich score by Robert Schumann. Lovette says the cho-reography is inspired “by things that I feel pretty doing, so I feel like maybe [the cast] will feel pretty doing it, too. I want to give people the stuff I see them practicing on the side but can’t always do. Whether the ballet is a success or not matters less to me than people having a really good time and getting something out of it.”

Lovette’s debut is first on the gala’s agenda, to be followed by another debut by Peck, City Ballet resident choreographer. With a score by Bohuslav Martinu, his third work with the composer, Peck has decided to tackle a pas

de deux – enlisting Van Noten to design its two costumes.

“For me I feel more secure working with larger groups and feel a little more vulnerable with this setup because it’s just two dancers. It’s just a different kind of formula to work with, it’s been challenging and fun,” he says of the piece.

With little to hide behind, Peck — observed at a fitting for the piece’s costumes — is astute of each detail. Principals Amar Ramasar and Sara Mearns will wear an earthy color palette inspired by mid-century artists including Mark Rothko.

The piece’s choreography is taxing — as both dancers were observed post-rehearsal, drenched in sweat. It’s lucky then that Mearns’ ensemble — a simple dress — is an anomaly for ballet costumes, which can typically prove restrictive and warm. Ramasar will wear a shirt and pants, accompanied by an unconventional one-shouldered embroidered vest.

Van Noten says of the project: “I sought that the male protagonist, danced by Amar, be rooted in the palette of a man’s sartorial ward-robe. For the female character Sara portrays, our references remained more ethereal. The hues and warmth of an autumnal sunset.”

For him, the connections be-tween dance and fashion are boundless: “Clothing is a second skin that can emphasize move-ment, form and grace. It may nod to who we may be, it is as visual as it is sensual.

“All of these aspects of gar-ments and a designer’s expres-sion can [relate to] the intentions of a choreographer in building a moment, a tension, a unison, a character, a situation, a story.” — MISTY WHITE SIDELL

Designers Outfit Performers At New York City BalletThe designs by Narciso Rodriguez and Dries Van Noten are set to debut at the company’s Tuesday gala.

Woodward and Gerrity with choreographer and

dancer Lauren Lovette.

Sara Mearns in a costume by Dries van Noten.

Dancer on the rise Unity Phelan in a design by Rodriguez.

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18 SEPTEMBER 16, 2016

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Early Big Move Newly minted chief executive officer Rich Battista has made his first big appointment with the promotion of Jen Wong to the role of chief operating officer. Wong was brought on as presi-dent of digital in December.

In the new role, Wong will work closely with Battista on the

company’s overall strategy and execution, while maintaining her oversight of Time Inc.’s digital operations, strategy, product development and continued oversight of the company’s con-tent studio, The Foundry. Wong will add oversight of the firm’s consumer marketing and reve-nue division, including Synapse, Bizrate Insights and TCS. Leslie Dukker Doty, executive vice president of consumer marketing

and revenue, who joined Time Inc. earlier this year, will now report to Wong.

Battista told WWD that as Time Inc. continues to “transition” into the digital age, he wanted a “partner” with that DNA.

“Jen has been here only 10 months and has made incredible contributions to the company,” he said, nodding to her work accelerating the growth of The Foundry and the streamlining of Time Inc.’s technology.

“She has brought in a culture of the digital world,” the ceo added, offering that they both have an “entrepreneurial bend” as well as a leadership style characterized

by “speed and decisiveness.”For her part, Wong said she

would continue executing on the firm’s native advertising offering, advertising targeting technology and unifying the company’s platform.”

In running the consumer marketing division, Wong will also begin leveraging Time Inc.’s direct-to-consumer marketing capabilities to partner with subscription businesses.

“Today we talk about ad sales but forget that Time Inc. is one of the biggest direct-to-consumer companies,” Wong said.

She called out Birchbox as an example, noting Time Inc. could

supply the technology to help the company fulfill subscriptions. The development of such a business could be a lucrative new revenue stream for Time Inc.

Wong joined Time Inc. from Popsugar Inc. where she held the role of chief business officer. From 2011 to 2015, she led business operations and the company’s media and commerce businesses. Wong previously held several executive manage-ment roles at AOL and, earlier in her career, worked with a range of digital media and technology clients at McKinsey & Co. — ALEX-ANDRA STEIGRAD

Dawn in MoscowHot Russian men’s designer Gosha Rubchinskiy, who has begun incubating labels even younger than his own, plans to introduce a new skate brand.

Called Paccbet and pro-nounced Rassviet, the Russian word for dawn, it is the brainchild of skateboarder Tolia Titaev and his friends.

Like Rubchinskiy’s collection, it will be produced and distributed by Comme des Garçons. Expect a selection of skateboards, T-shirts, hoodies and caps priced from about $26 to $180.

They are to launch exclusively at Dover Street Market in London, New York and Tokyo, Comme’s Paris Trading Museum and their respective e-shops from Sat-urday.

Comme des Garçons has a legacy of incubating promising designers, including the likes of Andre Walker and Ganyru. Rubchinskiy is carrying the torch and has already hosted a new collection by his friend Valen-tin Fufaev under the moniker Doublecheeseburger at Dover Street.

According to Comme des Garçons, “Tolia and Gosha met through the Moscow skate scene. They have evolved side by side in this creative commu-nity for over a decade. As the kids grow, the scene grows, and Gosha wants to help give a voice to this new generation.” — MILES SOCHA

It’s a DealThe Authentic Brands Group-led consortium to buy bankrupt Aéropostale Inc. for $243.3 million as a going concern has closed on the transaction. According to Jamie Salter, chairman and chief executive officer of ABG, the updated plan calls for “up to 400 doors” to stay open, a move that would save what now appears to be closer to 7,000 jobs.

The consortium includes land-lords Simon Property Group and General Growth Properties, who will partner with ABG to operate the stores. ABG will own the intellectual property assets.

Salter said Thursday that the company will be launching a wholesale business and has plans for shops-in-shop with other retailers.

ABG is putting together a man-agement team for the Aéropost-ale operation. Salter said the addition of Aéropostale “propels the retail revenue driven by ABG’s brands to more than $4.5 billion in retail sales worldwide.”

Sandeep Mathrani, chief exec-utive officer of General Growth, said the “go-forward portfolio of stores generates more than $1 billion in global retail sales [with] more than $800 million of which is from the U.S.”

David Simon, chairman and ceo of Simon Property Group, said, “We are pleased to be part of this consortium that has saved thousands of jobs and preserved a legendary American brand.”

Separately, John Erlandson has been promoted to chief revenue officer at ABG. Erlandson will lead ABG’s revenue growth strategy to align and drive all new licensing revenue generation on a global basis. The sports and fashion pillars, business devel-opment and business affairs teams will report to Erlandson. Further, Adam Geisler is the new group executive vice president of sports and Matthew Nordby has been promoted to president of international business develop-ment and gaming at ABG. — VICKI M. YOUNG

Ghost Man“I always knew that I would get Gucci’s attention one way or another,” said Trevor Andrew, aka Trouble Andrew, aka GucciGhost, Wednesday evening. Given that he was speaking from the luxury brand’s Fifth Avenue boutique — where it was hosting a cocktail party for him — we’ll say mission achieved.

A pair of New York Fashion Week-branded Lexus automo-biles were parked outside the store, waiting dutifully to escort party hoppers around town. While many of those in atten-dance — Hari Nef, Petra Collins — have been dashing about all week, a rather shy-seeming Andrew had been preserving his energy. “I saved it all for this,” he said, secluded from the party scene in the boutique’s cash wrap. “This is the first event, we have three or four more. It’s been a constant flow of creative. I’ve been at home painting and cutting together the video that’s playing.”

Throughout the store, his graf-fiti-art creations for Gucci were strewn. “Oh god, we even had to

spray paint all the TVs,” an em-ployee mumbled, clearly on his last fashion-week nerve. A man carting a plastic tray of Shake Shack burgers was mobbed by heeled fashion tropes seizing the opportunity to abandon their fashion week diets.

“I created the Gucci Ghost art project, basically from a sketch to a Halloween costume, [and now am] experiencing people’s reac-tions to this idea,” Andrew said. “It just reinforced my motivation to push it and push everything around me into this Gucci life-style. Painting on everything and using so many different mediums and platforms to showcase this idea and put it out. I loved that it made people curious.”

His “art project” found its way to Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele through An-drew’s friend, the photographer Ari Marcopoulos, who shot look books for the brand, and Andrew received a call to travel to Rome. “I always felt like they should do this, like this would work. But it wasn’t guaranteed, like, ‘Oh yeah, I’m getting the call.’ But I knew I was right in terms of something that could apply. I just kept push-ing it, and I think what you put out into the world is what you get back. I stayed positive with it.”

So what’s he going to go as for Halloween this year? “Gucci Ghost would be appropriate,” he

said. “I would like to see a whole bunch of Gucci Ghosts.” — LEIGH NORDSTROM

CheersTrent Fraser, vice president of Dom Perignon, an LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA com-pany, is leaving the firm to launch a new brand. After seven years at the U.S. helm of the Prestige Cuvée Champagne house, Fras-er will be leading a new company for LVMH. Details of the position will be revealed later this fall. The venture, which he has been work-ing on for two years, will capital-ize on his skills in the liquor-spirits industry. Fraser played a pivotal role in elevating the desirability and success of Dom Perignon through his collaborations with artists, musicians, celebrities and business executives. — LISA LOCKWOOD

Lighting Up LFWThe Outnet.com, Net-a-porter’s sister discount site, has mount-ed a public light installation for London Fashion Week, which starts today.

The installation is housed in Lights of Soho, a private mem-ber’s club, just a few steps away from Brewer Street Carpark, the

hub of London Fashion Week.Made Up Ltd., a company that

creates bespoke event experi-ences, was commissioned by the online retailer to craft an interactive light installation. The creation was designed with a bespoke LED screen made up of over 1,200 bulbs in a palette of 28 colors. The installation was designed to react to the user’s personal style.

In addition to the #LightUpThe-Room concept, the online retailer has created a lounge with Wi-Fi access and charging areas for mobile devices.

The Outnet’s executive vice president of sales, marketing and creative Andres Sosa noted that having “a voice and pres-ence during LFW can pose as a challenge” and decided to create the installation to have a “credi-ble and relevant voice during the showcase.”

“This unique light installation will allow us to create an inclu-sive, interactive and digital expe-rience not only for the fashion industry, but also to our custom-ers and the public,” said Sosa. “Participants will be part of a global shareable social moment, as light and color are the perfect global mediums to bring one’s personal style to life.”

The installation will run from Friday until Tuesday. — LORELEI MARFIL

All of the Lights“This is the highlight,” Christina Ricci said, from Marc Jacobs’ spring 2017 show, likely no pun intended as she stood beneath the glow of dangling bulbs staged in the ballroom. Jacobs closed out New York Fashion Week as always, but this season with some changes — his show moved from 6 p.m. at the Park Avenue

Armory to 2 p.m. across town at the Hammerstein Ballroom on 34th Street.

Demi Lovato, Tracee Ellis Ross, Ricci, Malin Akerman, Carla Gugi-no, Courtney Love and Zosia Ma-met were all on hand to watch the equally starry Irina Shayk, Karlie Kloss, Kendall Jenner and Bella Hadid strut through ballroom for Jacobs’ spring 2017.

Ricci, a usual front row favor-ite, whittled her appearances down to just Marc Jacobs and Monse, from which she favored “the orange sequin number,” she said as her publicist tugged on her sleeve. Jacobs’ notoriety for promptness had even celebrity publicists nervous the show would begin without their clients perched in the assigned (cam-era-ready) seats.

“Actually, someone just sent me some pictures from college and I’m wearing a Marc Jacobs sweater,” Ellis Ross said, coming off the step and repeat, moments after Lovato and her posse of assistants breezed by. Ellis Ross wore Jacobs’ resort collection at the VMAs to introduce Rihanna, “It’s been a long relationship, me and his clothes,” she said.

“This is only my third show,” Ak-erman said. “And me my second,” Gugino added. “We were actually pretty selective in a really fun way, and I guess [my secret to surviving fashion week] has been friends. The fact that we’ve got-ten to go together makes it just really...” — at that point, Akerman jumped in: “It makes it fun,” she said, driving home the whole friendship message. “It makes it a fun outing, like a girls’ day.” See, isn’t fashion week sweet?

And for all the editors, bloggers and scenesters whining their way through the collections, Gugino has little sympathy: “Anyone who’s really, truly tired by going to fashion shows might need to address their health issues.” — LEIGH NORDSTROM

Fashion Scoops

Memo Pad

Hari Nef

Hari NefFront Row at Marc Jacobs

RTW Spring 2017

Jen Wong