DAILY EDITION NOVEMBER 2, 2016 1

Fashion. Beauty. Business.

Quicker PaceCoach Inc.’s shares jumped following a 21.8 percent rise in Q1 profits.

Page 7

Tapping InfluenceLaura Mercier names Garance Dore a brand ambassador.

Page 13

Insta-ShopTwenty brands are testing a product detail feature on Instagram.

Page 9

● Los Angeles’ T-shirt king must reconcile with his past in order to move forward with his future.

BY KARI HAMANAKA

LOS ANGELES — Lots of weird things hap-pen in La-La Land but none are perhaps more curious than the T-shirt guy who's watching the manufacturing behemoth he built and was fired from crumble to a sale as he moves pallets in another part of town to erect a carbon copy of what he started some 27 years ago — only better, he hopes.

“American Apparel. What a scam,” muttered the retailer's controversy-prone founder Dov Charney as he walked briskly through a small factory in South Central.

It has been Charney’s contention since his official firing in December 2014 from American Apparel — the irreverent T-shirt brand with a valuation that swelled to $1 billion under his watch — that the company was stolen from him by way of a former chief financial officer, along with a hedge fund he was once aligned with.

As that company now folds in on itself,

● The L Brands ceo laid out the bull case for the firm's future — and weighed in on much, much more.

BY EVAN CLARK

Leslie Wexner knows which brands are clicking with consumers today and which aren't — and he isn't afraid to name names.

“Most fashion brands live about 10 years successfully," the L Brands chair-man and chief executive officer said Tuesday at the company's investors' day, which was mainly designed to pump up confidence in the retailer's Victoria's Secret division, which he admitted had grown stale.

He called out Starbucks, Nike and Louis Vuitton as the brands, outside the L Brands portfolio, that connect with consumers.

FASHION

Dov CharneyFights OnWith L.A.Start-up

BUSINESS

LeslieWexner:The BrandConnection

CONTINUED ON PAGE 11

CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

Fall weather on the East Coast can be fickle — unseasonably warm one day, bone-chillingly cold

the next — but New Yorkers are well-adjusted. A recent jaunt through the city saw residents

showing off inventive layering, lightweight jackets and polished ath-leisure looks.

For more street style in the city, see pages 5 and 6.

Photographs by Thomas Iannaccone

Sweater Weather

Learn More >

ARRIVING AT THE SEAPORT DISTRICT

IN 2017

Discover the Seaport of Tomorrow SeaportDistrict.nyc

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NOVEMBER 2, 2016 3

Stellar Gems ● Colorful and dramatic jewelry

never gets old.

Summit Time ● CEOs tackle topics from the

election to reframing fashion

and retail.

Narrow vs. Broad ● What’s better for business?

Expansion or a core focus?

Paul Stuart’s New Boss● Paulette Garafalo discusses her

strategies for the venerable men’s

wear retailer.

PLUS: ● Social Studies ● The Essentialist ● Arts & Culture

OUT THIS WEEK IN

“I only started tweeting two years ago and ended up sending photos of my ass all over the Internet. Tech is not my friend.”

— MARC JACOBS

NEWSMAKERSThis Week’s Most Talked About Names In Our Industry

Chuck Townsend

Dov Charney

Josephine Skriver

Dries Van Noten

“People will go the extra mile, walk a few extra yards, go past a Dunkin’ Donuts to go to a Starbucks,” he said.

Those missing the mark? Gap, Aber-crombie & Fitch, Ann Taylor and J. Crew, the retail legend said, pointing to the difficulties they face in renewing their businesses.

“Fashion retailing is one of change,” he said. “When you catch the wind, the cycles last eight or 10 years and then you have to constantly say, ‘How do I change this?’” he said.

That is the process Victoria's Secret is undergoing now. He said L Brands is at an “inflection point” (it’s now looking for sales growth of 7 percent to 10 percent starting in the second half of next year) and that the Victoria’s Secret brand is now on the right path.

“We had to make changes and in hindsight, the changes that we have made I wish we had taken those actions two years ago, or three,” he said. “In hind-sight, there was ample opportunity to change things dramatically.”

Wexner took the reins of Victoria’s Secret in February when the chain’s ceo Sharen Turney left and has since moved to exit the brand's apparel and swimwear businesses, focusing in on its core. The company will continue to feel the pinch of that decision through the first quarter.

“The brand just got older with the cus-tomer,” Wexner said of Victoria’s Secret.

That’s changing, he said, noting that younger women who come to the store to buy a bralette are spending more than their mothers. Victoria’s Secret has cut its promotions and is looking to grow faster from a tighter base.

But investors remained skeptical. Shares of the company ended the day down 7.9 percent to $66.50 after L Brands said before the meeting that Victoria’s Secret’s comparable sales fell 2 per-cent last month and that third-quarter

earnings would total about 40 cents a share, instead of the 40 to 45 cents the firm previously projected.

The 79-year-old Wexner seemed unfazed and at ease dispensing retail wisdom and cracking jokes even as he acknowledged that it was an important meeting to explain to investors where the company was going.

“What we value and what we work hard to create are great fashion brands and I contrast that with some store brands…there was a time when Gap was a great brand and the emotional content that went to the brand, giving it premium value and premium margin,” he said. “Abercrombie had that at some point in time.”

Never one to avoid controversy or a delicate subject, Wexner also waded into the craziness of the presidential election, the virtues of Alibaba, how most U.S. mall developers want to build “dinosaurs” and human nature.

And that was just at the fringes (where he said shoppers were distracted by the “peculiar” election where, “You can choose someone who’s absolutely nuts or someone who’s selfish and dishonest.”)

International expansion is a big part of how L Brands plans to keep moving forward and grow its businesses in the Middle East, Western Europe and China to all be as big as its U.S. operations.

Wexner said the company has been measured in its approach.

“We weren’t the first adopters to move into international; we weren’t in a stam-pede to build flagships all over the world. We deliberately wanted to be a patient second or a slow third,” he said.

But that’s not to say the ceo doesn’t feel the pressure to move.

“We can’t tarry and we can’t do things that would have been appropriate three, five or 10 years ago,” he said. “The world is moving too fast.”

The company is building something of a second home in China to grab the potential of that market.

“If you screw up Singapore, that would be embarrassing,” Wexner said. “If we screw up in China that would be, ‘Oh s--t.’ We’re not going to screw that up.”

And L Brands is getting some help navi-gating the digital market in China.

“Our new best friend is Alibaba,” Wexner said. “I think they know more than anyone else (and we have more than one best friend). They encourage us, we encourage them. Maybe next year we’ll have the [Victoria’s Secret] fashion show in Shanghai, maybe because we’re a global brand and we want to bring the brand around the world.

“There’s an enormous market,” he said of China. “So we’re going slow and carefully and a lot of people are spending a lot of time in [Alibaba’s home city of ] Hangzhou to get close to the guys who really know, and they also know about India and Southeast Asia.”

When Wexner’s attention returned back to the U.S. scene, he left no quarter.

After years of predicting that depart-ment stores would perish, he said, “They died, they just haven’t buried them yet.”

He also said the best malls would keep getting better, but that the overall mall universe would shrink, adding, “Most developers still want to build multilevel air-conditioned dinosaurs” instead of outdoor centers.

While L Brands is most definitely bet-ting on continued digital growth, Wexner said brick-and-mortar stores would remain important.

“Human nature is we like to go to the marketplace and see other people,” he said. “What we buy there may change.”

Right now, people aren’t buying very much and Wexner likened the wind up to the presidential election as a long distraction.

“We’ve had Halloween for the last four months in terms of the events in the world,” he said. “We have Nero and Caligula arguing about the future of Rome and like fools we’re listening to it.”

Besides that, he described the general economic conditions as “pretty good.”

“We’ve got to go to work every day and do what we do,” he said. “The stuff that happens in the environment, we’re aware of it. I just don’t spend a lot of time thinking about it, it’s just there.”

Leslie Wexner:The Brand Connection CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

● Profit growth accelerated in the third quarter on the back of an 18 percent uptick in revenue and a strong performance in China.

BY SAMANTHA CONTI

LONDON — Profit growth at Danish jeweler Pandora accelerated in the third quarter on the back of an 18 percent uptick in revenue and a strong perfor-mance in the world’s largest jewelry market: China.

The contemporary jeweler, known for its stackable rings and collectible beads and charms, is growing at a rate that would easily provoke envy among many hard luxury brands, which have been having a hard time selling watches in par-ticular, especially in the Far East.

Profit at the Copenhagen-based firm climbed 40 percent to 1.41 billion Danish kronor, or $211 million, while revenue rose 18 percent to 4.61 billion kronor, or $692 million.

Growth came from all geographical regions, and from an increase in the volume of items sold both in existing and

new stores.The company said the fall collection,

including the Pandora Rose line, made from a combination of metals made to resemble rose gold, was a hit. It will be launched in Asia-Pacific in October.

As a result of the third-quarter perfor-mance, the company raised its guidance for earnings before interest, taxes, depre-ciation and amortization, or EBITDA, for the full fiscal year.

The EBITDA margin is set to be around 39 percent, compared with more than 38 percent. Pandora said the revision is primarily based on a better-than-expected ability to cope with increasing production complexity, as well as marginally high-er-than-expected operating leverage.

The news wasn’t enough to satisfy investors, however: Shares closed down 5.8 percent to 831 kronor, or $122.

In the three months to Sept. 30, the company said it opened 90 concept stores. It has more than 2,000 concept stores across 100 countries, which gener-ate the bulk of sales.

Pandora sells through a mix of retail formats, including multibrand stores, e-commerce and branded shop-in-shops.

The company said in the third quarter, approximately 50 percent of revenue was generated by products that had launched over the last 12 months, similar to the corresponding period last year.

Revenue in the U.S. climbed 8 percent year-over-year, with growth was driven by the existing store network, as well as the addition of 31 new concept stores in the last 12 months.

In the same period, Pandora also closed a net 404 multibrand points of sale in the U.S., including 208 Jared stores. Pandora has upgraded to shop-in-shops at those points of sale.

The company noted that last month it opened its new production facility in Lamphun, close to Chiang Mai in northern Thailand. It will be ready to start commercial production at the start of 2017.

As part of the already-announced production capacity expansion program in Thailand, which will run until the end of 2019, Pandora has started the construc-tion of an additional site in Gemopolis, named Triple A.

Approximately 12,000 of the 18,000 Pandora employees worldwide are located in Gemopolis, where the com-pany manufactures its jewelry.

In addition to potentially doubling its production capacity in Thailand by the end of 2019, Pandora said it's also aiming to shorten the general lead-time at the production facilities.

BUSINESS

Pandora to Ramp Up Production As Profits See 40% Growth

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Available at Neiman Marcus, Birks & Mayors, and selected retailers.

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NOTHING BUT DIAMONDS

PB

NOVEMBER 2, 2016 5

A fall jaunt through New York showed inventive layering, lightweight jackets

and polished ath-leisure looks.

THEY ARE WEARING:

SWEATER WEATHER

PHOTOGRAPHS BY THOMAS IANNACCONE

PB

NOVEMBER 2, 2016 6

PB

NOVEMBER 2, 2016 7

● The company missed Wall Street's sales estimate, but reported a 21.8% jump in profits for the quarter.

BY VICKI M. YOUNG

Coach Inc.’s efforts to elevate the brand and focus on quality distribution are gaining strength following the firm’s report of double-digit earnings growth for the first quarter.

Shares of Coach closed up 2.2 percent to $36.68 in Big Board trading Tuesday.

For the three months ended Oct. 1, net income increased 21.8 percent to $117.4 mil-lion, or 42 cents a diluted share, from $96.4 million, or 35 cents, a year ago. Net sales were up 0.7 percent to $1.04 billion from $1.03 billion. Wall Street’s consensus esti-mate was 45 cents on sales of $1.07 billion.

Gross profit for the quarter was $715 mil-lion, up 3 percent compared with last year. SG&A expenses were $549 million, down 1 percent, while operating income was $166 million, up 17 percent.

The company said North American sales for the Coach brand fell 3 percent to $545 million, although comps at bricks-and-mortar stores — full-price and factory stores — rose 4 percent for the quarter. Aggregate North American comps sales rose 2 percent, including the negative impact of e-commerce driven by a further decline in the firm’s eOutlet flash sale busi-ness. Internationally, the Coach brand saw sales gain 7 percent to $395 million.

In a conference call with Wall Street ana-lysts, Victor Luis, chief executive officer, said, “We remain focused on elevating the Coach brand through compelling product, differentiated store environments and emotional marketing. At the same time, we implemented the strategic actions neces-sary to reposition the brand and streamline our distribution in the promotional North

American department store channel.”In a telephone interview, Luis said the

company is “constantly managing the brand as one brand. We know certain chan-nels are more promotional than others.”

The company has been pulling back on promotions and in distribution channels that no longer make sense, such as at its e-outlet flash-sale format, and the plan to close 250 underperforming department store doors by next spring. Luis said hav-ing fewer promotional products available helps to “maintain trust with the consumer and not create confusion across channels.” For example, its elevated Coach 1941 run-way collection is available at the compa-ny's stores and at finer department stores. But there are also other Coach products that comprise the bulk of what’s sold in the department store channel, merchandise that Luis describes as “fashionable, but not at price points that are as high where the fashion is more easily understood.”

Andre Cohen, president for North Amer-ica and global marketing, said during the interview that the company’s goal is to work

with the department store channel on more brand-building and on reducing the number of promotions, which in turn reduces markdown allowances. The revenue decline in the quarter was due to the firm’s planned reduction in sales in the department store channel, because, Cohen said, “We see the business stabilizing there.”

The company has been “very focused on increasing distribution in department stores at the Tier 1. We are now in six Neiman Marcus doors and [at their] online site, the first ever for Coach," he added.

Luis said the focus on the finer specialty department store doors both here in the U.S. and globally is an important part of the company’s strategy. Although the price points are higher for the collection pieces, with some over $1,000, the ceo said the vast majority of the product offerings are in the $300 to $800 range.

At the same time, the company is also fine-tuning its factory outlet store business, which consists of surplus merchandise from the full-price stores after the season has ended and product specially created

for the channel that either is unique for the outlets or was “inspired” by an offering at full-price, but not identical to anything sold at its full-price stores, Luis said.

The ceo said mainland China remains an opportunity for the company, where “we believe there’s tremendous growth potential to drive sales within the current network and drive distribution growth on the Main-land. Outside of China, in Southeast Asia, there’s growth opportunity in Thailand, Indonesia and Australia.” Luis described Southeast Asia as “still very much in the nascent stage. There we work with our dis-tribution partners.” As for Europe, he said that, too, is still in the early stage of growth.

For the Stuart Weitzman brand, net sales were $88 million for the quarter. The company continues to drive global awareness and brand relevance as it gains traction with Millennial consumers. The company has a “very strong tradition and core strength in boots. In addition, the over-the-knee trend continues. We are seeing strength in booties,” Luis added.

While the topic of mergers and acquisi-tions comes up often — whether it's market rumblings on what Coach might acquire next or rumors among traders about Coach merging or being taken over by another firm — Luis didn’t give the impression that the group would want to be anything other than a stand-alone firm. He said the criteria for Coach on what it wants to acquire hasn’t changed. That criteria requires its next target to be a great brand and one where Coach can leverage its global infra-structure — think global supply chain — and the skill set of its management team to “add value to our business,” Luis said.

The company reiterated the fiscal 2017 outlook it provided in August, noting that it continues to expect revenues to increase by low-to-midsingle digits. It expects dou-ble-digit growth in both net income and earnings per diluted share for the year.

ACCESSORIES

Coach Shares Climb on Strong Profit Growth

A look from Coach.

● A member of a storied creative French family forges his own style.

BY SHARON EDELSON

When James Taffin de Givenchy was approached five years ago by Assou-line to do a coffee-table book about his fanciful and inventive jewelry designs, he demurred. His business was 15 years old at the time and he didn’t think it had the weightiness to be the subject of a book.

“If you’re writing about a dead artist or someone who’s been in business for many years, it’s different than making a book about yourself,” he said. “Five years ago, I didn’t think I deserved a book.”

When Rizzoli came calling last year, de Givenchy was ready. “Rizzoli called and was very eager to make a book. There was that number, 20,” he said, referring to the age of his company. “It was the right connection. We just gelled.”

“Taffin: The Jewelry of James de Givenchy,” was written with Stephanie LaCava with forwards by Tobias Meyer and Hamilton South. Hubert de Givenchy, his uncle, contributed text as did luxury goods

consultant Timothy Pope.De Givenchy had some difficult choices

to make, including winnowing 3,000 pieces of jewelry to 300. “The only way I survived this was by telling myself that I’ll make another book one day,” he said.

“Each of the pieces has a story,” de Givenchy said. But his clients’ names aren’t

part of the narratives. “There are bright fantastic stories about Verdura and who the clients were. I find that very difficult. I wanted to show what I’ve been up to for 20 years.”

Taffin is a whimsical collection that defies characterization. Known for sculp-tural designs and unexpected materials, from rubber to ceramic to the steel of recy-cled AK-47s, de Givenchy’s stones are often organically shaped, such as pods, seeds and teardrops. Jewelry takes the shape of a variety of flowers, some with pearl stamen or ovaries.

Bold color combinations are another de Givenchy hallmark, including a blue sapphire, blue ceramic and rose gold ring; diamond and colored ceramic, gold and gray rope necklace; buffalo horn, coral and gold cuff, and rectangular Ponia-towski agate intaglio set in a ceramic and gold bracelet.

Price is not a subject de Givenchy likes to discuss. It’s as if assigning a dollar figure to a piece lessens its worth. His collection ranges from $2,000 to $5 million. “Very often in this business, if you’re going to go up to millions, it’s because of a single stone or several stones,” he said. “We do

elaborate necklaces and our costs before the stone are up to $100,000. If you look at couture, art and sculpture, at the end of the day, it’s the number of hours that justify the price.”

De Givenchy tries to take the pretension out of jewelry “and make it fun,” he said. “I’m always trying to make the jewelry not too serious, not too complicated. I’m known for using ceramic and I’ve added colors. This helped me define and refine my style.”

After studying graphic design, de Givenchy worked for his older brother, also named Hubert. In 1988, he got a job at Christie’s selling catalogues. Then, floating from department to department, he landed in jewelry, where his French accent was an asset. De Givenchy spent six years at Christie’s, first in New York and then in Los Angeles. He then got a job at Verdura, but quickly realized that he’d have no cre-ative freedom there. “They had books and didn’t want to deviate from Mr. Verdura’s designs,” he said. So de Givenchy left and in 1996 founded Taffin.

De Givenchy grew up around fashion and haute couture. His father was the founder of the Givenchy perfume business. “This was a different time,” he said. “The great designers were Givenchy, Dior and Cardin. It was impossible for us not to be influenced. I never personally worked closely with my uncle. I was seeing it from afar. I always wanted to be an artist. I couldn’t be Hubert. For years, I was trying to find a solution to be an artist and make a living.”

ACCESSORIES

James Taffin de Givenchy Finds Space on the Coffee Table

The cover of "Taffin: The Jewelry of

James de Givenchy."

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NOVEMBER 2, 2016 9

● Twenty brands will test a feature that adds product details and outside links to images.

BY MAGHAN MCDOWELL

At long last, Instagram is making it easier for users to shop products they see on the platform.

The image- and video-sharing app will next week begin testing a feature that lets brands add product details within the app and gives users the ability to click on outside links to purchase.

The 20 U.S.-based brands that will test the feature will be able to tag up to five products in an image (in the same way that people are now tagged). When tapped, the tags show the product name and price. Each tag opens a detailed view of the item and lets users swipe to see the other prod-ucts tagged in the photo.

To make a purchase, the user can tap “Shop Now” in the product details view and be directed to the brand's web site.

The change could solve a number of challenges from both a marketer’s and a customer’s point of view: It lets brands build on the interest of a potential cus-tomer without diminishing the organic feel of scrolling through Instagram, and it helps customers move easily between discovery and purchase.

“This is deliberately not a buy button,” said Instagram vice president of monetiza-tion James Quarles. While giving a preview of the new feature, Quarles said Instagram had not implemented a platform-wide buy button because the path from spark of an idea to a purchase is not often direct or immediate. This new feature allows more time for what Quarles described as the evaluation stage.

On social media and the mobile web, users viewing a product are often imme-diately asked to enter their credit card information, which is why many experts believe buy buttons have failed to ring in a mobile commerce windfall. According to a Facebook-commissioned survey, most purchases take more than a day or longer, while only 21 percent of purchases are

made within a day.But Instagram is well-regarded as a plat-

form that is primed for discovery, and this new feature works to fill in the gaps between inspiration and monetization for brands.

“We have a really strong following and high engagement on Instagram, but the clunky transition to shopping has been frus-trating for us and for our customer,” said Mary Beech, Kate Spade & Co. executive vice president and chief marketing officer. “The new shopping exploration allows her to have a seamless shopping experience.”

In addition to Kate Spade, Abercrombie & Fitch, BaubleBar, Coach, Hollister, J. Crew, JackThreads, Levi’s Brand, Lulus, Macy’s, Michael Kors, MVMT Watches, Tory Burch, Warby Parker and Shopbop will be trying out the new feature.

"This test is going to change the scope of what we, as retailers, are capable of offering on mobile,” said JackThreads chief marketing officer Ryan McIntyre. “Instead of having to transition over to the JackThreads app, our customers will be able to shop seamlessly from their social media feeds — allowing us to reach guys where they're already hunting for what's new.”

Warby Parker cofounder and cochief

executive officer Dave Gilboa said custom-ers often ask the brand for product details, which he described as a “bulky experience on both sides.”

During the initial testing phase, the new feature will appear to some iPhone users in the United States, and a user must follow the individual brand to see the new posts. The posts are not a form of advertising and Instagram does not make money from posts tagged with products, but Quarles said the format does lend itself nicely to advertising. For example, a brand could pay to promote an existing product post using Instagram’s targeting capabili-ties, which means that even nonfollowers would potentially see the post.

Going forward, Quarles said Instagram would continue to experiment with what works, but that the two main goals of the testing are to provide value to people and to make the option scalable. For now, brands have to manually add and edit product details. He pointed out that the feature was designed to not be disruptive, as every “reveal” comes with an intent, meaning the user has to select to see more details or click to a brand’s web site. Instagram will test elements such as prod-uct recommendations, the ways products

are shown to shoppers, a potential global expansion and the ability to save content for later.

Ultimately, Quarles said, this might also expand to videos, which would make sense as the “see-now-buy-now” movement heats up. Designers in February, for example, might be able to tag runway videos with product details, and link to a purchase page.

Instagram, like parent-company Face-book, currently offers carousel ads that con-tain multiple images. It also allows adver-tisers to add a call to action, such as “shop now,” which takes users outside of Insta-gram. But this new feature would expand similar capabilities beyond advertising.

Instagram users in the past have tried a number of workarounds that direct a follower to an outside link — that familiar “link in bio” has often been the only way to direct a follower to a web link, but it requires constant upkeep as it allows for only one link.

Blogger monetization network Reward-Style’s LiketoKnow.It has an opt-in service for bloggers and followers that lets users “like” a photo to get an e-mail with prod-uct information. ShopStyle has a service that creates a landing page, accessed through a permanent bio link, that shows the products in a blogger’s recent Instagram posts. Perhaps the option most similar to Instagram’s new in-house offer-ing is Curalate’s Like2Buy tool, which lets brands such as J. Crew create a landing page of all its recent Instagram posts, which links to corresponding product pages and acts as a curation tool that saves all of a user’s “liked” posts.

At Kate Spade, Beech said, the brand hasn’t had a method to add product details as seamlessly as this new feature allows. The brand has put descriptors of the product in the header, and linked back to the brand’s home page, but she said that most people aren’t clicking through. The brand also tried using Like-ToKnow.It, but she said that didn’t offer the best customer experience.

“We were waiting to see if Instagram could find a solution that would allow us to do it directly, and we are very happy to have it,” she said.

BUSINESS

Shopping Is Coming to Instagram

Kate Spade is one of the first brands to test the new shopping feature on Instagram.

● Started in 1953 by twins Bob and Bill Meistrell, the California label joins Bruno Magli and Ben Sherman in Marquee's stable of labels.

BY KHANH T.L. TRAN

After traversing the global market to acquire Bruno Magli from Italy and Ben Sherman from the U.K., Marquee Brands headed to Southern California for its latest purchase: Body Glove.

The New York-based company, which specializes in buying, licensing and devel-oping brands with funding from asset management firm Neuberger Berman, acquired a majority stake in the 63-year-old, family-owned surf brand for an undisclosed sum.

This is the latest example of the appeal of a heritage brand that is prime for a revamp. It is also a sign of the ongoing consolidation

that is tightening various segments of the fashion industry in a challenging retail market. Despite the financial woes of other surf brands such as Billabong, Quiksilver and Roxy, Marquee said Body Glove was a perfect candidate to join its portfolio.

“Yes, there have been some troubled businesses like Quiksilver and Roxy,” said Michael DeVirgilio, president of Marquee. “If you look at their business, it’s predom-inantly apparel. If you look at Body Glove, it’s across the water sports lifestyle busi-ness. People are still going to go surfing. People are still going to go snorkeling. Peo-ple are still going to go touring in Hawaii and need flotation devices. This is what attracted us to the brand: the diversity of products and the diversity of channels.”

Founded with a basic Neoprene wet suit by twins Bob and Bill Meistrell, Body Glove rode surfing’s popularity, dissem-inating its logo of a black glove slapped on a neon yellow background to board shorts, swimsuits, sunglasses, casual

sportswear and Neoprene phone cases. Last year it tried to catch the surging wave in women’s activewear by launch-ing Breathe by Body Glove, stocked with colorful sports bras, printed capris and leg warmers. DeVirgilio said the whole business is pretty balanced, split equally between soft and hard goods.

Oddly, even after six decades, Body Glove doesn’t own its own flagship retail store in the U.S. DeVirgilio said there are roughly 100 Body Glove-branded stores and shops-in-shop in Thailand. “We are looking to create a retail strategy for the brand,” he said. He expects the first freestanding shop to bow within the next 12 to 18 months. A good bet for the location would be in Cali-fornia or Florida. “We have to be very smart where that flagship is,” he said.

Plus, “there is more than warm weather sports as well,” said Cory M. Baker, Mar-quee’s chief operating officer, noting that an obvious extension is into snowboarding.

Retaining a minority interest in the

brand, the Meistrell family remains part-ners with Marquee to provide institutional knowledge and ease relationships with sponsored pro athletes. With fewer than 100 employees at the Redondo Beach, Calif.-based business, five of the third-gen-eration members descended from the late founding brothers work there full-time.

Marquee declined to reveal financial figures but Forbes estimated that Body Glove’s sales in 2013 totaled $80 million. To add to its New York headquarters and London design office, Marquee said it plans to open a West Coast office that will support Body Glove’s brand management and marketing teams.

Following Marquee’s acquisition of Bruno Magli in February 2015 and that of Ben Sherman in July 2015, the deal with Body Glove moves the group closer to its goal of owning eight to 12 brands, Baker said.

“We’re acquiring these brands for the long haul,” he said. “We’re making sure that we’re growing them and investing in them.”

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Marquee Brands Acquires Body Glove Surf Brand

A U N I V E R S E O F J E W E L RY

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he’s starting over, less than five miles from where American Apparel sits, this time weighing his options with alternatives to institutional capital — some might say because he has no other choice, although he would counter he is fearful of tradi-tional finance. He’s carefully considering an option called Regulation A+, a new type of crowdfunding platform under Title IV of the JOBS Act.

The business is so far financed with a $10 million asset-backed loan. The reality is that Charney needs funding — but he doesn’t kid himself about the prevailing perception of him in the market.

“The upside of investing in me is that I’m a creative thinker,” he said. “I some-times take the difficult road but I’ve shown results in the past and I know how to capture the attention of the consumer. The disadvantage is I’m an unconventional entrepreneur and there’s a clash that could take place because, in practical terms, what many of these institutional investors are looking for is something that’s predict-able and safe and that’s not the product I have to offer.”

His new venture, which is toying with the name The Los Angeles Apparel Co., has already raised money from some workers and ex-American Apparel employees.

The business counts about a dozen customers, with a focus on imprintables. He views that industry segment as a way to test the market before going direct and getting into his own retail, online and off.

“I want to make sure if someone comes into my bar, they enjoy the drinks and if I open it up to the crowd [now], they’re going to say this doesn’t work because it’s very artisanal,” Charney said.

The current business’ sweet spot for orders is anywhere from 500 to 20,000 pieces. It's rapid reaction manufacturing. Case in point: The company on a recent Friday received a 10,000-piece order. The textiles — of which only 2,000 yards were available — were purchased the same day, sewn on Saturday and then shipped Sunday.

Charney has already mapped out the business' trajectory by the numbers — and they are, in his typical fashion, ambitious. He’s estimating the company will turn cash positive within 18 months and believes it can get to $600 million in sales in 10 years with a market capitalization of more than $1 billion.

Pricing will range from $12 to $120 with an eventual expansion into swim, sports-wear, headwear and bags.

He’s brought a cadre of former Amer-ican Apparel colleagues with him, who

make up the bulk of the business’ roughly 50 workers. They include former Ameri-can Apparel director of retail standards, Jan Willem Hubner; the company’s former vice president of product development and design, John Chung; former director of manufacturing, accounting analysis and audit, David Nisenbaum, and former president of wholesale, Pat Honda.

Charney would be happy if the new busi-ness surpassed the old one in terms of size, although he’d be just as satisfied simply building a beloved brand.

“It’s not about size because if it was about size, well, Forever 21 is a large company but it wouldn’t be something I would want to create or build — not that I don’t have respect for what they’ve done. It’s not my vision,” Charney said. “I do think that if I really concentrate and really focus, I could build a business that brings a lot of pride to myself, to my family, to my workers [and] to my vendors.”

Very few entrepreneurs are like Charney.

“He’s determined. Oh my God, he’s determined,” said California Fashion Association president Ilse Metchek, who's known Charney for some 16 years.

“Money’s not the driver. The driver is not to have Rolls Royces,” Metchek continued. “It is who he is. Who he is, is a reflection of his business.”

Still, the competition’s not what it was when American Apparel started. There are

not only the heritage brands to contend with but the whole crop of digital brands in the vein of Reformation, Nasty Gal, Everlane, Cuyana and on that have scaled at rapid rates — and in some cases, slowed as the entire retail world struggles with a consumer who isn't spending money or shopping the way they used to.

One major advantage is the potential sale of American Apparel leaves a raft of possible customers for the taking.

“So I have to hurry up and get my schtick together,” Charney said.

An Extraordinary TaleWhat happened at American Apparel

is a real doozy of a story. It’s one Charney has called “extraordinary” and it’s also far from done as it holds implications for his future. So, seeing as how he’s no longer there nor interested in buying it, why can’t he let it go and just be happy building anew?

“Be happy?” he said. “I am, but if they’re putting a cloud over the new endeavor, they’re rewriting the history of what happened and it’s going to put neg-ative pressure upon me in order for me to get the financing. They want to neuter me. They’re trying to assassinate my character. I was a very good performer.”

That’s where the story shifts, depending on who’s telling it.

The new regime — after Charney was first suspended in June 2014 and then officially fired that December — said he breached his fiduciary duties, misused cor-porate assets and violated company policy. The picture painted to the press was that of a micromanager who lacked a basic organizational chart and was, at times, rough around the edges (which is putting it kindly given the number of allegations of sexual harassment against him over the years). He’s owned up to what he said is an aggressive personality: “You have to be willing to take body checks and give body checks in this business, OK?” said Charney.

He’s not being literal, but he also doesn’t tiptoe around others’ feelings to get things done for the business.

He pointed to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization as a measure of his performance, which peaked at $70.1 million in 2008 at Ameri-can Apparel. There was only one year the company saw negative EBITDA under his leadership, which was 2010 when its work-force took a hit following the I-9 audit that

found 1,800 undocumented aliens working at the factory. American Apparel in the end had to fire them all.

Despite his boasts, the business was swimming in red ink in Charney's final years as chief executive officer. The last time it saw a profit was 2009 and in 2013, Charney's final full year at the helm, net losses had ballooned to $106.3 million. There was also a lot of debt that weighed heavily on the business. It didn't help that the industry landscape was forever altered with fast-fashion and American Apparel's ramp up in new stores just before the recession left it with expensive leases when the economy took a tumble.

"There were a number of things that worked against him. He was in the teeth of a really difficult market. I wouldn't say that he was running [the business] poorly," said one banker, requesting anonymity.

The board felt otherwise and brought in Paula Schneider, whose previous stints included Warnaco Swimwear Group president and Laundry by Shelli Segal president, as the antidote. She described to multiple reporters her first few months on the job as being akin to drinking from a firehose, but appeared confident the job could get done under her watch. The char-acterization was that American Apparel’s corporate culture needed to be taken from Wild West to large corporate entity. What came was a bankruptcy. Upon emergence from Chapter 11 the narrative remained that the business would continue to focus on a turnaround. But in a surprising twist, Schneider left in early October with the job unfinished and now there are murmurs of a second bankruptcy as part of a potential deal to sell off all or part of the business. Amid the upheaval, the company’s general counsel was sent to run a manufactur-ing operation whose deceptively simple T-shirts tell little about the complexity of the skilled dance involved in their production.

It’s been the opinion of Charney and his supporters — and even some watching from the sidelines — that he was the heart of American Apparel and to rip him from it proved the nail in the coffin on any turn-around attempt.

“I don’t ever meet ceos that are irre-placeable like Dov,” said Chad Hagan, managing partner and group president of Hagan Capital Group, who reached out to Charney and aligned with him in January

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Dov Charney in South Central Los Angeles.

Inside the South Central warehouse where Dov Charney has space for his new apparel venture.

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on a $300 million bid to buy American Apparel. “With so many ceos, it’s just come and go. No big deal.”

Schneider herself would have preferred to have had Charney at least aligned with the business instead of railing against it prior to her departure (she later became head of Delta Galil's DG Premium Brands division).

“I think it would have been helpful to have friendly terms [with him] as opposed to someone outside the build-ing, yelling,” she said in an interview last month, referencing the regular protests outside headquarters of loyal workers and other supporters calling for Charney’s reinstatement.

The very public saga of American Apparel and Charney's personal affairs that became public — the sexting and relationships with employees — have made some institutional investors somewhat nervous about backing his new venture, according to the banker. Sure, there are equity investors out there but institutional debt won't be as easy to come by with the human resources issues, American Appar-el's performance in the past few years and the lawsuits Charney lobbed throughout last year.

"The upside of having a good return from their investment is really overshad-owed by the controversial issues," said the banker, who is still of the opinion Charney will pull through and succeed with the new venture.

“I think [the events at American Apparel are] too fresh in people’s minds right now for them to line up and say, 'Where can I send the check?'” said Lloyd Greif, presi-dent and ceo of investment bank Greif & Co. It’s not a question of whether Charney is brilliant creatively, of which Greif said he is, but he can be mercurial and not always easy to control. “When you have an insti-tutional investor, that presents a certain degree of risk,” he said. “They’re in the risk business. At the same token, they like to take calculated risks.”

Charney is adamant he’s not stepping away and will fight until the record is clear about not only his abilities as a leader but the nature in which he was removed from the company.

The reasons for his firing, he said, don’t draw on any contemporary allegations. The board would have been aware of any other issues in his personnel file — includ-ing any sexual harassment claims — prior to it spending more than $10 million on an internal investigation to determine whether Charney was fit to continue on at the company.

Several hours before a press release went out on Charney’s suspension in June 2014, shareholders attended the compa-ny’s annual meeting in New York. It was standard business: elect three new board members, appoint an independent auditor and approve executive compensation. In the proxy statement, a brief description of Charney read he “provides our board with an informed perspective on the company and the apparel industry and the perspec-tives and judgment necessary to guide the company’s strategy and monitor its execution.”

Why, Charney has argued in and out of court, if he was seen as vital to the compa-ny’s continued operations in that proxy, was he somehow fit for termination hours later?

Between mid-June of 2014 and on through to the end of the year, the for-mer ceo plotted for a way back in. That included getting a loan from New York hedge fund Standard General to buy back

shares of the company in exchange for independent voting rights. Charney said the hedge fund promised to insert him back into the company. That’s not the way things panned out.

“Of course I kick myself,” he said of linking with Standard General. “I’m going to kick them. They stole my company. But it doesn’t matter. I had no choice. I was put into those circumstances by way of a securities crime.”

American Apparel disclosed in its 2014 annual report that the Securities and Exchange Commission initiated an investigation to look into the circum-stances surrounding Charney’s firing and determine if laws were broken. Charney, who sources say was interviewed by SEC officials roughly two months ago on the series of events around his ouster, declined to discuss the investigation. A spokesman for the SEC declined comment on the case’s status.

The allegations Charney has made against Standard General in court — the same as what he’s said outside of the legal system — have been called “frivolous, meritless” lawsuits by the hedge fund via a spokesman. American Apparel, through a spokeswoman, also referred to the alle-gations in multiple legal complaints in a similar manner throughout last year.

“The truth is, [former American Apparel board member] Allan Mayer’s publicity plan for me is exactly what I need to get [public],” said Charney referencing a screenshot he sent to WWD of what appears to be an e-mail sent to him by Mayer, dated April 11, 2012, in which the sender outlined talking points for Char-ney’s future interviews with reporters. It was suggested in that note he talk up the company’s rising sales, strong gross margins, new financing and being on track to hit EBITDA targets. On the subject of any lawsuits against him, he was coached to say, “People like to take shots at me because I’m an unconventional guy” and to also say the company’s edgy advertising isn’t for everyone, but the business’ sales clearly indicate a liking of it by many.

It’s all the opposite picture of what the management team after his firing chatted up about him publicly, with a narrative that revolved around the losses he’d racked up and advertising that needed to be toned down.

“Exactly what he said in 2012 is the truth,” Charney continued on the subject of the e-mail. “Did you ever see the movie 'The Aviator'?...when he’s [surrounded] himself in toilet paper? That’s my life.”

It’s a reference to a scene in the 2004 film featuring Leonardo DiCaprio as How-ard Hughes, who suffered from obsessive compulsive disorder. At one point, Hughes holed up in a screening room for months, victimized by his disorder. Charney was joking, although his fixation on repeating the e-mail’s bullets — in much the same

way DiCaprio as Hughes repeated certain rituals in the scene — and making sure his history at American Apparel is written to his liking is very real.

The ThesisIn early October, Charney pulled up to

American Apparel’s former Hawthorne dye house in a black Ford Fiesta hatchback, slumped in the driver’s seat wearing a white T-shirt, brown slacks and earbuds. He was there for an auction of the facility’s equipment. The company said in February that Hawthorne’s closure was part of a move to consolidate operations.

He walked hastily into the facility asking out loud to no one in particular for regis-tration and then dashed off, snapping pic-tures, stopped regularly by other bidders curious to know what he’s doing next.

“Make T-shirts. What else?” Charney said to one.

The auction’s start at 10 a.m. came and went. And then in an anticlimactic end, it was canceled. Someone bought all the lots. People lingered as they speculated about the buyer.

“Dov, did you buy it?” one man standing in a group asked Charney as he sped by, still taking pictures.

“I bought everything. I put it on my credit card,” he said as the men chuckled.

As people filtered out, Charney wanted to take in the facility for just a while longer. That factory was just one symbol of the vertical manufacturing theme Charney put forth with American Apparel.

This time around, he's calling Los Ange-les Apparel "fair-wage, urban manufactur-ing" and evolving the concept of mixed-use's live-work-play mantra to include industrial uses in that equation in which artists, factory workers, fabric suppliers, accountants and others all converge at a single hub in downtown L.A.'s core.

“This [represents] the end,” he said at the entrance to the dye house. He then ran over to mention one last thought he was overcome by: “This reminds me of when I buried my dog.” It was closure, he said. He found out after the fact that a friend of his acquired everything and Charney will be using some of the equipment, so all was

not entirely lost.To some, the factories, the equipment

and the T-shirts themselves are all inan-imate things. To Charney, they’re sym-bolic of the thesis upon which American Apparel was built: to create an industrial revolution. It says so atop its headquarters.

“I put [that wording] on the bloody building,” Charney said. “I typed those up and sent them to a printer. I authored those. They’ve faded but they’re still there, you know? They probably can’t afford to take it down. What I’m trying to do is bring that back. We’re going to cut from a new cloth and we’re going to do it our way.”

He’s been doing it his way for a while now, indifferent to judgments passed by those who don't understand him or his plans. He made the decision to carry the magazine for gay men, Butt, in his stores as means of driving a conversation around sexual freedom and art and has rallied for immigration reform and open borders since before American Apparel’s start. One could look at the sprouts of Los Angeles Apparel as a continuation of those themes.

“I don’t believe in American national-ism,” he said. “I don’t believe in building walls. I think a true America is the America that I understand. The America that I signed up for is no borders. No walls. ‘Mr. Gorbachev, tear down that wall.’ They’re not building walls. They’re taking down walls. Ronald Reagan was a free trader. He was not anti-Mexico. In the inaugural address of Ronald Reagan, which I person-ally watched myself live, he said, ‘Yukon to Yucatan. One free-trade area.’ That’s the vision. As a Canadian boy I said, ‘You know what? I don’t like the border between Can-ada and the United States. I don’t like that we’re not together. I think that we should have one market for us all.’ I fought for free trade since I was a kid.”

There’s an exhaustion that sets in on him at times.

He recognized this one Saturday after-noon after spending the day moving rolls of fabric to shelving in his temporary South Central warehouse.

Back at his home, weeks earlier, the question was posed to him of just how much time he is spending on the aggregate of righting what he sees as the wrongs in his ouster from American Apparel.

“Probably a lot,” he said facing his com-puter screen, flipping through documents and eating Toblerone chocolate.

The question is whether he’s willing to continue fighting for the years litigation often takes.

“I can get this done. So other people go for dinner; I don’t leave my house or my factory, you know what I mean? I don’t have a social life, but there’s no way they’re going to get away with this.... You know what my gross profits were? Three billion dollars in 10 years. Three billion dollars. My sales were $5 billion. Dov Char-ney’s sold $5 billion of apparel in a decade. How many have accomplished that? Then they just pick their nose and flick me.”

Anger aside, there’s also a part that may be just as much about redemption as it is about proving his point. Living up to what American Apparel was at its peak and then surpassing it is a very big burden to bear for someone who is essentially running a start-up.

“I have to bring something profound back,” he said. “I have to do it again.”

It’s now Saturday night and music filters in from neighbors’ homes and the lights from downtown dance in the distance. The house is still as Charney moves from one room to the next methodically flicking off lights in his mansion still talking about American Apparel.

He warned a visitor to walk carefully down the steep steps many have tripped on and mused in perhaps the greatest understatement of a now two-year saga and counting, “Nutty story, eh?”

Dov Charney on South Central factory floor.

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Charney helps rework a garment sample.

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● The company, which this week celebrates its 20th anniversary, has named the blogger as its brand ambassador.

BY RACHEL STRUGATZ

NEW YORK — Laura Mercier might not have been first to the digital game, but she's become one of the leading beauty players when it comes to embracing influ-encer culture.

Mercier, who started her career as a makeup artist before founding her name-sake company two decades ago, has named blogger and photographer Garance Doré as Laura Mercier’s new brand ambassador. Doré is hosting an event at The Glasshouses in the Chelsea Arts Tower today to toast the partnership, which also celebrates another occasion: the brand’s 20th anniversary.

“What’s changed most [in the last 20 years] is the emergence of pop culture. It’s always existed, but the effect of pop culture on the beauty industry…and reality TV and social media is really something that has started to influence [beauty],” Mercier said of the changing beauty landscape during an interview at the brand's headquarters in Midtown here Monday morning, sitting alongside Doré.

This week's festivities include this morn-ing's party, Doré's public debut on behalf of the brand and the release of limited edition products: Laura’s Leading Ladies Vault, a $298 15-piece lip collection containing five colors in three finishes; Laura’s Leading Ladies Duet, a $38 lip gloss and lipstick set that comes in three custom shades and The Iconics, a $170 box filled with 12 of Mercier’s favorite items.

This marks the brand's second big deal with an influencer. In April, Aimee Song

of Song of Style became Laura Mercier’s brand ambassador and its first digital influencer, reportedly inking a contract of around $500,000 – one of the highest to date between a beauty brand and a blog-ger. Laura Mercier declined to disclose any financial details about the new partner-ship, but a source said the fee is similar to that of Song's.

"You could see an emergence of real smart ones [bloggers]…[and I said] 'Wow, this is exactly what I’d like to pass on as a message to my consumer,'" Mercier said. "These people weren't sponsored or paid at the time; it was totally objective. What bet-ter publicity is that? And with the vehicle of the internet, what better medium is that?"

When she discovered that Song was an avid user and fan of her products — and the same with Doré — something clicked. Mercier quickly realized that influencers — if partnered with smartly — is the way to go. And she hasn't looked back.

A significant part of the company’s

marketing strategy for this year and next is dedicated to collaborating with bloggers who could tell the brand story in markedly different ways. For instance, Mercier said the stark contrast between Song and Doré — Song is in her 20s and has a very Los Angeles vibe versus Doré, who is 41 and French — is what allows them to speak to different audiences.

But it’s also about the power of the influencer from an unpaid standpoint. Last year, vlogger Jaclyn Hill, who has almost 3.7 million subscribers on her YouTube chan-nel, featured the brand’s Translucent Loose Setting Powder in a video. Mercier main-tained that the powder “became a viral sensation,” attributing Hill to the product experiencing almost 200 percent growth year over year and higher sales than ever at partner retailers.

"Garance gives a different vision of things…and has a more European aspect. One is not better than the other," Mercier continued. "Truly, we are going between

two major cultures: the French and Ameri-can. Because I'm French and the company is American. That aspect transpires every-where we go."

Doré interjected: "Through my journey with beauty — you change the way you make your face up — but with foundation, I've always been into natural where you can still see the skin."

This is the philosophy the two share when it comes to makeup — which is exactly the premise Mercier built her company on in 1996. Her hero product at the time — it's still a bestseller two decades later — is the tinted moisturizer she developed as an alternative to foundation. This was her way of getting around "covering the skin to death to make a canvas."

A makeup artist by trade, Mercier spent years finding ways to prepare the skin without overdoing foundation — which she said was "the only way to do makeup in America" when she started the company. She was, and still is, obsessed with getting a consumer's skin to "be alive" and show their real skin.

"We had been using it in France and Europe for years already. I'd find it in pharmacies or mix it myself," Mercier said of early iterations of tinted moisturizer. "I wanted to share that with my American customers….My partner didn't believe in it at all — it was like an alien. [But] I went for it. I did not expect such a tremendous response to it."

Laura Mercier is said to have sales of around $160 million with distribution in more than 2,000 doors globally. In June, the company, along with ReVive, was acquired by Shiseido Americas Corp. for an estimated $260 million. According to Shiseido, the two brands had a combined $175 million in net sales for 2015.

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Laura Mercier Taps Garance Doré

Laura Mercier has named Garance Doré as its new brand ambassador.

● The newest Angel, 23-year-old Danish beauty Josephine Skriver, will strut the runway in this year’s anticipated look.

BY KRISTI GARCED

"This is a serious workout," said Jose-phine Skriver, the newly minted Victoria's Secret Angel, during a pre-show fitting on Tuesday morning in New York for the upcoming Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, set to take place in Paris.

The 23-year-old Danish beauty — who has walked in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show three times, beginning in 2013 — will strut the runway in this year's custom Swarovski look, worn in past seasons by Lily Donaldson and Martha Hunt. The sparkling silver outfit, made by an in-house design team, features 450,000 Swarovski crystals with sleeves weighing eight to 10 pounds each. "I'm just gonna wear this to the gym," Skriver said, lifting her arms to mimic weights while showcasing 3,000 strands of dangling crystal fringe.

If that wasn't enough sparkle, Skriv-er's thigh-high boots, designed by Brian Atwood, boast an additional 1,630 crystals. (Swarovski has exclusively provided crystal embellishments for the show's runway looks for the past 14 years.)

The annual spectacle, now in its 22nd year, will be taped on Nov. 30 at the Grand Palais and broadcast Dec. 5 on CBS at 10

p.m. with headlining performances by The Weeknd, Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars.

"The Grand Palais is an iconic, amazing building," said Monica Mitro, the show's executive producer, of the show's move to Paris. "We went, we looked at it, surveyed the site…and it's so incredible. It's a fashion capital, and we've been changing and mov-ing, and we felt like the logical next step was Paris, the City of Light. It's so sexy…and everyone is so excited about it."

Mitro confirmed that 52 girls will walk the show — the most in the show's history — with 18 new faces, including the show's first sister act, with Bella and Gigi Hadid both slated to make appearances.

"It got really tough at the end," Mitro said of the casting process. "I've done this for 21 years now, and for the first time, I felt that there were so many good girls. It was hard to make that choice at the end. You see these beautiful personalities, skin, hair, bodies…they've all been working out so hard, and they're so well-rehearsed and well-prepared for this moment. You can tell they've been getting ready for this particular casting. At one point, we had these cards [displayed on the wall] with all of their faces, and our casting director removed six of them. And it was so hard for me….It was like ripping off a band-aid. I wasn't ready to remove any of the girls."

The runway show will be divvied up into six sections — "The Road Ahead," "Dark Angel," "Secret Angel," "Pink

Nation," "Mountain Romance" and "Bright Night Angel" — each with varying glitz, although "Pink Nation" will focus on more casual, ath-leisure style, featuring looks designed in collaboration with Nicopan-da's Nicola Formichetti.

"'Bright Night Angel' is all about the party girl," Mitro said of the show's finale section. "She's out for the night in Paris, she's at the clubs, she has her most expensive sparkly things on." (That's the segment in which Skriver's look, naturally, will appear.)

At the fitting, Skriver was being primped and preened by Sophia Neophitou, the creative director of the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show collection.

"I did 'arm day' [at the gym] yester-day, so I'm a little sore for this," Skriver said. "I definitely amp up my workout [in

advance of the show], but being an Angel, it's year-round. I add on a lot of weights; I love building my shape. For me, it's about getting strong and being able to walk out there feeling sexy."

To Skriver's surprise, Ed Razek, the chief marketing officer at Victoria's Secret, presented her with a sparkling ring that featured a pair of wings to celebrate her first show as an Angel. Skriver now joins the ranks of fellow Angels Adriana Lima, Candice Swanepoel, Alessandra Ambro-sio, Behati Prinsloo, Sara Sampaio, Lily Aldridge, Elsa Hosk, Lais Ribeiro, Romee Strijd and more.

Skriver recalled the moment back in February when she found out she'd been crowned. "I've worked with the company for a few years. Getting the [Angel] title was the biggest dream of my life and I'd been working my way toward it," she said. "It was so surreal getting that phone call. I was at a coffee shop in SoHo with my friends, and I just started screaming in the middle of the coffee shop. It was a cool moment….I think I celebrated for two weeks straight."

Asked what she would tell her younger self before her first Victoria's Secret Fash-ion Show — now, with a few years of expe-rience under her belt — Skriver said: "Enjoy it. Take a breath. It goes so, so quick. It's like Christmas Eve. You blink and it's over. Take it all in and enjoy it. It's the most fun day you've ever had."

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Victoria's Secret Reveals Swarovski Runway LookJosephine Skriver in her custom Swarovski look for the upcoming Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.

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The Next Adele? Meet FrancesThe 23-year-old was named one of Apple music’s 12 artists to watch.

A rich, soulful voice, piano-based melodies, a first-name only recording identity and a U.K. passport is perhaps an easy recipe for an Adele compari-son — a lofty claim to throw on a young musician. But 23-year-old singer-song-writer Frances has been short-listed for the 2016 Critics’ Choice Brit Award and was named one of Apple Music’s 12 artists to watch for 2016 — all before her debut album was even announced.

“It’s crazy, because your first album is everything you’ve done, since you started writing,” she says from Bryant Park. “So it’s like, ‘What do I want on it?’ because there are so many songs.” The album, “Things I’ve Never Said,” has since been slotted for an early 2017

release from Capitol records.The album is written entirely by the

young musician, who began as a pre-teen. “Actually, there was a song called ‘Unbreakable,’ that I wrote when I was 12, about my friend who was getting bullied,” she says. “The minute that I sit down to write, I get a song, but it’s not as special as the ones that just come naturally.”

She was enrolled at The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts at the time music began to accelerate. “For like six months I was going on tour, and writing an essay, then performing — it was crazy,” she says. “I couldn’t go to my graduation because I was playing a festival.”

This summer she debuted at larger American festivals like Coachella and Lollapalooza, where “I opened the main stage, and it was just me and piano — it was really cool,” she says.

The album is a blend of early influ-ences from Motown, as well as more current favorites like Tom Odell and, yes, Adele. “Adele’s first album came out when I was around 16, just when I was thinking I wanted to do music, as a full-time thing,” she says.

“It’s weird, because I never try to have a ‘sound,’” Frances continues. “It’s really more about the songs and the songwriting. I just try to have it be really soulful, and maybe it’ll make you feel something.” —LEIGH NORDSTROM

James Paxton on Playing a Closeted Teen in ‘Eyewitness’ Catherine Hardwicke directed the 10-episode crime series.

"I'm stoked," began actor James Paxton. The second episode of "Eyewitness," the new USA Network crime thriller in which he stars, had just pre-miered its second episode of 10 the night before, and he was still feeling the adrenaline. The for-mer child actor (and son of actor Bill Paxton) has been making his return to the industry after step-ping away for a few years. While on leave from college, where he was studying journalism, Paxton moved to L.A. to work with an acting coach; his "Eyewitness" audition came while he was in the thick of reviewing scripts.

"I don't always read everything in-depth — sometimes I have to skim through, there's so much — but that one, I just honestly read it from cover to cover," Paxton explained in a light SoCal drawl, a few days before catching a flight for a promotional tour in Spain. "It's sort of as if I had all of these tests, and you know you wanted to do really well on one test so you sacrificed the other ones. That's what I did with 'Eyewit-ness,'" he said. "It sets itself apart as a crime thriller because it's really character-driven."

The series explores a murder from the point of view of two teen-age boys, Lukas and Philip, who witness a crime while partaking in a secret romantic rendezvous in a cabin in the woods. Paxton plays the role of Lukas, a closeted teen motocross star. The show is an

American remake of the Norwe-gian crime series "Øyevitne."

"I didn't want to watch the first original show before I started film-ing. I shot the first two episodes, and then went back and watched it," Paxton noted. "It's definitely the chief inspiration for this, but I didn't want to play an exact copy of what they did." In preparation for the role, Paxton learned how to ride a dirt bike during an intensive three-week period of working with a trainer, got his motorcycle license and also discussed the script with a friend who, similar to the boys in the show, was involved in a secret gay relationship during high school.

"There was so much at play, because I had the physicality of the motocross world to contend with, as well as the juxtaposition with all of that emotional com-plexity and insecurity inside Lukas kind of bubbling to the surface," Paxton remarked of his character. "There was so much subtext in every scene," he continued. "My goal is that [Lukas'] story might be able to affect other people's stories out there."

Paxton worked closely with his costar Tyler Young, whom he now considers one of his best friends, and director Catherine Hard-wicke to prepare for their more intimate onscreen moments. "Catherine would do private rehearsals with just us and her, getting us all comfortable," he said. "The first time we kiss is not

on-screen in the first episode — we kissed many times well before that scene happened. We were very much prepared and felt comfortable to be that vulner-able, and go to that emotional, daring place with each other."

Hardwicke's attachment to "Eyewitness" led Paxton to take a closer look at the script before his audition. "I'll say hands down Cath-erine's one of the best directors working right now," he said, adding that he's seen all of her films — from "Thirteen" to box office success "Twilight" and "Lords of Dogtown," which came out during Paxton's skateboarding days. "I literally saw that three times in the theater," he remarked. "Twice with two different groups of friends, and once with my dad."

Paxton has a few indie films in the works, and has his eyes on a feature film project. For now, promotion of "Eyewitness" and the outpouring of support from fans is keeping him busy.

"It's absolutely blowing Tyler's and my mind," Paxton enthused. "There's been fan art already. It's blowing up more than we even realized it would, and it's taking on a life of its own. Everybody's got theories about all of the charac-ters, and they try to tweet at us and message us asking ques-tions. We're trying to answer as much as possible," he continued. "It's really humbling and exciting, and quite intense." — KRISTEN TAUER

Frances

A still from the show.

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A celebration of the leading innovators and outstanding product launches that made for an unforgettable year in beauty

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NOVEMBER 2, 2016 16

Memo PadTownsend Retires From Condé NastCharles Townsend, the chairman of Condé Nast, has retired from the role.

The news comes a year after Townsend stepped aside as the compa-ny's chief executive officer, giving up the reins to president Bob Sauerberg.

Condé Nast does not plan to replace Townsend as succession, although S.I. Newhouse Jr. remains chairman emeritus.

In a memo to employees on Tuesday, Townsend told employees that "after careful planning with the Newhouse fami-ly," he has decided to retire on Dec. 31.

Townsend was named chairman in January, after having served as ceo of Condé Nast from 2004 to 2015. His de-parture signals a change at the company, which is in the process of reorganizing the business under Sauerberg and new hire Jim Norton, who serves as chief busi-ness officer and president of revenue.

"I’m proud to say, looking back over my career at Condé Nast, there’s only one thing I would have wished differently, and that is that S.I. Newhouse had enjoyed continuing good health," Townsend said. "I have missed him dearly these last few years, which has driven home to me his remarkable influence on our great company. My partnership with S.I. and the dedication of every one of you who contributed to make Condé Nast the pre-

eminent magazine publisher in the world has been more than anyone could have ever wished for in a career. And I thank you sincerely."

Townsend turned to the realities of the media industry, offering: "The busi-

ness world is hard at work reinventing itself. Every sector, every established company, is radically adjusting to the new economic order and the transfor-mation to digitally driven connections with clients and consumers. Condé Nast is no exception."

The ceo explained that a succession plan has been in the works for several years and that under Sauerberg, the com-pany will be led "back to preeminence in the newly developing business sector."

After reminiscing about Condé's rich history under S.I. Newhouse, the executive underscored the importance of having a "digital-first" approach to content today.

He concluded, noting that "it’s clear this company must also transition

to being recognized as digital-first in every endeavor we undertake; must be recognized as being a first choice for careers in digital content creativity, marketing and technology. And it must be recognized as the leading innovator in our sector in platform development and innovative technology."

According to sources, Condé Nast will continue to reorganize its structure to better position itself for the digital era by the end of the year. The company, which tapped MediaLink as a consul-tant on its restructuring, recently said it is combining its creative, copy and research teams across its various titles in order to cut costs in the face of steep print revenue declines. — ALEXANDRA STEIGRAD

Chuck Townsend

Fashion ScoopsSail OnNautica continues to mine its nautical roots, and will introduce a limited-edition Nineties-inspired capsule with Urban Outfitters for holiday. The seven-piece collection, Nautica + Urban Outfitters Capsule Collection, is based on the brand’s signature sailing aesthetic and will be available in Urban stores globally beginning in mid-November.

To promote the line, Nautica has tapped rapper Lil Yachty, who will make an appearance for the brand at the ComplexCon festival in Long Beach, Calif., on Nov. 6 and host an in-store event at Urban Outfitters’ Space Ninety 8 in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, N.Y., on Nov. 17. Lil Yachty is also featured in the new campaign shot by Daniel Shea.

The capsule consists of a long-sleeved T-shirt, a short-sleeved T-shirt, a pullover hoodie, a track jacket, track pants, sweatpants and a hat, each prominently featuring the Nautica logo. Colors include allover teal with pops of neon orange mixed with blue and black colorblocking. Retail prices range from $35 to $99.

Karen Murray, president of Nautica, said the collection "is a great way for us to showcase our heritage in a way that is relevant and current, while tapping into a very prominent vintage trend.”

The merchandise will be available first at the Nautica + UO booth at Com-plexCon before hitting stores on Nov. 14. It will also be available on the retailer’s web site and select Urban Outfitters stores globally.

The Brooklyn event will feature a DJ who is a member of Yachty’s Sailing Team. Yachty is a longtime fan of Nau-tica and has often been photographed wearing vintage pieces from the apparel brand.

Nautica, a division of VF Corp., was founded in 1983. — JEAN E. PALMIERI

Dries DocumentaryDogwoof Pictures, a London-based film distribution company, has obtained the rights to “Dries,” a film that focuses on the life of Belgian designer Dries Van Noten, according to WWD’s sister news site, Variety.

The film highlights the designer’s career, which spans 25 years, and will fea-ture Van Noten’s home and atelier. It will show footage of the designer as he cre-ates four ranges over a year. The movie will also include interviews with Van Noten and fashion industry names including Iris Apfel, Pamela Golbin and Suzy Menkes.

The film distributor plans to sell the documentary, which has been written, di-rected and produced by Reiner Holzemer at the American Film Market. In addition, the company will be responsible for the film’s rights with the exception of Ger-many, Austria and Switzerland. German video production company Prokino will release the film next year.

“It took me a very long time to con-vince Dries to share his passions, his creative and intimate world in front of a camera,” Holzemer said. “I followed him for a whole year, and I think I came as close to him and his world as it is possi-ble. I hope the result is a very personal insight into his life and career.”

Van Noten has recently been hosting events at his stores to launch his book “The Book of Dries Van Noten.” — SAMANTHA CONTI

Flair for StyleChristie’s South Kensington plans to auction off the late American magazine publisher Fleur Cowles’ private collection, which spans fashion items, paintings and furniture.

Cowles was the creative force behind Flair magazine, a fashion and arts publication that only existed for one year between 1950 and 1951. She was part of London and New York’s social scene, and counted such friends as the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Cary Grant and Princess Grace of Monaco.

The collection, which goes under the hammer on Nov. 23, offers a glimpse into Cowles’ private world and will include personal belongings from her fashion-able flat at Albany in London’s Piccadilly. Fashion items include a tweed skirt suit by Chanel and hats by Christian Dior created for Flair in the Fifties.

Notable artworks include a portrait of Cowles by René Gruau, the illustra-tor known for his work with Dior, and a pen-and-ink painting by Picasso titled "Tureau,” which is the most valuable item in the collection, estimated to sell at

20,000 pounds, or $24,377.Furniture and interior items give a

taste of Cowles’ colorful aesthetic and penchant for embellishment. Highlights include embroidered carpets, playful figurines by Paul Philippe from the 19th century, a Belgian sculpted gilded mar-ble table and porcelain chandeliers. — NATALIE THEODOSI

Jumping InJ. Hilburn is taking the plunge into retail.

The Dallas-based custom men’s brand will open its first brick-and-mortar store in its home city in Inwood Village later this month. Called the J. Hilburn Studio, the shop will employ a team of trained per-sonal stylists to help customers browse the brand’s offering and get fitted for a custom wardrobe.

“Dallas is a natural choice for our first retail space,” said cofounder and chief executive officer Veeral Rathod. “This is our hometown and one of the most important cities in men’s wear.”

The space is designed to have a true men’s wear aesthetic and includes her-ringbone flooring and charcoal flannel fabric walls.

The assortment includes custom and ready-to-wear offerings for workday and weekend as well as a collection of formalwear and accessories.

For the custom offering, shirts will be delivered within two to three weeks and suits will be ready in around four to six weeks, according to the company.

“We wanted a space that feels like the future of custom clothing,” said Rathod. “We took inspiration from art galleries and luxury car dealerships to create

a space that puts the customer at the center of the shopping process.”

The J. Hilburn Studio will open to the public on Nov. 16. It will serve as a testing ground for other potential retail locations in the future.

The company was founded in 2007. — J.E.P.

Lil Yachty in a piece from the

capsule collection.

Fleur Cowles in her home in Albany Piccadilly.

Inside the J. Hilburn Studio.

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