The first lady of France, Victoria’s Secret Angels, Hollywood leading ladies and beauty entrepreneurs — what several of them have in common was a start as a Guess girl. Over the past 35 years, through cofounder Paul Marciano’s discerning eye, the Los Angeles-based fashion brand has been able to pluck the ingénues who went on to captivate the public’s attention. Here’s a look at what the most memorable models are doing now.
Follow WWD on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.
Read More…
NEW YORK — Coterie organizer UBM Advanstar knows times are tough in retail.
That’s why interactive and educational experiences are being added to the three-day event, set for Feb. 27 to March 1 at the Jacob K. Javitz Convention Center here. The aim is to inspire buyers to bet on storytelling that fuses content, media, merchandising and technology to increase sales in their stores.
To that end, a new augmented reality initiative dubbed “The Coterie Experience” is slated to make its debut at the show. The 4,000-square-foot interactive installation, located near the main entrance, will feature a few environments, each with a different fashion mood — whether boho-chic or grunge — with a selection from the show’s top 100 brands.
Guests will be able use iPads to unlock “secrets” and other elements of discovery throughout the space. For example: hovering an iPad over a product might activate a video of a designer talking about the inspiration behind their collection.
More than 80 brands will be featured, including Jill Stuart, Intropia, Zadig & Voltaire, Frame, Mes Demoiselles, 3×1, The Kooples, Intuition Paris, No Ka ‘Oi, Naadam and Current Elliott.
“Merchandising product and content together is the future of global retail,” said Danielle Licata, Coterie’s vice president and general manager.
Follow WWD on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.
Read More…
J.MENDEL AFTER SCHOOL: Gilles Mendel’s decision to stage his fall presentation at Ladurée’s SoHo location was more than a matter of a French-born designer supporting a Paris institution.
Before walking editors through his newest designs Wednesday afternoon, the designer explained why the setting really takes him back to his childhood. Each day after school in Paris, his mother would take him to the legendary patisserie in Paris not far from where his father, Jacques, ran the family’s fur boutique on Rue Saint-Honoré. The mother and son got to know the owners during their frequent visits. Disappointed that the shop’s croissants were long gone by the time he arrived for an afternoon snack at 3 p.m., Mendel said that he once asked the owner why that was the case.
“He told me that the ovens could only hold so many croissants. In those days, the ovens only had so much space.” Mendel said. “I feel that that is a lot like how I approach my clothes. As long as you keep true to yourself and do what you are really good at, you will make the most amazing things. I feel like this is like my oven,” he said, motioning towards the tea
Follow WWD on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.
Read More…
Michael Kors’ fall show on Wednesday morning drew the celebrity A-list (Blake Lively), the New York Fashion Week ubiquitous (Emily Ratajkowski), and a slew of up-and-comers and daughters-of, from Sistine Stallone to Alexandra Richards to Rainey Qualley.
Patti Hansen identified herself as a fashion week rarity. “He’s the only one I come to,” she said of Kors. “If I come,” she said. “It’s been a few years. He’s just very wearable, sophisticated, sexy, feminine.”
While some of the younger girls had been to fittings for their Wednesday morning looks, Hansen took a more low-key approach. “I just went into his shop and I was like, ‘This is exactly what I wear every day’ — all black, and a little bit of gold,” she said. As for what she’s liked on the runway this season? “I’m the wrong person to ask.”
Qualley was fresh off of the front row at Philipp Plein’s extravaganza at the Public Library. “I thought it was so sick. Everything matters how you style it, and his was styled so well,” she said. “And I think it’s so fun to dress up wacky. I was wearing a matching leather biker jacket and skirt with flames on it.”
Qualley, the eldest daughter
Follow WWD on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.
Read More…
Ralph Lauren stood on a sisal-covered floor this afternoon, the surrounded walls covered with densely packed orchids. He extended his arms to reference the setting, before settling in on one of the generously pillowed white damask sofas that surround the perimeter of the room. “An experience,” he said.
Lauren was in the second-floor collection selling space of his Madison Avenue women’s flagship, closed for three days in preparation for his New York Fashion Week spring showing tonight. The idea of the decor is to capture a spirit evocative of a show designed under the working title “Nomad.” “I don’t want to do predictable,” Lauren said. “It’s a little bit exotic.” A preview offered glimpses of fluid shapes in liquid golden fabrics and mesmerizing prints. [For a review of Lauren’s show, see WWD.com and Friday’s Digital Daily.]
The two first floors of the Lauren store have been transformed into a chic floral wonderland, every inch of wall space covered with orchids — 100,000 or so — intertwined with vines and moss throughout which paper butterflies perch. In the background, a soundtrack of tweeting birds heralds the coming of spring. (Full disclosure: a quick feel in a small corridor leading to a private, non-show
Follow WWD on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.
Read More…
Phoebe Neuman
Mango has developed a new sustainable collection, Mango Committed, as part of the Spanish fashion chain’s bid to create a business model based on sustainability criteria and more environmentally-friendly processes.
Lojas Riachuelo, Brazil’s largest apparel department store chain, has achieved huge savings from gradually reducing its Chinese sourcing to 25% from 40% and investing BRL200m (US$64m) in a new distribution centre.
The impact of the new Trump administration on international trade, the potential border adjustment tax, and the shift to Africa as an apparel sourcing destination are some of the topics being discussed at the Sourcing at MAGIC trade show later this month.