Where Has It Gone?
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THE FUTURE IS NOW SIZING UP DEREK LAM FROM EYEWEAR TO JEWELRY, WWD TAKES AN HARRODS WILL UNVEIL ITS LARGEST PROJECT TO DATE THIS MOVES FORWARD. IN-DEPTH LOOK AT ACCESSORIES. SECTION II WWDWEEK, A 42,000-SQUARE-FOOT FOOTWEAR HAVEN. PAGE 5 PAGES 4 AND 5 MONDAY, JULY 28, 2014 Q $3.00 Q WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY FASHION ADVERTISING CONTROVERSY Where Has It Gone? Clockwise from near left: By LISA LOCKWOOD A cheeky ad from Gilly Hicks, the intimate apparel division of utrageous, edgy fashion ads that get everybody talking. Abercrombie & Fitch, in 2009; Where did they go? Daffy’s straightjacket ad in Gone are the scandalous days of Calvin’s rippling abs 1992 outraged a mental health and come-hither youth; Abercrombie’s S&M Santa; the advocacy group; Diesel’s edgy Ofull-frontal Saint Laurent; Benetton’s kissing clergy, and advertising showcases a woman Jenny McCarthy doing her business on Candie’s toilet. in a denim burka in 2013; It wasn’t controversy that killed them. On the contrary, such con- Benetton continues to provoke troversy successfully put these and other brands squarely into the in 2011 with a photoshopped limelight, for better or worse. image of President Obama But after shifts from the shocking and sexually suggestive to the kissing Venezuelan president socially conscious and lifestyle aspirational, the fashion industry Hugo Chavez, and Tom Ford has entered a new state: tame. to his customer’s sexuality or a peddler of soft-core porn, his brand remains the standard bearer Blame it on the media. With so much corporate emphasis on hav- of advertising stands out in that it’s controversial, intentionally or for aggressively sexy imagery, ing the right social campaign, Instagram, Twitter feeds, videos, Web otherwise. In this particular case, that isn’t helping Charney’s cause as in 2007. sites and the goal of accumulating to regain his standing in the company he founded. “likes” on Facebook, not to mention The granddaddy of advertising controversy, Benetton, certainly global, cross-cultural sensitivities, didn’t have a great future following its shock advertising campaigns. the edge that cuts through the ad- The company came under harsh scrutiny for the use of shock in its vertising clutter has been dulled. campaigns, resulting in public outrage and consumer complaints. To be sure, there’s no shortage At the same time, the ads won kudos for raising public awareness of talented photographers who take of important social issues. Benetton’s ads, when not tweaking mere beautiful pictures, but some ob- convention, featured women’s bodies with tattoos that said “HIV servers argue that intensely image- Positive,” or a black woman breast-feeding a white infant. They also conscious companies, public or oth- showed scenes of war as well as a man dying of AIDS surrounded erwise, are so intent on controlling by his family, an image that ad professionals widely cite as the most how they’re perceived, advertising controversial in the history of has simply become too safe. And fashion advertising. safe equates with boring. The man behind these im- That’s not to say controversy is ages, Italian photographer absent from the fashion industry, Oliviero Toscani, still stands but it can extract a steep price. The behind his approach, most recent ouster of Dov Charney, chief executive officer of American noted for Benetton during Apparel, over concerns about his personal and professional conduct, the years 1982 to 2000. In an continues to make headlines. And his sexually charged advertising interview with WWD ear- images, often depictions of young women in suggestive, sometimes lier this month, he said, “If vulgar poses, may end up being the least of his troubles. While one an image does not provoke, might debate whether Charney is a marketing visionary connecting then you’ve thrown your money away.” Toscani em- phasized that provocation is a positive force, and said images that provoke or shock encourage people to think about the world and to be creative. He also cited a pre- ponderance of boring imag- ery in recent years. “These images are all devised by marketing executives with- out intelligence or culture,” SEE PAGE 6 2 WWD MONDAY, JULY 28, 2014 WWD.COM Dior Couture Sales Dip 1.5% in 1st Half THE BRIEFING BOX Dollar figures are converted at average ex- By JOELLE DIDERICH change for the periods to which they refer. IN TODAY’S WWD LVMH shares closed down 6.8 percent to 131.65 PARIS — Sales at Christian Dior Couture eased euros, or $181.23 at current exchange, on Friday in 1.5 percent to 747 million euros, or $1.02 billion at the wake of the results, which were published after average exchange for the period, in the six months the stock market close on Thursday. The Christian A pendant by Sara ended June 30, Christian Dior SA, the parent com- Dior SA results, incorporating the LVMH fi gures Weinstock. For more pany of the Dior fashion house and LVMH Moët and those of Christian Dior Couture, were pub- jewelry inspired by Hennessy Louis Vuitton, reported. lished after the market close on Friday. ancient artifacts, The French fashion house said profi ts from re- The group said it benefi ted from “good resil- see WWD.com. curring operations dropped 22 percent in the sec- ience” in Europe and continued growth in the U.S. ond half of its fi scal year to 84 million euros, or and Asia in the second half. $115.2 million. Sales in directly operated stores Highlights of the period included “the qualitative rose 19 percent at constant exchange rates com- development of Louis Vuitton, where profi tability pared with the same period in 2013 “thanks to the remains at an exceptional level,” and strong innova- excellence of its products,” the group said. tion momentum at Parfums Christian Dior, it said. It did not provide further details on the perfor- Sephora recorded an “excellent” performance and mance of Christian Dior, which has been ramping DFS continued to expand during the period, it added. up its presence in North America after staging its The Christian Dior group continued to invest resort show in New York City. in its fashion brands, which in addition to Dior in- In addition to remodeling stores in Las Vegas, clude Givenchy, Céline, Loewe, Berluti, Kenzo and Nev.; Aspen, Colo.; Manhasset, N.Y., and Toronto, it Fendi, among others. It also maintained investment plans to open a store in New York’s SoHo later this in communication for watches and jewelry. year, as well as boutiques in Vancouver, Houston “Despite an uncertain European economic en- After shifts from the shocking and sexually suggestive to the and San Francisco. vironment, the Christian Dior group will continue socially conscious and lifestyle aspirational, the fashion industry Meanwhile, the Dior fall fashion campaign will to gain market share thanks to the numerous prod- has entered a new state of advertising: tame. PAGE 1 be seen on airport screens in China, France, Italy, uct launches planned in the coming months and its the U.S. and the U.K., and the brand plans to sig- geographic expansion in promising markets, while The fi rst store for the Derek Lam 10 Crosby line will open in nifi cantly increase digital banners. continuing to manage costs,” it predicted. November, followed by e-commerce. PAGE 4 Christian Dior SA as a whole posted sales of 14.8 “Our strategy of focusing on quality across all billion euros, or $20.3 billion, an 8.6 percent year- our activities, combined with the dynamism and un- Harrods will unveil its largest project to date when the on-year decrease, during the period. This refl ected paralleled creativity of our teams, will enable us to 42,000-square-foot Harrods Shoe Heaven opens Friday on a strong negative exchange rate effect, particularly reinforce once again the group’s global leadership the store’s fi fth fl oor. PAGE 5 on the fashion and leather goods and watches and position in luxury goods,” it added. jewelry segments. For the fi scal year as a whole, the Christian Dior Lord & Taylor president Liz Rodbell previewed Birdcage As reported, LVMH reported a 4.3 percent dip group recorded sales of 31 billion euros, or $42.04 merchandise for the shop concept set to open at the Fifth in net profi ts in the fi rst half to 1.51 billion euros, billion, up 3 percent at constant exchange rates. Avenue fl agship on Oct. 2 and on the Web site. PAGE 9 or $2.07 billion, refl ecting a more modest pace When stripping out the effect of currency varia- for the luxury sector, beset with strong currency tions, revenues were up 7 percent. The group made headwinds and facing sluggish demand in most a net profi t of 1.4 billion euros, or $1.9 billion, in the Carolina Herrera invited the 10 fi nalists of this year’s CFDA/ geographies. fi scal year ended June 30. Vogue Fashion Fund to her showroom for a question-and- answer session moderated by Vogue’s Virginia Smith. PAGE 9 Fendi is partnering with Château Group to develop Fendi Château Residences, a 12-story waterfront condo in Miami, Topshop Looks Toward Global Expansion slated for completion in June 2016. PAGE 9 while — and we’re still learning.” Earlier this year the By SAMANTHA CONTI company added human resources, press and fi nance, Profi les of three must-see artists at Friday’s Lollapalooza and has also hired a handful of American buyers. music festival at Chicago’s Grant Park.