The Sky's the Limit
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WWD MADE IN CHINA TRADES UP FASHION’S OWNERSHIP SHUFFLE LADY GAGA’S NEW SHOE GUY FROM LARIAT TO LEGO, THE BALENCIAGA IMPACT THE SKY’S THE LIMIT HYPER LUXURY 0815.ACCESSORY.001.Cover;17.indd 1 8/9/11 5:51 PM Table of Contents FEATURES 36 LUXURY GETS HYPER As global economies reel with uncertainty, the world’s most stalwart purveyors of luxury view quality and distinction as more essential than ever. 48 THE BALENCIAGA FACTOR Nicolas Ghesquière has been one of fashion’s most infl uential voices for more than a decade, and his impact on accessories is undeniable. 54 HIGHER AND HIGHER Some jewelers are coping with skyrocketing gold prices by pushing the design envelope, while others are amping up their Midas touch. 60 SPRING IT ON Designers off er glimpses of what’s ahead for their spring 2012 collections. 64 5 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT Clockwise from upper left: WATCHES RIGHT NOW Slane’s 18-karat gold bangles; Updated styles and colors, limited Buccellati’s 18-karat gold and editions and the latest technologies— diamond bracelet; Marco Bicego’s and it’s all being promoted in 18-karat gold necklace; Gurhan’s social media. 24-karat gold, 4-karat gold alloy and diamond bracelet; Verdura’s 18-karat gold bracelet. DEPARTMENTS 10 EDITOR’S LETTER 26 FASHION’S NEW SHOE STUD Noritaka Tatehana is Japan’s latest 12 WHAT’S SELLING NOW shoe star, courtesy of Lady Gaga. The latest red-hot merch at retail across the board. 28 SKINS CITY Exotic skins get technical, 16 BREADTH OF A SALESMAN and houses experiment with Five top shoe sellers reveal innovations. how they keep shoppers happy. 28 LIKE BONNIE AND THE BOYS 16 M’S THE WORD Coach is reintroducing a soft port The rapid rise of mobile luxe leather for the ladies. commerce. 32 WATCH OUT, IT’S 18 MADE IN CHINA: CONTAGIOUS FROM CHEAP TO CHIC Viral videos are all the rage. China’s perception as the Left: A sketch from Calvin Klein low-buck factory to the world 32 HOT FLASH Collection for spring 2012. is changing. Behind the scenes of Brian Above: Kara Ross’s python and Atwood’s steamy video. 20 CHOOSE YOUR PARTNER black onyx bag. Why fashion and fi nance 33 THE SOCIAL SWIRL often clash. Accessories fi rms aggressively pursue digital initiatives as a quick 22 JIM GOLD TALKS SHOP way to access legions of potential The Neiman’s exec discusses the customers. state of the market. 70 THEY ARE WEARING 24 RHODE TRIP Givenchy’s Pandora Messenger Jewelry designer Eddie Borgo bag by Riccardo Tisci is the tote du plays tour guide on a visit to jour in Hollywood. Providence, R.I. ON THE COVER Luxury at Its Most Hyper: Louis Vuitton’s 18-karat white gold, alligator and diamond (47 total carat weight) clutch, made to order for about $426,000; Bulgari’s 18-karat white gold, diamond (3.5 total carat weight) and acetate sunglasses, about $82,400. GOLD JEWELRY PHOTO BY ANITA CALERO; ROSS BAG BY THOMAS IANNACCONE BY BAG ROSS CALERO; ANITA BY PHOTO JEWELRY GOLD 6 0815.ACCESSORY.006.TOC.a;21.indd 1 8/9/11 9:23 PM ® ©2011 COACH WWW.COACH.COM 800 262 2411 70 YEARS of AMERICAN STYLE 1941 – 2011 WWD EDITOR IN CHIEF ADVERTISING Edward Nardoza Melissa Mattiace, ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Pamela Firestone, ADVERTISING DIRECTOR; Alison Adler Matz, PUBLISHER, BEAUTY INC EXECUTIVE EDITOR Jennifer Marder, SALES DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR; Joel Fertel, ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER, INNERWEAR/LEGWEAR/TEXTILE Bridget Foley Matt Rice, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL FASHION; Brett Mitchell, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, MEN’S INTERNATIONAL FASHION; Julia Hawkins, FASHION DIRECTOR ; Cynthia Boniello, BEAUTY MANAGER; WWD Ellie Ghadimi, ACCOUNT MANAGER; Nancy Gutman, JUNIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Dianne M. Pogoda, MANAGING EDITOR, FASHION/SPECIAL REPORTS Kimberly Parrilla, DIGITAL ACCOUNT MANAGER Roxanne Robinson-Escriout, SENIOR ACCESSORIES EDITOR, FASHION Miles Socha, EUROPEAN EDITOR Hillary Kribben, ASSISTANT TO THE CHIEF REVENUE OFFICER Samantha Conti, LONDON BUREAU CHIEF Luisa Zargani, MILAN BUREAU CHIEF REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL OFFICES FASHION FEATURES EDITOR Sarah Taylor, Jill Biren, WEST COAST DIRECTOR, 323-965-7283 Vince Larubina, FASHION ASSISTANT Allison Joyce, WEST COAST MANAGER, 323-965-7285 Guglielmo Bava, INTERNATIONAL ADVERTISING DIRECTOR, 011-3902-6558-4225 CONTRIBUTORS Olga Kouznetsova, ACCOUNT MANAGER, MILAN, 011-3902-6558-4224 Jessica Iredale, Venessa Lau, Rachel Strugatz, Giulia Squeri, ACCOUNT MANAGER, MILAN, 011-3902-6558-4236 Alexandra Steigrad, Roberta Correia, NEW YORK; Odile Eda-Pierre, ACCOUNT MANAGER, PARIS, 011-331-4451-1290 Laurent Folcher, Katya Foreman, Joelle Diderich, Natasha Camilla Montrose, PARIS; Alessandra Turra, MILAN; ADVERTISING ASSISTANTS Nina Jones, LONDON; Marcy Medina, Rachel Brown, LOS ANGELES Holland Casey, Jessica Casey, Stephanie Fell, Tina Schlissel, Sam Todd, Joyce Graham, Pascale Rajac, Emanuela Altimani, Gomatie Sanichar, Taylor Federici, Leanne Zilioli WWD.COM Rachel Strugatz, ASSOCIATE ONLINE EDITOR MARKETING/CREATIVE SERVICES Krystina Gustafson, ASSISTANT ONLINE EDITOR Heather Gumbley, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CREATIVE SERVICES; Janet Menaker, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, MARKETING Danielle McMurray, SPECIAL PROJECTS DIRECTOR; Kristen M. Wildman, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, EVENT MARKETING Etta Froio, CONTRIBUTING SENIOR EXECUTIVE EDITOR Fabio Salles, CREATIVE DIRECTOR; Jennifer Pincus, DIRECTOR, INTEGRATED MARKETING Julia Donahue, COPY DIRECTOR; Anjali Virmani, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, INTEGRATED MARKETING COPYDESK Bridgit Mazza, SENIOR MANAGER, INTEGRATED MARKETING; Marissa Hayes, SENIOR MANAGER, DIGITAL DEVELOPMENT Maureen Morrison-Shulas, COPY CHIEF Jamie Rudolph, MANAGER, EVENT MARKETING; Kristin Mooney, MANAGER, EVENT MARKETING Adam Perkowsky, Matthew W. Evans, COPY EDITORS Jessica Introna, ASSOCIATE MANAGER, INTEGRATED MARKETING; Danielle K. Stewart, ART DEPARTMENT COORDINATOR, INTEGRATED MARKETING Leigh Alcott, MARKETING COORDINATOR Andrew Flynn, GROUP ART DIRECTOR; Barbara Sullivan, CONSULTING ART DIRECTOR FOOTWEAR NEWS ADVERTISING Eric Perry, Gina Nastasi, SENIOR DESIGN ASSOCIATES PUBLISHER Amy Lomacchio, Sharon Ber, ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTORS Marc Berger, ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Tyler Resty, JUNIOR DESIGNER Sandi Mines, Michelle Raskin, WEST COAST DIRECTOR; Lauren Schor, SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER FOOTWEAR NEWS Michele Goldenberg, ACCOUNT MANAGER; Ariel Tensen, ACCOUNT MANAGER Michael Atmore, EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Neil Weilheimer, EXECUTIVE EDITOR PRODUCTION Katie Abel, NEWS DIRECTOR Gena Kelly, VICE PRESIDENT, MANUFACTURING Regina Smith Popp, FASHION EDITOR Chris Wengiel, GROUP PRODUCTION DIRECTOR; Kevin Hurley, PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Jocelyn Anderson, FEATURES EDITOR, HIGH-END MEN’S Providence Rao, PRODUCTION MANAGER; Michael Wagner, SENIOR B2B DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Barbara Schneider-Levy, SENIOR EDITOR, MEN’S, COMFORT Wayne Niemi, SENIOR WEST COAST EDITOR CONSUMER MARKETING Kristen Henning, ASSISTANT EDITOR, MARKETING, JUNIORS’ Dan Dynan, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Lauren DiLello, FASHION ASSISTANT John Cross, ASSOCIATE AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR PLANNING AND OPERATIONS Gerald Flores, EDITORIAL ASSISTANT James Rossi, MARKETING DIRECTOR Lauren LaDeau, EDITORIAL INTERN Richard Franz, CIRCULATION SALES DIRECTOR PHOTOGRAPHY Erin Fitzgerald, PHOTO STUDIO MANAGER FAIRCHILD FASHION MEDIA Robert Cohen, PHOTO FACILITATOR PRESIDENT & CEO Gina Sanders PHOTO Carrie Provenzano, PHOTO EDITOR CHIEF REVENUE OFFICER Lexie Moreland, PHOTO COORDINATOR Will Schenck Jenna Greene, PHOTO ASSISTANT Suzanne Reinhardt, VICE PRESIDENT, FINANCE AND OPERATIONS PHOTOGRAPHERS Dan Shar, VICE PRESIDENT, GENERAL MANAGER, DIGITAL John Aquino, George Chinsee, Kyle Ericksen, Thomas Iannaccone, Robert Mitra Melissa Brecher, ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER, MARKETING Michael Atmore, EDITORIAL DIRECTOR, FOOTWEAR NEWS & DIRECTOR OF BRAND DEVELOPMENT Dan Scheffey, DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC RELATIONS CREATIVE DIRECTOR Nancy Butkus BUSINESS GROUP Karen Chiu, BUSINESS DIRECTOR; Devon Beemer, FINANCE DIRECTOR EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Tanya Davis, BUSINESS ANALYST; Janet Janoff, GENERAL MANAGER, WWD Peter W. Kaplan Ron Wilson, DIRECTOR OF EUROPEAN OPERATIONS PUBLISHED BY FAIRCHILD FASHION MEDIA A division of Advance Magazine Publishers Inc., 750 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 NEWS: 212-630-3500 | FASHION: 212-630-3535 | ADVERTISING: 212-630-4600 | SINGLE COPY SALES: 800-289-0273 | PRODUCTION: 212-630-4469 LONDON: 20 SHORTS GARDEN, WC2H 9AU, 441-0171-240-0420 | LOS ANGELES: 6300 WILSHIRE BLVD., SUITE 720, 90048, 323-965-7280 MILAN: PIAZZA CAVOUR 2, 20121, 011-39-02-6558-4201 | PARIS: 9 RUE ROYALE, 75008 , 331-4-451-1300 | WASHINGTON: 1050 17TH ST., N.W., SUITE 600, 20036 , 202-496-4975 8 00815.ACCESSORY.008.Mastead.a;17.indd815.ACCESSORY.008.Mastead.a;17.indd 1 88/9/11/9/11 11:57:57 PM Editor’s Letter Dear Reader, Welcome to WWD’s reimagined Accessory. This issue introduces a major shift from consumer- directed shopper to pure B-to-B, focusing on the highest levels of the accessories market. We made this change for one reason: You. Our intention is to provide you with information you will fi nd essential and compelling as you navigate the luxury accessories arena at this moment of remarkable global change, while showcasing some of the best product the sector has to off er. One could fi nd it ironic that during a time of intense economic volatility (I write this the day after the Dow plunged 643 points), executives helming the world’s greatest luxury houses are turning their attentions upward, developing products more luxurious, more artisanal, more rarifi ed and therefore, often more expensive than ever. “Ur-luxury” is how Fendi’s Michael Burke The Accessory logo was designed described the phenomenon to European Editor Miles