SOUNDS OF STYLE, A SPECIAL REPORT/SECTION II WWDWomen’s Wear Daily • TheTHURSDAY Retailers’ Daily Newspaper • September 2, 2004 • $2.00

A knit display in A&F’s latest format, Ruehl.

Exclusive: A&F’s New Ruehl By David Moin informally more like a big man on campus than the NEW ALBANY, OHIO — The chairman wears and flip- company chieftain, the approach to brand-building is flops to work and his 650 associates follow at the anything but casual. The intensity is as evident as sprawling, campus-style Abercrombie & Fitch ever with A&F’s latest brand and its Teutonic- headquarters here. sounding name, Ruehl. That’s just the veneer, though, because for Michael And Ruehl is just the first of three new retail Jeffries and the youthful army of workers he greets See New, Page 4 PHOTO BY DAVID TURNER DAVID PHOTO BY 2 WWD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2004 WWW.WWD.COM WWDTHURSDAY Hilton Launches Jewelry With Amazon Sportswear By Marc Karimzadeh GENERAL Hilton in A&F ceo Michael Jeffries lays out the strategy for Ruehl, the firm’s latest chain “It’s just being a girl; every girl — her multicross aimed at post-college shoppers, set to open Saturday in Tampa, Fla. loves jewelry.” . 1 It’s as simple as that for , who on U.S. textile groups fired up the pressure on the Bush administration, saying Wednesday launched the Paris Hilton Collection of 2 they will dozens of petitions to reimpose quotas on Chinese imports. jewelry in an exclusive agreement with Amazon.com. : Floral patterns are in bloom for spring, with The socialite heiress and star of Fox’s “The Simple Life” has designed a 10-piece sterling sil- 6 designers offering easy flowing in alluring prints. ver and Swarovski crystal collection, including a The Bush ladies presented a softer family portrait this week in their style belly chain, a belly bar, an ankle , neck- 8 and speeches, with critics on both sides the effect, well, “Bushie.” laces, and a charm bracelet. DISH: A pair of blue bloods: Sam Ben Avraham and Steve Te Pas...Lisa In a telephone interview from the Miami set of National Lampoon’s “Pledge This!” in which she 10 Rudes-Sandel aims to fit the fortysomethings...Lawman goes for status. stars, Hilton said this is the first time she has dab- ACTIVE: Lacoste is getting in on the action at the U.S. Open this year for the bled in jewelry design, but something she has been 12 first time with a 1,200-square-foot store at Arthur Ashe Stadium. interested in for a while. “I just love jewelry, ever since I was a little girl,” Hilton said. “When I was little, my parents Sounds of Style, Section II, appears in this edition. would give me jewelry.” Classified Advertisements...... 15 Overall, retail prices range from $15 to $95. “This jewelry is so great, because it’s really af- To e-mail reporters and editors at WWD, the address is fordable,” Hilton said. [email protected], using the individual's name. For instance, the collection includes a and WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF FAIRCHILD PUBLICATIONS, INC. COPYRIGHT ©2004 Swarovski crystal heart belly bar, priced at $15; a projections for Hilton’s line, but said that, as of FAIRCHILD PUBLICATIONS, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. silver and crystal heart belly chain, at $95; a silver Wednesday morning, Paris’ star necklace, for VOLUME 187, NO. 48. WWD (ISSN # 0149-5380) is published daily except Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, with one additional rosary bead necklace with a Swarovski crystal $30, was already the number two seller in Amazon’s issue in January, May, June and November; two additional issues in February, April, September, October and December; and three additional issues in March and August, by Fairchild Publications, Inc., a subsidiary of Advance Publications, Inc. PRINCIPAL OFFICE: 7 cross, $60, and a silver and crystal heart , $60. Jewelry Store, while the belly bar came in eighth. West 34th Street, New York, NY 10001. Shared Services provided by Advance Magazine Publishers Inc.: S.I. Newhouse, Jr., Chairman; “I love the belly chains with the matching belly “We worked with one of our manufacturers Steven T. Florio, Vice Chairman; Charles H. Townsend, C.O.O.; John W. Bellando, Executive Vice-President and C.F.O.; Jill Bright, button rings, and the crosses are really beautiful,” to produce the line,” said the spokeswoman. Executive Vice-President_Human Resources; John Buese, Executive Vice-President_ Chief Information Officer; David Orlin, Senior Vice-President_Strategic Sourcing; Robert Bennis, Senior Vice-President_Real Estate; David B. Chemidlin, Senior Vice- Hilton said. “I am wearing it right now…the belly “Paris and Amazon worked closely together to de- President_General Manager, Advance Magazine Group Shared Services Center. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY and at button and the Paris heart necklace and sign the pieces. This is exclusive to Amazon.com additional mailing offices. Canada Post Publications Mail Agreement No. 40032712. Canadian Goods and Services Tax Registration heart earrings and heart bracelet.” for a minimum of six months.” No. 88654-9096-RM0001. Canada post return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: 4960-2 Walker Road, Windsor, ON N9A 6J3. POSTMASTER: SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY, P.O. Box 15008, North Hollywood, CA 91615-5008. To support the collection, Amazon has put up a Last spring, Hilton signed a deal with Parlux FOR SUBSCRIPTIONS, ADDRESS CHANGES, ADJUSTMENTS, OR BACK ISSUE INQUIRIES: Please write to WOMEN’S WEAR Paris Hilton Boutique at Amazon.com/parishilton Fragrances to develop her own perfume and relat- DAILY, P.O. Box 15008, North Hollywood, CA 91615-5008; Call 800-289-0273; or visit www.subnow.com/wd . Four weeks is that showcases Marc Baptiste-shot images of ed beauty products. By expanding into fashion required for change of address. Please give both new and old address as printed on most recent label. First copy of new subscription will be mailed within four weeks after receipt of order. Address all editorial, business, and production Hilton wearing her own jewelry. There are also and accessories, Hilton is following the footsteps correspondence to WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY, 7 West 34th Street, New York, NY 10001. For permissions and reprint requests, detailed product shots, as well as video footage of of her sister, Nicky, who just launched her Chick please call 212-221-9595 or fax requests to 212-221-9195. Visit us online: www.wwd.com. To subscribe to other Fairchild the photo shoot and of Hilton working in the de- collection. magazines on the World Wide Web, visit www.fairchildpub.com. Occasionally, we make our subscriber list available to carefully screened companies that offer products and services that we believe would interest our readers. If you do not want to receive sign studio. Each piece will be shipped in a mid- There are plans to develop the jewelry collec- these offers and/or information, please advise us at P.O. Box 15008, North Hollywood, CA 91615-5008 or call 800-289-0273. night blue velvet jewelry pouch. tion beyond the first season, and Hilton said she is WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR LOSS, DAMAGE, OR ANY OTHER INJURY TO UNSOLICITED In addition to Hilton, Amazon.com’s Jewelry open to the idea of adding pricier fine jewelry. MANUSCRIPTS, UNSOLICITED ART WORK (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DRAWINGS, PHOTOGRAPHS, AND TRANSPARENCIES), OR ANY OTHER UNSOLICITED MATERIALS. THOSE SUBMITTING MANUSCRIPTS, PHOTOGRAPHS, ART Store offers jewelry by such resources as Fortunoff, But for the moment, the focus remains on the sil- WORK, OR OTHER MATERIALS FOR CONSIDERATION SHOULD NOT SEND ORIGINALS, UNLESS SPECIFICALLY REQUESTED Mondera, Ice.com, Luxuria and Kane Marie Fine ver and crystal designs — along with the other TO DO SO BY WWD IN WRITING. MANUSCRIPTS, PHOTOGRAPHS, AND OTHER MATERIALS SUBMITTED MUST BE Arts Gallery. It also has special features such as a projects Hilton has in the pipeline. ACCOMPANIED BY A SELF-ADDRESSED OVERNIGHT-DELIVERY RETURN ENVELOPE, POSTAGE PREPAID. Learning Center and Create a Ring. “There’s a line, fragrance, makeup, A spokeswoman for Amazon declined to give sales clothes, jeans,” she said of her future plans. In Brief Textile Groups Vow More China Petitions ● WAL-MART’S NEXT MOVE: It’s no secret that Wal-Mart is eye- By Kristi Ellis groups claim the move will be a Commerce, State, Treasury, ing international expansion, but could Italy be next? Italian su- death knell for their industries Labor and the Office of the U.S. permarket chain Esselunga denied a report in Italian daily — U.S. textile and a boon for China, and could Trade Representative, is still con- Finanza & Mercati that it’s in advanced talks to sell the business groups ratcheted up the pres- wipe out the remaining 702,500 sidering how to handle threat- to Wal-Mart. “There’s no truth to the idea that we are in talks,” a sure on the Bush administration jobs associated with textile and based petitions. Asked whether spokeswoman said, dismissing the recurring market rumor of a Wednesday, saying they would apparel production in the U.S., CITA would accept threat-based sale. Esselunga posted revenues of 4 billion euros, or $4.87 bil- file dozens of petitions this as well as destroy some of the 30 petitions, Leonard said: “We are lion at current exchange, in 2003, on its network of 120 stores. month seeking to reimpose quo- million jobs worldwide. just not there at this point.” The chain has a 8 percent market share in Italy in the supermar- tas on apparel and textile im- Supporters say lifting quotas Another U.S. trade official ket and hypermarket category, according to Esselunga’s Web ports from China based on the will energize the international recently said the government site. One -based retail analyst noted the Italian retail threat of market disruption. market and result in lower con- would not reject outright peti- market is “notoriously difficult to penetrate” because of bureau- “We have confirmed with the sumer prices. tions based on threat. cratic hurdles and corruption. Wal-Mart would also have to ad- U.S. government that we are well The U.S. is the largest textile Leonard stressed the China just to small-store formats in Europe. Elsewhere on the Wal- within our rights to file cases and apparel importer in the safeguard procedures deal only Mart front, a spokeswoman for Wal-Mart subsidiary Asda de- based on threat,” Auggie Tantillo, world, importing more than $77 with market disruption and not clined to comment Tuesday on rumors in the U.K. press that executive director of the billion worth of textile and ap- the threat of disruption. “The pro- Asda was poised to take over the discount retailer Matalan. The American Manufacturing Trade parel in 2003. Of that total, more cedure we’ve got out there deals Manchester Evening News said Asda was preparing a 1 billion Action Coalition, said during a than $61 billion was in categories with market disruption,” he said. pound, or $1.79 billion, takeover bid for the chain. press conference with the where quotas are to expire, ac- “If we do anything differently National Council of Textile cording to the textile coalition. [such as threat-based petitions] ● IN THEORY: Anticipating a huge exodus from this Organizations and the National The Bush administration we will have to come up with week, Theory plans to host an end-of-summer cocktail party and Textile Association. “In recent until now has only considered something different.” photo exhibition at its East Hampton store tonight from 6 to 9 weeks we have gone back to the safeguard actions that contain That statement infuriated the p.m., celebrating photographer Michael Dweck’s photo book, government and…we received as- trade and domestic production domestic textile groups who be- “The End. Montauk, N.Y.” surances based on a legal review.” data as evidence to support alle- lieved officials had opened the The three groups said they gations of market disruption. It door to such petitions, which is ● PHI’S LATEST HIRE: As Phi, the new designer brand founded plan to file petitions on cotton is unclear where federal regula- the primary reason they held by Susan Dell launching for fall, prepares to open its first store and man-made fiber, men’s and tory agencies stand on threat- Wednesday’s news conference. on Sept. 7, the company named Dorit Engel as store manager for women’s and , based petitions, and some ap- They said they cannot wait for the location at 71 Greene Street. Engel was previously store di- women’s , and pear to contradict one another. CITA to deliberate a new set of rector for Christian in New York and worked for Gucci dresses, and key home furnish- Jim Leonard, deputy assistant procedures for threat-based pe- America in various retail capacities prior to that. She will report ing categories. security of textiles, apparel and titions, considering that it took to Julia Hansen, president of Phi. Tantillo said Commerce re- consumer goods at the Commerce CITA 17 months to publish pro- quires one petition per product Department, appeared to cast cedures on market disruption. ● OATES TO HARVEY NICHOLS: Averyl Oates has been named but said he would like to mini- some doubt Wednesday on Later, a Commerce spokes- buying director at Harvey Nichols, replacing Anne Pitcher, the mize the paperwork and redun- whether the Committee for the woman said, “In reviewing peti- store said Wednesday. Oates, who is currently women’s wear dancy by creating a template of Implementation of Textile tions, we consider whether the merchandise director at Harrods, will start in her new post on Chinese production capacity Agreements, the interagency petition includes the informa- Oct. 18. She will be responsible for buying across all areas of the and subsidies, and fill it in with group that oversees and reviews tion required in our published business, and will report to Joseph Wan, managing director of data on specific categories. the petitions, would accept peti- procedures and whether it in- Harvey Nichols. Before joining Harrods, Oates worked for The 147 members of the tions based on threat, despite the cludes sufficient specific factual Emanuel Ungaro and Donna Karan in retail and wholesale posi- World Trade Organization on textile industry’s claims it has re- data necessary to make a deter- tions. As reported, Anne Pitcher has been named buying and Jan. 1 are to lift quotas on bil- ceived such assurances. mination as to whether imports merchandising director for Selfridges. lions of dollars worth of apparel Leonard told WWD that CITA, are disrupting or threatening to and textile trade. U.S. textile comprising representatives from disrupt the U.S. market.” WWD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2004 3 WWW.WWD.COM

cant improvement in our prof- sales were up 85.3 percent in itability compared with 2003, China, 46.3 percent in Russia and even though the first half of last 49 percent in India. “Everything L’Oréal Net Leaps 21.8% in Half year was exceptionally good. This suggests that emerging markets has largely offset the decline in will be as profitable as estab- By Brid Costello adjusted operating profits grew 1 much as he would like. exchange gains.” lished ones,” said Owen-Jones. percent to 1.14 billion euros, or “Once again, we have achieved Among subjects discussed at Regarding new products, PARIS — L’ Oréal confirmed $1.39 billion, in the period. Dollar a strong increase in our sales, de- the meeting were Sanofi-Synthe- Owen-Jones was bullish about Wednesday its aim to achieve figures have been converted at spite unfavorable market condi- labo, the pharmaceuticals giant second-half launches, among double-digit pretax profit growth the average exchange rate. tions, not only in Europe but also in which L’Oréal deconsolidated them an antidandruff shampoo by for its 20th year while also post- As reported, L’Oréal rang up in the ,” said Owen- its stake in August. As a result of Elseve, the rollout of a new hair ing a first-half net income gain first-half sales of 7.39 billion dilution following Sanofi’s recent colorant and fragrance launches. of 21.8 percent to 960.9 million euros, or $9.01 billion, up 3.6 per- successful bid to take over its And looking at new retail for- euros, or $1.17 billion. cent over the same period in 2003. rival, Aventis, L’Oréal will add a mats, Owen-Jones said, “Are we The group, however, adjusted On a like-for-like basis, they were BEAUTY BEAT “dilution profit” of about 2 bil- interested in new forms of distri- its full-year like-for-like sales up 6.4 percent. lion euros, or $2.44 billion, to its bution? You bet.” Owen-Jones growth target from 7.1 percent to Owen-Jones was upbeat about Jones in a statement Wednesday. net income in 2004. L’Oréal’s noted some L’Oréal-owned brands a figure “broadly in line” with the first-half figures, noting the peri- “The success of a large number share of Sanofi-Synthelabo’s have had a lot of success with 6.4 percent growth registered in od was characterized by “consid- of launches and the rapid expan- profit in the first half was 233.2 stand-alone doors. “It’s an alter- the first half. erable pessimism” and a slug- sion of our subsidiaries in new million euros, or $284 million, up native we’re looking at.” “It’s slightly less positive gish market for consumer prod- and emerging countries have 22.4 percent year-on-year. Shares of L’Oréal closed with than we had hoped at the begin- ucts in , Germany and helped boost turnover. This The firm also discussed new a 1.37 percent gain on the Paris ning of the year,” said Lindsay Italy. He also said consumption growth, combined with strict cost markets, which were particularly Bourse Wednesday at 55.40 Owen-Jones, L’Oréal’s chairman in the U.S. is not picking up as control, contributed to a signifi- dynamic in the first half. Notably, euros, or $67.47. and chief executive officer, at a meeting for analysts and jour- nalists here Wednesday. “[But] overall growth is very strong.” He said the forecasted growth target is “more than adequate to drive our business model.” WHAT TO WHERE “[L’Oréal revised the forecast,

as it] does not expect the cosmet- SCENE at FashionCenterDallas ics market to recover in the sec- ond half,” said Antoine Belge, an HSBC analyst, in a research note. Owen-Jones said first-half sales and earnings, coupled with the prospect of a decline in the impact of currency hedges, prompted the company to con- firm its full-year profits target of ® at least 10 percent. 13thdallasmarket floor / – Dallas World Trade Center 24 / – / Edited Temporary Show / October 21 Net operational profit after mi- nority interests was up 6.3 percent to 965.7 million euros, or $1.18 bil- lion, in the first half. Operating profits rose 7.8 percent to 1.12 bil- lion euros, or $1.36 billion, while Slocum Nears Halston Post NEW YORK — Carla Slocum is close to being named to the new position of vice presi- dent of women’s wear at Hal- ston Design Group, people fa- miliar with the situation said. Slocum’s responsibilities would include overseeing and expanding the Halston brand to categories such as acces- sories, , and lifestyle- home products. Other duties might involve overseeing new license agreements, product

development and strategic center partnerships. Neither Slocum

nor Halston officials could be .com 214.655.6100 800.325.6587 reached for comment. Most recently, Slocum was with Kellwood New England, a unit of Kellwood Co., as vice president of design and mer- chandising for the Emme and Bill Burns groups. She is no longer with the firm. She also worked as vice president of product development and de- sign at Liz Claiborne Inc. and held executive posts at Brooks Bros. and Saks . Slocum would report to James Ammeen, chief execu- tive officer of Halston, while working closely with creative director and designer, Bradley Bayou. Meanwhile, Bayou is to host a cocktail party Thursday night at Halston’s Los Angeles bou- tique in anticipation of the on Sept. 19. He will show select from the Inside the Dallas World Trade Center spring collection to Hollywood stylists and celebrities. — Lauren DeCarlo 4 WWD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2004 New Ruehl Continued from page one The new concepts being developed by the group, Jeffries dis- concept’s closed. town house The first Ruehl store opens Saturday in the International Plaza in Tampa, Fla., followed by one facade. Sunday in the Woodfield Mall in Chicago and a third on Tuesday at the Garden State Plaza in Paramus, N.J. A fourth unit will open in time for Christmas selling at the Twelve Oaks mall in Detroit. In an exclusive preview of Ruehl, WWD was led through a model-store setup at A&F headquarters that totally replicates the real Ruehl store environment. “Ruehl is the fantasy of college kids of America mov- ing from Indiana to the big city. What do you want to do after college — move to New York and make it there,” explained Jeffries during the tour. The Ruehl concept is based on a fictitious story, conceived by Jeffries, about a German leather goods family that decades ago - grated to America and opened a stu- dio in a sophisticated town house in Greenwich Village. “They’re lovers of art, literature and music,” Jeffries said. The store, which bears the offi- cial logo RUEHL No. 925, has the trappings of that town house, with a brick facade, wrought iron fence, antiqued windows (mannequins ver- boten) and a cement sidewalk. Inside, there are 10 800-square-foot rooms, each mer- chandised with different categories, and a corridor of artwork, which will give customers a sense of discovery as they move from one area to the next. Ruehl is aimed at women and men ages 22 to 30. A&F’s other divisions target younger audiences: A&F First look: Ruehl’s casual sportswear. Merchants for 18- to 22-year-olds, Hollister for 14- to 18-year-olds Ruehl: Carole and abercrombie for seven- to 14-year-olds. There’s a lot Kerner, Lisa of overlap — they all sell casual sportswear and are all Axelson and high energy with loud music, sexually suggestive posters Alisa Durando. ▲ and youthful, good-looking staff that closely reflects the demographics. “There is cannibalization bound to hap- pen, which will affect your comps, but what’s your long- term strategy?” Jeffries asked. At A&F, “It’s to own the casual sportswear business, by age.” For Jeffries, creating brands is also a lot like creating movies. Both have stories built in, and an important part of the story relates to “sex and attraction.” Ruehl, like other A&F formats, emphasizes casual sportswear and is sprinkled with suggestive posters on the walls. The stores will generally be 9,500 gross square feet in size, with 8,500 square feet for selling, which compares with Abercrombie & Fitch stores at about 10,000 square feet gross. The left side of the store is de- voted to women’s products and the right side features men’s, with some shelves stacked with antique books — all for sale — and there’s a gallery for art in between. But that’s where the similarity stops. The mood at Ruehl is more seductive than sexually raw, with softer music, subdued lighting and posters with partial nudity and couples embracing. Also, the merchandise is priced 22 percent higher than Abercrombie & Fitch (which raised prices 10 per- cent this year compared with 2003) and the Ruehl as- sortment is anchored in denim, with a variety of fits, washes and price points, and long wood tables or “bars” to place the jeans on to help customers examine them. Accessories. It’s a category where the company’s other brands have They’re right in sometimes fallen short, though this year, A&F launched front, upon Ezra Fitch, a venture into the premiere denim realm. entering Ruehl. Whether it’s the “Barrow” straight-leg, the “Jane” -fit, or the “Waverly” flair-leg model (notice the Greenwich Village references), the jeans are offered in three washes priced from $78 to $88. There’s also the hand-painted Studio jean, priced at $148. Other categories are women’s and men’s casual sportswear, including woven shirts from $58 to $68 and cashmere . There are also leather at $398, accessories, outerwear, intimate apparel and ac- cessories, as well as a Ruehl men’s and women’s fra- grance for $58 in a 3.4-oz. bottle shaped like an antique Ruehl targets 22- to 30- ink flask. There are no or tailored clothing, prod- year-old men and women. ucts the other divisions also exclude because Jeffries WWD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2004 5 WWW.WWD.COM

Michael Jeffries, chairman A seductive setting for Ruehl’s and chief executive, at the intimate apparel. corporate headquarters. PHOTOS BY DAVID TURNER DAVID PHOTOS BY considers them very difficult categories to master, much ongoing laboratories to develop store presentations. All A&F insulted an entire state by selling T-shirts this less to make a profit on. stores must adhere strictly to the presentations at head- season that read: “It’s all relative in West .” But The store also sells limited-edition art T-shirts, quarters, from the decibel level of the music to the roll there’s a reason for it. “We do it because it’s fun,” priced at $50, signed by the artist. This month, Eric of a sleeve on a form. Jeffries said. Lebofsky is the artist and the shirts include whimsical, From headquarters, a 12-building complex se- “Here’s the point: If you are focused on a customer, cartoon-like illustrations. Each month a different artist questered on a 350-acre park-like plot of land where no that’s who you care about.” will create T-shirt designs. cars or homes can be seen, the visual marketing teams Fourteen years ago, Jeffries joined A&F, then a There’s a section with a black, white and gray theme send out “floor set” documents or photos detailing how quirky and confused 30-store division of Limited that groups men’s and women’s jackets, cardigans, the stores should be presented. The documents are sent Brands. He reinvented the format to focus on private tanks and knit boxers — all geared to be layered with via the point-of-sale system to all the stores, and store label, better quality casual sportswear for teens and col- the jeans. teams move fast to get things just right. lege kids. Jeffries kept the masculine ambience because Attention to detail is prevalent throughout the assort- District managers visit the stores every week, and he felt it would be cool for women to shop in a men’s ment, from burgundy stitching for a splash of color on cover about eight stores each. They are equipped with store, but reversed the merchandise ratio to 65 percent less bright apparel, French cuffs on shirts, antique tick- Sprint camera phones to photograph their store presen- women’s, 35 percent men’s, falling in line with most ing, leather jackets that are hand-buffed for an aged tations to show regional managers and other superiors other dual-gender chains. look, and logos with New York references, such as that they are in sync with the fashion dictates from A&F was spun off from Limited into its own public Village Meat Packing District track jackets. Even the headquarters. “We run this company like the military, company in 1996. Two years later it launched abercrom- shopping bags have canvas handles for a unique touch. there are no local options,” Jeffries stated. bie and in 2000 introduced Hollister. The new division is being run by senior vice presi- Each store typically gets updated once a week, pri- The core A&F brand, with 360 stores, is close to max- dent and general merchandise manager Carole Kerner, marily with new front fixture displays featuring the lat- ing out on expansion. Only about 40 additional stores are considered a strong, creative merchant with a range of est merchandise, while the older merchandise and envisioned, for a ceiling of around 400 units, including experience at high-profile brands including Donna markdown items get shifted toward the back of the one at 720 Fifth Avenue where is moving out. Karan and J. Crew, who was instrumental in launching stores. However, Jeffries said there is no new urban strategy for Hollister four years ago. Alisa Durando is vice president The intense “branding” strategy includes “impact A&F involving seeking additional highprofile, prime lo- for women’s design and Lisa Axelson is vice president teams” and “mystery shoppers” who rate stores by pres- cations. The company has not adopted a flagship strategy, of men’s design. The stores are designed by Anderson entation as well as effectiveness and friendliness of as- which isn’t surprising since Jeffries is a confessed “mall Architects, and interior design firm Schaefer Studio, sociates. And if a store fails to meet the grade, “rehab” rat” and he believes malls are still drawing the hordes. working with A&F. teams come in to overhaul it, Jeffries said. At the other divisions, abercrombie has over 170 Jeffries said Ruehl has been in development for “The coordination is intense in terms of how much units operating and a perceived ceiling of 400 units. three years, and will undergo a year of testing at the ini- time it takes,” he said. “New merchandise goes into Hollister, however, has a longer way to go before max- tial handful of stores, before deciding on a rollout. “We every one of our stores every week. Men’s wear on ing out on expansion, and is performing the strongest. decided we had to go after the 22- to 30-year-old that we Wednesday, women’s on Thursday. There is so much de- Hollister has almost 200 units and 600 to 800 are con- weren’t addressing.” tail in running our business, such a team effort from the templated. Hollister has a loyalty program, rewarding Ruehl, with its more sophisticated attire, is also design, marketing, merchandising, planning and alloca- good shoppers with concerts, whereas the other divi- geared to capture customers who may have tired of or tion and the smell of our stores,” which get a spritz of sions haven’t developed loyalty programs yet. outgrown the look of A&F, which has shown lackluster the Abercrombie home fragrance. “There’s no variation “The in-store experience drives our marketing more sales lately. by geography.” than other marketing,” said Tom Lenox, director of in- Other customer segments or categories will be target- Unlike other retailers, Jeffries refuses to run fre- vestor relations and corporate communications. “It’s the ed through the new formats beyond Ruehl, although quent price promotions (only two are held annually to merchandising, the images, the smell, the music. We’re Jeffries declined to detail the demographics they will clear merchandise). It’s his nature not to kowtow to Wall putting palm trees in some stores. Hollister, at six stores, pursue or what they will sell. Street when it comes to comparable-store sales gains, is also experimenting with live Web cams of a pier at Then, hinting that retirement is in the back of his preferring to focus on the bottom line and long-term Huntington Beach in showing the surfers.” mind, Jeffries said he wants to get all of the new retail strategy. He considers a strategy built on promoting Online is an opportunity, with Internet sales current- concepts up and running before he decides to leave the price and markdowns to attain those higher comps ly representing about 5 percent of the business, with 30 A&F campus for good. But the 59-year-old Jeffries gave “brand destructive,” and says of Wall Street analysts: percent of that conducted through overseas sales. Last no timetable for his retirement, and there’s no sign he’s “All they want to happen is to make the stock move.” year, the company reported an 8.8 percent gain in sales slowing down. As far as creating a succession strategy, he He pointed out that the nonpromotional pricing to $1.77 billion and a 6.1 percent increase in earnings to said, “It’s one of my big emphases,” and that bringing in strategy preserves margins and that, as a percent of $209.2 million. Robert Singer as president and chief operating officer in sales, A&F’s operating margins are among the highest Despite the increased complexity of the company, May was part of it. Singer previously was chief financial among specialty stores. First and foremost, “You design Jeffries said it’s not really harder to manage. “I don’t officer at Gucci Group under Domenico De Sole. a garment, put everything into it you can and then get think you can say that. We don’t operate our brands in Apparently, Jeffries is not one who believes it’s ab- the best price you can. We don’t look at it from the bot- silos, in terms of control. Casual trends transcend age,” solutely necessary that a merchant runs a fashion re- tom line and back, we look at what we are building, so trends in one division can be applied to others. tailer. Asked if he would select one as his successor, he what we are doing.” “Many parts of our business are integrated, that is replied, “Not necessarily.” And so what if he takes heat from conservative different from Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic. It’s What is necessary is that whomever Jeffries hands groups for sexually suggestive catalogue imagery, or a different strategy that enables us to have a lot of con- off the baton to adheres to his brand philosophy — and from Wall Streeters who worry about the impact of trol.” it’s a rigid one. It comes to light as Jeffries shows off the provocative marketing, as well as A&F’s recent lacklus- It’s Jeffries’ key ingredient to building brands. “I model stores for all of the A&F brands. They’re not just ter comp-sale performances. “You have to learn to never imagined the potential here. It keeps opening up. used to launch prototypes, like Ruehl, but function as it off,” Jeffries said. We’ve always got something in development.” 6 WWD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2004

Coco Kliks’ cotton and Lycra sateen . NCY.COM; FASHION ASSISTANTS: TAYLOR PRICE AND LAUREN TANAKA; STYLED BY MELISSA MAGSAYSAY STYLED BY TANAKA; PRICE AND LAUREN TAYLOR ASSISTANTS: FASHION NCY.COM; Bloom LOS ANGELES — Floral patterns are in bloom for County spring, as designers offer up easy dresses in alluring prints. PHOTOS BY MIKE ROSENTHAL; MODEL: ANGELA MARCELLO/WILHELMINA; ALL BY NOIR; HAIR AND MAKEUP BY JUANITA LYON/CELESTINEAGE JUANITA NOIR; HAIR AND MAKEUP BY ALL BROOCHES BY MIKE ROSENTHAL; MODEL: ANGELA MARCELLO/WILHELMINA; PHOTOS BY WWD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2004 7 WWW.WWD.COM

Betsey Lynn Lihn’s Johnson’s cotton dress. cotton dress.

Silk chiffon dress from BCBG Max Azria. Kristen Lee .

Cotton dress from J.P. & Mattie. 8 WWD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2004 Voting for First Family Fashion

By Eric Wilson

NEW YORK — The ladies of the Bush dynasty presented a softer family portrait this week in their personal style and personable speeches, with critics on both sides of the partisan fence finding the effect, well, “Bushie.” As 22-year-old Barbara Bush, wearing a black dress with a beaded neckline from Catherine Malandrino, explained in the Bush twins’ appearance at the Republican National Convention on Tuesday night, “Bushie” is a cutesy term of endearment her parents call each other. With her sister, Jenna, who wore an Oscar de la Renta brown satin with jeans, the twins attempted to present President Bush more as hip dad than rash cowboy, much as First Lady Laura Bush portrayed her husband as having agonized over the decision to go to war, rather than rushing into it. Their remarks, combined with the sophistication of Laura Bush’s de la Renta jacket and knee-length or the playfulness of the twins’ appear- ances around the city in frilly Rebecca Taylor tops, may have endeared the Bushes to those who most wanted to peer inside a family life that has largely been kept private during the past four years. Yet the idea of Jenna Bush pro- nouncing, “Our parents are actually pretty cool,” had the opposite effect on their detractors, the word “Bushie” giving many Democratic-leaning designers a case of the shivers. The overall reaction on the convention floor that night to the First Lady’s speech and the style of the Bush women was much as it was in the fashion in- dustry on Wednesday. Republicans loved them and Democrats either bitched or bit their tongues. Taylor, who hosted Jenna and Barbara on a shopping spree at her Mott Street store on Aug. 3 as the First Lady approved their selections, was surprised to see the twins turn up in her designs at a Republican party on Sunday night and then again on “Good Morning America” Wednesday. “The girls looked really cute and fresh, but I’m biased, of course,” said Taylor. “It’s nice for the Republicans to have a couple of cute, fresh, young and energetic girls representing them.” Barbara Bush in Catherine De la Renta, naturally, was beaming from the Bushes’ family box at Madison Malandrino and Jenna Bush in Square Garden on Tuesday night as he watched Jenna and Laura Bush speak wear- Oscar de la Renta’s jacket. ing his designs. He waved a “W Stands for Women” poster as the First Lady stood in her bright turquoise suit against a background of red and white flecks, a none-too- subtle salute to patriotism. Some found it contrived, others, perfectly appropriate. On Wednesday, de la Renta said of his first political convention, “I’ve seen it on TV, but to be there on the floor is something quite different. It’s an American experience.” The designer liked that many of his fellow guests in the family’s box were old friends of the Bushes from . “I think that says a lot for them that their friends then are their friends now,” de la Renta said. “Mrs. Bush even mentioned that in her speech.” But the designer, who also outfitted Teresa Heinz Kerry for her speech at the Democratic National Convention, insisted he’s not playing party favorites. “I just make clothes people identify with,” he said. “I’m not trying to make a political statement. My political beliefs are part of my private life, not part of my professional life.” That said, the two sectors do cross from time to time. De la Renta said he has known Heinz Kerry for more than 25 years. His late first wife, Francoise, be- friended Heinz Kerry in Switzerland before she wed John Heinz. New York Sen. Oscar de la Renta greets Hillary Rodham Clinton is another friend and client. former president George Laura Bush in Earlier this week, Judith Giuliani stopped by de la Renta’s showroom with Bush and Barbara Bush. Oscar de la Renta. husband Rudy to pick up a few for the conventions. Judith wore one of her Bush and Barbara Bush. Oscar de la Renta. GOP LOGO BY CORBIS; PHOTOS BY TALAYA CENTENO TALAYA CORBIS; PHOTOS BY BY GOP LOGO finds Monday night when the former mayor addressed the convention and a black bouclé “I thought it was uninteresting and the two girls didn’t number to a tea in her honor Tuesday at the National seem terribly prepared,” he said, then questioned the Women’s Republican Club. Convention Snapshot bracelet-length sleeve of Jenna’s jacket. “I didn’t get the De la Renta was pleased to see Jenna Bush pair one Thursday: 7:45-11:15 p.m. sleeve on the jacket of the blonde chick.” of his jackets with jeans at the convention Tuesday night. Theme of the Day: A Safer World, A More Hopeful America Dennis Basso said Bush wore a “jewelry suit” in that “I thought that was really quite wonderful,” he said. Speakers and Agenda: it needed a necklace or a pair of pins. She probably “That was sort of living proof of what we are trying to do ● New York Gov. George Pataki, President toned it down for the cameras so as not to distract view- — dress mothers and daughters.” George W. Bush. ers from the her speech, he said. Neither Bush nor Heinz Kerry asks de la Renta about Rallies: “It was beautifully tailored and suited her beautifully, the other’s personal taste, nor would he disclose such ● Noon: One People’s Project Party for but it could have used some jewelry,” Basso said. “You things, he said. What he will say is that Bush has “ex- Peace, Tompkins Square Park. know whoever bought that same suit would load it up traordinary” eyes — a compliment he shared with the ● 7 p.m.: ANSWER Coalition Rally: with jewelry.” First Lady shortly after meeting her. Converge on the RNC, Eighth Avenue Nonetheless, the twins’ participation in their father’s “I told her, ‘You’re going to think I’m extremely un- and 31st Street. reelection campaign is representative of the effort to in- gentleman-like, but you have the most unbelievable sap- Parties and Events: crease Bush’s appeal to young voters. Of the younger phire blue eyes,’” he said. ● 10 a.m.: New York and New Hampshire delegations members of the audience on Tuesday, several were en- Whoever winds up in the White House, de la Renta champagne brunch, Remi Restaurant, 145 West . thusiastic supporters of Barbara and Jenna, many of naturally hopes to suit up either woman for the inaugu- ● 11 a.m.: California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s arrival at them showing a sense of style that was contrary to the ration. “I do hope they would come to me, but this is a Planet Hollywood, 1540 . Republican stereotype. A group of college students rep- free world,” he said. “What they choose is up to them, ● Noon: Macy’s Herald Square’s “A Formal Affair” evening resenting the hotly contested state of Florida were firm- but I hope they choose me.” . ly in the twins’ camp. As for who the designer plans to choose on Nov. 2, he ● 12:30 p.m.: National Republican Senatorial Committee Delegate Sheri Valera, 21, a senior from the said, “In my voting, I have always voted not for the party luncheon with Kelsey Grammar, Metropolitan Club, 1 East University of Florida who had just had a fashion but for the person. I voted for Clinton, but I voted for 60th Street. makeover, care of Style Network’s “The Look for Less,” Reagan, too. I only vote for winners. But I’m not going to ● 5 p.m.: New York delegation preconvention party, Madame and was working a silky cream top with a red ribbon tell you who I’m voting for.” Tussauds, 234 West . over a camel , said, “I loved the Bush girls. I Others in the fashion industry weren’t quite so politic think they’re so cool.” in expressing their views of the Bush women. Dana Roberts, 20, from Florida Atlantic University, “Laura turned out to be an absolutely stand-up, fantastic speaker,” said Mary added, “I think they’re so real about who they are.” She said, “The First Lady is al- McFadden. “She’s dressed conservatively, which is her style, and her face is beautiful. ways magnificent — so classy, so poised. She’s a really good role model for young Those eyes she has twist upward. She was remarkable last night, even though she got women who want to be more conservative, who want to be kind of old-fashioned.” less press than Arnold Schwarzenegger.” Dan Chwalisz, 21, from the University of North Florida, said, “I think they have a “That color of blue is really pretty and she looked really nice,” added Alice Roi. very strong message and they use their charm to get it across. As a male, they strike “I’m not going to say I loved the suit, but I don’t think they’ll let her wear anything that note and you want to listen to what they say. They’re very cute.” else. Her approval rating is quite high, so she’s probably doing the right thing.” From the fashion industry’s perspective, the twins have their detractors and en- “She looked OK — she’s quite attractive, really,” said Daryl Kerrigan, who maintained a thusiasts, but there are few designers who would kick them out of their showroom. healthy skepticism. “I wonder if she’s had a lot of work done. She looked kind of sculpted.” “Barbara had a better dress on, but Jenna has the power,” McFadden said. “The Charles Nolan, whose Democratic connections are deep rooted, came out swinging blonde one could definitely be a politician. She took her sister out.” against Bush fashion altogether. —With contributions from Rosemary Feitelberg and Nandini D’Souza WWD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2004 9 WWW.WWD.COM New York Notes Retail Doldrums Hit Fifth Avenue THE DOG HOUSE: The Republicans are playing By Meredith Derby catch with all sorts of dogs of war at the convention, but NEW YORK — In any other year, the late summer season at ’s Fifth Avenue flagship there was one that just wasn’t means robust business. American, Japanese and especially Europeans tourists enjoying their tradi- biting. Triumph the Insult tional August holiday flock to the luxury emporium for its unmatched mix of high-end merchandise Comic Dog, of “Late Night and good taste. with Conan O’Brien” fame, But at midday Wednesday, first-floor counters lined with $730 Alma and $200 made his way around the were browsed over by fewer than 10 shoppers. Meanwhile, the second floor of this church of con- floor Tuesday night, amusing spicuous consumption was conspicuously deserted, save for the presence of a single, idle sales associate. older Republicans and Although the Louis Vuitton store at Fifth Avenue and occupies a singular place in terrorizing the younger ones. New York’s retail landscape, it was emblematic of the larger pall the Republican National The talk of the night was Triumph the Insult Comic Dog with Florida Convention cast on shopping in the city. Indeed, this week the city’s retail landscape looked more how charming Jenna and delegate Dana Roberts. like a moonscape. Barbara Bush were, speaking The timing of the slowdown in retail shopping is far from ideal, as a variety of economic indica- on behalf of their father, the President, and letting everyone in on the tors, from plunging consumer confidence to weaker consumer spending, are already pointing to soft- family’s secret pet names for each other. But when asked how the twins er second-half results in the sector. performed onstage, Triumph said, “They were great. Mary-Kate was very Moreover, the lull is occurring as stores push back-to-school sales and during a week when taxes dignified about what happened last summer. She didn’t even mention the have been lifted on clothing and footwear that costs less than $110. summer, which was very impressive.” When he was fending off critics in the city’s bid to host the RNC, Mayor Michael Bloomberg esti- And while many size up which set of daughters — the Bushes or mated the convention would generate about $265 million in Alexandra and Vanessa Kerry — are putting on cuter, more stylish election long-term economic stimulus for New York, including $166 mil- game faces, Triumph isn’t easily impressed. “Well, I have a different lion in direct spending. perspective because I look at their butts, you know?” But in a Monday press conference held at Macy’s, Bloomberg said that retail stores located closer to Madison Square Garden BE PREPARED: Just like her husband, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, Karyn are more likely to be adversely affected by the convention’s tight Frist understands that everything has its place. security as well as the protesters. Still, he maintained that the Before heading to New York for the convention, her wardrobe was convention is still a positive overall for the city. “Long-term, you organized and somewhat replenished. Wearing a silver Michael Kors dress know, over a period of time, this is one of the better things that suit at Tuesday night’s National Distilled Spirits-sponsored bash at the New could happen to the city, because more people will come here.” York Yacht Club, the Tennessee senator’s wife said, “Before we left, I knew But far from the police barricades and concrete barriers en- which day I would wear which outfit. They only give us 20 minutes to veloping Madison Square Garden — site of the RNC — police change our clothes.” on Wednesday stood guard in front of several Fifth Avenue re- Her suitcase stowed away a few pieces from her favorite designer, Kors, tailers as shoppers continued their hiatus. as well as a few from Ralph Rucci, whose workmanship earned points with Inside many Fifth Avenue stores midday Wednesday, the Frist. “He’s the only American designer that shows on the runway in Paris,” mood was subdued even though lunch-time foot traffic on the she added accurately. street was moderately heavy. Several store associates cited re- But shopping hasn’t been an option this week. “I’ve been in Barneys cent protests, including one at the nearby public library as well and Saks for events,” she said. “Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to shop.” as in , as deterrents that kept shoppers away. Her husband doesn’t offer much input in the fashion department, but Overall, store associates said the amount of shoppers was “he is always very supportive of everything I do,” Frist said. lower than normal with generally just working professionals visiting the stores. The decrease in traffic began this weekend, ROCKING FRENCH CONNECTION: Actress they said, as many New Yorkers left the city before the official Angie Harmon and her husband, former start of the convention. NFL star Jason Sehorn, are making the When asked if store traffic has possibly increased due to the political rounds. Having addressed the influx of delegates, a associate said: “No, it’s RNC Monday night, the pair teamed up been quite the opposite. We’ve seen a decrease.” Shoppers have Police make presence felt on Fifth Ave. with Rock the Vote for a party at French taken cues from the media and have fled town, he said. Connection’s SoHo store to encourage People aren’t necessarily nervous about the convention being in town, they’re just not in the city, people to go to the polls in November. he added, also citing that several offices in the area are closed this week. “The only thing we can really do is Another Saks associate echoed his remarks, saying the department store was “dead” on Monday vote,” said Sehorn. “You can’t change and Tuesday. By Wednesday, however, the amount of shoppers had increased, he said, though still anything by talking.” below normal levels. Sehorn maintained they were just “The city just seems dead,” said a Louis Vuitton sales associate, who said store traffic at the luxu- trying to encourage people to vote and not ry retailer’s Fifth Avenue location has dropped off sharply. She speculated that the convention, com- pushing an agenda, despite their vocal bined with the upcoming Labor Day holiday, solidified many regular shoppers’ decisions to flee the support of President Bush. city for the week. The Rock the Vote message seems to Another aspect turning off shoppers has been the amount of police controlling traffic on Fifth have gotten through to his wife, who said she Avenue with orange cones and metal barriers blocking off certain areas, said the Louis Vuitton asso- would go home to Texas and register to vote ciate. Indeed, a huge motorcade of police cars, motorcycles and vans, as well as unmarked, black right away. As for her political choices, SUVs sped down Fifth Avenue earlier Wednesday. Onlookers speculated that it was Vice President Harmon, who wore a black-and-white floral- Cheney arriving for the convention. print top, black pants and diamond earrings, The RNC “kind of killed” customer traffic, said a Kenneth Cole associate. He noted traffic on said, “Republicans are just more laid back.” Saturday and Sunday was especially “lower than we expected,” but said Wednesday’s lunch-time Harmon isn’t necessarily in lockstep traffic was closer to normal. with all of Bush’s platform, though. “Do I “It’s no secret that the convention is having an effect on everybody’s business, including ours,” have to agree with everything George Bush Angie said Dawn Brown, vice president of publicity at Barneys New York. says?” she said. “No. I don’t agree with Harmon —With contributions from Anamaria Wilson everything my husband says.”

President Bush was in contrast to several clashes be- tween protesters and police on Tuesday that resulted ‘Pink ’ Protesters Take to Streets in hundreds of arrests. The protesters battled police on the steps of the New York Public Library on Fifth By Rosemary Feitelberg Avenue. Across from Macy’s in Herald Square, foot and NEW YORK — Thousands of demonstrators assembled motor vehicle traffic came to a standstill as hundreds in a symbolic unemployment line on Wednesday that of police officers tried to quell civil disobedience that stretched from Wall Street in lower Manhattan to the erupted around 6:15 p.m. Other protests took place in site of the Republican National Convention at Madison Union Square and at Ground Zero, and roving of Square Garden to decry what they said was rising job- demonstrators confronted Republican delegates. lessness under the Bush administration. Arlene Dombrosky, who hasn’t worked for two years Each protestor held a neon pink slip of paper that read since losing her job as a sewing machine operator at “The Next Pink Slip Might Be Yours’’ in solidarity with an Rosal, the maker of Alfred Dunner apparel, said she estimated eight million Americans who don’t have jobs. traveled from Jim Thorpe, Pa., to stand in the unem- Some taxi drivers honked their horns and passersby of- ployment line. fered words of encouragement to the orderly demonstra- “My age is against me,” Dombrosky said. “I’m 62. tors, who stayed in formation from 8:13 to 8:31 a.m. Jobs aren’t there — other than Kmart, Wal-Mart and The demonstration, organized by People for the McDonald’s. You can’t make a living off that. There’s no American Way, a nonprofit group based in Washington, health care, no pension program. You’re existing. was billed as “The World’s Longest Unemployment That’s the extent of it.” Line,’’ representing 1.2 million jobs lost since March Another protester, Rachel Falcon, 19, a Vassar 2001. The organizers said that as many as 5,000 people College junior, said it was important to have young peo- took part. Other protests were planned by the Central ple in the line because college students are among Labor Council and the National Organization for Women. The unemployment line. those most affected by unemployment. “I’m out here for The latest street theater mounted by opponents of the people who are struggling more than me,” she said. RETAIL PHOTO BY JOHN AQUINO; HARMON PHOTO BY TALAYA CENTENO TALAYA JOHN AQUINO; HARMON PHOTO BY PHOTO BY RETAIL 10 WWD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2004 WWW.WWD.COM A Pair of Blue Bloods Denim Dish Sam Ben Avraham, operator of New York’s Atrium boutique and founder of the Project trade show, is getting into wholesaling as he continues an evolution from owner of a trendy store to denim impresario. Fitting the Fortysomethings Avraham has founded a company, Moshi Moshi America, to sell the Netherlands-based Blue Blood Designer Lisa Rudes-Sandel said her latest business line, designed by Steve Te Pas, in the U.S. Avraham project was inspired by a few unpleasant shopping said he had been selling the line out of Atrium for trips for high-end jeans. about a year with good results. “I happen to be 40 years old, I am not in bad shape, “When I was just doing retail, I didn’t think about I’m 5-foot-8-inches and I cannot put on a lot of these it,’’ Avraham, 38, said in an interview last week at his jeans,” she said. “If I do get them on and they do fit, office space in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District. my butt shows. I have to take three or four sizes big- “But when I started doing the show, I saw the options. ger” than her usual size 8. I saw this collection and I thought ‘I have to do it’ Thinking that she wasn’t the only shopper left because if someone else took it and I had it in my behind by the low-rise trend, Rudes-Sandel, who grew hand, I’d be frustrated.” up working on her family’s former jeans brand, Saint Jeans in the line wholesale for about $85 to $170, Germain, last year introduced the Not Your and are intensely worn and treated. One style is cov- Daughter’s Jeans line. With wholesale prices from ered with small abrasions intended to evoke years of about $30 to $35, the line offered jeans in an array of hard wearing, while another features about a half- washes and fabrics, but with nine-inch rises that hit at dozen ironed-on patches. around the navel, a height that Rudes-Sandel said was In addition to the main Blue Blood line, there are more comfortable for many women in their 40s, par- two subbrands. Dry Goods features unwashed dark ticularly those who have given birth. denim, and For Our Friends offers particularly Working with her sister Leslie Rudes, who handles abused jeans. the operational side of the business, she is preparing Te Pas launched the line this spring after several to launch a line of higher-priced, more fashionable years running his own sales company, Moshi Moshi jeans called for holiday retailing. Inc. The Blue Blood line and its spin-offs generated Rudes-Sandel described Pearl jeans as being “a lit- about $8.5 million in sales their first year. tle more hip,” with an eight-inch rise that would typi- Te Pas and Avraham said they’d met about two cally hit a little below the navel. years ago, and Te Pas, 34, said his associate’s success The rise of a pair of jeans is the measurement from with the Project show had inspired him to start his the crotch seam, where the front and back panels are own trade show in Amsterdam called District. sewn together, to the top of the waistband. During the “For us, it’s all about entrepreneurship,” Te Pas The Blue Blood jeans line is coming to the U.S. peak of the low-rise trend, jeans designers were said. “You build something and you run it for years rolling out styles with rises of as little as four or five and lose money, and suddenly it’s successful. We inches, which would push the limits of public decency don’t spend all the money, we invest it, create our laws in some communities and could hit about six own worlds.” inches below the navel. Avraham said he had no plans soon to start repre- Low-rise styles now more often have rises of about senting other denim brands. Duplex Debuts six inches, which can still hit four to five inches below “For the next two years, we’re going to just take The Los Angeles-based maker of the Tyte junior the navel. this and develop it before we think about doing any- sportswear and Beau Dawson contemporary brands Rudes-Sandel said the Pearl and Not Your thing else,” he said. has turned its attention to the misses’ market. Daughter’s Jeans lines would offer fashionable sil- —S.M. For spring retailing, the firm, known as 4Whatitsworth houettes and washes, without bearing skin. Inc., is launching a line called Duplex. It will feature “They’re not dumb and ugly, but they don’t hit so designs similar to those seen in the Tyte line — including damn low where all her bulges are sticking out,” she slubbed and cross-hatch denim jeans — in fits that better said. accommodate an older body. Rudes-Sandel said she expected the Not Your Wholesale prices are to range from $38 to $95, and Daughter’s Jeans line to generate $2 million to $2.5 the company aims to generate $3 million in first-year million in sales this year, and approach $5 million sales. next year. “The misses’ market is desperately in need of an “We’re a small company and we love it like that,” updated fashion resource at the same price point as she said. “We don’t want to blow up the bubble and basics,” said Alden Halpern, president and chief exec- then burst it.” utive officer of the firm. — Scott Malone — S.M.

Petrojeans plans to The Petrojeans Lawman Goes for Status Brand offer women’s and line is launching at Lawman Inc., the Los Angeles-based jeans company, is rolling out a new men’s product. the status price brand for spring called Petrojeans that is targeted at the status price point for spring point of $50 to $60. retailing. That tier was a key component of the denim world through much of the late Nineties, although during the past year many major American designer names — Tommy Jeans, Polo Jeans Co. and Calvin Klein — have looked to raise their prices to compete with higher-priced jeans that offer details such as more intricate washes and Italian or Japanese fabric. Dozens of companies are packed into the premium and superpremi- um $100-and-up price tier, and price competition remains intense in the moderate market. William Chu, president of Lawman, said Petrojeans is targeted at shop- pers who might occasionally spring for a pair of jeans with a triple-digit price tag, but who need cheaper jeans for everyday wear. “The premium jeans market is very hot right now, but you can’t spend that much money on every pair,” he said. “We can’t possibly try to squeeze into that high-end market.” Chu, 31, joined his family-owned company two years ago after several years working in investment banking and consulting. The company, which owns factories in southern China and Hong Kong, was founded about 35 years ago in Hong Kong and opened a U.S. office some 25 years ago. In addition to the new line, it sells the Lawman brand of Western specialty jeans. The line, to ship in January for spring retailing, will initially include about 15 styles each for women and men. Jeans will wholesale for $20 to $30. Chu estimated that Petrojeans will generate $2 million to $3 million in sales its first year. The brand’s name is intended to play on the word “pet- roglyph,” which refers to words carved in stone, from Greek roots, he said. Some might first associate “Petro” not with stone but rather with “petrol,” as gasoline is commonly called outside the U.S., suggesting a play off the brand. “That’s what most people think,” Chu said. “I can’t control that…but I am the only one that can attest to the real origin of the name.” —S.M. WWD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2004 11 WWW.WWD.COM The Beat Bohbot Finds True Meaning of Sportswear By Nola Sarkisian-Miller LOS ANGELES — Marc Bohbot’s 70,000-square-foot nondescript headquarters is a busy place these days. Head-high stacks of cardboard boxes stuffed with clothing create a maze in his office — a high-ceiling room furnished with red leather sofas and chairs and a 61-inch Panasonic computer screen. “I only one hour of TV a day and use the computer 12 hours a day, so I figured I’d have a large monitor and a small television set,” Bohbot said. The rest of his day is spent perfecting his True Meaning line and growing the reach of Bisou Bisou outside of the U.S. Lucky for Bohbot, the ventures are proving success- ful in their new forms. Six months ago, contemporary line True Meaning wasn’t even two years old when Bohbot figured he was striking out with the collection of pants, jackets, skirts and , and decided to focus only on jackets and a handful of camisoles and T- Marc Bohbot shirts. So far, the 30 to 40 fitted looks in bouclés, ginghams, and jacquards — “the new jean jacket of the day” he believes — have amassed an account base of 250, including $75 to $120, orders in the thousands of dollars Nordstrom, Traffic and Lisa Kline in Los Angeles, Blue Bee in Santa Barbara and E. can quickly add up, he said. Street Denim in Highland Park, Ill. “We’re in an item business today,” said “The Eighties were about the suit, the Nineties were about sexy, tight clothes and Sandy Richman, principal at retail buying the year 2000 and beyond is about jeans and T-shirts and ways to give them updated office Directives West. “He [Bohbot] is very looks,” said Bohbot, himself an example of the modern-day wardrobe in his Paper focused and he’s managed to get what is hot at Denim & Cloth jeans, an H&M green T-shirt and a concrete-colored Prada jacket. really great price points. If the cycle changes, He’s promoting the look in ads, which are in the September books of Elle and Marie he’ll just change with it.” A spring jacket and top Claire, along with four billboards in Los Angeles on key streets such as Sunset Boulevard Change is nothing new to Bohbot who began from True Meaning.

in West Hollywood and on La Cienega Boulevard near the Beverly Center mall. contemporary label Bisou Bisou in 1989 with HEIDI GIBBS PHOTO BY Current sales are expected to double in the next two years with the help of licens- his wife, Michele, filed for Chapter 11 protection for its retail operation in 2002, and then ing deals for accessories, which he believes is a key growth area for contemporary signed an exclusive licensing pact for its U.S. distribution with J.C. Penney later that year. lines. True Meaning just inked a jewelry license with Robert Rose in New York for a It’s a deal that has grown from sportswear, dresses, denim, activewear and spring collection, featuring antique-styled , earrings and brooches in swimwear to a collection including handbags, accessories and shoes sold at 550 doors. and silver with contrast stones. Two seasons old, the shoe business, licensed by New “I’m very, very happy with the growth there,” he said. Six months ago, he signed a York Transit, got a lift for the spring season with orders for mules, wedges and flats distribution deal for Bisou Bisou in Panama for all of South America, and in the works from Macy’s East, Burdines Macy’s and Dillard’s. is a deal for Canadian distribution. One unknown is what happens to the Bisou Jeans Quite a turnaround from when the company’s sales plummeted from $800,000 to label. The brand still exists, Bohbot said, but its direction is undecided. $100,000 in less than a year, and had to lay off half its staff. One growth opportunity Bohbot shudders at pursuing is retail for the True Meaning Bohbot doesn’t believe it’s a risk to follow such a narrow direction, since jackets are concept. “I failed terribly at retail,” he said, raising his hands in mock self-defense. a constant and he predicts in the next 18 months suits will stage a comeback. Picking “But what I love about this country is that everyone is allowed to make a mistake and the most expensive garment in the wardrobe also helps. At wholesale price points of it doesn’t stop you from success.” Surf Brands Serve Up Tropical Looks LOS ANGELES — Fox’s “North Shore” has heated up summer cookie business (now the inspiration for the cookie nights, and ABC’s “Lost” and NBC’s “Hawaii” are hitting prime Original Jams logo) and grew it to $25 million in wholesale volume. time this fall, showing off paradise. for spring. They lost their way when the left their surf Now the small screen’s love affair with everything Hawaiian roots, leading to bankruptcy in 1988. is spilling over into the resurgence of two surf brands’ take on the Since its purchase out of bankruptcy in 1989 by island culture. Richard Harrington, who was the owner of its world- Pacific Palisades, Calif.-based Maui and Sons and Honolulu- wide international license, Maui and Sons has made based Surf Line Hawaii have introduced lines that capitalize on a big splash around the world from Peru to New the hot surf market and interest in the outdoors way of life while Zealand with the help of 100 licensees in 90 coun- restaking their claims in the industry. tries and more than 10 stores and in-store shops. It’s no wonder. The popularity of surf-inspired fashions con- Harrington declined to reveal the company’s total tinues to soar, hitting $4.1 billion in retail sales last year, up 14 volume, but said it’s in the league of Quiksilver, percent from $3.6 billion in 2002, according to Board-Trac, an which does about $1 billion in revenues. Most action sports research firm in Trabuco Canyon, Calif. And it’s not recently, Maui and Sons signed a deal with too late to return to the party, say industry observers. Shanshan Holdings, a leading retailer in China, to “The pie is bigger and there aren’t that many brands out there begin distribution there. that are serving the mainstream channels,” said Marie Case, “We think we’ve got the brand equity to con- managing director of Board-Trac. nect with consumers and have partnered with big- That’s the channel Maui and Sons is pursuing with the U.S. league manufacturers to get the product right,” push of its Maui Girl line. Under license by private label manu- A spring said James Demet, president of Maui and Sons, during an interview at the company’s facturer Unger Fabrik, the sportswear collection in its second sportswear headquarters overlooking the ocean on Pacific Coast Highway. His goals include a season targets a junior customer and sports bright colors in its flagship and a women’s line called Wahine by Maui and Sons for 2006 retailing. look from knits, pants, , board shorts, tanks, camis and . Another familiar name in the business is Surf Line Hawaii, known for its Jams The line’s updated look is in step with the more directional looks Maui Girl World collection of easy-fitting, ethnic-looking separates targeting women 30 years of its competitors but retains a surf edge. Floral halter dresses, by Unger of age and beyond and selling at Nordstrom, specialty boutiques and the Jams World heathered tanks and banded are a few spring looks, Fabrik. store in Santa Monica, Calif. The collection has sales of about $11 million a year. with wholesale price points between $12 and $14. Sears and The line started with the Jams product 40 years ago when Dave Rochlen, a sys- Charlotte Russe are among the retailers that have picked up the tems analyst with Rand Corp. in Santa Monica, gave his wife some bright fabric and line, which is expected to do $10 million in the first year. told her to make a short “pajama,” one that was cut off at the knee with a sewn-up fly. Debuting this week at MAGIC International are denim and His board short at the time caught on with surfers and novices alike. loungewear created by licensee Martin Barrack Co. in partner- Rochlen’s son, Pua, president of the company, reintroduced the signature piece ship with TK Mab. The 18-piece loungewear line under the Maui in January at Surf Expo as part of the Original Jams resort collection. Redix Inc. in and Sons label includes string , camis and . The Wrightville Beach, N.C., and Ono’s Surf Shop five-pocket jeans and miniskirts come in four washes, detailed in Destin, Fla., picked up the line, intended to with a strip label on the back loop, floral waistband, hibiscus serve specialty and department stores. on the rivets and embroidered pockets. They whole- For spring, Original Jams has added knits, sale from $10 to $15. The loungewear line is expected to pull in jackets, T-shirts, pants and shorts and a selec- $4 million in wholesale volume in the first year. tion crafted from S2T nylon developed by The company’s growth strategy — seeking a stronger pres- Dupont, which doesn’t wrinkle and dries ence in the U.S. — is the inverse of its peers, which have built faster than cotton. It features dresses, jackets, a sizable presence domestically and have subsequently sought shorts and capris. the riches of Europe and Asia. Wholesale price points for Original Jams Maui and Sons couldn’t find its stride domestically after its initial range from $20 to $35. It’s expected to bring popularity in the Eighties, selling off and on in the U.S. with the help in $700,000 in its first year. of such licensees as Cherokee Inc. Rick Rietveld, the graphic artist “We think there’s a real interest out there of the team and responsible for the Sharkman icon, Jeff Yokoyama to embrace surf ’s nostalgia years,” said Pua (also founder of Modern Amusement) and Steve Prested created the Rochlen. company in Irvine, Calif. in 1980 after an unsuccessful attempt at the — N.S.M. 12 WWD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2004 WWW.WWD.COM Active LifestyleX

Maria Serena Sharapova Williamsilliams inin Nike.Nike. inin Nike.Nike. Lacoste Serves Up Retail NEW YORK — Lacoste is getting in on the action at the U.S. Open this year. The company has opened a 1,200-square-foot store at Arthur Ashe Stadium at the USTA National Center in Flushing, N.Y., marking the first time the brand has had a presence at the annual tennis event. “We have always been close to the sport, but we have never had this level of involvement in the U.S.,” said Robert Siegel, chairman of Lacoste USA. “The U.S. Open has a huge attendance and we wanted to showcase our brand here.” It’s a fitting development for the French-owned company, which has long had a connection with tennis. Lacoste’s founder Rene Lacoste won the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open during the Twenties, and is also credited with inventing the ball machine and the first steel tennis racquet. The brand has had a renaissance in recent years and has stayed true to its preppy, tennis-inspired fashions. The Lacoste store is one of a number of retail oper- ations at the National Venus Williams Tennis Center, most of inin Reebok.Reebok. which are small booths that line the stadiums and areas where food is served. Fila, the apparel sponsor for the Open, has three shops there — two kiosks and a small store — while Lacoste has opened a store at the U.S. other brands such as Open, and is selling some limited-edition Wilson, Bolle, George items, such as this with a Foreman, Fila, Olympus stitched tennis ball. VENUS WILLIAMS BY JASON VENUS WILLIAMS BY .S. Open Style Watch and Nike also operate OTOS BY KYLE ERICKSEN KYLE OTOS BY small retail operations. V; The U.S. Open has the U biggest retail presence, NEW YORK — Tennis players have been serving up a heavy dose with both large and small of style on the courts this week at the U.S Open. Serena Williams stores selling a large vari- made a brash fashion statement with her , black tank ety of U.S. Open-themed top and tall black warm-up performance by Nike, an outfit merchandise such as vi- that would be at home in a trendy nightclub, while Wimbledon sors, T-shirts and even jew- winner Maria Sharapova sported a short, metallic silver tank elry. All of the stores are dress, also from Nike, in her match Tuesday night. Venus open only during the two- Williams opted for more traditional court attire with a white tank week duration of the Open. dress adorned with ribbons from Reebok despite the fact that The Lacoste location, she’s no longer a Reebok-sponsored athlete, while Justine which occupies a spot for- Henin-Hardenne donned an polo shirt and skirt with the merly selling U.S. Open company’s trademark stripes in aqua. Jennifer Capriati, mean- merchandise, sells Lacoste while, wore a retro-inspired look from Fila’s U.S. Open collec- polos, T-shirts, jerseys, tion, a far cry from the starry dress she wore last year, while shorts, skirts and a selection of its licensed products such as eye- Lindsay Davenport donned a striped number from Nike. Here, wear and fragrance. There are also some T-shirts and other items some looks from the opening matches this week. that were created specifically for the Open, including a limited-edi- tion polo shirt that has a stitched white tennis ball silhouette on the Lindsay Davenport in Nike. Justine left breast that for $88 and is available in a range of colors. Henin- “The U.S. Open store is designed to have the same look and Hardenne feel as our other retail stores,” said Siegel, who declined to give inin Adidas.Adidas. sales projections for the Open boutique. Lacoste also for the first time has a suite at center court where it is entertaining retailers and others, Siegel noted. Still best known for its crocodile polo shirts, Lacoste has been expanding rapidly in the U.S. in recent years, and now has 24 stores here as well as a bevy of licensing deals. Lacoste will also incorporate tennis themes into its runway show planned for Wednesday, Sept. 8 at The Waterfront on 11th Avenue. Lacoste held its first runway show in New York last September, but didn’t show in February. “The overlap of the dates between the fashion show and the Jennifer Open is interesting,” noted Siegel. “We plan to show some tennis fashions at our show since it’s a key part of our company.” Capriati in Fila. — Melanie Kletter SZENES/EPA/LANDOV; HENIN-HARDENNE BY JOHN SOMMERS//LANDOV; CAPRIATI BY MATTHEW STOCKMAN/GETTY IMAGES; TAW AND LACOSTE PH STOCKMAN/GETTY IMAGES; TAW MATTHEW BY CAPRIATI JOHN SOMMERS/REUTERS/LANDOV; HENIN-HARDENNE BY SZENES/EPA/LANDOV; SERENA WILLIAMS PHOTO BY JOHN ANGELILLO/UPI/LANDOV; SHARAPOVA BY RHONA WISE/EPA/LANDOV; DAVENPORT BY JOHN SOMMERS/REUTERS/LANDO BY DAVENPORT RHONA WISE/EPA/LANDOV; BY SHARAPOVA JOHN ANGELILLO/UPI/LANDOV; SERENA WILLIAMS PHOTO BY Court in Session NEW YORK — There are two distinct schools of fashion among the spectators at the U.S. Open. Some, in their microminis, visors and , look ready to hit the courts themselves, while others favor more sophisticated dresses or tailored jackets, sometimes with big . Here, a look at They off-court style at the Are USTA National Tennis Wearing® Center in Flushing. WWD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2004 13 WWW.WWD.COM As the new TV season kicks off, last season’s winners in the product placement sweepstakes are tallied. Anyone who’s been to a movie or watched a TV show in the TheWWDList last decade would need a new pair of not to notice the increasingly close ties between entertainment and commerce. The soft drinks actors sip — with labels carefully turned toward the camera — and the brand names characters drop aren’t casually chosen. Companies know that a picture or word is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars in sales. As Nancie Tear, president of PropStar Placements, a Vancouver-based agent for manufacturers and brand owners, said, “It’s priceless.” Sit-Com TV Recall There were plenty of opportunities for scripting fashion into the final seasons of “Friends” and “Frasier.” Meanwhile, the reality series “Extreme Makeover” was a The five products with the highest viewer recall** on “Friends” and “Frasier”† vehicle for style and beauty brands.

RALPH LAUREN Brand recall index: 168 Date: April 22 1 “Friends” Episode: Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) tells Ross (David Schwimmer) that she was offered her job back by the designer. Mentions such as this when a brand fits seamlessly into an episode’s story line is priceless since customers associate the brand with the show’s star.

RALPH LAUREN Brand recall index: 149 Date: Feb. 26 2 “Friends” Episode: Interviewer asks Rachel why she wants to leave her job at Ralph Lauren. “TV and film is a huge outlet for high-fashion and each show requires it,” said PropStar Placements’ Tear. “Ultimately, it has to work for both sides.”

GUCCI Brand recall index: 145 Date: Feb. 26 3 “Friends” Episode: Rachel interviews for a job with another designer. Rachel’s lunch interview with a Gucci representative is right next to her boss’ table. She doesn’t get the new job and she loses her job at Ralph Lauren.

GAP * Brand recall index: 128 Date: Jan. 8 4 “Friends” Episode: Joey (Matt LeBlanc) and Ross wear the same Gap shirt. Two “Friends” characters have the same good taste. When products or brands are strategically written into a story the stars have to approve.

GAP * Brand recall index: 128 Date: Feb. 24 5 “Frasier” Episode: Niles (David Hyde Pierce) enters the coffeehouse with a Gap shopping bag and joins Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) and Martin (John Mahoney). Gap has snob appeal. Frasier: “The Gap – Niles, I didn’t know you shopped there.” Niles: “I just discovered it. Apparently, there are a number of them!” Reality TV Recall The five product placements and brand mentions with the highest viewer recognition** on “Extreme Makeover” between Feb. 2 and April 18

WALT DISNEY WORLD’S MAGIC KINGDOM Brand recall index: 229 S 1-3, 5) COURTESY OF ABC PHOTOS S 1-3, 5) COURTESY Date: Feb. 5 1 “Extreme Makeover” Episode: Against the backdrop of Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, Susan and Michael are wed at the theme park. The program followed the couple from their “before” phases and through their respective surgical procedures.

MONIQUE LHUILLIER Brand recall index: 185 Date: Feb. 5 2 “Extreme Makeover” Episode: Susan, left, shops for wedding shoes by the bridal designer. “Sex and the City” treated high fashion as a character in the series and other shows derive cachet from featuring or dropping designer names.

BOTOX Brand recall index: 154 Date: March 24 3 “Extreme Makeover” Episode: A doctor speaks about the drug with a patient. Minimally invasive treatments such as microdermabrasion and Botox gain credibility when a physician discusses them on national TV.

SONY Brand recall index: 148 Date: April 14 4 “Extreme Makeover” Episode: James, left, a video of himself on a TV. Sony hopes its logo says to viewers: Want a clearer picture? Then buy our TV.

ANN TAYLOR Brand recall index: 145 Date: March 18 5 “Extreme Makeover” Episode: Sarah, left, shops for shirts with Sam at an Ann Taylor store. Wardrobe stylist Sam Saboura, who works with celebrities, validates a store with his expert’s seal of approval. “FRIENDS,” “FRASIER” AND “EXTREME MAKEOVER (NUMBER 4) PHOTOS COURTESY OF NBC/NEAL PETERS COLLECTION; “EXTREME MAKEOVER” (NUMBER OF NBC/NEAL PETERS COLLECTION; “EXTREME MAKEOVER” AND “EXTREME MAKEOVER (NUMBER 4) PHOTOS COURTESY “FRIENDS,” “FRASIER” SOURCE: AIG RESEARCH, WHICH PROVIDES DATA TO IMPROVE THE ECONOMICS OF MARKETING ON TELEVISION BY PROVIDING INSIGHT INTO THE PERFORMANCE OF AD CAMPAIGNS AND IN-PROGRAM MARKETING. *DENOTES A TIE. **SCORES ARE INDEXED AGAINST THE MEAN SCORE FOR ALL IN-PROGRAM INTEGRATIONS IN THE TIME PERIOD, WHERE 100 EQUALS AVERAGE BRAND RECOGNITION. †“FRIENDS” AND “FRASIER” MONITORED BETWEEN JAN. 1 AND MAY 2; SOME IMAGES ARE REPRESENTATIVE OF SERIES. 14 WWD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2004 WWW.WWD.COM Urban Outfitters’ Oxford Street Debut By Samantha Conti Pepe, Vanessa Bruno, FrostFrench, Sonia Rykiel and and continental Europe. In March, the brand will open Buddhist Punk. a 12,000-square-foot, two-story unit in Birmingham. LONDON — Urban Outfitters has planted its flag on As with other Urban Outfitters units, there’s a vintage Currently, Urban Outfitters’ five European stores — in Oxford Street. section with one-off pieces such as Fifties blue organza London, Dublin and Glasgow — generate about 7 per- The 15,000-square-foot store, which cost about 2.4 mil- ballgowns and Seventies beaded pink chiffon dresses. cent of Urban Outfitters’ store sales, which were $169.4 lion pounds, or $4.3 million, opened late last month and The dressing rooms have a boudoir feel and are covered million in the six months ended July 31. is ready to rumble with British retail powerhouses rang- with Neisha Crosland printed wallpaper in shades of After Birmingham, the plan is to push into continen- ing from Topshop to Selfridges, all of which are nearby. mint, raspberry and orange. On the same floor, there’s a tal Europe and open a unit in either Amsterdam or “Here, customers are not buying on price, they’re buy- vintage furniture section featuring Sixties leather sofas Copenhagen next year. In addition, the direct-sales Web ing because we offer something different and we’re cre- and chairs from the Danish company Wegner. site, urbanoutfitters.com, will be launched in continen- ating an experience,” said Martin Parker, managing di- Men’s clothing is housed on the lower ground floor, tal Europe in another bid to make inroads into the rector of Urban Outfitters U.K., during a walkthrough. “A lot of stores in London carry similar product. We’re about offering a lot of choice. We are not a mass design store.” The store, which spans three levels, is expected to generate in excess of 10 million pounds, or $18 million, in sales during the first year, ac- cording to industry sources here. It of- fers a wide range of price points, with a Levi’s Red jean skirt costing 150 pounds, or $269, and an in- house label corduroy flared skirt costing 40 pounds, or $72. All figures are converted from Martin the pound at current exchange. Parker The store design is a major de- parture from Urban Outfitters’ raw- edged, industrial-inspired units in Covent Garden and Kensington High Street. On Oxford Street, the lights are brighter and the steel fittings are galvanized so they have a shinier finish. There’s a wide wood and glass staircase that winds its way through all three lev- els of the store and it’s capped by a skylight. Urban Outfitters men’s department on Oxford Street. The fitting room. Even the exposed brickwork, a hallmark of Urban Outfitters stores, has been kept to a minimum and the TIM JENKINS PHOTOS BY ceiling beams and pipes have been given a of white where the interiors are more raw than on the other Continent. The goal, Parker said, is to have a total of 10 paint. The floors are covered in honey-colored matte floors. The floors are concrete, the ceilings are exposed stores in the U.K. and Ireland over the next four years, wood while the walls are butterscotch colored. and black stereo-speaker covers and yellow electrical and a further 30 in continental Europe over the next “We wanted it like a New York loft — brighter, clean- tape adorn the walls. Brands include John Smedley, eight to 10 years. er and not quite as aggressive as the other stores,” said Evisu, Diesel, Belstaff and Dockers. Customers also can “How big we get will depend on how well Urban Parker, adding the interiors were designed by the buy novelty items such as Pulp Fiction Action Figures. Outfitters works outside the U.K. Keep in mind that -based Otto Design Group and the London- Parker said the customer the new Urban Outfitters has we’re not like Zara, H&M or Mango, which all carry their based designer Nick McMahon. been attracting is 25 to 35 years old — older than that of its own brand. We carry a variety of branded merchandise On the ground floor, vintage Louis chairs painted elec- nearby competitors. “I’m actually surprised,” he said. “It’s — which makes expansion more complicated — and we tric orange and covered in green tapestry fabric jostle for back-to-school shopping time, and we’re not getting that are committed to preserving that individuality.” space with Frye boots, Lee Jeans and novelty gift items, customer. They’re all going to Topshop —which is fine.” Meanwhile, he said there are no immediate plans to including George Bush animated dolls, birthday bingo While the Oxford Street store may be Urban open stores for Anthropologie, the group’s other format, games and Dr. Seuss notebooks. The first floor showcases Outfitters’ third and final London unit — at least for the in the U.K. or Europe just yet. The focus for the retail women’s wear with brands such as See by Chloé, Patrizia moment — there are major expansion plans for the U.K. chain is currently on the U.S.

In July, Fulvio Zendrini resigned as Ferragamo’s Fashion Scoops international head of communications, only four months into , and Clarice Pecori Giraldi, a Carrefour Profit Jumps 12.6% WHEN IN ROME: It looks like Fendi has found its Prada veteran who most recently was involved in new U.S. chief. Word has it in Europe that the arts-related communication, has replaced him PARIS — Carrefour, the world’s sec- that would “increase market share in Roman fashion house has tapped Gianluca Flore, starting this month. ond-largest retailer behind Wal-Mart, existing countries.” chief executive officer of the U.S. unit of is pushing on the accelerator. This signaled a move to more ag- , Italy-based apparel giant Gruppo La CHOO ON THIS: Looks like those Palm Beach On Wednesday, the French hyper- gressive expansion after an emphasis Perla. A Fendi spokeswoman in New York ladies will have to trade in their Jack Rogers market operator reported higher- on containing costs and organic declined to comment, and Flore could not sandals in favor of teetering Jimmy Choos. The than-expected first-half profit, con- growth. To wit, Bernard pledged to immediately be reached. But among his first accessories company is opening a 1,100- firmed a target for full-year sales open at least 10 million new square orders of business will certainly be real estate: as square-foot boutique on Worth Avenue later growth of 5 percent and vowed to feet over the next year, including reported, Abercrombie & Fitch is taking over this month. The new shop will keep the Forties ramp up its international expansion. some 2 million in France. From 1999 Fendi’s spot at 720 Fifth Avenue. Fendi has said boudoir feel found in the company’s other U.S. In the six months ended June 30, to 2002, Carrefour added only 400,000 it will maintain a presence in Manhattan. stores, but Choo president Tamara Mellon has net profit rose 12.6 percent to 531 mil- square feet of new space in France. opted to use hues of sea foam green in a nod lion euros, or $651.9 million. Results Meanwhile, Bernard said Carre- TOP SECRET: In keeping with her usual trickster to the aquatic environs. This will mark the beat consensus estimates of about 515 four hoped to ignite sales in France by antics, Tara Subkoff is being typically coy about 12th Jimmy Choo store in the U.S. “Worth million euros, or $632.3 million. As re- slashing prices. Carrefour already in- the address of her new Imitation of Christ store Avenue is among the world’s most exclusive ported, sales in the period climbed vested 135 million euros, or $166 mil- in New York. Set to open Wednesday, Sept. 8 shopping destinations,” said Mellon. “We are 2.9 percent to 34.55 billion euros, or lion, in price cuts in the first half and (the same day as the runway show), the store’s delighted to be opening in such a perfect $42.42 billion, boosted by internation- plans to spend another 200 million actual address will be revealed the day of. Word location for our brand." al operations as spending lagged in euros, or $244 million, to lower prices is that Subkoff is eyeing other cities like Los its core French market. Dollar figures in the second. Angeles, London and Paris. Wonder what devious STREET PREVIEW: “American Style,” Kelly are at the average exchange rate. Bernard’s comments coincide with tactic she’ll use when she opens in those towns. Killoren Bensimon’s new book, won’t be out Chief executive Daniel Bernard a new price reduction measure de- until later this fall, but images from it are told a gathering of reporters here signed to stimulate consumer spend- BLACK IS BACK: Ferragamo has found a already on display in Bergdorf Goodman’s Fifth that the firm expected to post dou- ing in France. Part of the finance min- replacement for Graeme Black — the designer Avenue and 58th Street windows. Published by ble-digit earnings per share and the istry’s effort to spur the country’s himself. Unexpectedly, Black, who parted ways Assouline, “American Style” examines U.S. company would increase its divi- economy, the measure calls for cuts with the Florentine luxury goods house in April, fashion history through the prism of 200 icons dend payout and buy back shares. on average of 2 percent on major food, is back as ready-to-wear designer, only this time that have influenced it, including Superman, He said net debt would be cut by beauty and home cleaning brands. he will act as a consultant, working with Nathalie the Rockettes, bodybuilders and the Rat Pack. 20 percent by 2006 and Carrefour Bernard said Carrefour’s prices Gervais, Ferragamo’s creative director. A Bensimon, whose husband, Gilles Bensimon, is planned to dispose of noncore busi- stood at historically low levels at the Ferragamo spokeswoman confirmed the publication director of Elle, selected the nesses and nonprofitable stores. The end of the half and that they would appointment on Wednesday, but couldn’t images and wrote the accompanying text, while news drove Carrefour stock up 5.78 continue to drop. disclose further details. Harold Koda, curator of the Metropolitan percent to close at 40.81 euros, or Outside of France, Bernard said Black didn’t renew his two-year contract Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, wrote the $49.81 at current exchange, in trading Carrefour would open more hyper- when it expired in mid-April due to diverging foreword. And what does Kelly Bensimon see Wednesday on the Paris Bourse. markets in China this year than in any opinions with Ferragamo’s new management, as the essence of American style? “I think the Bernard said the firm, which runs other country, while also developing namely product general manager Hervè Martin, identifying word is ‘leisure,’” she said. “We the Champion, Shoppi and Proxi su- business in emerging markets such as who wants to raise the accessories bar. A source really created active sportswear. We took the permarkets and the Dia hard dis- Thailand, Korea, Indonesia, Turkey said that in his revised post, Black would have tweed off the golf course and put it into count chain, was also eyeing “tacti- and Poland. the freedom to consult for other companies. mainstream society.” cal” acquisitions over the next year —Robert Murphy WWD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2004 15

Admin Since 1967 PAUL&SHARK TECH. DESIGNER W-I-N-S-T-O-N Importer seeks individual w/ 2-3 yrs. OPENING IN exp. Leather grmts highly pfd. High APPAREL STAFFING volume/quick turnaround. Work with DESIGN*SALES*MERCH SO. FLORIDA 12/03 Has openings for a Sales Manager and Designers and create tech pkgs, includ- ADMIN*TECH*PRODUCTION ing construction and initial specs for (212)557-5000 F: (212)986-8437 Complete Sales Staff, Salary + Com- mission, Great Benefits Package. factory use. Exc communication & fol- Asst Tech Designer Please fax resume to 212-452-9861 low up skills req. Fast paced environ- Attn: Sal Cretella ment. Only those ready to work hard Secaucus co. seeks Asst Tech Designer need apply. Fax resume 646-435-7412 full-fashion sweaters; cut&sew knits. Must have complete knwldg sweaters, yarns, stitches. Must be exp’d in specing, fittings, patterns, grading, sewing, sketching. Strong vendor Production Assistant Technical Design comn & comptr skills: Word, Excel, /KNITS Richard Leeds International NJ based retail operation seeks experi- For Space in Garment Center Micrografx, PDM a must! 5 yrs exp. Fax Dir Tech Design: 201-866-0387 Rapidly growing sleepwear / daywear enced technical design person for Helmsley-Spear, Inc. mfr seeks assistant with min 2 yrs sweater and cut and sewn garments. 212-880-0414 production exp to handle production Must have minimum 3-5 years experi- BUYER related functions. Must be bright, ence, conduct fittings and issue fit LI based unique dressy dress mega organized & work well under pres- comments to overseas, good computer Showrooms & Lofts retailer is seeking BUYER. Req min 3 sure. Garment industry exp a plus. skills, and follow-up. Please fax re- BWAY 7TH AVE SIDE STREETS years retail buying experience. Must Word & Excel a must! sume to: Denise 201-867-5563. Great ’New’ Office Space Avail live in LI or Queens. Great opportunity. Fax resume: 212-696-8450. ADAMS & CO. 212-679-5500 Excellent salary and benefits. Call Marty or Helga at 631-420-0890 or fax resume to 631-752-7785. Customer Service Allocations-Shipping-Order Entry Production Coordinator 50-60K Establish apparel company seeks highly Buy/Track c/s Knit piece goods motivated individual with minimum 2 Time & Action Calendar years exp. Should be detail oriented & Call (212) 643-8090 Fax 643-8127(Agcy) a self-starter. word/excel. Fax resumes to 212 575 1781 or email [email protected] US Based jean manufacturer w/ large PRIVATE LABEL factory in Guatemala seeks additional Established $50 Million importer with Retail/Branded customers. Full package, Design Assistant Production Coordinator socially compliant and state of the art quick turn, high quality, latest washes, Richard Leeds International Leading Import Manufacturer seeking factories in India, Pakistan, Bangla- competitive prices. No duty w/ US fabric, Rapidly growing, fast paced sleepwear experienced Production Coordinator desh and Middle East. Seeking an DC available in Miami for EDI distribution. /daywear mfr seeks team player to for New York Office. Well established, experienced salesperson to increase No LC needed if we can factor w/ CIT. work closely with designer. Must be 20 year old company offering a compet- our Pvt Label sales with department Tel: (847) 266-1600 ext. 12 or able to interpret sketch into first pat- itive salary, 401K great benefits. stores & other importers. We manufac- Email: [email protected] tern, spec, cut & fit garments, Please fax resume and salary ture knits and wovens tops and direct sample hands & source trim & requirements to 646.304.8489 bottoms for both men and women. fabrics. 2-5 yrs exp in intimate appa- Great opportunity for the right rel. Must have knowledge of fabric & individual and /or agent. garment construction; able to use Please send resumes to: Photoshop/Illustrator 10.0. Submit PRODUCTION MANAGER - Manages [email protected] resume: [email protected] or production planning for cut and sewn fax 212-696-8450 knits, woven jeans and jackets, denim *Sales Executive* washes and sweater apparel. Manages Established import company seeks PATTERN/SAMPLES DESIGNER production of these products in facto- aggressive/experienced sales executive Estab Missy sweater/knit importer ries in India, China, Hong Kong and to sell moderately priced wovens in Reliable. High quality. Low cost. Fast South East Asia. Evaluates factory per- missy/plus sizes. Must have strong work. Small/ Lrg production 212-629-4808 seeks creative designer to work in fast paced environ. Must be detail oriented, formance, production control progress, est’d contacts w/ mass merchants. work independently and take direction potential production issues & performs Fax/email resume: 212-768-0811/ PATTERNS, SAMPLES, well. Graphic design skills req’d. Exc. due diligence prior to determining [email protected] oppty for the right person! proper production facilities. Evaluates PRODUCTIONS Fax resume 212.302.5184 &determines most suitable countries All lines,Any styles. Fine Fast Service. or call Dana at 212.302.3744 or email and production facilities for company. SALES REP Call Sherry 212-719-0622. [email protected] 40 hrs/wk, 8AM-5PM, 48,000/yr. Bache- Canadian Mfr./Importer of ladies’ medium lor’s degree in Business required and price career sportswear is seeking an two years exp. in position offered. est’d. Sales Representative. Please Fax PATTERNS, SAMPLES, Designer - Freelance Send resume to Oved Apparel Corp., or E-mail your credentials to: Domestic bottoms manufacturer is 31 W. 34th St., 3rd Floor, NY, NY 10001 514-383-3767 / [email protected] PRODUCTIONS looking for a cool designer to freelance. Full servcie shop to the trade. Fine Please fax resume: 212-921-7817 fast work. 212-869-2699. SALES! SALES! SALES! Designer Wanted Established, rapidly growing PTTNS/SMPLS/PROD Sweater Designer for Jr. Co w/ exp in manufacturer seeking: High qlty, reasonable price. Any de- Import & Domestic & speaks Chinese. Q/C ASSIST $35-40K sign & fabric. Fast work. 212-714-2186 Email resume: [email protected] or [email protected]; Call: 212-947-3400 *Energetic team player with some fax to 212-398-5461 sales and production experience EDI SPECIALIST *Chain, department, specialty store Accessory Co. located in City, and natinoal brand contacts a plus NJ, looking for an EDI Specialist for Federated, May & Saks Inc. companies. rebecca taylor Salary will commensurate Production Manager/Director - strong experience/contacts. Email: FASHION RESUMES SINCE 1970 Knowledge of 810 Invoice, 856 ASN, 850 PO’s. Must be organized, detail analytical skills, technical construction [email protected] Lifetime Updating/Phone Interviews knowledge, overseas exp., 5 yrs min. Rush Service Available oriented and reliable with strong follow up skills. Will work closely with Sales exp., will manage a team of 10. PROFESSIONAL RESUMES, INC. Please email resumes to Showroom Sales (212)697-1282/(800)221-4425 and Warehouse Departments. Please Los Angeles based junior manufacturer state salary requirements and E-Mail [email protected] or www.resumesforfashion.com fax (212) 302-3482. NO CALLS seeks an experienced salesperson in to [email protected] or Fax to New York to work at New York based 201-459-0337 Att: HR showroom. Must have strong contacts with specialty chain buyers and depart- FASHION CAREERS ment stores. Please fax resume to: In Design, Tech Design & Production Receptionist/Fit Model (213) 749-4080 See listings @ www.apparelstaffing.com No appt. needed; Interviews: Sept. 7 - 10 & Sept. 13 - 14 From 10:00 am - 5:00 pm; See John @ Freelance Creative Artist GWB, 1450 Broadway (25th Fl.) Looking for freelance artist to create presentation boards for licensed products. ie: Disney character art, etc... Computer experience a must. Call Kathleen @ 973.268.2591 & Fax resumes to 973.268.2806 Retail Sales NGC SQL Series Software www.ngcsoftware.com Retail Managers F/T and P/T built on Microsoft Technology Graphic Designer Graphic Designer - Children’s wear We are a contemporary women’s boutique looking for management Red Horse Seeking 7-16 girls graphic designer Graphic Designer with min. 3 yrs. exp. experience with a contemporary Experienced sales associates wanted ERP Business Mgmt. Strong Illustrator/Photoshop skills req’d. fashion background. Candidate must for a better women’s boutique located /illustrator. Must know illustrator in Westchester County. Competitive e-SPS Sourcing/Production Mgmt. & photoshop. Freelance leading Design Asst. possess ability to sell, manage staff e-PDM Product Data Mgmt and possess creative skills. Located in salary and benefits for full time. . Flat sketching on a computer req’d. Advancement to management if you to full time for the right candidate. Must know Illustator / Photoshop. Westchester and Fairfield counties. There are no evening hours. Full demonstrate the necessary skills. Fax resumes to: 212-221-4399 Fax resume to DC: 212-564-9507 Fax Resume to: 914-723-0626 Attn Jessie benefits. Performance based incentives and competitive salary. Import/LC GREAT STUFF Growing Textile Company seeks Fax resume: 914-723-0626 Accounts/ import/export person with strong LC experience. Must be detail oriented Traffic Coordinator and computer literate and able to work in a fast paced environment. Fax re- Leading Jr. Denim Co Expanding sume in confidence to: 212-869-4371 New York (212)369-3778 [email protected] Must be organized w/good communication Miami (305)556-9122 skills. Knowledge of Accounting & Traffic OFFICE MANAGER SEWING a must. Will train the right person. Global Wise Development Ltd. Trainer/QC Inspector to train new, inexper- Great working environment with compet- Seventh avenue women’s apparel ienced sewers to make top quality men’s itive salary & opportunity for growth. company is seeking an outgoing clothing; also do all QC inspecting/records. Only serious inquiries, please. Fax all computer literate individual to help Exp’d. only; good English & references resumes to: 212-354-0827 run the office and sales dept. Will coor- req’d. B’klyn location. Salary + benefits. dinate between HK and NY office, EOE Fax resume to: 718-853-8805 work with brokers/customs and be able Admin. Assistant for to help assist sales with customers. MERCHANDISER Design Dept. Please send resume and salary Available to shop Europe. Better Women’s, requirement in confidence to: Jr Sportswear & Children’s Wear experience. based active wear compa- Call: 201-891-7060 ny seeking a computer literate, detail [email protected] or oriented, team player with a good eye Fax to 509-757-7814 for color to act as a liaison between SHIPPING MGR design and sales departments. Some Fast paced domestic & international garment construction knowledge is PAUL&SHARK mfr seeks highly motivated shipping PATTERNMAKER necessary. Paid benefits & 401K. Immediate part time Sales position for mgr. Computer literate & EDI capabili- Experience in couture, suits, sports- Fax salary requirement & resume a qualified sales person. ties a must. Immed. opening available. wear & evening wear. Full or Part-time Attn: Vivian (631) 673- 6744 Please fax 212-452-9861 Attn: Sal Cretella Fax resume to 212-947-1246 Call 631-673-1350 16 WWD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2004 WWW.WWD.COM

The installation of Richard Serra’s “Single Double Torus.”

“Single Double Torus” in place. Luxury Meets Modern Art PARIS — When Europe’s largest crane rumbled into Paris this May, it was obvious something big was brewing. Then a 40-ton sculpture arrived and workmen spent two days hoisting the behe- moth 100 feet into the air and lowering it into the courtyard of a building on the Avenue Montaigne. The building happens to be the new, sleek Jean-Michel Wilmotte-designed head- quarters of the world’s largest luxury group, LVMH Moët Louis Vuitton. And the sculpture, an impressive iron wave by Richard Serra called “Single Double Torus,” is the pièce de résistance of the firm’s minimuseum, rounded out by Matthew Barney’s “Jachin and Boaz” and Chris Burden’s “Tyne Bridge.” The troika of contemporary stars makes a striking statement. And it’s a symbolic STEPHANE FEUGERE PHOTO BY CLAVERIE one for LVMH. Though it has been among France’s top corporate patrons of the arts for more than a decade, the luxury conglomerate has mostly tied itself to France’s past cultural glory. For years it has sponsored the blockbuster museum exhibit of the season here. There have been retrospectives of Cézanne, Chardin, Poussin and de la Tour — all funded by LVMH’s munificence. Meanwhile, the firm has plunked down millions to restore parts of the Chateau de Versailles and the gardens at the Palais Royale. By all means, LVMH has shown deep pockets. But the choice of Arts contemporary works to adorn its new headquarters marks a subtle evolution in its artistic focus. For the first time, it commissioned new works: videos by Doug Aitken, Gary Hill, Ugo Rondinone and Michal Rovner, which are screened twice daily on monumental video columns in the new & Matthew Barney’s building’s foyer. LVMH has opened the collection to the public on Saturdays, attract- People “Jachin and Boaz.” ing some 400 visitors a day. Jean-Paul Claverie, who trained as a doctor and was an aide to LVMH’s generosity is a real commitment, but an effective French culture minister Jacque Lang in the Eighties, has overseen image booster for a firm that last year had almost 12 billion euros, the company’s philanthropic activities since 1991. He admits that or $14.63 billion at current exchange, in sales. With each museum the headquarters’ emphasis on contemporary art breaks new exhibit LVMH sponsors, its name figures prominently on posters, ground — proudly stating that LVMH is the first to exhibit a major catalogues and promotional materials. Serra sculpture in France. “It has the right connotations,” explains Claverie. “It promotes Yet Claverie emphasizes that LVMH has championed modernity the same values as those on which the group is founded: heritage for years by commissioning architects to build corporate head- and creativity.” quarters and stores around the world. LVMH takes a proactive approach to sponsorship. “We don’t “There’s definitely a development of contemporary art at the head- wait to be solicited before offering money,” says Claverie. Many of quarters,” explains Claverie. “And there will be more evolutions. the exhibits LVMH has sponsored, including the hit Matisse- “But this doesn’t date from yesterday,” he continues. “We have Picasso offering, were initiated by the firm, he adds. been very innovative with architecture. Architecture is art of the Jean-Paul Claverie declines to say how much LVMH allocates to cultural highest order.” sponsorship. “It’s the one figure that Arnault doesn’t like to give,” Claverie, He mentions the angular LVMH Tower by Pritzker-prize winning he quips. “Our daily business is about figures. But art is about a Bernard architect Christian de Portzamparc in Manhattan and several origi- Bernard dream — and a dream can be sullied with money.” nal structures commissioned from young architects in Japan. Arnault’s Nonetheless, it is widely believed that LVMH spends more than LVMH’s strategy to sponsor art is a long-standing one that has cultural $2 million for each major exhibit it underwrites. Each year it also been used to dispel the notion that it is only concerned with fig- vizier at awards 5,000-euro ($6,098) scholarships to a handful of young art ures and profits. LVMH. students to study abroad. “It broadens the world of LVMH and gives us contact with the Music is another important focus of LVMH’s patronage. It public,” says Claverie. “For LVMH, the holding, there are only products with the LVMH awards Paris conservatory students tickets to major concerts and hosts classes for brand. One is the stock. The other is derived from our association with the arts.” young musicians. And it lends the three Stradivarius violins it owns to budding virtu- Claverie says art has “federated” LVMH’s diverse businesses — from wines and osi. spirits to fashion houses including Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior and — and LVMH also helps health charities and has donated money over the years to such employees with the “common values of creativity and innovation.” diverse causes as the development in Haiti. “ refuses to differentiate between contemporary art and ancient “It’s important to be socially responsible and to give back,” says Claverie. “All of art,” stresses Claverie. “His interest lies in supporting art that has transformed the the projects we sponsor, whether it be art or medicine, are initiatives for the future.” way the world is seen by its creativity.” — Robert Murphy WWDSounds of Style SECTION II

thenew wave Indie Goes Pretty ● Big Hair Is Back ● Christians Rock ● A Hot VMAs

Meet punk moppet . Here, she wears an In the Now, Marc by T-shirt, DKNY Jeans’ skirt and Versus necklace. For more on Skye, and other hot musicians to watch out for this fall, see Now Playing, page 16. WWD SOUNDS OF STYLE/SECTION II

VICE PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATE EDITORIAL DIRECTOR 16 Edward Nardoza

VICE PRESIDENT, EXECUTIVE EDITOR } Bridget Foley

EDITOR James Fallon

MANAGING EDITOR Richard Rosen

MANAGING EDITOR, SPECIAL REPORTS Dianne M. Pogoda

FASHION FEATURES EDITOR Nandini D’Souza

ASSOCIATE EDITORS, SPECIAL SECTIONS Libby Estell Jennifer Hirshlag

REPORTERS Rose Apodaca Jones, Evan Clark, Rosemary Feitelberg, Marshall Heyman, Chiara Hughes, Nina Jones, Lisa Kelly, Lee, Jessica B. Matlin, Marcy Medina, Ross Tucker, David Yassky inside CONTRIBUTORS

{ 26 28 Damien McGuinness Greg Zinman 33 ART DIRECTOR Andrew Flynn

ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTORS 4 Antonio Aguiar Kim Svitic

DESIGNERS 30 32 34 Kara Hasson Mandy Lee Amy LoMacchio THE BEAT HAPPENING PHOTO RESEARCH Jennifer Bikel 4 Miami Vices: South Beach lived up to its reputation as party central during the MTV VMAs. Eric Russ

COPY CHIEF MUSICAL NOTES Steven Hillman

6 Sound bites from behind the scenes, from the stylists who are creating pop’s fresh looks DEPUTY COPY CHIEF to the small venues that are rolling out the red carpet for new acts. Peter Sadera COPY EDITORS BUZZ CUTS Deborah Boylan Doug Hennemeyer 16 Now Playing: An inside look at musicians who are on the verge, including Skye Sweetnam, Lisa Kelly The Pierces, Jin and Keren Ann. Maureen Morrison PRESIDENT, WWD MEDIAWORLDWIDE STAGE PASS Edward J. Menicheschi 26 They Are Wearing: Summer’s music fests bring out the swell-dressed. SENIOR VP, GROUP PUBLISHER Ralph Erardy IN TUNE PUBLISHER BEAUTY AND MARKETING, 28 Pretty Scream Machines: Indie girls are getting polished up as fashion loses steam. WWD MEDIAWORLDWIDE Sarah Murphy 30 Hair Apparent: All the teased hair, slashed spandex and camp posturing of Eighties FASHION MANAGER headbanger rock is again proving its mettle. Gus Floris

32 Digging for Roots: A new generation of performers is getting back ’s twang MASS BEAUTY DIRECTOR by bowing to its grande dames. Randi Segal FASHION DIRECTOR 33 Living on a Prayer: Christian performers are tapping into the latest fashion trends — but Dale Reich modesty is still their creed. SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER, WEST COAST CODA Deborah Dembo

34 High Fidelity: It’s the new celebrity couple – the megababe and the rock star. PARIS: EUROPEAN ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Elizabeth Haynes on the cover PRODUCTION MANAGER Photographed by David Turner at The Hit Factory, New York. Hair by Erin Anderson/Public NY; Makeup by Cynthia Sobek for Mac/ Michelle Leung De Facto; Fashion assistants: Tracy Toole and Megan O’Keefe; Styled by Frank de Jesus PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Leigh Roderick Instruments throughout the issue by Alamy Images (amplifier), Corbis (soundboard) and Getty Images (all others).

2 WWD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2004 (5'/"/33&!3()/.3).#0HONE WWWHUGOBOSSCOM .EW9ORK,OS!NGELES#ORAL'ABLES-ARLTON3AN*OSE WWD SOUNDS OF STYLE/SECTION II

Lil’ Kim and at Usher’s party miami vices at the Shore Club. ▲ South Beach lived up to its reputation as party central during the MTV Video Music Awards. From Usher’s bash to P. Diddy’s round of parties, celebrities drank, ate, shopped and sweated through the weekend’s nonstop festivities.

IT SEEMED APPROPRIATE BEYONCE KNOWLES Missy Elliott on Star Island; Damon Dash showed off his new MP3 player, the chose to wear designed by her Rocbox, to Lil’ Kim, R. Kelly and Mandy Moore (early confirmed celebrities were mother, Tina, to walk the red carpet sent a package with a gift certificate for when the device comes out), and eye® Sunday night at the Video Music Awards iRiver used the opportunity of a Blender/Pharrell Williams party at Nobu to here because it was just so darn hot. introduce a portable media player to the likes of Boris Becker, the Sweltering, in fact. One publicist passed ubiquitous Simpson sisters, , Erika Christensen, Owen Wilson out paper towels to Yellowcard so the band members and Johnny Knoxville. It was definitely a free-for-all. could wipe their dripping brows before each interview. A The same could be said of the looks that came down the red carpet, makeup artist kept reapplying color to the face of which, like the show itself, didn’t quite shock — or titillate — as in the Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas, who, wearing an past. But the glamour quotient might have been diminshed by the ensemble that included clamdiggers embossed with plastic flutes of champagne emblazoned with a Pepsi logo that many a poodle, a pink T-shirt that read “Chic-Pea” and a carried as they posed for photographs and chatted with camera crews. handkerchief knotted around her neck, might have “I don’t expose myself on the red carpet,” said Raven Simone, who stepped out of a South Beach production of showed up in a cream-colored with a bustier of her own “Grease.” Sean “P. Diddy” Combs walked design. The TV star is, natch, planning a clothing line, for “you around with a plastic battery-operated fan. know, my thick girls, I call them,” she said. And Michelle Branch seemed to have Of course Lil’ Kim came in an outfit that accentuated her eschewed underwear all together, curves, this time by a “young Brazilian designer named wearing obscenely low-rise white pants Carlos Miele,” which she said took her a week to choose. that tread dangerously close to plumber Stefani looked stunning, as usual, in Louis Vuitton. Eva proportions. Mendes paired a demure Roberto Cavalli with a Stella “It’s hot,” said an exasperated Dave McCartney skirt. “I’m going to hear it from my mother: ‘Why Navarro, who left his jacket in the don’t you wear something pretty,’” Mendes said, car, had his shirt unbuttoned somewhat nonsensically. Perhaps the most surprising to the waist and looked quite look of the evening was Duff’s, who showed up in Helmut comfortable in what appeared Lang, though to go for a more punk look, she took a pair Clockwise from to be women’s jeans. “I think of scissors to it. right, Fergie from the Black Eyed we’ve established that.” Jo Jo, a 13-year-old R&B pop artist, came outfitted Peas, Gwen Welcome to South Florida in in D&G, but America’s new gymnast sweetheart, little Stefani in Louis August, where if it’s not 95 Carly Patterson, who is roughly her age, was decked Vuitton, J.Lo in degrees in the shade, it’s pouring out in a simple, nondesigner camouflage skirt. Stella McCartney, Mandy Moore in rain. Though the weather held How’s that for American spirit? That no fashion Calvin Klein and up Sunday night, a different kind house corralled Patterson into its stable may be Jessica Simpson of hurricane hit the area: the the difference between sports and entertainment. in Valentino. celebrity entourage. There were “I’ve never done anything like this before,” said parties nonstop all weekend to Patterson. “People have only seen me in a leotard.” keep publicists, hangers-on, She admitted she’s not yet a fashion person. “But representatives of various I hope to be,” she chirped. corporate sponsors (from Saturn After the show, it seemed as if the entire to Navan cognac) and the night crowd of the American Airlines Arena filled the crawlers of Miami happy, Shore Club at Usher’s big bash. Women wearing entertained and hopefully bikinis and gold paint played with live panthers on wanting to come back next year. chains; a circus performer cavorted around the pool, While the Republican National Convention was and what must have been a very, very expensive array of getting off the ground in New York, the VMAs had a distinctly fireworks exploded around 1:15 a.m. on the beach. This Democratic twinge, partly because nearly everyone was invited. couldn’t have pleased Miami’s geriatric population, but on MTV had to fill an arena, after all. Even Ashlee and Jessica this weekend, they were safely tucked away in their own Simpson, who hosted a post-VMA party with TrimSpa at Privé, apartments. a club on Collins Avenue, invited the masses. The planners Getting to the VIP area that hid Mary-Kate and actually advertised the event by biplane above the water Ashley Olsen, Sam Rockwell and the rest of the across South Beach. That’s not exactly a way to keep out weekend’s usual suspects, was such an ordeal that one unwanted guests. guest squealed, “Oh my God, is this another stop?” What seemed to be missing, however, at least at the parties Alexandra and Vanessa Kerry, along with Cate Edwards, decided around town, was the energy and excitement of a coming together to skip any sort of red carpet or VIP treatment — they didn’t of the big celebs. There was no Madonna, no , no want to be photographed — and dipped into the hotel’s Red Janet Jackson, not even or , who seem Room instead. (They appeared at the VMAs, but also held a to be turning up these days at any event with a carpet. Beyoncé, Kerry fund-raiser at the nightclub Mansion, and Alexandra said and Gwyneth Paltrow came to the awards show but she’d been photographed and interviewed for Ocean Drive.) made no other public appearances. Just the regulars — Naomi The Penthouse of the Raleigh was the after-hours Campbell, Paris Hilton and Farrah Fawcett — hit party after party. destination, and at various points over the weekend attracted Still, what brand doesn’t rely on the power of a boldface name — nearly every celebrity in town, from Bruce Willis to Marilyn make that any boldface name — to herald a new product? Consider Manson. Even Guy Oseary, who held his own post-VMA bash, that at least four cell-phone companies and two new digital gizmos vied retired to the hotel for some late-night hijinks after his party fizzled out. for their attention. Cingular promoted the Nokia N-Gage QD, a video- What has more currency anyway, a new cell phone or the experience of game phone, at the Style Villa at the Sagamore (where , Hilton watching Hilton flirt with Christina Aguilera? (As the sun was coming up, and Fawcett stocked up on Kiehl’s products, grabbed and the pair, with their entourages, retired to the hotel pool area to order some looked at the latest Cole Haan G-Series line); Motorola sponsored Usher’s burgers and turkey clubs. They left a $12 tip on a $300 bill.) Post-VMA party at the Shore Club with four scantily clad models showing By the end of the weekend, any Hilton or Aguilera sightings were de off the A630 (celebrities got the device back in June); Boost Mobile, an rigueur, which may mean that Miami is the new Los Angeles. All it took urban-oriented mobile plan, held a performance by at Crobar was to walk into Nobu on Monday night where, at separate tables, that brought out Tony Hawk, Steve-O, Hulk Hogan and his 16-year-old Hilton, Aguilera, Jaime Pressly and Jay-Z and Beyoncé all dined on miso daughter, Brooke, a singer with an out this fall and a flair for dressing cod and rock shrimp tempura. Not a single customer seemed to bat an like a female wrestler; Virgin Mobile threw a party with Stuff Magazine and eyelash. Even they had had enough of them. — Marshall Heyman

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▲ Carly Patterson in

▲ Animal Crackers. Ashlee Simpson JOHN PARRA/WIREIMAG JAMIE MCCARTHY/WIREIMAGE, DIMITRIOUS KAMBOURIS/WIREIMAGE, JAMES DEVANEY/WIREIMAGE, VMA COVERGE AND PARTIES: A panther at Usher’s in Jennifer party at the Shore Club. Nicholson. WWD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2004 5 WWD SOUNDS OF STYLE/SECTION II valentine’s day shopping }

MAYBE IT’S THE BARRAGE OF BAD BRITNEY SPEARS PHOTOS OR THE TELEVISED reinvention of Jessica Simpson (to say nothing of Ashlee), but today’s popstars-in-training are savvy when it comes to shaping an image. Singer Brooke Valentine is one such pop-star-in-training. With a new notes single, “Girlfight,” under her belt and a debut album slated for a fall release, “Chain Letter” (Virgin), she has entered the ring. “Now I just need clothes for when I’m in character,” she says. “You disappoint your audience when you’re not looking right in paparazzi pictures,” Valentine adds. “So I’ve got to look the part.” And what look is she trying to get across? “It’s sexy,” she says with a smile. “But it’s also kind of classy. You won’t catch me in any little tops.” To begin the process, she hits the streets of Manhattan on a rainy Friday for a take-no-prisoners shopping spree. Donning the requisite off-duty celeb — hot pink trucker , tight white tank top, Citizens of Humanity jeans and oversized hoop earrings — the 19-year-old native treks uptown to Harlem’s Pieces boutique. After scooping up a gold-sequined T-shirt by Gsus, she ponders a pair of dangle earrings boasting postage stamp-sized Vibe magazine covers. “I could never wear those,” she exclaims. “Outkast is on the cover. musical That’d be like wearing a picture of my brother on my ears.” (, one- { half of the Outkast duo, is in talks to collaborate with Valentine.) Despite her ability to drop industry heavyweights’ names, she’s just getting acquainted with fashion’s front-runners. “I’m so bad with designers,” she apologizes. The ubiquity of label dropping in her peers’ lyrics and on the red carpet is clearly lost on her. “Although I think I tried on some Versace at that last store,” she recalls hazily. (She did.) That lack of pretension carries over to lunch at a tony SoHo restaurant, where she waxes poetic about her love of Doritos, confessing to having stolen bites from the half-empty bag in her purse when ducking into dressing rooms. After fueling up on coconut shrimp tacos, she’s ready for mission impossible: finding “great-fitting jeans,” citing Newcomer Brooke Valentine checks out Joe’s and Frankie B.’s as likely suspects. some of New York’s While the perfect pair eludes her, at hippest fashion Midtown’s Apropo she snatches up a tweed stops, clockwise satchel with pearl details from Samantha from top, Pieces, Miss Sixty and The Thavasa by Nicky Hilton. Apropo showroom. “It’s perfect for church,” she says of the heiress-designed bag. It also goes beautifully with her new M2 ring, which flaunts diamond- encrusted icons ranging from a cross to a Star of David. But don’t expect to see her on “TRL” with any red string dangling from her wrist; she shrugs off the Kabbalah shirts. Valentine expresses trepidation about developing an overly calculated image, but doesn’t fault other artists who have fallen victim to the publicity machine. “It could happen to anyone,” she says sympathetically. “That’s why I have to just be myself. Once these people are gone,” she says, motioning to her entourage of a half-dozen, “I’m on my own.” — Jessica B. Matlin PHOTOS BY ROBERT MITRA ROBERT PHOTOS BY

ADIOS PANTALONES FROU FROU ALICE IN CHAINS GOLDEN PSYCHEDELIC FURS name dropping ALIEN FASHION SHOW LACK OF AFRO THE ROOTS THE B-52S LIPSTICK SANDWICH SIZE 9 WHILE MOPEY NEW WAVER DAVE GAHAN AND cohorts were actually referencing Paris THE BANGLES THE MAKE-UPS SNEAKER PIMPS fashion when they cooked up the name KILL THE MAYBELLINES SPLIT ENZ Depeche Mode, it’s unlikely most bands are THE CARDIGANS MEN IN FURS SQUIRREL NUT ZIPPERS thinking about couture, runways or anything CREME BLUSH MEN WITHOUT HATS THE to do with Seventh Avenue when searching DRESSY BESSY MINI-SKIRT FETISH VELVET UNDERGROUND for just the right moniker. Still, it’s nice to believe some rockers did have fashion and EN VOGUE MINK STOLE beauty in mind, which is why WWD couldn’t THE FOUR TOPS MY MORNING JACKET XSUPERMODELS help but start a list. — Nandini D’Souza NINE INCH NAILS

6 WWD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2004 FLIRT! COSMETICS PRESENTS THE MICHELLE BRANCH COLOR REMIX HER TOP PICKS FOR LIPS & NAILS INSPIRED BY HER HITS

PREMIERING IN OCTOBER AT SELECT KOHL’S STORES AND KOHLS.COM WWD SOUNDS OF STYLE/SECTION II }

Nra Estee Stanley and Christina Alrich notes notes

Misha musical { sharp practice Being a pop star style icon takes a little — and sometimes a lot of — help from a pro. In fact, contemporary music fashion owes much to the tastemakers behind the singers and bands, like stylists-cum-costume designers Arianne Phillips and Andrea Leiberman, who continue to generate trends by collaborating with well-turned-out divas such as Madonna, Jennifer Lopez and Gwen Stefani. Now a new wave of style-setters is gaining influence. Each has a singular stamp that is helping many fresh-faced singers and musicians get noticed — and maybe even make some sartorial history of their own. — Rose Apodaca Jones

NRA AND MISHA Music clients: Brandy, Mis-Teeq, Britney Spears Victoria Adcock Latest video: Brandy’s “Who Is She 2 U?” Known for: Mixing new and vintage with a girly feel Also moonlighting as: Fashion consultants Personal fave designers: Stella McCartney and Chloé Fave song to style to: Beanie Man’s “King of Dance Hall” Little known fact: They shriek, “We’re not twins — we’re not even sisters!” ESTEE STANLEY AND CHRISTINA ALRICH Music clients: Mandy Moore Videos: None now Known for: Digging in the barrels at vintage stores Also moonlighting as: Stanley as an interior designer and costume designer. Both are launching clothing and jewelry collections, with names to be announced. Personal fave designer: Givenchy Fave song to style to: “I wish I had time to put music on,” says Stanley. Little known fact: Junkies for java from Urth Coffeehouse, the celeb-magnet on L.A.’s Melrose Avenue. VICTORIA ADCOCK Music clients: Christina Aguilera, Nelly, Annie Lennox, David Gray, Natalie Imbruglia Latest videos: Nelly featuring Christina Aguilera’s “Tilt Ya Head” Known for: Strong, sexy, quirky style Also moonlighting as: Property developer Personal fave designers: Vanessa Bruno and Chanel Fave song to style to: Prince’s “ and ” Little known fact: Once modeled in a knitting catalogue and is a former chef. Rachel Zoe RACHEL ZOE Music clients: Jessica and Ashlee Simpson, Latest videos: Jessica Simpson’s “Angel” and Ashlee Simpson’s “Shadows” Known for: An edge of Seventies glamour and exuberant accessorizing Also moonlighting as: consultant-at-large Personal fave designers: Tom Ford for Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche and Rochas Fave song to style to: Anything by Coldplay Little known fact: “I may look relaxed, but I’m neurotic on the inside.” LAURY SMITH Music clients: Hilary and Haley Duff, The Donnas Latest videos: The Donnas’ “Fall Behind Me” Known for: Minimal clothes and maximum accessories, all looking unstyled Also moonlighting as: Too busy Personal fave designer: Ann Demeulemeester Fave song to style to: Scissor Sisters’ “Laura” Little known fact: “I’m quite a fan of pole dancing.” JUNE AMBROSE Music clients: Missy Elliott, Jay-Z, Kelly Rowland, Ruben Stoddard Latest video: Missy Elliott’s “I’m Really Hot” Known for: Transforming Jay-Z from street sport to gentleman prep Also moonlighting as: Owner of Mode Squad, creative service management agency; author of yet-to-be-named book on styling trade secrets; developer of her own signature luxury handbags Personal fave designer: Tom Ford Fave song to style to: Janet Jackson’s “Dance All Night” Little known fact: “My only vice is Nutter Butters. They get me through anything.”

8 WWD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2004

WWD SOUNDS OF STYLE/SECTION II } notes notes

Mila Kunis in “Jaded.” ▲ moonlighting muses

BEAUTIFUL ACTRESSES HAVE ALWAYS DONE DOUBLE Katie Holmes and Sarah Michelle Gellar to play the love duty starring in music videos. Remember Kim interests, tormentors and muses in their mini-movies. Basinger in Tom Petty’s “Last Dance with Mary Jane” Michelle Trachtenberg recently played a haunting or Jennifer Aniston in Melissa Etheridge’s “I Want to ex-girlfriend in ’s “Echo,” which she says was Be in Love”? particularly fun because she’s a fan of the band. And who could forget that Alicia Silverstone and Enrique Iglesias, who has featured Jennifer Love Hewitt Liv Tyler became unforgettable co-stars before they and Shannon Elizabeth (not to mention fiancée Anna became movie stars after appearing in ’s Kournikova) in his videos, most recently added Mischa “Crazy” video as naughty schoolgirls? Aerosmith also Barton to the list with last year’s “Addicted.” made a household name out of “That ’70s Show” star “I had a good time filming it,” Barton said. “I was Mila Kunis after she appeared in their “Jaded” video. flattered to take part, because his videos always seem So it’s no surprise that more musicians these days to become known not only for the song itself, but for musical

STILL BY ROCKAMERICA are recruiting It Girls like Kirsten Dunst, Natalie Portman, the heroines who appear within.” — Marcy Medina {

bring in the noise ▲

AS THE ONLY GIRL IN HER TOWN’S LITTLE LEAGUE, TARA RODGERS was no stranger to getting into her own groove. But years later, when Rodgers, the electronic musician, aka Analog Tara, began setting up a recording studio at home, she didn’t want to fly solo in her bid to get down. “I was doing a lot of research,” the 31-year-old says, “[but] online forums on music equipment were very male- dominated, [and] music magazines didn’t really cover what women were doing.” So in 2000, Analog Tara launched Pinknoises.com, an independent Web magazine that gives it up to the chicks with interviews, essays and reviews designed to promote women DJs and sound artists and provide a leg up on the ins and outs of music production. “I’ve always had a chip on my shoulder that women tend not to be taken seriously as musicians,” the Oakland, Calif., native explains, “[so] I wanted to make sure there was good coverage of women in electronic music, and a good, educational resource on music production.” Nearly four years later, Analog Tara, in cooperation with Web designer Karen Choy and a handful of others, has compiled a massive electronic music resource encompassing stories, tips and advice from artists around the world. “One of the great things about conducting artist interviews for Pinknoises is that I get to meet a lot of the artists whose work I admire,” she says. One of these faves, DJ Rekha, aka Rekha Malhotra, offered up an interview for the site two years ago. The queen bee of New York’s South Asian music scene and founder of the Basement Bhangra dance bashes, Rekha raves about the experience. “People have e-mailed me from all over the world about [my interview on Pinknoises],” she says. “I think it’s a great site, because even though there’s a growing number of women DJs out there, there aren’t so many in the production end of it, [and the site’s] a practical resource on [production].” Currently amassing an updated collection of interviews for “Pinknoises,” a book version tentatively slated for release next year, and coming off a 2003 Webby Award nomination for Best Music Web Site, Analog Tara says Pinknoises has received enormous support in spite of the fact that many women she’s interviewed have grown exhausted from the topic of gender in electronic music. “There are times when I’m tired of being asked those questions, too,” she admits, “but I think people realize that these kinds of independent forums are necessary to provide better coverage — until the mainstream music industry changes.” — Lisa Kelly

Pinknoises.com founder Analog Tara. PHOTOS BY KYOKO HAMADA KYOKO PHOTOS BY

10 WWD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2004 oducts Corporation. complete look, visit revlon.com ©2004 Revlon Consumer Pr complete look, visit revlon.com Halle is wearing New Complexion One-Step Compact Makeup in Caramel. For her

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A student takes to the stage at B.B. King’s. notes notes

▲ kid rock INSTEAD OF SITTING AROUND LISTENING TO MUSIC OR FANTASIZING about being in a band by playing air guitar or using a hairbrush for a microphone, a troupe of kids in Philadelphia are actually learning what it takes to be a rock ’n’ roller at the Paul Green . Green, a University of Pennsylvania grad with a philosophy degree, started the school in 1998 as an offshoot of giving guitar lessons to children in their homes. After rounding up his students for a jam session, he realized they didn’t play well together, even though they were all right on their own. To try to smooth over the rougher notes, they met for a few hours each week in a rented recording space. Before long, students were rehearsing after school and on Saturdays in their own space and playing coffeehouses and art galleries. The way Green sees it, the best way to learn anything is by doing it, and that is particularly true about music, he says. musical There are now 170 students and 11 instructors at the school, { where the music of , The Doors, Black Sabbath and roars through the hallways on any given day — and it’s not just teenagers who are banging out the notes. Students range in age from seven to 18. Each plunks down $125 monthly for a weekly 45-minute private lesson and a three-hour group rehearsal, as well as for any group workshops that might be offered during that time. All in all, it’s a hands-on approach, with kids playing music on professional equipment and occasionally performing in actual rock venues. This summer, 27 standouts, or “All-Stars,” wrapped up a two- week West Coast tour with some help from , a former band vocalist and saxophone player. To date, students have played 200 concerts in front of a total of more than 50,000. The Knitting Factory and B.B. King’s Blues Club have been among their performance venues. The aim is to get students to be as good as they can be, and to put them on stage in front of as many people as possible, complete with light shows and smoke machines. Well aware of a widespread epidemic of I-wanna-be-a-rock-’n’-roll- star-itus, Newmarket Films has picked up “Rock School,” Dan Argott’s documentary about Green’s school. Students expect to see themselves on the silver screen next March. — Rosemary Feitelberg

FIT’s new program puts future Jay-Zs in the music game.

studying the stars ▲ INTERESTED IN BECOMING THE NEXT JAY-Z OR GWEN STEFANI? WELL, NEW YORK’S Fashion Institute of Technology just might have the right program. Well aware that it’s not enough just to be a talented musician these days, the school is now training its students to be “music and fashion specialists” through a noncredit certificate program that requires the completion of two six-session courses. Instructor Robert Cutarella explains, “Today someone makes a record, and there’s no fan loyalty for the second one. Musicians build brand loyalty through other things…They try designing clothing, they work on videos and they sometimes act. Look at J.Lo. She stays in the public 10 different ways. She’s not a one-trick pony.” A 30-year veteran writer, producer and publisher in the music business, Cutarella started teaching the program last year. Like many of his students, he understands the need to balance musical talent with a sharp business sense — also a must in the fashion arena. What he calls “the potential for cross-pollenization” between these two arenas is generating more interest in FIT’s program, he says. To that point, FIT plans to ramp up the Meet the Makers portion of its Music Business II class, which features guest presentations by accomplished producers, recording artists, managers and other A-team members of the music industry. “Like any business, it’s important to know the rules of engagement,” Cutarella says. “Meet the Makers teaches people how to make a living in this business.” Considering the link between music and fashion, he thinks it’s only a matter of time before corporate sponsors start discovering musicians before they’re well known. “I’m going to try to be the first guy out there to break an artist without a major .” — R.F. PHOTO BY CHRIS POLK/FILMMAGIC PHOTO BY

12 WWD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2004

WWD SOUNDS OF STYLE/SECTION II } all the world’s a stage They may not accommodate millions of spectators, but these intimate venues offer that little

something special that makes them stand out with today’s newest performers. — David Yassky notes ▲ Mr. Small’s Funhouse “AN OASIS FOR TOURING BANDS,” SAYS EMILY Haines from the rock band Metric about this old, converted church set in the green, rolling hills of Pittsburgh’s outskirts. Once a home for sermon leaders and organs, the former church’s pulpit is now the venue’s sound musical desk — after all, what could be more { inspiring than playing for your very own clergy? In addition to the venue’s elegance, which has been known to humble its patrons, rockers included, the building’s upstairs is Barrymore’s ▲ equipped with a recording studio, a full kitchen, a living room with grand piano and, WHILE BARRYMORE’S IS ON THE SMALLER SIDE — ONLY get this, full sleeping accommodations for holding about 500 people — bands love the fact that the the act booked that night. The European space feels and sounds massive. Tegan Quin of Tegan & hospitality, coupled with the true music Sara, which is releasing its third album, “So Jealous” aficionados who loyally drop by to watch (Vapor/Sanctuary), this fall, remembers, “There are two bands such as Rusted Root, 50 Cent and the balconies, and when you step on stage, it feels like you G-Unit, Ziggy Marley and Broken Social are playing in your bedroom and in an arena all at the Scene play, make the venue a real diamond same time. I feel like a superstar when we play there.” in the ruff. Mr. Small’s Funhouse, 139 Grant Barrymore’s, 323 Bank Street, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada,

Avenue, Millvale, Penn., 412-821-4447. 613-233-0307. S.O.B.’s ▲ NOW IN ITS 22ND YEAR OF OPERATION, S.O.B.’S, COMMONLY KNOWN AS Sounds of Brazil, is still one of the best places in New York to hear music from all over the world. While S.O.B.’s is most recognized for bringing Brazilian Carnival to Manhattan, reggae, hip-hop and African music are big genres here as well. L.A. rapper Guerilla Black, whose debut album, “Guerilla City” (Virgin), premieres this month, says that so far, S.O.B.’s is his favorite venue. “At S.O.B.’s, people rush the stage and reach out to you. They give you love! It’s crazy. People were screaming my name. I never expected to get that much love in New York,” he says. S.O.B.’s, 204 Varick Street, New York, 212-243-4940. House of Blues ▲ IF YOU BUILD A GIANT TIN SHACK IN THE MIDDLE OF WEST Hollywood, chances are that something legendary is going to go down there. Such is the case with the House of Blues. Opened in 1994 by a true Blues Brother himself, Dan Akroyd, HOB has become a favorite venue for many musicians. Kaki King, the acoustic guitar prodigy signed to Epic, is one such musician. She loves playing there mainly because of the great backstage areas, where the several rooms, which are adorned with original artwork and furniture, revel in antique luxury. King recalls that, while kicking around after a set last March in one such room known as “the confessional,” bodyguards came swarming in and asked her to leave. King says it turned out that Troubadour ▲ Prince was on his way in for a surprise late-night performance, and so she got the boot. House of Blues, EVERY TYPE OF GROUP AND PERFORMING 8430 Sunset Boulevard, West Hollywood, 323-848-5100. musical act plays at the Troubadour. It’s the first venue ever played in the States, and where John Lennon was thrown out in the Seventies for harassing a performer. Now favored for its cozy ▲ Upstairs at the Middle East Club and intimate stage atmosphere, bands HARVARD SQUARE LOCALS COME IN AT DINNERTIME TO THE MIDDLE EAST CLUB’S RESTAURANT can’t help but be drawn to the history in Cambridge, Mass., for a plateful of Middle Eastern cuisine, and come back a little later for of this music mecca. an earful of great live music at its two performance venues. Soloist Jonathan Rice, whose The Downstairs, the larger of the two, has a capacity of about 600 people. But it is the unique voice has been compared with Upstairs, with a capacity of about 175 people, that is the favorite of Michelle Freizald of Bob Dylan’s, answered to his favorite punk group Read Yellow, which released its debut album, “Radios Burn Faster” (Fenway venue question with no hesitation. “It’s Recordings), this June. Freizald was a sophomore at the University of the Troubadour in L.A. It’s one of the Amherst when she and her bandmates played the Upstairs for the first time. truly unclean places to play in that “It’s my favorite venue of all time….It’s just this great space in the back of a Middle town. Just thinking about everyone that Eastern restaurant. In high school, I would sneak out of the house to see all my favorite ever played there, it’s hard not to enjoy bands play there, and stumble in right before midnight when my parents would come yourself.” Troubadour, 9081 Santa home from their night shifts.” Upstairs at the Middle East Club, 472 Massachusetts Monica Boulevard, Hollywood, Avenue, Cambridge, Mass., 617-492-9181. 310-276-6168.

14 WWD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2004

WWD SOUNDS OF STYLE/SECTION II

now playing With a potent mix of sound,

SKYE SWEETNAM LOOKS LIKE AN AVERAGE TEENAGER. Curled into a black leather chair with her legs

uts} tucked under her, she doodles a demonic pixie face on a notepad. She’s in a world of her own, pretending she’s back in her hometown of Bolton, Ont., bouncing around her bedroom while singing into her “brush-a-fone.” “You know, when you use your hairbrush like a

{buzzc mike,” she explains of the ritual countless young- sters, whether they admit it or not, indulge in. For Sweetnam, though, the fantasy is reality. Only 16, she’s already performed for crowds upward of 15,000 as the opener for Britney Spears’ abbreviated Hotel Tour earlier this year. And on Sept. 21, Capitol will release Sweetnam’s first album, “.” On the spectrum of performing PYTs, Sweetnam is the happy medium between Spears’ oversexed kitten and ’s abrasively angry sulker. With heavily lined eyes and a blessedly big, pillowy pout, Sweetnam jumps around stage in frilly miniskirts, tight tops and biker boots, singing the tunes she penned with co-writer James Robertson. skye

She also bills herself as the real deal, musically and personality-wise. Even her marquee-ready name is authentic — Sweetnam is a form of the original Irish Sweetenham, while Skye, she skye sweetnam defends firmly on her Web site, is after Scotland’s Isle of Skye. “I strive for attention,” she says candidly. “I have ever since I was a little kid.” She wrote her first song, “Friends Forever,” with two best pals when she was only nine. Her mother, Deirdre, entered the song in a local contest where the prize was a tidy $1,000. “My friends and I spent more time figuring out how to split the money,” she says. (They didn’t win.) Around the same time, Sweetnam started pestering her father, Greg, to teach her the piano. Her father works in the rock and gravel business and Sweetnam likes to joke, “He’s in one kind of rock and I’m in another.” She soon enrolled in music classes and was soaking up as much knowledge as she could, from German opera to Frank Zappa to Fiona Apple, taking the time to figure out chord progressions along the way. Sweetnam also began keeping notebooks handy, jotting down daily musings that eventually turned into lyrics that read like a diary. “This album is mostly about being my age, so you can see how I’ve grown up,” she adds. “At the beginning, it’s about pretending to be a superstar or about bratty everyday things.”

Here, Skye Sweetnam wears “I strive for attention. Versus’ T-shirt and skirt from Pringle of Scotland. Dior earrings and bracelet. was alittlekid.”

16 WWD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2004 image and attitude, the musicians on the following pages are ready to rock. WWD takes a closer look.

That would explain the song “Billy S.,” in Here, Skye Sweetnam wears Milly’s which Sweetnam blasphemes against all that is lace top over Choice Calvin Klein’s literary in her flippant nicknaming of William tank. Dior hat; Beth Fank belt. Shakespeare. “I actually love Shakespeare now,” she says, defending her younger, more naive self. “But the song was about not wanting to do my homework.” A few tracks later, she tackles another classic: Blondie’s “Heart of Glass.” (And as covers go, her metal-infused version is not half bad.) Even though, when she first heard the original, she asked her manager, “Is this new?” Sweetnam was quick to pick up on ’s inimitable chic. “She’s such a classic,” she notes of Harry’s signature look. “And if anyone reminds me of her today, it’s Gwen Stefani. “I love Gwen,” she adds unabashedly, joining the ranks of her fellow teenagers. “She’s fun — funky and still pretty.” Likewise, Sweetnam works pretty and punk on- and offstage, repeatedly referring to the mix as her split personality. She loves fashion and can recognize a good thing when she sees it — wherever she finds it. high

“When I go shopping, I go shopping,” she DE JESUS FRANK TOOLE AND MEGAN O’KEEFE; STYLED BY TRACY ASSISTANTS: ACTO; FASHION says, keeping track of looks she likes in her F catchall notebook. Anything with a punk motif will catch her eye, especially, say, a bespangled D&G skirt or the chains draped on the lapels of a black Yohji Yamamoto . And, as always is the case with a younger crowd, labels like Marc by Marc Jacobs or Abercrombie & Fitch make an impression. She frequently visits the local Ontario Value Village thrift stores. “I get the weirdest stuff there for nothing,” she says. “Or I can buy a $2,000 pair of pants at a designer store that my band thinks makes no sense.” But that’s not to say that Sweetnam doesn’t understand the value of a dollar. “On the Britney tour, everyone there had paid $100 and expected a huge show,” she says. “Hopefully, I delivered. I feel like I have to prove myself and I take it very seriously.” That’s what it all boils down to for Sweetnam — the performance and the audience. “You don’t see the crowd, just hear the roar,” she says of the preshow rush she thrives on. “The lights go up and it’s like, ‘Here we go.’” Then the reverse fantasy begins. “I find a pocket where I’m comfortable,” she says. “I dream that I’m back in my bedroom, singing into my brush-a-fone.” — Nandini D’Souza I have ever since I

— Skye Sweetnam CYNTHIA SOBEK FOR MAC/DE MAKEUP BY ERIN ANDERSON/PUBLIC NY; HAIR BY NEW YORK; THE HIT FACTORY, TURNER AT DAVID BY PHOTOGRAPHED

WWD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2004 17 WWD SOUNDS OF STYLE/SECTION II

The Thrills are, from left: Ben Carrigan, Kevin Horan, Padraic McMahon, in a Costume National jacket, Daniel Ryan and Conor Deasy. uts} {buzzc the PHOTO BY TALAYA CENTENO; GROOMING BY GIOVANNI GIUNTOLI AT CUTLER/REDKEN FOR MEL&BRAD; SITTINGS CUTLER/REDKEN FOR MEL&BRAD; EDITOR: VENESSA LAU GIUNTOLI AT GIOVANNI CENTENO; GROOMING BY TALAYA PHOTO BY “Lust will only get us so far now.” — The Thrills in “The Irish Keep Gate-Crashing” the sunshine boys

WHO KNEW FOGGY IRELAND COULD BE HOME TO SOME OF THE BEST CALIFORNIA POP AROUND? WELL, THE this time arranged by Michel Colombier of Serge Gainsbourg fame. And on “Gate-Crashing,” Deasy Thrills, for one. The five Dublin school friends have mastered the sunny, upbeat sound of the West Coast. exorcises some Catholic guilt, asking, “If I could learn to love you, can you learn to love me? Lust will only This month, Conor Deasy (vocals), Daniel Ryan (guitar), Padraic McMahon (bass), Kevin Horan (keys) get us so far now.” and Ben Carrigan (drums) release their second album, “Let’s Bottle Bohemia” (Virgin). And it’s just as full Coming off all the success from the first album, Deasy says working on the follow-up has been stressful, of the cheerful melodies and lush as their first, “So Much for the City,” which, when it but he adds, “We’re just going with the momentum.” debuted only last year, had critics hailing them as the new Beach Boys. And the band is just trying to enjoy themselves. It helps that their bus driver is the colorful, kookie Since then, they’ve been on a marathon touring run. When not headlining their own shows, they’ve “George from Georgia,” as they refer to him. George from Georgia took the boys gator hunting down South. opened for Bob Dylan, , The Red Hot Chili Peppers and Morrissey. They’ll also open “You dangle a puppy from a harness over the water and wait for the gator to bite,” explains Carrigan. He several shows on The Pixies’ much-anticipated American tour this fall. An impressive roster for any band, quickly assures, however, that “the puppy is pulled up before it can be eaten or hurt.” up-and-coming or not. In front of the cameras, The Thrills have mastered their look: practiced disinterest, no antics, no smiles. For the new album, the band paid direct homage to their California sound by going to one of its pioneers, (And they certainly don’t pull the fashion card at all, sticking to a strict uniform of T-shirts, jeans and Van Dyke Parks, who helped The Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson write the seminal “Pet Sounds.” sneakers.) But off-set, they’re 100 percent jesters, concocting entertaining, if untrue, tales of McMahon’s Says Carrigan of Parks’ old-school quirkiness, “He invited us to his house and met us wearing only circus-performing days — supposedly responsible for his deftly turned amateur card tricks — and Horan’s dungarees, and chain-smoking cigarettes.” and Ryan’s former careers as child actors. In the studio, adds Deasy, “he was full of a million ideas and told us to take our pick — he wasn’t “I was in the Irish ‘Beverly Hills 90210,’ called ‘Glen Row,’” explains Ryan. (Glen Rowe is the name precious about anything.” In the end, Parks worked a beautiful, unrestrained string for the of their tour manager.) album’s last track, “The Irish Keep Gate-Crashing.” “For 10 or 12 years, I was on ‘Fair City,’ which is similar to ‘The O.C.,’” says Horan. (“Fair City” is, in But where Wilson and his cohorts originally sang about holding hands and resting heads on shoulders, fact, an Irish soap.) Deasy goes for sad-glad songs — cynical stories dressed up in cheery melodies. The catchiest track on “But,” finishes Ryan, who lays on the yarns with a consummate game face, “his character was killed “Let’s Bottle Bohemia,” “Whatever Happened to Corey Haim?,” takes a not-so-subtle stab at Hollywood’s off when he murdered a cousin for sleeping with his wife.” adore-’em-and-forget-’em habit. But it’s artfully masked in a boogie beat and swirling dervish of strings, — N.D.

18 WWD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2004 double vision

IN THE GRAND TRADITION OF THE BEACH BOYS’ WILSON BROTHERS, THE EVERLY BROTHERS AND, YES, that, it all went downhill.” In addition to a discerning eye for vintage, the songstress also makes use even The Pointer Sisters, comes The Pierces — siblings who are ready to take on the music world. of scissors and safety pins in the interest of fashion. “I rework my wardrobe constantly,” she says. With a genetic tie that grants their voices a super-smooth blend, Allison, 29, and Catherine, 26, “If you want to look cool, then you have to be really creative,” notes Allison, of dressing on a meet their audiences with their harmonies, a guitar and tales of heartbreak. shoestring budget. She’s looking forward to a tour of the Southeast this fall partially for the fertile The spotlight is nothing new for the Birmingham, Ala.-born sisters, who as teenagers faced audiences hunting grounds in secondhand shops there. in toe shoes and tutus as professional ballerinas. An injury steered them away from ballet and toward “We’ll replenish our wardrobe for $100,” she says. music and, a few years ago, a migration to New York’s East Village. Next month, they release “Light As young and pretty proto-stars, The Pierces try to keep their public image as close to their personal of the Moon” (Universal), an album that explores the intricacies of personal relationships. style as possible, resisting the proddings of stylists who want them to appear a certain way. “One of the most important things in life is learning to deal with people you love,” says Catherine. “You want to look sexy and beautiful,” says Catherine. “But you don’t want to look like the stereo- “It’s a constant battle.” typical pop tart.” She should know, having to no doubt battle the legion of groupies who swarm her boyfriend, When trying on an outfit, Catherine sometimes asks herself, “Is this too Britney?” Albert Hammond Jr. of . She’s hesitant to mention him by name, saying only, “My So whom among the fashionable set do the Pierce sisters admire? “I really like the way Kirsten boyfriend’s in music and sometimes gives us pointers on lyrics.” Dunst…” begins Catherine, when Allison chimes in, “I was just about to say Kirsten Dunst.” Clearly, On the musical side, Allison describes the album as “fairly mainstream and pop sounding,” the sister connection runs deep as the two often complete each other’s sentences and seem to think adding, “At heart, our music’s a little bit more raw and folky.” in tandem on most things, including Dunst’s look. The sisters’ attitude toward style is also a little more bare-bones than that of some pop divas. “She’s stylish, but it doesn’t look like she tries too hard,” says Catherine, while her sister adds The two are more likely to be found digging their way through thrift stores than tony boutiques to that it’s “sexy without being obscene.” Sort of, it would seem, like themselves. craft a look that Allison describes as “a little bit retro with splashes of modern.” — Evan Clark “Anywhere from the Sixties to the early Eighties,” adds Catherine of their target decades. “After

The Pierces: Allison, left, in a Foley top, and Catherine, in a L.A.M.B. jacket. thepierces IELA GILBERT IELA GILBERT PHOTO BY TALAYA CENTENO; HAIR BY D-ROC/JUMP; MAKEUP BY MIZU/MARY QUANT AT JUMP; FASHION ASSISTANT: SARAH PERLMAN; STYLED BY DAN PERLMAN; STYLED BY SARAH ASSISTANT: JUMP; FASHION AT MIZU/MARY QUANT D-ROC/JUMP; MAKEUP BY CENTENO; HAIR BY TALAYA PHOTO BY

WWD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2004 19 WWD SOUNDS OF STYLE/SECTION II thesmooth talker jin uts}

“RAPPERS CAN’T BE HAPPY,” SAYS HIP-HOP ARTIST JIN, THE GRIN SLIPPING OFF his face just in time for the next flashbulb during a photo shoot. The flash pops, {buzzc and his posed scowl melts into a smile. “Naw,” he says. “I’m happy. I’m a happy rapper.” As he should be. The charming 22-year-old Miami native, born Jin Au-Yeung, has fans worldwide, and hasn’t even released his first full-length album yet. But that will change on Oct. 19, when “The Rest Is History” (Ruff Ryders/Virgin) finally debuts. While his fans have been anticipating this record for some time, Jin’s wait started years ago. Born a first-generation Chinese-American, the rapper hardly fits the typical hip-hop bad-boy image. Nevertheless, he began his quick-witted word duels in junior high and continued refining them when he relocated to Queens, N.Y., where his family moved from Miami nearly three years ago. After peddling self-recorded CDs and freestyle on the streets of Manhattan, Jin finally nabbed a spot battling on BET’s “106 & Park” Freestyle Fridays competition. By the time he took his seventh straight win on the show, he already had signed with hip-hop label Ruff Ryders — the first Asian-American to do so — and later scored the role of Jimmy, the mechanic, in last year’s “2 Fast 2 Furious,” starring with Paul Walker and Tyrese. With success has come another battle of different sorts, however. Strains of Cantonese lilt through Jin’s first of two singles, “Learn Chinese” (released last year), commingling sounds of the MC’s heritage with his primarily playful hip-hop. This combination echoes throughout the album and has led to accusations that the artist is using his race as a gimmick. “It’s such a thin line to walk for me, because [my heritage] is not something I’m ashamed of,” he says. “I’m proud of it, and I think that’s what part of the hip-hop culture is about — representing who you really are. “And I just happen to be — shh, don’t tell anybody — Chinese!” he laughs. It’s difficult to stay lighthearted with so many critics analyzing his every move, but Jin keeps a steady head. “If I was a wack Asian rapper, there wouldn’t be all this fuss, [but] I didn’t b.s. my way through it. I didn’t pay anybody off,” he says. “So that’s what gets me by — I just look back on what I know I’ve accomplished already, and it pretty much just eliminates all of that doubt.” At the other end of the stick, he’s found that some folks, ahem, overembrace his heritage. In the beginning, he explains, “[stylists] all had a certain idea that everything I wore had to be Asian-related. The only thing I can do is just laugh it off. I’m all for representing my culture, but it’s a thin line.” Instead, he prefers baggy jeans and sweats, hats, and, well, that’s about it. Not exactly label-centric, he admits: “I like to keep it real simple.” He then pauses and adds, “Well, you know those things that cowboys wear with the two strings — what are those called?” Bolo ties. “Those are cool. I might have to introduce those to the rap thing.” Now that’s a happy rapper. — Lisa Kelly

“If I was a wack Asian rapper, there wouldn’t be all this fuss.” — Jin

Here, Jin shows us the “LL Cool J, ’95” look, in Ruff Ryder’s sweatshirt and sweats and Nike sneakers. PHOTO BY TALAYA CENTENO; GROOMING BY D-ROC/JUMP; FASHION ASSISTANT: SARAH PERLMAN; STYLED BY DANIELA GILBERT PERLMAN; STYLED BY SARAH ASSISTANT: D-ROC/JUMP; FASHION CENTENO; GROOMING BY TALAYA PHOTO BY

20 WWD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2004 th em oo ney suzuki BY KIM FRIDAY PHOTO BY TALAYA CENTENO; GROOMING BY GIOVANNI GIUNTOLI AT CUTLER/REDKEN FOR MEL & BRAD; FASHION ASSISTANT: VENESSA STYLED LAU; ASSISTANT: FASHION CUTLER/REDKEN FOR MEL & BRAD; GIUNTOLI AT GIOVANNI CENTENO; GROOMING BY TALAYA PHOTO BY From left, Sammy James Jr. wears a vintage biker’s vest he’s been coveting from What Comes Around Goes Around; Augie Wilson wears a shirt from What Comes Around Goes Around, and his own and tie, and Graham Tyler wears an Evisu shirt and his own vest and . triplethreat

EVERYTHING ABOUT THE MOONEY SUZUKI IS BIG — BIG SOUND, BIG PERSONALITIES AND, SEEING LEAD That sort of energy translates in person, too, where the guys play off each other like ironic frat singer Sammy James Jr.’s voluminous muttonchops, big hair. brothers. Asked to sum up their styles, Wilson says, “I’m Sporty Mooney.” A favorite on New York’s grungy garage scene for the past few years, James, drummer Augie But taking stock of Wilson’s predisposition for natty three-piece suits, and scarves, James Wilson and guitarist Graham Tyler just released their third album, “Alive & Amplified” (Columbia). says, “No, he has more of a post-war, elegant fascist style.” And to take their raw rock sound to the next big, big level, they teamed up with megaproducers In his own rhythmic patter, Tyler says of James, “Sam’s a kung-fu from gangster city.” , who famously masterminded Liz Phair’s mainstream pop makeover and Avril Lavigne’s “And Tyler’s got a Renaissance fairy look,” Wilson concludes. career-launching “Sk8ter Boi.” They play the image game with cheeky aplomb, especially James. “Porcelainize my blemishes,” Strange bedfellows, indeed, for an all-rock, all-the-time band. “We were hanging with Avril and he says to a makeup artist. He also takes advantage of arriving at a shoot before Wilson and Tyler. said, ‘Girlfriend, your album is so f---ing fresh,’ so we called up The Matrix and were like, ‘Yo,’” jokes “I want to get to some of the shirts before the guys get here,” he says, rifling through a rack of vin- James of how it all came to pass. tage looks, including a leather biker vest from secondhand treasure trove What Comes Around Goes Some garage purists have cried “sellout” at the collaboration with such slick producers. Around. Turns out, he had contemplated buying the vest a while back, but for the steep price, he However, the album is still packed with The Mooney Suzuki’s signature sweaty, sexed-up rock says, “I could buy a guitar,” setting his priorities straight. Otherwise, he buys 90 percent of his anthems that riff on everyone from Kiss and Jimi Hendrix to the New York Dolls — it’s just a little clothes on eBay. bit more polished. Tyler, who also shops chez eBay, shows up with a cool brown leather belt he stole from his But when it’s live The Mooney Suzuki really comes into its own. Onstage, the band is fantasti- mother’s closet and a cowboy-style leather vest, while Wilson works his debonair motif. cally hyperactive, muscling through shows with seemingly nuclear-powered energy. The crowd “We are handsome gentlemen,” says Tyler, taking note of the scene. pumps its collective fist as James thrashes around, Wilson shreds the drums and Tyler pulls off some “We do seem to love fashion,” adds James. “We burn calories just looking good.” freakishly flexible bends without missing a single power chord. — N.D.

WWD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2004 21 WWD SOUNDS OF STYLE/SECTION II foundintranslation

LIKE CHEERLEADERS SURROUNDING A CHESS CHAMP, IN NEW YORK, UTADA’S ENTOURAGE OF Utada wears Alexandre Herchcovitch’s T-shirt five — two all-purpose assistants, the American and Japanese record label reps and her and faux-fur bolero. Japanese manager — appears out of context. This is perhaps because the 21-year-old has uts} yet to register a blip on the fickle radar of American pop music. However, the trappings of celebrity are anything but show. In Japan, the New York native’s second home, Utada Hikaru is already a pop princess. Her 1999 debut album, “First Love,” released when she was 16, set sales records in Japan and has since gone on to sell more than 10 million copies. (To give those numbers an American perspective, consider Britney Spears, whose debut album was also released in 1999 and has sold {buzzc approximately 14 million copies.) And like any pop star worth her salt, there’s been some scandal. In 2002, at the age of 19, she married the director of her music videos, a man 15 years her senior. Now, still married and taking a break from pursuing a degree in biology from Columbia University, Utada has her sights set on making it big in America. Her first English album, “Exodus” (Island), is scheduled to hit shelves Oct. 5. “This is more intensely me,” says Utada of the album. “It was more difficult and challenging, in the sense that I could do anything I wanted. I mean, in Japan, I did new things, but I tried to keep it within the boundaries of J-pop,” or Japanese pop music, which tends to be rooted in . Teaming up with producer Timbaland, whose unique style has created hits for Missy Elliott, Jay-Z and Justin Timberlake, was a step in the right direction. “We worked on three songs together over a week in Miami,” says Utada. Running the pop gauntlet has also given Utada an education on her personal style. “After working in this kind of business for a long time, I’ve tried on so many different kinds of outfits and worked with so many stylists. It’s really taught me what I do look good in or what I don’t look good in.” So what does Utada prefer? “I don’t like things that are feminine,” she says, and adds, “I really have a lot more fun when I buy a lot of cheap stuff.”

utada Consequently, when it comes to shopping, Utada is more likely to be found combing her way through the men’s clothing bin at a thrift shop than at a boutique. “It’s about what reflects your character,” she explains. “If something you wear doesn’t match your character, it looks really off.” — Ross Tucker FRIDAY PHOTO BY DAVID TURNER; HAIR AND MAKEUP BY KOJI HIGASHINO; STYLED BY FRANK DE JESUS FRANK HIGASHINO; STYLED BY KOJI TURNER; HAIR AND MAKEUP BY DAVID PHOTO BY Andlike any pop star worth her salt, there’s been some scandal. palomar

Palomar is, from left: Dale, in ’s shirt and Levi’s jeans; Rachel, in a C&C California T-shirt, Levi’s jeans and Havaianas flip-flops; Christina, in Priorities’ sweater, and Sarah, in Notify’s blazer, C&C California’s tanks, Tommy Hilfiger tie, worn

as belt, and her own skirt. KIM STYLED BY LOFT; ALTIZIO/ARTIST DEBORAH TIMOTHY PRIANO; MAKEUP BY BY /ARTISTS STEPHEN RAMSEY TURNER; HAIR BY DAVID PHOTO BY

22 WWD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2004 Keren Ann wears a vintage Jean Muir dress, which she picked out from Resurrection Vintage Clothing in New York. the torch bearer

KEREN ANN BRUSHES HER JAGGED CHESTNUT BANGS FROM HER OVAL EYES, LOOKS DOWN AND SAYS, “YEAH, IT’S OK TO CRY.” She’s not referring to the moment at hand or a particularly sad recollection from the past, but to music in general. Because for her, she’d rather a tune make you tear up, or even better, openly weep, than go in one ear and out the other with little emotional effect. She explains, “I can’t stand music that leaves me numb.” It’s not surprising, then, that the French chanteuse’s recently released “Not Going Anywhere” (Metro Blue) beck- ons its listeners to get in touch with their softer side through its wistful lyrics, jaunty string arrangements and woozy,

: SARAH PERLMAN; STYLED BY DANIELA GILBERT PERLMAN; STYLED BY : SARAH jazzy horns. k What is surprising is that the Victoires de la Musique’s twice-nominated best artist abandoned her sexy

mother tongue for this new collection, which marks her debut Stateside, following 2000’s “La Biographie de ann eren Luka Philipsen” and 2002’s “La Disparation.” In light of the soured romance between France and America over participation in the Iraq war, one might wonder if this was the 30-year-old’s way of smoothing the transition. No, she asserts, laughing, “Politics is not a part of my preoccupation. I just needed a new physical form. I get bored very easily.” The same is true for Keren Ann when it comes to style. The petite beauty, born of a Javanese-Dutch mother and a Russian-Israeli father, says she mostly kicks around in a favorite pair of roughed-up Harley- Davidson boots and worn-in jeans, but she loves dressing up as well. “It’s like going to a tea salon and choosing between green tea, vanilla tea or black tea. It depends on your mood. And clothing has a lot to do with mood.” Don’t expect Keren Ann to stray too far from her everyday relaxed look, however. At a recent outdoor show in France, she donned an elegant gown, but opted out of footwear in favor of bare feet. “It was this windy outdoor venue,” she explains, “and it was fun to just take off the shoes.” While she says many designers are beginning to send her an array of looks to choose from, she insists her favorite places to dig up clothes are vintage boutiques. She seems to gravi- tate not only toward the style of vintage clothes, but also to the stories they tell. And no wonder. “Music has moved me so much,” she explains, “that I need other things to move me just as much.” Being moved and escaping boredom shouldn’t be much of a problem for Keren Ann now that she is in New York strumming out her melodies in concert to promote “Not Going Anywhere.” As she explains, with a mixture of excitement and trepidation, “It’s always the first time when it comes to a new audience.” — Jennifer Hirshlag PHOTO BY DAVID TURNER; HAIR BY DENNIS GOTSOULOS/WARREN TRICOMI MANAGEMENT; MAKEUP BY MIZU/MARY QUANT AT JUMP; FASHION ASSISTANT JUMP; FASHION AT MIZU/MARY QUANT MAKEUP BY TRICOMI MANAGEMENT; DENNIS GOTSOULOS/WARREN TURNER; HAIR BY DAVID PHOTO BY revengeof the nerds

AMID ALL THE GRITTY POST-PUNK STURM UND DRANG EMANATING FROM NEW YORK CITY VENUES So in lieu of name-dropping, what’s the master plan for making it big? “One fashion these days, a chirpy, downright happy sound can be heard. It’s coming from the local indie- photo shoot at a time,” jokes Prostano. “We’re going for subtle infiltration.” pop darlings of Palomar, who just released their third album, “Palomar III: Revenge of Prostano, who attended a tony Connecticut Catholic high school, gamely slips back into Palomar” (Self Starter). pseudo prep- for this shoot. But onstage, it’s a different story for the three Long a critics’ favorite, the band — guitarists Rachel Warren and Christina Prostano, ladies, who eschew high style in favor of tanks, jeans, skirts or anything that moves and bassist Sarah Brockett and drummer Dale Miller — is slowly starting to get the mass recog- breathes easily. “We need to be able to work,” says Brockett. nition it deserves for its smarty-pants songs. At a show earlier this year, it even had a brush “We wore fancy shoes once,” adds Warren, referring to pointy-toed heels, “and that with fame that warranted a boldfaced Page Six blurb. didn’t work out too well.” She says they actually played badly because they were so OK, so Monica Lewinsky doesn’t necessarily register high on the celeb wattage meter, but uncomfortable. she is well outside the hip-to-be-square crowd that usually haunts Palomar’s shows. Lewinsky As the sole lad in the group, Miller gets picked on when it comes to style, especially since liked the music so much, she bought the band’s last CD. “She left the change for us,” he generally sticks to a strict palette of monotone gray, white or black T-shirts. The girls bully deadpans Prostano. him into donning something a little bit livelier on this day; otherwise, he says, he wears The bandmates aren’t really the name-dropping types, though. It takes a little prodding “whatever’s been lying on my floor.” to get them to dish on their connection to The Strokes. Apparently, Palomar’s former Offstage, their do-it-yourself attitude is a little bit geeky — well, geeky in that cool, bassist — who left the band amicably before Brockett stepped in — dated Strokes bassist -brewed way. Prostano refers to their look as “sassy Old Navy.” It’s no surprise, then, , and he and bandmate Albert Hammond Jr. sang on Palomar’s first that they’re vintage addicts and shop at Brooklyn’s Beacon’s Closet, or that they count Marc two , handily titled “Palomar I” and “Palomar II.” In turn, Palomar opened for by Marc Jacobs as one of their favorite lines. But when you’re young, cute and into that vin- The Strokes last year. tage thing, who doesn’t? “Curiously,” Prostano wryly notes, “they weren’t available for ‘Palomar III.’” — N.D.

WWD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2004 23 WWD SOUNDS OF STYLE/SECTION II uts} the minister

{buzzc SHE MAY BE CLAD IN CHRISTIAN DIOR, DOLCE & GABBANA AND RARE Adidas finds, but 21-year-old British rapper Shystie refuses to disappear into the sea of MTV midriffs. “I’m not one of those girls who runs around in a little skirt, a bra top and high heels,” says the artist, who’s on the forefront of the emerging “grime” music paola&chiara scene, a tirade of rapid-fire rapping that is fast becoming the U.K.’s answer to hip-hop. “On MTV, I don’t think you see a lot of people who dress like I do. It’s street, but a nice kind of street — a bit feminine.” It’s this bit of femininity — or feminism, that is — that led to her big break in the male-dominated domain of grime. In “I Love You,” she penned a retort to U.K. rapper ’s “I Luv U,” and although not officially released, the single made waves on underground pirate radio stations and led to prime-time slots on the BBC’s Radio One. And with the July release of her debut album, “Diamond in the Dirt” (Polydor/Universal) — for which most of the lyrics were written in text on her mobile phone — Shystie is intending to take the music world one step at a time. For now, that means she is sticking to her home turf. “I’d describe my music as very British,” she says. “And it’s this arena that I’m concentrating on at the moment. I’m not trying to break into the U.S., yet. It’ll always be there — when I’m ready.” — Nina Jones

the belladonnas PAOLA AND CHIARA IEZZI ARE SISTERS WHO ARE AS DIFFERENT FROM ONE ANOTHER AS FIRE IS TO ICE. While Paola, 29, is a sensual brunette, Chiara, 30, is a blonde, blue-eyed diva. It is perhaps this contrast that has ignited their singing and songwriting team Paola&Chiara, which hit it big in 1997 when they went from performing in Milan’s smoky bars to appearing in Italy’s huge Festival di Sanremo. Now the duo is riding the wave of success from the spring release of “Blu” (Sony Music Italia). The album, which the musicians say was inspired by the color of the ocean, the blue light of the dance floors and a “blues” emotional state, quickly climbed Italy’s charts this summer, with its title track leading the way. The electronic sounds on the CD were inspired by bands like N.E.R.D., and marked an evolution from Paola&Chiara’s early Irish folk-rock sound. The two have also undergone an evolution in their fashion sense. Growing up in Milan, they were like twins, wearing the same clothes. As their musical talent grew, however, so did their taste for high style. In 2002, in conjunction with the release of their third album, “Festival,” Paola and Chiara joined forces with Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana. “We immediately fell in love with their collection, and since then, we haven’t stopped wearing their clothes, either on the stage or in our personal lives,” says Chiara. But Paola and Chiara don’t intend to stop there. “Fashion and music are our passions,” says Paola. “We have lots of ideas, from to clothes and accessories. In fact, we have already designed some T-shirts and slips for the last tour, also on sale on our Web site.” Should Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen be forewarned? Not for now. Although the sisters say they

shystie would love to live in America for a while, they admit it’s a hard target for Italian singers, but add, “We say hard, but not impossible.” — Chiara Hughes

SHE SINGS IN GERMAN AND EVEN TALKS ABOUT HOW MUCH SHE LIKES LIVING IN GERMANY. IN mieze a country in which anything resembling patriotism is viewed with skepticism, if not horror, this is a brave move indeed and not generally the best prerequisite for international stardom. Not that Mieze, who refuses to share her real name, cares. The 25-year-old lead singer of the five-member electro-pop band Mia, currently touring in support of its sophomore effort, “Stille Poste” (R.O.T.), has an attitude every bit as tough as her post- punk image would suggest. Mieze says the top priority in her career is the music, but she adds that the impor- tance of her image doesn’t fall far behind. To wit, the group itself decides every aspect of its presentation, including outfits for the current tour. Mieze even made the cotton dress she alternates onstage with looks designed by Berlin duo Maison Anti. Like many cool Berlin girls, Mieze’s style is rooted in the Eighties. She says she tries to follow her mother’s advice of sticking to three colors, especially black and white with maybe a gold belt or gold shoes. She also likes to keep it sexy and feminine — provided she can still jump around when it comes time to put on a show. As the only girl in the band, she says she tries to win the boys over to her vision of what to wear, although she’s not always convinced they get it. What she prefers more is acting as unofficial style consultant for friends. She explains, “I like helping them das post-punk show the best of what is inside on the outside.” Americans, meanwhile, who might want to get a look at or listen to Mieze, may have to rack up some frequent-flyer miles. While Mieze says Mia would love to bring its boppy hooks to the U.S. someday, for now the band is concentrating on growing its fan base in Germany as well as in France, the Benelux countries, England and

Japan. — Damien McGuinness H. FLUG PHOTO BY

24 WWD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2004 dollhouse.com

denim sportswear footwear outerwear jewelry intimates bags sleepwear Licensing Director – Ed Ash 212.719.9363, Showroom – 1407 Broadway, suite #506 26 FINN BROS: STEVE EICHNER; JESSICA SIMPSON, RILO KILEY: TYLER BOYE; LITTLE STEVEN: LAUREN FLEISHMAN; NO DOUBT: TALAYA CENTENO {stage pass} WWD SOUNDS OFSTYLE/SECTIONII WWD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER2,2004 We They Are a ring ® the in crowds Can you match the crowd to the concert? Here are some hints: In New York, Little Steven’s International Underground Garage Festival drew forth all the punks from their darkened haunts, while at Central Park’s Summerstage, the Finn Brothers called on all chic eclectics. The Gwennabes were out in full sneakered effect when No Doubt headlined at the Tommy Hilfiger at Jones Beach Theater. Out in Los Angeles, indie hipsters were spotted at Rilo Kiley. And the city’s sweet-as-candy girls, in a uniform of whispery tops, jeans and flip-flops, sold out Jessica Simpson’s show.

WWD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2004 27 WWD SOUNDS OF STYLE/SECTION II pretty scream machines Indie girls are getting polished up as grunge fashion loses steam.

THEY HAVE BAND NAMES SUCH AS DRESSY BESSY, CRÈME BLUSH AND THE Maybellines. They go on stage wearing high heels, short skirts, ruffled blouses

ne} and ponytails. Most of all, they live to rock out. They’re the new indie princesses who are bringing high style back to the hallowed halls of grunge.

tu “When I first began reporting on the scene in 1990, I spoke to a publicist there who said that every musician in Seattle was a boy, even if they

{in {in were a girl,” explains Ann Powers, curator of Seattle’s Experience Music Project and former music critic for . “It was just a boy scene. Girls wanted to blend in to be taken seriously. Now, girls don’t have to blend in with the boys to be respected.” Laura Rogers, the darling drummer of the New Wave sibling act The Rogers Sisters, who are celebrating the September debut of their sophomore record, “Three Fingers,” agrees. “I was in an indie band in the Nineties,” she says. “We were very against having our image shown on anything. It was the time of third-wave feminism, and it was important to be taken seriously as a musician, not using your sexuality for promotion. Now, it’s totally different.” She adds, somewhat sarcastically, “People back then were trying to do interesting music; they didn’t have time to go shopping.” Many credit rock’s favorite train wreck, , with giving girls the guts to trade in their wool skullcaps for designer dresses and sparkling , as well as Riot Grrrl bands like Bikini Kill. But it’s recent indie phenoms like Meg White of The White Stripes and Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs who have really begun exposing a new kind of rock feminity to mainstream MTV viewers. Powers says these musicians are simply responding to the larger world in general, despite their focused audience appeal. “Right now we’re in this moment of stripper mania,” she says, alluding to musicians like Janet Jackson, Lil’ Kim and Foxy Brown. “If you were a musician and you were to come out there wearing flannel, you would just look like you’re from Mars.” Fashion designer Anna Sui, who wardrobes indie chicks The Donnas as well as soloist Melissa Auf der Mar, agrees that indie musicians are reacting to a new kind of overt culture. “In the Nineties, everything was about anti-Establishment, anti-money. Now it’s more accepted to be successful and be a celebrity. And some young women are so savvy at this point that they know designers will just throw clothes their way.” For the music industry, this marketing savvy could mean the saving grace for , which many say is on its way out, not only due to the dwindling number of radio stations willing to play it but also due to lagging concert ticket sales, the biggest casualty of which was this year’s tour. “When there’s so many options for entertainment, it seems that people who are trying to attract attention would go about it through fashion,” says Howard Kramer, curator of Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. But for the fans, there is the fear that when musicians play by the mainstream rules, the outsider angst upon which indie rock was built will become undermined. “Indie rock has this organic quality, like we’re growing it in the backyard or something,” says Powers. “It needs to hang on to that edge. If you’re Karen O and you’re suddenly dressed by Calvin Klein, it would be betrayal.” While some would already say crossover indie forces like Karen O have sold out, Karen O for one does forgo wearing big-name fash- ion designers for up-and-comers like Christian Joy. So does Marcy Bolen of Motor City’s the Von Bondies who, along with bandmate Carrie Smith, is frequently getting approached by designers based on the success of their recently released “Pawn Shoppe Heart.” “Antifashion got a little old,” she says. “Now I like to really,

VON BONDIES PHOTO BY MELANIE MISSEN; YEAH YEAH YEAHS BY RETNA/CAMERA PRESS/DEIRDRE MELANIE RETNA/CAMERA MISSEN;VON BONDIES PHOTO BY YEAH YEAHS BY ROB HALL ROGERS SISTERS BY PANTANO; PATRICK O’CALLAGHAN; WHITE STRIPES BY really glam it up.” For her that means sticking with thrift store finds, Clockwise from top: as well as discoveries at little boutiques. The two designers she Second from left, Marcy does works with are the small L.A.-based Material and the Australian-based Lover. Bolen of the Von Tammy Ealom of Dressy Bessy, which is back in the studio working on a Bondies. Center, Tammy spring 2005 release under new label Transdreamer Records, takes it one step Ealom of Dressy Bessy. further and designs her own looks. “I love secondhand stuff,” she says, adding Center, Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Left, that she starts her day nearly four times a week visiting any one of the hun- Meg White of The White dreds of thrift stores that surround her hometown of Denver. “I scour the dress Stripes. Front, Laura racks of the Salvation Army. I love polyester dresses. If I find a great polyester Rogers of The Rogers dress and the pattern is just amazing, but it’s below the knee, I just shorten it. Sisters. I change the buttons. I update it.” And what about the boys whose presence was once so omnipotent as to dic- tate androgyny? Well, as Powers points out, “Even was never that comfortable with how cute he was. He always played it down. But boys are excited again to be cute. Just look at The Strokes. Boys want to wear the fashions, too.” Sui, for one, says it’s time for the change. “I’m excited that people are dress- ing up again. It’s part of what rock ’n’ roll is all about. It creates movement. It creates trends. It creates a scene. That’s the most exciting. “ — Jennifer Hirshlag

28 WWD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2004

WWD SOUNDS OF STYLE/SECTION II {in tune} {in

hair apparent All the teased hair, slashed spandex and camp posturing of Eighties headbanger rock is again proving its mettle.

MAYBE HAVING ANOTHER BUSH IN THE WHITE HOUSE IS CONTRIBUTING TO THE FLASHBACK. OR the lead guitarist banter cheekily between songs. maybe the only vintage that’s still affordable is the dregs of this most fiendishly cartoon chapter Watching a hard-core, tattooed punk rocker in the audience singing his heart out along with the in rock ’n’ roll fashion. band to an old Mötley Crüe hit hilariously reveals his true musical predilections. In fact, there are plenty No matter, Eighties heavy metal is back, and it has enthusiasts once again raising their flicker- of scenesters who get decked out for the occasion in long-haired-wig-to-high-top-toe metal drag. ing lighters above their heads and lip-synching to Ratt. And having real metal heroes such as Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler, Kiss’ Paul Stanley, Meatloaf U.K.’s The Darkness, which is reviving the art of Spinal Tap with its world-domination schtick, and a host of younger stars sing their greatest hits with Metal Skool really has to be a dream come is the most mainstream manifestation of the so-kitsch-it’s-cool-again appeal of heavy metal. true for its members. In New York, heavy metal karaoke rocks every Monday night at Arlene’s Grocery, as downtown “Here, nobody is embarrassed about showing they love these songs. It’s a very inclusive scene. kids expose their true inner ax man. And there’s lots of pretty girls,” says Josh Richman, at the helm of the collaborative team behind But Aqua-Net central is fittingly at the Roxy on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, where every the night. The cane-toting Richman is also co-owner of the event-planning collective the Alliance. Monday night the Metal Skool event bangs into session with an evening that is part spoof, part nos- During a recent Metal Skool evening, a crew from Spike TV’s “I Hate My Job” followed Richman talgia. Even the DJ is Taime Downe, former member of the band Faster Pussycat and co-founder with around as he “mentored” an episode’s contestant. Riki Rachtman (of MTV’s “Headbanger’s Ball” fame) of the legendary Eighties-era Cathouse club. ”People are just rediscovering the value of these mindless, fun songs. They really are great The house band, also called Metal Skool, perfectly simulates the Eighties metal acts that were pop,” says Dayle Gloria, a scene veteran whose club Scream, open from 1985 to 1989, was a once gods on the Strip. These guys deliver it up, as they have for the past four years, drenched in launchpad for everyone from Guns N’ Roses to Jane’s Addiction, and who continues to keep her animal-print spandex. The bassist pouts and dramatizes his long wavy locks with the help of a fan ear tuned by booking the opening bands for Metal Skool. perched at the edge of the stage, while the singer, a dead ringer for Poison’s Brett Michaels, and “People are drinking, having fun, not worrying about being PC. It’s a throwback to the

30 WWD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2004 THE DARKNESS PHOTO BY JEANBAPTISTELACROIX/WIREIMAGE; METAL SKOOL BY TYLER BOYE TYLER BOYE BY SKOOL JEANBAPTISTELACROIX/WIREIMAGE;THE DARKNESS METAL PHOTO BY

From left: Metal goes undercover. Here, “Hollywood Rocks” and “Too Fast for Love.” Clockwise from top: The Darkness glams it up onstage. Metal Skool lead singer Michael Starr. Metal Skool DJ Taime Downe of Faster Pussycat fame. A young regular camps it up at Metal Skool.

Eighties, and it’s just total insanity.” The best fans, at least visually, were at the Poison and Cinderella shows, he recalls. “They would Those glory days fill the “Hollywood Rocks” tome recently published by Cleopatra Records. take more chances with their clothes. You know, the guys in the zebra-print shirts versus the Iron Among the rare photos and even rarer gig flyers splattered across the 210 pages are such gems as Maiden fans, where the most they do is the patches on their jackets.” a print ad for a fledgling hairstylist featuring a large photograph of a very young Guns N’ Roses. In common, however, was what got them there and why, according to Yellen. “There was a lot of Come spring, the sights and sounds in the book will also be offered in box sets of DVDs and CDs. hardship in these people’s lives, and they really got a lot out of going to these concerts. I wanted to “Almost 18 years later, there’s definitely the nostalgia factor at work,” observes Cleopatra’s portray them with a sense of respect.” owner, Brian Perera, who as a teen was weaned on the Strip and its nightly action. “But the songs Yellen’s Technicolor moments of metal minions — from porn-ready groupies backstage to mullet- have good melodies, good hooks. Think of it: Someone like Britney Spears could do ‘Sister Christian’ coiffed fans in the parking lot — might have occurred a decade after metal’s initial Sunset Strip by Nightrider. It could top the charts.” heyday, but the fans don’t seem to know, or care. She could certainly pull off the Confederate flag bikini top and faded denim cutoffs mugged by one They don’t even look that different from the fans captured in the 1986 cult phenom “Heavy peroxide fan in the photo album “Too Fast for Love” (PowerHouse Books), in bookstores this month. Metal Parking Lot,” a 15-minute low-fi documentary that has made the rounds as multiple- New York photographer David Yellen clocked 30,000 miles in his red Nissan 300ZX in 2000, snap- generation copies on VHS tape and is now available on DVD. (It also spawned this summer’s Trio ping the colorful disarray of tailgaiting ticket-holders at concerts for Poison, Dokken, Kiss and other network reality series “Parking Lot,” expanding its fandom domain beyond metal.) metal acts. The portraits are also on exhibit at the PowerHouse Gallery in New York starting Sept. 10. The ongoing allure of heavy metal, says Cleopatra’s Perera, is that “it was a decadent time, and “If it had been the Eighties, I would’ve been one of those people in the photos,” admits Yellen, people want to have a little bit of that back in their lives. Besides, if you take something away long whose lens typically focuses on musicians and athletes for editorial, and Cingular cell phones and enough, it starts looking good again.” the History Channel for his commercial work. “It was like going back through my teenage years.” — Rose Apodaca Jones

WWD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2004 31 WWD SOUNDS OF STYLE/SECTION II ne} tu

{in {in digging for roots A new generation of performers is getting back country music’s twang by bowing to its grande dames.

GROWING UP IN A NOMADIC FAMILY IN THE VAST, SPARSELY POPULATED NULLARBOR PLAIN OF AUSTRALIA, wasn’t exposed to television, radio or glossy magazines as a child. Her father’s coun- try music record collection was one of the Chambers clan’s few nods to modernity, and Kasey eagerly listened to her dad’s Carter Family, Hank Williams and Rosanne Cash platters. So, when Kasey was 12 and her dad took her to see open for Cash in Adelaide, an entire world seemingly Loretta Lynn opened up before her. To young Kasey’s ears, Williams’ mix of Dylanesque folk, Delta blues and clas- sic country was “like nothing I had ever heard in my life — a woman singing her own songs, with her own sound. It was so powerful, and I knew that was what I wanted to do.” Fast forward 14 years, and Kasey Chambers found herself listening to her idol once again, but now it was as Williams laid down a harmony vocal on Chambers’ song, “On a Bad Day.” “I was trying to be really cool,” says the singer-songwriter, 28, from her home in New South Wales, “but inside, I was screaming, ‘Lucinda Williams is singing my song!’ I was just beside myself.” The resulting album, “Barricades & Brickwalls,” made the sweetly voiced Chambers Australia’s first international country-rock crossover star. Tours with Williams, who will be putting out a live album this fall, and country legend followed, and Chambers is now promoting a new collection of assured, rootsy music, called “Wayward Angel.” Chambers isn’t the only country-oriented artist taking her cues from the genre’s grand dames, how- ever. Country artists who have stayed in the spotlight by singing about their authentic life experiences rather than giving into the prepackaged slick hegemony of contemporary country radio have inspired a fresh crop of truth-seeking musicians. “Just look at Gretchen Wilson,” says Billboard senior writer Deborah Evans Price, referring to the 31-year-old “Redneck Woman” songwriter, whose debut album of back-to-basics country, “Here for the Party,” has sold more than two million copies since its release in May. Kasey Chambers “Her success would’ve been unthinkable a couple of years ago, when Faith Neko Case [Hill]’s and Shania [Twain]’s glossy pop was dominating the country charts. People are looking for something that’s real.” In June, Loretta Lynn released “Van Lear Rose” to tremendous critical acclaim. The record’s stirring juxtaposition of rough-hewn blues rock — supplied and overseen by The White Stripes’ Jack White, who produced the album — and Lynn’s venerable twang introduced the 69-year-old coal miner’s daughter to a Lucinda Williams whole new generation of fans. A longtime Lynn acolyte, White has covered her Dolly Parton songs and even dedicated his band’s third album, “White Blood Cells,” to her. “Loretta was breaking down barriers for women at the right time, and writing all of her own songs,” White told the New York Times earlier this year. “Loretta was doing it earlier than that, and in the country realm, where a lot of women weren’t able to do what they wanted. I don’t think anyone has the natural songwriting ability she has inside of her.” Lynn hardly considers her appeal a mystery. “I sing about real life,” she ANDERSON says, “and I think people can relate to those kinds of songs.” Evans Price agrees. “Loretta’s as country as corn bread, and proud of it,” she says. “There’s an honesty and integrity at work there, and listeners — regardless of their age — just respond to her directness.” Case in point: When polymath chanteuse Neko Case, 33, was about for tunes to include on her forthcoming live album, “The Tigers Have Spoken,” she immediately thought of Lynn. “I rediscovered Loretta in the mid-Eighties,” says Case, who also sings with Canadian indie-pop faves The New Pornographers. “My world was filled with fake-political, macho-guy, stupid hard-core bands. Then I heard [Lynn’s infamous 1975 birth-control song], ‘The Pill.’ She was so much more punk than those guys could ever Gretchen Wilson dream of. I was vindicated.” Case had been covering another feminist anthem of Lynn’s, “Rated X,” in concert for eight years and thought it was a perfect fit for “Tigers.” Adopting some of Lynn’s trademark sass, Case says of the song, “Making fun of the institution of marriage feels just a little bit too good.” Covering a country pioneer can even lead to a career — just ask Nashville singer-songwriter Mindy Smith, 31, who decided to cover Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” for a Parton tribute album last year, joining Alison Krauss, Emmylou Harris and Chambers on the track listings. Smith had little idea how the song’s composer would react, but Parton was so taken with her rendition that she helped Smith get signed to Parton’s label, Vanguard. “I stuck to my guns, and we found each other,” says Smith. “No one knew me until the tribute, except maybe a few people in Nashville. She heard me for the first time singing her song and believed in me.” Smith’s moving “One Moment Mindy Smith More” album bowed in January of this year, while 58-year-old multimedia mogul Parton shows no signs of slowing down, releasing a new double-CD live album and DVD, “Live & Well,” later this month. Of course, any artist would love to stick around as long as Parton, Williams and Harris have, and Chambers has picked up a tip or two about the long view from her heroes. “I think their longevity comes from their doing what’s true to them,” says Chambers. “They’re not following trends or making records for the radio. When Loretta or Emmylou change their styles, it’s because they’re challenging themselves, doing what they feel like. And while that might mean that it takes a while to find success, it means that when you do succeed, you’ve done it on your own terms.” Indeed, having done it on her own terms, Lynn has this advice for younger musicians. “I always say you got to be first, great or different. If you’re one of them, you might make it.” NN PHOTO BY RUSS HARRINGTON; WILLIAMS BY MICHAEL HALSBAND/LANDOV; PARTON © RANDEE ST. NICHOLAS/CORBIS OUTLINE; CASE BY SUSAN NICHOLAS/CORBIS OUTLINE; CASE BY ST. © RANDEE PARTON MICHAEL HALSBAND/LANDOV; WILLIAMS BY RUSS HARRINGTON; NN PHOTO BY

— Greg Zinman LY

32 WWD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2004 Rachael Lampa CHRISTIAN GROUPS SUCH AS SWITCHFOOT AND JARS OF CLAY ARE ENJOYING A BROADER demographic and even feel free to wear ripped jeans, tank tops and piles of jewelry. But modesty still rules, and a few commandments remain. Among them: Thou shalt not bare midriffs. Indeed, the Christian record industry has relaxed its unwritten dress codes enormously over the past decade in order to make its artists more appealing to a young audience. One longtime creative director remembers a time when bare shoulders were strictly forbidden, and skirts were often airbrushed in photos to add length below the knees. “There’s been a real opening up with the realization that a young audience would pay more attention if the artists looked more like them,” says Christiev Carothers, president, Everything Visual, a Nashville styling and imaging company. However, among today’s hottest Christian acts, fans would be hard pressed to find a bare belly button in the bunch. “We’ve gone to amazing lengths, from , layering, even safety pins, to make sure our midriffs don’t show,” says Kristin Swinford of ZOEgirl, a Christian pop group. “Parents were so upset by their daughters emulating Britney Spears’ look and sexy moves.” Tricia Brock, one of two women in the rock group Superchick, says modesty for her is as much a matter of dignity and self-esteem as Christianity. “Our message to girls is to embrace your unique personality and be proud and comfortable in your own skin,” she says. “We take care to dress modestly, because we know girls in the audience will often dress like we do.” Brock describes her style as “glam-rock punk with a European edge.” It’s a look she cultivates by shopping at places like Urban Outfitters, where she can find miniskirts and tank tops that she layers over pants and shirts. She adds Converse All-Star shoes and lots of jewelry, especially big earrings. The mix has proven a winner for her. But while many Christian artists support the religious value of modesty, they find that walking the line between respecting their fans’ needs and being able to express Superchick their own individuality is precarious. Lisa Kimmey, of the Christian R&B/pop group Out of Eden, says the band never shows bare stomachs or cleavage, but sometimes that’s not even enough. The group drew flak after the 2002 DOVE awards, when Kimmey wore an off-the-shoulder Betsey Johnson fitted gown. “It wasn’t even tight,” she laughs. Out of Eden Rachael Lampa, a 19-year-old Christian singer, also learned early on about Christian audiences’ expectations. “I was naive, and when I wore tight jeans or spaghetti-strap tops, I heard about it,” she says. “I wouldn’t wear -baring tops anyway, but sometimes at autograph sessions, parents will say something if I wear a top and the shoulder slides off. I don’t let it stress me out. I don’t want to offend anyone, but I’m 19, and I want to look fashionable, too.” Everything Visual’s Carothers agrees that it’s a challenge to be edgy without relying on sex. “Without sex to sell an image, Christian artists often have to push harder to look fashionable,” she explains. Out of Eden’s Kimmey agrees. She knows that sex would be an easier sell, but she likes the challenge of looking cool without baring skin like her mainstream counterparts. “Modesty is not a fundamentalist, Quaker approach, or being covered up head to toe,” she says. “We’re into looking good.” For Kimmey, that means funky combinations, such as tweed crop pants, pony-print boots by Michael Kors, a turquoise ribbon-tie blouse and a brown leather motorcycle jacket. “There are so many bare stomachs and breasts that singers often look more like Victoria’s Secret models,” she says. “We love fashion, love designer labels, but we’re singers, not Sports Illustrated swim- suit models.” Leslie Moore, one of two female members in Christian foursome Jump5, says stores are now offer- ing more options, however. Moore prefers cheerleader skirts over or athletic wear by Nike, while her bandmate, sister Brittany Hargest, likes more feminine looks, including frilly, flowing blouses over jeans. Both shop trendy retailers such as Urban Outfitters and Wet Seal, but also scour stores like Wal-Mart or Target for plain T-shirts or skirts that they can rip up or embellish with sequins, rhinestones or leather trim. “Modesty is becoming more of a trend than a statement,” she says. While American pop culture will never abandon sex as a selling tool, some say perhaps it has gone as far as it can go — at least for now. “The mood is more toward natural and authentic now,” says Carothers. “T&A is tired.” — Georgia Lee living on a prayer Christian performers are tapping into the latest fashion trends — but modesty is still their creed.

WWD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2004 33 WWD SOUNDS OF STYLE/SECTION II

Gwyneth Drew Cameron Diaz Paltrow and Barrymore and Justin Chris and Fabrizio Timberlake Martin of Moretti of Coldplay The Strokes {coda} high fidelity The latest celebrity couple — the megababe and the rock star.

Gwen Renée Zellweger Stefani and Jack White and Gavin of The White Rossdale Stripes of Bush

L’Wren Scott and Iman and Mick Jagger of Julia Roberts David Bowie The Rolling Stones and Lyle Lovett

JULIA ONCE HAD ONE. DREW CURRENTLY HAS ONE, AS IT APPEARS DO RENÉE AND CAMERON. GWYNETH RECENTLY MARRIED ONE. And Winona continues to search for one. It’s the rock star boyfriend, the new arm candy for some of Hollywood’s most powerful actresses. And the modeling world, not to be usurped in its legendary stronghold on music’s bad boys, is keeping up. Beauties who have stepped off the catwalks and into high-profile secondary careers are appearing at their best with sexy lead singers at their sides, from business owner Iman, who continues to bedazzle David Bowie, to fashion entrepreneur Heidi Klum, who is snuggling up to Seal, and fashion stylist L’Wren Scott, who has started it up with Sir Mick Jagger (as have so many others, beginning with Bianca). Even within the music industry itself, there’s a new dating dynamic. There’s no doubt that megastar and designer Gwen Stefani is the bigger name in her relationship with hunky beau Gavin Rossdale. Indeed, these days, for better or for worse, it seems the woman who will snag the coveted trophy rocker has to more or less drive her own red sports car rather than, as once was the case, just writhe all over the of it. — Jennifer Hirshlag

Winona Ryder (left) is as known for her acting career as her rotating list of rock beaux, including Soul Asylum’s David Pirner, Old 97’s Rhett Miller, Beck, Ryan Adams and Pete Yorn.

Kate Hudson and Chris David Pirner Rhett Miller Beck Robinson of The Black Crowes PALTROW: VAL MALONE/WIREIMAGE; BARRYMORE: JEFFREY MAYER/WIREIMAGE; DIAZ: ANDREW D. BERNSTEIN/NBAE/GETTY; STEFANI: KEVIN WINTER/GETTY; IMAN: KEVIN MAZUR/WIREIMAGE; ZELLWEGER: RONALD ASADORIAN/SPLASH; SCOTT: MATRIX/BAUER-GRIFFIN; ROBERTS: JIM WWD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2004 SMEAL/WIREIMAGE ; RYDER: JEFFREY MAYER/WIREIMAGE; PIRNER: TIME LIFE PICTURES/GETTY; 34 MILLER, BECK: KEVIN MAZUR/WIREIMAGE; HUDSON: ARNALDO MAGNANI/GETTY ANGELINA’S MOST PRIVATE PIC YET · MADONNA, GUEST COLUMNIST

1,727 HAIR, SKIN & LIP FREEBIES! 103 SEPTEMBER NAUGHTY STARS! ULTIMATE GOSSIP FROM HOSPITALS, HOTELS, DIVE BARS SPLIT-SECOND BEAUTY TRICKS FOR GIRLS TOO BUSY TO BOTHER HEELS, BAGS & BLING WORTH BLOWING THE RENT ON SHOCKING POLL: WHO’S GETTING LUCKY THESE DAYS, PAGE 118 23 MUSIC PAGES MORE THAN ANY WOMEN’S MAG EVER IN HISTORY, NOT CHRISTINA THAT THAT’S SAYING MUCH AGUILERA “EVERY GUY LIED, CHEATED OR TOOK ADVANTAGEOF ME—EXCEPT ONE”

On-sale: August 24. Contact Eva Dillon, VP, Publisher at 212.630.3960. 2004 P&G ©

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