The Inside: Pg. 20 CANCUN CONFERENCE KICKOFF/3 FLASH/11-18 In LivingWWD Color WWDWomen’s Wear Daily • The Retailers’THURSDAY Daily Newspaper • September 11, 2003 Vol. 186, No. 53 $2.00 List Sportswear Underneath It All NEW YORK — Behind every big fashion success there’s a singular creative vision. That’s why Gwen Stefani made sure to be part of every aspect of her new contemporary line, L.A.M.B., which debuted this week. “I drew every stitch, every seam,” Stefani says. “I did all the fittings. This is my baby.” Form-fitting T-shirts, pants with a swath of fabric over the bum and plenty of hardware give L.A.M.B. a look of casual glamour with a touch of punk. Here, Stefani wears a Modal rayon T-shirt and denim pants. For more on her new label, see pages 6 and 7.

Giorgio’s Beverly Hills: A Celebration of Armani And Talk of the Future

By Rose Apodaca Jones BEVERLY HILLS — “I know I won’t be here forever,” a reflective Giorgio Armani said on the eve of his star- saturated gala induction into the new Rodeo Drive Walk of Style. “But I don’t imagine one person in charge. I imagine a very good team. I have a good management structure in place now Michelle Pfeiffer at See Star, Page8 the Armani event. PHOTOS BY ROBERT MITRA; MODEL: MARGA/SUPREME; HAIR AND MAKEUP BY MATEO FOR WARREN TRICOMI MANAGEMENT; STYLED BY ANTONIA SARDONE STYLED BY TRICOMI MANAGEMENT; FOR WARREN MATEO MODEL: MARGA/SUPREME; HAIR AND MAKEUP BY MITRA; ROBERT PHOTOS BY WWDTHURSDAY Sportswear GENERAL FASHION: Fashion’s latest star-turned-designer, Gwen Stefani, launches her ™ 6 long-anticipated contemporary line, L.A.M.B., this week. Here’s a look. Giorgio Armani finally responds to the much-speculated future of his $2 A weekly update on consumer attitudes and behavior based 1 billion global empire at the Beverly Hills extravaganza in his honor Tuesday. on ongoing research from Cotton Incorporated WWD looks at apparel manufacturing in New York City’s Chinatown, and 3 consumer moods in Europe and Japan in the wake of Sept. 11, 2001. SUPER SIZING EYE: The thrill is in the mix — just ask the far-flung group that gathered to Women seek equal fit across all apparel brands 4 celebrate the artistic ode to Kate Moss in the September issue of W. Flash, a special report on denim, juniors and streetwear, appears on pages 11-18. “Guess what?” exclaims actress Cynthia Nixon sistent. We take tape measures and a record of the Classified Advertisements ...... 21-23 as new mom and lawyer Miranda Hobbes on a actor’s measurements with us when shopping the To e-mail reporters and editors at WWD, the address is recent episode of HBO’s Sex and the City. “I’m stores, and that’s how we will best evaluate a fit.” [email protected], using the individual's name. wearing my skinny jeans!” So what’s the average woman to do sans a team of SUBSCRIPTION RATES U.S. and possessions, Retailer, daily one year, $99; Manufacturer, daily one year, $135. Most women do tend to keep at least one or two stylists and tailors to look her fitted best in a sea of All others U.S., daily one year $195. Canada/Mexico, daily one year, $295. All other foreign (Air Speed), daily one year $595. Please allow 6-8 weeks for service to start. Individual subscription information/Single Copy Sales : (800) 289-0273; aspirational items in the closet – a phenomena sizes? Don’t be afraid to consult the tailor at your outside U.S. (818) 487-4526; new group subscription information 212-630-4196 Postmaster: Send address changes to WWD, P.O. Box 15008, North Hollywood, CA 91615-5008. shared by both the fictional and the real. Because for local drycleaner or ask a friend for a recommendation WWD (ISSN #0149-5380) is published daily except Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, with one additional issue every month except July, and two additional issues in April and September and three in August, by Fairchild the majority of women, size really for a capable seamstress once Publications, Inc. a subsidiary of Advance Publications Inc., 7 West 34th Street, New York, NY 10001-8191. WWD is a registered trademark of Fairchild Publications Inc.© 2003 by Fairchild Publications Inc., does matter. According to the you’ve found a close enough size, a subsidiary of Advance Publications Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, Cotton Incorporated Lifestyle offers stylist DiFrisco. “Any including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted in writing by the copyright owner. Editorial Reprints: (212) 221-9595 Monitor™, 40% of women woman who takes the time to be Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY and other offices. Mailed under Publications Mail Sales Agreement No. 517054. Canada Post Returns to: P.O.Box 1632, Windsor, ON N9A 7C9 admitted to holding on to gar- fitted will see a marked improve- GST # 88654-9096-RM 0001 Canada Publications Agreement # 40032712 Printed in the U.S.A. ments in their wardrobe that they ment in her appearance.” All signed articles published in the paper represent solely the individual opinion of the writer and not those of couldn’t wear due to fit. While most experts agree that WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY. Another challenge average emphasis should be placed on For Web site access, log on and subscribe to www.WWD.com. women do experience with fit – actual fit as opposed to the number and quite often – is a lack of on the tag inside the garment, uniform sizing across different women are still fairly self-conscious In Brief brands. Nearly half of all female about the size of the garment ● MORE DE BEERS: De Beers LV said Wednesday it has opened consumers surveyed by the they’re placing on their bodies. three boutiques in Japan, as planned. The three in-store shops Monitor said they would like to “When I have to trade up a size in a span about 1,300 to 1,500 square feet each and are located within see standardized sizing in apparel, particular brand, I don’t exactly feel the country’s major department stores: at Takashimaya in thereby making their shopping “Every woman’s body has great about myself or the brand,” Nihonbashi, Matsuya in Ginza and Isetan in Shinjuku. Iman, a spokeswoman for De Beers, was on hand for pre-opening celebra- experiences easier and more suc- different nuances that don’t confides Alexandra. allow for an across the board tions Tuesday, including a gala dinner and performance by cessful. A mere 6% considered And it’s that experience that often American singer Jade Anderson. The design and product assort- themselves hard to fit, leaving a fit all the time in every leads some designers to cut more ment of the boutiques are similar to the London unit, which wide berth of women who know garment. It’s about being open generously to allow their clients to fit opened on Bond Street last November. A De Beers LV unit is slat- minded when shopping.” ed to open in Manhattan on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 55th their size and want to find it into a “smaller size.” This so-called Street in the second half of 2004. consistently from brand to brand. — Amy DiFrisco vanity sizing is at the discretion of “A size six should be a size six stylist the designer; it can work for that ● A MAYOR SALES EVENT: Mayor Michael Bloomberg helped should be a size six,” asserts collection if all sizes are in appro- launch an eight-day campaign to drive New York City’s retail sales priate proportion, according to alice + olivia’s Wiener. through promotions at a news conference held in Herald Square Alexandra, a freelance writer in New York City. “I Wednesday. Starting Sunday, more than 200 retailers across the don’t know why I have to go into the fitting room “If I’m fitting on a six and it’s running small, I call it a five boroughs will offer price promotions. For example, during the with my size plus one size up or down to find the one four and base up and down accordingly.” drive, three Champion sweatshirts will sell for $20 at Modell’s that fits best. It’s crazy to think that I can wear one With that said, size truly is just a number. And Sporting Goods. Retailers participating in the program, including size in one brand and a different size in another.” that’s just fine by DiFrisco, who has some words of Macy’s and Modell’s, will be featured in a special section in Sunday’s New York Daily News. The Mayor said the city’s retail- But that’s a difficult request when each designer wisdom for women shoppers. “Ignore that number!” ers employ 260,000 people and pay wages of $10.5 billion. has his or her own idea of sizing and how to establish she advises. “It’s hard for women to accept that ini- it. “I use only one fit model as I think it makes for a tially, but I stay firm in insisting that my clients focus ● BON-TON BIDS BACK: The Bon-Ton Stores late Wednesday more consistent line, which is what’s most impor- on the fit and ignore the size its says in the garment.” upped its bid for Elder-Beerman Stores Corp. to $7.25 a share, or 20 cents a share more than the amended bid submitted by Wright tant,” shares Stacey Bendet Wiener, designer and Chico’s, the national women’s apparel retailer, has a Holdings on Tuesday. The latest offer from Bon-Ton, based in co-owner of alice + olivia, an emerging fashion force unique approach to sizing sensitivity. They have York, Pa., values EB at about $95 million, exclusive of debt, sold at Barneys, Scoop created their own zero about $12 million more than Wright’s altered merger agreement Reasons for wanting to see standardized NYC and Bergdorf through three labeling that with the Dayton, Ohio-based department store. The battle for EB sizing in apparel among all brands: commenced in June when EB agreed to be acquired by Wright Goodman. “As a designer, is based on European for $6 a share plus the assumption of about $110 million in debt. Females 16-70 sizing. “Any woman would it helps me to understand Would make shopping easier 49% ● how the garment fits in Easier to get correct size 15% prefer to say she was UNDERWHELMING DEMAND: Permira is having a hard time relationship to my line.” Size isn't the problem, it's the cut 13% buying a one than a ten,” getting Debenhams shareholders to part with their stock. As of Sept. 9, the second closing date for shareholders to tender their Wiener allows that, Familiar with current sizes in favorite brands 12% relates Lexi Winkles, I'm hard to fit 6% shares, Permira’s acquisitions vehicle, Laragrove Ltd., said it had ”There is not a perfect spokesperson for the chain. received just 2.56 percent of the U.K. department store’s stock. People like different sizes 4% Laragrove extended the deadline until Sept. 23. Permira, which body, but there is a perfect All other 3% “After all, it’s about feeling size six body.” This model better about ourselves.” bid about $2.4 billion for the store last month, needs more than 50 percent of shares to secure Debenhams and, according to U.K. permits her to fit garments to every curve. And even if Another option is for the women’s apparel takeover regulations, must win 90 percent of a company’s shares you’re not a size six, “Every size runs proportionate,” industry to take note of waist sizing as it’s done in to have the offer declared unconditional in all respects. As report- she promises, with regard to her collection of slim- menswear. “It would be a more precise and exacting ed, as of Aug. 26, the first closing date for shareholders, Permira fitting pants and asymmetrical sweaters for fall. measure,” offers Ira Livingston, senior vice president, had only received 2.22 percent of the existing issued share capital. Relates Amy DiFrisco, a stylist and style consultant consumer marketing at Cotton Incorporated. in New York City. “Every woman’s body has different Although finding the perfect fit can sometimes be WWDStock Market Index for September 10 nuances that don’t allow for an across the board fit all a numbers game, in the end it’s how you feel and the time in every garment. It’s about being open look in your clothing that really counts. Composite: 113.98 Broadline Stores: 114.56 Softline Stores: 113.41 minded when shopping.” This story is one in a series of articles based on findings Gail Fitzgibbons, a wardrobe supervisor who has from Cotton Incorporated’s Lifestyle Monitor™ worked with a variety of casts from The Sopranos to tracking research. Appearing Thursdays in these pages, -0.53 -0.62 -0.53 the upcoming film Empire Falls, admits that sizing each story will focus on a specific topic as it relates to the definitely varies from designer to designer. American women’s wear consumer and her attitudes Vendors: 111.62 Textiles: 124.21 When outfitting her famous clientele for their and behavior regarding clothing, Index base of 100 is roles, Fitzgibbons says, “We really work more on appearance, fashion, fiber selection and keyed to closing prices measurements because size is rarely normal or con- many other timely, relevant subjects. of Dec. 31, 2002. -0.24 0.27 WWD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2003 3 Developing Countries: September 11: Two Years Later

Today is the second anniversary of NEW YORK — Two years after turn around last-minute orders Eliminate the Subsidies the terrorist attacks in New York, the terrorist attacks — and the from local retailers and whole- Pennsylvania and Washington, ensuing security cordons that salers on short notice alternate By Kristi Ellis Mexican authorities have D.C., which altered the way kept much of Chinatown closed with long periods of trying to barricaded the convention cen- Americans, and people worldwide, for business for weeks or drum up business, causing staff CANCUN, Mexico — Developing ter with a red metal structure faced their lives and their futures. months — the neighborhood’s layoffs — has led many of the ex- countries spoke with a unified that snakes around its circum- The global economy continues to makers are still battling to keep perienced seamstresses and voice at the opening session of the ference, and they also shut off experience the shock waves, and their businesses operational. other workers they depended on World Trade Organization’s meet- streets around the building to the fashion and retail industries Local manufacturers continue to seek more stable employment. ing here Tuesday, and the mes- protesters, but that didn’t stop a are still struggling to return to the to face the pressures of high rents While neighborhood-by- sage to rich countries was loud group of about 30 antiglobaliza- relative vigor they enjoyed prior to and rising competition from for- neighborhood data on apparel and clear: Eliminate agriculture tion protesters from crashing 9/11. In New York City, the China- eign producers, factors that have industry employment is not subsidies as quickly as possible. the opening-day session. town area, with its proximity to contributed to the ongoing de- readily available, New York On day one of a gathering that Holding signs that read, Ground Zero, is a vivid example of cline in apparel manufacturing State Department of Labor fig- could determine the fate of a “WTO obsolete” and “WTO is a struggling industry. Here, a new across the nation for the past few ures show that overall apparel global trade treaty, trade minis- anti-development,” the protest- look at apparel manufacturing decades. In addition, Chinatown manufacturing employment in ters from around the world re- ers chanted “shame” and dis- there, as well as the consumer contractors report their continu- the city has fallen sharply since flected on the differences divid- rupted the meeting for about 15 moods in Europe and Japan in the ing boom-and-bust cycle — in the terrorist attacks. ing them and the common ground minutes, although Luis Ernesto wake of Sept. 11, 2001. which periods of scrambling to Continued on page 19 that continues to bind them. Derbez, Minister of Foreign Although the differences far Affairs of Mexico, did not pause outweigh the agreements, the in his opening remarks. ministers appeared poised to Led by such groups as Public work through the next four days Citizen, Third World Network Howard to New Liz Claiborne Post in an attempt to achieve a con- and several European non- sensus on broad blueprints governmental organizations, the NEW YORK — Todd Howard has juniors at Tommy Hilfiger Corp. other vendors, is making a push in defining how to eliminate tariffs protesters claim the WTO is moved into the newly created Before that, he was vice presi- better for spring. In all, nearly half and subsidies on agriculture “nothing but an instrument of position of group president at dent of sales for sportswear and of the firm’s $3.72 billion in annual and industrial goods. corporate power” that benefits Liz Claiborne Inc., the firm said jeans at Calvin Klein. sales are derived from products Mexican President Vicente companies and does nothing to Wednesday. “Todd’s expertise is in devel- sold at better price points. Fox, who gave the keynote ad- alleviate poverty and inequality Howard reports to executive oping and growing department The Realities line, which dress at the Convention Center in in developing countries. vice president Angela Ahrendts and specialty store businesses for Howard now leads, is an effort the heart of Cancún, emphasized Despite the rising tensions on and will oversee women’s DKNY better brands,” Ahrendts said in a by Claiborne not only to capture the need to balance trade flows the first day of the meeting, where Jeans, Junior & Active, City statement. “I look forward to part- more market share, but also to between rich and poor countries. scorching temperatures and thick, DKNY, Kenneth Cole New York nering with him to strategically adjust the way in which it does “Poor countries need to grow, humid air underscored the heavi- and Reaction, Lucky Brand and position and further drive these business. Key to the new ap- and trade could be the vital en- ness of the discord inside, some the new better line Realities. important businesses for the com- proach is flexibility and simplic- gine of growth,” Fox said. “But we WTO leaders claimed the obsta- Previously, Howard was pres- pany and our retail partners.” ity, giving the firm more leeway must fight to eliminate subsidies cles are not insurmountable. ident of men’s jeans, kids’ and Claiborne, along with a troop of to meet the retailer’s needs. in agriculture, which are unjust “We are not under the illu- and which constitute unfair trade sion that reconciling the inter- practices to the benefit of no one.” ests of 146 member states is a their respective spouses, who are clients. Fox accused developed coun- delicate and complex exercise,” Also at the high end of the game is Beyoncé, tries of giving with one hand and said Supachai Panitchpakdi, di- expected at GF Ferré and House of Field. Britney Spears taking with another, an echo rector general of the WTO. “The Fashion Scoops is also said to be making her second appearance at heard from the continent of challenges are tough, but they House of Field. Then, somewhere else on the spectrum, Africa to South Asia and beyond. are not insurmountable.” THE NERVE OF HIM: Marc Jacobs is fine. His appearance Ivana Trump and Denise Rich were recruited to model for “On the one hand, donor He said the give-and-take of at events wearing a neck brace this week, however, sent Lloyd Klein. countries transfer aid to the the negotiations in Cancún the rumor mill churning at full tilt, but a spokesman for And in an inevitable twist, there’s also bound to be some beneficiary countries, but on needs to produce a “balanced” the designer said there’s nothing to worry about. “He “Queer Eyes” around, apart from those of Robert Verdi. the other hand, they hamper outcome. However, finding a had a pinched nerve in his back,” he said. “There is Carson Kressley is expected to attend Luca Luca’s show. progress with trade restric- broad consensus on agriculture nothing wrong. The show will go on.” tions,” Fox said. and industrial goods will be dif- So will the after party. A NOSE FOR CHIC: Forget about cutlery as a Concorde Farmers in developing coun- ficult enough. Cotton subsidies, This season, Jacobs is hosting a benefit for the Hetrick- souvenir. Devotees of the grounded supersonic airliner can tries such as Mexico claim they which serves as a microcosm of Martin Institute in the garden of the Maritime Hotel in soon bid on some major hardware. On Nov. 15, Christie’s in cannot compete with the multimil- the difficult battle on agricul- Chelsea on Monday night, with his business partner, Robert Paris plans to auction about 200 pieces from two Air lion-dollar subsidies in developed ture separating rich and poor Duffy, Hetrick-Martin spokeswoman Hilary Swank and the France birds, from the wings and the pilot’s seat to the countries such as the U.S., and countries, surfaced as a light- Lancaster Group as co-hosts. Jacobs has designed limited engine and flight instruments. But the most coveted piece they took to the streets of Cancún ning rod issue on Monday in ad- is expected to be the 10-foot nose, which is estimated to by the thousands to protest the vance of the WTO meeting. Anna Sui with Marc Jacobs. bring in bids ranging from between $11,200 and $16,800. current round of WTO talks. Continued on page 19 The announcement of the sale Wednesday afternoon unleashed a frenzy of interest, with Paris radio stations fielding calls from all around the world. But interested buyers will have to fly to Paris on regular airliners.

DESIGNER COOKIE DOUGH: Oscar de la Renta, Diane von Chico’s to Close Pazo Format Furstenberg, Anna Sui, Vivienne Tam and Betsey Johnson have teamed up with Eleni’s New York, a gourmet By Katherine Bowers with Sanders Morris Harris, ap- bakery, to design a 7th on Sixth Couture Cookie plauded Chico’s move to leave Collection. Each of the designers submitted original BOSTON — Chico’s FAS will shut- the over-grazed world of junior sketches that will appear on the ready-to-eat sugar ter its fledgling Pazo junior store specialty retailing for greener cookies. Eleni’s will donate all proceeds to Key to The concept after the holidays to de- pastures. In her research notes Cure, Saks Fifth Avenue’s philanthropic initiative vote more resources to its new this week, she reiterated a edition T-shirts, hats and bracelets that will be sold at the benefiting Women’s Cancer Research. The couture White House/Black Market chain, “strong buy” rating on the stock. event, with all proceeds going to the institute. Prices range cookie collection will be sold exclusively at Eleni’s New purchased at the end of July. “Pazo product was well-made from between $5 and $7 for patches, $10 for bracelets, York in Chelsea Market at 75 Ninth Avenue, or online at Chico’s had been trying to fix and it was trend right, but there $25 for hats and $50 for T-shirts. elenis.com. They sell for $55 for a tin of 18. the Pazo concept, which has just was no clear message on why to Hetrick-Martin is a not-for-profit agency that serves While you’re blowing your diet, there’s also Eleni’s 10 stores and never met expecta- shop there,” she noted. “It’s re- gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning Favorites, being introduced this fall, which feature tions. It was launched last March. ally tough to take that girl from youth that also provides educational services to the cookies to resemble Burberry, Chanel and Hermès “We wanted to focus our ef- shopping elsewhere.” Harvey Milk High School in New York. handbags, as well as Manolo Blahnik, Marc Jacobs and forts on areas with greater po- In contrast, White House/Black Jacobs has also recruited Perry Farrell of Jane’s Gucci shoes. tential for growth,” explained a Market has a clearly defined Addiction to DJ under his pseudonym, Peretz. spokeswoman for the Fort niche, carrying black clothing on TEMPERLEY’S TEMPO: London designer Alice Temperley Meyers, Fla.-based Chico’s. one side of its store and white on CELEB SET: As publicists battle to land the biggest stars managed to cull quite the fashion crowd Tuesday night at The spokeswoman said the the other. The concept could grow for the fashion week front rows — Demi Moore is the big the launch of her new showroom in SoHo. Models company is considering convert- comfortably to a 400-store chain, catch — fashion houses are already crowing over who’s Jacquetta Wheeler, Amy Wesson and Ines Rivero made the ing the real estate to Chico’s, Pierce predicted. coming to their shows. Some designers passed on Liza rounds as well as socialites Elizabeth Kieselstein-Cord, Alex which has 396 misses’ units, or Sales per square foot average Minnelli, but Alice Roi not only accepted her request, she Kramer, Olivia Chantecaille and Dayssi Olarte de Kanavos. White House/Black Market, about $550, a very respectable sent over two outfits for the diva to choose from. Hip and savvy retailers like Ana Abdul of Language, Sarah which has 107 stores. It’s also number that Pierce believes Apart from the roster of regulars — Natasha Lynonne, Easley and Beth Buccini of Kirna Zabête and Meital Grantz possible that some former Pazo Chico’s management could en- T-Boz, Damon Dash, Salman Rushdie and the Hiltonettes of Talulah G in Las Vegas also turned up to check out spaces test a misses’ activewear hance further with a more com- — Venus Williams is back with rsvps for Luca Luca and Temperley’s wares. and intimates concept geared prehensive accessories business. B. Michael, the latter of whom has themed his collection Aided by trays of champagne, rose petal martinis and toward the Chico’s customer “They’re experts with novel- around Susan Failes-Hill’s recently published memoir of the Temperley family’s apple brandy — their private and slated to bow in fall 2004, as ty,” she said. “Accessories are a her mother, Josephine Premice, called “Always Wear stash — revelers stayed past 1 a.m. toasting to previously reported. great up-sell and they have a Joy.” He’s also invited Chris Rock and Spike Lee, through Temperley’s new fashion darling status. Elizabeth Pierce, analyst great margin.” 4 WWD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2003

X Frankie Rayder, Aerin Kate Moss and Lauder Angela Lindvall. Zinterhofer in Dolce & The Mix Gabbana. Masters As the best hosts know, the thrill is in the mix — just ask the far-flung group that gathered for a dinner at Matsuri to celebrate eye® the artistic ode to Kate Moss in the September issue of W magazine, WWD’s sister publication. From the art world came such luminaries as Francesco Clemente, Lisa Yuskavage, To m Sachs and Richard Prince, as well as photographers Craig McDean, Bruce Weber, Steven Klein, Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin. Fashion stars like Helmut Lang, Carolina Herrera and Narciso Rodriguez Adrien joined the throng. Swans of the social swirl, including Brody Serena and Samantha Boardman, Eliza Reed Bolen and Rena Sindi, swam their way downtown. The Hollywood Eliza contingent included Adrien Brody, Connie Nielsen and Reed Todd Solondz. And without a seating chart, they all Bolen fended for themselves, finding old friends and making some new ones, too. Anna Wintour tucked into a corner banquet with Barry Diller, Diane von Furstenberg and Aerin Lauder P. Diddy Zinterhofer and Eric Zinterhofer. Brice Marden sat en famille with daughter Mirabelle, while Lauren Bush squeezed in with Michael Kors and Zac Posen. Harvey Barry Diller and Diane von Furstenberg Weinstein slipped into a booth with his dermatologist, Lisa Airan. Lynn Forester chatted with Richard Tuttle and Angela Westwater, while Nina Griscom and Leonel Piraino found a cozy table for two. In his fabulous yet friendly way, P. Diddy approached Kors, whom he hadn’t seen since their tiff last June, and the two shook hands. “We’re like this,” Kors announced, crossing his fingers in a sign of best-friendship. Then Diddy was off to engage a table full of young ladies, passing around his beyond-bling-bling pinkie ring for each one to try on. “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend,” said Diddy, “so this is my way in.” At the rollicking after party, held in Michael Thompson’s studio, many were looking for a way into a crowd that included stars such as Edward Norton, Gwen Rena Stefani and Anthony Kiedis, as well as young designers Sindi in like Peter Som, Richie Rich and Magda Berliner. Roberto Bridging the gap between the two worlds was Imitation Cavalli. of Christ designer Tara Subkoff, who spent the summer on a movie set with chicken cutlets shoved into her bodice, playing a voluptuous Patty Hearst-esque revolutionary in the upcoming comedy, “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.” By the time Donna Karan arrived, the fire marshall held a growing crowd at bay on the sidewalk. Anouck Lepere took the opportunity to strike up a friendship of convenience, begging one of the firemen for a ride to Bungalow 8. “Are you kidding?” he responded, stone- faced. “No way.”

Brice Marden and his daughter, Mirabelle daughter, Mirabelle Tory Burch, in Narciso Erin O'Connor Rodriguez, with Michael Kors.

Connie Nielsen and Amy Sacco

James Blake

Samantha Lauren Bush Narciso Donna Carolina Herrera Boardman in inin ZacZac Posen.Posen. Lisa Yuskavage Rodriguez Karan and Patricia Lansing VVaalentino.lentino. PHOTOS BY STEVE EICHNER PHOTOS BY What makes a statement? W’s Version of the all-American Yard Sale

HOLLYWOOD YARD SALE

Meet, Browse and Shop to Benefit The Environmental Media Association

Saturday, September 20 Tickets: $50 each; $80 for two 12:00pm - 5:00pm For more information and to purchase 251 North Bristol Avenue tickets, please call 800.343.7220 or email Brentwood, CA [email protected]

MAKE A STATEMENT. 6 WWD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2003 Gwen HadaLittl

LOS ANGELES — “I just can’t believe I get to be part of this new world!” enthuses fashion’s latest designer, Gwen Stefani, on the long-anticipated launch this week of her contemporary line, L.A.M.B. Buyers will finally get to review — and write — orders for the line today in its new New York showroom, following a tease Monday afternoon during a personal appearance by Stefani at Macy’s Herald Square and another later that evening at a bash hosted by LeSportsac, which does the L.A.M.B. bag line. Considering the phenomenal success of her collaboration with the bag brand, L.A.M.B. appar- el could prove another hit for one of pop music’s biggest superstars. Her clothing line alone is conservatively expected to generate first-year sales of $20 million. “It’s all so weird it got to this point. I can’t believe I have a book full of designs. I have samples. I have a showroom in SoHo. I’ve been fantasizing about this for a long time,” said Stefani. Longer, in fact, than the year or so since the idea to materialize her much-pho- tographed, much-analyzed and much-copied personal style into a commercial brand began leaking in gossip columns and buzzed about on No Doubt chat boards. In fact, Stefani has been dreaming about this since she was a kid. There were all those trips with her mom to the House of Fabrics near Stefani’s suburban home in Anaheim, Calif., where the band she co-founded in 1987 took shape under the shadow of Disneyland. There were the dresses she cut and sewed herself before heading out on her first club tours. Even once the ball appeared to get rolling on the L.A.M.B. venture, plans for a fall debut at retail fell through as it hit all those normal de- lays involved in getting any new company off the ground — securing the right team, 15-hour days spent learning an entirely new industry, etc. But they all proved a “blessing in disguise,” Stefani admitted. “I was so happy because I actually got to draw the collection. I feel like I really know what it takes. I drew every stitch, every seam. I did all the fit- tings. The amount of time and effort I put in is mind-blowing to me. The future scares me because it never ends. This is my baby.” Opting out of fall had other challenges, too. “With spring, it was hard because I don’t wear many pastels. So my whole inspiration is the reggae, rock-steady vibe — red, green and gold. You know, those Jamaican Rastafarians don’t wear pink.” Still, cuteness is behind the name — what Stefani used to call her tiny, snow-white Lhasa Apso. In its memory, Stefani began calling her friends by the cherished pet’s name, and it only seemed fitting to use it for her new pet project. And what a year of projects it’s been for the 33-year-old rock star. As the fashion venture took shape, Stefani developed two col- lections for LeSportsac; took up acting (“I just finished the Scorsese film, “Aviator,” and it was an unbelievably amazing expe- rience,” Stefani said of her turn as Jean Harlow); went back in the recording studio with No Doubt to work on a greatest hits album, which will include a new song or two, and began work on her first solo effort, a dance album she hopes to have ready by L.A.M.B.’s first possible runway show in February 2004. Oh, and she also managed to tie the knot with longtime love Gavin Rossdale of the Brit-rock band Bush — not once, in a cus- tom Christian Dior gown made for her by her friend John Galliano, but twice, for the benefit of friends and family in England and southern California. “Can you believe our one-year anniversary is already this week?” Stefani demanded. “This year has been just crazy and exciting. I don’t know how I’m ▲ L.A.M.B.’s silk blouse and cotton doing it. I don’t know how I got all these opportunities.” pants. With the Rossdales splitting their time between London and Los Angeles, Stefani looked to the native style in both cities — which resembles her own. The inaugural collection contains chic silk blouses, gingham Marilyn Monroe halters, ladylike dresses cut in jersey and cotton, slim herringbone twill bal- ▲ L.A.M.B.’s cotton loon pants and a peplum jacket. Denim ranges from basics to T-shirt and cotton and “rock-star” versions. Retail prices run from $40 for T-shirts Lycra spandex pants and $128 to $325 for jeans to $178 to $300 for pants and $250 with chains. to $310 for dresses. “You know, hyperstylish comfort pieces you could wear every day.” Details drive its sensibility. There are extralarge grom- mets and red, gold and green triple-stitching, and strategical- ly placed safety pins or zippers. A pair of microsanded cotton mechanic pants is ruched. And, to fill the void for not offer- ing accessories — which Stefani personally can’t leave L.A.M.B.’s cotton denim jacket with chains. ▲ home without — there are charms in the shape of lambs and other symbols dangling from tops. Lyrics she wrote and recorded appear on the lining, across slim-cut men’s shirting and T-shirts. Stefani even penned a “Once Upon A Time”-type tale about her late pup that appears in a handwritten script throughout the collection. While Stefani is on many of the Love-to-Dress lists of other designers, she’s stumped when it comes to her own wish list. She’s already passed along samples that didn’t make the finished collection to pals Cameron Diaz and Drew Barrymore. “Really, the biggest problem I’m going to have is seeing other people wear the clothes. I’ve already ex- perienced it with the bags. I saw a girl with my bag and it was terrifying to see something I came up with on a total stranger,” said Stefani. “It’s different from someone liking your music. It just is.” — Rose Apodaca Jones WWD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2003 7 Party Animals NEW YORK — To celebrate Tim Schifter’s Le Sportsac venture with Gwen Stefani, Schifter’s wife, Helen, brought out all of her friends Monday night with Sportsac bags in tow. “My husband humbly refers to himself as the handbag salesman,” she said, mingling with Gigi Mortimer, Celerie Kemble, Nina le L.A.M.B. Griscom, Shoshanna Lonstein, CeCe Cord and Fernanda Niven. “And Gwen is his mistress de bagage.” The bags have only just hit in New York — the window display of Colette in Paris is chock-full of them, too — but Stefani’s already a little chagrined by the explosion. “I’ve seen them around everywhere,” she said. “When I’m walking down the street and I notice that I have a bag and someone else has a bag, I hide my head.” Schifter showed her enthusiasm by carrying two L.A.M.B. bags, one in the shape of a heart that she had embellished with a bright green ribbon and a larger, more versatile pochette. Chatting with Lauren duPont, Alex Kramer flaunted the same heart bag, but she wore hers plain. “Helen sent it to me,” she said. “But hers is so much cooler.” Tama Janowitz was still reeling from the positive review Fay Weldon gave her new novel, “Peyton Amberg,” in the London Guardian the day before. “Tomorrow, it’ll be back to being depressed,” she said.

Tim Schifter with Gwen Gigi Stefani in Mortimer L.A.M.B.

; PARTY PHOTOS BY LAUREN FLEISHMAN AND STEVE EICHNER LAUREN PHOTOS BY ; PARTY Tiffany Dubin

Helen Nina Schifter Griscom

Around the corner at Lever House, the Schifters threw Stefani a dinner that included guests Andre Balazs, Jay McInerney, Amy and Chris Astley, Anna Sui, and Stefani’s agent David Schiff and his daughter Kaylie, a junior at NYU. Over a somewhat synergistic main course of lamb chops, Stefani found conversation with Gilles Bensimon a little rocky. “I can only understand about half of what he’s saying,” she joked, before reprimanding him for his reckless motorcycling. In an attempt to avoid flashbulbs and paparazzi at the Four Seasons, Harvey Weinstein stopped at the table for what he called a “drive-by,” to say hello to Stefani. She just returned from Montreal and filming for Martin Scorsese’s new Howard Hughes biopic, “The Aviator,” which Weinstein is producing. “Before I did the movie, I had no idea who Harvey Weinstein was. I met him on the set,” Stefani said. Conversation, inevitably, turned to back to school preparations, which made Stefani somewhat wistful. “I really want to have kids,” she mused. “But Gavin [Rossdale] and I are just enjoying our first year of marriage right now. Tonight, though, I feel like a queen.” PHOTOS BY ROBERT MITRA; MODEL: MARGA/SUPREME; HAIR AND MAKEUP BY MATEO FOR WARREN TRICOMI MANAGEMENT; STYLED BY ANTONIA SARDONE STYLED BY TRICOMI MANAGEMENT; FOR WARREN MATEO MODEL: MARGA/SUPREME; HAIR AND MAKEUP BY MITRA; ROBERT PHOTOS BY 8 WWD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2003 Star Wattage in Giorgio’s Beverly Hills

Continued from page one of people who are working closely with me.” Without naming names, Armani finally respond- ed to the speculation over the future of his $2 bil- lion global empire, which he, at a highly active and young-looking 69, admittedly micromanages, di- recting everything from communications to the de- sign of his ready-to-wear, accessories, beauty and home collections to the nuts and bolts of a business he continues to own lock, stock and barrel. Retirement is not in his vocabulary. And he applied his energized leadership throughout his five-day visit here this week, charging through the induction ceremony on Tuesday, as well as the after bash late that night, even as many of his If there’s reincarnation, I famously famous friends had long gone to bed. “ Armani, in fact, appears less concerned with his want to come back as Armani: successors than the industrywide challenges that lie ahead. With his ready-to-wear and Armani Casa cuter, sexier, richer. collections operating as expected, he’s focusing on ” further strengthening his accessories and beauty busi- — Harrison Ford nesses. Although he stressed that both are doing well, it’s a matter of forces that can be controlled — brand recognition for both categories — and uncontrolled, such as the international economy and politics. This week’s induction ceremonies, including Monday afternoon’s unveiling of the sidewalk plaque, introduced the Rodeo Drive Walk of Style. The Rodeo Drive Committee and the city of Beverly Hills created the tribute to honor designers and style legends for Jewel their contributions in the ever-merging worlds of fashion and entertainment. Artist Robert Graham, on hand at the event with wife Anjelica Huston, created the plaque and maquette, which legendary retailer Fred Hayman, who brought the designer and many others to the street, called “our Oscar of fashion.” “Tonight is a coming together of two men who I love,” Huston said as the evening got under way. “Two extreme, powerful talents. He’s one of those people who I am grateful to have had in my life for a long, long time — even before I met Robert.” The Armani-clad A-list of the designer’s fans was, indeed, worthy of an Academy Awards night: Jodie Foster, Michelle Pfeiffer with husband David E. Kelly, Sophia Loren, Diane Keaton, Steve Martin, Calista Flockhart and Harrison Ford, Debra Messing and Mira Sorvino. And that was just a fraction of the front row. And why not? As Hayman noted, “Armani was the first to make fash- ion matter in Hollywood.” Armani took pride in his achievements dur- ing a pause Monday morning in his whirlwind visit. “My fashion marked a break of how Hollywood dressed before,” he said, sitting in the VIP fitting salon, one of many white-lac- quered rooms above the Rodeo Drive Giorgio Armani flagship. “So, instead of having some- thing abstract at these events, with people just talking about me, my clothes, I wanted them to see the whole effect of what I do. I needed to put on a show.” And put on a show he and a legion of celebrity friends, city leaders and in-house staff did, from the parade of 78 models in the current fall-winter collection to the Outkast-deejayed after bash that tested the curfew limits of the host city. Since last Saturday night, a two-block section of Rodeo Drive had been closed to traffic as the tow- ering venue was erected (ironically, a full block away from Armani’s flagship, leaving its front doors accessible to the many chauf- feur-driven SUVs dropping off VIPs for fittings). For the king of red-carpet style, the arrivals Armani onstage with Jodie Foster and Michelle Pfeiffer. carpet was strikingly different: black. So, too, Armani onstage with Jodie Foster and Michelle Pfeiffer. were the expansive walls, the railings, the stadi- um seating and the shiny runway. “It’s fantastic “My friend is being honored and so I came It’s a surprising statement for a designer who has said to see something so fabulously chic in L.A. be- Jennifer to Los Angeles for him,” Loren said cheerful- his muses include the screen goddesses of cinema’s golden cause we usually ruin it by going over the top in Love ly, there with her son, Eduardo Ponti. “He era, or for a wardrobe contributor who has added to such excess,” said Monet Mazur as she gracefully Hewitt deserves everything. He’s really genius. Twenties-era masterpieces as “The Untouchables.” nudged for personal space in the throng of at- And besides this, he’s a wonderful friend. He Armani even conceded to tweaking one of his Eighties tendees flooding the event. “Look at all this. Mr. has a heart like this,” she declared, clutching dresses into a more Thirties look for the upcoming Cole Armani is such a rock star.” what appeared to be an imaginary beach ball. Porter biopic, “De-Lovely,” starring Ashley Judd and Kevin Equally stopping everyone in their tracks, however, Diane Keaton and Steve Martin snuck backstage to Kline. But he could never be accused of being retro. was Sophia Loren. When she first appeared on the wall- watch the black-carpet action on a monitor. “It’s fun “People have become disoriented,” the designer con- sized screen displaying the arrivals scene outside, even looking at what everyone is wearing,” enthused Keaton. tinued. “Do I wear something from now? Or am I more the biggest of stars stopped chatting and air-kissing to As Armani, dressed in his uniform of fitted T-shirt current by wearing vintage? They don’t have confidence look up. Once inside, the grande dame of cinema, and linen trousers, this time in steel gray, worked the in what suits them. And clothes created by a famous wrapped in yards of black tulle and stringy leather, a arrivals line, he could no doubt relish not only seeing brand do not always look good on them. I think there gown custom made by Armani, had a similar effect on nearly every attendee in clothes that were his, but ap- are people who don’t want to be victims of fashion.” whomever was within reach. preciate the absence of one recent red-carpet staple. Armani as sartorial salvation was a theme offered Jewel went into a quiet frenzy. “Is Sophia here? Is “Vintage. It’s too much. So much fashion in the last again and again by red-carpet regulars on hand at she behind me?” she quietly squealed as she slowly years has been done in terms of looking at the past, re- Tuesday night’s event — Samuel L. Jackson, Dylan and turned around. working it,” Armani said. Shiva Rose McDermott, Sarah Wynter, Mya and Thora WWD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2003 9

Harrison Ford and Sophia Loren

Angelica Huston Huston Mira Sorvino

Monet Mazur

Paris Hilton Dustin Hoffman

Diane Keaton and Steve Martin

Tiffani Jamie Amber Charlie Sheen and Thora Tisch Theissen Samuel L. Jackson Denise Richards Kelly Gray Birch PHOTOS BY DONATO SARDELLA DONATO PHOTOS BY

Birch, who was among those who scored the personal you really can’t make a mistake with him.” more than 130 international films his clothes have ap- treatment on her party look. “Oh my god, it was so stress- Yet it was Jodie Foster who offered her longtime col- peared in. And at times, with Roberta Armani leaning ful,” she recalled of her fitting with Armani on Sunday. laborator praise as an icon: “Being dressed by Armani into her uncle as she whispered translated accolades “There are so many translators around so it becomes is like being directed by Visconti or painted by Picasso.” into his ear, the Cool One appeared visibly moved. like a head-bobbing thing. You just nod yes.” One superstar after another gushed about their hero “This night has been so beautiful,” he quietly said later The testimonials didn’t even require a podium and before and after the runway show. Messing read love under the din of bumping beats that Outkast and model- microphone: “When in doubt, wear Armani,” Marley letters from Julia Roberts, Richard Gere, Martin turned-DJ Sky Nellor were delivering from an elevated, Shelton shrugged. Scorsese and Robert DeNiro. Harrison Ford dryly in- glowing orange turntable station at the other side of the “Armani makes me feel like this incredibly chic woman- formed the crowd, “If there’s reincarnation, I want to party space. There, elated and sweltering revelers such as man. I love the feminine and masculine,” said Debi Mazar, come back as Armani: cuter, sexier, richer.” Paris Hilton, Casey Johnson, St. John’s Kelly Gray and sev- in a white beaded tank and men’s trousers. And like many Ye t it was Steve Martin’s solution to bad dress days — eral of Armani’s team were getting their groove on. of the starlets who first heard the name, thanks to and world peace — that elicited roaring approval and But no one was reveling in the scene more than the “American Gigolo,” Michelle Rodriguez believes “Armani cries that he run for the next governor of California. designer himself. He happily received the marauding represents a certain level of growth and maturity.” After all, isn’t everyone else? “If Mr. Armani could dress guests, some wielding tiny digital cameras to snap their Michelle Pfeiffer credited him with instilling a everyone on Earth, there would be no wars — but moment with him. “sense of fashion” in her life. “I just rely on him always events,” Martin proclaimed. Armani’s final thought on the shindig? “Los Angeles is and he never lets me down. He’s always contemporary A montage rolled onscreen of snapshots of the de- such a large city, but with the rhythm of a small town.” and modern and he’s never going to be trendy. It’s like signer with his best-known pals and footage from the — With contributions by Marcy Medina The Hottest Collection of the Year! Issue date: December 8 Closing Date: November 12 *Also to be sold on newsstand

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Rocking Buddhist Punk 12 Surfing for Hip-Hop 17 The A.J. Wright Way 18 FlashPages 11 - 18

Velvet’s polyester vest, Tommy Jeans’ cotton-spandex

denim dress, Lily McNeal’s TONIA SARDONE wool, polyester and elasthane sweater and Nike shoes.

voteNEW YORK — Christy Carlson Romano,romano star of Disney hits “Kim Possible” and “Even Stevens,”hopes to make it to Congress someday. A political science major at Barnard College, she plans to go on to graduate school and the Peace Corps. With her cool, laid- back sense of style, she might just be the most fashionable would-be politician out there. For more, see pages 14 and 15. PHOTO BY ROBERT MITRA; HAIR BY D-ROC FOR BUMBLE AND BUMBLE AT JUMP; MAKEUP BY ROANNA AT WARREN TRICOMI MANAGEMENT; STYLED BY AN STYLED BY TRICOMI MANAGEMENT; WARREN ROANNA AT JUMP; MAKEUP BY D-ROC FOR BUMBLE AND AT HAIR BY MITRA; ROBERT PHOTO BY 12 WWD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2003 punk worship The Rolling Stones chose to wear Buddhist Punk for its 40 Licks tour. Now teens are catching on.

LONDON — Elizabeth Jagger, Leah Wood and the Richards sisters, Theodora and Alexandra, might aspire to their mothers’ glamour, but it’s their fathers’ closets they’ll soon be raiding. That’s because the The Rolling Stones members have chosen the London-based men and women’s street label, Buddhist Punk, to supply their wardrobe for their current 40 Licks worldwide tour. Washed out, weathered and worn may be the Stones’ signature look, but its clientele is anything but. Customers include Sarah Jessica Parker, Shakira, Mya and Natalia Vodianova, as well as Johnny Depp, Lionel Richie, The Foo Fighters and musical duo The Neptunes. “Our natural affinity to the passion, rhythm and pure emotion of music through our designs has connected very well with our followers,” Nicholas Morley, the label’s founder and co-designer, said in an interview. As for the name, Morley hit on Buddhist Punk after using it to describe a friend a couple of years before “From the moment I saw Buddhist Punk Nicholas Morley I thought that they $1.6 million. Mick Jagger, an avid Buddhist Punk fan, initially approached Morley and his partner, Rupert Meaker, would be perfect to founder of the Savile Row bespoke tailor, Richard Anderson, in 2002. At the time, Jagger asked them to design stage clothes for him and guitarist Keith Richards. work with on the tour. Jagger later asked them to outfit the entire band and create a line of merchandise to be sold on tour and in stores worldwide. Handmade with its “From the moment I saw Buddhist Punk I thought that they would be perfect to work with on the tour,” Jagger said in a statement. “Handmade with its own char- own character, each acter, each piece seems to have its own sense of life.” Morley has designed two lines for the Rolling Stones capsule collection so far, with London-based designer piece seems to have Adam Entwistle. The first line launched in fall 2002 with a fashion show held during Los Angeles’ fashion week. The sec- its own sense of life.” ond line will be rolled out this fall. Morley and Entwistle relied heavily on the Stones’ archive for inspiration for new iconography. The result is a combination of signa- — Mick Jagger ture looks from Buddhist Punk and the Rolling Stones. Buddhist Punk’s coat of arms design is used, as is launching the label in fall 2000. It has become his the Rolling Stones tongue print — complete with fangs working mantra. for extra bite. Psychedelic portraits of the band per- “Imagine what happens when the most centered and forming live are printed on T-shirts, vests and dresses. freeing religion of the East blends with the most reck- Prices range from $95 to $111. There are also two surf- less and freeing movement of the West,” he said. “This board designs in a limited edition, sporting the coat of is Buddhist Punk.” arms emblem and licking tongue. For fall, there are chunky knits, dresses made from Buddhist Punk also has customized pieces for U2’s rayon and suede, cotton T-shirts in soft, muted tones Bono, Prodigy and Natalie Imbruglia. and worn-in sweatpants. In keeping with his design aesthetic, the Melbourne- Most pieces are enlivened with bold prints, some born designer has made homes in Bali and New York, using bleach, Day-Glo or neon graffiti. Detailing combining spiritual sanctuary with fast-paced living. includes spiderweb shoulder straps, embroidery, bead- The label has more than 300 wholesale accounts ing and ruching. Bestsellers each season are T-shirts worldwide, including Fred Segal, Tracey Ross and that start at $95. Dresses and jackets range in retail Theodore in Los Angeles, Surface to Air in Paris and A T-shirt and shorts from the price from $239 to $398. Dantone in Milan. new Buddhist Punk line. Wholesale sales of the fall collection were about — Ellen Burney

Senior Editor Ellen Burney President, Arthur Friedman Valerie Seckler WWD Media WorldWide Edward Menicheschi Section Editor Art Director Julee Greenberg Andrew Flynn Senior VP, GroupPublisher Fashion Features Editor Associate Art Director Raph Erardy Edmund Lee Antonio Aguiar Fashion Manager TIGER BUTTON CO., INC. Fashion Editor Assistant Art Director Gus Floris Antonia Sardone Kim Svitic TIGER TRIMMING, INC. Associate Production Manager 307 West 38th Street New York, NY 10018 News Editors Section Designer Pascale Alexis (212)594-0570 800-223-2754 FAX (212)695-0265 Scott Malone Nicolette Berthelot email: [email protected] www.TIGERBUTTON.com Katherine Bowers

14 WWD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2003

So Low’s cotton velour dress and Rock & Republic’s cotton denim jacket. Robin Woodard’s choker at Fragments.

anything’s

The voice of Disney’s “Kim Possible” may someday be a strong possiblevoice on Capitol Hill. First, she has to get through college. WWD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2003 15

McGinn’s Modal rayon and Lycra spandex top and Citizens of Humanity’s cotton denim pants. Pade Vavra’s choker at Fragments. NTONIA SARDONE ; KIM POSSIBLE COURTESY OF DISNEY NTONIA SARDONE ; KIM POSSIBLE COURTESY PHOTOS BY ROBERT MITRA; HAIR BY D-ROC FOR BUMBLE AND BUMBLE AT JUMP; MAKEUP BY ROANNA AT WARREN TRICOMI MANAGEMENT; STYLED BY A STYLED BY TRICOMI MANAGEMENT; WARREN ROANNA AT JUMP; MAKEUP BY D-ROC FOR BUMBLE AND AT HAIR BY MITRA; ROBERT PHOTOS BY

By Julee Greenberg Romano: Yes, I do. You have to give 110 percent to whatever you are doing. I believe that going to school and experiencing college life is important, but you need to prioritize in the grand scheme of life — don’t NEW YORK — With guidance from a good family and a little cartoon character, Christy Carlson be afraid to take time off. I am taking my second semester off this year to be in Los Angeles for work. Romano lives by the slogan “Girls can do anything.” When the 19-year-old star of two hit Disney shows, “Kim Possible” and “Even Stevens,” isn’t work- WWD: Why did you decide to major in political science? ing, she’s usually busy studying. Romano just started her sophomore year at Columbia University’s Romano: Poli-sci is where it is at. Politics may not be the most lucrative field, but public service Barnard College in Manhattan, where she will declare her major in political science this year. can be the most rewarding — besides entertainment. While she’s going to school, she still manages to find the time to be the voice of Kim on “Kim Possible.” There are many ways that Romano is not like Kim, an animated character who has super- WWD: What was the most important thing you learned from your summer in Washington? powers to fix almost any situation, but Romano has found a way to translate Kim’s powers into real Romano: That the system does work and to take pride in your privilege as an American citizen and life. Romano has a strong belief that her political views may one day change things in this country value your right to vote. Any voice can be heard on the Hill, you just have to scream loud enough. for the better. Between classes and auditions, Romano serves on a committee for Amnesty International and vol- WWD: What sort of political role would you like to take when college is over? unteers as a student mentor. She spent her summer working as a Congressional intern for Sen. Romano: Graduate school (Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs), go through the Christopher Dodd (D., Conn.) in Washington. She has studied international diplomacy at American Peace Corps and run for representative. But that’s all subject to change. University, was a participant in the National Student Leadership Conference on international diplomacy and appeared with three former commanders-in-chief at the President’s Summit for America’s Future. WWD: Do you think you will continue acting after college? On top of all of this, Romano plans manages to satisfy her passion for acting and singing, some- Romano: Of course. I plan on getting my masters at Yale and creating my own TV show for ABC thing she has done since the age of seven when she landed a role in a production of “Annie.” Since someday soon. then, she has appeared in a series of diverse roles on Broadway, including “Parade” and “The Sound of Music.” Her vocal talents are featured on “Even Stevens,” where her character, Ren Stevens, WWD: Fashion seems to play a big role in each of the characters you have played. They each have a dis- sings in a garage band. She will also be featured on an upcoming “Disney’s Kim Possible” CD. tinct style. Does Ren dress anything like yourself? Romano has had roles in “Cadet Kelly” opposite Hilary Duff and in Woody Allen’s “Everyone Says Romano: Ren is the poster child for the Young Republicans, and my style in real life in much more I Love You” and co-starred as Armand Assante’s cancer-stricken daughter in “Looking for an Echo.” laid-back and hip. But don’t get me wrong, I love to dress up. Between all that, she recently found time to answer a few questions for WWD: WWD: What are some of your favorite brands/stores? WWD: Who are you more like, Kim Possible or Ren Stevens, your character on “Even Stevens?” Romano: Club Monaco, Armani Exchange and Sephora — and supermarkets. I love food. Romano: Kim Possible, definitely. She’s confident and laid-back, while having a personality. I like to look at myself like that. WWD: Kim Possible has her own clothing line at Wal-Mart. Would you ever want to have your own clothing line? WWD: Do you find it hard to balance school with your career? Romano: Yes, I could see that being a possibility. I’d specialize in one thing like makeup or jeans. 16 WWD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2003 denimdish

Diesel Returns to Its Roots Levi’s Cuts Jobs Sassoon Sashays Back Only Diesel could make the seemingly incongruous mix of Moby, Continuing its effort to restructure itself and turn around its When a company is looking for a way to reinvent itself, some- Naomi Campbell and the town of Bassano del Grappa’s marching sales slump, Levi Strauss & Co. on Wednesday outlined a series times the best strategy might be to turn to the “What Ever band look as natural as a pair of worn-in jeans. of changes, including plans to reduce its workforce by about 650 Happened to...” file.. In true Diesel style, Renzo Rosso went the proletarian route to people and refinance its current debt. In April, Harmon Seymour signed on as chief operating officer celebrate 25 years in business and held an all-day festival on Saturday Referring to the job cuts, president and chief executive officer of a New York accessories company named BIB-TC Group and Phil Marineau said in a phone interview, “The themes are becom- was asked a pretty big question. Costumed entertainers at the Diesel party. ing faster to market, more responsive by individual market seg- “The question was how can we become a bigger force in the ment and lower cost.” industry?” he said. Along with a team of other executives, includ- The company plans to eliminate 350 of its 5,042 U.S. staffers ing founder and chief executive officer Gail Binder, he developed and 300 of its roughly 4,600 employees in Europe. The latter a simple answer: “The best way was to have a brand name,” he group of cuts is subject to European Union approval. Worldwide, said in an interview last week. Levi’s currently has about 12,000 staffers. Simple enough, but in a world where everything from motor oil Levi’s also plans to replace its current $850 million in credit to heart stents is branded and brands are backed with millions of facilities with a pair of loans worth $1.15 billion and secured by dollars in promotional activity, finding a name that’s available and its assets and trademarks. appealing is not an easy task. So Binder started reviewing records Marineau said of the new debt, “It gives us the flexibility. It’s of brand names that had been abandoned by their owners. less restrictive in terms of the covenants, which gives us the flex- “Sassoon was one of the names that had just been aban- ibility we need to make changes on a timely basis.” doned,” she said. “We registered it that day.” He said Levi’s had been bumping up against the covenants of In the late Seventies and early Eighties, Sasson jeans — with its current loans and would seek waivers to carry it over until the one “o” — was a well-known brand and ran into legal trouble with new loans were in place. While he did not disclose details of the the owners of the Vidal current covenants, commercial loans typically have stipulations Sassoon trademark, A look about the sorts of assets a business must maintain and the sort which was used on hair Moby also entertained Diesel’s crowd. from the of margins and financial returns it must generate to remain in care products. new good standing. Today, Wal-Mart Sassoon In response to the news, Standard & Poor’s lowered Levi’s cor- owns the Sasson jeans porate credit rating to “B,” from “BB-,” citing the company’s brand, but does not line, “leveraged financial profile.” currently use it. which is In addition, the company revealed preliminary results for the Procter & Gamble third quarter ended Aug. 24. It said it expected to report sales later owns the Vidal launching this month of about $1.1 million, representing a 6 to 7 percent Sassoon name. It has for spring increase on the $1 million in sales reported in the same quarter pulled the products retailing. last year. That increase would be enough to offset the 2.9 percent bearing that name sales decrease the company had recorded in the first quarter. from the U.S. market, The San Francisco-based company said in a statement it expect- though they are still ed operating income for the quarter to be between $95 million and sold overseas. Vidal $100 million, roughly comparable to the $96.7 million reported a Sassoon himself has year earlier. It said net income will be in the range of between $24 filed a lawsuit against P&G in an effort to get his name back. Harmon said he at his Italian hometown in the wasn’t expecting to hills of the Dolomites instead of have any legal trouble at a New York nightspot or Milan over the name. discothèque. “Absolutely not,” “I have an incredible passion he said when asked if for this town, this area and its he anticipated law- people. This party is for you,” suits. “We have very Rosso told employees as he good attorneys. We are kicked off the day’s festivities, Sassoon. We have which were rumored to cost million and $28 million, well above the $13.7 million reported last absolutely nothing to do with Vidal Sassoon or Sasson. This has more than $2 million. Wearing year. Final, precise results will be released Sept. 30. nothing to do with any of them.” dark-rinsed jeans, a black leather Marineau said the job cuts would result in two significant But looking at a strong jeans category in which several retro motorcycle jacket, big black changes at the company. First, he said, they would streamline brands have recently made comebacks — Sergio Valente and shades and his trademark product development: “We are trying to have a go-to-market Jordache among them — Binder saw an opportunity. disheveled hair, Rosso looked process that, baseline, is 7 1/2 months from design to delivery into So they founded the Sassoon Group Inc. and began prepara- every part the rock star. the stores. Now we’re at about 10, 10 1/2 months. We believe a 7 tions to launch product. The company, at a downtown party In the northeastern Italian 1/8-month cycle would put us in a very competitive position.” Wednesday night, was set to unveil a line of women’s jeans and region known as the Veneto, he Secondly, he said, the company plans to centralize its sourc- sportswear for the spring retail season that it intends to begin and his party generated more ing operations. Currently, its American, European and Asian divi- shipping by the end of the year. buzz than the Venice film sions maintain separate sourcing staffs and operate independent- The jeans are snug-fitting, reminiscent of Seventies looks, are

festival just miles away. BECK PIECOOZ MARCO DIESEL PHOTOS BY ly, producing products in 50 countries. The company plans to made in Asia and will wholesale for $13 to $14, Harmon said. Target Part state fair, part Diesel- Renzo Rosso and Naomi Campbell consolidate sourcing into one unit, based at its headquarters in consumers are women aged 17 to 34, and the company plans to sell land, the 12-hour event, held in a huge park, mixed the fashionable San Francisco with staffers around the world. its wares to national chains and moderate department stores. with the downright bizarre. An acrobat spinning from a hot-air balloon While many apparel producers are expected to reduce the “It hugs the body,” Harmon said of the look. “A young girl hovered over the crowd, which, at its peak attendance, surpassed number of countries in which they source products in 2005, always wants the garment to hug the body. She wants her butt to 25,000. A pint-sized Elvis impersonator walked with two grown when quotas on apparel and textiles are to be dropped by the look good.” women dressed in head-to-toe French poodle costumes — snout and World Trade Organization, Marineau said Levi’s isn’t planning a The company is expecting the brand to generate sales of $30 all. Later in the night, women dressed as nuns stripped to the pop major change in how widely it produces garments. million to $50 million a year and has signed on a U.S. sales force song, “It’s Getting Hot in Here.” He said he thinks there will be changes in tariffs and other trade- of 12 representatives across the country, with another four work- The faux sisters in habits were just one part of the half-hour-long controlling mechanisms that will limit the overall worldwide changes ing in Canada out of a Montreal office. retrospective fashion show, an ode to some of Diesel’s most famous in 2005. Along with the whole apparel industry, he said, Levi’s faced Harmon, who for the last decade worked as a consultant, said ad campaigns. intense price deflation through the first three quarters of the year, the company is planning a TV ad campaign to back the brand, to While most of the people that turned out for Diesel Live 25 were though he said a pickup in demand during the back-to-school sea- hit the small screen in mid-November. He declined to offer many there to see Moby and Italian pop star Jovanotti play, it seemed the son made him hopeful the environment might be changing. details on what the ads would look like, saying only that it would mayor of Bassano was taken with Naomi Campbell, who sported a Marineau said he’s been “very pleased” with the performance feature a dancing letter “s” that would transform into things and fuchsia tartan miniskirt during the official ribbon cutting. of the Levi Strauss Signature line, which bowed at Wal-Mart Stores that Sassoon had budgeted $1 million for the campaign. Naomi, who was flown in via Rosso’s private helicopter, over the summer. He acknowledged that, without that launch, While Sassoon is a name with a past, Binder acknowledged meanwhile marveled at the similarity between Rosso and his two Levi’s overall sales for the quarter would not have been up. that few of the brand’s new target consumers are likely to remem- sons, Stefano and Andrea. However, he said, since the Signature line launched, retail ber its history. Still, she contended, it’s a name that exists in what “They look just like him; it’s amazing,” Campbell told her sell-throughs of the Levi’s and Dockers brands have also been on she described as a “floating cloud” of cultural memories. boyfriend, Matteo Marzotto, who never left her side. the rise. “The kids of today don’t really know what Atari was,” she As for Rosso, he said the party was about family, friends and “There’s been zero cannibalization on Levi’s Red Tab and said, referring to the early home video-game machine. “But they celebrating his hometown. As the sign on the VIP lounge said: “New York Dockers,” he said. know of Atari.” is great. Miami is fun. Paris is pretty. London is hip. Bassano is home.” — Scott Malone — S.M. WWD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2003 17 online witheminem Customers can now find clothing designed by their favorite rapper just one click away.

By Valerie Seckler brands have been scared to try e-commerce. Just this year, I’m Jennifer Silano Foy’s 11-year career in fashion began in fash- seeing an increase in interest.” ion jewelry sales and merchandising at the Nordstrom store at NEW YORK — The rush of hip-hop artists to emblazon their Many of eFashion’s 68 employees are former staffers at the Garden State Plaza in Paramus, N.J. After that, she made names on apparel recalls fashion’s frenzy to get online not too Calvin Klein, Foy’s last stop on Seventh Avenue before forming stops at Rio Jeans, Bill Blass and CK Jeans. many years ago. the e-commerce consultancy with three partners: husband “I wanted to stay in fashion, but get out of sales,” Foy said So it seems fitting that just five months into its life, the Edward Foy, brother Steven Silano and Tim Smith. Additional of her route online. “I loved computers, and e-commerce Eminem-inspired fashion brand Shady Ltd. has launched an e- financing for the firm is provided by 10 silent partners. intrigued me.” commerce site. The site, which went live Aug. 19 at shadyltd.com, joins the ranks of Rocawear, Baby Phat and JLo by Jennifer Lopez as urban brands with a presence in cyberspace, as well as suburbia. “We expect it to generate a lot of revenue,” said Joseph Burke, Shady’s executive vice president of sales and merchandising. Burke declined to project the share of business the Web site might produce, but he claimed Shady’s “construction site” online had drawn 45,000 users who registered to join its e-mail list during the site’s first three days — apparently banking on that enthusiasm to translate into sales transactions online. Burke also cited plans for product placements on TV and in movies to draw people to the site, along with marketing moves like outfitting the Detroit Lions (“Em’s favorite team”) in Shady styles and slapping the brand’s logo on Shady artists’ tour buses. Shady’s initial online assort- ment comprises about 70 stock- keeping units, including T- shirts, woven tops, jeans, activewear, sweat bands, hood- ies and hats. In six months or so, the range will be expanded slightly and will include online exclusives, but Burke said he wants to keep it tight so that it’s easy for the brand’s mostly male, 15- to 24-year-old cus- tomer to shop it. “We’ve had a nice crossover business with girls who buy the items in small and medium sizes,” he noted. ® The shopping portion of the Introducing Check-Net, 31 service bureaus plus Shady Ltd. Web site was on-line data management. designed and is operated by When we developed eFashion Consulting, an e-com- Check-Net moves your tags and labels at the speed merce provider formed in 2001, our global tag and label with sales of $5 million in 2002 of fashion. Convenient online ordering and tracking, and $15 million projected this network, were we thinking 24/7. Dynamic order routing to the facility closest to year. Clients include Eve’s Fetish apparel, Bow Wow’s your vendor. Faster turnaround of your printed mate- Shago label, Baby Phat, J.Lo, speed, rials. So you save precious time—and money. Rocawear and XOXO. Typically, it takes between flexibility, We offer a choice of printing technologies: offset and 30 and 90 days for eFashion to get an e-commerce site running, flexographic, laser and thermal transfer. And we can at a cost of $50,000 to or produce everything from full-color branding tags to $75,000, said company presi- variable data price tickets—even integrated EAS tags— dent Jennifer Silano Foy. value? Inventory fulfillment is handled quickly and efficiently. by the e-commerce provider, as well, from a 22,000-square-foot YES. Yes. We can customize a program just for you. Visit warehouse in Carlstadt, N.J., checknetdemo.com to see how fast, flexible and which carries an average of about 200 items for its nine efficient your tag and label program can be, or call clients now live online. 1-800-257-5540, ext. 3293 to find out more. “You’d think I’d be a bazil- lionaire by now, with my fashion contacts and people’s interest in the Internet,” Foy mused. But with the dot-com bust, weak economy and horror show some experienced selling online years checkpointsystems.com ago, she added, “The fashion 18 WWD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2003 the price is wright Discount retailer A.J. Wright draws in teens by offering them the brands they crave at prices they can afford.

At first blush, it seems An A.J. Wright store in Chelmsford, Mass. unexpected that family- focused A.J. Wright would be making strides with fickle youth. The compa- ny appears to do little specific marketing to youth. As well, everything from misses’ plus-sized dresses to men’s shoes to a smattering of house- wares competes for space inside the 26,000- square-foot box. Only the junior department’s larger size — and front-and-center location behind the reg- isters — hints it’s one of the gems of the busi- ness. “I think they’re find- ing, with the pricing strat- egy, the younger customer can afford to buy clothes for themselves,” said Bear Stearns’ Telsey. Her observation was borne out at the Somerville store, where several pairs of teen girls shopped together without parents. At A.J. Wright, sweaters ranged from $9.99 to 12.99, hand- bags were $7.99 and jeans were generally between $12.99 and $19.99. Unlike sister companies Marshalls and T.J. Maxx, which produce some private label goods, A.J. Wright is 100 percent branded goods, English PHOTO BY ED MACKINNON PHOTO BY said at the company’s the third quarter, A.J. Wright turned in a $1.8 million profit, a tidy annual meeting in June. By Katherine Bowers reversal of its $3.1 million year-ago loss. In fiscal 2003, the chain There appeared to be more irregular goods, particularly of BOSTON — The sound most often heard at moderate off-price reaped net sales of $277 million with roughly 50 stores. pricier brands like Nike or Lucky Brand, than is customary in retailer A.J. Wright, which does a strong business with teens, is Marmaxx stores. Back-to-school items were signed and displayed not the latest Beyoncé beat or giggly celebrity sound bite issuing on rounders at the head of the department featuring cargo pants, from in-house TV. activewear sets and cowl-neck sweaters. Instead, it’s the quick scrape of hangers along 20-foot utili- “They’re very strong at SunTrust Robinson’s McKeever said TJX corporate has whit- tarian racks, where adolescent shoppers are intently hunting for tled its lead time down to 10 weeks, a capability that allows it to big breaks on the brands they covet. They’re hoping to score the watch junior fashion trends from the sidelines and pounce when likes of LEI, Mudd, Lucky Brand and Rocawear. Their success in inventory management. a style is truly rolling. finding those brands marked down 20 to 60 percent is driving “Their lead is well below department stores and discounters,” repeat visits, according to industry observers. McKeever said. “It’s a real competitive advantage, which they In its five-year-old A.J. Wright concept, TJX Cos., the They know when to say haven’t fully realized because the economy is weak. But when Framingham, Mass.-based parent of off-pricers Marshalls and T.J. spending picks up, it will be a huge advantage to be able to look at Maxx, has brought its legendary buying skills to the moderate what’s selling and still get a piece of the action.” arena and has begun to define a new market. yes and when to say no.” Merrill Lynch analyst Marnie Shapiro commended the company “They are going after an underserved customer with this con- for always leaving “a lot of open-to-buy, which keeps them flexible.” cept,” said retail analyst Patrick McKeever of SunTrust Robinson “They’re very strong at inventory management,” Shapiro said. Humphrey. “They are looking to be the off-priced alternative to a — Marnie Shapiro, Merrill Lynch “They know when to say yes and when to say no.” Wal-Mart or a Target — to be cheaper, with a greater value propo- A.J. Wright has also connected with urban and minority cus- sition because of the brands.” “It’s a growing business, achieving positive same-store results tomers, a demographic not historically strong for TJX’s other con- The theory was in practice at a strip mall in Somerville, Mass., and developing very nicely,” said Bear Stearns analyst Dana Telsey. cepts, but a potential gold mine. where an A.J. Wright is next door to a Target. A.J. Wright had a V- Not to be outdone, TJX’s chief off-price competitor, Newark, “The urban business is very strong,” English noted in June. neck sweater with dickie-shirt from My Reference Point priced at Calif.-based Ross Stores, said last week it plans to launch its own “That was a piece we had not anticipated.” $12.99, 35 percent less than a nearly identical $19.99 style off-price, moderate concept. Starting next July, it will bow in 10 The buying team is clearly responding, stocking streetwear from Mossimo at Target. More literal proof A.J. Wright intends to locations on the West Coast, where A.J. Wright has no units yet, labels that carry a premium price for the door. The store in off-price the discounters turned up in a bin of handbags, where according to the TJX Web site. Somerville, for instance, had a dedicated carousel of Lady several Xhilaration styles, a Target private label, were marked While that may put pressure on A.J. Wright president George Enyce novelty activewear up front, along with pieces from Fubu, $7.99 with a “compare at” of $16. Iacono to try to spread the concept faster, the company got Rocawear and Baby Phat. At $49.99, a Rocawear fleece dress At press time, TJX executives had not responded to calls seek- burned last year when an overly aggressive expansion plan led to was significantly pricier than most goods in the department. ing comment for this story. execution problems, according to English. There were lower-cost streetwear alternatives, too, such as pieces Yet TJX president and chief executive officer Edmond English The company will add 15 more doors in the fourth quarter, from Meow Meow, whose rhinestone kitty logo echoes Baby Phat’s. has been vocal about the fact that 84-unit A.J. Wright is in its including entering the Detroit market. Generally, A.J. Wrights are A.J. Wright’s first TV ad campaign, which bowed this year, has infancy (ultimate capacity is projected at 1,000 doors domesti- in older, strip malls and some big box centers. a home-movie quality, featuring customers in stores giving testi- cally) and is one of TJX’s brightest prospects for growth. “They’re still testing different kinds of locations,” McKeever monials about getting “more for less.” The division’s financials are encouraging. A.J. Wright’s sales said. “They’re going for strip centers that are a cut below [aver- “Customer testimonials really work with this audience,” said per square foot increased from $200 to $225 in new stores. For age], but not necessarily in dollar-store territory.” English, debuting the spot during the shareholders meeting. WWD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2003 19 Chinatown Still Feeling Sting of 9/11 Attacks Continued from page 3 ness,” he said. “It’s hard to keep “The only way the garment Van Noten added that his terrible events,” he wrote. In July, the most recent month everybody working.” factories can survive is they have business did not feel the after- — Miles Socha for which apparel manufacturing For their part, union repre- to open up their focus,” he said. shocks of 9/11, and he said he and Robert Murphy employment figures are available, sentatives said while some work- — Scott Malone thinks people are starting to get employment in the five boroughs ers have been retrained, there back to a pre-Sept.11 mind-set. JAPAN stood at 32,600, down 32.9 per- are still experienced garment EUROPE “Right now, I feel people really cent from 48,600 in August 2001. workers who are unemployed. want to enjoy life.” TOKYO — Iraq and SARS, which While there was a sharp drop in They said the increasing use of PARIS — Hit hard by a heat wave, Renzo Rosso, founder and came in succession just when Chinatown employment immedi- part-time shifts, where workers growing employment worries and chief executive officer of Diesel, Japanese consumers were re- ately after the attacks, the year- were needed only two or three a steep drop in tourism this sum- said the terrorist attacks on New covering from the impact of the over-year job loss in July 2002 days a week, was unappealing to mer, European retailers and luxu- York and Washington had a pro- 9/11 attacks, have had a far from July 2001 of 15.8 percent many people who had been used ry makers have had little to cheer found effect on the industry. greater effect on consumers was exceeded by the 20.5 percent to full-time work and pay. about lately. However, executives “Since Sept. 11, the markets are than terrorism, reducing the drop in July 2003 from July 2002. “It’s not like there’s no one in and analysts say they see positive finding a new equilibrium from number of Japanese traveling Teddy Lai, executive director Chinatown looking for work,” signs that two years of turbulence this forced business growth abroad as much as 30 percent of the Greater Skirt, Blouse & said a spokeswoman for Unite Undergarment Association, a Local 23-25, which operates in Chinatown contractors’ group, the neighborhood. Before Sept. 11, if two factories went out of business, said the total number of factories Manufacturers said the most operating in the neighborhood, reliable business has been pro- “one would come back. Now if a factory goes out, nobody which had been 246 prior to the ducing uniforms under govern- attacks, and last year had dropped ment contracts. comes back. to 137, is now below 100. “The military contracts con- “Before Sept. 11 [2001], if two tinue to be the safest course for ” — Teddy Lai, Greater Skirt, factories went out of business, us,” said Deirdre Quinn, presi- one would come back,” he said. dent of Lafayette 148, a unit of Blouse & Undergarment Association “Now if a factory goes out, nobody the Chinatown contractor Made are finally smoothing out. which focused more on numbers this year from last. comes back.” in New York Group. Without con- Ralph Toledano, president of than on the content of the prod- The consensus of market John Lam, chairman of John tract work, she added, it would Chloé, said he detected a sense uct,” he said. watchers here is that travel to Lam Fashion Group, continues be “almost impossible” to keep of “back to normal” creeping Although the mergers and ac- the U.S. by Japanese was head- to employ about 700 garment manufacturing in Manhattan. into the trade in the past month. quisitions boom and period of sky- ing for a return to pre-9/11 lev- workers in his factory, down Lam argued that the city and “The business is really pick- high valuations had already come els. “The situation would have from about 900 before the at- state should take greater pains to ing up. There is more optimism, to an end before Sept. 11, 2001, the returned to normal, but Iraq tacks. He reduced his head find local contractors to fill uni- and it shows in the figures,” he event brought things to a head, ac- and SARS emerged as new im- count in an effort to cut costs form contracts and complained said. “I’m seeing this worldwide, cording to Andrea Paladini, an an- pediments,” said Norio Torigoe, and said that it’s getting harder that the Fire Department had re- but it’s a very fragile recovery. alyst with Centrosim in Milan. a spokesman for Nippon Travel to find skilled workers to take cently awarded a uniform con- For me, it’s the beginning.” “That event worsened a situa- Agency Co. Ltd., one of Japan’s garment manufacturing jobs. tract to a major out-of-town pro- As drastically as 9/11 fright- tion that was already deflating largest travel agents. “There are workers who want ducer. Lai said he continues to ened consumers and jolted the on its own,” he said. In his mind, “I don’t think Japanese have to stay, but right now, it’s not sta- encourage his group’s members luxury business, Toledano said the markets have not yet erased a worry about terrorism.” ble, and I’m not blaming them for to broaden their manufacturing the global economic crisis and the possibility of future terrorist Torigoe asserted. “Rather, SARS looking or taking other opportuni- bases outside of New York. Last stock exchange gyrations probably attacks. “I wouldn’t exclude any- has left a far more serious after- ties,” he said, noting that employ- year, Greater Blouse sent a mis- had a more lasting impact. For ex- thing. These events could always effect on Asia, especially in such ees who are laid off during dry sion of local contractors to China ample, young Internet entrepre- repeat themselves,” he said. countries as China and Taiwan.” periods are increasingly turning in an effort to cultivate contacts neurs and Wall Street types, who Indeed, many luxury ana- Tsuguo Chihara, a spokesman their backs on garment jobs. there, and Lai said he hopes to had rushed to consume luxury lysts continue to cite the for the Japan Travel Bureau Inc. “There is not enough busi- repeat that process next year. goods, beat a hasty retreat when specter of more attacks as a key (JTB), the country’s largest travel their fortunes turned. risk to the industry. agent, agreed that SARS has “It was a scary moment for In a major report this month been the main culprit hurting everybody, and everybody slowed on European luxury, HSBC ana- the industry. down and asked themselves ques- lyst Antoine Belge notes the sec- “At one time the number of tions about life, relationships and tor probably hit bottom in the people on our package tours Project Alabama, Gibo happiness,” said Dries Van second quarter. He forecast a dropped to half,” the JTB execu- Noten. “It caused me to look at gradual recovery in travel, espe- tive said. “But the situation fashion in a different way. I think cially Japanese tourists, whose began to improve in June follow- In Manufacturing Deal a lot of the ridiculous part of fash- numbers were down 42 percent ing the declaration of an end of ion disappeared. I feel people in the April to June period. SARS, recovering to about 60 want items that are more person- “The psychological aspect of percent in August and then to 70 By Eric Wilson Cinzano said. “Gibo is probably al and specific now. I feel the gar- the ‘feel good factor’ — especial- percent in September of the pre- one of the best manufacturers ments need to be timeless and ly in the U.S. — also seems to be occurrence level.” NEW YORK — Project Alabama in Italy. They can make a prod- have a lot of personal character.” improving after a succession of — Tsukasa Furukawa is about to expand its scope with uct by machine that is very in- a new partnership with the tricate. Since we have a lot of Italian manufacturer, Gibo SpA. potential clients we cannot sat- The quirky two-year-old col- isfy because everything is hand- lection has made waves with its made here, we’re looking to be Subsidies Talk of WTO Meetings homespun appeal, but has had a able to meet that demand with limited distribution because the some machine production, but a Continued from page 3 cent of our revenue last year, and ments and do something for de- entire collection is handmade by high level of quality.” The African countries, Mali, we cannot compete.” veloping countries in a big way.” about 120 “stitchers,” a group of Chanin started the collection Benin, Burkina Faso and Chad, He said he is encouraged the From a U.S. textile perspec- women based across Alabama, in the South because she could- have called on the WTO to ap- U.S. is trying to find a solution, tive, Gaylon Booker, past presi- Tennessee and Georgia who use n’t find an affordable manufac- prove a total ban on subsidies but he noted African countries dent and a consultant to the skills passed down through gen- turer in Manhattan. After re- for cotton farmers by 2006. In need immediate relief. National Cotton Council, said a erations of ladies’ sewing and searching local craftsmanship the interim, the countries want “The price of a pound of cot- number of factors effect cotton quilting circles. The collection’s for an independent film project, a system of compensation pay- ton is now about 6 cents, but with- prices worldwide and the im- growth has been limited by the she decided to set up shop in ments for losses caused by what out subsidies, our cotton could get pact of the U.S. cotton program capacity of its sewers to meet the Alabama, creating original T- they claim are the sale of subsi- $1.00 or $1.20 a pound,” he said. on prices is minimal. He said demands of about 60 stores that shirts layered with cutaway de- dized cotton on world markets. “In the short term, developed the NCC supports the USTR’s carry the line, including Barneys tails, patchwork and appliqués, U.S. Trade Representative countries need to set up a fund to proposal to look at cotton New York, Jeffrey and Brown’s including a corset style that re- Robert Zoellick said Tuesday that compensate for the losses.” prices in the overall context of in London. tails for $280. The line has since the U.S. has proposed dealing with Kamal Afsar, secretary of manufacturing. Natalie Chanin, a native of expanded to include coats and cotton issues and tariff reductions commerce for Pakistan, said he He called “unfortunate,” the Florence, Ala., where the collec- custom pieces that can cost as for textiles and apparel in one sec- supports the African position African countries’ efforts “to tion is based, started the line in much as $2,000. toral approach, as reported. They on cotton. dismantle the U.S. cotton pro- 2001 after working as a stylist in Project Alabama has been are currently being negotiated in “They have a point there,” he gram and put a bulls-eye on it the film industry. Her business shown previously in New York two separate sets of talks. said. “These subsidies have to instead of treating it as a total partner, Enrico Marone- with a financial award from the Mahamar Oumar, director of be phased out, and there will be agricultural package.” Cinzano, said Wednesday that Ecco Domani Fashion Found- CMDT (the Malian Company for a time lag, so countries need to Augustine Tantillo, Wash- Project Alabama had developed ation, and has grown to reach Development of Textiles) said in be compensated in the interim.” ington coordinator of the a partnership with Gibo to pro- sales of about $1 million. an interview Wednesday before Afsar said the primary issue American Manufacturing Trade duce a new line that is machine- In recent years, Gibo has the opening session that cotton for Pakistan is agriculture. Action Coalition, said developing made in its factories in Italy, but held production licenses with prices are too low due to devel- “We find that the developed countries will make a lot of uni- the exact details of the deal had several top designers, including oped countries’ subsidies, par- countries are dragging their feet lateral demands in Cancún and not yet been determined. Hussein Chalayan, Alexander ticularly those in the U.S. there,” he said. “The onus is on try to capitalize on the “develop- “We’re in the initial stages of McQueen, Paul Smith, Helmut “In Mali, we have about 200,000 the developed countries now. ment” round because they be- creating a scenario where we Lang, Michael Kors, Joseph, farmers, and they need support,” They have to think in terms of lieve “they are entitled to unilat- can work together,” Marone- Jean Colonna and Viktor & Rolf. Oumar said. “We lost about 40 per- implementing previous commit- eral concessions.” 20 WWD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2003 TheWWDList

In times of strife, American designers have turned to color to give consumers a Prozac-like lift. In a post-9/11 world, where the sluggish economy and lingering Iraq war have left some feeling blue, designers are hoping that shades such as peachskin and fandango will put fashion back in the pink. In Living Color They’re also spicing up their collections with cayenne, cadmium yellow and tigerlily, while leaf green, the shade of a freshly mowed lawn, is popular for its back-to-nature quality. On this list, the The 10 most popular Pantone colors for the upcoming spring 2004 New York results of a recent Pantone survey asking designers to choose the most directional hues for spring collections, ranked by percentage, based on designer preference. point to a spectrum of feel-good colors. PANTONE 15-0332 LEAF GREEN 13.9 percent Yoehlee chose shades that evoke the greens of spring and summer and the colors of the woods. “In many industries green has become a symbolic color for sustainability for people who care about the 1 environment,” said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute.

PANTONE 15-1054 CADMIUM YELLOW 13 percent Designers who’ve overdosed on acid orange are choosing cadmium yellow. “As far as the fashion world is concerned, it’s the next hot thing,” said Eiseman. Alice Roi, who was inspired by Georgia 2 O’Keeffe and the colors of the desert, picked the burnt orange as her signature color.

PANTONE 15-3930 VISTA BLUE 11.3 percent Blue is traditionally associated with longevity and constancy, according to Eiseman, and Vista Blue has a Zen feeling that satisfies a longing for spirituality. Peter Som likes Vista Blue because it 3 “seduces rather than screams,” he said, adding: “It represents an uncontrived prettiness.”

PANTONE 14-1907 PEACHSKIN 10.6 percent Peachskin, “a soft, nurturing color,” makes everyone look good, according to Eiseman. “It’s what colors looked like in Fifties movies,” said Marc Badgley and James Mischka. “It’s clear, yet faded 4 and soft. It’s romantic and feminine.” Nicole Miller, Carmen Marc Valvo and Carolina Herrera also are using the shade this spring. PANTONE 18-1651 CAYENNE 10.4 percent Michael Kors is peppering his spring collection with cayenne. “I was inspired by the glamorous resort spirit of Capri,” he said. Eiseman added, “Cayenne is like a shot of adrenaline. It has 5 excitement and a lot of warmth.” PANTONE 17-2033 FANDANGO PINK 9.6 percent Michael Vollbracht chose Fandango Pink for his first Bill Blass collection, which is inspired by

English garden roses. Muted green and earth tones such as taupe, gray, mother of pearl and sage INC., 2003 NTONE INC. © PANTONE PA

ANDARDS. CONSULT CURRENT PANTONE FOR CURRENT PANTONE ANDARDS. CONSULT 6 round out the palette. T

PANTONE 15-3620 LAVENDULA 8.8 percent Neither cloyingly sweet nor drably gray, lavendula is a sophisticated shade of blue purple. Anna Sui, who took her cue from fun-in-the-sun sports, surfing and the beach, made lavender a key color of 7 her spring collection.

PANTONE 18-3833 DUSTED PERI 7.9 percent “It’s not a kiddy color,” said Eiseman of Dusted Peri. Jeff Mahshie agreed. He’s layering multiple colors such as pinks, greens, blues and purples with white and other ombré combinations for 8 Chaiken.

PANTONE 16-1105 PLAZA TAUPE 7.8 percent Nicole Miller used pale and faded colors inspired by Victorian lingerie, while Alvin Valley chose understated neutrals and muted tones. Calling Plaza Taupe “the quintessential neutral color,” 9 Eiseman said it adds some complexity when mixed with another color.

PANTONE 17-1456 TIGERLILY 6.7 percent Tigerlily is on the sketch pads of Ellen Tracy and Anne Klein designers, whose collections reflect the 10 tremendous range of flora and fauna, and the reddish-orange shades of the sun, respectively. ASHION AND HOME COLOR SYSTEM® PUBLICATIONS FOR ACCURATE COLOR. PANTONE® AND OTHER PANTONE, INC. TRADEMARKS ARE THE PROPERTY OF ARE THE PROPERTY INC. TRADEMARKS AND OTHER PANTONE, PANTONE® COLOR. FOR ACCURATE SYSTEM® PUBLICATIONS ASHION AND HOME COLOR SOURCE: PANTONE FASHION COLOR REPORT SPRING 2004; PANTONE COLORS DISPLAYED HERE MAY NOT MATCH PANTONE®-IDENTIFIED SOLID COLOR S SOLID COLOR PANTONE®-IDENTIFIED NOT MATCH HERE MAY DISPLAYED COLORS SPRING 2004; PANTONE REPORT COLOR FASHION PANTONE SOURCE: F WWD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2003 21

PRODUCT/TREND FORECASTER New York City based urban apparel brand seeks a trend *ALL Off-Price* USED WAREHOUSE Velour-Rib-Lycra-Jersey forecaster to help create seasonal direction for the Juniors/ Three by Three 201-861-0033 EQUIPMENT For Sale: Conveyors, Garment Sorter, Women’s collection and Young Men’s and Junior accessories. Pallet Rack, more. Call: 800-831-5774 This position requires a blend of fashion design, research, and presentation skills. Must know how to research the market and report current trends, both in fashion and Seeking innovative designers to work on an exciting new accessories. Must know how to adapt high end or couture denim and related sportswear lifestyle brand backed by an Cash For Retail Stock & Closeouts. No Lot Too Big or Too Small. trends into relevant solutions for our brand. established industry leader. This is an excellent opportunity Call CLOTHES-OUT: COTTON, RAYON, NYLON, SILK, with unlimited potential for trendsetters eager to work in an (937) 898-2975 CASHMERE! Fine Gauge sweaters! Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Kohl’s, Must have excellent color sense, with the ability to produce exciting and dynamic environment. Please respond via fax Jones approved Mfr. in China. E-mail color studies pertaining to garments. Must be well versed in 212-354-4418 for more info: [email protected] fabrics, art applications, trims, etc. Must possess good written WE WANT YOUR ORDERS! Assistant Designer Large China mfr. seeks new customers. and verbal communication skills. Must possess excellent Young Men’s & Juniors’ We have 10 yrs. exp. w/Walmart, K-mart, presentation skills. Fashion sensibility and knowledge of the OFF PRICE BRANDED APPAREL JC Penney’s orders. Large Volume! The ideal candidate will have a minimum of 2 years 50-70% off Original Wholesale. Women’s, Please call @ [646] 269-9694 urban market a must. Men’s & Kids. Warehouse appts avail. experience with an apparel manufacturer (preferably in Contact Marsha @ 516-239-8111 REQUIREMENTS: denim and related sportswear) and have strong written and BEN ELIAS verbal communication skills. Knowledge of garment construc- - Ability to research the market and report relevant trends tion and fabrics as well as MAC proficiency (Photoshop and both in verbal and visual formats. Illustrator) a must. Responsibilities will include flat sketching, ALLSTAR TKG & WAREHOUSE - High taste level and strong understanding of fashion preparing pre-production packages and seasonal colorcards, Import/Export, Dist., GOH & Cartons We Label & Ship - US Customs Whse culture, specifically in the urban market. contributing design and graphic ideas, and preparation of Master/Visa 718-945-3500 all-startrucking.com - Ability to execute fashion and accessories designs trend boards. Must be well organized, team-work oriented, and have excellent interpersonal skills. Excellent opportunity PATTERNS, SAMPLES, (only directional). for advancement for the right candidate. PRODUCTIONS - Ability to execute and present color studies relevant to All lines,Any styles. Fine Fast Service. the brand. Graphic Designer Call Sherry 212-719-0622. B’way+7th Ave SUBLETS - Ability to create seasonal fabric stories and communicate Young Men’s & Juniors’ 1500, 2200, 3500, 8500-Tower Fl Qualified candidate will have a minimum of two years New Hi Ceiling Installations PATTERNS/SAMPLES direction. Hot Lofts-Low Prices, All Sizes PRODUCTION - Ability to create mood boards based on seasonal themes, experience in the apparel industry with a strong background Prime Manhattan Jon 212-268-8043 Specializing in small productions. Sam- in print and packaging work. Excellent sense of style and ples, duplicates, patterns. Full service customer attributes, etc. color as well as MAC proficiency, particularly in Photoshop shop to the trade. Fine fast work. - Mastery of Illustrator and Photoshop. 212-869-2699 and Illustrator, a must. Candidate should be a creative, well organized and detail-oriented. PTTNS/SMPLS/PROD Please send all inquiries to: [email protected] High qlty, reasonable price. Any de- sign & fabric. Fast work. 212-714-2186 DESIGN/PROD. ASST. Import Coordinator Associate Product Developer DESIGNER/ARTIST Established mens co. seeks asst. in Women’s apparel mfr. in Chicago. Sample Shopping & Photos! Evandale, the licensing division of creating lines for different categories - Must have min. 3 yrs exp. & knowl. Imports. Boys and girls / Infants / Tod- mens underwear, loungewear, w/FarEast import document. incl. Designer shopping Paris & London. J.W.E., seeks an experienced and dlers / 4-6x-7. Duties include shopping detail- oriented individual. Responsi- applique t-shirts, women’s junior tops - L/C’s, clearing shipments through US Will buy & take photos specific for merchandising, designing, artwork involves tech design, PDM packages, customs; incl. follow through to ware- your market! Call Patti: 212-840-2155 ble for production packages, art and catalogues. Must be strong in cre- trafficking from original design sample ordering and tracking. Must house. Able to multi task in fast paced ating appliques, graphics and screen posses computer skills with effective environment, excel. comm. skills & through final approval. Great working prints. Fax resume to 212-967-4304 or environment! follow-up. 2 years + experience. Fax ability to coord. w/ brokers. Sal. open. E-mail: [email protected] resume to Tom: 212-868-7575. Please fax resume to: 212-704-2041 Qualified candidates fax resume to: Attn: Eric HR Dept. @ 312.648.4309 DESIGNER ASST/ URBAN KIDS/to 55k+ Must have 3--5 years exp with Urban/ Design/Production Asst. RESUMES THAT WORK! SINCE 1970 Room to Grow/Excellent Benefits Updating/Phone Interviews Streetwear design exposure. Strong Asst. Designer/ Adobe Illust. & PhotoShop skills. This Leading Childrenswear Importer seeks PROFESSIONAL RESUMES, INC. an exp’d. person to work on all phases of INTIMATE APPAREL 60 E 42nd Street, NYC 10165 CAD Designer is a great oppty to grow in a trend set- Fast paced ladies Sportswear Co. seeks ting, branded licensed childrenswear production details/packages. Must be JONES NY INTIMATES (212)697-1282/(800)221-4425 proficient in Illustrator, Freehand, and www.resumesforfashion.com creative individual with 4+ years exp. co (dept/specialty store mkt). E-mail licensed by Madison Maidens resumes [email protected] Photoshop. Team player a must! EOE Photoshop/Adobe/Illustrator Reply in confidence to: HR @ knowledge. Exp. with sample room, (Fax) 212-725-7116 (Tel)212-481-1941 212-967-7494 SLEEPWEAR DESIGNERS fabrics & prints helpful. flat sketching ASSOCIATE DESIGNERS a must. Team player, great benefits. Fax resume (212) 764-5981 DESIGNER - Childrenswear Division Manager - Men’s Wonderful opportunity for creative, talent- Est’d. fast paced Childrenswear Co. seeks ed designers to join an exciting, expanding "creative" Designer for mass market, organization. Applicant must have 2 years Buyer private label division in (boy/girl) NB, Underwear/Loungewear experience, be well organized and responsi- Infant & Toddler areas. Must know SaraMax, a leading supplier of Women’s & ble for all phases of design from concept to ASSISTANT BUYER Freehand & Illustrator and have 5 Men’s Underwear, Daywear and Loungewear is Showroom sample. A growing junior specialty retailer has years minimum experience. Please Fax looking for a Division Manager to propel its Wecurrently have openings for both immediate opening for assistant buyer. resume to Cathy Rice @ (212) 564-5942 Men’s Underwear Division to the next level. knit and woven sleepwear designers ADMIN. ASST. Must have minimum one-year experi- The right candidate will have a strong sales and associate designers. High end retail knitwear co. seeks organ - ence as assistant buyer in specialty and merchandising background servicing ized, self motivated person to handle retail, strong communication and nego- DESIGNER/Head GIRLS/to 85K Must be proficient in WebPDM, Adobe national chains, specialty stores and mass Illustrator & Excel. phones, general office duties, some sales tiating skills. Attractive salary and DESIGNER/Head BOYS/to 85K merchants and be able to provide focus and &shipping. Computer skills a must. Work benefits package. EOE. Email resume For trend setting Children’s wear co Please e-mail resume to [email protected] 24 East 23rd St w/industry leading branded licenses. leadership to an energetic staff. This business Corporate loft. Wood floors, brick walls, in beautiful East-Side retail shop. Fax to [email protected]. opportunity is a once in a lifetime chance to resume and salary to: 212-861-3709 These positions are for a line combining skylights, overlooks park. Floors 2200 lifestyle, sportswear, very fashion orient- really make an impact. sq.ft. each w/ internal staircase. Allan Gallaway 212-594-1414 x251 ed for the Dept & Specialty store mar- This position reports to the President of Admin. Asst. - P/T Buyer kets. Req: Very creative "out of the box" SaraMax. Compensation is commensurate with MERCHANDISER Sales/Marketing Co. seeks highly intelli - Growing Long Island retail clothing dsgnrs w/Urban, Lifestyle, Streetwear the challenge. Interested and qualified candi- For a dynamic Moderate Sportswear 488 7th Avenue gent, quick, multi-task person. Computer store seeks Junior/Younger contempo- etc. backgrnd designing for this level dates may fax their resume to 212-842-4016 or Co. Seeking an energetic, creative exp. (Word/Excel) a MUST! Flexible hours. rary Buyer with minimum of 5 years mkt. Strong Illust. & PhotoShop skills. Email [email protected]. All replies professional who desires to work for Live/Work Fax resume to Scott: 212-279-8950 experience. Great Atmosphere! E-mail resumes [email protected] will be held in the strictest confidence. EOE. aCo.that has had tremendous 1 BR SHOWROOM STARTING at $1525. Fax resume to: (516) 593-9416 (Fax) 212-725-7116 (Tel)212-481-1941 sales growth for the past 5yrs. This Hi Ceils, Wd Flrs, Immed Occup. Admin Since 1967 individual can lead and inspire. Must 212-629-8694 M-F 10am- 6pm. No Fee. Embroidery Designer have Dept. Store & import exp. Great W-I-N-S-T-O-N BUYER DESIGNER Major women’s apparel Co. located in package. Fax resume (212) 221-0571 For Space in Garment Center APPAREL STAFFING Must have sportswear background. INF-6X Assoc. Designer wanted for NYC is seeking experienced embroi- DESIGN*SALES*MERCH Tremendous opportunity. Major retailer. branded and private label company. dery designer with at least 3 yrs exp. Helmsley-Spear, Inc. Call Liz or Marty at: (631) 420-0890 or Min. 3 yrs exp. Fluency in MAC Actual hand embroidery as well as lay 212-880-0414 ADMIN*TECH*PRODUCTION (212)557-5000 F: (212)986-8437 Fax: (631)752-7785. All replies will be required. Freehand, Photoshop, or out on garment. Moderate to better kept confidential. Ilustrator knowledge. Fwd salary histo- missy markets a plus. Fax salary re- New Maternity Division ry. Attn: Lazara (212) 221-4399. quirements & resume to 201-854-4834 T.D. Better Pvt Label S/W $70-85K Office/Showrm-Great Deals! [email protected] Call 212-947-3400 14-59 St/Mad-9 Ave.; 1500-10000 SqFt & up Alterations Tailor 5+ years experience working with fine BERNSTEIN R.E.-largest # NYC listings CAD DESIGNER FASHION OPPORTUNITIES Allan Gallaway 212-594-1414 x251 fabrics & silks w/knowledge of pattern - Established men’s main floor tops DESIGNER/ Artists - Designers - Technicals - making excellent hand work. Great manufacturer trading in all channels MERCHANDISER Production - Sales - All Other Areas Atmosphere. Call Nancy at 718-937-3636 of distribution seeks talented Cad Call Barbara Murphy (212) 643-8090 (agcy) ext 2, or fax resume to 718-937-3699. Major denim co embarking on a new OFFICE ASSISTANT Showrooms & Lofts Designer. Must be proficient in and Private label manf. Aggressive, self- BWAY 7TH AVE SIDE STREETS license for a major label. Must have 5-7 have knowledge of all aspects of years experience in the Jr. collection starter, knowledge of Peachtree Acct. Great ’New’ Office Space Avail Primavision Software (woven, knits, GRAPHIC ARTIST ADAMS & CO. 212-679-5500 market. Also must be creative and Excellent comm skills. Must have exp. prints). Pleasant work environment. innovative. Great opportunity for the Infants/Toddlers/Girls 4-14 Sal mid 20’s. Bronx loc. AMY 8 CHAN Fax resume to: Attn: A. Needleman right person. Send resume & salary Licensing mfr seeking creative, Fax resume 718-993-6314 212-686-4336 requirements to: 212-944-2055 organized & detail-oriented Artist. Buyer / Store Manager Resp. for graphics, embroideries, & appliques. MAC /Photoshop a must! Fashion forward young designer Designer to $120K. Current exp. in JR. Nolita specialty store seeks hands on CHARGEBACKS 2-3 yrs exp. Please fax resume & salary sptswr/dresses. Strong in wovens. requirements to: PATTERNMAKER buyer/manager with exceptional taste Seventh Ave. Budget Sptswr Firm Must hang w/CDC, Rampage, City tri- seeks exp’d person to handle factor 212-944-1181 Attn: Christen Fast-paced Junior sportswear manufactur- level, strong management skills and angle, Byer, Rappers, my Michelle, Jon- er of knits and wovens located in Totowa 530 7th Avenue the ability to set goals and achieve C/BS. Must be highly org’d w/strong athan Martin, etc. Call 973-564-9236 Agcy comm skills. Exell. oppty. Will enter- Graphic Designers(2) Kids Branded NJ seeks experienced 1st pattern maker to SHOWROOM TO SHARE profit objectives. Must have 5+ years work with designer on specs and fits also of retail experience with excellent tain full or P/T candidate. Fax resume Urban & Active Streetwear/45-70k Immediate Occupancy - All Inclusive in strict confidence Attention: Howard For mjr Children’s Wear Co. Great oppty production pattern maker for girls 2-16 Phone# 203 543 3028 analytical communication, organiza- DESIGNER WOVENS sportswear division. Knowledge of compu- tional and problem solving skills. 212-869-3671. Design & execute contemporary for very creative graphic dsgnrs w/exp in "classic" Urban or Lifestyle mkts. These terized marker and grading a plus. E-mail resume to private label in dynamic team playing Fax resume to: 973-305-0171 [email protected] or d environment. Must have 5 yrs min. are very "hot" branded licenses selling to Fax 212-966-3524, Att: HR Dept exp. w/eye for print; color; trend. Will Dept. & Specialty Store mkts. Req. Associate Designer be proactive in fabric development & Adobe Illust. & PhotoShop expertise. Childrenswear Co., seeks creative follow up w/ overseas offices. Strong E-mail resumes [email protected] Assistant Spec Tech indiv. with excellent organization (Fax) 212-725-7116 (Tel)212-481-1941 communication, organizational skills PATTERNMAKER Childrenswear Company seeks Spec skills, min. 2 yrs. exp. for girls, 4-6X & necessary; as well as, ability to 1 Union Sq West Corner 14 St Tech experienced in fitting, specs, 7-16, knits, sweaters & wovens for Wal- OFFICE SPACE flat sketch w/ knowledge of garment HAUTE COUTURE comments for Girls and Boys division. Mart. Must be exp. in Adobe & construction & fit. Should be computer Graphic Designers Facing Park, 8 Windows, Hi Ceils Should have working knowledge of Photoshop/Illustrator. Overseas & do- literate. Up to date portfolio req. for Trendy fast growing jr co needs Couture Designer seeks a highly skil- Approx 825 SF. Rent $3,000 overseas factories and grading. Must mestic travel req. Great opportunity! interview. Large public co. w/ benefits. freelance+f/t imm. Must have good led HAUTE COUTURE Patternmaker / BUCHBINDER & WARREN, LLC have knowledge of Outlook and Excel. Please fax resume to 212-221-7064, eye & excellent computer skills. Draper w/ 10+ yrs experience in gowns 646-637-9018 Fax resume to 212-239-2766 Attn : Cathy FAX 212-556-5431 NYC location -- Fax: 718-788-4998 and jackets. Fax resume: 212-768-4609. 22 WWD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2003

Linen Sales Senior Account Executive DESIGNER TECHNICAL DESIGNER Exclusive Linen Store on Madison Ave. Leading Branded Childrenswear Company VISUAL MERCHANDISER Ladies apparel company seeking detail seeks a Sales Associate with a mini- is searching for highly motivated and HEARTS OF PALM oriented, organized and experienced mum of 3 years experience in hi-end aggressive sales exec for an expanding BEST & CO RUBY RD. (min. 3 yrs) tech designer, with strong retail sales. Salary + benefits. Please sales force. Candidate must have strong communication skills. Must be able Fax resume to: 212-889-6721 experience working with major depart- Is growing! The children’s department store wants an organ- to follow through from development ment and specialty stores. Highly competi- We are seeking a motivat- to production. Pattern making tive sal/comm. Email resume in confi- ized, detailed and energetic self-starter to assist the Creative knowledge is a plus. Travel required. NEED A CHANGE? Exp’d Sales/Mktg dence to: [email protected] ed, organized creative in- Please Fax resume to Evelyn at Pro, learn promotional products. Work or Fax: 212-643-1345 Director. Design in-store display, help create and schedule FAX: 212-382-2421 for multi-million L.I. ad specialty co. installations, coordinate apparel, maintain merchandise dividual with a sense of Car req. 50% comm vs draw. Fax res: presentation and set the standard for retail. Experience in an humor who can think out- Textile Converter 631-423-1389 or e-mail: [email protected] side the box. Color presen- Textile converting co. seeks converter upscale venue and solid retail history is a must. Travel who is self-motivated, organized, detail between NYC and Fairfield County is required. Please tation, illustration, em- oriented and good with figures. Import RETAIL SALES broidery design and lay- experience & computer skills a MUST. Sales Associates - Upscale Fashion provide your salary requirements / history. Please Fax resume to: 212-354-1950 Due to expansion we are looking for outs required. individuals for Manhattan & Green- Fax or e-mail your resume (WORD format) to: Traffic Manager wich, CT locations. Exp in gowns, 203-661-6909 / [email protected] Hi-volume 3rd party So. Brunswick suits, bridal, & coats. Fit expertise de- Fax resume to HR: whse. seeks highly motivated, aggressive sirable for made to order. Top salary/ Mail: Hank Cochran, Best & Co, 289 Greenwich Ave., individual with min. 3 years clothing Commission/Benefits with growth. 212-354-2215 Fax resume 212-888-6137 or e-mail Greenwich, CT 06830. No phone calls please. exp. Duties include trouble shooting, overseeing customer service dept., and [email protected] QUIKSILVER/ROXY daily traffic functions. Must be extremely organized w/management abilities. Fax Roxy Accessory and Foot- or E-mail resume/salary to: SALE & RECEPTION wear Division is seeking a Designer/Merchandiser 732-422-4018 / [email protected] Established Import House, specializing sales professional for the THE GOLDEN TOUCH GROUP in Missy & Plus Sportswear in Denim Midwest Region. Candidate Est’d. Ladies’ Knitwear Co. seeks &Dresses, seeks highly organized & THIS EXCITING IMPORT COMPANY IS CONTINUING TO GROW, AND WE motivated Account Exec. Must possess must have 3 - 5 years sales ARE ADDING TO OUR TEAM IN THE FOLLOWING AREAS: an innovative & highly organized excellent communication skills & have experience handling specialty individual. Total involvement in merchandising knowledge. Established *Missy Sales Executive-Major Retail following a must. contacts with specialty & chain stores a stores within the territory. *Girls Key Sales Executive-(4-6x 7-16) Walmart,Target, Sears. production development process. must. Experience in apparel is required. Qualified applicants please *Production Managers-Sweaters + /or Knitwear Imports only. Detail oriented & exp’d. a must. Fax in confidence to: 212-391-2385 e-mail resume to *Production Coordinator-Walmart exp required. Knit bottoms. Bi-lingual Chinese a plus! E-mail [email protected] *Spec Technicians-Knitwear +/or Sweaters exp 1-3 years. resume: [email protected] SALES EXECUTIVE *Sales Account Assistants-Private Label exp / and Major Retailers. Account Executive Michael Simon seeks a professional *Graphic Artists-color matters /photoshop/ Illustrator exp. CHILDREN’S WEAR with established relationships in the A leading Manhattan based children’s Better/Bridge/Contemporary markets. *Full Time Junior Fit Model-Size 7 34-24-34 5’6’’. wear Co. is currently seeking a high level 2 years min. experience. Email resume: *Lc Cordinator-Knowledge of UPC 500 Gov . Bank Codes. motivated children’s apparel Account [email protected] QUIKSILVER/ROXY Vendor Compliance or Fax: 212-730-0595 Please forward your resumes to: Deborah at: Manager Executive. Will be resp. to develop & Roxy Accessory and Foot- maintain strong sales relationships w/ wear Division is seeking a [email protected] or by fax 212-947-7654 40M Apparel Mfr. seeks 3-5 yrs exp’d existing & new customers. Must have Mgr. to resolve compliance issues, extensive children’s apparel contacts SALES HELP sales professional for New implement preventative QC and sales exp. Will track retail sales & Large mens/boys company seeking in York & New England. Candi- PRODUCTION ASST. procedures, reverse chargebacks. maintain appropriate stock levels. house sales person for new infant/ date must have 3 - 5 years For wholesale accessory co. Richmond Fax Attn. V.C.M 732-919-0568 Involvement with merchandising and toddler/4X-6X girls division - need chain ALFRED DUNNER, INC. Hill Queens location. Tracking overseas [email protected] product development. Must be available store or department store experience. sales exp. handling specialty shipments. Corresponding with suppliers. to travel. Excellent salary. Pls. forward E- mail: [email protected] stores within the territory. TECHNICAL DESIGNER/ Must be detail oriented and computer Sales Administrative Assistant resumes to: [email protected] or call 212-695-6146 Qualified applicants please literate. Salary - 25K E-mail resumes: NYC Showroom or Fax: (212) 944-8813 LADIES SPORTSWEAR [email protected] e-mail resume to: Successful swimwear designer and manu- [email protected] facturer has opening in our NYC office. BILA / FORBIDEN Sales *Min. 5 years experience. Position involves administrative duties, Production Coordinator Key Account Sales *Must be PC proficient Accessory Co. seeks organized & detail sales support, and analysis. Excellent SALES EXECUTIVE Work existing & expand branded & pri- communication and PC skills are essen- *Issue detailed spec package oriented individual w/ strong written/ Leading import company specializing vate label men’s/boy’s jeanswear busi- verbal/negotiating skills. Oversee all tial. Some travel required. Please email in printed embellished knits / woven, ness with major accts. Co. is rapidly DENIM COLLECTION with trim, fabric & embroidery phases of production from conception resume and salary requirements to great based in LA, seeking a professional Better priced fashion forward denim [email protected] or fax to 631-420-8836. EOE growing & looking to add the right *Evaluate fit & garment to delivery. Minimum 3+ yrs experience. salesperson for 1407 showroom, New indiv to our team. Great oppty for just driven line seeks pro with strong Fluent in English, knowledge of Chinese York. Must have strong connections the right person-exp w/this type of specialty and better dept stores in NY, construction a+.Computer literate, Excel a must. with dept / chain stores in moderate / business a must. Dallas and or West Coast. Domestic/ *Review prod’n & quality control Must be able to work in fast paced envi- better separates. 5 years experience. Sales Assistant Import. Call 212-840-1335 x 17, or ronment & multitask. Please fax resume Sales Assistant Fax your resume to 213-748-0706 or To handle & communicate w/major email [email protected] with salary requirements (646) 486-1336 Seventh Avenue eveningwear and Email: [email protected] nat’l & regional accts. Detail oriented For confidential consideration, or E-mail: [email protected] & good communication skills. dress co. has an excellent opportunity Hot Junior Line / Road Reps Needed fax resume to 212-575-8605 Please fax resume to 212-760-9705 Production/Design Coordinator for motivated, outgoing individual. Fabric Sales Well est’d jr co w/ hot jr sportswear, Must be computer proficient, organ- Leading Textile Co. & Importer. of high- activewear & resort lines (also plus For A Div of Kellwood Co. ized and enjoy a fast-paced environ- size) seeks dynamic & exp’d road reps Major importer of better woman’s suits end European & Japanese fabrics, seeks SALES / PLANNERS PRIVATE LABEL ment. Fax resume and salary require- an enthusiastic Sales Pro to cultivate for all territories. Fax res: 212.869.9135 seeks ind to coordinate production and ments to: 212-764-5845 Major denim co embarking on a new WOVEN DESIGNER design w. overseas office. Must be very new (& grow existing) accounts. Must have license in the Jr. arena. Collection back- KNITWEAR DESIGNER detailed, accurate, have strong follow- previous fabric sales experience & strong ground a plus. Exciting opportunity for up skills & have sense of urgency plus customer base. Salary + commission (with the right person. Candidate must have PRODUCTION COORDINATOR benefits). Fax resume to: 212-840-2657 JEWELRY REPS SEVENTH AVENUE understanding of prod/des calendar is Samplemaker/Fitter min 5-7 yrs dept store selling exp. Small designer jewelry co. seeking WOMEN’S APPAREL COMPANY amust. Responsibilities include flat For Couture Evening co. Needs very expe- Fax resume 212-944-2055 independent sales rep. Must have con- P/L specialists must have 3-5 years sketching, establishing & maintaining rienced worker. Excellent salary. JR BOTTOMS tacts w/ department stores, boutiques, minimum exp. Technical knowledge garment detail sheets, sourcing trim. Call 212-944-7144 Junior sportswear company seeks an and catalogues. Please email resume /experience for both a must. Must be Min 2 yrs experience required. Fax re- aggressive salesperson for their NYC SALES PRO to [email protected]. computer literate. Please send resume to: sume and salary to 212-398-5464. EOE showroom. Fax: 212-869-5047 or Email: Est’d Import Co. seeking exp’d, Sales Box#M 1109 [email protected] Exec to sell popular priced woven/knit c/o Fairchild Publications Product Manager SWAT-FAME, INC. Jr/Missy/Plus Sizes sports/active wear 7 West 34th Street, 4th Fl Contemporary swimwear designer/ from our showroom. Must hv est’d con- New York, NY 10001 Showroom Assistant / KEY ACCOUNT SALES tacts w/ major chains & spclty stores. manufacturer has a great opportunity NYC based mfr. of infant’s toys & for a Product Manager responsible for Merchandising skills A+. Competitive Receptionist accessories seeks exp’d sales person Sal/Comm+ benefits. Fax resume: garment development through produc- who deals with Mid-Tier, Dept & Mass tion. Strong knowledge and under- Fast paced showroom needs hard work- 212-840-2796. Email: [email protected] Production/ ing, self-motivated individual to assist Market accounts. Must be familiar standing in dealing with overseas man- with Excel spreadsheet based inventory ufacturers and/or agents. Flat sketch- in all aspects of the showroom. Individ- SALES/SALES ASSISTANT Administrative Assistant ual must possess excellent phone management. Salary plus comm. Qualified candidates must have strong ing, basic pattern making knowledge Benefits include 401K. A+A2,adivofJamatex Inc. makers verbal and written communication a+ Strong communication and PC skills, great communication, computer of junior novelty lounge/sleepwear and skills required. Please fax resume and skills and must be able to multi-task. Fax/E-mail: 212-239-4841 skills PC proficiency with Word and [email protected] sportswear is in seeking cand to work Excel are essential. A sense of urgency salary requirements to 631-420-8836 or Great working environment. in NY showroom assisting Sales Mgr. and excellent production follow-up email us at [email protected]. EOE Please fax resume to (212) 869-7616 or Cand must have knowl of apparel e-mail to [email protected] Laura Madrigano Handbags skills with our overseas offices, agents RETAIL Our Sales Team is growing! We are industry as well as being organized, and factories. Must work well under detail oriented, self-motivating and ***APPAREL EMPLOYERS *** looking for highly motivated sales people Do you need exp’d DESIGNERS, PRODUC- pressure. Great opportunity for LA PERLA to join our team. Established customer able to understand the younger advancement. Please send your Technical Design Asst. (3) mindset of the junior/tween customer. TION, ACCOUNTING, TECHNICAL etc. staff? Seeks Sales Associates with strong retail Women’s Wear Cut+Sew Exp NYC Loc. base required in high-end market. **CALL 973-564-9236 Jaral Fashion Agcy.** resume to [email protected] or fax to: and mgmt. skills for NY stores. Please Min. 2-3 years exp. Great opportunity! Please fax resume to: 212-719-9328 or 212-382-3047 Apparel Staffing, Ltd. Fax (212) 302-1161 e-mail to: [email protected] fax resume to Sarah @ (212) 459-3413 Fax resume to: 212-382-3533 WWD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2003 23 Diptyque Settles in New London Locale GOP Reps Bring China Bill to Floor WASHINGTON — Furious about gain an unfair advantage. LONDON — Last week, London finally got its very pounds, in its first year at retail. what is largely viewed as a poli- Reps. Phil English (R., Penn.) own Diptyque store — and considering that it’s It took just 2 1/2 months for the location to have cy of undervaluing its currency and Mark Green (R., Wisc.) are been 43 years since the Parisian perfume and the Diptyque stamp on it, with the help of interior by China, three GOP House the other sponsors. scented candle specialist was founded, it’s not a designer and Delafon’s friend, Henry Chebaane, members introduced legislation Last week, the Bush adminis- moment too soon. whose previous projects have included London’s Wednesday that would slap 40 tration received vague assur- “We have been looking for a site in London for Hempel Hotel and the spa at the Berkeley Hotel. percent tariffs on Chinese im- ances from the Chinese they the past six months,” said Laurent Delafon, manag- “We tried to replicate the store on Saint- ports. A similar bill was intro- would at some point rethink ing director for Saint-Germain Ltd., the U.K. dis- Germain, but it’s impossible to re-create a wall that’s duced in the Senate last Friday. how their currency is valued. tributor of Diptyque. “When this one came up, it 43 years old and has decades of scent ingrained,” “If China gives itself a 40 per- On Tuesday, Senate sponsors was perfect for us.” said Delafon. cent advantage by illegally manip- of similar legislation, Repub- The 650-square-foot store is on Although not exact, the store ulating its currency, then I say let’s licans and Democrats, raised sim- Notting Hill’s Westbourne Grove is easily recognizable as Dipty- put a 40 percent tariff on all their ilar objections. One co-sponsor, — home also to Solange Azagury- que. The walls are the same goods to level the playing field,” Sen. Charles Schumer (D., N.Y.), Partridge, Joseph, Heidi Klein BEAUTY BEAT shade of garden green founded said co-sponsor Rep. Cass Ballen- said that he’s received some heat and Emma Hope — in a store that was formally a by the original Diptyque team, Desmond Knox- ger (R., N.C.), who is taking the side on the issue. Schumer said, “A big Japanese antique shop. “I just happened to be pass- Leet, Christiane Gautrot and Yves Coueslant. For of textile and furniture producers retailer in New York called me ing one afternoon — she was burning a Diptyque further reference, it bears a reproduction print of in his rural district who claim an and said, ‘We don’t want this. I candle in there so we got to talking,” said Delafon. one of Knox-Leet’s paintings. “He was the nose of undervalued Chinese yuan is al- buy goods from China.’” “I said we were looking and she mentioned she was Diptyque and died 10 years ago. Having this [re- lowing cheap Chinese imports to — Joanna Ramey selling, so it was an easy decision to make.” production] here and a site in London keeps the spirit live — it’s like going back to our roots,” said Delafon. In the center of the store is a rosewood table sourced from Italy, and scattered elsewhere are Primedia Seeks Sale of New York several wood polished cabinets dating from the NEW YORK — In a move that lion and $80 million. Fifties. Most of the mirrors originate from France, came as no surprise, staffers at Among the potential interest- along with the Thirties cocktail bar that now New York magazine were told ed parties: William Reilly, the for- serves as a cashier’s desk. The bottles of liqueur Wednesday that parent company, mer Primedia chief executive have since been replaced with bottles of eau de Primedia, had retained Allen & now at Aurelian Communications, toilette, and behind this is what looks like an up- Co. to explore selling the title. an owner of hobbyist publica- holstered wall using tapestry of foliage from the In the meeting, the firm’s head tions; Daily News owner Mort Paris store. of consumer magazines, David Zuckerman; Emmis Communica- “Although it’s a brand-new store, we didn’t want it Ferm, said it was moving its focus tions, publisher of Texas Monthly; to look that way,” said Delafon. to its trade and enthusiast titles New York’s media columnist The skin care line, including soaps, shower (including National Hog Farmer Michael Wolff, and Wenner Media. gels, face cream and body soufflé, is displayed on and Civil War Times). Primedia Steve Brill also is said to be look- top of a quaint wooden bedside table. Adjacent to also has been furiously unloading ing at the title, though his previ- this and at the very top of a tall wooden bookcase its assets to reduce its debt load ous partnership with Primedia, stacked full of scented candles including favorites and has been searching unsuc- Brill Media Holdings, was disas- The Notting Hill store. such as Baies, Tubéreuse, Figuier and the popular cessfully for a new chief executive. trous and disintegrated in 2001. 53rd scent, essence of John Galliano, is a row of New York’s profits are said by An executive at Condé Nast, Arranged over two floors, the main retail space dusty antique glass perfume bottles and flasks. several sources to be between $1 which was long thought to be the has high ceilings with period moldings and is on the “Eventually, I want to fill each of them with million and $2 million a year, but front-runner, told WWD in May ground floor. In addition to housing an office, the spices,” he said. “But one step at a time.” the firm is hoping the strength of that the company wasn’t interest- basement is also a VIP lounge with raspberry walls Like the other Diptyque stores in Paris, Boston its name will help generate a ed in New York, viewing it as a and a large sofa upholstered in cinnamon raw linen and San Francisco, the London store carries the higher sale price than the 10 to 12 “mature business” whose circula- behind a Thirties vintage Perspex coffee table. entire Diptyque collection, but Delafon is also times annual earnings magazine tion was too small. Zuckerman Because of its previous owner, the store didn’t hoping to carry a jewelry line that will be exclu- companies typically get for acqui- and Wolff also have had a couple need an entire interior overhaul. “It sold antiques, sive to London. sitions. Sources close to Primedia of conversations about purchas- so it didn’t have a modern look or feel to it, which is There are also plans to open the patio garden at had said its primary owner, Kohl- ing the title in some sort of part- perfect for Diptyque,” said Delafon. “It also saved us the back of the store and plant a fig tree, and in berg Kravis Roberts & Co., would nership, said a source close to having to make any drastic changes, which worked keeping with the antique mix, there are whispers of like around $100 million for the Zuckerman, but the talks are not in our favor financially and time wise.” Delafon a bench made entirely from horseshoes. title, but the number is now said believed to have gotten far. added the store should reach $395,000, or 250,000 — Sarah Harris to be on the high end of $60 mil- — Jacob Bernstein AMERICA’S COTTON PRODUCERS AND IMPORTERS. © Cotton Incorporated, 2002.