4 1 OCTOBER 2015

FASHION First Insight Gauges Consumer N.Y. Fashion Week Favorites ● Ralph Lauren, sleeveless looks Some of the notable brands that gar- between fashion editorial perspectives and and the color purple were nered strong, positive sentiment included consumers. a Ralph Lauren look with a 62 percent The survey revealed that purple and standouts. score. Comments by those surveyed black were the two top colors, followed described it as a “fantastic dress” with by red. Purple, by the way, was the most BY ARTHUR ZACZKIEWICZ a “very unique hem.” Another favored favored color during the fall collections design was a simple black dress with a V survey, which was also conducted by First Consumers are smitten with Ralph neck, which had a 67 percent positive sen- Insight. With sleeve length, sleeveless Lauren, love sleeveless looks and favor timent rating. Those polled said the look received the highest sentiment followed by purple as a color and solid when it comes was “Very simple. Very classy.” short-sleeve and then long-sleeve. Regard- to pattern types. One Marc Jacobs dress came in with a 59 ing patterns, solid came in first followed by And when it comes to pricing, consum- percent sentiment score. Commentators floral and then print. ers are often willing to pay more than what praised the dress, and touted it as having With hem length, the high-low look companies set as a price point. celebrity potential — “possibly Scarlett garnered the highest sentiment, followed That’s the latest read on shopper Johansson,” one respondent said. Other by the mini. With necklines, the halter look sentiment from First Insight Inc. regard- high scorers included DKNY, Desigual, took the top spot, followed by round and ing spring designer collections. Working Calvin Klein and BCBG Max Azria. then the V-neck design. with WWD’s coverage of the collections, By age group, the top two brands Shea and Callahan said there were some the analytics firm conducted a consumer for 19- to 29-year-olds were Diane von surprises in the results. “When you get survey over eight days where 289 styles Furstenberg and Carolina Herrera; for into pricing, that’s where it gets really were tested. There were more than 30- to 44-year-olds, the brands were Ralph interesting,” Callahan said. He noted that 2,600 responses that generated more Lauren and DVF, and for 45- to 59-year- even though consumers polled may favor than 400,000 data points on 18 designer A spring look olds, the designers were Minkoff and Zac two styles equally, how they value the brands. from Tory Posen. It’s important to note that the game designs can vary. For example, Callahan The survey involved users playing an Burch. used to poll respondents featured a large said the top favored Marc Jacobs items online game, “What Would They Pay?” runway image of the dress, which included were “equally well-liked” by 19- to 29-year- which culled various data points and Coming in at number two was Diane the designer’s name. No logos or other olds as it was by 45- to 59-year-olds. sentiment metrics, said Jim Shea, chief von Furstenberg, with Carolina Herrera in details were included. But Callahan quickly noted that the marketing officer, and Joe Callahan, direc- third. Rebecca Minkoff was fourth. Regard- What’s also noteworthy is that this Millennials “were willing to pay more than tor of marketing at First Insight. When ing the most favored dress, a ready-to-wear year’s Ralph Lauren collection got mixed $1,700 more [for the Marc Jacobs items] the results were crunched, Ralph Lauren look from Tory Burch’s collection (pictured reviews from fashion critics. “Yet, con- than those ages 45 to 59,” he said. And for emerged as the top brand by average posi- with this article) was the top overall item sumers absolutely loved it,” Shea said, Desigual’s top item, “people were willing tive sentiment. with a 70 percent positive sentiment score. adding that the results reflect a disconnect to pay more than its typical price.”

MEDIA Valentino Donna Ad Set to Launch ● Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey is birthplace. you anywhere, perhaps even with my eyes featured in the film lensed The scent’s ambassador, Àstrid closed. At least you could tell me your Bergès-Frisbey, embodies Valentino Donna name.” by Louis Garrel that’s due to in the film, directed by Louis Garrel. Bergès-Frisbey, in a doorway — studded break on Oct. 8. The scene is enigmatic. From a distance, like the Valentino Donna bottle — turns one sees the actress walking across the toward the man and says: “If you knew BY JENNIFER WEIL empty Piazza Navona late at night. A man’s me, then you know my name.” voice says: “How long has it been since I “We wanted to give this idea of a con- Valentino mined Italy’s cinematic history was last here?” He reminisces about the temporary woman who is really faceted,” for its new video campaign for Valentino square, a café that had stood there, then Piccioli said. “The idea of the movie was to Donna, the house’s most recent women’s adds: “The last time I was here, she was get one moment and one night in Rome, fragrance, that’s due to go live online, exactly the same. Maybe it’s her.” and one meeting between a woman and starting Oct. 8. Bergès-Frisbey walks down a narrow this man who might recognize her. So it’s Taking a cue from directors such as street and again, through the lens of the like a frame of a movie…with the idea of an Federico Fellini and Michelangelo Anton- narrator, the viewer sees her but now at a intimate Rome. It can be one moment in ioni, plus actresses such as Monica Vitti much closer range. the life of a man or a woman. It’s some- from the Sixties, Valentino’s designers “Maybe it’s her. I recognize you. I know thing very individual but very universal at Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli who you are. Please don’t turn around,” the same time. opted to set the ad in Rome, the brand’s the male voice says. “I would recognize “We wanted to get this spiritual side of Rome and its emotional side, not a post- To prepare for the part, Bergès-Frisbey A still from the card kind of view,” he continued. was shown the Valentino Donna perfume video campaign. They chose Garrel, a director, actor and and bottle, and given some black-and- face of Valentino Uomo to lens the cam- white images to peruse. paign and be the voice of the omniscient “There were two main films they were narrator. inspired by — ‘Roma’ and ‘La Notte,’” she Valentino Donna is a floral and chypre said. perfume created with Givaudan perfumers “They had this very precise idea that Sonia Constant and Antoine Maisondieu they followed,” Bergès-Frisbey said. “You and Valentino’s fragrance licensee Puig. It saw they [poured] a lot of love into the launched in the U.K. exclusively at Harrods project and were passionate about it.” and Galeries Lafayette in mid-July. The actress said while not being overly Chiuri said Bergès-Frisbey was an obvi- familiar with fashion, she knew Valentino. ous choice as the face. “I loved the elegance and simplicity of “She reflects, in some way, the idea of it,” Bergès-Frisbey said. “It’s kind of less is women that we like: She has strong char- more.” acter but is romantic and at the same time The 1-minute-48-second spot will first she’s really independent and a little bit break on parfums.valentino.com and on rock ’n’ roll,” Chiuri said. Valentino’s Facebook, Instagram and Twit- “She represents many of the younger ter accounts, and also on some blogs based

women’s generation,” added Piccioli. in France, the U.K. and Italy on Oct. 8. Chinsee George by photograph Burch