Extra Credits Extra New Accessories Lines, Seepages 6And7
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s s NEWS: EYE: New USTR Catching Ron Kirk s up with the s FASHION: an unknown FINANCIAL: Barefoot Chanel puts quantity, Giorgio Armani Contessa, the brakes page 10. boosts stake in A|X page 4. on Mobile Armani Exchange, Art, page 2. page 3. Women’s Wear Daily • The Retailers’ Daily Newspaper • December 22, 2008 • $3.00 WAccessories/Innerwear/LegwearwDMONdAY Extra Credits Despite hard times, celebrity collections just keep on coming. Those of actress Mischa Barton are cases in point. She’s launching a headband line for Stacey Lapidus and already has a handbag collection for the London-based Ri2k, now in its third season, which is sold in England and Australia. Here, Barton wears her pearl and crystal headband and a Diesel dress, and holds her leather bag. For more on Barton and new accessories lines, see pages 6 and 7. Plastic Gets Sleeved: Shoppers Trim Credit And Retailers Suffer By Evan Clark The consumer credit bubble that helped Americans fill their closets over a prolonged buying spree and propelled unprecedented store openings is finally deflating — and bringing the fashion industry’s prospects down with it. How many chains are ultimately impacted as shoppers once again become savers won’t start to come into focus until after the holiday season. But there is a consensus about one thing: 2009 won’t see any consumer spending sprees, and retailers will have to adjust pricing and inventories accordingly. “By the end of January, we will have many fewer retailers than we do today,” said Charles McMillion, president and chief economist at MBG Information Services, who has See Shoppers, Page12 PHOTO BY TYLER BOYE; HAIR BY STEPHEN LEWIS AND MAKEUP BY ELAINE OFFERS, BOTH FOR EXCLUSIVE ARTISTS; FASHION ASSISTANT: ZOE CHATFIELD-TAYLOR; STYLED BY HELLIN KAY STYLED BY ZOE CHATFIELD-TAYLOR; ASSISTANT: FASHION ARTISTS; ELAINE OFFERS, BOTH FOR STEPHEN LEWIS EXCLUSIVE AND MAKEUP BY HAIR BY TYLER BOYE; PHOTO BY 2 WWD, MONDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2008 WWD.COM Chanel to Close Mobile Art Project By Robert Murphy landed in New York’s Central Park in October, the economy was crumbling at an alarming pace. WwDAccessories/Innerwear/LegwearMoNdAY PARIS — Chanel on Friday said it would pull the Plans have been scrapped to take the exhibit to plug on its costly Mobile Art exhibition that was London, Moscow and Paris. FASHION slated to travel to major cities worldwide in a Lagerfeld said he was “for stopping [the ex- Now hear this: Regardless of the recession, the Space Age prefab structure designed by archi- hibit before] New York.” 6 newest crop of accessories designers aren’t afraid tect Zaha Hadid. “We had so much press [after Hong Kong and to luxe it up a little. The decision comes amid snowballing bad Tokyo] that there was little more to add,” he said. economic news and Wall Street scandals, and “I told Mr. [Alain] Wertheimer [owner of Chanel] GENERAL reflects a new sobriety for luxurious endeavors. not to do New York. It would have been good if The consumer credit bubble that propelled Ameri- “Considering the current economic crisis, we we changed the artists, and used New York art- 1 cans on a long buying spree has deflated and decided it was best to stop the project,” said a ists. Otherwise there was nothing to add. Today, Chanel spokeswoman. “We will be concentrating everyone can say that something is for financial brought the industry’s prospects down with it. on strategic growth investments.” reasons when they want. For me, artistic reasons The economy isn’t stopping Giorgio Armani from Conceived by Chanel designer Karl are more important. I always thought the build- 3 doubling his stake in the A|X Armani Exchange Lagerfeld with Hadid, the Mobile Art exhibi- ing was a sculpture. I prefer it empty.” Lagerfeld venture with Como Holdings to 50 percent. said Chanel planned to put Hadid’s EYE: With its offbeat location and spare ambience, Chanel’s Mobile pavilion in the courtyard of a new 4 it’s a wonder newly opened Café Ze gets any Art Project did not factory being built outside of Paris, make it to London, where it would be used for tempo- business at all, but it’s doing just fine. Moscow and Paris. rary exhibits. INNERWEAR: After its smash campaign with Kate Still, the excess that the project s 8 Moss last year, Agent Provocateur continues to represented didn’t go unnoticed. push the envelope with its hedonistic ads. Nicolai Ouroussoff, architec- ture critic at The New York Times, 9 ACCESSORIES: Italian watch and jewelry brand called it a hoodwink. “The pavilion Morellato opened its first store in the U.S. on sets out to drape an aura of refine- Saturday, at 551 Fifth Avenue in New York. ment over a cynical marketing gim- 10 Ron Kirk, President-elect Barack Obama’s pick mick,” he wrote. “If devoting so for USTR, doesn’t have a record on trade, leaving much intellectual effort to such a many wondering how he’ll approach key issues. dubious undertaking might have seemed indulgent a year ago, today Icelandic retail group Baugur and its executive it looks delusional.” 12 U.K. chairman Jón Asgeir Jóhannesson have been Chanel’s spokeswoman declined indicted on charges of tax evasion. to say how much the project cost. Classified Advertisements.................................................................................................15 She added that the artwork included in the exhibit still belonged to the TO E-MAIL REPORtERS AND EDItORS At WWD, tHE ADDRESS IS artists. “Chanel has first priority to [email protected], USING tHE INDIVIDUAL’s name. buy them,” she said. WWD IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF ADVANCE MAGAZINE PUBLISHERS INC. COPYRIGHT ©2008 FAIRCHILD FASHION GROUP. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. Analysts said the decision her- VOLUME 196, NO. 130. WWD (ISSN 0149–5380) is published daily (except Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, with alded marketing retrenchment for one additional issue in January, October and December, two additional issues in March, April, May, June, August and luxury players. “You see how the November, and three additional issues in February and September) by Fairchild Fashion Group, which is a division of Advance Magazine Publishers Inc. PRINCIPAL OFFICE: 750 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017. Shared Services world is doing,” said one Paris provided by Condé Nast Publications: S. I. Newhouse, Jr., Chairman; Charles H. Townsend, President/CEO; John W. analyst who requested anonymity. Bellando, Executive Vice President/COO; Jill Bright, Executive Vice President/Human Resources. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY, and at additional mailing offices. Canada Post Publications Mail Agreement No. 40644503. “It’s not worth marketing when Canadian Goods and Services Tax Registration No. 886549096-RT0001. Canada Post: return undeliverable Canadian you’re not selling products. We are addresses to: P.O. Box 503, RPO West Beaver Cre, Rich-Hill, ON L4B 4R6 POSTMASTER: SEND ADDRESS CHANGES likely to see a lot less spending on TO WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY, P.O. Box 15008, North Hollywood, CA 91615–5008. FOR SUBSCRIPTIONS, ADDRESS CHANGES, ADJUSTMENTS, OR BACK ISSUE INQUIRIES: Please write to WWD, P.O. 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To subscribe to other Fairchild magazines on the World Wide Web, visit www.fairchildpub.com. tion was one of the most ambitious art-meets- including an exhibit in Beijing of Cartier vintage Occasionally, we make our subscriber list available to carefully screened companies that offer products and services fashion cohabitations embraced by the luxury jewels in September. that we believe would interest our readers. If you do not want to receive these offers and/or information, please advise us at P.O. Box 15008, North Hollywood, CA 91615-5008 or call 800-289-0273. WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY IS NOT and fashion worlds. Chanel planned to use Other watch brands have begun to revise RESPONSIBLE FOR THE RETURN OR LOSS OF, OR FOR DAMAGE OR ANY OTHER INJURY TO, UNSOLICITED MANUSCRIPTS, Hadid’s building to accrue brand equity by media spends, however. François-Henry UNSOLICITED ART WORK (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DRAWINGS, PHOTOGRAPHS, AND TRANSPARENCIES), OR displaying artworks inspired by Chanel’s 2.55 Bennahmias, president of Audemars Piguet ANY OTHER UNSOLICITED MATERIALS. THOSE SUBMITTING MANUSCRIPTS, PHOTOGRAPHS, ART WORK, OR OTHER MATERIALS FOR CONSIDERATION SHOULD NOT SEND ORIGINALS, UNLESS SPECIFICALLY REQUESTED TO DO SO BY quilted, chain-strap handbag. Twenty contem- North America, said the company would re- WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY IN WRITING. MANUSCRIPTS, PHOTOGRAPHS, AND OTHER MATERIALS SUBMITTED MUST BE porary artists agreed to participate in the ex- duce its advertising budget for next year by ACCOMPANIED BY A SELF-ADDRESSED STAMPED ENVELOPE. ercise, including Daniel Buren, Sylvie Fleury, 40 percent. Yoko Ono and Wim Delvoye. “We are reconsidering what’s effective mar- The project was born as luxury seemed invul- keting in this climate,” he said. “We think it will DAILY nerable to downturn. But by the time it opened be better to reach out to clients on a one-to-one Today, everyone can in Hong Kong in March, the cracks in the world basis.