BIG IN BEIJING DIANE VON FURSTENBERG FETED WITH EXHIBIT IN CHINA. STYLE, PAGE S2 WWDTUESDAY, APRIL 5, 2011 ■ WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY ■ $3.00 ZEROING IN Puig Said In Talks Over Gaultier Stake founded in 1982, and remain at the By MILES SOCHA creative helm. As reported, Hermès said Friday PARIS — As Parisian as the Eiffel it had initiated discussions to sell its Tower, Jean Paul Gaultier might soon shares in Gaultier, without identify- become a Spanish-controlled company. ing the potential buyers. The maker According to market sources, of Birkin bags and silk scarves de- Puig — the Barcelona-based parent clined all comment on Monday, as did of Carolina Herrera, Nina Ricci and a spokeswoman for Gaultier. Paco Rabanne — has entered into ex- Puig offi cials could not be reached clusive negotiations to acquire the 45 for comment. percent stake in Gaultier owned by A deal with Puig — a family-owned Hermès International. company that has recently been gain- It is understood Puig will also pur- ing traction with Ricci and expand- chase some shares from Gaultier him- ing Herrera and has a reputation for self, which would give the Spanish being respectful of creative talents beauty giant majority ownership of —would offer a new lease on life for a landmark French house — and in- Gaultier, a designer whose licensing- stantly make it a bigger player in the driven fashion house has struggled to fashion world. thrive in the shadow of fashion giants Gaultier, 58, is expected to retain like Chanel, Dior and Gucci. a signifi cant stake in the company he SEE PAGE 6 IN WWD TODAY Armani Eyes U.S. Growth PAGE 2 FASHION: On the back of a strong fall collection, Giorgio Armani is plotting aggressive growth in the U.S. under new chief executive Graziano de Boni. Formichetti’s Digital View PAGE 2 MEDIA: Stylist Nicola Formichetti views social media as a key element in the relaunch of Mugler — from live-streaming L to YouTube, Facebook to Twitter. Price Increases Pinch Vendors STYLE, PAGE S3 TEXTILES: At Interstoff Asia, Graphic buyers and vendors said spiraling costs remain a major hurdle. Content Straying far from the plain and simple, designers are going for the bold this fall with vibrant prints and geometric colorblocking. Here, Risto’s cashmere cardigan; Camilla and Marc’s ponte bustier; BCBG Max Azria’s wool bodysuit and 3.1 Phillip Lim’s silk and wool pants. Andrew Kanakis necklace; Ben-Amun bangles. For more, see pages 4 and 5. PHOTOS BY THOMAS IANNACCONE; STYLED BY MAYTE ALLENDE MODEL: ANNABELLE/WOMEN; HAIR: AYUMI YAMAMOTO/DEFACTO FOR REDKEN; MAKEUP: JENNY MYLES/WORKGROUP LTD; FASHION ASSISTANT: JOANN DAVILA DAVILA JOANN ASSISTANT: FASHION LTD; MYLES/WORKGROUP JENNY MAKEUP: REDKEN; FOR YAMAMOTO/DEFACTO AYUMI HAIR: ANNABELLE/WOMEN; MODEL: PHOTOS BY THOMAS IANNACONE 2 WWD TUESDAY, APRIL 5, 2011 A still from Mugler’s live-stream FINANCIAL and Mugler’s Facebook page. Snow Phipps Takes A Stake in Velvet VELVET, A CONTEMPORARY casual collection, has received an investment from private equity fi rm Snow Phipps Group in exchange for a “signifi cant” stake in the company. Details of the transaction were not disclosed. Velvet’s chief executive offi cer, Henry Hirschowitz, will remain with the company. Also staying are its designers, Jenny Graham and Toni Spencer. The collection is sold in high-end doors such as Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdale’s, Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue. The fi rm’s Graham and Spencer collection is the priciest of the three, while Velvet has the largest distribution. The com- The Digital World of Mugler pany’s Velvetmen men’s wear collection is the smallest of the three lines. all parts of the world,” he said. “I’m not a designer. So Snow Phipps operating partner Andrew Megibow By RACHEL STRUGATZ even when I style or do projects, it’s a total collabora- will join Velvet as non-executive chairman. Megibow tion with other people. That’s how I work.” was formerly chief operating offi cer of Ellen Tracy NICOLA FORMICHETTI fi rmly believes the future of With respect to the label’s first show with Inc., and is the grandson of Ellen Tracy founder Herb Mugler lies in the digital world. Formichetti at the helm, the result served as even more Galen. Under Megibow’s 15-year tenure, Ellen Tracy’s Formichetti brings a surfeit of digital savvy to the evidence that a new era had arrived. The social media revenues grew to $200 million from $40 million. 37-year old fashion house (he was advertising jobs on aspect aside, the infusion of pop music and the pres- Hirschowitz said the timing was right to seek an in- Twitter long before Marc Jacobs was doing it), and the ence of one of the most iconic artists of modern pop cul- vestor to grow the brand. “There is signifi cant growth social media circus that amassed following the brand’s ture helped propel the brand’s comeback collection. opportunity for Velvet in expanding the company into live-stream of its fall show on March 2 had impressions “Normally, you wouldn’t put pop music in a fashion possibly retail and licens- estimated to be 115,607,323 in just one week’s time. It show,” Formichetti said, “but it fi ts with the idea of the ing. With the help from also became the number-one Twitter trend worldwide new Mugler world — the pop and the high fashion, the Snow Phipps, Velvet is An ad for during the actual live-stream on Mugler’s Facebook page real world and the digital mixed with this fantasy world.” well-positioned with its Velvet. with 3.2 million page views, and YouTube subsequent- Keeping in step with this “new Mugler world,” it’s clear infrastructure to ride the ly posted the video on its wall to over 30 million fans, that Formichetti gravitates toward the extreme. He even recovery in the economy.” tweeting the same to its 2 million followers on Twitter. goes so far as to draw a contrast between himself and Tom In addition to a do- The hashtag #Mugler was used almost 15,000 times. Ford — who, for the unveiling of his fi rst women’s collec- mestic presence, Velvet “My job was to resurrect the brand, and to pump it up tion, strictly prohibited the taking of any photographs at the is sold internationally in and bring it to the new decade,” Formichetti told WWD in event, which was so exclusive that only a handful of editors Europe, Canada, Japan, a phone interview from Los Angeles last week, and buyers was able to gain entrée. “I’m not Australia and New where he was styling Lady Gaga for the fi lming an elitist,” Formichetti said. “I want to share Zealand. It currently of her “Judas” music video. “I had this amazing what I’m doing with everyone so that’s why does not have any retail history and archive but there was nothing for me when we did the presentation, I put so much or licensing operations. to work with to make it contemporary. For me, energy into the actual fi lming of the show for Ian Snow, managing it was taking those amazing historical ideas and the live-stream. In a way, I wanted to have the partner at Snow Phipps, transforming them digitally. I design digitally, I people in front of a screen to have a better said, “This transaction communicate digitally, and I live digitally, and I seat than the people in the front row. represents our fi rm’s fi rst wanted to incorporate that into the brand.” “I remember straight after the show, foray into the apparel in- The media blitz that surrounded the unveil- me and [Lady] Gaga just ran backstage dustry despite having spent a number of years search- ing was carefully calculated by digital agency and went onto our computers and went on ing for an ideal investment candidate.” Moving Image and Content, with all digital pub- Twitter to see what the fans were saying.” According to Megibow, Snow Phipps made the lic relations handled by KCD Digital in Paris, But Formichetti is very aware that a neg- investment because it was impressed with Velvet’s and part of the brand’s digital strategy included Nicola ative side to overexposure exists. If one be- infrastructure, which could “support additional a 45-minute preshow (in addition to the actual Formichetti comes too mass and promotional, the public add-ons and brands.” He said Velvet also met the runway show) fi lmed from multiple cameras and its short attention span gets bored fast. private equity fi rm’s other criteria for an invest- that fans could watch to build buzz before the actual event. It’s because of this that all press samples are kept exclu- ment: “Velvet is an authentic brand. It has both cre- The label’s fan base on the social medium nearly doubled sive. “I’m not giving them to every magazine,” he said. ative talent and a strong executive team.” to 80,000 from 45,000 “likes” in one week. Going forward, Formichetti said he would love to make Frederick Schmitt, managing director of The Sage It didn’t hurt that Lady Gaga tweeted to her 9.2 mil- a video about Thierry Mugler and what he’s done from the Group, the investment banking fi rm that advised lion Twitter followers that she’d be taking the stage dur- Eighties until now. He also wants to fi nd a way to digitally Velvet, said the brand, in the market for about 12 ing the show, although Formichetti insists this was not highlight the showroom to focus more on the clothes and years, is currently distributed in specialty boutiques done purposefully.