WWDWomen’s Wear Daily • The Retailers’MONDAY Daily Newspaper • October 27, 2008 • $2.00 Accessories/Innerwear/Legwear The White Choice There’s plenty of room for both the boyish and the girly on spring’s lingerie landscape, where classic men’s pajamas are as popular as the fl imsiest nightgowns. Here, Frette’s shadow-striped cotton pj’s in a traditional shade. For more, see pages 6 and 7. Claiborne Cuts Outlook As Firms Batten Down To Cope With Economy By Evan Clark The pressure keeps growing on vendors and retailers. As global stock markets wheeze, credit markets drip and consumers hold onto their dollars tighter than a bear trap, the fashion industry scales back by the day to cope with the squeeze. The latest is Liz Claiborne Inc., which sharply cut 2008 financial projections and halved capital expenditures for 2009. “What we’re all seeing right now is a shutdown in discretionary spending,” William L. McComb, chief executive officer, told WWD. “Back-to-school didn’t happen, so that’s when the nose went down on the plane.” For the third quarter, the firm is expecting losses from continuing operations of 8 cents to 14 cents a share, down from year-ago earnings See Fashion, Page25 PHOTO BY KYLE ERICKSEN; MODEL: ANNA N. /ELITE; HAIR BY RYAN TANIGUCHI; MAKEUP BY MIZU FOR SUSAN PRICE; STYLED BY BOBBI QUEEN MIZU FOR SUSAN PRICE; STYLED BY MAKEUP BY TANIGUCHI; RYAN ERICKSEN; MODEL: ANNA N. /ELITE; HAIR BY KYLE PHOTO BY INSIDE: THE FASTEST GROWING FASHION MAGAZINE OF 2008 2 WWD, MONDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2008 WWD.COM Susan Sokol Named J.Mendel President By Marc Karimzadeh a bridal business into a fashion brand with de- signer rtw and sportswear. At Vera Wang, she WWDMONDAY Accessories/Innerwear/Legwear NEW YORK — Susan Sokol has a new home also helped develop the contemporary Lavender at J.Mendel. label, which is sold in over 400 doors. The former president of apparel at Vera Prior to joining Vera Wang, Sokol was FASHION Wang has been tapped as J.Mendel’s a consultant and acting president 6 On the right woman, even men’s pajamas can be president and chief operating offi cer. at Michael Kors. Before that, she sexy, à la Veronica Lake in “Sullivan’s Travels” or In addition, Sokol has become a owned her own consulting fi rm, Claudette Colbert in “It Happened One Night.” member of the company’s board. SLS Consulting LLC, where This is an expanded role she worked with the likes of GENERAL for the fashion house, which Kors, Badgley Mischka, Judith In the midst of the global fi nancial crisis, the is rooted in fi ve generations Leiber and Wang. She was 1 Susan fashion industry is scaling back to cope, the latest of furriers. The title of presi- Sokol earlier chief executive offi- dent was previously held by cer of The Leiber Group (ini- being Liz Claiborne Inc. Edward Reich, who left the tially called Pegasus Apparel EYE: The Fashion Group International awards began ▲ 4 company in April. Group) and, before that, presi- as an odyssey to Cipriani Wall Street and continued Sokol met Gilles Mendel, dent of Donna Karan New York its journey with some circuitous speeches. chief executive officer and for three years. Sokol also spent designer, several months ago 22 years at Calvin Klein, where 12 INNERWEAR: Limited Stores is launching its fi rst through a mutual friend. she served 11 years as president of full collection of intimate apparel, bearing the “I have great admiration for Gilles women’s Calvin Klein Collection. Bendon label, on Nov. 3. as a creative designer, and I have always Mendel noted, “I come from a fur back- 15 ACCESSORIES: The global economic crisis couldn’t been so impressed by the level of uniqueness ground and I had been looking for someone who help but pervade Premiere Classe, although many and modernity he has brought and continues understands how to expand the apparel busi- said they were weathering the storm. to bring to the fur classifi cation,” Sokol said. ness and develop the ready-to-wear, which is “In terms of the ready-to-wear business, which something I have done for the past few years, 16 Tiffany is putting its contemporary foot forward launched about four years ago, we both see a and bring the company to the next level.” with a new, smaller retail format at the lifestyle solid potential for meaningful growth in this part J.Mendel is sold in stores such as Neiman center Americana at Brand in Glendale, Calif. of the business, expanding the current distribu- Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, Lane Crawford 17 As part of his brand’s silver anniversary, Kenneth and Harrods, and Cole is publishing “Awearness: Inspiring Stories has eight stores, in- About How to Make a Difference.” I had been looking for someone who cluding Madison “ Avenue in New 25 The global fi nancial crisis and the possibility of understands how to expand the apparel York; Aspen, Colo.; Blake a worldwide recession could see the textile and Chicago; Moscow, and Lively apparel industry in for some rough times. Paris. Sokol starts at business and develop the ready-to-wear. J.Mendel today. Classifi ed Advertisements...........................................................................................26-27 — Gilles Mendel, ”J.Mendel “Clearly, the ready- to-wear has a strong TO E-MAIL REPORTERS AND EDITORS AT WWD, THE ADDRESS IS tion on a global basis, as well as evolving and focus on evening right now, which will continue, [email protected], USING THE INDIVIDUAL’S NAME. intensifying certain categories of the product.” and there are parts of that evening that can be WWD IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF ADVANCE MAGAZINE PUBLISHERS INC. COPYRIGHT ©2008 Sokol knows a thing or two about expanding a expanded,” she said. “Gilles and I are aligned in FAIRCHILD FASHION GROUP. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. traditionally dress-driven business into a multi- terms of how to grow the business.” VOLUME 196, NO. 89. WWD (ISSN 0149–5380) is published daily (except Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, with tiered fashion brand. As president of Vera Wang Mendel added, “My goal has been to make one additional issue in January, October and December, two additional issues in March, April, May, June, August and November, and three additional issues in February and September) by Fairchild Fashion Group, which is a division apparel for the past four years, Sokol played a J.Mendel a fashion and luxury brand, and hav- of Advance Magazine Publishers Inc. PRINCIPAL OFFICE: 750 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017. Shared Services key role in transforming what was then mainly ing her expertise will allow me to go there.” provided by Condé Nast Publications: S. I. Newhouse, Jr., Chairman; Charles H. Townsend, President/CEO; John W. Bellando, Executive Vice President/COO; Debi Chirichella Sabino, Senior Vice President/CFO; Jill Bright, Executive Vice President/Human Resources. 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