RIOTS UNNERVE PARIS RETAILERS/2 COLE HAAN TO EXPAND/2Women’s Wear Daily • The Retailers’ Daily Newspaper • November 8, 2005• $2.00

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House CallNEW YORK — Beyoncé fans who can’t get enough of

the pop star will be pleased with her latest move:

expanding the House of Deréon, the line she designs

with her mother, Tina Knowles. The new 47-piece

lineup, wholesaling from $17.40 to $165, bows at

Federated Department Stores, Dillard’s and specialty

stores in February for spring. “We’re trying to put the

fit of couture clothing into our clothes,” the

songstress said. “I know exactly how clothes need to

be fixed. I know if the straps are too wide or if the

bows are too big.” Here, House of Deréon’s silk and

linen jacket and shorts. For more, see pages 6 and 7.

See Abercrombie, Page10

Stepping Out of the Mall:A&F Sets Retail FutureWith Fifth Ave. FlagshipBy David Moin

NEW YORK —Abercrombie &Fitch movesbeyond the malland onto FifthAvenue with theopeningThursday of itsfirst flagship.

The store istall, dark and mysterious, larger than anyother in the chain, and potentially thebrand’s top-volume unit. Sources said the36,000-square-foot location, including

The new A&F flagship.

WWD.COMWWD, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2005

FASHIONBeyoncé and Tina Knowles were on location shooting the ad campaign forHouse of Deréon’s first full collection, which hits stores in February.

GENERALAbercrombie & Fitch has diverged from its mall-based strategy to open aflagship on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.

Cole Haan plans to rev up its brand profile by opening more stores in theU.S., China and Europe and expanding its product mix.

The top apparel and home design executive at Kmart, Lisa Schultz, hasbeen named executive vice president of Sears Holdings Apparel Design.

Germany’s MCM has unveiled 50 handbag designs and an rtw line by newcreative director Michael Michalsky, who also hold that post at Adidas.

RTW: Italian-owned British brands Ballantyne and Belstaff and luxury labelLoro Piana all have opened flagships in London.

TEXTILES: The effects of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on Louisiana coulddrive up the cost of alligator skins used in luxury goods by 40 percent.

EYEThe latest round of benefit galas began Thursday at Capitale, where LindaEvangelista was the guest of honor at the Aid for AIDS “My Hero” event.

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● KORS RETAIL POST: Michael Kors (USA) Inc. has tappedJaryn Bloom as president of retail, a new post. Bloom was mostrecently at Elie Tahari, where she held the same title and over-saw the firm’s freestanding stores and e-commerce. Previously,Bloom spent 17 years at Kenneth Cole Productions, where shebecame senior vice president and a member of its executivecommittee. She worked on developing KCP into a multibrandedbusiness and oversaw its growth from two footwear units tosome 90 freestanding stores. Kors operates three Collectionstores and four outlet units in the U.S. Bloom starts at Korstoday and reports to chief executive officer John Idol.

● UNDER ARMOUR IPO: Under Armour plans to sell 12 millionshares at $7.50 to $9.50 a share as part of its planned initial pub-lic offering. Under terms outlined in an amended prospectuswith the Securities and Exchange Commission, the IPO couldraise more than $110 million. The fast-growing Baltimore-basedcompany, which sells performance sportswear, innerwear andaccessories for women and men, has applied for a Nasdaq list-ing under the symbol UARM.

● WORLD BANK WARNS: An influenza pandemic could cost theglobal economy $800 billion in losses in a year, with $100 billionto $200 billion in the U.S., the Geneva-based World Bank warnedMonday. In addition to the health-care costs, tourism and busi-ness travel “would be severely affected,” as would retail sales,Milan Brahmbhatt, lead economist for East Asia, told an interna-tional conference. Last week, President Bush requested $7.1 bil-lion in funding from Congress to purchase vaccines and drugs toprotect against a flu pandemic.

In Brief

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By Robert Murphy

PARIS — As rampaging youthsset fire to cars and destroyedproperty across France, retailersin and around the capital ex-pressed worry as they neared thevital Christmas selling season.

Most characterized the impactof the riots as marginal for the mo-ment, but allowed that prolongedunrest could prompt tourists tocancel trips and further dent al-ready weak domestic spending.

“What is happening in the sub-urbs will affect Paris retail,” saidPhilippe de Beauvoir, presidentof the LVMH-owned Le BonMarché specialty store, located ina posh neighborhood on the LeftBank. “The impression is thatParis is at war. Tourists will wantto stay away.”

The U.S. government issued awarning to American citizenstraveling to France, as did thegovernments of Australia, Can-ada and Russia, advising theirnationals to avoid French hotspots and to exercise caution.

Rioting erupted in Paris sub-urbs Oct. 27 after two teenagerswere accidentally electrocutedin a power station in the low-in-come suburb of Clichy-Sour-Bois.

Angered youths, mostly fromareas with large Arab and Africancommunities, began rioting andburning cars, setting off France’sworse civil strife in more than 40years.

More than 4,500 cars have

been torched, including sometwo dozen in the capital over theweekend, bringing the violenceinto Paris for the first time.

President Jacques Chiraccalled emergency meetings overthe weekend and pledged astrong response to reestablishcalm. Yet police have appearedpowerless to rein in the violence.

To some retailers, the civilstrife is just the latest blow in analready bleak economic outlook.

“The retail psyche in Francealready has been damaged overthe last 18 months,” said ScottMalkin, chairman of Value Retailplc, the London company thatruns La Vallee Village, an outletshopping complex in the EasternParis suburb of Marne-La-Vallee.

“This is just more bad news.French consumption generallyis out of step with what retailerswould hope for.”

Some stores in the suburbshave been forced to close earlierthan usual out of fear for thesafety of customers and workers.

A spokeswoman for Hennes &Mauritz said the fast-fashion gianthad closed three of its stores inshopping centers around Paris “a

few hours earlier” than usual inrecent days.

“The affect is marginal forthe moment,” she said. “We’veonly closed a couple of hoursearlier on a couple of eveningsfor the moment. Our first con-cern is for the security of ourstaff and customers. It’s impossi-ble to quantify the effect on busi-ness right now.”

But some shopping centers re-ported drastic declines in week-

end business. At the UsinesCenter north of Paris, which op-erates 110 stores, a spokeswomansaid weekend business dropped40 percent. “It is clear that shop-pers are scared,” she said.

The nearby Garonor shop-ping center, with 160 stores,forced its tenants to close twohours earlier than normal.

Malkin said La Vallee Villagehad not beefed up security orclosed earlier than usual. Andthough he reported “significant”sales increases over the week-end, he added, “Maybe theywould have been greater if thiswasn’t happening.”

— With contributions fromChantal Goupil

Civil Unrest Worries French Retailers

By Holly Haber

DALLAS — Cole Haan plans torev up its brand profile by open-ing more stores in the U.S.,China and Europe, and expand-ing its product mix.

With the backing of parentcompany Nike, Cole Haan in-tends to expand by 35 to 40 storesin the U.S. within the next fiveyears, which would bring thechain to 85 to 90 units in thiscountry, said Gordon Thompson,creative director and executivevice president. Over the sameperiod, Thompson is looking toenlarge Cole Haan’s internation-al business, which includes fivefreestanding stores and 30 in-store shops, all in Japan.

“We are going to go into warpspeed of opening stores,” Thomp-son said during a visit here lastweek for a lunch with top cus-tomers at Neiman Marcus. “Forthis brand to control its destiny,it’s important to have retail.”

During his five-year tenure,Thompson has helped restyleCole Haan from a classic shoecompany that did 65 percent of itsbusiness with men to a fashionbrand with sales evenly split be-tween men and women. A big partof the women’s sales increasestemmed from introducing coatsand embellished handbags, hesaid. A sweater line launched thisfall will be expanded next spring.

“The knits and coats are sell-ing well, so it seems like sports-wear would be an obviousmove,” he said, declining tospecify a target date.

Thompson declined to dis-cuss sales figures. However, thebusiness has grown “significant-ly,” he said.

Cole Haan introduced hand-bags in 2000 and licensed G III toproduce outerwear the same year.

The company is developing amore individual logo. Thompsonhas handwritten a Cole Haanscript logo that will begin re-

placing the longstanding blockletters next spring, with full roll-out in spring 2007. “It’s a veryhandmade product, and I feltthe logo should reflect that,”Thompson said.

Thompson said he is eager tomove the design studio in threeweeks from crowded quarters on54th Street in Manhattan to a37,000-square-foot space on 18thStreet that will also house stafffor marketing, merchandisingand image.

“Over the next five years, it’sabout how to hone our image infashion and how to connect withconsumers worldwide,” Thomp-son said. “I would like Cole Haanto be known as a casual, chicAmerican brand and take it intoa full lifestyle. We could do eye-wear and home, but ultimately Iwant to grow it as a brand.”

The firm will open its 50th U.S.store Friday at NorthPark Centerin Dallas. The 2,748-square-footstore is Cole Haan’s second in thecity and reflects a strategy to de-velop business by layering storesinto major metropolitan areasthat can handle multiple doors.

“It gives us an opportunity togo into neighborhoods insteadof megamalls,” Thompson said.

Cole Haan last month openeda second unit in Houston at theGalleria mall. It is the secondstore in the company to sell onlywomen’s merchandise. The nextCole Haan store is to open inJanuary in San Antonio at theShops at La Cantera, a new open-area pedestrian mall.

Cole Haan to Expand Globally

2

“This is just more bad news. Frenchconsumption generally is out of stepwith what retailers would hope for.”— Scott Malkin, Value Retail plc

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WWD, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2005 3WWD.COM

By David Moin

NEW YORK — The top apparel and homedesign executive at Kmart, Lisa Schultz,has been named to oversee all appareldesign teams as executive vice presidentof Sears Holdings Apparel Design, a newposition.

The Schultz appointment reflects aneffort to bolster the look and quality ofapparel offerings and improve margins,although it is believed that Edward S.Lampert, chairman of Sears HoldingCorp., has been primarily focused on sell-ing assets. Sears Holdings is the parent ofthe Sears and Kmart chains.

Schultz intends to build the designteam to further the development of privatelabel merchandise. Key fashion labels atSears include Lands’ End, Apostrophe andCovington. Kmart’s key private brands areJaclyn Smith, Route 66, Attention andThalia.

Competitors such as Federated De-

partment Stores, Target and J.C. Penneyhave more successful private label appar-el programs.

However, Sears Holding is stronger inhard goods, selling private brands such asKenmore, Craftsman and DieHard atSears stores and Martha Stewart Everydayat Kmart. The company is considered aleader in selling tools, lawn and gardenproducts, home electronics and automo-tive repair supplies.

Schultz, who was senior vice presi-dent of design for Kmart, had beenreengineering Kmart’s proprietary fash-ion and home businesses, applying whatshe learned during 14 years at Gap Inc.to the mass channel.

Kmart merchants began functioningmore like general managers, rather thanselecting goods, and the intent was toexert tighter control over the designs,pricing and quality controls. Kmart hasshown some improvement emphasizingkey items and outfits, improving the flow

of goods to the shelves and eliminating alot of labels that meant nothing to con-sumers. Last year, Kmart’s women’s,men’s, kids’, accessories and jewelrywere estimated at $5 billion in sales.

“In two years, Lisa has assembled ateam of talented and enthusiastic design-ers and has refashioned and defined theKmart apparel line,’’ Lampert said in astatement. “She has also been a valuablecontributor to the development of ourstrategy. Lisa’s demonstrated ability toattract, retain and develop creative talentwill be critical as she expands our com-bined design organization and works withour valuable design associates in NewYork City [where Kmart has a design stu-dio] and Hoffman Estates [Ill.],” whereSears has a design studio.

Schultz will report directly to Lampertand have responsibility for all of Sears’and Kmart’s apparel design teams, rais-ing the possibility that there will be moresharing of merchandise between the two

chains in the future, and similarities inthe development of fashion offerings.Sears Holding declined to comment onthat possibility, or discuss how much ofthe company’s overall sales volume isrepresented by private label.

Sears Holdings had $55 billion inannual revenues last year, and operates3,900 full-line and specialty stores in theU.S. and Canada.

Before joining Kmart in 2003, Schultzwas executive vice president of productdevelopment and design at Gap for 14years. In an interview with WWD lastyear, Schultz said, “I’m not afraid tobring great design to the people. I amvery practical. I feel like I understandwhat the customer wants.”

Sears continues to search for a chiefmerchant to replace Louis Padilla, who leftabout a month ago. In addition, the Kmartdivision is searching for a chief marketingofficer to replace Paul Guyardo, whodeparted last month to work for Direct TV.

ROYALS ON THE BEACH: A wacky San Franciscoinstitution can rack up another royal visitor.“Beach Blanket Babylon,” the madcap musicalcomedy review that’s been running at Club Fugazifor 31 years, gave a special performance for thePrince of Wales and the Duchess of CornwallSunday night, giving them perhaps the most off-beat evening of their recent trip Stateside.

When the prince and duchess arrived,flanked by San Francisco’s chief of protocol,Charlotte

Mailliard Shultz, and her husband, formerSecretary of State George Shultz, they took a fewminutes for an unscheduled grip-and-grin in theaudience. Local luminaries in their vicinityincluded Ann and Gordon Getty; Mayor GavinNewsom and his wife, Kimberly; novelist DanielleSteele; events planner Stanlee Gatti, andsocialite Denise Hale.

But no one was more excited about theopportunity to touch royalty than Cindy Asner, wifeof Ed Asner and aunt of mayor Newsome. Asnerliterally crawled on her knees across a row ofchairs towards the prince, only to be rebuffed byhis security. Undaunted, she dodged and bobbedher way through the crowd until, sure enough, aminute later she could be seen talking to theprince and gesticulating with antic energy.Eventually the show began, and it included a nodto the guests of honor, with the lead character,Snow White, singing, “We’re honored, yourHighness/We hope your visit is the finest,/TheDuchess is so charming,/Does she share yourpassion for organic farming?”

After the performance, the royal couple wentbackstage to congratulate the cast and producerJo Schuman Silver, widow of “Beach Blanket”creator Steve Silver. As Silver reported at asmall dinner in the Getty’s kitchen later thatevening, Charles and Camilla took time to speakto every cast member. “He said the show wasmarvelous,” recalled Silver, who got a standingovation when she walked into the Getty manse.“And he said, ‘I recall having been herebefore.’” Silver reminded him that he hadaccompanied the Queen on her visit to SanFrancisco in 1983, when the play was firststaged. “You mean my mother?” he replied.

PARTYING HARD IN TEXAS: Evidently the folksdown in San Antonio can’t get enough ofRoberto Cavalli — or at least his hospitality. Atthe Cavalli charity event at Saks Fifth Avenuelast week, guests partied well into the nightwhile boogieing away with the designer on thedance floor. But in cleaning up afterward, stafffound one reveler who had gone a bit too far —she had passed out and her makeup had run somuch it not only stained, but ruined, some ofthe furniture rented for the Cavalli lounge.

By Robert Murphy

PARIS — MCM, a dusty relic of the Eighties,thinks it can become luxury’s latest Lazarus.

The German accessories brand hasunveiled 50 handbag designs and a capsulewomen’s ready-to-wear collection by its newcreative director, Michael Michalsky, who isalso global creative director at Adidas.

The presentation in Munich underscoredambitions to elevate the brand in Europe andNorth America, where it has faded into avague memory of black-and-gold, logo-cladbags.

Over the last decade or so, MCM, found-ed 29 years ago, has flourished in Asia,where sales last year were about $60 mil-lion, Michalsky said.

“What’s interesting for me is to take thisbrand with an image that’s been in thedumps and to make it interesting for peoplelike me and my friends,” he said. “I want tobuild it into an international luxury brand,developing its German roots.”

Michalsky said he would emphasize a “quiet aestheticthat is about craftsmanship and nondesign.”

“I’ve reworked the logo a bit,” he said. “The logo is well-known.”

The relaunch is an international effort. Earlier this year,South Korea’s Sungjoo Design Tech acquired control of thebrand and appointed Ralph Polese, a former Gucci Group

executive who also has worked at Macy’s, aspresident and chief executive officer.

Michalsky said the plan is to open a flag-ship in Munich next year that wouldexpress the brand’s new direction and val-ues. MCM also will host a showroom pres-entation during the next Milan FashionWeek, and hopes for a runway show in thenear future, Michalsky said.

The designer said he would continue hisrole at Adidas, where he has been instru-mental in bringing more fashion cachet tothe German activewear giant through col-laborations with Yohji Yamamoto andStella McCartney.

“Adidas is very supportive and very happyfor me,” Michalsky said. “Now they have aguarantee I won’t get bored. At Adidas, we’vehad luxury designers do sport clothes, so whycan’t it be the other way around?”

Michalsky has already bridged the twobrands, creating 250 pairs of limited-editionAdidas sneakers sporting the MCM logo that

retail for 300 euros, about $353 at current exchange. Prices forthe new line, which begins retailing this spring, range from400 to 4,000 euros, or from about $471 to $4,717.

“A lot of people know about MCM,” Michalsky said.“When I told my hip-hop friends in America, they said,‘Yeah, More Cash More Money.’”

The brand’s initials actually mean the equivalent in Germanof “Modern Creation Munich.”

NEW YORK — Vera Wang made her way to Shanghai onSaturday to accept the international fashion designer of theyear award at the fifth annual China Fashion Awards.

Ever the multitasker, the designer also used the occasionto be on hand for Sunday’s opening of The Perfect Wedding,her new bridal salon in the Shangri-La Hotel, where theawards were also held.

The awards were presented by Channel Young, the only TVchannel in mainland China to focus on fashion. Wang, who isof Chinese descent, was honored for her innovative designs.

The ceremony at the Pudong Shangri-La Hotel attractedother fashion heavyweights. Wolfgang Ley, founder and globalpresident of Escada, and Tom Murry, president of CalvinKlein, supported this year’s CFA by hosting their own partiesto celebrate the event.

The store at the Pudong Shangri-La Hotel houses a vari-ety of her wedding gowns and eveningwear from her bridaland couture collections, as well as the designer’s signaturewedding gifts, stationery and tableware offerings. Designedto be a one-stop shopping experience, The Perfect Weddingis staffed with wedding experts to help couples select ven-

ues, themes and entertainment for their weddings, andattire and gift registries.

The Pudong Shangri-La, which has long been a favoritewedding venue for couples, teamed with The Link Weddingin Singapore, a luxury bridal boutique, to open The PerfectWedding.

— Rosemary Feitelberg

Fashion Scoops

Vera in Shanghai

Sears Holdings Taps Schultz for Apparel Design

MCM Seeking Revival in Europe, North AmericaAn MCM

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A Vera Wang gown at

the The Perfect

Wedding in Shanghai.

WWD, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 20054

“The nanny’s booked two weeks straight,” admittedYvonne Force Villareal at the DIA Art Foundation’s fallgala. “Auction week is coming up, there’s a big partyevery night, then there’s Art Basel. I’ll rest atThanksgiving.” Indeed, it might be said that amarathon runner has nothing on a peripatetic party

queen in the months of October and November, when there is noworthy cause quite so important as the one tomorrow night, theone the night after that, and the one after that.

The most recent round began Thursday at Capitale, whereLinda Evangelista was the guest of honor at the Aid for AIDS “MyHero” gala. “I just got back from India,” the hero said. “It’s reallyhorrible. The government there says 5 million people are infected.There are really 11 million infected and there’s such a stigma.Doctors won’t touch people who are HIV positive; the celebritiesin Bollywood won’t get involved.”

Others in the crowd included MoMA curator Terry Riley,Clarissa Bronfman, Patricia Velasquez, and Adriana Cisneros deGriffin, who had helped organize the evening. “I started outcounting pills,” Cisneros said. “After a couple of years, they put meon the board. And because I’m Latin, I have a major predispositionfor parties.”

The following night, Villareal, Francescoand Alba Clemente, Helmut Lang and

Michael Ovitz showed up at SkylightStudios for the DIA foundation’s gala.Margherita Missoni, whose familywas one of the evening’s hosts, isherself pursuing a career in thearts: She’s studying acting at theLee Strasberg Theatre and FilmInstitute, where she’s currentlyworking on a production of “The

Maids” with fellow student MariaCarla Boscono. “No one’s invited [to

the performance],” she laughed.The tuckered Missoni then met up on

Saturday with boyfriend Prince ErnstAugust of Hanover at the Phillips de Purygallery downtown. There Princess Gloriavon Thurn und Taxis was being honored bythe likes of Tom Ford and Larry Gagosianwith a lavish dinner in anticipation ofMonday night’s auction of her contemporaryart collection. “That’s what I love about theprincess,” Simon de Pury said. “She’salways steps ahead of anyone else. Alreadyshe’s selling her Eighties and Nineties artbecause she’s onto the 21st century now.”

The night before in San Francisco, YvesSaint Laurent designer Stefano Pilaticontinued his American tour. “Is it all rightif I admit I have a crush on him?” VanessaGetty asked the four dozen friends — including Alexis Swanson, Victoire Reynal, TrevorTraina, Skylar Ulrich, Sloan Barnett, Stephen Jenkins and Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia —who’d gathered Friday night in the Pacific Heights manse she shares with husband, BillGetty, to celebrate the designer’s first “official” West Coast visit. “He really is marvelouslooking,” piped in Cornelia Guest, who’d flown up from L.A. with pal Paul Price.

The ladies were clearly fawning over Pilati at Getty’s dinner, and the same went for aluncheon and trunk show at Neiman Marcus. What began as an event for 40 swelled to morethan 60 in the day before Pilati’s arrival.

He may have conquered San Francisco, but Pilati isn’t quite ready for Los Angeles. “I’m nota celebrity chaser,” he said, fully acknowledging how odd that might sound considering themany celebrities chasing him. “I prefer to have an intimate relationship with someone withwhom I can create something special. I’d rather do a great project than just trying to get myclothes on celebrities who I do not know. I’m not a wannabe.”

eye®

HOLLYWOOD — Teddy’s, Amanda Scheer-Demme’s latest loungehere, officially opened Monday night, but the moodily lit den in-side the Roosevelt Hotel has already been inhabited by the likesof Kirsten Dunst, Bono, Lindsay Lohan, Dennis Hopper and EvaMendes.

Scheer-Demme — who hosts her notorious poolsideTropicana Bar at the same hotel — threw a little birthday partyon Oct. 26 for the place’s namesake, her late husband and direc-tor, Ted Demme. Friends such as Val Kilmer, Heather Grahamand Peter and Jacqui Getty were among those who turned outfor some Bluebird cupcakes.

“Teddy would’ve loved this,” she said the night before thebirthday, gliding her fingers along a bar top covered in thick,textured leather. In fact, throughout the 3,000-square-foot space,which is accessed off Hollywood Boulevard or from the newDakota chophouse inside, there are touches that she chose lessfor their durability and more for their aesthetic value. Every“vignette,” as she calls the many quasi-private seating areas,contains a different table, some intricately carved, others inlaidin Moroccan or Chinese style, still others sleek and modern.

But the greatest effect is from the roughly sculpted arches

and old bricks that liken the interior architecture to a wine cav-ern in, say, Madrid’s Plaza Mayor. As authentically aged as theinterior appears, Scheer-Demme claims “it’s a complete fabri-cation. The place was like a bad warehouse when I walked in.The original Cinegrill was very Deco. Then people with no tastecame in and butchered history, which is sad.”

With designer Dodd Mitchell, Scheer-Demme restored thespace with a sense of time and place the Hollywood way — withsome very deft scenic re-creation.

Teddy’s may already have drawn many of the same VIPs whopartied hard at the Tropicana this summer, giving the place an in-stant cachet and crowning Scheer-Demme as the West Coast AmySacco. But Teddy’s, which will only be open Monday throughThursday, is not the Tropicana, its owner insists. (Nor is it the lessexclusive Library, a third Scheer-Demme production at theRoosevelt that recently opened in part of the lobby between Teddy’sand Dakota and welcomes hotel guests and the general public.)

Guests at Teddy’s are handpicked. If you’re not on the list, ordon’t know the gatekeeper (be it Scheer-Demme or one of herguys), don’t bother. “It’s not about beauty and it’s not about age,”she says, confessing it’s her dream to get Merv Griffin in here.“It’s about people who are contributors to the world from allwalks of culture.”

— Rose Apodaca

WWD.COM

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Elisabeth von

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Princesses

Maria Theresia,

Gloria, and

Elisabeth von

Thurn und Taxis.

Stefano Pilati and Vanessa GettyStefano Pilati and Vanessa Getty in YSL.

YSL ceo Valerie Hermann and

Cornelia Guest, both in YSL.

YSL ceo Valerie Hermann and

Cornelia Guest, both in YSL.

Margherita

Missoni in

Missoni at DIA.

Margherita

Missoni in

Missoni at DIA.

Linda Evangelista

in Lanvin.

Linda Evangelista

in Lanvin.

Francesco and

Alba Clemente

Francesco and

Alba Clemente

Skylar Ulrich

in YSL.

Tom Ford and

Larry Gagosian

Tom Ford and

Larry Gagosian

LADY OF THE NIGHT

WWD, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2005 5

By Valerie Seckler

NEW YORK — The price deflation that hasafflicted the apparel business seeminglyforever has actually afforded the fashionsector some insulation from the decliningnumber of females in the workforce —and resulting drop in household income.

That’s the theory of Marshal Cohen, au-thor of just-published “Why Customers DoWhat They Do” (McGraw Hill, $24.95), indescribing the good news-bad news sce-nario emerging for apparel players frompatterns in the U.S. economy.

“Apparel leads all industries in pricedeflation, with prices falling [a total of] 4percent over the past 10 years,” Cohen,chief industry analyst at market re-searcher The NPD Group, said in an in-terview. “The only other industry that’sthat way is consumer electron-ics. People tend to buy apparelwith or without a lot of money intheir pocket.”

With replacement needs thekey purchase trigger, relativelyless money in a household’s cof-fers tends to delay such apparelbuys for only a short time — afew months.

“What does change is wherethey buy it and how much theyspend,” Cohen said. And pricedeflation makes apparel pur-chasing easier in householdswith diminished funds.

This is good news for a fash-ion sector facing a declining fe-male population in the U.S.workforce, which has lost 8.8 mil-lion women from 1999 through2003, marking a 13 percent de-crease in females ages 25 to 54who were employed, according toBureau of Labor Statistics dataCohen cites in his book.

“We see more and morewomen either working from homein a more entrepreneurial way ornot working at all,” Cohen writes.“Some women are discoveringthat it is better financially andotherwise for the household to dowithout the second income andthe extra expenses for child care,wardrobe and other career costs.”

In such households, Cohensaid in the interview, women typ-ically need only one wardrobeand are spending the remaininghousehold budget on clothes forthe entire family, so the womentend to spend less on things theywould wear themselves.

From these dynamics em-erged, in 2004, the first increasein spending on women’s apparelin four years, expenditures thatreached $95 billion, up 2.2 per-cent from $93 billion in 2003.Women who didn’t have jobs ac-counted for $37 billion, or 39 per-cent of that spending, in 2004.

Besides swings in women’semployment, the apparel sector,for one, has been hurt by a con-sumer who is increasingly frus-trated in her efforts to find theproducts she wants — the impe-tus, Cohen said, for him to writehis book. Part of the problem isthat “manufacturers are on aquest to produce products basedon a search for better profit mar-gins, rather than satisfying cus-tomers,” he said.

In addition, women are becom-ing harder to satisfy as they be-come better informed.

In the realm of apparel, de-partment stores have disappoint-ed most shoppers, Cohen contend-ed. Grabbing for new customers

even as they downsize services, departmentstores have left many of their once loyalshoppers behind, resulting, the authorwrites, in a loss of “5 percent of their salesover the last eight years to mass merchantsand specialty brands and retailers.”

Further, with the average cost of foodrising 1 percentage point more than theaverage U.S. income — 3.5 percent ver-sus 2.5 percent — department storeshave been squeezed, particularly as lux-ury retailers have offered more afford-able goods and mass retailers have beenselling designer items at value prices.

Cohen said the road out — in fact, thepath best pursued by most any marketeraiming at the apparel consumer — is toplay to a person’s lifestyle, rather than lifestage, as one’s lifestyle is a primary influ-ence on the decision to buy a given item.

That’s because people at different stagesin their lives are more likely to be living ina similar manner than they were in thepast. For example, he said, school-agedchildren are more likely to be involved ina range of after-school activities than theywere 10 or 20 years ago, freeing up timefor their parents to indulge in activities oftheir own.

As a result, he said marketers ought tofocus on selling a brand rather than sim-ply selling a product. The best way to doso, Cohen maintained, is through what hecalls the five Es: educate consumersabout the product; explore who the cus-tomer is; help people elevate theirlifestyles; entertain, whether informingabout a product or providing a shoppingenvironment, and evaluate one’s progresswith one’s customers.

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WWD.COM

WWD, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 20056

By Lauren DeCarlo

NEW YORK — The House of Deréon is ready for itsclose-up.

Beyoncé and her mother, Tina Knowles, were on lo-cation at a private home in Yonkers, N.Y., last weekshooting the advertising campaign for the contem-porary brand’s spring collection — the first fullline, slated to hit stores in February.

“We wanted [the campaign] to be as authen-tic as possible,” said Beyoncé, seated in one ofthe 18 rooms at Greystone Court, a 19th-cen-tury castle overlooking the Hudson River.“The name of the brand is my grandmother’sname, a Creole name, so we wanted the pic-tures to have a lot of feeling and soul. Wewanted to do the shoot in a house wherewe can mix antiques with the modern.We wanted it to have a lot of texture.”

While the exact details of the cam-paign remain under wraps, the springcollection, Beyoncé said, has a colorpalette rich with beige, cream, peach andpale aqua and consists of 47 pieces.“Colors that remind you of sunshine,”she added. Beyoncé said one of her fa-vorite pieces was a one-piece short-suitthat was set to hit stores in the summer.

“Mom, what’s the technical word forthat one?” Beyoncé asked about the silkcharmeuse piece in a large poppy print.

“We’re calling it short-alls,” Tina an-swered. “It’s very vintage-inspired.”

Beyoncé and Tina star in the ads,which were shot by Norman Jean Royand will be featured in magazinesbeginning in February. The moth-er-daughter duo were pho-tographed in a number of roomsin the castle, owned by fashiondesigner Mary McFadden’s ex-husband, Kohle Yohannan, don-ning various looks from thespring collection. Though a sam-pling of the House of Deréon col-lection, such as jeans and outerwear,is in stores now, consumers will get thefull offering in February. Over the nexttwo months, the Knowleses and the Houseof Deréon team are building brand aware-ness among their core demographic, 18- to35-year-old women.

“It’s my job to get the message out,” saidMathew Knowles, Beyoncé’s father, whomanaged his daughter’s Grammy-winninggroup, Destiny’s Child, and who’s nowspearheading his family’s foray into fash-ion. “We’re going to take baby steps and de-velop the brand slowly and do it right thefirst time. We’re not trying to become thebiggest brand in the world tomorrow. We’rehonored to be in the fashion industry andwe’ll learn as we go. We’re humble about that.”

The growth of the brand now, according toMathew Knowles, will be split into variousphases and executed with the help of strategicpartners. “ABC, Sony Music, E! Entertainmentand L’Oréal have come in as partners,” he said,adding that various events, such as Beyoncé’supcoming appearance on “The Oprah WinfreyShow,” will help grow brand awareness.Fashion shows, events coinciding with the re-lease of her new film, “Dreamgirls,” in late 2006and a lengthy, behind-the-scenes special on E! arein the works. Mathew said the plan is to focus on six keycities for the launch: Houston, Miami, Chicago, Atlanta,Los Angeles and New York.

In late October, Charles “Chip” Rosen was broughton to strengthen the foundation of the brand as presi-dent and general manager. Rosen is responsible for op-erations, merchandising, design, sales, marketing, li-

censing and manufacturing of the collection. “This campaign really gives light to the DNA of the

brand,” Rosen said. “Tina and her passion and love forthe industry really started in south Louisiana where hermother is from. This isn’t about her waking up one daysaying, ‘I’ve got a famous daughter now, I’ve got to get

into the fashion business.’ ” In fact, Tina had been working as the design-

er and stylist for Destiny’s Child throughoutthe group’s career. “Her approach to stylingDestiny’s Child was different,” Mathew said.“When everyone wanted her to put the girlsin khakis or fatigues and boots, she wasdoing glamour. Tina single-handedly changed

the scope and the look of fashion in themusic industry with the look of Destiny’s

Child. She has a vision and she can ar-ticulate it.”

Wholesale prices for the House ofDeréon collection are between$17.40 and $165. A lace baby-dolldress wholesales for $143; a seer-sucker jacket has a wholesale priceof $78.50, and coordinating

cropped pants wholesale for $39.The sportswear collection is li-

censed to Tarrant Apparel Group, aLos Angeles-based private labelmanufacturer. In May 2004, theKnowleses created BeyondProductions with Jason and ArthurRabin and Cory Silverstein of WearMe Apparel/Kids Headquartershere. The partnership provides theinfrastructure for licensing and brandmanagement for House of Deréon.

The collection will be distributedto Federated Department Stores andDillard’s as well as specialty bou-tiques nationwide. Rosen declinedto provide a wholesale volume pro-jection for the first year.

Tina said she’s currently split-ting her time between Houstonand New York, where the compa-ny is based. She flies out here

every Wednesday to work on the col-lection. Beyoncé, on the other hand, saidNew York is her home these days.

“We have a lab here where everybodygives ideas and we do our treatments. It’snot like we do our sketches and sendthem off to be interpreted. We design ourline,” Tina said.

Beyoncé admitted that since she’shad the opportunity to wear the world’smost coveted designers, she’s picked upa few tricks of the trade. “Fit is very im-portant to me,” she said. “We’re tryingto put the fit of couture clothing into ourclothes. I know exactly how clothesneed to be fixed. I know if the straps aretoo wide or if the bows are too big.Those details mean so much.”

“Beyoncé is also a shoe fanatic andshe’s sent the shoes back numeroustimes,” Tina added, referencing thelaunch of House of Deréon shoes, slat-ed for spring. House of Deréon signeda licensing agreement with San Diego-based House of Brands, the footwearmanufacturer and distributor, in July.

“She’ll send them back saying, ‘Lose thestrap,’ or ‘The opening in the toe is too big,’ ” Tinaadded. The wholesale price range of House of Deréonshoes is between $40 and $70. Styles range from boots toclassic pumps.

“These clothes are really for a woman who is fun,”Beyoncé said. “She doesn’t want to look like everyoneelse, but she wants to look classy. It’s really for a womanwho wants to be on top of fashion.”

Beyoncé’sIn the House

Cropped

denim jacket

with cotton

voile artist

blouse with

House of

Deréon jeans,

left, and

pleated

Creole blouse

with House of

Deréon jeans.

Printed

silk-

charmeuse

short-alls,

left, with a

seersucker

suit, by

House of

Deréon.

A lace

baby-doll

dress by

House of

Deréon.

7WWD, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2005WWD.COM

Tina and Beyoncé

Knowles in

House of Deréon.

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LONDON — The Italians are marching into Mayfair.Italian-owned British brands Ballantyne and Belstaff, and luxury label Loro Piana

have all opened flagships here this fall in a bid to raise their profiles and capitalize onbrisk trading in the city.

The Scottish cashmere company Ballantyne, now majority-owned by CharmeInvestments, the private equity fund run by the di Montezemolo family, has reopeneda 2,700-square-foot store in the same site it occupied during the Sixties. The lavender-colored store, at 153a Bond Street, is the company’s first new-generation flagship.

“We love British tradition, and with Ballantyne, we’re giving it Italian oomph,” saidLuca di Montezemolo with a snap of his fingers during the opening party lastThursday. “See these?” he said, pointing to the yellowy-green,teal and aqua knits and wovens. “These are Italian colors, theseclothes have Italian flair.”

Guests at the party included Diego Della Valle, GabriellaWindsor, Clementina di Montezemolo, Luca’s daughter, and a lotof tanned and well-dressed young Italian men. Later, the di

Montezemolos held a private dinner at Drones Club, a private Italian restaurant nearBond Street.

In an earlier interview, Matteo di Montezemolo, chief executive of CharmeInvestments, said the London opening was more of a marketing move than anythingelse. “The U.K. is our biggest market in terms of prestige, but not revenues. And we’rein love with the style here,” he said.

The store differs radically from Ballantyne’s Notting Hill location in that it’s moresophisticated — and doesn’t have a psychedelic decor. “Notting Hill was all about howBallantyne was changing, becoming younger and more fun,” di Montezemolo said.

“Bond Street will draw more of an establishment clientele. We’ve used lavender, whiteand gold. It’s a lot more glamorous and high style. We also show-case the cashmere knitwear alongside coats and accessories,which are much smaller but important product categories.”

Di Montezemolo said he believes the blend of Italian style andbusiness savvy with Ballantyne’s Scottish knitwear heritage is amagical one. “We’re mixing two very different worlds here, but weknew from the start that without the Scottish world, we’d be zero.”

Next door to Ballantyne, at 153 Bond Street, Loro Piana hasopened a 5,400-square-foot store, its second stand-alone unithere after Sloane Street. Sergio Loro Piana, chief executive,said it was a necessary step.

“London is now one of the few cities in the world where wehave two locations. Over the past five years, we’ve registereddouble-digit sales increases at the Sloane Street store, so wedecided on this additional investment,” he said.

Loro Piana added that Sloane Street is more for area residents,while Bond Street will be more for locals and tourists. The Bond Street store is one of LoroPiana’s largest in the world, and features a made-to-measure room that fulfills orders foreverything from bespoke suits, coats and sweaters to yacht and private jet interiors.

Nearby, another Italian-owned U.K. brand is laying down retail roots. Belstaff, the81-year-old outerwear and sportswear company owned by the Malenotti family’sClothing Company, has opened at 12-13 Conduit Street.

Belstaff, which is now based near Venice, started life as a motorcycle clothing man-ufacturing company in the north of England. Now, it offers sportswear, outerwear andaccessories in its 6,500-square-foot-store.

“Conduit Street provided the right mix for us,” said Michele Malenotti, public rela-tions and communications director for the brand. “It’s still growing as a street, and willattract commercial and luxury traffic.” Belstaff joins Moschino, Voyage, YohjiYamamoto and Vivienne Westwood on the street.

Belstaff ’s London store opening is the first in a series; others are planned in Milanand Florence by the end of 2005.

London’s Mayfair is only the beginning for budding businesses Belstaff andBallantyne. (Loro Piana, a more established brand, already has 72 stores worldwide.)Belstaff is looking to build its U.S. business in particular, and plans to open a boutiqueon West Broadway in New York by next year. Ballantyne eventually plans to open onMadison Avenue. Currently, it sells at Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue.

— Samantha Conti, with contributions from Nina Jones

Ready-to-Wear Report

8 WWD, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2005WWD.COM

LONDON — When Orla Kiely, the Irishborn, London-based designer known forher organic-inspired prints, was plan-ning her first store outside Asia, she hadan unusual design mission.

“I didn’t want it to seem too much likea shop,” said Kiely of her new Londonflagship on Covent Garden’s MonmouthStreet. “I wanted it to have a friendlyfeel, but to be flexible space too, so peo-ple don’t get bored with the store.”

To achieve this, Kiely, in collaborationwith architect Gerard Taylor, has lined

the walls with removable wooden slatsshaped like her signature leaf print, sothe displays of leather bags and tweedcoats that hang from the wall can bechanged at a moment’s notice. Ratherthan using shelves, change purses and keyrings are hidden in a Fifties wooden chestof draws, which Kiely has sourced fromAmsterdam and lined with her own print.

“We wanted the store to reflect thebrand’s value system, rather than just beabout product,” Dermott Rowan, Kiely’sbusiness partner and husband, said dur-ing a walk-through of the store.

The 900-square-foot space, which ishoused over two floors, is Kiely’s fourthstand-alone store and the first outsideAsia, where the company has three unitsin Tokyo, including a flagship inRoppongi Hills that opened in 2003, aswell as several shop-in-shop units inJapan and South Korea. The company’sbusiness in Asia is operated by Itochu.

Kiely turned to London for her nextopening because she and Rowan regardthe company as “a London brand.” Shetrained at the city’s Royal College of Art,and works with an international designteam at her South London studio.

“We chose Monmouth Street, as it’s aplace that people discover. It’s tuckedaway,” said Kiely, whose store is alongsideKiehl’s, lingerie boutique Coco de Mer

and across from the Covent Garden Hotel.Kiely added the street attracts a mix ofCovent Garden’s media crowd, shoppersand tourists looking “off the beaten track.”

The Monmouth Street store is the onlyone outside Asia to carry Kiely’s fullrange of products in one location, includ-ing her ready-to-wear line, leather acces-sories and a travel line comprising lug-gage, vinyl wash bags and vinyl suitcases,including some printed with tiny cars.

Kiely’s rtw line includes coats in Irishtweed and wool, dresses in jersey, silkand wool and knit cardigans, sweatersand ponchos. Prices range from about$67 for a cotton T-shirt to approximately

$1,134 for a fleece-lined neoprene coat.Having previously dabbled in the

homeware market by designing a line ofwallpaper for Habitat, Kiely saw to itthat the Monmouth Street store carriesher wool rugs in four color ways thatretail for about $607. Prices at the storestart at $37 for a leather key ring.

Rowan declined to give a first-yearsales estimate for the store, but Kiely saidthe response has been “so good” they areconsidering boutiques in other cities.

“We’re going to start here in London,and go from there,” Kiely said. “but itwould be lovely to move on to other cities.”

— N.J.

The interior of the Belstaff store in London.

Right, Ballantyne has reopened in the site it had in the Sixties.

The interior of the Belstaff store in London.

Right, Ballantyne has reopened in the site it had in the Sixties.

Left and above, Orla Kiely’s new boutique on Covent Garden’s Monmouth Street.

Bond Street’s Little Italy

Kiely Comes to London

By Sophia Chabbott

NEW YORK — Exotic skins dominated the designer handbag category this fall,but a slowdown may loom for next fall.

The industry is anxious about the effects of Hurricanes Katrina andRita on Louisiana, the state that harvests alligators for theirskins and is the biggest supplier of such goods to American andEuropean designers, including Ralph Rucci, LambertsonTruex, Judith Leiber, VBH and Darby Scott.

“We are going to [catch] 32,000 from the wild harvest program[this year, which is about] two to three thousand gators fewer be-cause of the hurricane,” said Noel Kinler, program manager forthe Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

He said the relatively small number of alligators lost tohunters this year is attributable to displacement from theirnatural habitats and the fact that many have been feeding onthe abundance of fish and foul the hurricanes displaced,which discourages them from taking the hunters’ bait.

He estimated a slightly more than 40 percentincrease in the price of alligator skins as a re-sult. Kinler said the average cost of skin perfoot was $22.50 for 2005. That may increaseto $30 or $32 per foot by 2006.

“The bottom line is that we don’t knowyet,” he said, adding there could be long-term environmental consequences.

Christine Plott Redd, sales andmarketing director of the Griffin,Ga.-based American Tanning &Leather Co., said she wants to dis-pel the rumors that the alligator sup-ply is threatened.

“There have been waves of speculation in theluxury fashion houses all over the world as to whatwill happen to the American alligator supply in thewake of Hurricane Katrina,” said Plott Redd.“However, there are plenty of alligators beingsupplied to the market, so there is no need topanic about reduced supply. The prices are ele-vated, yes, but that is a direct result of a healthyand strong demand for luxury goods.”

Accessories designers that use the skins in their collections are mostly on the fenceabout how much the increased alligator skin prices will affect their businesses next year.

Cece Cord, designer and president of her eponymous three-year-old handbag linethat uses alligator and crocodile skins, said her supplier doesn’t yet have a handle onthe situation. For spring, she continued to show a multitude of alligator and crocodilebags, from totes for every day to clutches for evening.

“I take [my alligator bag] everywhere with me. It’s not saved for special occasions.I take mine to the grocery store,” she said, emphasizing the changing image of an alli-gator handbag from austere to something young, fresh and luxurious.

She added, however, “Down the line, I’m sure it is going to have some long-term ef-fects.”

Alexandra Knight, a Houston accessory designer who uses exotics exclusively, saidher business has surged over the past few years. She believes the prices of alligator

skin will increase, but isn’t worried about a decline in sales of her $1,550 to$9,150 bags.

“When you’re committed to paying [an average of] $2,650 on a bag, youwant the best,” she said. “[An exotic skin bag is] the most luxurious

purchase.”Exotic skins in general have been increasing in popularity,

whether alligator or python or ostrich. Robert Burke, senior vice president of fashion at Bergdorf

Goodman, told WWD in August that the increase in populari-ty of the exotic-skin handbag is rooted in the consumer’squest for the ultimate status symbol. Because of its exclusivenature, not everyone is carrying such a handbag.

“There’s a bit of a rebellion against people having bagsthat everyone else has,” Burke said. “And crocodile, ostrich

and snakeskin bags fill that void because they are the ulti-mate in luxury handbags and aren’t easily knocked off.

It’s very difficult to craft a [faux] python bag out ofcowhide or calfskin. When people see a real

exotic skin bag, they know it.”Saks Fifth Avenue senior fashion director

Michael Fink said although exotics weren’tprevalent in handbags for spring, he is worriedabout next fall.

“We’re moving out of alligator and croco-dile and more into python and ostrich

[for spring],” he said. “But with fall’s min-imalism, and lack of hardware on bags,an alligator or crocodile bag can reallylook great. Of course, it could just be the

perfect excuse to charge more money. Butwith a luxury item like an alligator bag, ifit’s the right bag, you’ll always have that

customer [who buys it].”Alligator skins aren’t the only design ma-

terials that accessories makers are watching.They have begun to fret about the supply offeathers from China and India due to the avianbird flu scare.

Ostrich and peacock feathers are used inhandbags by companies like Valentino, Badgley Mischka and

Malini Murjani, and in hair accessories by Alex and Ani.Jay Dersh, head of New York-based feather wholesaler Dersh Feather, and Jon

Coles, president of the fashion division of the American Plume & Fancy Feather Co.,already have to follow new codes instated by the U.S. government a year ago.

“It’s still doable,” Dersh said. “We just have more red tape to deal with.”Coles doesn’t see the possible pandemic affecting the fashion sector of the feather

trade.“We’re having the feathers sterilized [in the country of origin],” said Coles, whose

feathers are used by Bob Mackie and Patricia Field.Coles said prices increased 5 to 7 percent due to the extra sterilization process.“I’m hoping there won’t be a knee-jerk reaction,” said Coles, adding that compa-

nies that manufacture feather dusters from Chinese chicken feathers will be hurtmore than the fashion industry. “I don’t think the feather industry is in any big trou-ble in the U.S.”

WWD, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2005 9

Textile & Trade ReportWWD.COM

By Evan Clark

WASHINGTON — Bob Zane, chairman of the U.S. Association of Importers of Textiles andApparel, and senior vice president at Liz Claiborne, has urged the Bush administration toadd apparel and textiles to a program that gives qualifying countries duty-free access tothe U.S. market.

“If we’re to do something to help developing countries, which is the goal of [theGeneralized System of Preferences], then dealing with textiles and apparel represents aperfect opportunity,” said Zane, testifying Thursday at a hearing of the interagency TradePolicy Staff Committee.

The panel is considering the renewal of the 30-year-old GSP at the end of next year.The program provides duty-free access to the U.S. in more than 4,650 products from 144countries and territories. Until a broad system of quotas was phased out this year, appareland textiles did not qualify for the program, although certain regions, such as the CaribbeanBasin and Africa, have separate preference programs.

“The transition to a quota-free world has created great anxiety among many developingcountries who fear that they cannot compete with larger textile-producing countries,” Zanesaid. “Rather than try to create one new preference program after another in a piecemealapproach, which we all know is a draining and difficult uphill battle for the administration,the Congress and the business community, the GSP program offers the best vehicle to pro-vide development assistance through trade.”

Reducing duties would also help apparel and textile importers that Zane said are bur-dened by high tariffs, which ultimately cost the consumer $27 billion annually, he contended.

Missy Branson, senior vice president of the National Council of Textile Organizations,said adding apparel and textiles to the GSP would hurt the U.S. textile industry.

“You’re opening up your market to trade and preference without getting any market ac-cess in return, and we’re already forced to compete against heavily subsidized exports fromChina and India and other countries,” Branson said. “Textiles have always been viewed as asensitive category and we’re still trying to adjust to the removal of quotas.”

By John Zarocostas

GENEVA — Pressuring China into allowing the value of its currency, theyuan, to float upward is not likely to have much impact on its soaring appar-el and textile exports, Lawrence R. Klein, a Nobel Laureate for economics,said last week.

“A basic reason is that the wage differential between China and manyother trading partners is so large that this contribution to price advantage infavor of China’s exports, in many sectors, dominates currency movements,”Klein said in a keynote address Wednesday to a forum of the United NationsConference on Trade & Development.

China in July abandoned the yuan’s decade-long solo peg to the dollar — at arate of 8.28 yuan to $1 — in favor of a managed float based on a basket of cur-rencies. So far, this move has only resulted in a minor appreciation of the yuan.

Critics of Chinese trade policy contend that the yuan is undervalued byas much as 40 percent, putting U.S. companies at a competitive disadvan-tage. The U.S. treasury is also in the midst of a study to determine if Chinahas manipulated its currency.

Klein, a professor emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania, said WorldBank estimates put the wage differential between China and the U.S. is a 20-to-1 ratio. As for the impact of the end of the quota regime, he said manycountries “felt the loss of economic activity when China’s exports over-whelmed the market.”

He added that, while China has shown some renewed constraint, it is still“feared by many other countries in this sector of activity.”

China and India are the driving forces of the global economy, Klein said,with the U.S. economy “stumbling with twin deficits, an elevated inflationrate and a costly war.” He said China’s growth rate of gross domestic productof between 8 and 10 percent has been “a remarkable quantitative record formore than 25 years and still going strong.”

Zane Proposes Adding Apparel to GSP Economist: No Need to Revalue Yuan

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Natural Disasters Drive Up Accessory Material Costs Alexandra

Knight

Cece CordVBH

Malini Murjani’s

bag with feathers.

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27,000 square feet and four levels of selling space, should generate around $40 million in annual sales,given its high-profile, high-traffic location on the northwest corner of 56th Street, a former Fendi site.That’s roughly twice the volume of A&F’s only other Manhattan site, the 16,800-square-foot store in theSouth Street Seaport.

Michael Jeffries, chairman and chief executive officer of Abercrombie & Fitch, said the intent with theflagship was “to create an experience.…It’s emotional.”

The vast majority of A&F’s stores are situated in better malls around the country, though at one time,the company operated a store in Trump Tower, which was eventually closed, leaving the store at theSeaport its sole Manhattan unit.

During a tour on Monday, Jeffries explained that Abercrombie & Fitch has “maxed out” on opening storesin malls that maintain the “aspirational” character of the brand, and that urban flagships represent the newvenue to sustain growth. The unit here, at 720 Fifth Avenue, is considered the prototype, with some elementsof the interior expected to also filter into mall-based stores as new ones open or others get renovated.

Though the store is certainly dramatic and costly, officials don’t consider it a monument to the brand.“We will make money,” at the location, and relatively quickly, Jeffries said. He emphasized that allAbercrombie & Fitch stores, except for a “handful,” are money-makers.

He also said the company plans to open additional flagships in Los Angeles and Las Vegas in 2006,which will be followed by the company’s first overseas store in London, in 2007.

Jeffries described the Fifth Avenue store as “a prototype for international stores in the future,” thoughLondon is the only city announced. Still, while the urban flagship strategy gathers steam, Jeffries wasclear to state the company will remain mostly driven by the success of its mall business.

The Fifth Avenue space casts an air of intrigue with a facade of closed window shutters — there will beno window displays — and a darkish interior reminiscent of the mood inside Ruehl, another Abercrombiedivision. It’s enhanced by sturdy oak columns, bronze fixturing and a striking central staircase with frost-ed glass steps, lattice railings and a mural by Mark Beard depicting muscular, near-naked rope climbers ina setting from the Thirties.

The new store, designed in collaboration with Annabelle Selldorf, cost $800 to $900 a foot to build, accord-ing to industry sources. Based on the selling square footage, the store could have cost around $25 million.

In the vestibule, just past two sets of imposing 11 1/2-foot glass doors that slide open automatically, aretwo denim bars on either side of the store. Denims are offered in 12 fits and 28 washes, ranging from theAbercrombie & Fitch opening price of $69.50 to the Ezra Fitch premium “destroy wash” boot jean for $168.Overall, the store separates women’s merchandise on the right, from the men’s wear on the left, withdenim representing roughly 20 percent of the inventory.

Deeper into the store are sexy layered combinations of camisoles, sweaters and T-shirts, prominentlydisplayed on forms and in unusual tubular glass display vitrines. There are also new looks and fabric com-binations for A&F, such as fleece sweatshirts and outerwear that’s lined with faux fur, and soft cotton mili-tary bottoms, as well as an extensive array of cashmere sweaters, generally $128 to $200, in basic grays andblues as well as earth tones and brighter colors, and chunky wool cable knits with big buttons priced at$89. Often sweaters are merchandised in curved caselines with aged brass for a classic touch inspired by

10 WWD, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2005

Continued from page one

Abercrombie Raises th

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The atmospheric interior.

Michael Jeffries has a flagship strategy for A&F.

WWD, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2005 11WWD.COM

the grande-dame downtown department stores of yesteryear. All of the merchandise is either under the Abercrombie & Fitch or Ezra Fitch labels, while the

fragrances, sold in the rear of the store, are under the Ready, Ezra, Eight, Signature and Now labels.There are also plenty of logoed tops and T-shirts with irreverent but not vulgar messages. A&F has

occasionally emblazoned more controversial messages on shirts, including some that were abruptlyremoved from the shelves due to public outcry. The humor is still evident, however, on some of the Ts,with messages such as “When the going gets tough, the tough go blond” and “I had a nightmare I was abrunette.” It is not known whether these were inspired by Jeffries, who happens to be blonde.

Sprinkled around the store are displays of old guns, canoes, snowshoes, shotguns and skis, as wellas a lone moose head. They reflect the origins of a store that once catered to adventurers and explor-ers. “We are going back to our heritage,” said Jeffries.

But the flagship’s message is as much about the modern day, considering the hunky imagery, par-ticularly the large graphics of a bare-chested Matt Ratliff, the latest face of Abercrombie & Fitch fea-tured on the cover of the brand’s most recent catalogue.

Building flagships in New York, or any other major city for that matter, has never been the focus forAbercrombie & Fitch, until recently. Jeffries said the Manhattan flagship was two years in the making.

The company was launched in 1892 as a small store and factory in downtown New York, later mov-ing to a more fashionable address in Midtown on Madison Avenue. The first shop was devoted tohunting gear, fishing and camping equipment, and catered to the likes of Theodore Roosevelt,Admiral Perry and Ernest Hemingway.

Over the decades, the brand endured some ownership changes and image transformations, evolv-ing from a haberdashery selling an eclectic range with everything from shotguns to bow ties tofrumpy women’s wear. Jeffries took the helm in 1992, when A&F was owned by Limited Brands. A&Fultimately became independent when Limited spun it off into a separate company in 1998, after aninitial public offering in 1996.

Under Jeffries, Abercrombie was reinvented, with a sharper identity and a youthful and sexy ap-peal geared to a college audience.

Jeffries also expanded the business to its current 352 Abercrombie & Fitch stores around thecountry, and developed new divisions including Hollister, which has more of a teenage appeal; aber-crombie, which is geared to kids, and last year, Ruehl, for the post-college crowd.

The company exceeded $2 billion sales this year and recorded $217.5 million in net profits. Asidefrom the flagship strategy, most of its square footage growth will come out of Hollister openings, ac-cording to the company.

he Flag on Fifth Avenue

The ornate staircase at the Fifth Avenue store.

A&F emphasizes

layering with

camisoles,

sweaters and

T-shirts.

Curved caselines for a classic touch.

On display, a bit of the brand’s heritage, and its more modern masculine appeal.

LOS ANGELES — Since its introduction threeyears ago as a line of 18 basic treatment items,skin care brand Boscia has heldback on product launches. That’sall about to change.

In the next several months,Boscia plans to introduce 10items, some of which will markthe brand’s entry into new prod-uct categories.

“We started to ask the customerwhat she was looking for next,”said Caren Conrad, general man-ager of sales and marketing for theIrvine, Calif., brand. “Because weare in so many locations acrossthe country, we are hearing frommore customers, and we have amuch bigger market to listen to.”

Distribution of the line has grown from a debutat Henri Bendel and four Nordstrom doors tosome 250 doors nationwide, including Bath &Body Works and C.O. Bigelow. Another 30 to 40doors will be added next year.

In keeping with the expanded distribution,Boscia will introduce moisturizing treatments forthe face as well as innovative lip color and lipcare items. A new Jujube Salve Stick, which willbe launched later this month, can be used to helpprime the lips for color and is made from jujubefruit, which is said to encourage healthy cell reju-venation, as well as macadamia nut oil and jojobaleaf. Conrad noted the product also can be usedfor the eye area and any dry patches on the face.

Boscia also is launching Makeup-Breakup CoolCleansing Oil next February, which is made frompeppermint and eucalyptus as well as rose hip,green tea and golden palm oils. The launch of theBrilliant Kisses Lip Gloss Duo marks Boscia’s entryinto the color cosmetics category. The duo includesa shade called Best, which Conrad describes as a“universal color for all skin tones,” and a hue calledFavorite, which was designed to enhance existinglip color. Conrad noted additional shades will beadded over the next year.

The Intensifying Moisture Pack, also to bownext February, is designed to work either as a maskor as a pre-sunscreen moisturizer, and containsaloe leaf and marine complex to help improve dryand flaky skin.

The products range in price from $16 for thesalve stick to $48 for the moisture pack. The body

products will be in the range of $25 to $32 and thelipstick duo is $25. Industry sources estimate that in

their first full year of business, thenew products will do retail salesvolume of between $1.2 millionand $1.3 million.

Conrad said Boscia will be ex-panding into a new body care cate-gory for spring, with the release ofthe Jujube Rejuvenist Amino BodyWash and Whipped Body Crème.Both contain jujube fruit, while in-fusions of orange and mint are de-signed to invigorate. Antiagingamino acids such as serine andalanyl-glutamine provide hydra-tion, said Conrad.

“We expect to be doing more inthe categories of body and color,” she said. “We areresearching alternatives to the usual products forproblems like pigmentation.” Conrad added thatdistribution so far has been focused within the U.S.,but that interest has been strong from retailers inEurope, Australia and Canada. She predicted inter-national expansion would follow in 2006 and 2007.

— Kavita Daswani

Helleu Pens Chanel TomePARIS — Jacques Helleu knows Chanel from A toZ. As creative director of one of France’s most fa-bled brands, he has been overseeing Chanel’simage for 40 years. It’s no surprise, then, that he’swritten the book on the brand.

With a preface by journalist Laurence Benaim,“Jacques Helleu Chanel” traces the evolution ofChanel’s visual image over the past four decades.The book is organized alphabetically using keywordsincluding Avedon, Coco Mademoiselle and Deneuve.

During his time with Chanel, Helleu workedwith company spokesmodels Catherine Deneuve,Nicole Kidman and Vanessa Paradis, as well as itsimage-makers David Bailey, Irving Penn, RichardAvedon, Helmut Newton, Ridley Scott, Luc Besson,Jean-Paul Goude and Roman Polanski.

The tome, which weighs in at 256 pages, will beavailable starting Nov. 18 in France. Published byEditions de La Martiniere there, it is priced at 120euros, or $141.50 at current exchange rates. TheEnglish version of the book will hit shelves in theU.S. and U.K. in early 2006.

— Brid Costello

Boscia to Expand Into Color Cosmetics

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FIELD AND STREEP: It looks like the “Devil” will bewearing more Bill Blass than Prada in the filmversion of Lauren Weisberger’s “The Devil WearsPrada,” due out next year.

Patricia Field, one of the stylists working on theproject, recently called in enough Blass from the pastfew seasons to fill five pages of inventory forms.Among the items, all for Meryl Streep, who playsmagazine editor Miranda Priestly: a pumpkin cashmerecoat, a blush python jacket and skirt, an Oxford graypinstripe suit and a fox fur-trimmed jacket. “Pat saidMeryl really liked the clothes, and they fit her well, soshe kept coming back,” a Blass spokeswoman said.

Because the movie is loosely based onWeisberger’s roman à clef about working for Vogueeditor in chief Anna Wintour, many in the fashionworld wondered which designers, if any, would offerclothes. But the producers seem to have helped theircase by hiring Field, the former “Sex and the City”stylist, who also wields a fair amount of industry clout.In addition to Blass, Field brought in Chanel items forAnne Hathaway; Gucci lent her several Boston bagsand handle totes in crocodile and the La PelleGuccissima embossed logo leather bag; Calvin Kleinoffered its offices on 39th Street for a scene, andValentino shot a cameo. That designer’s Europeanoffices said no clothes had been lent, but the film’spublicist said some items from Valentino were beingused. (Officials at Christian Lacroix, Versace, JeanPaul Gaultier, Givenchy and Alexander McQueen saidthe houses were not participating; Christian Dior andLanvin did not return calls.)

As for how much Prada will appear in the movie,an employee in the company’s Milan office said someitems were on loan, though Prada’s New York office

declined to elaborateon what was sent.

“I think they werevery smart to hirePat,” said MichaelVollbracht, artisticdirector of Bill Blassand a longtime friendof Field’s. “And I thinkit’s very smart of MerylStreep to physicallytake the part awayfrom who it’ssupposed to be basedon.” Vollbracht saidhe was not worriedabout offendinganyone by helpingout, since he had noteven read the book.“I’ve known [Field], oh my God, since the Seventies.She’s an institution,” he said, explaining why he didn’thesitate to send clothes when she called.

The next hurdle for the project: booking magazinefeatures to promote the release. While Wintour has notpublicly spoken out against the film, several sources atCondé Nast said it was unlikely any of Vogue’s sisterpublications would put Hathaway on a cover. Elle andHarper’s Bazaar are also said to be out of the question,because of various editors’ allegiance to Wintour.

Up until now, Hathaway has appeared by herselfonly on teen magazines, though she is currently onthe cover of Lucky for her role in “BrokebackMountain.” According to several people close to theproject, the most likely places she’ll end up for“Devil” are Seventeen, Ellegirl and Jane. “We havealready booked two covers and are talking with variouspeople at Condé Nast,” Hathaway’s spokeswomansaid Monday. Vogue, Lucky and Jane are, like WWD,part of Condé Nast Publications. — Sara James

Boscia’s newest

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Close Out Wanted in Men’s, Womens & Children’s Clothing. Budget tomoderate pricing. Big quantities possibleUSA1407@aol.com Bob 212-997-7487

5th Avenue - Office for Lease1,400 sq. ft. to 2,500 sq. ft.

Dumann Realty (212) 505-6300www.dumann.com

For Space in Garment Center

Helmsley-Spear, Inc.212-880-0414

Search For Space In Garment CenterShowroom/Office/Retail - no fee

www.midcomre.comOr Call Paul 212 947-5500 X 100

Showroom PH- 2200 Ft. Full Floor5,000-20,000 Ft- $16. Great Space

Prime Manhattan Jon 212-268-8043Search- www.manhattanoffices.com

Showrooms & LoftsBWAY 7TH AVE SIDE STREETS

Great ’New’ Office Space AvailADAMS & CO. 212-679-5500

Established Garment Manufacturerwith prime BROADWAY showroom

space and design facilities andexcess capacity will share with a

compatible fit.Fax to: (212)-268-6838

CAD GRAPHICS/DESIGN STUDIO All markets - 1 on 1 fast service

212 840-2155designinfluence@erols.com

High End Samples, Patterns4 Bridal, Formal & Couture

Hand beading, appliquéUnique designs

Call Lana 212-655-5764

PATTERN/SAMPLESReliable. High quality. Low cost. Fastwork. Small/ Lrg production 212-629-4808

PATTERNS, SAMPLES,PRODUCTIONS

All lines, Any styles. Fine Fast Service.Call Sherry 212-719-0622.

PATTERNS, SAMPLES,PRODUCTIONS

Full service shop to the trade.Fine fast work. 212-869-2699.

Pier 22 DesignsFull service CAD/Design Studio

718.428.8822 pier22design@hotmail.com

FASHION RESUMESStaff Thru Executive-Wholesale/Retail

Free Evaluation - Lifetime UpdatesGILBERT CAREER RESUMES

(800)967-3846 amex/mc/visafashionresumes.com

fashioncareercenter.com

Administrative AssistantMidtown dress mfr. seeks detailed,

organize indiv for processing of salesorders, billing and inventory control.

Fax resume w/ sal req. to 212. 302. 1860.

Admin Since 1967

W-I-N-S-T-O-NAPPAREL STAFFING

DESIGN * SALES * MERCHADMIN * TECH * PRODUCTION

(212)557-5000 F: (212)986-8437

APPAREL JOBS1)Artists: Girls-Boys-Juniors 2)Spec Techs3)Designers-assoc-assist. boy-girl-YG men-JrCall (212) 643-8090 or fax: 643-8127 (agcy)

Apparel Staffing, LTDDesigner

Women’s Classic Weekend WRPhone (212)302-0216 Fax (212)302-1161

ASSISTANT DESIGNERSwimwear mfr. is seeking exp. asst. w/strong flat sketching skills in AdobeIllustrator, Freehand a plus. Highly

organized, detail oriented, team player.Fax: (212) 354-5314

Assistant to VP of SalesGrowing trim mfr. seeks organized, detailoriented person. Must be able to multitask. This person must be passionateabout work. Growth oppty’s available.Proficiency in MS Office, Outlook req’d.Exp. communicating w/ customers &Asia a +. Email: jobs@idealfastener.com

CAD ARTISTMissy sportswear mfg seeks creativeU41A CAD artist for high volume, fastpaced design room. Must be proficientat designing repeats, developing colorways, creating watercolor prints andconstructing yarn dyes. Min 3 yrs ex-perience required. Fax resume to:

212-869-4437 Attn: C. Fields

COUTURE-COUTURECOUTURE-COUTURE

READY TO WEARDESIGNERS & PATTERNMAKERS

$$$$$$$$$$$$$ToddWayne1@aol.com 212-947-3400

Design

ASSISTANT DESIGNERLeading Better Separates Co. looking fororganized, motivated, and creative fire-cracker willing to do whatever it takes.Must have 2 years working with China,drawing skills, spec, sketch, technicalpackages, EMB layouts. Fax resume toNatasha @ 212-302-3872

Design

ASSISTANT DESIGNERLong Island based Active Wear Companyseeks a detail oriented Asst. Designerwho is Illustrator/Photoshop proficient.Duties shall include pulling samples tocreating line sheets & technical sketchingon Illustrator. Fax resume and salaryrequirements to Vivian: 631-549-5240

DESIGN

Assistant DesignerWell established Junior/Contemporarysportswear mfr. seeks organized, detailoriented individual. Knowledge of specsa must. 2 years minimum experience.

Please fax resume to: (212) 221-9080

A.B.S / Allen B.By Allen Schwartz

Vice President Sales / Merchandise Director

A.B.S, a leader in contemporary/designer clothing,has an incredible opportunity for a highly creative in-dividual with strong sales and merchandising skills.This person should be able to drive sales in all prod-uct divisions, and must be able to lead by example.All replies kept confidential.

Email: lsinger@absstyle.com

DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANT Tommy Hilfiger Handbags and Accessories, Inc. is seeking aproduct development assistant/associate. Candidate shouldpossess three years experience. Responsibilities include dailycommunication with suppliers and factories, tracking/monitor-ing of raw materials, samples and maintenance of fabric library.Positive Energy, strong organizational/communication skills a must.

Please send resumes only to: hr@thhb.com

CREDIT MANAGERWe seek an experienced CreditManager, preferably from theluxury segment with min 5 yearsexperience. This position reportsto the CFO and requires collectionexperience as well as risk assess-ment and exceptional communica-tion skills to interface with clients,Sales and Logistics Dept.

Send your resume to:jillian.thrall@gvdistribution.com

No phone calls please.

DESIGN

DUE PER DUE-Bridge Collection Asst. /Associateposition available for a creative individualwith a go getter attitude. Tremendousgrowth potential. Design school graduatew/1-2 yrs exp. Please fax resume Attn:

Design Director SC: 212-768-7651

DESIGNER

Assistant Designer2 yrs experience - updated missy tops.Must have strong computer skills:Photoshop / Illustrator & Excel specsheets. Detailed and organized.Fax resume to: 212-736-3453 or E-mail:

conceptdirection@aol.com

DESIGNER/CAD ......................TO $65KHF Table Linens Placemats, Photo

Jennifer Glenn SRI Search 212-465-8300jennifer@srisearch.com

DESIGNER - CHILDRENSNYC childrenswear co. seeks energeticindiv. for newborn through toddlerlicense and private label lines. Min 3yrs. exp. Illustrator a must. Faxresume to Eli 212-967-9328 . EmailNYCDesignDept@yahoo.com

Designer - HandbagSuccessful leather & non-leather bagline for better Dept. Stores & boutiques.5+ yrs exp., strong Illust/Photoshop &hand sketch. Jeremy@ebigbuddha.com

Designer

JR/PLUS DESIGNERSportswear Co., seeks talented individualfor Jr/Plus Sportswear line. Must havea minimum of 3 years experience.Must be experienced with Photoshop& Illustrator. Must be proficient in allareas of design. Candidate should haveknit & sweater background and havethe ability to work in a fast pacedenvironment. Please send resume to :

212-869-2781. Attn: Cathy

DESIGNERJr. Swtr. 3 yrs. min. exp. in Jr. Swtr.mkt. Jr. outerwr. exp. a +. Knowledgeof fabrics, trends, plus import bkgrndreq’d. Excellent growth oppty w/ rising

co. Fax resume with salary req’s to:(212) 398-2086, Attn. Marc or

Email: marc@tyte.com

DESIGN ASSISTANTMajor moderate sportswearcompany seeks energeticDesign Assistant. Excellent

flat sketching skills and abilityto do embroidered/beaded

layouts is a must.Photoshop/Illustrator and

Excel skills is required, abili-ty to do CADS is a plus.

Working environment is up-beat, creative and friendly.

Fax Resume to HR:212/354-2215

D E S I G N E RManufacturing Company seeks anexperienced Little Girls Designer tohead up the 4 -6X category. The individualmust be creative, self motivated, wellorganized, familiar with young, sweetsilhouettes and art for mass retailer.Must be familiar with patterns, garmentconstruction, cost restrictions and willingto travel. Please Fax: 212-465-0645

Design Production LiaisonYoung, contemporary sportswear co.seeks motivated individual to be liaisonbetween design and production team.Must be highly organized, detail-oriented, a team player, and self-starter. Excel and Outlook skills amust. Excellent salary and benefits.

Fax/email resume to (212) 947-6480,rinarossi@aol.com

Attn: Human Resources

EDI Coord $35-$37K. Current exp onAS400/ACS. Exp on 850, 852, 855, 860,or 864. Midtown Co. Call 973-564-9236

Jaral Fashion Agency

FIT MODELWe are a successful, rapidly growingchain of junior specialty apparel storeswith over 550 locations in the U.S. &Puerto Rico. You know us as G+G,Rave, & Rave Girl. We currently havea Part-Time oppt’y at our corporateheadquarters in New York City for aFit Model.

Individual will try on vendor samples forsize & fit. While attending extensive fitsessions you’ll work with buyers & specanalysts & support the technical designgroup. You must be a true junior size 7.

If qualified, please forward yourresume & current measurements by

Fax to: 212-564-1856 or byE-mail to: jobs@gorave.net

Visit us at www.gorave.com EOE

GRAPHIC ARTISTArt dept at NYC childrenswear co.seeks indiv. to create innovative artfrom concept to final art for brandedand license lines. Proficient in MACIllustrator/ Photoshop. Fax resume to:

Eli 212-967-9328Email: NYCDesignDept@yahoo.com

Import Traffic Mgr.Int’l children’s apparel manufacturer /importer seeks exp. Import TrafficMgr. with strong hands on exp / knowl-edge of logistics (ocean/air), Imp. Docs,and US Customs classifications, dutiesand clearance. Proficiency in Excel &Word a must. Exp. w/ Blue Cherry a +.Salary commens. w/ exp. Excl benefits.Fax resume 212-967-0924, attn: HR orEmail: francogroup@francoapparel.com

Knitwear Jr. SweaterCo. has the following

open positions:

1)Production AssistantExciting new position open,fast paced And room togrow. Must be computer lit-erate, Photoshop, illustratorskill a plus. Must be able toDo multi task, minimum ed-ucation required, associatesdegree.No experiencenecessary full time only.

2) Technical DesignerOrganized Tech designer forour import cut & sew line/knits.Must be able to grade Forthe current junior market.Minimum 5 years experience.

3)Design (Technical AssistantJr Knitwear Design)

Assistant needed in DesignDepartment duties includeassisting in developmentand technical design musthave knowledge Of sketch-ing, specing, and basic com-puter c a p a b i l ities, s o m ePhotoshop/illustrator preferred,

Fast paced friendly environment.

Fax resumes to: 212-391-0881

Merchandise ManagerThe Bell Group seeks a dynamic,

self-motivated Merchandise Managerto join our team-oriented company.Responsibilities include selecting,marketing, pricing and promoting

specialized products. Apply online atwww.BellGroupJobs.com

Private LabelProduction

Branded better womens clothing companyneeds following for private label dept:

PRIVATE LABEL MANAGERSupervising and executing all productdevelopment for a better Private LabelBrand. Will review initial product packs,send them to factories, and help factoriesexecute development of the style. Re-quires 3-5 years experience in this field.

ASSISTANT (Entry Level position)Assistant to Private Label productionmanager. Basic computer skills necessary.

Both positions will be working with awell known better Private Label brand.Great opportunity in a rapidly growingbusiness. Offer good benefits. Salary isflexible based on experience.

Fax resumes to 212-302-5763

PRODUCT DEVEL-A/E1st Sample. Cut & Sew Knits

SusieJessilyn@aol.com 212-947-3400

WWD, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2005 15

By Rosemary Feitelberg

NEW YORK — Still reeling fromits fashion week party on Lib-erty Island, Imperia, Russia’stop-shelf vodka, is ready for itsencore — hosting Wednesdaynight’s party after the Victoria’sSecret fashion show.

Needless to say, tickets for“Imperia’s Million Dollar Party”are tough to come by sinceguests will mingle with Vic-toria’s Secret catwalkers, includ-ing Heidi Klum, Tyra Banks,Gisele Bündchen, Karolina Kur-kova and Naomi Campbell.About 1,000 revelers will catch aperformance by Dita Von Teese,who shook up the Louis Vuittonpostshow party with a striptease.There will be other distractionsat the $1 million extravaganza,including a 10,000-pound ice bar,10-foot toy soldiers and Russianindulgences.

Armored trucks will shuttle100 cases of Imperia vodka and100 pounds of caviar to theLexington Armory. The Moscow-based company is providing abevy of Russian beauties dressed

in Russian-inspired baby-dolldresses to waitress.

Imperia is eager to warm upAmericans to drinking vodka.About 40 million cases of theliquor are consumed in the U.S.annually, compared with 200 mil-lion in Russia, said Jose Aragon,director of U.S. operations forRussian Standard Vodka, Im-peria’s parent company.

“We go by a very simple pointof view that vodka should beRussian,’’ he said. “Just as goodchampagne comes from France,

fast red cars come from Italy,great composers are oftenGerman, and if you want goodchocolate, go to Switzerland.”

As the first brand to partnerwith Victoria’s Secret for itsshow and after-party, Imperia isdelighted by the Russian seg-ment planned for the fashionshow. Eugenia Volodina andTatiana Kovylina are among themodels to show off their Russianroots as well as Jacob theJeweler’s diamonds during thatportion of the show.

Imperia to Host Victoria’s Secret PartyBy Sophia Chabbott

NEW YORK — In a move toboost its hosiery business,Accessory Network Group hasformed Planet Sox LLC, afteracquiring the majority stake inE & E Hosiery Inc.

The addition of E & E willdouble the hosiery businessfor ANG, a manufacturer andlicensor of luxury and main-floor accessories, according toAbe Chehebar, chairman andchief executive officer of ANG.Chehebar estimated PlanetSox’s volume at $60 million.

“We’re more of a fashion-driven resource; they’re moreof a commodity-driven re-source,” said Chehebar.

ANG produces hosiery prod-ucts under license for Disney,Warner Bros., Bratz and Nicke-lodeon. L Licensing was only asmall portion of E & E’s busi-ness; it has the license to pro-duce Hot Kiss hosiery.

E & E’s main focus is on pri-vate label hosiery, slippers and

home goods for large chainstores.

“We don’t have licenses,”said Elie Levy, who founded E &E in 1994. “It’s only 5 to 8 per-cent of our business. With ANG,I have my choice of licenses.”

Levy has been named ceoof Planet Sox and will run day-to-day operations.

“As a stand-alone operation,we were doing $20 million ayear,” said Levy. “But as retail-ers started to shrink and tight-en their vendor base, we de-cided to merge in order not tolose market share.”

Levy said the two compa-nies were a fit because of theirdiverse vendors.

“[ANG] does a big Wal-Martbusiness and I do a big Kmartbusiness,” he said. “There wasvery little overlap, overall.”

Chehebar sees the deal aspart of an ongoing trend in themarketplace.

“By combining the two, we’reable to source more and bemore effective,” he added.

Accessory NetworkForms Hosiery Unit

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENTFABRIC /TRIM

JONES NEW YORK INTIMATES Division of Madison Intimate Brands Established Sleepwear Mfr., seeksindividual expd in both wovens andknits from Asia. Responsible to workwith designers, overseas factories,mills, agents; track fabric/color/printdevelopments, lab dip/print appvls;coordinate/ resolve production relatedissues. Must have excellent computerskills, be able to communicate effec-tively with overseas on a daily basis;be highly organized, detail-orientedwith 3+ yrs in Sleepwear. Excellentbenefits. Email resumes with SubjectHeader: Fabric Mgr- Your Name, to:

hr@jnyi.com

PRODUCTIONAssistant/CoordinatorExcellent Opportunity

Immediate Start. Excellent growth opptyin a great working environment. Salarycommensurate w/exp & include full bnfts.Leading Home Textile firm in Soho islooking for exceptionally organized &meticulous indiv. to support Sr. ProductMgr. w/issuing PO’s & coordinatingproduct development issues w/ overseasfactories through EDI systems. Workingknowledge of EDI systems, exp. withlarge retailers and bilingual Mandarinare major +++.Candidate needs to be a strong selfmotivator & able to work under pressureto meet deadlines. Min. 2 yrs. relatedexperience. Send resume:

resume@designspace.net

PRODUCTION ASSISTANTLadies suit MFR needs organized personto order trim follow up w/ contractors,domestic & China. Knowl. of Excel &Word a must. Fax resume: 212-869-5393

Production CoordinatorBusy NY Production Office seeks adetail oriented, highly motivated indi-vidual w/strong organizational skills.Must be flexible and able to multitask.Ideal candidate will have 2-3 yrs exp.with cutting tickets, linesheets, spread-sheets and showroom samples. AS400knowledge a must. We offer an excellentbenefits package. Please send resumewith salary req to: jobs@hbltd.com orFax to: 973-249-8651 EOE/MF/V/D.

PRODUCTION MGR $100KKids, Wal-Mart, Imports

Jobs@TheFashioNetwork.com

PRODUCTION* Mgr-Import Collec Contemp $110-125K* Coord-RunwayContemp Dsgnr $75-85KCoord-Sweater Cut & Sew Knits $65KToddWayne1@aol.com or 212-947-3400

Production/Sourcing Manager/to $120kDENIM/WOVENS

For well known Ladies Contemporary& Urban Brands. Must have expr.sourcing denim and wovens, workingin the field, negotiating prices, costing,purchasing the product off-shore (Chinaa must), following thru w/ factories,report to VP of Global Sourcing.dE-mail resume to: cburke@ccburke.comFax: 917-591-2521 Ph: 212-481-1941

QUALITY CONTROLSUPERVISOR

Growing New Jersey domestic/importmanufacturer seeks individual to develop,implement and maintain systems to en-sure compliance with customer qualitystandards & regulations. Will also inter-face with other departments. Qualifiedcandidates will be aggressive, have goodcommunication & computer skills, haveat least 2-5 yrs exp. in a manufacturingenvironment. Bilingual Spanish a must.

Email resume and salary req’s. to:hr@freezecmi.com

RETAIL FASHIONStore Mgrs/Madison Av & Wstchstr $55-65KAsst Store Mgr/Hi-end Fshn Base+%=$70K+FAX: 212-481-4086 ibs@ibsny.net

Sales AssistantFast paced Apparel Company has open-ing for Sales Assistant/Analyst. Respon-sibilities include order placements,sales analysis and follow up, communi-cation and interfacing with retailers,and directly working with productionand design. Computer literacy andfamiliarity with Word, Excel, andAccess database are a MUST. Thisperson should be inspired, motivatedand extremely detail-oriented as well asbe prepared for some domestic travel.Five years experience required. FAXresume to 212-842-4020 Attn: AntonyJacobs. Equal Opportunity Employer.

SaraMax

SAMPLEMAKERCouture co. seeks experienced highly

skilled sewers/tailorsPlease call 212-869-2296

SAMPLE RM MGR $90-125KFamous Desgnr Sprtswr Ready to WrToddWayne1@aol.com 212-947-3400

SEAMSTRESS/TAILORGrowing Couture Co. is seeking a sewingexpert with at least 5 yrs exp. w/ EveningDresses. Great compensation .

E-mail resume to: NK32@mac.com orCall 212-575-1173

Shipping CoordinatorApparel co. in NJ is seeking personwith minimum 5 years experience inapparel shipping. Must have hands onexperience with customer compliance,inventory control, scheduling andmaintaining on time shipments. Mustmulti task and be a proactive problemsolver. Computer skills a must. Faxrésumé Attn: Nicholas (212) 921-8369.

Shipping/ReceivingWomen’s apparel co. seeks shippingperson w/ at least 2 yrs exp. Must befamiliar w/ dept store shipping guide-lines, picking/packing, inventory cntrl,overseas shipping docs, processingshipments thru DHL./fed ex. Goodcomputer skills necessary.

Fax resume to 212-594-8539.

SR KNITWEAR DESIGNERJCP, Wal-Mark, Travel Europe/Asia

SusieJessilyn@aol.com 212-947-3400

Sweater, Knits & Woven TD’s* Sweater TD-Many Oppts $55-$85K* Spec Tech-Mens/Womens $35-$50KSusieJessilyn@aol.com 212-947-3400

Swimwear Designer $70KMass Merch: Wal-Mart, K-Mart, TargetToddWayne1@aol.com or 212-947-3400

Tech Designer Needed2 years experience specing childrensgarments, good communication skills.Must work on Mac using Illustrator.

Fax resume to 212-868-9279Att: Girls Dept

TECHNICAL DESIGNER/Boys/to 70KFor mjr. children’s wear co’s. verysuccessful, 2 well known brandeddivisions of boys’ sportswear. Musthave prev. patternmaking abilities, tocorrect patterns, make comments,comm. w/ vendors, develop spec. pks.,grading, MS EXCEL.E-mail resume: cburke@ccburke.com

(Fax) 917-591-2521 (Tel)212-481-1941

Technical Designer SWEATERS/KNITS

Leading men’s co seeks organized &detail oriented designer w/ 3 yrs exp infittings & tech pack for Asia. Excellentcomp. Fax resume 718-369-0516.

TEMPS $35 HOURPattrnmakrs-Blouses, Sprtswr DressToddWayne1@aol.com 212-947-3400

Traffic AssistantWell est’d Branded/Private Label Swtr.Co. seeks Traffic Asst. to coordinate &follow up with warehouses regardingall shipments, generate routing requestsand communicate with the customeras needed. Familiar with WalMart andTarget shipping and websites a plus. Mustbe computer literate with good written& verbal skills. Midtown Location.Fax resume and salary requirements

to: 718-456-9011 Attn: Robert

Warehouse OpportunityWe are a growing sportswear companythat does a volume of $25 million. Weare looking for an exp’d individual torun our NJ warehouse. Must haveknowledge of EDI. Send resume to:

luxeapparel@gmail.com

WISCONSIN RELO $$$*TD & Spec Techs $55-$80K*Assoc Designer Mod-Better $55K*Assoc Merchandiser $50KToddWayne1@aol.com or 212-947-3400

Acct. Exec - JuniorsJr. Clothing Co. seeks dedicated, profes-sional Sales Acct. Exec for major EastCoast Jr. accts. Position works out ofour NY showroom. Must have strongJr. background & minimum 3 yearsexp. Fax/E-mail resumes: 323-375-1361

resume@crownofhearts.com

Anna SuiSalesperson

Aggressive, Energetic Individual 3-5Years Exp.- Communication Analytical/Organizational and Follow Up Skills a must.

Fax Resume to 212 768 2358

Claudia RichardLeading blouse & woven importer seeksexp’d sales person in missy & plus sizemoderate market. Must have a mini-mum of five years experience.

Fax resume attn: Don 212-840-2696

EXCELLENT SALARYPLUS COMMISSION..!

F/T sales position in NYAggressive and energetic salesperson forladies’ jr. and plus size fashions 5 yearssales exp. w/Chain/Dept. Stores & privatelabeling. Fax resume to: 305-597-9436

International BrandLaunching Urban Apparel

Independent Sales Reps with StrongUrban Apparel relationships.

Fax info to: (407) 850-5585

SALESPERSONCherry Stix Ltd., a growing andexpanding well est. Jr. Co. seeksaggressive, energetic individual with3-5 years experience to handle midtieraccounts, specialty and chain stores.All interested candidates please e-mail

resume to: david@cherrystix.net orfax to (646) 562-9650, Attn: David K.

BETTER SPORTSWEAREst’d "cool" & "hip" sportswear linesneeds East Coast Rep. Must havefollowing. Fax: (213) 624-6957 or

E-mail: mysweetmei@yahoo.com

WWD.COM

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A rendering of Imperia’s ice bar for the Victoria’s Secret post-show party.

For more information, contact Alix Michel, associate publisher, accessories, at 212-630-4596; Melissa Morales, account executive,fine jewelry, at 212-630-4588; Katherine Nelson, West Coast account executive, at 323-951-1805, or your WWD sales representative.

WWDMediaWorldwide®

With a first look at the season’s hottest trends, WWD editors give readers the insidescoop on which products will have consumers racing for the stores.

Put your brand in the center of the ultimate consumer shopping guide and secure your spot with spring’s absolute must-haves.

Bonus Distribution: Select Neiman Marcus InCircle customers, affluent consumersfrom Condé Nast’s database, top U.S. specialty stores, Barnes & Noble and Borders

bookstore displays, key editors, Hollywood stylists and entertainment insiders.

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Perfect-Bound: February 6Close: December 19

WWDAccessories

Spring Into Style.